VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Devon Malcolm]

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (cinema)

Two-thirds everything that I've come to love and expect from this series, one-third unnecessary highlight reel from the rest of the series. I really don't know what the first 45 minutes or so were all about at all but I've got no complaints about this once it gets going. The submarine scene is incredible both in concept and the way it's shot, the final sequences all work individually and as a team, and the use of its massive cast is fascinating. Especially the return of Donloe, brought back for what I assumed would be a joke at the expense of a comedy character from the first one and yet turned into one of the most surprising character arcs in the whole series. It was almost everything I wanted it to be and more. Pom Klementieff MVP.

Final Destination: Bloodlines

Refuse to buy that this is some grand resurrection of this series or the best it's ever been. The opening scene is elaborate and entertaining but thereafter it's exactly what you always get from these films. If you like it, you'll like it. If you don't, you won't. Same old shit.

The Phoenician Scheme (cinema)

I think there's enough evidence in his last couple of films to suggest Wes Anderson has hit auto-pilot on his career now. But it's still Wes and if you like his thing there's no reason you won't like this. I do so I did. The basketball scene is very funny. Kate Winslet's daughter is very good.

Fear Street: Prom Queen (Netflix)

I thought the first three Fear Street films were really quite good but this is absolutely awful. Every high school slasher cliché you could possibly think of. From the same guy who directed Calibre for Netflix, except that's an excellent film and it's really sad this is what he's sunk to already.

A Knight's Tale (Film 4)

First time I'd ever seen this and it is a good laugh, I'll give it that. Amusing array of awful accents and really not like anything that's been made since, aside from maybe Marie Antoinette. The joust scenes are awesome.

The Naked Kiss (Prime)

Excellent late noir from Samuel Fuller with a great Constance Towers performance and one of the most shocking character twists in 60s cinema. Fuller was such an amazing director, he still feels really under-appreciated outside of film nerd circles.

Exterritorial (Netflix)

Pretty decent German action thriller that's a bit too interested in its convoluted conspiracy storyline. Not enough of the really well shot and bruising close quarter fights, for me, but there's enough here to make for a good time.

Going Places (2025)

Terrible black comedy crime film about three students who find a bag of money. You've seen this a thousand times before and it was better every single time.

The Whole Town's Talking (YouTube)

Superb old 1930s crime comedy where Edward G. Robinson plays a journalist who gets mistaken for a violent gangster who looks just like him. Brilliant dual performances from Ed, and Jean Arthur being as impeccable as ever. Loved this.

Midnight Ride (YouTube)

Mark Hamill plays a psychopath who stalks a military cop (Michael Dudikoff!) and his estranged wife across seemingly hundreds of miles of motorway. Then Robert Mitchum pops in! The ending is deranged, the rest of it is quite good fun too. Hamill's arguably better in this than he was in Star Wars.

Eagle Eye (Film 4)

Shame it's got Shia Laboeuf in it but a really enjoyably stupid tech action-thriller that I can never resist. Michelle Monaghan helps, obviously.

[SaitoRyo]

Hard Promises

William Petersen continually fucks off from his wife (Sissy Spacek) and young daughter, then gets upset when he finds out his missus has moved on and is getting married to a new fella, coming back to town to win her back.

Breezy drama/romance/comedy about the incompatibility of small-town folk who still love each other. The Petersen character, something of a local legend with itchy feet who'd rather play cowboy than raise his kid, is really quite unlikeable and acts like an arsehole for most of the runtime, but it's not a bad little film all told.

[tiger_rick]

9 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

A Knight's Tale (Film 4)

First time I'd ever seen this and it is a good laugh, I'll give it that. Amusing array of awful accents and really not like anything that's been made since, aside from maybe Marie Antoinette. The joust scenes are awesome.

I've not seen this but it's one of a few films that I cannot see the poster of or a mention of without it evoking the memory of early 2000s car boot sales and hundreds of dodgy copies in plastic wallets. 

[BomberPat]

Bubba Ho-Tep

I hadn't watched this in years; not sure how well it holds up. It's very of its time in terms of the amount of dick jokes and gross-out humour, and it's so much slower than I remember it being, for such a silly premise. But it's all forgiven for just how good Bruce Campbell is, and the central ambiguity about whether he's actually Elvis or not. It just can't quite work out what film it wants to be. 

[FLips]

Picked up these on my CEX trip today:

Chicago: £1.50
The Departed: £1.50
From Dusk Til Dawn: £1.50
Righteous Kill (DeNiro, Pacino and 50 Cent?: £1.50
Under Seige: £1
Under Seige 2: £1.50

£8.50 total. I hear The Departed is good, and I know I like the Under Seiges. My wife got Chicago and she thinks I'd like Dusk til Dawn. Righteous Kill looks like it could be surprisingly great or complete dogshit, so we'll see.

[TheBurningRed]

The Departed is great. Righteous Kill is shit. But I can’t remember if it’s in the entertaining way. 

[johnnyboy]

Move Over Darling - iPlayer

Remake of My Favourite Wife starring Doris Day.  Widower gets married after his wife is declared dead.  She turns up alive.  Hilarity ensues.

Both MFW and MOD are delightful fun.  Almost an exact remake with only 20 years between them, but the back story of MOD is worth reading.  Developed under a different title for Marilyn Monroe it was halted and then she died before they got round to having another crack with her as the star.

I had no idea the Doris Day track of the same name came from a remake of My Favourite Wife until today.  Even though they're essentially the same stories set in the time of the film's production you've got monster leads in both so do watch the pair, just maybe not as a double-header.  MFW is a Cary Grant black and whiter if you must have glorious technicolour on your telly.

[FLips]

Chicago

https://ukff.com/topic/140945-musicals-are-rubbish

 

[wordsfromlee]

Finally got round to watching Longlegs today and really enjoyed it. I thought it was all really well shot and looked great. From what I had heard about the movie I was expecting Longlegs to be a bit more of a gruesome monster, but Nicholas Cage played the part perfectly in making a normal-ish bloke terrifying. Fair play to the guy. It was all in his performance.

The only thing I wasn't massive on was...

Spoiler

the spooky bollocks at the end.

I was half expecting all the devil stuff to all be shite that Longlegs made up because he's mad and then it revealed it was actually her mum was doing the murders or something. Felt like a bit of a cop out for the big reveal to be "it was black magic".

 

[Merzbow]

Pretty much my experience too, especially the spoilered bit.

I think that out of focus bit at the start is one of the most unnerving intros to a film ever, a perfect way of setting the tone for most of the movie.

[johnnyboy]

Dangerous Animals

Got this as a Secret Screaming selection.  Wolf Creek with sharks and Jai Courtney hamming it up so much that he becomes a Billy Bear sausage.  Some wincey real gore that I had to look away from.  Entertaining enough.

 

[seph]

Kevin Smith finally has the rights to Dogma, and it's going back in the cinemas.

Source (Reddit AMA)

[FLips]

1 hour ago, seph said:

Kevin Smith finally has the rights to Dogma, and it's going back in the cinemas.

Source (Reddit AMA)

We have the DVD of that (thankfully my wife still had a copy at her parent’s house as I imagine it’s been scalped?) and we sort of daren’t watch it as we both loved it as teens but not sure if it will hold up.

[SuperBacon]

24 minutes ago, FLips said:

We have the DVD of that (thankfully my wife still had a copy at her parent’s house as I imagine it’s been scalped?) and we sort of daren’t watch it as we both loved it as teens but not sure if it will hold up.

I liked it when I rewatched last year (gave it an ? and would say its possibly his best film (yes, yes, low bar) and I love Linda Fiorentino.

[Carbomb]

I liked it, and have watched it a few times. Along with Clerks, it holds up better than most of his output. Chasing Amy is alright but not great, Mallrats is horrendous, Strikes Back is just dross, and I haven't seen either of the Clerks sequels. Not seen his non-View Askew stuff.