Orson Welles directs Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and himself in this film noir thriller where a Mexican DA and a corrupt American cop investigate a border town car bombing.

Not a buddy movie. Low angles, hard shadows, sweat oozing. It does play like Orson is trying to make the ultimate noir… a capstone for the sub genre. Leigh, resplendent, is having motel trouble again. Marlene Dietrich is the bad girl with a heart of gold. Welles is everything wrong with fascism in a dirty mac. Heston is miscast. All the trope characters are amplified, maybe becoming more complex because of their heightened nature. The set pieces are gripping, orchestrated perfectly, giving Lang and Hitch a run for their money in their suspenseful bravado. Feels apiece with the doubtful morality of other classics of this era like 12 Angry Men and Sweet Smell Of Success. The last classic film noir is bitter, poisonous and overcooked to near perfection.

9

Perfect Double Bill: The Lady From Shanghai (1947)

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Jane Schoenbrun directs Gillian Anderson, Hannah Einbinder and Jack Haven in this meta slasher art sex film where the Gen Z director of a horror franchise remake connects with the hermit final girl actress of the original 1980 cult classic.

Moves, thankfully, at twice the clip of of the often interminable I Saw The TV Glow. That is still quite languid but it feels apt. Anderson and Einbinder have chemistry, generate genuine heat. As strange as it all is TS&D@CM is going to be very rewatchable. Well… certain scenes anyway… Exists in a weirdo liminal space between artifice and camp. The credit sequence is a very heartfelt celebration of the life cycle of a horror franchise. What uninitiated straight horror fans are going to make of all this exploration of disassociation and asexual headspace is anyone’s guess…

7

Perfect Double Bill: We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021)

Destin Daniel Cretton directs Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal in this soft reboot of the Spidey franchise where our friendly neighbourhood webslinger rebuilds his life anonymous but alone.

This is exactly what I want from a Marvel movie. The stakes remain smaller, local and gripping; the revolving door of visiting villains and anti-heroes all feel in service of the story; the soapy stuff is of that good quality. Genuinely plays out like reading a 6 issue Marvel comic book arc. No other Peter Parker movie has ever achieved that. This is some good summer blockbuster-ing. The Punisher! The Hulk! The Hand! Yes, please! Holland might struggle in other leading roles but he is the definitive Peter Parker.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin

Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross direct Tony Aburto, Micah Bunch and Nichole Dukes in this arty teen road movie.

Partly unscripted documentary, the cool kids meet quirky outsiders and deal with disorderly street life in their stride… trying to reach an “end of the world party”. As much Steinbeck or London as The Real World. Quite grubby but quite beautiful.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Streetwise (1984)

Ted Kotcheff directs Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze and Fred Ward in this war movie where 10 years after his son went M.I.A. in Vietnam, a retired Colonel assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in P.O.W. camps in Laos.

Precursor to both The A-Team and Rambo II with solid action and goofy training montages. Hackman is better than this but that doesn’t hurt the watchability. The big finale is muddy chaos in the best way.

6

Perfect Double Bill: B.A.T. 21 (1988)

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Mikael Håfström directs Colin O’Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins and Ciarán Hinds in this demonic possession potboiler set in Italy.

Not really horror and very hammy. Static, cliched, poorly structured. They think they’ve got the goods in Tony but he’s well past his Lecter prime. Do yourself a favour and watch Father Russell Crowe on his scooter instead. At least when Lucky Jack does an exorcism flick he fully embraces what a load of old cheesy toot he’s flogging. Dire.

2

Perfect Double Bill: Deliver Us From Evil (2014)

Billy Wilder directs Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Lou Jacobi in this farce where an honest Parisian beat cop gets fired, becomes a pimp and creates a fake client to keep his beloved from turning tricks.

A big production. One of those soundstage consuming behemoth artificial epics that Hollywood churned out in earnest in the Sixties. Hoping the sheer goddamn size of the thing would drag audiences into its gravitational pull. A family friendly sex comedy doesn’t need to be this ostentatious or long. But it is. And it’s nice to see Shirley and Jack together again even in an oversized gaudy display case. The look and feel of the whole thing just threatens to tip over into the whole cast singing Consider Yourself or Get Me To The Church On Time though.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Around The World In 80 Days (1956)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin

François Truffaut directs Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Nelly Borgeaud in this French noir where a wealthy plantation owner is captivated by a mysterious woman with a shady past who claims to be his mail-order-bride.

Fascinating languid film about obsession and escaping your past. Very much in chorus with The Story Of Adele H. . Globetrotting but the destination is the oblivion of self destruction.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Shoot The Piano Player (1960)

Taylor Hackford directs Richard Gere, Debra Winger and Louis Gossett Jr. in this romance where an emotionally stunted man takes his last shot at a naval academy but a relationship threatens to weaken his resolve.

Say what you like about Eighties cinema but it made devastating cultural impressions like no other decade. Maybe that has partly to do with VHS, music videos and The Simpsons allowing iconic imagery to be regurgitated into our homes unfiltered? But really how can your tastes not be informed by a song that was everywhere, a star who was everywhere, a final shot that was everywhere…? All stirring deeply implanted emotions every time they are revisited. No other decade does it so bold, so pure, so slick. The story itself is actually tougher and grittier than anything made by studios today. But it is Winger’s good time girl / ethical factory worker who adds all the charm and sparkle. A fantastic and sexy Friday night in for adults.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Urban Cowboy (1980)

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Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz direct Michael Greer, Marianna Hill and Joy Bang in this indie horror where a young woman goes searching for her missing artist father in a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious cult.

Woozy, nightmare logic slop from the makers of Howard The Duck. Bored me.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971)