VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Merzbow]

I've seemingly had a very specific type of film I've had to watch or rewatch recently..

Started with Crash (the good one from Cronenberg) which kinda continues a recent trend of watching James Spader being a very awkward kinky fucker, a beautiful film which would likely still piss off all the right people who wanted to "ban this sick filth". I found some of the dialogue a bit more awkward this time, although using such medical terms for bodily parts and secretions was probably a choice.

Buffalo 66 was a long time coming, I'd had it on the big list in my mind for over a decade but only just now stuck it on. I didn't expect it to be so hilarious at times, Gallo playing such a sad little figure of a man while looking like that? Shame he's a huge prick in real life as there's something magical here, I'm here for Ricci's blue eyeshado too, you know a film will be good then the lead is wearing that.

Exotica from 1994.. was recommended this by a film pal after watching Crash and I can see why, no idea how it passed me by as it's 100% my kind of thriller. I don't want to give too much away here as it's worth a watch without knowing much but it deals with certain roleplay fantasies in a thoughtful and genuinely sad way when you finally see the reasoning. It also has that Mulholland Drive like grime and haze to it that most films fail at.

Christiane F. is just hauntingly depressing, not much else to say but it's masterfully crafted and makes Trainspotting look like a Disney flick.

Ms. 45 on the other hand isn't a masterpeice but it's a damn good take on the female killer R&R exploitation movie, definitely the best of it's type post I Spit On Your Grave (a misunderstood film in itself, or rather it had a fanbase of cunts).

Edited July 6, 2025 by Merzbow

[ReturnOfTheMack]

Salems Lot 2024 version.

Yeah, decent. Nothing mind blowing, but a fairly swift moving vampire film. I enjoyed it.

 

Heads Of State John Cena and Idris Elba as the US President and UK PM having to shoot their way out of terrorist danger. 

Fuck it. Stupid bit of fun, like most Cena films. 

*disclaimer* I ended up watching Ricky Stanicky 3 times. 

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

Finally got round to watching two films I’ve had sitting sealed on my shelf for months today

First was Barbie, which was surprisingly fun, very campy and had a couple of good emotional moments

Second was Transformers One, which, being a big TF fan was massively enjoyable and it sucks that it did so poorly at the box office that it won’t get any sequels because it’s far better than 75% of the live action films

[BigJag]

Yep Transformers One should have received many more accolades than it has. It seemed to catch people unawares and provided enjoyment that they weren't expecting. Definitely worth watching. My wife loved it as did a friends daughter. 

Samurai Fury looks good. I'm struggling to find an English language version.

Edited July 7, 2025 by BigJag

[SaitoRyo]

Collateral

Still enjoyable, though a couple of ropey bits towards the end (a particular song choice, plus a weird slow-motion shot of nothing) took me out of it a bit. It's very good at creating tension, though, and The Cruiser does a great job of running at high speeds and shooting those wonderfully loud guns. Hell of a performance by Jamie Foxx, too. 

[Jesse]

I watched Singing in the Rainy Afternoon as part of the Star Nhà Ease program promoting Vietnamese cinema in the UK. It's not much cop as a film, but it's a fascinating artifact. From the 1990's but is filmed and acted like something from the 50's, it's about a young woman who is blinded by fireworks and how the people close to her are affected by it.

Not something I would seek out to see again on its own merits, but it has me interested in seeing more Vietnamese cinema, so I'm planning to go back for Bar Girls next week, which looks to be a lot more modern in its visual approach and subject matter.

[Mr_Danger]

Jurassic World Rebirth.

Absolutely no interest in this at all but the kids were keen. Turns out it’s about as 6/10 film you can get. Despite some of the most egregious product placement you’re likely to ever see on screen (a fucking Snickers wrapper is heavily involved in the inciting incident at the start) and the entire film being a bit of a soulless cash in it still manages to be more enjoyable than the Pratt ones based solely on the cast being stronger and a basic script that gives people pretty much what they want from a modern day Jurassic film. There’ll be more of these for sure, they’ll probably be worse.

[Bellenda Carlisle]

18 hours ago, ReturnOfTheMack said:

Heads Of State John Cena and Idris Elba as the US President and UK PM having to shoot their way out of terrorist danger. 

Fuck it. Stupid bit of fun, like most Cena films. 

*disclaimer* I ended up watching Ricky Stanicky 3 times. 

I've seen Ricky Stanicky twice but I've watched his singing medley scene 100 times. 

Heads of State 

I didn't know this existed til the quoted post but I watched it immediately. It was OK. It sat in that annoying modern movie space where it's not serious but also not actually a comedy with jokes so it ends up just a very lightweight, surface level and a bit silly action film.

I would have liked it a lot more if it was half an hour shorter, it went on forever. Thankfully the last third (from the car chase on) was probably the best bit so at least it didn't leave me with a feeling of regret. I do think it could have been a really good film with that cast and premise if it had been made with someone who had any interest in giving it some personality instead of being made by Netflix AI.

 

[Dai]

Stupid bit of fun could also describe Primes other latest offering, Deep Cover. Enjoyed it alot. Great chemistry between the three lead characters, not much over 90 minutes, some fun scenes, and a plot that doesn't get too complex or take forever to get to the good stuff. Definately recommended. 

Edited July 7, 2025 by Dai

[Mr_Danger]

John Cena quietly becoming the king of the enjoyable yet forgettable straight to streaming genre. Ricky Stanicky, that one where he’s on holiday and he’s The Rock and the other guy is Kevin Hart but actually good, the one where he’s Awkwafina’s body guard. All decent weekend watches.

[tiger_rick]

Not on purpose but, I've never seen a film with John Cena. Not even the one with the firemen and the cute kids!

[johnnyboy]

Bring Her Back

There's your haha, over the top, borderline cartoonish gore, and there's this fucker.  If there are certain things that set you off then you may find yourself having to cover your eyes and ears during parts of this (as I did).  I'm still not ok.

[theringmaster]

2 hours ago, tiger_rick said:

Not on purpose but, I've never seen a film with John Cena. Not even the one with the firemen and the cute kids!

Mad thing is when you go over his filmography, he actually has had a real decent crop of films.

[hallicks]

Apart from Argylle. 

[BigJag]

11 hours ago, tiger_rick said:

Not on purpose but, I've never seen a film with John Cena. Not even the one with the firemen and the cute kids!

Maybe Coyote vs Acme Will tempt you.