Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

The Coen Brothers direct Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand and Michael Badalucco in this film noir where a quiet barber plots an escape from his empty existence.

For OG Joel and Ethan fans this feels like the end of an era. From Blood Simple through to this everything they made together was Golden Age. You may have your favourites, we all have our preferences, but each and every one was of a quality so high, from a perspective so unmatchable, with nary a stinker within. Afterwards the record gets a bit more spotty. There would still be 5 star masterpieces (No Country For Old Men, True Grit) but there is a growing unease that they started making films because they thought they should rather than they had a long gestating script with a burning destiny to be put into production. A lesser film perhaps but still a no less enjoyable film from Joel and Ethan. Here they share their passion for James M Cain’s writing and classic noir visuals. It is grimmer, bleaker and more nihilistic than anything the brothers have ever done before or after, and the conclusion is an unsatisfying punchline, yet this is a mystery you watch for its quintessential Coens casting. Everyone is perfectly housed in a fine part – Billy Bob Thornton’s best dramatic performance here is not entirely dissimilar to his best comedy role (The Barber is a repressed, neater ancestor of his Bad Santa). Quality work if not all that crowd pleasing. The crisper than crisp B&W cinematography from Roger Deakins matches the empty, hopeless machinations.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Blood Simple (1984)

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Stephen Frears directs Colm Meaney, Donal O’Kelly and Ger Ryan in this Irish comedy of an unemployed man invests his severance into a burger van but makes the mistake of letting his bullish mate in as a partner.

Dignity for the unemployed working class man. A slice of life comedy with a ribald edge. A year before The Full Monty, this Roddy Doyle adaptation covered much the same ground only with chip pan fat rather than Velcro thongs. Gives a feature length showcase to Colm Meaney which can only be a good thing. There is plenty of low key bad behaviour but not too much judgment. A gentle treat.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Snapper (1993)

Lorcan Finnegan directs Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon and Miranda Tapsell in this psychological thriller set in a car park by an Aussie beach.

Not much surfing. “Locals only!” Equally one of the most balanced Cage performances in a long time. He is still falling down, it has that mania, but it all makes a certain degree of logical sense. The claustrophobia of a beach carpark (blazing asphalt, stinky loos) next to a forbidden paradise is tantalising. This is a sensory experience, hyper involving. As a small scale homage to Wake In Fright and Walkabout The Surfer hits the spot. I snuck a sixer of tinnies in and it vibed exactly right. Has the awesome line “He’s the kinda guy who’ll make you watch him punch your boy’s teeth out.” Scrappy but perfect.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Vivarium (2019)

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

David F. Sandberg directs Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino and Odessa A’zion in this horror where a group of friends are trapped in a time loop where they all die repeatedly.

Bland leads, forced emotional backstory and a well worn premise. But the kills go really hard and are pleasingly relentless.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Tarot (2024)

William Wyler directs Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine and James Garner in this drama where two young teachers find their boarding school under threat when a bratty child spreads a rumour about them.

Based on Lillian Hellman’s play, this was quite the risk back in the day as it openly suggests its big stars actually are lesbians. Unconsumated, but still… A real tension grinder with three A-List names (all household favourites in our home) playing against type and excelling. Lovely to see them all stretched. Karen Balkin as the malignant demon child is superb.

8

Perfect Double Bill: The Killing Of Sister George (1968)

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Rob Marshall directs Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe in this historical drama where a young girl is sold into service at a geisha house and witnesses the end of an era.

One thing the Noughties fully embraced was a big budget adaptation of mass market literature. Book club sensations repurposed as Oscar Bait and potential blockbusters. For a fair few years Spielberg dithered over whether to focus his energies into this multiplex friendly take on Arthur Golden’s historical fiction bestseller. As always with these decade spanning tomes there are a few too many characters and subplot strands for the whole to feel balanced over two hours. But it is pretty lush and some set pieces marinate long enough to have genuine impact. Would it work better as a miniseries with only Japanese actors in the Japanese roles?… Well, of course. Yet it is hard not be seduced by the Asian star power press-ganged into the service of all this epic sweep. Michelle Yeoh is radiant. Gong Li deliciously villainous.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Snow Falling On Cedars (1999)

Sylvain Guy directs Ryan O’Neal, Roc Lafortune and Mädchen Amick in this erotic thriller where a judge must preside over a case that implicates all his respectable colleagues with visiting a kinky call girl.

Shoestring budget, dog’s dinner of a DTV erotic thriller. The disturbingly sloppy storytelling is there to hide a twist. You can’t even enjoy the few scenes of Amick in her scanties as she is partnered with some awful looking elderly dudes.

3

Perfect Double Bill: Bombshell (1997)

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

Greg Berlanti directs Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum and Woody Harrelson in this period romantic comedy where a NASA head and a marketing whizz fall for each other in the build up to the Apollo 11 launch.

Expensive and classy. But also… something I worked out to and did a load of admin while it was on. Wasn’t my plan to be this distracted but was just too lightweight to fully grip. And I don’t feel I missed much when my eyes were averted. The faked moon landing swizz finale feels like a strange gambit to lean into given these days of “post-truth” everything.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Down With Love (2003)

Off to Japan this weekend, so obviously there has been some movie watching prep…

Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Hayao Miyazaki directs Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma and Kappei Yamaguchi in this Studio Ghibli animated fantasy where a young with moves to the big city with only her talking cat and starts a courier business.

Again I’m getting more in the groove with Ghibli’s twee-er efforts. This didn’t just feel quite so cute and ever so harmless this time. It actually struck quite a few chords about the transition from being a kid to becoming responsible adult. Didn’t soft serve the pains and obstacles of growing up. All the while it kept a delicate balance of adventure, drama and comedy. And a cute talking cat. Yeah!

8

Tokyo Story (1953)

Yasujirō Ozu directs Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama and Haruko Sugimura in this drama where an elderly couple go to visit their adult children in Tokyo only to be treated very poorly.

Far more sophisticated than Kiki’s Delivery Service but not a million miles from the same ultimate intent. Isolation, lifestyle, the overwhelming totality of the urban environment and complex relationships play a huge part in both Ozu’s and Miyazaki’s messages. I love the scenes where Dad goes out on the lash with his old neighbourhood buddies. A lot of this ran true. Slow beauty.

8

Dark Water (2002)

Hideo Nakata directs Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno and Mirei Oguchi in this J-horror where a recently divorced mother tries to keep custody of her daughter in a cursed apartment complex that is wet, mouldy and possibly haunted.

Not quite the stamp of Ringu. More of a creepy chiller. Perhaps the soggiest film ever made with a compelling (Repulsion-esque) lead performance from Hitomi Kuroki.

7

High And Low (1963)

Akira Kurosawa directs Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai and Kyōko Kagawa in this thriller where a shoe executive must decide whether to pay the ransom when a kidnapper snatches his chauffeur’s son by mistake.

Three very different acts. A Lumet style teleplay shot in wide, long takes as Mifune’s Kingo Gondo wrestles with whether to gamble his fortune to save his servant’s son. This mode ends when we follow “the drop” on a speeding train. Then a lengthy police procedural as every clue is rinsed to solve the crime. Then we descend into the hot and horrible underworld. Swarms of junkies, nightclub freakouts. The missing eyes of a desperate criminal. High And Low is still a brilliant thriller, class aware, my only criticism is the story moves away from the excellent Mifune in the second half. I doubt the Spike Lee / Denzel Washington rejoint will make the same misstep this year.

9

Cloud (2025)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa directs Masaki Suda, Kotone Furukawa and Daiken Okudaira in this mystery where an online reseller faces revenge from his customers and suppliers.

Kurosawa’s flicks are gleefully obtuse and untethered. I preferred the paranoid, mysterious first half. Slow burn. Very much a Lynchian neo noir with a snide eBay platform thrown in the mix. The second half is more fantastical and action orientated. The whole is definitely trying to say something deeper about rampant capitalism versus humanity. The self can be destroyed online and in person. But Cloud is a puzzle in itself.

6

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Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Psycho Beach Party (2000)

Cruel Intentions 2 (2000)

The Slaughter Rule (2002)

Pumpkin (2002)

Serving Sara (2002)

Catch Me If You Can (2002) 👍

The Last Run (2004)

The Wedding Date (2005)

Standing Still (2005)

Junebug (2005)

Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party (2005)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)

The Ex (2006)

Underdog (2007)

Enchanted (2007) 👍

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

Doubt (2008) 👍

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Julie & Julia (2009)

Moonlight Serenade (2009)

Leap Year (2010)

Love & Distrust (2010)

The Fighter (2010) 👍👍

The Muppets (2011) 👍👍

On the Road (2012)

The Master (2012)

Trouble with the Curve (2012) 👍

Man of Steel (2013)

Her (2013)

American Hustle (2013) 👍

Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

Lullaby (2014)

Big Eyes (2014)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) 👍👍

Arrival (2016) 👍

Nocturnal Animals (2016) 👍🏼

Justice League (2017)

Vice (2018)

Sharp Objects (2018) 👍

Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) 👍

The Woman in the Window (2021)

Dear Evan Hansen (2021)

Disenchanted (2022)

Nightbitch (2024)

At the Sea (2025)

Klara and the Sun (2026)