Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Julia Ducournau directs Mélissa Boros, Tahar Rahim and Golshifteh Farahani in this French art house flick about a schoolgirl who gets a dirty needle tattoo during blood borne virus hysteria.

More French extremity from Ducournau. This plays with harsh emotions and oppressive imagery to create a sensual nightmare-scape. The oppressive use of close-ups and a child at the centre of this matter of fact body horror meant I had to take a few breaks from the screen. Yeah, I felt faint and claustrophobic so I popped out a caught my breath, cooled down and had a glass of water. More than once. Alpha is a very overpowering piece of cinema, purposefully disorientating. I will say its ultimate attitude to explore HIV, Covid, addiction and generational trauma justify what a difficult watch it is. There are tremendous performances here, especially Rahim’s lost junkie uncle. Ducournau knows she has the goods, so seeds Easter Eggs and wild set pieces that hint at the ultimate revelations.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Inside (2007)

Edgar Wright directs Glen Powell, Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo in this sci-fi action comedy where a desperate anti-hero signs up for a game show where he will be hunted for 30 days.

First 90 minutes of this are a blast. I have seen Glen Powell compared to a lot of old school movie stars but his looks, charisma, machismo and self awareness probably hits closest to Eighties Kurt Russell. Yes, please! Wright dials back his house style but still cooks with oomph. The gory and cheesy Arnie adaptation played very fast and loose with the Stephen King source material. While now enjoyable as a nostalgic beer and pizza movie it has never been a revered classic. This is exactly the kinda thing from your childhood you don’t mind being revived and repackaged by the right creatives. Colourful, violent, silly and surprisingly satirical. TRM25 had me… and then it lost me. The third act looks and feels like two of three major reshoots have happened. I don’t actually think they have but this definitely doesn’t stick the landing. The visuals weaken and flatten, the anarchy disappears, the pace slows. It becomes predictable and told through a wincing cock eye rather than active confidence. I don’t think it is sensible to introduce a major new character out of the blue at the start of your third act unless they are a Blofeld or a Lex Luthor type. And there are exciting character actors like Katy O’Brian, William H Macy and Michael Cera who get short shrift in the runtime. Still, Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo make the TV broadcast sequences thump and pump. Almost there and then hits a wobbly standstill.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Long Walk (2025)

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

Rob Bowman directs David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Martin Landau in this big screen continuation of the hit sci-fi TV series where Mulder and Scully must rebel against the government cover-up of a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.

The helicopter budget for this was off the chain. Feels very much still like the TV show only slicker. The Stone Age prologue is a good indicator of the new found freedom the movie format allows. That aside, there is nothing too fresh here but a visual sense of scale. The three big set pieces are solid. The FBI building bomb threat kick starts things nicely and the strange white structures full of bees are memorable (even if the swarming peril is short lived). So it has cinematic polish. The plot and revelations are nothing unexpected if you have even casually watched the “conspiracy” episodes of the series and, personally, I’m a monster-of-the-week guy. Interesting that some of the big reveals teased and set-up here were never revisited. I guess ultimately this blockbuster attempt to indoctrinate newbies and reward fans with a prestige bonus at least realigned Mulder and Scully back onto the same synchronisation. The season preceding this saw them separate for whole arcs at a time. The Duchovny and Anderson chemistry was a huge part of the series’ success and longevity. This multiplex excursion refocuses that winning element going forward.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The X-Files: I Want To Believe (2008)

Mohammad Rasoulof directs Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh and Setareh Maleki in this Iranian thriller set around an investigating judge’s family during youth protests that are being violently suppressed.

Claustrophobic drama told mainly from the POV of the women of a middle class Tehran family. They live in the relative safety of their confined apartment. Aspiring to the better life that the father’s promotion should bring but reacting emotionally to the injustices he is a part of. They and we witness a student uprising through social media, but then it is arrives dangerously on their doorstep and soon it has destroyed their family. Constant pressure cooker. Not the most cheery movie ever made but a challenging watch not afraid of complicity, irony and moral grey areas.

7

Perfect Double Bill: It Was Just An Accident (2025)

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Anthony Waller directs Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley and Oleg Yankovsky in this meta thriller where a mute make-up artist gets trapped inside a Russian move studio overnight where two psychos are making a snuff movie.

A videoshop rental favourite from back in the day. Zudina is a fantastic lead – cute, vulnerable and resourceful in equal measures. Whatever happened to her? Waller directs his heart out for the opening 45 minutes. It is an absolutely gruelling game of cat and mouse that recalls Hitchcock and De Palma. Nail biting stuff that should have given the neophyte director a blank check to make whatever he wanted for the next twenty years. Sadly he followed this up with An American Werewolf In Paris. And I think I was the only person to see that at the cinema… The second half of Mute Witness has a couple equally strong if smaller set pieces but the espionage subplot is too silly and too loose after the show stopping calling card of that bravura movie studio extended chase sequence. It ain’t bad but so convoluted. It seemingly exists so Waller can splice in footage of Alec Guinness that he shot one lucky night eight years earlier. Waller may not have had a Tarantino’s or a Danny Boyle’s career but you have to admire the grift.

7

Perfect Double Bill: No One Will Save You (2023)

Sam Weisman directs Emilio Estevez, Kathryn Erbe and Michael Tucker in this sequel to Champions.

I really like Emilio Estevez and I love my wife. There are like a billion characters in the competent kids movie. Joshua Jackson and Keenan are floating around in the mix.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Champions (1993)

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

Damian McCarthy directs Carolyn Bracken, Gwilym Lee and Carolyn Bracken in this Irish horror where a grieving blind sister brings a disturbing gift to her suspicious brother-in-law.

Chilling, dark and purposefully confusing puzzle of a movie. As all the pieces click coldly into place there are some proper good shocks. Carolyn Bracken is memorably strong in dual roles. Very promising, especially the cranking opening set piece. I wouldn’t open that door.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Caveat (2020)

Nick Cassavetes directs Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise and James Woods in this thriller where a desperate Dad takes a hospital hostage until his son gets the heart transplant his insurance will not cover.

Mawkish and blunt. Lacking a couple of set pieces. Denzel is underserved by the script.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Breaking (2022)

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Luke Boyce directs Caito Aase, Shaina Schrooten and Bishop Ali Stevens in this claustrophobic horror where a stripper and a born again Christian find themselves fending of hellspawn while trapped in a peep show booth during The Rapture.

This actually a really strong concept but a story of two halves. The first hour is genuinely very likeable. Strong lead characters, well cast with unknowns who know the assignment. The sleazy neon and sexy puce look of the set is very effective visually. But the second half sees our mismatched protagonists wandering up and down the same fake looking corridor, battling the same cheap special FX to diminishing returns. They mainly say rather than show in terms of character development too. Cut 15 minutes out of the last 40 and they may have had a new throwback favourite. Shame as a I can see Tim Seeley was involved and I like his comics. I’d also make of point of checking in with Caito Aase again if she was cast in more horror stuff. A near miss and that is frustrating.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Retaliators (2021)

Stephen Cognetti directs Gore Abrams, Alice Bahlke and Danny Bellini in this found footage horror where a group of entrepreneurs organise a scare event in a genuinely demonic hotel.

They use the shaky camera to hide the lurking evil not cheap or uninspired filmmaking here. Quite a decent mockumentary horror with a complex lore, effective jump scares and one stand out creepy sequence involving a demon crawling under the covers at you. The nondescript characters are very annoying and if there is one sub genre of horror I have little patience for it is the found footage cul-de-sac.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Lake Mungo (2008)

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