Halina Reijn directs Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova and Rachel Sennott in this murder mystery at a Gen Z party where bratty rich kids keep turning up dead.

Self-centered. Glowstick hoops. Lit by never ending cell phones in invincible flashlight mode. Figured out the whodunit mystery aspect very early doors so this held very little for me. There’s no set-pieces per se (Do not go in expecting a hipper Scream) just a lot of running around in the dark, screeching and saying buzz words. Good ensemble playing irritating characters and I’m a bit too old to care about what is being satirised. Rachel Sencott is MVP – a screechy, whiny, bouncing Energiser bunny. Not sure it can be categorised as ‘Horror’ in even the loosest sense?

4

Perfect Double Bill: Spree (2020)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Werner Herzog directs Dieter Dengler, Eugene Deatrick and himself in this documentary character study where a poor German immigrant who became a U.S. fighter pilot talks about his capture by the Viet Cong.

“Duane, my friend, he was gone, and from then on my motions, my progress, became mechanical. In fact, I couldn’t care less if I would live or die. But then later on, there was this bear, this beautiful bear that was following me. It was circling me in fact sometimes. It was gone and I missed it. It was just like a dog, it was just like a pet. Of course I knew this bear was there, he was waiting to eat me. When I think about it, this bear meant death to me. And it is really ironic. That’s the only friend I had at the end, was death.” I could listen to Dieter Dengler talk about his series of unfortunate events for hours in that teutonic upbeat monotone. Herzog knows he has gold. Full of wonderful moments, bleak and humane.

9

Perfect Double Bill: Rescue Dawn (2006)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Leigh Janiak directs Kiana Madeira, Elizabeth Scopel and Benjamin Flores Jr. in this time hopping slasher conclusion to the cursed town trilogy.

We go back in time (astral projection shit I think) and learn that if a straight white man did a curse 500 years ago then his ancestor is definitely still up to nefarious deeds. No further questions! Picks back up with a bright finale in the 1990s mall. This whole trilogy feels like rough first draft towards something superior.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Fear Street Part 2 1978 (2021)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Josephine Decker directs Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young and Michael Stuhlbarg in this fictionalised representation of horror writer Shirley Jackson’s toxic marriage.

Fine cast, especially Moss, and you definitely feel like you are seeing a film by an auteur. Decker’s house style is tactile, fraught, intimate and discombobulated. I’m not sure I’m a fan of it but the film is her own and it feels remarkable that such stand alone voices are emerging within the current marketplace. Jackson’s marriage is reimagined, viewed through the spectrum of a fictional younger couple… who poetically mirror the real Jackson / Hyman pairing from only slightly better, earlier days. Personally I’d prefer a bit more horror rather than the trauma of a sour relationship but I can’t fault that Decker has achieved her intentions.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Mary Shelley (2017)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Paul Schrader directs Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lauren Bacall in this Washington D.C. drama where a gay gent who escorts and gossips with the wives of Capitol Hill is embroiled in a murder.

Robin Williams. John Goodman. Woody Harrelson. A rare breed of sitcom stars who transcended their famous breakout roles, became cinema A-Listers, who are as comfortable in drama as in comedy. When Fred Gwynne turns up in a flick you can only think of Herman Munster… there’s no need for green face paint or bolts in the neck. Could Courtney Cox BE any more like Monica? Yet Woody has had a prolific and admirable career traversing genre and prestige nimbly. Natural Born Killers and The Walker are the two times he really pushes himself. Neither film is wholly successful but Woody is consumate throughout.

Is Schrader particularly comfortable with a homosexual protagonist? His understanding of the gay scene seems to spring fustily from Friedkin’s Cruising and Tom of Finland. This aside though, it is a boon to see a movie where the lead happens to be gay (camp but complex) but the legs of the plot would work just as well however the sexual orientation of the character is defined. Schrader is far more happier muck raking through Guantamano and Industrial Military complex in general rather than deep diving into his character’s love life. So there’s that.

As a murder mystery it never really gels. As a delivery system for Harrelson’s velvety charmer sharing the stage with three ladies of Hollywood royalty, it is a hoot. These scenes of catty bonhomie fade away in the second half. What replaces them is pretty bog standard. There’s definitely a better movie in here. But as a showcase for Harrelson, it is well worth a look.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Card Counter (2021)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Tom Brady directs Rob Schneider, Rachel McAdams and Anna Faris in this body swap comedy where a bitchy but beautiful teen swaps bodies with a schlubby scumbag dude.

Not as awful as I suspected but it is pretty telling that the funniest gags barely involve Schneider at all.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigilo (1999)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Maggie Gyllenhaal directs Olivia Coleman, Jessie Buckley and Dakota Johnson in this drama where a grumpy academic goes on holiday and makes an enemy of a family of tourists who act like they own the place.

A low key film with some really compelling plot developments and moments of character study. I agree with some of its overall sentiments on how not everyone is cut out to be a good parent and very few children are good company to be around for prolonged periods. Having said that… it is pretty miserable throughout and Dakota Johnson (who may not be the best actress in the world) plays the only cog in the ensemble who is complicated enough to be appealing. Fine performances but not enough joy to make you watch twice.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Glass Castle (2017)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Leo McCarey directs Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer and Maria Ouspenskaya in this romance where two already betrothed people meet-cute on a cruise and arrange to reunite in 6 months once they’ve put their relationships in order.

The original An Affair To Remember. Watching it can feel a little like spot-the-difference exercise with the more famous retread always there on your mind… but this has enough of its own magic to temper the shared magic. It is all magic, after all. Irene Dunne is pretty special.

8

Perfect Double Bill: An Affair To Remember (1957)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Paolo Sorrentino directs Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone and Sabrina Ferilli in this Italian arthouse drama where an ageing member of Rome’s jet set begins to question his values.

Is there a better actor who has never once bothered with Hollywood than Toni Servillo? This could be a spiritual sequel to La Dolce Vita catching up with a figure similar to Marcello Mastroianni’s vain journalist 40 years later. His lifestyle is corrupt, grotesque and flamboyant. A preserved mockery of pleasure and decadence. And he begins to explore alternatives, taking small steps away from his bitchy yet powerful clique, steps that might damage his public image. The movie overstays its welcome ever so slightly but nobody does a jarring party sequence like Sorrentino – and this has bundles. Skewers Italian high society with flair.

7

Perfect Double Bill: La Dolce Vita (1960)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Dwight H. Little directs Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris in this slasher sequel where Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield.

Better than its reputation. If you rented a Halloween sequel at random then this is probably the closest to what you might imagine an entry that doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel might look like. So it delivers solid thrills. Child star Danielle Harris is a good addition, the third act siege sequence is well handled… very reminiscent of series progenitor John Carpenter. There’s enough to like if very little to marvel at. The ending is a genuine doozy.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Halloween V: The Revenge Of Michael Myers (1989)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/