Snarky Oracle!
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What was the last film you watched?
- Thread starter Mel O'Drama
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Mel O'Drama
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Fackham Hall (2025)
I greatly enjoy Jimmy Carr's standup. The same cannot be said for this film - presumably a spoof of Downton - which he co-wrote.
Not that I would be hasty to denounce this as a terrible film. Yes, the thought crossed my mind several times as I watched but, having slept on it, I've decided it simply isn't my cup of tea.
It looks nice, has a few funny lines. Trouble is, the gags are intended to be Airplane!-style, with a high rate of visual and spoken-word gags per minute and - for this viewer - it wears out its welcome within minutes. There's a decent-ish story which gets hidden beneath a barrage of gags. It's like being constantly tapped on the shoulder by someone with a headful of one-liners.
There are some familiar faces; It's nice to see Jimmy himself in a small role as a vicar, which feels like a nod to the kind of wordplay that Ronnie Barker used to do (albeit the 21st Century version is less clever and more obvious). Sue Johnston plays a great aunt in what I suspect is a nod to Maggie Smith's dowager (I've never actually watched Downton), but my prevailing thought was how wasted she was here.
The "upper class" characters, of course, speak with Standard Southern British/contemporary RP accents (lots of glottal T's), while using anachronistic cadence and language. Some of this is intentional - such as the manservant named Cyril being "hilariously" asked "Hey Siri. What's the weather doing tomorrow?" - but that didn't greatly soften the blow for me.
As I said, I'm probably not the right audience for this film. But for that group, it may well be a riot. The trailer certainly made me smile (which was how I ended up watching in the first place).
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
The Last Detail (1973)
When you search the internet for "buddy comedies" or "buddy road movies" then the results are going to be mainly films from the 1980s and 1990s, with a mention of pre-1960s musicals, westerns and even the slapstick kind of comedy like Laurel & Hardy.
Not much from the 1970s so you'd think that The Last Detail would be mentioned (at least on wiki) but apparently it really is a somewhat forgotten film.
It's a funny movie and not a very subtle one, but it's not caroonish comedy.
As a slice of life story it looks far more commercial than Easy Rider so I'd say The Last Detail mostly resembles Midnight Cowboy except that it doesn't quite pack the emotional punch of John Schlesinger's film.
And that's how many almost-great films become overlooked and overshadowed by their more well-remembered contemporaries.
Lots of these films are rediscovered and reevaluted thanks to the many online underrated gems-lists and videos, and also the splashy home video releases by boutique distributors.
"Underrated" may sound a bit exaggerated because it's not as if all these films were previously hated, but the word makes for a catchier list title.
Despite the film's ensemble cast it was marketed as a Jack Nicholson film who had almost reached the peak of his career (the most iconic roles would happen in Chinatown, Cukoo's Nest and The Shining) and he does indeed gets to do most of the scenery-chewing antics in The Last Detail.
But ensemble cast films don't require a perfect balance, it's more about finding out what works the best for what actor/character.
There's no racial tension in the film but the fact that the navy officer played by Otis Young is taking his job more seriously says something about the racial background.
Well he actually mentions that it took the recommendation of a white man to get him where he wanted to be, which kinda hints at the idea of "it can be easily taken away from me".
Randy Quaid is entertaining as the simple Hicksville type with the hidden physical strength and an infectious laughter similar to Stan Laurel's.
As an odyssey of beer & cheese burgers and brothels & chanting cult parties it still stands out as one of the more restraint buddy comedies, and of course it has a lot of seventies "gritty realism" nostalgia value (and the detailed, lived in, semi-psychedelic interior designs of seventies films look way more interesting than the bland, eco-friendly IKEA sets in modern films).
I might watch it again.
Kong - Skull Island (2017)
I presume this film has no connection with King Kong (2005) because the events take place after he had died in New York City, even though the monster design is exactly the same.
As a CGI blockbuster spectacle it does what it says on the tin and the post-Vietnam angle made it interesting for some characters.
Overall it feels like a theme park dark ride with more monsters popping up as the ride goes along, while the destruction of those monsters has a strong video game vibe.
None of the characters look like they could exist in the 1970s decade, and since a lot of danger was expected it seems peculiar that the non-army characters walk around in flimsy casual attire. Not a single hair of Tom Hiddleston's perfect coiffure was harmed or out of place in the making of this film. Phew!
It was enjoyable enough to watch all of it, but it also made me feel dirty afterwards.
When you search the internet for "buddy comedies" or "buddy road movies" then the results are going to be mainly films from the 1980s and 1990s, with a mention of pre-1960s musicals, westerns and even the slapstick kind of comedy like Laurel & Hardy.
Not much from the 1970s so you'd think that The Last Detail would be mentioned (at least on wiki) but apparently it really is a somewhat forgotten film.
It's a funny movie and not a very subtle one, but it's not caroonish comedy.
As a slice of life story it looks far more commercial than Easy Rider so I'd say The Last Detail mostly resembles Midnight Cowboy except that it doesn't quite pack the emotional punch of John Schlesinger's film.
And that's how many almost-great films become overlooked and overshadowed by their more well-remembered contemporaries.
Lots of these films are rediscovered and reevaluted thanks to the many online underrated gems-lists and videos, and also the splashy home video releases by boutique distributors.
"Underrated" may sound a bit exaggerated because it's not as if all these films were previously hated, but the word makes for a catchier list title.
Despite the film's ensemble cast it was marketed as a Jack Nicholson film who had almost reached the peak of his career (the most iconic roles would happen in Chinatown, Cukoo's Nest and The Shining) and he does indeed gets to do most of the scenery-chewing antics in The Last Detail.
But ensemble cast films don't require a perfect balance, it's more about finding out what works the best for what actor/character.
There's no racial tension in the film but the fact that the navy officer played by Otis Young is taking his job more seriously says something about the racial background.
Well he actually mentions that it took the recommendation of a white man to get him where he wanted to be, which kinda hints at the idea of "it can be easily taken away from me".
Randy Quaid is entertaining as the simple Hicksville type with the hidden physical strength and an infectious laughter similar to Stan Laurel's.
As an odyssey of beer & cheese burgers and brothels & chanting cult parties it still stands out as one of the more restraint buddy comedies, and of course it has a lot of seventies "gritty realism" nostalgia value (and the detailed, lived in, semi-psychedelic interior designs of seventies films look way more interesting than the bland, eco-friendly IKEA sets in modern films).
I might watch it again.
Kong - Skull Island (2017)
I presume this film has no connection with King Kong (2005) because the events take place after he had died in New York City, even though the monster design is exactly the same.
As a CGI blockbuster spectacle it does what it says on the tin and the post-Vietnam angle made it interesting for some characters.
Overall it feels like a theme park dark ride with more monsters popping up as the ride goes along, while the destruction of those monsters has a strong video game vibe.
None of the characters look like they could exist in the 1970s decade, and since a lot of danger was expected it seems peculiar that the non-army characters walk around in flimsy casual attire. Not a single hair of Tom Hiddleston's perfect coiffure was harmed or out of place in the making of this film. Phew!
It was enjoyable enough to watch all of it, but it also made me feel dirty afterwards.
Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
I just saw Woody Allen's MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993) for the first time in ages. I didn't recall a lot of it until it really got going. Woody's and Diane Keaton's neighbor kills his wife, and the stars investigate. Hijinx ensue. The movie has a nice, early-'90s relaxed vibe about it. And the "neurotic's jackpot" in the elevator is funny.
I hear Woody Allen's least favorite film amongst his own is CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION (2001) but I didn't have a problem with it.
I hear Woody Allen's least favorite film amongst his own is CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION (2001) but I didn't have a problem with it.
Seaviewer
Telly Talk Warrior
Elvis (2022)
Much better than I expected with director Baz Luhrmann thankfully keeping his flamboyant tendencies to a minimum. There has been some controversy about telling the story partly from "Colonel" Parker's point of view, but it worked for me once the intentional irony became obvious.
Much better than I expected with director Baz Luhrmann thankfully keeping his flamboyant tendencies to a minimum. There has been some controversy about telling the story partly from "Colonel" Parker's point of view, but it worked for me once the intentional irony became obvious.
Mel O'Drama
Admin
Retreat (2011)
Chosen because it was on ad-free iPlayer, had a brisk running time and looked suitably dark. It's dark in every sense, actually. The cinematography leans heavily into the black
While nothing suggests an adaption, there is something very play-like about this. The cast is tiny, with a main cast of three and another one in a supporting role (there's a fifth credit for someone playing the wife of the supporting character, but I don't remember seeing her, so she may have been a disembodied voice on a CB). The locations are also very limited - the very premise on which this hinges - and despite some dramatic and moody location work, we also spend a lot of time locked into a small house. For that reason, it would adapt well to the stage.
Because of its deliberate limitations, the performances carry a lot of the story, and the news is good there. Going in, I only knew Jamie Bell and Cillian Murphy, but this was enough to promise me the level of of intensity that was delivered in abundance. This isn't an action film or a horror or a mystery (though there are flashes of all three). First and foremost it is an atmospheric drama, and on that level it convinces entirely.
These days, the paranoid fear and extreme measures to avoid becoming contaminated in the wake of an outbreak of an extreme killer virus can only take one back to 2020 and Covid-19. Indeed, this was so similar I thought as I watched it must have been filmed in the immediate wake of the pandemic, so I was a little surprised to see just how long ago it was filmed, and how prescient, therefore, the story was.
In the best possible way, it's a bleak film, and the ending lives up to this. There is no happy Hollywood ending, and it's all the better for it.
Seaviewer
Telly Talk Warrior
Addams Family Reunion (1998)
Made for TV "threequel" with a mostly different cast from the previous theatrical films. Daryl Hannah gives an interesting interpretation of Morticia but I thought Tim Curry was miscast as Gomez. At times he seems to trying to imitate Raul Julia's accent but it comes and goes. Patrick Thomas as Fester is channeling Jackie Coogan rather than Christopher Lloyd and is not too bad. The kids are okay. And it's nice to see Alice Ghostly as Grandmama.
The plot such as it has the family attending a reunion of people who may or may not be their relatives, but degenerates into a lot of shouting and running to no real purpose.
Made for TV "threequel" with a mostly different cast from the previous theatrical films. Daryl Hannah gives an interesting interpretation of Morticia but I thought Tim Curry was miscast as Gomez. At times he seems to trying to imitate Raul Julia's accent but it comes and goes. Patrick Thomas as Fester is channeling Jackie Coogan rather than Christopher Lloyd and is not too bad. The kids are okay. And it's nice to see Alice Ghostly as Grandmama.
The plot such as it has the family attending a reunion of people who may or may not be their relatives, but degenerates into a lot of shouting and running to no real purpose.
Mel O'Drama
Admin
The Boogeyman (2023)
This one had gone under my radar. Last night - scrolling through films on iPlayer - may have been the first I’d seen or heard of it. Going into a film without expectation is always a good thing, and the only expectation here came from seeing that it was an adaption of a Stephen King story.
While I only really know King’s greatest hits, this certainly feels like familiar territory. There are the bulling peers (the girls here aren’t as nasty as the bullies in, say It or Christine or even Carrie. They’re just standard teenage girls who rely on bullying and social exclusion to keep their own insecurities in check. Which makes them more real and arguably more disturbing than the more violent and extreme bullies in the projects). There are the long shadowy corridors and hallways, with threat potentially lurking around each corner but this one brings that element into the home rather than the more commercial settings of something like The Shining or 1408).
Most of all, there is the Big Bad that only the children can see, which is most familiar from It.
I’m not sure if the pre-film tragedy is a King thing, but I liked its presence here, with the family still processing the loss of the main characters’ mother or wife. It was written and played for truth and added substance.
Performances were consistently good. The only characters I didn’t like were the ones I was supposed not to like. All seemed unfamiliar to me at the time, though I’ve no realised I’d previously watched Sophie Thatcher in Heretic.
It was a very promising story, and the execution was nice. There were a few little jump scares, and it also worked on a psychological level, tapping into that long-forgotten childhood thought of the creepy things that lurk in shadows of the most familiar environments when darkness makes them less familiar. There were some moments I found myself watching from between my fingers.
Unfortunately - and also in common with It - once the monster was seen, it lost all its power. Nothing is ever going to get into one’s head and disturb as much as the unseen, with just enough information to get the imagination firing. A computer-generated clay monster is just never going to impact.
The story was great. If the ending had been as strong as the build-up, it would be a top-notch film. As it is, it’s already starting to dim in my memory some fifteen hours later.
All the same, going to bed last night I completely closed the door to the walk-in wardrobe which faces my bed. Just to be sure.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
The Ladykillers (1955)
One of the most popular Ealing Studio classics that, most surprisingly, showed as "included with prime". This was not the time to hesitate.
It looks very pretty and also very Disney-esque, like a Jasper & Horace spin-off film (from my personal watching-chronology point of view).
I can't say that I was constantly laughing out loud but the moments were there, and the plot is intriguing enough to make it a good story.
The funny thing about heist/robbery films is that I usually want to see a physical payoff for their hard work and elaborate scheming so I was actually a little bit worried about the money going in unexpected directions.
Another funny thing is that this made the charming Mrs. Wilberforce the villain of the piece. Knowing how it ended, well let's say there's going to be a very happy umbrella seller.
It's a varied group of scoundrels: the big brute, the Colonel type, the sleek mafioso guy, Peter Sellers with rock&roll hair andAlastair Sim Alec Guinness as the gang's over-the-top sinister mastermind.
Mrs. Wilberforce could be Mrs. Marple's cousin, the way she hangs out at the police station pestering the poor coppers with her funny stories.
Anyway, good stuff!
Hallow Road (2025)
This incredibly tense thriller makes we wonder why audio-horror hasn't become a sub-genre yet. Hallow Road basically combines two great films from 2013: Locke and In Fear, with a Halloweeny-folky twist. I will say that the journey is better than the arrival. I wouldn't call it "unsatisfying", but it's a bit of a puzzler.
Mark Kermode strongly suggested to watch the end credits (annoyingly, prime is always super-eager to autoplay the next film as soon as the first end credit appears) but I'm not sure how relevant that end credits reveal is.
If the parents are also the Strange Couple, and combined with the mention of "pay the piper" and "the girls before this girl", then it seems to communicate the idea of a continuous loop purgatory à la Triangle from 2009. But even then I can't make perfect sense of it).
Ex-The Americans spy Matthew Rhys and ex-Bond girl Rosamund Pike are terrific in their minimalistic setting. The other character is not-seen but also frighteningly convincing.
My verdict: don't miss it!
Hokum (2026)
I think folk horror always requires a sense of community or a connection between the story's "spectacle" and the local traditions that play out in the present time. Hokum is not that film, regardless of how it's labeled on IMDB.
The story opens with a jumpscare, and it's a predictable one. I paused the film to give myself some time to lower my expectations.
The protagonist travels to Ireland although it looks like a "coulda been anywhere" kind of Ireland. There's no fabulous airport scene, and no foreboding about being in unfamiliar territory (which usually works so well in the tourist-horror genre).
He's an unpleasant character and there's nothing wrong with that but it needs to resonate one way or another. The genteel hotel staff refuses to be insulted therefore it feels as if the obnoxiousness is targeted at me. I watched it with raised eyebrows and flaring nostrils.
The hotel's honeymoon suite is always locked (because, reason given by another character) so you know that the main character needs to be in that room and meet whatever is waiting for him. Spoiler: more jumpscares.
The story also includes a somewhat ineffective missing person-mystery that only serves as a plot device to investigate the inaccessible part of the hotel (it's amazing how far you'll get with a key).
To be fair, a plot device doesn't need to be more than that.
To me it looks like The Nun in a hotel room, complete with tacked on guilt-ridden anguish.
I'm sick and tired of traumacore and grief-porn in modern made horror films. Heaven forbid we're going to have a fun spooky story just for the heck of it.
On the upside, I found Hokum more watchable than their previous film, Oddity . Both films have found an audience and made a good profit so we probably haven't seen the last of it.
One of the most popular Ealing Studio classics that, most surprisingly, showed as "included with prime". This was not the time to hesitate.
It looks very pretty and also very Disney-esque, like a Jasper & Horace spin-off film (from my personal watching-chronology point of view).
I can't say that I was constantly laughing out loud but the moments were there, and the plot is intriguing enough to make it a good story.
The funny thing about heist/robbery films is that I usually want to see a physical payoff for their hard work and elaborate scheming so I was actually a little bit worried about the money going in unexpected directions.
Another funny thing is that this made the charming Mrs. Wilberforce the villain of the piece. Knowing how it ended, well let's say there's going to be a very happy umbrella seller.
It's a varied group of scoundrels: the big brute, the Colonel type, the sleek mafioso guy, Peter Sellers with rock&roll hair and
Mrs. Wilberforce could be Mrs. Marple's cousin, the way she hangs out at the police station pestering the poor coppers with her funny stories.
Anyway, good stuff!
Hallow Road (2025)
This incredibly tense thriller makes we wonder why audio-horror hasn't become a sub-genre yet. Hallow Road basically combines two great films from 2013: Locke and In Fear, with a Halloweeny-folky twist. I will say that the journey is better than the arrival. I wouldn't call it "unsatisfying", but it's a bit of a puzzler.
Mark Kermode strongly suggested to watch the end credits (annoyingly, prime is always super-eager to autoplay the next film as soon as the first end credit appears) but I'm not sure how relevant that end credits reveal is.
If the parents are also the Strange Couple, and combined with the mention of "pay the piper" and "the girls before this girl", then it seems to communicate the idea of a continuous loop purgatory à la Triangle from 2009. But even then I can't make perfect sense of it).
Ex-The Americans spy Matthew Rhys and ex-Bond girl Rosamund Pike are terrific in their minimalistic setting. The other character is not-seen but also frighteningly convincing.
My verdict: don't miss it!
Hokum (2026)
I think folk horror always requires a sense of community or a connection between the story's "spectacle" and the local traditions that play out in the present time. Hokum is not that film, regardless of how it's labeled on IMDB.
The story opens with a jumpscare, and it's a predictable one. I paused the film to give myself some time to lower my expectations.
The protagonist travels to Ireland although it looks like a "coulda been anywhere" kind of Ireland. There's no fabulous airport scene, and no foreboding about being in unfamiliar territory (which usually works so well in the tourist-horror genre).
He's an unpleasant character and there's nothing wrong with that but it needs to resonate one way or another. The genteel hotel staff refuses to be insulted therefore it feels as if the obnoxiousness is targeted at me. I watched it with raised eyebrows and flaring nostrils.
The hotel's honeymoon suite is always locked (because, reason given by another character) so you know that the main character needs to be in that room and meet whatever is waiting for him. Spoiler: more jumpscares.
The story also includes a somewhat ineffective missing person-mystery that only serves as a plot device to investigate the inaccessible part of the hotel (it's amazing how far you'll get with a key).
To be fair, a plot device doesn't need to be more than that.
To me it looks like The Nun in a hotel room, complete with tacked on guilt-ridden anguish.
I'm sick and tired of traumacore and grief-porn in modern made horror films. Heaven forbid we're going to have a fun spooky story just for the heck of it.
On the upside, I found Hokum more watchable than their previous film, Oddity . Both films have found an audience and made a good profit so we probably haven't seen the last of it.
Mel O'Drama
Admin
Yay. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Willie.
Is this the first time you've watched? (I feel like I should know if you have, so apologies if I've forgotten a conversation we've already had about it). It's a Top Five Ealing film for me, and probably Top Three. I've probably watched it more than any other from the studio, so that says a lot.
Looking back at the tail end of my best-of-Ealing rewatch on the first pages of this thread, I last watched it a decade ago last night!
Do you plan to watch any others (which I suppose may depend on availability)? There are some gems.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Yes. It wasn't in my to-watch list but I was aware of the film because the most recent home video release was distributed by StudioCanal's Vintage Classics.
And then there's the 2004 remake....
I've seen a few others (Went The Day Well? being my favourite ES film so far) and I wouldn't dismiss the opportunity to watch more films from their catalogue.
It's just that there aren't any specific titles I'm looking for therefore it wouldn't make sense to buy the DVDs.
Well indeed, it all started with Kind Hearts!
The black comedy in Ladykillers - the misfortunes of the criminals, thanks to the extremely punctual freight trains - did make me think of Kind Hearts And Coronets.
I liked the situation with Alec Guinness' ridiculously long scarf and the fact that Mrs. Wilberforce kept stepping on it. I guess the fun is in watching his annoyance while he's trying to appear nice and sincere.
Crimson
Telly Talk Star
There was a trademark split between "King Kong" and "Kong" that hinges on "Donkey Kong". Universal owns "King Kong" and the more generic "Kong" from SKULL ISLAND is part of the current Godzilla franchise.
Mel O'Drama
Admin
Criminally, this comes up first when I type the title into Wikipedia.
Definitely my favourite propaganda film.
This is one of those films that's a glorious little time capsule of the Second World War's impact on average people (the ones that weren't called up). Hue & Cry is a terrific follow-up to WTDW for its imagery of post war life (children playing in bomb craters and rubble, and the like).
Now you say this, it rang a bell, so I tried to look back to see if you had commented on it, but almost every word in the title is too commonplace to work with the search results. Really - you'd think they might have considered this when titling the film!
Well I look forward to your next one. As it's spooky season, it crossed my mind to rewatch Dead Of Night, but there are just too many films I haven't watched.
Yes. His thoughts are almost tangible, and they're very funny.
Incidentally, I remember watching a Bette Milder interview where she credited Guinness's characterisation here as one of the influences on her portrayal of Winifred Sanderson (she singled out the teeth)... and I can absolutely see it
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Ha ha.
From now on we'll call it Went The Day Well, Anastasia?
Seen it, and while the mixed-bag performance in anthology series is kind of unavoidable I think the anthology film doesn't really get away with it.
Michael Redgrave's story is the only memorable one, hence why it features prominently in reissued Dead Of Night artwork.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Good Boy (2026)
The title and poster should give you some idea what this story is about and that was also the reason why I decided to watch it.
Stephen Graham isn't the kind of actor who appears in trash so that kinda worked as an additional assurance.
The spoilery poster doesn't really matter because this film isn't about big plot twists or trying to be as outrageous as possible.
The story develops organically and this time the tragedy from the past is unmentioned. It's hard to imagine why they would choose a criminal person like Tommy but after a while I realised that the X improved the Y.
I think the best part of the film is the way it challenges the viewer in terms of morals and justification, while the creepiness of the circumstances keeps it juicy.
The ending is terrific precisely because it isn't perfect, and again it's a thing that makes you wonder "how do I feel about it?"
Some of the most tense moments are in the seemingly neutral scenes with the youngest actor. The permanent smile on his face is simply devastating (move over, lame-ass Smile movies).
No matter how you perceive the characters, it's a film with the dark satirical bite we've come to expect from the Scandinavians.
Except that Good Boy is a Polish-British collaboration, with 20+ companies attached to it. Gone are the days of "Paramount Pictures proudly presents", or so it seems.
Somehow this film managed to exceed my positive expectations.
The Invite (2026)
A superbly acted play that loses some steam shortly after the midpoint when it replaces the seething resentment and entertaining awkwardness with heightened emotions and open hostility.
There are "situations" in it that makes it difficult to believe that these four people would choose to stay in the same room but it doesn't overshadow the joy of watching these actors doing what they like to do.
The story builds up to something but plays it a little safe in the very last act, although I can appreciate the comfort after the 100+ minutes of neighbours drama.
And when all is said and done I'm just grateful that someone made the effort to create an actors-film for adults. It doesn't happen often enough these days.
The title and poster should give you some idea what this story is about and that was also the reason why I decided to watch it.
Stephen Graham isn't the kind of actor who appears in trash so that kinda worked as an additional assurance.
The spoilery poster doesn't really matter because this film isn't about big plot twists or trying to be as outrageous as possible.
The story develops organically and this time the tragedy from the past is unmentioned. It's hard to imagine why they would choose a criminal person like Tommy but after a while I realised that the X improved the Y.
I think the best part of the film is the way it challenges the viewer in terms of morals and justification, while the creepiness of the circumstances keeps it juicy.
The ending is terrific precisely because it isn't perfect, and again it's a thing that makes you wonder "how do I feel about it?"
Some of the most tense moments are in the seemingly neutral scenes with the youngest actor. The permanent smile on his face is simply devastating (move over, lame-ass Smile movies).
No matter how you perceive the characters, it's a film with the dark satirical bite we've come to expect from the Scandinavians.
Except that Good Boy is a Polish-British collaboration, with 20+ companies attached to it. Gone are the days of "Paramount Pictures proudly presents", or so it seems.
Somehow this film managed to exceed my positive expectations.
The Invite (2026)
A superbly acted play that loses some steam shortly after the midpoint when it replaces the seething resentment and entertaining awkwardness with heightened emotions and open hostility.
There are "situations" in it that makes it difficult to believe that these four people would choose to stay in the same room but it doesn't overshadow the joy of watching these actors doing what they like to do.
The story builds up to something but plays it a little safe in the very last act, although I can appreciate the comfort after the 100+ minutes of neighbours drama.
And when all is said and done I'm just grateful that someone made the effort to create an actors-film for adults. It doesn't happen often enough these days.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Quadrophenia (1979)
This looks very good and it's also very convincing as a 1960s period drama. The only moments that took me out of the story were the scenes with Sting in it (because he looks like seventies Sting).
For me, the bigger issue is the hodgepodge of themes that makes it difficult to understand what I'm supposed to take away from Quadrophenia.
It's partially kitchen sink commentary, partially a music culture war, partially coming-of-age drama and it's also based on The Who's rock opera album.
I have no idea what that album is all about but I'd be hard-pressed to mention something from this film that looks rock opera-esque.
The main character's craving for individuality doesn't quite overlap with the aggressive desire to belong to a certain group (mods) and the result is a very busy and angry hooligan film that never finds anything to root in.
I mostly enjoyed the party scenes featuring actors dancing to the Doo Ron Ron and Be My Baby, and the music played in the mods ballroom reminded me of the 1993 house hit Plastic Dreams by Jaydee.
This looks very good and it's also very convincing as a 1960s period drama. The only moments that took me out of the story were the scenes with Sting in it (because he looks like seventies Sting).
For me, the bigger issue is the hodgepodge of themes that makes it difficult to understand what I'm supposed to take away from Quadrophenia.
It's partially kitchen sink commentary, partially a music culture war, partially coming-of-age drama and it's also based on The Who's rock opera album.
I have no idea what that album is all about but I'd be hard-pressed to mention something from this film that looks rock opera-esque.
The main character's craving for individuality doesn't quite overlap with the aggressive desire to belong to a certain group (mods) and the result is a very busy and angry hooligan film that never finds anything to root in.
I mostly enjoyed the party scenes featuring actors dancing to the Doo Ron Ron and Be My Baby, and the music played in the mods ballroom reminded me of the 1993 house hit Plastic Dreams by Jaydee.
Mel O'Drama
Admin
Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
The bloody death porn series celebrates a quarter of a century with an entry that, as this series goes, is pretty decent. As I watched, I found the word "substantial" coming to mind. Not by most standards, you understand, but for a series that is built around gross-out death tableaus, it's pleasing when there is an honest-to-god story surrounding it.
This is a huge saving grace, because one of the film's weakest aspects is the visuals around these deaths. The series has always been rather like a Road Runner cartoon, but this feels next level here, with CGI permitting everything in the writers' heads to make it on to screen... and the result is underwhelming. In place of practical creativity comes airbrushed artifice. It's kind of fascinating to watch, but doesn't get the toes curling and the stomach churning quite as much as it would seem on paper.
Possibly my favourite "how's it going to happen" takes place in a tattoo parlour, set to Air Supply's version of Without You and the reason it's my favourite is because of the choreography of the actor playing the victim, which looks done for real, jumping from this prop to that prop as the predicament escalates. It's like watching a beautiful piece of performance art. And the irony is it's a fake-out insofar as there is no death.
The song was one of a number of several pieces of curated pop, rock and easy listening gems that are pleasantly nostalgic. I mean, it includes The Pina Colada Song, for heaven's sake. I initially thought Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire was going to be THE warning song of this film (every FD film has one, I think), but it turned out to be Shout (I'm not sure if it was The Isley Brothers version - which appears on the soundtrack - or one recorded for this film by the performer who appears to sing it onstage. Both were new to me anyway, as the version I know and love most is by Lulu and The Luvvers)
On the subject of music - Tim Wynn's score was very bracing, and I enjoyed the occasional nod to Shirley Walker's ominous music from the original FD film.
Something that surprised me was how long this film took to set up the requisite opening accident. We spent a lot of time with this film's precog and her boyfriend and the people I assumed would be our cast for the rest of the film, and I appreciated the slow build. The late-Sixties visuals were enjoyable, even if there is simply no mistaking a Zoomer playing a Baby Boomer (Gen-Z simply do not grasp the concept of a world - or time - other than their own, which meant the performance didn't convince. Rather than inhabiting the character, the precognitive girl simply was a Zoomer, talking like a Zoomer while wearing a miniskirt and headband).
The present-day characters are fine. Most are engaging. There are a couple of weaker performances - peanut allergy guy and female cousin #1 were blandly generic - but happily there's an absence of "the whiny one" template from other films (think annoying Carter from the first film or that moany bitch of a serial killer from the fifth).
As mentioned, though, the story is what works with this film and this one feels ambitious in its scope. The arc runs from the late-Sixties to the present day, tied together in a logical way, It doesn't tap into earlier films as much as I'd have liked (I wanted the bloodline to cleverly connect to Flight 180, but the only overt reference to an earlier story that I noticed was someone relaying Kimberly's "die to survive" strategy from the first sequel. Naturally, there's a visual of a log truck as well, which seems to have somehow become this franchise's key motif), but Bloodlines introduces a welcome new spin on what is by now a very familiar concept.
I particularly enjoyed that this changed just enough to interest without feeling like a full-on reboot. I don't even think it's a requel. It's just a decent sequel that found its own way to tell the story. The key connection to the overarching thread of the franchise is the presence of Tony Todd in one of his final roles (the film was released after his death). Before watching, I would have been very sceptical of an "origin" story for the mysterious Bludworth. It's the nicest of surprises that it works here to flesh out the story and add layers to what's come before. His character here is in the same position as Tony himself, knowing that his death is imminent and this is utilised to allow Tony to effectively write his own memorial. If this film is remembered for anything, Tony's small but perfectly formed scene really must be it.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
The first FD was a decent film, it had novelty and I even felt something for the characters. I've watched the sequels only for the freaky death scenes and to be fair they delivered some good ones.
The staging of the accidents also became more and more convoluted and unbelievable, with stuff spontaneously moving/falling/rolling, and I think it took a lot of fun out of it.
An overarching story about the FD curse is not for me. A story based on such a meagre premise (no matter how well it worked for the first film) doesn't make me want to know more about it.
The opening scene, uploaded shortly after its release, has no suspense at all because it's too much of everything. Had it been just the floor or just the fire/explosion then it would have been more effective.
The staging of the accidents also became more and more convoluted and unbelievable, with stuff spontaneously moving/falling/rolling, and I think it took a lot of fun out of it.
An overarching story about the FD curse is not for me. A story based on such a meagre premise (no matter how well it worked for the first film) doesn't make me want to know more about it.
The opening scene, uploaded shortly after its release, has no suspense at all because it's too much of everything. Had it been just the floor or just the fire/explosion then it would have been more effective.
Mel O'Drama
Admin
It feels the sequels have leaned into the humour more as they've gone on - certainly past the first couple of films. Some deaths seem played for laughs as much as horror. There was a moment in Bloodlines where a heavily tattooed man's piercings all started jumping out as an MRI machine went awry and magnetised the environment to the Nth degree. And I found myself smiling a little at the visual of his nipple piercings being pulled forward in his T-shirt, making it briefly appear he had grown huge breasts. I also found myself wondering if he had a Prince Albert and I didn't have to wait long to find out.
I'm sure you're right, and I'd imagine that's partly down to sequelitis, because people now expect an opening disaster, and expect it to be big and shocking.
In the context of the story, I'd say the scale of the premonition works because of what follows, but yes - taken in isolation it's a lot.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
You know, that just happened to me yesterday, and it's so inconvenient.
But today was something else, I watched THE BOUNTY starring Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson. This was my first film of the famous historical event therefore I have no idea how it compares to the older versions.
I really loved it and maybe I'm going to watch more seafaring dramas. The ambient score by Vangelis is absolutely stunning, and possibly the most appropriate score he's ever done.
Hopkins plays it intense and Gibson looks criminally handsome.
Despite the fitness frenzy of the 1980s, the gorgeous men on screen didn't have to look like they were pumping iron 24/7. Besides, a perfect six-pack would have looked ridiculous in this period drama.