Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Kathryn Bigelow directs Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey in the action thriller where a rookie FBI agent learns to surf, hoping catch a gang of bank robbing hedonists.

Seminal genre cinema. The surfing, skydiving and barely concealed homoerotic subtext have an almost spiritual flow. When action happens it is fast and brutal. The pounding, weaving footchase is the highlight. And all the jeopardy is pretty immersive and rattling, the plot supplies a second half jam packed with stunts and barneys. Reeves turns a little corner here, moving away from himbo comedy projects and maturing towards the fine A-Lister we know and love. “100%, Utah. Good job!” Swayze is off on another plane, existential villain / guru. Busey and Lori Petty make stock roles likeable, memorable. Mark Isham’s crashing score keeps the pace. Fantastic Saturday night on the VHS rental – Michael Mann meets extreme sports fever dream. “Little hand says it’s time to Rock’N’Roll!”

10

Perfect Double Bill: Roadhouse (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/

Zach Cregger directs Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long in this horror mystery where… listen… the less you know… the better.

Just a wild ride… and a really balanced satire on modern day Western decline. But still with enough gore, shocks and transgressions to really thrill as a creepy midnight show rollercoaster. A comedian I really rate, Alfie Brown, recently wrote an off-hand tweet that has haunted me since. “What if this is early stage capitalism?” This film feels very attuned to the nightmare that evokes if you think about it all for more than a few seconds.

9

Perfect Double Bill: The People Under The Stairs (1991)

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/

Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson direct this animated anthology movie set to classical music.

Walt Disney’s boldest experiment but probably the most mealy mouthed in terms of entertainment. The iconic Sorcerer’s Apprentice (starring Mickey) and genuinely creepy Night On Bald Mountain finale are pretty spectacular but rest are drawn out – neato visual ideas that do not stretch to sync up with their orchestral pieces. It is never a Disney I’m particularly pumped about revisiting. The amount of times we paused it or found ourselves on our phones during this rewatch were pretty damning. Not sure I’d seek it out again unless there was a viewing project that made a rewatch essential.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Tales of Hoffman (1951)

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/

Shawn Levy directs Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy and Christian Kane in this romantic comedy where a nightmare honeymoon destroys a couples’ happy relationship.

Blunt force trauma fluff – won’t even satisfy its lowest common denominator target audience. Murphy sparkles with minimal support but she can’t save a vacation movie that even The Griswolds would find dumb and far fetched.

3

Perfect Double Bill: Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)

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/

The Coen Brothers direct Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and John Goodman in this Sixties set drama following a feckless folk singer as he tries to find his place in the world, as a solo artist, after he loses his partner.

Lots to love here but not quite as perfect as I remember from its big screen release. The idea of Joel and Ethan in entropy, to the point of separation, was inconceivable back in 2013. Even with the rare and occasional iffy one in their back catalogue. Now it is hard to watch this without wondering if even subconsciously we are seeing them work through what creative divorce proceedings might look like. Or like all the symbolism and dropped stitches in a Coen Brothers joint, whether it is just included for their own personal amusement and now history has taken over and, the unthinkable happened, and they take a break from working together. The mournful tone, accentuated by guest cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, wintery, makes this their saddest, bleakest film… even more so than No Country For Old Men or Barton Fink. They are both pulsed with a mordant sense of playfulness… this is just unremarkable tragedy after unremarkable tragedy, grinding us and our untethered anti-hero down. The constant refrain of the funereal folk ear worm, Far Thee Well, smooths the sadness. Is the song a suicide note from a beloved brother in music or a deadly Dear John from a departing lover? Oscar Issac’s gives a poker faced performance. Turning the potentially rejectable and difficult Llewyn into a being whose malaise you truly invest in. He gets a glimpse of how random, cruel, lonely and fated his world is and will be. Yet he ploughs his furrow, selfishly. Like The Coens themselves, a unique path of great art, that it is hard to “see a lot of money” in. Keep carrying that cute cat Llewyn, watch the world go by at a speed you can’t fathom, and jump up off at any stop that doesn’t feel like home. There’s always a parallel you, caught in an even more destructive path, one who always has Llewyn Davis to blame.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Crazy Heart (2009)

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/

Tommy Lee Wallace directs Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin and Dan O’Herlihy in this horror spin-off, unrelated to The Shape saga, where a doctor investigates the horrific going ons around a popular Halloween mask making company; Silver Shamrock.

“It’s almost time, kids. The clock is ticking. Be in front of your TV sets for the Horrorthon, followed by the Big Giveaway. Don’t miss it. And don’t forget to wear your masks. The clock is ticking. It’s almost time.”

People think I’m being contrary when I say this is my favourite Halloween but there is so much I love. The intensity of the countdown to Samhain. The basement hanger with an ancient secret… Quatermass and The Stone Tapes creator Nigel Kneale wrote the first draft of this. Isn’t an advert kinda like a spell casting? Tom Atkins’ drink driving, ass pinching everyday hero. The horny atmosphere generated entirely from his big white fluffy moustache and his pockmarked skin. The automaton henchmen and their matter of fact deaths. The last moment twist about a certain character. The hysteria of the final scene – real Siegel Invasion Of the Body Snatcher vibes. Just how nasty the masks are when triggered. Dean Cundey’s rich primary colour lighting. Dan O’Herlihy blarney fuelled smooth fanatic. The fact this would make an excellent “My First Horror Flick” for any and all pre-teens… I picked the skeleton mask this year.

“No more days ’til Halloween/ Halloween/ Halloween/ No more days ’til Halloween/ Silver Shamrock. No more days ’til Halloween/ Halloween/ Halloween/ No more days ’til Halloween/ Silver Shamrock.”

8

Perfect Double Bill: Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (2019)

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/

Patrick Brice directs Sydney Park, Jesse LaTourette and Theodore Pellerin in this teen slasher where high school students with dark secrets are made to face their true selves before meeting grisly ends.

Mistitled… very little home invasion action. A win for representation and buzz topics but everything else is wet, loose and unsatisfying.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Valentine (1998)

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/

Joe Penna directs Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette and Daniel Dae Kim in this space thriller where a three astronaut mission to Mars is thrown into jeopardy when a fourth person is found on board meaning their tight resources to survive will no longer last the journey.

The Meh-Tian.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Gravity (2013)

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/

Norm MacDonald and Jeff Tomsic direct Norm MacDonald, Adam Sandler and Dave Chapelle in this stand-up special filmed via Zoom in the dying comedian’s hallway.

Self taped as he knew he was on the way out, and still deadpan as fuck. The always fantastic Norm records his last few routines for posterity. Most of the material has been aired on podcast and guest show appearances before. And the audience-less home working location does the less rigorous bits few favours. I wasn’t a fan of the celebrity round table tacked on at the end – as everyone who struggled to speak felt too raw and humbled to really contribute. But it is nice to have one last artefact from this comedy great.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Dirty Work (1998)

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/

Romain Gavras directs Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane and Anthony Bajon in this French action drama where a project is laid under siege during the protest of a youth’s death at the hands of the police.

Amazing no cuts opener – Mad Max: Fury Road but gritty, urban. Histrionic and spectacular throughout. But by the end you can’t help but think some serious issues have been boiled down to perfume advert visuals. Lacks the intensity and verisimilitude of its forebears.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Les Misérables (2019)

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/