Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary

Richard Linklater directs Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannavale in this “one night in a bar” biopic of Lorenz Hart.

I genuinely think this is Hawke’s best performance in a career of great ones. Showy, intimate, bruising and hilarious. He is surrounded by a complimentary ensemble of people I have a lot of time for. The oner looks sumptuous as we move around the bar. As inviting and glowing as a freshly poured shot of rye. But that special effect to make him a short guy is laughably bad. He won’t win an Oscar due to some awfully terrible images the movie could have done without. Poor Ethan Hawke. Poor Lorenz Hart. At least the music stands up tall.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Nouvelle Vague (2025)

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Clint Eastwood directs himself, Gene Hackman and Ed Harris in this thriller where an art thief witnesses the President Of The United States of America murder his lover.

A ponderous flick. Classy but daft. The hook is better than the end product. The opening, half hour long, one scene first act is very good. Then Clint goes on the run in a lot of barebones disguises. Then it all resolves itself without any of the major players sharing a room. No big scenery chewing face-offs? “How dare you, sir!”. The big suspense scene in the middle is interrupted in the silliest way possible. Turns out that was a rewrite to avoid Clint’s anti hero from disappearing from the plot for the second half. Still, it is a perfect ensemble. Who doesn’t want to watch Eastwood and Hackman cook even on a low heat?

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Bridges Of Madison County (1995)

Nisha Ganatra directs Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis and Julia Butters in this body swap legacy sequel.

High end rerun of the sitcom fun. Lohan and Curtis have nice chemistry together so it is certainly pleasant to see them get plenty more shared screen time this spin of the wheel. Inessential but adorable. Pink Slip rule!

5

Perfect Double Bill: Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)

Halina Reijn directs Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas in this erotic drama where a high powered CEO risks it all to explore her sub/dom sexual fantasies with her enigmatic young intern.

The sort of movie where the lead man sports Nike and Adidas at the same time and you know it is so visually measured that it must mean SOMETHING. The sort of movie where they have definitely spent more time on the colour scheme than the writing of the third act. The sort of movie that gives good trailer moments but doesn’t have much more to it over the 90 minutes of filler in between. Nicole is being brave, the kink scenes have heat but never go too far, the whole thing is a HR nightmare. Why shouldn’t toxic parasite girlbosses have it all too? This is what keeps me up at night. A dual near miss between cult classic and flat out disaster.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Bombshell (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

Sion Sono directs Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella and Bill Moseley in this Japanese pop art post apocalyptic western.

Absolutely indulgent bobbins. But it has both Cage and a fantastic look. Those two combined make it more potentially rewatchable than most movies. I made my favourite Nic Cage demented laugh impression about a million times while watching this and he found love on set. We both won.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Gunslingers (2025)

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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