Cameron Crowe directs John Cusack, Ione Skye and John Mahoney in this teen romance where a heartbroken boy does indeed serenade his true love with a boombox held aloft over his head at dawn… blasting the Peter Gabriel song they lost their virginities together to.

Lloyd Dobbler’s career path: “I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that… What I really want to do with my life – what I want to do for a living – is I want to be with your daughter. I’m good at it.”

I’m letting you peek behind the curtain a little here but I have always tried to be a Lloyd Dobbler in my romances. Going all in for the right girl, not really caring about career or other relationships beyond them. There were times when my idea of “the right girl” was blinkered, or I wasn’t emotionally mature enough to live up to that self imposed standard… or when life meant we just outgrew each other after all that personal focus… but it has definitely succeeded in the long run. Sure I don’t live in a palace or have much more to my name other than a few good comic runs and too many DVDs but I am truly happy with Natalie… ecstatic, secure and content. And my thinking that the right girl is what you should pour all your energy and attention into has paid off handsomely. I have a partner who does make my life all the better as I hope I try to make hers. By striving to be the best man I can for the best woman, I know I have attained prosperity by my own measuring stick.

And Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut has always informed that thinking. Cusack gives his best, sweetest and most earnest performance as Lloyd. A naturally cool guy, who doesn’t particularly care about popularity. He wears his heart on his sleeve and goes all in for the girl he wants. Crowe conjures up iconic scene after iconic scene. He is a writer director who somehow blends sincerity with a worldly wit. I could easily rattle off a list of a hundred minor and fetishised moments from this mere 100 minute film. All are human, strong, true, amusing. So I’ll just lean into two reasons why I think this is an indisputable Five Star classic.

1) The second half of the story is giving over to Ione Skye’s dream girl brain Diane Court… we know Lloyd by now and have been seduced by him. She is conferred the bulk of the remaining screen time to carry us through the real drama and big decisions. While Lloyd has the freedom to follow his heart, she has harder choices to make about her future and Crowe never belittles them just because they are not obviously crowd pleasing or punchline driven.

2) That exemplary final scene. Boarding a plane to England together, Lloyd is calming Diane down over her fear of flying. He has brought snacks and reading materials. Knowing that she is nervous about the flight he explains that when the Smoking sign dings the pilot has taken the airplane up safely and everything will be alright. We follow their small talk and fears for their future. And then we silently hold on them, waiting for the ding. As it rings and the movie cuts to black and credits roll… we also know everything will be alright. Not just with the flight but with Lloyd and Diane. Say Anything… doesn’t end on a rainswept kiss or a rushed wedding, it ends on a subtle promise that these kids and their nervous love is going to soar. The ding is all we need to know. It is a wrinkle of screenwriting finesse that outshines Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. Beautiful.

10

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/

Richard Donner directs Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer in this fantasy adventure where a young thief helps a couple of cursed lovers; a knight who turns into a wolf at night and a princess who turns into a hawk by day.

Again, like The Neverending Story, this feels like one that should have been a childhood favourite but passed me by? I was a little worried in the first ten minutes. Matthew Broderick escapes a dungeon talking direct to camera / praying to God (in a dry run for Ferris Bueller). The action is very scrappily edited and dubbed. Like someone lost all the coverage and the sequence has been cobbled together from B roll and off cuts. Once we are on the run with Hauer and a hawk the quality solidifies. He cuts a striking figure and the location work is pretty epic. As the sun sets he tags out and Michelle Pfeiffer mysteriously appears all sexy and ethereal. Donner gets the blend of derring do, mysticism and tragic romance just right. It isn’t a perfect production. A synth score by Alan Parsons intrudes regularly to take you out of the timeless aesthetic. The grand finale of a cathedral interior joust doesn’t really play all the balls in the air with any noticeable flair. A comfy forgotten blockbuster most notable for being one of the awesome Rutger’s first Hollywood hero roles.

7

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/

Lina Wertmüller directs Antonio Petruzzi, Stefano Satta Flores and Sergio Ferranino in this slice of life drama where the restless but feckless young men of an Italian small town attempt to find their way with little effort or success.

A tribute to Fellini’s I Vitteloni that embraces the ugliness of provincial life even more. The results are a little whimsical but there are some strikingly inventive camera moves.

5

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/

Anna Rose Holmer directs Royalty Hightower, Inayah Rodgers and Makyla Burnam in this teen movie where a young girl gives up boxing training at her community centre to try out for the dance troupe; The Lionesses.

Lots of beautiful composed shots of training and deserted public spaces give this a real power. The subplot about a series of faintings kinda overtakes the pleasure of the tomboy quietly reinventing herself but it all has a low stakes, elegant, eerie quality.

6

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/

Chen Kaige directs Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi in this Chinese period saga following two Peking Opera performers; from their childhood of brutal orphaned training to persecution during Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

Spanning a lifetime and with moments of extreme cruelty and petulant betrayal, Kaige’s unrequited romance is quite the achievement. Moving with cinematic sweep of Lean and achieving the intimacy of Rossellini, this showcases two great performances. Leslie Cheung as the closeted, distant female performer is a heartbreaking, androgynous enigma. Gong Li as the acquisitive interloper who marries into the trope and at times threatens the partnership of the stars, while at other times saves it, is an equally tragic and absorbing figure. Farewell My Concubine delivers a history lesson and an emotional rollercoaster, managing to always look immaculate while it does it. The only negatives really are Chinese Opera is bit grating on the old ears. But you can tune out and just observe who the audience is made up of, a key indicator as to what particular point in China’s century of political turmoil we are in.

8

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/

Richard Donner directs Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Jet Li in this action comedy where Riggs & Murtagh take down some Chinese people smugglers.

I’m guessing it was around Christmas of 1997 that the Warner Brothers executives shuffled ashen faced out of a rough cut of their big Uma Thurman The Avengers remake and collectively realised they did not have a tentpole release for the coming summer season. A Lethal Weapon sequel was greenlit, scripted, filmed and edited within a record breaking 6 months. I first saw posters for it on holiday in Paris and it was a shock. None of Empire’s or Premiere’s January Preview Of 1998 issues has made any mention of Lethal Weapon 4 coming. That’s how quickly it was made. And it is all the better for it. This is a zippy, breathless, natural concoction. Action packed. The carnage and inventiveness of the flamethrower opener or the freeway chase are unlike anything the series has seen. Million dollar slapstick. The magic chemistry of Mel and Danny is given plenty of screentime together and they even takedown Jet Li’s formidable villain in unison for the first time. Riggs is getting “too old” to beat down the big bad by himself at this point. Joe Pesci said ‘Yes’ only after shooting began and new addition Chris Rock’s character had a hasty rewrite when everyone agreed the original intent of making his character gay didn’t work. So most of their bickering is together, separate from the action. Like little screechy time outs. Rock is one of the funniest men alive, though not the best actor, so his outbursts almost feel like everyone stops to watch him do a skit. It doesn’t gel but you’d miss his Detective Butters if they do ever make a 5. Russo is the only returning player who maybe deserved a little more attention but who knows what her shooting availability was at such late notice? This is a movie that feels almost a million miles away from the hard edge psychosis of the 1987 original but a definite improvement on the weak action and aimless frivolity of the third entry. Made with the intention of being the final word on a beloved franchise, there are legacy moments that feel a little too indulgent but in the main Lethal Weapon 4 proves a glorious unashamed piece of Hollywood entertainment. Knowing they don’t make them like this anymore means it has actually aged well beyond its mercenary motivations. Even if Donner, Gibson, Glover and Warners had a more artistic reason to revive the series in either 1998 or 2021 it is unlikely to turn out as spectacular and warm hearted as this did.

8

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/

Walter Hill directs Nick Nolte, Powers Booth and Michael Ironside in this action thriller where a Texas Ranger from a border town wars with his childhood best friend who runs a drug smuggling empire.

Also starring: María Conchita Alonso! Rip Torn! William Forsythe! AND Clancy MUTHAFUCKIN’ Brown! Holy shit… this must be the greatest movie none of us have ever seen. And you know what? Extreme Prejudice is pretty, pretty, pretty good. A modern day western. That favourite sub-genre of mine. With a Ry Cooder twangy guitar score to boot. Nolte’s white hat is a bit of a hulk… his only personality quirk is he doesn’t like people joining him for a drink uninvited. Powers Booth channels his inner Cy Tolliver and plays the vainglorious cartel boss with a cocky sadness. He’s the best thing in this and chews up some awesome lines. Ironside runs a secret special ops unit of “officially dead” soldiers… this is where your Forsythes and Clancys come in. A lot of screentime is spent on them… you get the best action sequence with the zombie squad as they stage a robbery to match Point Break’s immersive heists… but they really deserve their own movie. They distract from the purer western duel between the leads. What they do add is extra guns to the grand finale. Hill (always comfortable with an action ensemble) replays The Wild Bunch massacre with automatic weapons and rather callously kills off most of the cast with same disregard as if they were extras. There’s something true about not giving each of them an extended death scene but by the credits you can’t help but wonder whether even more could have made out of all the potential that the hook, the movie poster and the cool trailer have!? Strange to watch a movie that hits the spot, exceeds expectations yet leaves you begging.

7

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/

Anna Biller directs Samantha Robinson, Jeffrey Vincent Parise and Laura Waddell in this erotic parody of Sixties exploitation where a witch wants a real man, but real men are found wanting.

This is visually a spot on parody of Russ Meyers and Herschell Gordon Lewis. I know Biller denies their influence on her kinky, dark comedy but if you want an easy reference point to her bright, declarative use of colour and the busty, direct tone of performance then that really is the touchstone most will recognise. Not a lot happens but it all looks fantastic and Samantha Robinson gives a compelling and iconic performance as the titular seductress. More a mood piece than a particularly effective feminist statement or genre thrill but in terms of style over substance it is very charming. Possibly another voice needed to be heard in post production as it does drag on indulgently with nowhere fresh to go after the 90 minute mark. Sexy, straight faced, beautiful.

7

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/

John Sturges directs Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan and Ernest Borgnine in this Cold War action thriller where a spy commandeers a submarine to beat the Russians to a fallen satellite in the frozen tundras of Greenland.

Often turgid. We meet all the principles during an event free pleasure cruise in a submarine. 90 minutes later we are waiting around a snow mobile service entry while all the double agents slowly reveal themselves. McGoohan has one of his trademark curt strops and throws some test tubes about. This is the content we want! Then the movie finale comes to life in the closing twenty minutes with a genuinely intense Mexican stand-off with the Russians. Until then a fine cast is wasted and the usually dependable Sturges is lost at sea.

4

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/

Robert Altman directs Elliot Gould, Sterling Hayden and Nina van Pallandt in this detective drama where Phillip Marlowe looks for a missing writer while he investigates his friend’s wife’s murder.

Ambling, meta and damn near perfect. Elliot Gould’s Marlowe is a mumbling piece of driftwood gently pulled along between waves of conspiracy and the tide of the truth. He slopes scruffily through lengthy scenes, letting them unravel at their own natural pace. It is a knowing, relaxed and expert piece of comedy acting in an otherwise hard edged, serious mystery. A progenitor for Chevy Chase in Fletch and especially Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski. If you are a fan of either of those movies… and you should love both those movies… then this will be right up your street. You are so enthralled by Gould’s detached, out of sync Marlowe buying late night catfood or watching stray dogs rut from a bus window that the violent mystery elements creep up on you. When the old school crime strands intrude, they feel like eruptions. A funny, lonely counter culture rebranding of the old noir tropes that you should just let wash over you until it reaches its shockingly impactful conclusion. HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!

9

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/