Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Jeremy Summers directs Tony Hancock, Sylvia Syms and Ronald Fraser in this British dramedy where a grumpy seaside entertainer struggles against polite society.

A curious film, made once Hancock had cut loose and shunned all his best collaborators, that found no love on release. I can see what he is trying to achieve and that is admirable. Ultimately, The Punch And Judy Man can’t quite shake loose from the expectations and format of what a British seaside comedy film from this era should be. There are pitch perfect moments of comedy amongst all the ennui but the longest sequence is quite enigmatic. A sad Hancock takes a lonely boy out of the rain and buys him an ice cream. The ice cream parlour owner takes an instant dislike against Hancock but not the boy. The serving and eating of the ice creams becomes a subtle, silent battle of wills told in shifting expressions and deliberate movements. It is a really amazing five or so minutes of misanthropic cinema. Truer than anything else in the film. I get the feeling if the whole movie was like this it would be hated even more.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Rebel (1961)

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Stephen Sayadian directs Madeleine Reynal, Laura Albert and Gene Zerna in this avant-garde erotic film loosely based on the silent German expressionist classic.

Former pornagraphers take a crack at a Hollywood remake. There are some very beautiful women and very ugly men. They spout “satirical” nonsense directly to camera, deadpan. The sets are day-glo barebones. A few scenes feel like if Cronenberg directed a B-52s TV video. Hopefully, even though bizarre and explicit, they should be available on YouTube or TikTok. Eighty unending minutes of this though is dull and deadening. A cult item to avoid.

2

Perfect Double Bill: The Fruits Of Passion (1981)

Demián Rugna directs Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón and Silvina Sabater in this Argentinian horror where demonic possession spreads like a virus.

Taut and thrilling in equal measures. Owes as much to Covid as it does the Evil Dead franchise. Hits all the right notes on its merciless rampage.

7

Perfect Double Bill: In A Violent Nature (2024)

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

Fabrice Du Welz directs Laurent Lucas, Jackie Berroyer and Philippe Nahon in this French horror about a travelling singer who breaks down near the wrong inn.

A slippery blend of folk horror fairy tale and New French Extremity. Yes, it does tumble into torture porn in the final third but because it has paranoia and masculine ick in its palette too the nasty violence isn’t prolonged awkwardly. It feels like a culmination and escalation of where this mindfuck mystery has ultimately been headed. In many ways this is the closest the French have gotten to make something as abjectly strange and curious as The Wicker Man. Jackie Berroyer is particularly good as the dishonestly genial auberge owner.

8

Perfect Double Bill: I Stand Alone (1998)

Jake Schreier directs Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and David Harbour in this third tier superhero team-up movie.

I’ll try and avoid all my old Marvel review cliches here. Even if Kevin Feige doesn’t bother. The three headliners are doing better stuff elsewhere so I’m glad they all got a guaranteed payday. The movie does improve as it goes along but the action never convinces. This feels about as good as it gets currently for the franchise. Just hard reset the machine Disney.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

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Steve Cohen directs Chad McQueen, Cynthia Rothrock, and David Carradine in this VHS era actioner where two kung-fu cops team up to stop a criminal organization headed by a ruthless boss who’s also a martial artist.

Very run of the mill, cookie cutter stuff. The fights are pretty impressive but even these don’t mix things up enough. Needed a lot more Rothrock and a lot less Chad. Aside from her, the best thing about this is the cheesy henchmen.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Martial Law 2: Undercover (1992)

David Price directs Terence Knox, Paul Scherrer and Ryan Bollman in this sequel to “the town with killer kids who worship corn” horror.

Bitty. An obvious subplot involving a Native American expert has been shunted in during post production to beef it up. Some of the kills are OTT but everything around them is meh. Doesn’t even feature series figurehead Issac.

3

Perfect Double Bill: Children Of The Corn (1984)

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

Liberty Belle (1983)

Le Meilleur De La Vie (1985)

Farewell Blaireau (1985)

Rendez-vous (1985)

Family Life (1985)

Les Nanas (1985)

Hail Mary (1985)

Mauvais Sang (1986)

My Brother-in-Law Killed My Sister (1986)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Un Tour de Manège (1989)

Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991) 👍

Damage (1992)

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1992)

Three Colors: Blue (1993) 👍

Three Colors: White (1994)

Three Colors: Red (1994) 👍👍

The Horseman on the Roof (1995) 👍

The English Patient (1996) 👍

A Couch in New York (1996)

Alice and Martin (1998)

Children of the Century (1999)

Chocolat (2000)

Code Unknown (2000) 👍

The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2000)

Jet Lag (2002)

In My Country (2004)

Mary (2005)

Bee Season (2005)

Caché (2005) 👍

Breaking and Entering (2006)

A Few Days in September (2006)

Paris, Je T’aime (2006)

Dan in Real Life (2007)

Disengagement (2007)

Flight of the Red Balloon (2007)

Paris (2008)

Summer Hours (2008) 👍

Shirin (2008)

Certified Copy (2010)

The Son of No One (2011)

Elles (2011)

Cosmopolis (2012)

Another Woman’s Life (2012)

An Open Heart (2012)

Camille Claudel 1915 (2013)

A Thousand Times Good Night (2013)

Words and Pictures (2014)

Godzilla (2014) 👍

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) 👍

The 33 (2015)

7 Letters (2015)

Endless Night (2015)

The Wait (2015)

Slack Bay (2016)

Polina (2016)

Ghost in the Shell (2017) 👍👍

Baby Bumps (2017)

Let the Sunshine In (2017)

High Life (2018)

Vision (2018)

Non-Fiction (2018)

Who You Think I Am (2019)

The Truth (2019)

How to Be a Good Wife (2020)

Between Two Worlds (2021)

Both Sides of the Blade (2022)

Paradise Highway (2022)

Winter Boy (2022)

The Taste of Things (2023) 👍

The Return (2024)

Trần Anh Hùng directs Juliette Binoche, Benoît Magimel and Emmanuel Salinger in this French historical romance film set in 1889 – depicting a romance between a cook and the gourmet she works for.

Yum! The first 45 minutes of this is just the ensemble prepping and cooking an elaborate feast in a grand country kitchen. Could have watched 2 hours of solely that pure sexy culinary ASMR easily. A relaxed romance with lush period details and the ever perfect Juliette Binoche. C’est si bon!

8

Perfect Double Bill: Babette’s Feast (1987)

Jalmari Helander directs Jorma Tommila, Stephen Lang and Richard Brake in this ultra-violent sequel to the unkilliable Finnish OAP actioner.

If the first one was a Spaghetti Western in WWII then this is Mad Max in the Soviet Union. Some of the ridiculous kills in this have a Buster Keaton-esque sense of the absurd. Not quite the stamp of the first entry but certainly bigger and bloodier.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Big Game (2015)

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