What was the last film you watched?

[DallasFanForever]

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)

As a big fan of The Boss growing up I was very much looking forward to this one. Unfortunately I ended up being a little disappointed. I certainly appreciate the struggles he’s endured, most of which I was unaware of to be honest. But ultimately the movie had too much of an underlying sadness to it and came off as being very depressive and hard to watch.

I definitely applaud him for the success he’s attained despite those issues, but lookin back on it I would’ve enjoyed it more if they had put a little more focus on the music aspect of his life and maybe a little less on those struggles, at least in this case.

Nonetheless, it’s still a good movie and worth seeing if you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen and his music.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Founders Day (2023)

​

Pretty much what I'd expected: a low-budget-feeling slasher that thinks it's more clever than it is (tellingly, the writers didn't have attention to detail enough to include an apostrophe in the title).

The characters are mostly uninteresting and/or unlikeable and the performances amateurish... particularly during frequent awkward attempts at "funny". There's a clear Scream template going on, which is a shame. It would have been better played as a straight and simple classic slasher, instead, the reach exceeds the grasp and it tries too hard to be clever and twisty, ultimately ending up too busy and shallow.

The only depth and gravitas in the film comes from William Russ as everyone's favourite teacher (even though, as I watched, I'd convinced myself he was Steve Zahn and spent all the film trying to work out if he was aged up or had simply aged, and marvelling at how similar to Steven Spielberg he was).

As for the identity of the killer(s)... nobody will be surprised, and most viewers will probably have a moment of feeling good about guessing it, then ultimately be left feeling cheated.

 

[Willie Oleson]

It's kind of all been done, and considering they go out of their way to establish how "real" everyone is, it's a little odd that nobody even draws comparison with what's happening to them and what happened in The Blair Witch Project.

Hmm, that's an interesting observation. We usually don't want story-universe to acknowledge a different story-universe as it may seem like a gimmicky crossover - or worse, the idea that characters themselves acknowledge that they are in a story - but at the same time stories do exist in reality.
The pop culture reference in the spoken sense (as opposed to showing it e.g. on a television watched by characters) is a bit of a cinematic minefield, imo.

 

[Seaviewer]

The Shield of Honor (1927 silent film)
Before he was Commissioner Gordon in Gotham City, Neil Hamilton was officer Jack McDowell, the pilot of the LAPD's first airplane, investigating a series of jewel robberies. As far as I can gather, this is also the earliest surviving film to feature Thelma Todd, who plays one of the thieves' gang.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Final Summer (2023)

​

This is a hangover from when I added a load of terrible-looking slashers to my watchlist for October watches. Some I've watched. Some I deleted. At least one film was removed after attempting to watch it for five minutes.

Based on the poster, Final Summer is the one that I felt most confident about knowing the tone. It smacks of contemporary Friday The 13th ripoff, so I expected it to be low budget. But low budget by 2023 standards often hits the nail on the head for someone whose favourite slasher era is late-Nineties (think I Know What You Did Last Summer or Urban Legend: late-Seventies/early-Eighties-inspired, but a bit more glossy. with just a whisper of post-modernism and without getting too clever).

And, this is pretty much what I got. The cast was made up of unknowns, with a focus on the young ones who make up for inexperience with enthusiasm and hormonal-emoting. It's a tad more diverse than the source material, but not in-your-face. Instead of the lesbian heavy petting and aggressively quirky characters of Founders Day, we have relative Nineties simplicity of the solid black character (who would typically have been played by LL Cool J in the Nineties or Anthony Anderson more recently) and the body positive (i.e. overweight) best friend. In the political correctness stakes, the most jarring undertone was the expected feministic element (oh, how I inwardly sighed when - after all the men being killed off easily - the first character to put up a good fight and start throwing the antagonist round was, of course, a woman. Adding insult to injury, she's the same woman who had selfishly treated the only remaining man as a minion, ordering him to go and get something from the car, despite his protestations about the danger). Still, though, the 2023 sensibilities aren't overpowering and so it remains enjoyable to watch.

It's a very 12/PG-13 kind of film. The killings are mostly bloodless and implied. There are no (successful) jump scares and the intensity is dialled right down. Most of this is not a bad thing in my book, because it allows the focus to be on character and atmosphere and, while it's not entirely successful in the character department (the post-trauma element dilutes things. It pays off a little at the end, but could have done so without the frequent flashbacks which slow the story down and don't hold the interest), the atmosphere is reasonable enough. There's lots of walking in the woods at night which has a kind of cosiness to it.

As for the killers. Well, neither was a huge surprise, in fact I had my best placed the older mastermind from her very first innocuous scene (I mean, we're doing Friday The 13th here). But it worked. And the younger male killer, while not particularly intense or threatening was kind enough to spend the last act running round in a pair of grey shorts, which was appreciated.

There's rather a lot of exposition at the end, but I'm not convinced it made sense of small details like motive or background. But hey-ho.

When I was looking for the image, I found a review that described the film as "flat" and lacking a beating heart and I suppose that sums it up. There's definitely something missing. Still, I'd rather watch this than something like Sleepaway Camp. I probably even take it over most of the Friday The 13th sequels, for that matter.

We usually don't want story-universe to acknowledge a different story-universe as it may seem like a gimmicky crossover - or worse, the idea that characters themselves acknowledge that they are in a story - but at the same time stories do exist in reality.

Funnily enough, Final Summer, which is mostly played completely straight, included a number of overt references to Friday The 13th (the series it's homaging). At one point someone mentioned Jason as they were walking in the woods. This was followed up with someone imitating the "Ki-ki-ki-ki" "Ma-ma-ma-ma" soundtrack (as usual, they got it wrong and did it as "Ch-ch-ch-ch" "Ha-ha-ha-ha"). And later in the film someone donned a hockey mask to confront the killer.

It sounds terrible, and might have been better not to have done it at all, but I'll take it as perhaps the only meta element of a fairly simplistic story.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

You're All Gonna Die (2023)

​

These tacky straight-to-home-media jobs are the sort of thing I would usually actively avoid but when it comes to terrible recent slashers, it seems my lack of taste is boundless this November.

If Evil Things was The (Wannabe) Blair Witch Project; Founders Day was a Scream ripoff and Final Summer was Friday The 13th Redux, You're All Gonna Die would seem to be analogous with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: a group of kids travelling who stumble into a rural community where they are pursued by a killer.

There are certainly more generic slasher stereotypes present here, but the Texas Chainsaw feels more obvious by virtue of the fact that it's filmed entirely on location in the middle of nowhere and that it's accompanied by an unpleasant soundtrack that hurts the ears. Imagine several singing bowl bells being played at a very specific pitch and volume that's beyond the comfort zone. Then throw in tinnitus and you're on the right lines. Not only is the score nasty, the sound design is the worst thing about this film, with the "music" drowning out almost all of the mumbled dialogue.

The backstory element is done to the Nth degree here, though it it somewhat more interesting than the one in Final Summer (for whatever that's worth). Sadly, the backstory's main "twist" regarding the killer of the nasty man could be seen coming from a mile away (and it was lifted right from Dynasty).

As with Evil Things, there's a sense the actors are going for naturalistic. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it's clear the actors are either inexperienced (Taylour Geiss) or driving home the "naturalism" too aggressively (Robert Rodenbach) it ends up with performances that are overacted, which is not what this film needs. Once things kick off, the men are quickly offscreen and the girl who becomes annoyingly hysterical lasts far longer than she has a right to. Ultimately, though, we're left with a final girl who is passable enough. The reveal of the killer is pretty anticlimactic, but there are some satisfying moments - trying to convince the sheriff that she is not attacking the killer is pretty decent, even if the sheriff's errors make her only a step up from a slasher sorority girl.

There are also some mysteries remaining (even if the biggest, for me, was: how has a rural labourer who has never left his small town ended up with bling, overly white Hollywood veneers).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Locked (2025)

I'm easing out of slasherville with a first-time watch of a thriller.

I've been curious about this one for a while, partly due to the ever-reliable Anthony Hopkins, but mostly on the Phonebooth-style "confined location" premise.

For me, the biggest challenge was buying into this car being completely soundproof and the windows being completely blacked out so that nobody from outside can hear loud music or door and windows being kicked or see any movement at all inside the vehicle. Thankfully, even that wasn't difficult because it was set up well. The choice of vehicle was a good one, as it's spacious enough to allow for movement and lots of different angles even within the contained space (turns out Dolus is a brand created for this film, and a disguised, kitted out Land Rover Defender was actually used).

It's always fun to see how creative a film can be with such challenges, and this makes the most of smart features in cars, from heating, hands-free phones and audio setup to autonomous driving. Plus some elaborate rigging such as seats with built-in Tasers.

The performances really sell this as a feasible scenario, and this is really Bill Skarsgård's film. He's on-screen for every frame and doesn't let up with the intensity of the situations in which he finds himself. He sells his character's desperation before he even enters the car, and it gets worse. He's terrific, and convinces as the cocky and arrogant young small-time criminal who gets in over his head (I was reminded of Josh Henderson at times). Anthony Hopkins is solid as ever, but his character is less fleshed out. He has relatively little screen-time, being a disembodied voice on the phone for most of the film, and has to sell being a sadistic psychopath with nothing to lose due to the fact he is terminally ill. It all works, but it's quite "out there" and watching him is a less connected experience. Instead one watches with a kind of detached fascination. There are a number of gaps, and some aren't filled in, but that's presumably deliberate on the basis that the unknown is more frightening.

This is definitely a step up from the material I've been watching lately, and well worth a watch.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

You Should Have Left (2020)

Expectations were fairly low for this one. Something about the thumbnail and description looked a little sub-par (as I found out afterwards, it did go straight to Video On Demand) and it also looked somewhat supernatural, which isn't always my thing.

As it turned out, I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was just atmospheric and creepy enough without going overboard. Kevin Bacon turns in a really nice performance. I'm no fan of Amanda Seyfried, but she was perfectly tolerable here. The little girl was also decent enough. She's what I think we might have got if Drew Barrymore had played Carol Anne in Poltergeist.

And yes, the film does have a little Poltergeist energy. Or perhaps The Amityville Horror. It throws in a little What Lies Beneath, and probably a dash of Kevin's own Stir Of Echoes. There is a decent twist, which reminded me greatly of another film (I think it was Interstellar, but I only watched that once back in the cinema so I might be misremembering). Perhaps, then, it is a little derivative. But it's a good story, nicely and efficiently done, so I didn't mind at all. If anything, the familiarity helped.

Even though the end credits brag about being filmed in New Jersey (or wherever) most of it was actually filmed in Powys, Wales, where it's set. I've actually found the house online as a holiday let, but would I have the courage after watching the film?

 

[Toni]

You Should Have Left (2020)

Expectations were fairly low for this one. Something about the thumbnail and description looked a little sub-par (as I found out afterwards, it did go straight to Video On Demand) and it also looked somewhat supernatural, which isn't always my thing.

As it turned out, I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was just atmospheric and creepy enough without going overboard. Kevin Bacon turns in a really nice performance. I'm no fan of Amanda Seyfried, but she was perfectly tolerable here. The little girl was also decent enough. She's what I think we might have got if Drew Barrymore had played Carol Anne in Poltergeist.

And yes, the film does have a little Poltergeist energy. Or perhaps The Amityville Horror. It throws in a little What Lies Beneath, and probably a dash of Kevin's own Stir Of Echoes. There is a decent twist, which reminded me greatly of another film (I think it was Interstellar, but I only watched that once back in the cinema so I might be misremembering). Perhaps, then, it is a little derivative. But it's a good story, nicely and efficiently done, so I didn't mind at all. If anything, the familiarity helped.

Even though the end credits brag about being filmed in New Jersey (or wherever) most of it was actually filmed in Powys, Wales, where it's set. I've actually found the house online as a holiday let, but would I have the courage after watching the film?

I watched that today, thanks for your review. It was quite enjoyable and with great atmosphere. The actors were good, but the girl´s dialogues were unbelievable for such a young girl. Bacon may not be the A-lister he should be, but has done a lot of little movies worth watching, and here he is great. It doesn't even matter that

Spoiler

there is no real explanation of what happens in the house

but in 2025 anyone can have their own theory. I think

Spoiler

labyrinths and lonely houses

are truly scary things in real life, at least to me, so the movie worked.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I watched that today, thanks for your review. It was quite enjoyable and with great atmosphere.

Oh great. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

I'd have felt bad if you had watched it off the back of my post and then hated it.

The actors were good, but the girl´s dialogues were unbelievable for such a young girl.

I know what you mean. "Precocious" might be the right word, but I kind of saw her as an old head on young shoulders. I think that's why she reminded me so much of Drew Barrymore in E.T., where she had an interesting combination of childishness ("I don't like his feet") but still seemed older than her years (even when she wasn't dishing out lines like "penis breath").

Bacon may not be the A-lister he should be, but has done a lot of little movies worth watching, and here he is great.

It's funny: I've never sought out a Kevin Bacon film specifically because he's in it, but at the same time whenever I have watched a KB film I've usually found myself enjoying the film and/or performance.

He's certainly a very busy actor, so I'm sure I've barely scratched the surface of his filmography.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Shattered (1991)

Watching for the first time some three and a half decades after original release, I'd say this holds up well. Some of the more "creative" moments - the occasional computer generated insert of an upper figure shattering into a thousand pieces - look a little dated, but I can still see how impressive they would have looked in 1991, and they get the point across. At times the creative filming style reminded me of a Columbo instalment, and it had the "grand design" homes to match.

Tom Berenger's name is very familiar, but looking at his filmography, I don't think I've actually seen any of his films (although the link for a 2020 film called Blood And Money was coloured in a way that suggested I'd read about it and so perhaps have watched it). He's great here. The cast is good all round, and it needs to be to sell what is actually a very soapy story, albeit told in a more unconventional way to that used by continuing drama. Greta Scacchi, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Corbin Bernsen are all suitably glamorous and show us wealthy people being nasty to one another and to the world in general. Completing the Columbo-esque element, into this world comes an eccentric and rough-round-the-edges detective-cum-pet-shop-owner. This time it's Bob Hoskins channelling Danny DeVito, and he's the best thing in this.

One note of pride and disappointment for me with this one. Very early on in the film, without even knowing that there was a big twist, I had worked out exactly what that twist was going to be. It's very unlike me to be so on top of these things, so I don't know whether it was really obvious or I just got lucky. The disappointment was because I like to be surprised and would always rather not see a twist coming. But I'm still pretty chuffed with myself for getting it so right. And I think it was a good one, too.

 

[Seaviewer]

Hailey Dean Mysteries: Deadly Estate (2017)
I've been a fan of Kelly Martin since watching her in Life Goes On, and later Christy, so it's like I've watched her grow up.
Like a lot of other stars, she chose to make a series of murder mysteries and the Hailey Dean character suits her very well in her signature empathic style. This is evidently the second of nine but I've not seen any of the others. The murder investigation wraps up in two hours but there is a backstory that continues.

 

[Seaviewer]

Back to the Future, Part II (1989)
Still fun; literally doubling down on the original, and technically very well done, but not in the rarified category of being superior.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

American Graffiti (1973)

For my entire life this film has eluded me. I don't think it appealed that much when I was younger, then I'd missed my window. It's been in my Prime watchlist for a long time, and I noticed last night it had become free to view so I dived straight in.

While I don't believe I've watched a single frame of this film, there are snippets I've picked up about it here and there. I knew it had an impressive cast, most of whom were in their early days but went on to much bigger things: Richard Dreyfuss; Harrison Ford; Ron Howard and Cindy Williams to name a few. I knew it was a coming-of-age film that looked back at a slightly earlier decade.

The time setting is a strange one. It was set eleven years before its release date, which I'd have thought would not be long enough for it to be truly nostalgic to most people outside of George Lucas's age group (which includes most of the cast, since it invariably has the aged-almost-thirty high school graduates so prevalent in film and TV at the time). I recently watched Beautiful People, a short-lived TV sitcom which evidently failed in part because it was set only eleven years before real time (made in 2008 but set in 1997) and therefore neither truly nostalgic nor bang up-to-date. And there's nothing older than yesterday's news. These things don't really become time capsules until decades later, by which time it's too late, and it lacks the authenticity of something set in the time during which it's made. For these reasons I could be puzzled by America Graffiti's success at the time. Perhaps it reflects how much the Sixties were a time of change. Perhaps it's down to the strong support of those nostalgic twenty-somethings. Perhaps the themes are timeless enough to make it work even though it shouldn't Or it could be a combination of all three.

I'd laboured under the misconception that the film was set almost entirely in and around a diner, rather than car cruising culture. I suppose it captured it well enough to hold my attention. With retrospect the film's influence on projects such as Grease or Happy Days can be seen, as well as contemporary set films such as Saturday Night Fever, Thank God It's Friday or some of the coming-of-age films in later decades from the likes of John Hughes.

As I'd have expected, the performances are pretty good, the story (such as it is) engaging) and the aesthetics pleasant.

The sound was another matter. This feels very much a jukebox film, where the vintage pop soundtrack is an important and evocative character. Sadly, this element is also where the film lost me. The sound design seemed quite poor, and much of the sometimes-muffled dialogue was lost among the lyrics, particularly in scenes such as the hop, where they clashed with very unpleasant results.

Overall, I can see why this film is so well-regarded. Really, though, I view this more as a curiosity given the famous cast and crew. It didn't really speak to my heart. Perhaps it's a George Lucas thing.

 

[Seaviewer]

Back to the Future Part III (1990)
The Western setting ironically gives this third instalment a much-needed fresh look and allows for a more self-contained story, as well as wrapping up loose ends. And Mary Steenburgen is a welcome addition to the cast, bringing with her her previous experience with time travel in Time After Time (1979).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Malice (1993)

As is usual of late, this is a first-time watch. Back when it came out I wasn't into thrillers, and this definitely fits into that category. Wikipedia calls it a "neo-noir thriller", but to me it feels more like a contemporary psychological thriller such as Fatal Attraction, Single White Female or The Hand That Rocks The Cradle. It also has an iconic poster, which was purloined by several other films of the era (it was recently name-checked as the inspiration for the Scream 2 poster in a video I watched on that film).

I suspect my avoidance back in the day might also be down to an aversion to Nicole Kidman (which is better managed these days to the point I could happily watch The Others a second time despite her central role). Further testing me, this film also has appearances from Gwyneth Paltrow and Brenda Strong. Fortunately, both have only minor roles (even more fortunately one of their characters is killed after their first scene).

The male leads are Bill Pullman and Alec Baldwin, neither of whom feels like a Hollywood A-lister to me. Not that this has to be a bad thing. It's just that I don't associate them with any specific knockout film roles. Pullman is an actor I'm lukewarm towards, in the sense that I rarely notice him. I can't decide if this is because he's bland or because he's too good an actor and disappears into his roles. He's very good here, but, again, I had to really think about that because nothing really jumps off the screen. Alec Baldwin takes top billing, which is interesting because his role feels smaller than Kidman or Pullman's. He certainly commands the screen more than his cast-mates doing his intense, cocky-but-charismatic thing which is used to excellent effect here.

I knew nothing of the plot, which is the best starting point. I like when I think a film is going to go in one direction then it goes in another, and that happened here. But it was so twisty that it eventually became what I thought what it originally was. Along with a host of other things. Each turn and revelation is exciting, and they keep coming right to the end. It's clever without being smug or showy. There is one very significant plot (the serial rapist-killer) which is compelling enough but feels unconnected from the main story. It's a Macguffin, but for the fact that one important piece of information comes to light as an outcome of one of the key players briefly becoming a suspect. The information could have surfaced in a less convoluted way, so I still say it's a Macguffin. But it's a watchable one (which is fortunate given the amount of screen-time it eats up).

This morning I've looked at a few reviews which point out what they view as flaws. Yes, it's melodramatic. Yes. It's soapy. Yes, it's borderline ludicrous. It's also gripping and highly entertaining. I'm very glad I took the time to watch this one.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

The performances really sell this as a feasible scenario, and this is really Bill Skarsgård's film. He's on-screen for every frame and doesn't let up with the intensity of the situations in which he finds himself.

When I watched the trailer for Locked my first reaction was "I've already seen this". I *think* it was an episode of the fabulous Inside No. 9, but now I'm not sure anymore. Did it dream it?

Funnily enough, and I'm absolutely sure of this, there was a one-man-show-inside-a-car film in 2013 called LOCKE. The title only refers to the character's name and I think I once mentioned that "Olivia Colman is in every movie even when she's not" and she can be heard over the phone.
The nondescript title is kinda rubbish imo but the film itself is fantastic. Not a typical thriller but a very tense and dramatic ride, almost like an audio-soap on screen.

The time setting is a strange one. It was set eleven years before its release date, which I'd have thought would not be long enough for it to be truly nostalgic to most people outside of George Lucas's age group (which includes most of the cast, since it invariably has the aged-almost-thirty high school graduates so prevalent in film and TV at the time). I recently watched Beautiful People, a short-lived TV sitcom which evidently failed in part because it was set only eleven years before real time (made in 2008 but set in 1997) and therefore neither truly nostalgic nor bang up-to-date. And there's nothing older than yesterday's news. These things don't really become time capsules until decades later, by which time it's too late, and it lacks the authenticity of something set in the time during which it's made. For these reasons I could be puzzled by America Graffiti's success at the time.

I had expected much more (or better) from this well-regarded film. But if I have to be perfectly honest I'm not a big fan of these 1950s/1960s period dramas made in the 1970s or even 1980s. It usually focuses on a greatest hits scenario, the most memorable part of that pop culture. Everything happens inside a diner with rock&roll ballads coming out of the jukebox, I find it so over the top pastiche.
And as you've already pointed out, the "where were you in '62?" doesn't feel like a blast from the past in '73. But it rhymes, that's true.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Never Take Sweets From A Stranger (1960)​

This story about a problematic obsession/fetish looks particularly daring in a film from 1960, and it's almost ironic that the big scandal is partially caused by what doesn't happen at the beginning of the story. If it had been full-on abuse then that's the word they could have used over and over again, and at the risk of losing its power. Instead, they're telling the story of sordid details that can make the difference between morally wrong and lawfully wrong.
It is considered "debatable" by various characters, not to mention how it all came about in the first place.

However, that is clearly not the intention of the film (hence the cautionary title) and it becomes a story of good people and bad people, action and reaction, a soapy small town torn apart.
The last act eliminates any sense of doubt or opinion the viewer could have had, and while the result is surprisingly dark it also takes the creepiness and the unknown out of the character.
It's like saying that all our wrongs are equally bad, that the disturbing desire equals the tragic outcome of a crime.
But what do we know about other people's thoughts and fantasies? I'm sure it's better that we don't know.

Since this is a topic that is still very difficult to discuss it would be foolish to expect a lot of nuance from such an old film, but I think they did quite a lot with it, at least in the first act.
The actors are very entertaining to watch, especially Alison Leggatt in the role of grandmother.
Patrick Allen plays the young girl's father - and there's an interesting courtroom revelation that is immediately nipped in the bud which made me wonder why it was brought up in the first place.
According to IMDB he also played a role in a super-cheesy episode of Brian Clemens' THRILLER.
Gwen Watford as the girl's mother reminded me of Anne Hathaway.

Sweets has been in my watchlist for ages but it was always frustratingly unavailable. Today it popped up in a YT feed when I was browsing films from the 1950s. I believe it was uploaded only two weeks ago so I decided not to delay.
Uploads that have been around for several years aren't likely to be removed, but fresh uploads need to stand the test of time (e.g. not being flagged for whatever reason).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Funnily enough, and I'm absolutely sure of this, there was a one-man-show-inside-a-car film in 2013 called LOCKE. The title only refers to the character's name and I think I once mentioned that "Olivia Colman is in every movie even when she's not" and she can be heard over the phone.
The nondescript title is kinda rubbish imo but the film itself is fantastic.

Oh, this intrigued me enough that I went dashing off to see if I could find it. I don't mind Olivia Colman (who, incidentally, stars in Beautiful People, mentioned in the very quote in your post), and I rather fell for Andrew Scott in Pride, and watching some interviews in its wake.

But then I saw it stars Toms Hardy and Holland - with the former evidently taking up almost all the screen time - which I'm afraid makes it hard pass from me.

I had expected much more (or better) from this well-regarded film.

Yes. I have to say I had high expectations for this, which made it doubly disappointing. I still feel I might just not care for the George Lucas characterisations. I think the only films of his I've cared enough to rewatch were a couple of the Indiana Jones films... and they had Steven Spielberg's hand to guide them. I've had similar experiences with other acclaimed director/producer/writer types like James Cameron and Joss Whedon where, after watching several of their classics, I realise they just don't do it for me (and I cannot see what the fuss is about).

I'm not a big fan of these 1950s/1960s period dramas made in the 1970s or even 1980s. It usually focuses on a greatest hits scenario, the most memorable part of that pop culture. Everything happens inside a diner with rock&roll ballads coming out of the jukebox, I find it so over the top pastiche.

Yes, and it doesn't help that I have no real connection with Fifties and Sixties Americana. Somehow it feels so far removed from the more modest, kitchen sink drama or cheeky comedies that is my frame of reference for Britain in the same period (which of course was back when Britain had distinct identity that was removed from America).

I liked the fact that American Graffiti was pretty shameless about being a kind of jukebox greatest hits film. It felt strongly that the story was build around the songs, rather than the songs fitting in with the story (as confirmed by the always-infallible Wikipedia). As mentioned, though, the film really suffered from poor sound design with the dialogue blending into the music so much that it was impossible to hear. Very unpleasant.

 

[Willie Oleson]

But then I saw it stars Toms Hardy and Holland - with the former evidently taking up almost all the screen time - which I'm afraid makes it hard pass from me.

Well, that comment certainly popped.
Should I ask why you feel that way?
For me it's the only Tom Hardy performance I've seen (or remember) therefore I only have the one positive reference.