Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Wong Kar-wai directs Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and Jacky Cheung in this Hong Kong gangster romance where a low level triad is torn between his lovely cousin and his reckless friend.

Like early Tarantino, here is a debut that embraces the well chosen homage, improving and personalising the great threads from other movies into a pleasing megamix. Neophyte Wong Kar-wai shamelessly wears his influences on his sleeve. Riffing directly off of Mean Streets, Stranger Than Paradise and, in the finest but least least cohesive interlude, Top Gun – you can’t resist and are seduced. It helps that Andy Lau and Maggie Cheung absolutely sizzle when on screen together. Goes on a bit too long in the final wrap up – otherwise this would be an actual superior take on the plot of the Scorsese classic it steals wholesale from. Loved seeing this in all it step printing, neon lit glory on the big screen… the experience unearthed memories. It felt too familiar. I must have watched this late night on Channel 4 back in the day, with no idea what it was.

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/

Tom Ford directs Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Nicholas Hoult in this 1960s Americana period drama where a grieving gay professor meticulously prepares for his suicide over a day.

A heady mixture of sensuality and precision. You know everything within the frame has been chosen to a direct cohesive specification, right down to the weave of Firth’s protagonist’s black woollen tie. The performances are strong, it all floats definitively towards an inevitable conclusion.

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/

Quentin Dupieux directs Stephen Spinella, Wings Hauser and Roxane Mesquida in this parody horror film where a crowd in the desert watch a killer tire stalk a sexy girl.

Tries very hard to be meta and strange. Succeeds in those respects but in few other areas. Quite dull once you get your bearings.

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/

Pierre Morel directs Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen in this action thriller where a retired specialist hunts the white slaving ring who have kidnapped his daughter.

Now iconic but still barmy. So many strange choices from the soapy pop music subplots to Maggie Grace’s puppy dog running style. The first half which mainly centres around the buying of a karaoke machine tries for the slow build of the original Die Hard – taking extra time to immerse us into the characters before all hell breaks loose. Yet these characters are so creaky that it feels almost surreal to linger on their dynamics and quirks. Once we are in Paris and the action begins proper, the movie grows no more realistic… but you are getting what you bought a ticket for. Wallop. Wallop. Wallop. Mid level carnage, slightly better acted macho posing. The kinetics are actually quite forgettable… it is the untethered nature of the screen acting and the seedy but sincere scripting that have made this a cultural touchstone.

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/

Raja Gosnell directs Drew Barrymore, David Arquette and Michael Vartan in this teen romantic comedy where a dowdy journalist goes undercover as a high school girl, only this second chance sees her having to fit in with the cool kids.

Tries to do a lot with its overstocked cast, 80s nostalgia and law bending romances but a really game lead performance by Barrymore centres it. The very attractive star leans into her mugging, gross out and slapstick moments – whipping up laughs in even the most serviceable scenes. Her sweetness, sexiness and sense of timing proves compelling… as self produced vehicles go, Barrymore knows precisely what works for herself.

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/

Wes Anderson directs Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Olivia Williams in this comedy where a precocious teenager starts a friendship with a depressed millionaire, attempts to seduce the new kindergarten teacher and gets kicked out of the private school that is his world.

This is the tipping point where Murray shifted from beloved comedy star to global treasure. His grumpy, detached performance here is his best dramatic work… still hitting laughs… the lack of Oscar nomination is galling. The film itself is, for me, Anderson’s masterwork. Melancholy and enthusiasm, dreamers and deliberateness. Everything perfectly calibrated from the montages to the fonts. The reference points and homages just obscure enough to be hip without being alienating. An eye for getting his best out of casts that Hollywood has often forgotten what to do with. Later movies of his are more confident in their twee affectations but this still has one foot grounded in reality. The double whammy of Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums marked Anderson out as a distinct voice and measured creative within indie cinema. I’d say Rushmore just pips the later film past the post. It does just as much emotionally and visually with less resources and prestige. The soundtrack zings stamp for stamp. The slightly scrappier nature (don’t get me wrong this would feel pristine if it came from any other auteur) makes Rushmore just a bit easier to fall for. You watch Rushmore, by the final curtain, your soul feels a little cleaner, a little more glowing. It is breathlessly well composed cinema – one of the indisputable classics of modern comedy. “These are O.R. scrubs.” “Oh. Are. They?”

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/

Philippe Lacôte directs Bakary Koné, Steve Tientcheu and Jean Cyrille Digbeu in this Ivory Coast prison drama where a new inmate finds himself the evening’s entertainment while a shift in power among the gangs takes place.

A mash-up of A Prophet and Arabian Nights, this is a visually striking often rather sentimental prison thriller. Not every conceit works – the interpretive dance numbers and flashbacks to a world of magic and myths are never given enough space to feel essential. Yet there is a power to Night of the Kings from moment to moment. One imposing character sinks into the underworld with a disturbing acceptance… we share the disorientating rush of becoming the new focal point of La Maca. A beautifully lit shot is always the priority over brutality, it is a very violent and threatening milieu that sidesteps showing too much gore or pain. Worth a watch.

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/

Christian Petzold directs Paula Beer, Franz Rogowski and Jacob Matschenz in this German romance where a spurned woman and a diver fall for each other.

This unlikely mix of fable, sex, break-ups and town planning reminds me very much of Krzysztof Kieslowski. The ups and downs of the relationships can be a little trying to keep up with – we often feel half removed from the deep emotions being churned up. A very likeable cast of modern arthouse stalwarts keep you invested in the choppy twists and turns.

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/

Jim Abrahams directs Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino and Lloyd Bridges in this spoof comedy that rips off Top Gun for laughs… or at least tries very hard to.

Lacking the hit rate of Airplane! or The Naked Gun, the best you can say about this is it at least attempts to match the production values of the hits it is lampooning.

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/

Jim Jarmusch directs Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska in this vampire film where two wan immortals bum around being glum.

Who decided haughty, emaciated posh Brits were the epitome of cool? The strange thing is these parasites are an accurate representation of their sort… self centred, snobbish and with an unfair advantage in artistic endeavours. They see their privilege as a curse and the rest of us as “zombies” they have to endure… but not share their world with. Ugh! The shitty thing is these parallels are accidental rather than an intentionally damning statement on the advantage and attitudes of the ruling class. Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin inject a bit of oomph and life into their smaller supporting roles. It looks striking, But essentially you are stuck in the company of a couple of fey dandies looking down at us from the miserable ivory towers. No thank you.

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/