Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Bill Gunn directs Duane Jones, Marlene Clark and himself in this supernatural drama where after being stabbed with an ancient, germ-infested knife, a doctor’s assistant finds himself with an insatiable desire for blood.

As a serious black horror movie from an artistically motivated voice Ganja & Hess’ historical significance can not be disputed. As a vampire film from somebody who clearly had no interest in making a genre movie… as a coherent plot by somebody who might not know or care how to tell a story… as a piece of filmmaking collated from establishing and pick up shots with looping dubbed over them… it is all a bit shite. Isn’t it? Sorry to be one of those “white critics” but groundbreaking doesn’t excuse amateur hour bafflement. Interminable.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Blacula (1972)

Mark A.Z. Dippé directs Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo and Martin Sheen in this comic book adaptation where an elite mercenary is killed, but comes back from Hell as a reluctant soldier of the Devil.

The lawless 90s splurged out this abomination that mashes up Tim Burton’s Batman with Brandon Lee’s The Crow to create maybe one of the ugliest films that ever got a wide release. The opening credits are a digital grotesquerie where the names are unreadable and I’m sure everyone involved is slightly relieved by this opening gate snafu. Top billed John Leguizamo aims to be Nicholson’s Joker but his Clown is just a grating fart joke machine. The action occasionally kicks the whole thing to life but it lacks context within the grab bag plotting. A hot steaming mess.

3

Perfect Double Bill: The Crow (1994)

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

Guy Hamilton directs Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor and Edward Fox in this Agatha Christie mystery where Miss Marple helps her nephew solve a country house murder involving a visiting Hollywood film production.

Not the most ambitious production ever staged but the ensemble is genuinely mind boggling. Rock Hudson! Kim Novak! Geraldine Chaplin! Tony Curtis! No lines / baby faced Pierce Brosnan! Matinee stodgy has never been so dazzling. Or catty…

6

Perfect Double Bill: Witness For The Prosecution (1957)

William Peter Blatty directs George C Scott, Brad Dourif and Ed Flanders in this serial killer thriller set in the aftermath of The Exorcist.

Did we watch The Exorcist III? No, I wagered that the recently re-edited “Legion” cut would be the best option on Arrow’s double disc release. This draft can be a tad incoherent. A lot of the resurrected footage is grainy poorly lit VHS copy. Which is fine when watching lengthy scenes of Brad Dourif in his cell spouting devilry but there are times when it is a singular two second shot! The distraction of switching formats means it takes you right out of the growing dread. The best stuff is untainted. There are four or so DePalma worthy dreamlike tension sequences, all ending in huge jump scares. A gruff Scott gives it his all. When it goes hard into horror it goes really hard. Legion might never be an easy ride, and I’m guessing the tonal confusion might still exist whatever version you watch, but I’m pumped to give the studio cut of Exorcist III a revisit sooner rather than later. A bastard movie but a very effective one in spits and spots.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Dominion: A Prequel To The Exorcist (2005)

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“Mystery is the number one conjurer of ideas.” – David Lynch

Eraserhead (1977) 👍

The Elephant Man (1980) 👍👍

Dune (1984)

Blue Velvet (1986) 👍👍

Twin Peaks: Northwest Passage (1989) 👍👍

Wild at Heart (1990) 👍

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) 👍👍

David Lynch’s Hotel Room (1993)

Lost Highway (1997)

The Straight Story (1999) 👍

Mulholland Dr. (2001) 👍

Inland Empire (2006)

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) 👍👍

Jûzô Itami directs Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe in this Japanese comedy where a truck driver helps a struggling noodle shop owner turn her business around.

Just a wonderful treat. The delicate central romance has echoes of Howard Hawks or John Ford. A group of mismatched men surround a lone woman and protect her. Here from foodie mediocrity. That gentle affair has bundles of charm. But what makes Tampopo a timeless cult classic is its offshoots and comedic vignettes. We often freewheel away from the core plot to lose our selves in other appetite based skits. A gangster seduces his lover with whatever kinky room service he can order. The hierarchies at a business lunch are turned on their head when it comes to ordering from a menu. Just what is the polite society way to slurp spaghetti? The whole banquet is meta and pointless and self aware and quirk. Hard not to love, easy to devour.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Mystery Train (1989)

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

Pablo Larraín directs Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino and Alba Rohrwacher in this biopic of opera singer Maria Callas anchored around the last week of her life.

Handsome but dull. Not my stick of butter in too many ways. I only have a rudimentary understanding of opera and Callas’ backstory but this is fantastical and incoherent in equal measures. Everyone talks in stilted sound bites, for example. Meh.

4

Perfect Double Bill: Jackie (2016)

Jesse Eisenberg directs himself, Kieran Culkin and Jennifer Grey in this comedy-drama where mismatched Jewish American cousins travel to Poland to honour their late grandmother and unpack some baggage.

The type of movie I wished they made more of, blessed with a sterling performance from Kieran Culkin. Having said that… this often feels like a Holocaust-centric Sideways. And like Sideways I’m not entirely sure I loved it as much as “the Awards Buzz TM” compels me to. I think Eisenberg’s witty script certainly explores the idea of modern psychological pressures in the context of unfathomable historical tragedies with a deft understanding. And the ending, where one character has a destination while the other is still on a journey, has true wallop.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The End Of The Tour (2015)

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David Dobkin directs Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams in this raunchy comedy where two friends turn up to weddings uninvited to party for free and pull ladies… but then true love gets in the way.

For the first act, this is Vince Vaughn’s movie. His motormouth loveable arsehole shtick really rollicks. And he is given a neat foil / love interest / nemesis in insane hottie Isla Fisher. Easily her best role and she nails every laugh. The focus shifts off harmless cons, colourful weddings and bad behaviour pretty quickly. We have Owen Wilson falling for Rachel McAdams high society good girl (the catch is she’s already spoken for) and this eventually leads to breakdowns and extended ennui. Fun, right!? The good time is over way too quickly. The crash takes up far too much of the movie. People were recently getting shot in the butt for comic effect and now… suicide watch? The finale is reinvigorated by an extended cameo from Will Ferrell (always better in small doses). This is one of those big hits from the first decade that isn’t actually hobbled by its now dated laddish attitudes but it’s incorrect hypothesis that we care about plot more than jokes. Still the lighter sections are admirably packed.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Ralph Nelson directs Cary Grant, Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard in this WWII romantic comedy where a drunk boat hobo finds himself responsible for a gaggle of school girls, their chaperone and the fate of the entire Pacific campaign.

Light and pleasant. How suave can a whisky soaked Robinson Crusoe be? Very.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Donovan’s Reef (1963)

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