VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Hannibal Scorch]

12 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

I've not seen Blade 2 but I loved Pan's Labyrinth as well as Cronos and The Devil's Backbone. Apart from that he's not very good.

It’s a comic book movie, but doesn’t feel like one. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. Even if (if my memory is correct) it stars one of Bros. 

[ReturnOfTheMack]

So I saw that 'Playdate' on Amazon Prime was getting a lot of shit for being, well, shit. 

It is.

 

But I still enjoyed it. Its that kind of straight to streaming shite like Ricky Staniky thats actually a case of turn off your brain and just enjoy it. 

[gmoney]

Watched Cop Land again. Not a perfect film by any means; some of the exposition is really clunky, as novel as it is to see Sly Stallone do something different, I don't think he's that great in it. But that aside it's such a fun watch, all the cast are people you recognise and love from other stuff (down to Rawls from the Wire not even getting a line, Debbie Harry as a bartender and Paulie Walnuts only appearing in photos). I love a corrupt cop story and this one is really rich. All the tabloid language used in the newspaper to describe the cops "Superboy", "Hero Cop", "Choke Hold Cop". Just a good fucking time. 

[ReturnOfTheMack]

So I saw an article saying Playdate on Amazon was incredibly shit. So I had to watch it. 

Its so bad, and yet oddly watchable. My wife was properly glued to it. Maybe its just because Alan Ritchson is just so damned likable (been a fan since he was on Smallville).

Then for some reason I decided to watch Ricky Stanicky. For the third time. 

[SuperBacon]

15 minutes ago, ReturnOfTheMack said:

So I saw an article saying Playdate on Amazon was incredibly shit. So I had to watch it. 

Its so bad, and yet oddly watchable. My wife was properly glued to it. Maybe its just because Alan Ritchson is just so damned likable (been a fan since he was on Smallville).

Then for some reason I decided to watch Ricky Stanicky. For the third time. 

 

On 11/14/2025 at 9:37 PM, ReturnOfTheMack said:

So I saw that 'Playdate' on Amazon Prime was getting a lot of shit for being, well, shit. 

It is.

 

But I still enjoyed it. Its that kind of straight to streaming shite like Ricky Staniky thats actually a case of turn off your brain and just enjoy it. 

Did you forget you'd already told us about Playdate?

I watched Cool Runnings again, and it's definitely one of the greatest films of all time. I can't make it through the end stretch without bawling my eyes out.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

2 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

 

Did you forget you'd already told us about Playdate?

Yes. Yes I did. I dont know if it should blame the rum, or being a massive dickhead. Maybe both. 

 

Edit: odd thing is, I quickly checked if Id already posted. No clue how I missed it 2 posts away!

Edited November 15, 2025 by ReturnOfTheMack

[Chest Rockwell]

Self Reliance. I'll watch any old shit with Anna Kendrick in it so this was always going to get added to my list as soon as Netflix shoved it in my face. Throw in the fact that it's Lonely Island produced and has a Samberg cameo it shot up in priority.

It's a film by and starring Jake Johnson, playing himself as always. But he's pretty likeable so it works. The concept (he's in a secret game show that takes over his life) is not highly original but it is a good spin on a familiar tale. It has surprises, and it's well executed. The tone is exactly what you would expect and there's some decent laughs.  It doesn't overstay its welcome. A good effort! Not going to blow your mind but I'd recommend it for a fun, light watch. 

Edited November 15, 2025 by Chest Rockwell

[Hannibal Scorch]

The Running Man (2025) is Edgar Wright’s most un Edgar Wright non documentary film. I like Glen Powell so was an easy sell. Haven’t seen the original in over 30 years, but this seemed to be completely different in style (and much much closer to the book). I enjoyed it as an action thriller, but I missed the EW flair (and I know it’s divisive, but whatever). A enjoyable Sunday afternoon film and would make a good double bill with The Long Walk, unsurprisingly.

[DavidB6937]

A decent cinema weekend although they're definitely winding down for all the Christmas stuff.

Running Man

Pretty much echo Scorchy above. I haven't seen the original in forever, barely remember it, and have no real attachment to it so went into this pretty open minded. I must admit I was a bit disappointed because they did have the majority of the best stuff in the trailer, but I'm not entirely sure I would've bothered without the trailer so catch 22 there. Just the kind of film I feel cinemas are made for. Glen was a great leading man and as long as you're not expecting a deep dive into the themes then I think it's an enjoyable action piece.

Predator Badlands

Is it a good movie? I thought it was enjoyable. Is it a good Predator movie? Well, as many others have said, it's more of a buddy romp that just happens to have a Predator in it. It was funny. I thought Fanning was probably the stand out. A few set pieces that I enjoyed. Some adults groaned when the certification came up but I did hear them saying it was better than they were expecting. I think it depends how fond you are of Predator and the gore really. I do quite enjoy that they're trying different things but only as long as they make a proper back to basics Predator movie at some point too. I can deal with expanded stuff if the main original type of movie isn't ignored completely.

Now You See Me Now You Don't

Or "Now You've Seen The First Two, You've Basically Seen This One" .. or something cleverer. Which is a good thing maybe? I don't know. I think if you're going to see this, you know exactly what you're getting and that's what they deliver. So I can't really complain that much. It's all very slick and showy and it's not like the performances are bad per se, it's just at the point where you have to wonder what the point is. Well, the cynic in me says the point is to introduce the new younger lot so they can just make more movies, but I guess we'll see..

The Choral

Honestly not really my kind of movie but fitted in time wise. Surprisingly emotional in places, some good laughs and a generally solid plot. Written by Alan Bennett, it obviously feels like a British movie and has plenty of familiar faces, but probably could have worked as a BBC drama or something.

[Devon Malcolm]

I went to see The Running Man on Wednesday but I had to come home 40 minutes before the end. I was enjoying it and I liked the use of the (really good) cast so I might pop back out and try and watch it to completion. As long as the final stretch doesn't utterly shite the bed, it's the first good thing aside from the Sparks documentary that Edgar Wright has made since Hot Fuzz.

[Chris B]

I didn't get on with The Running Man as much as others. I struggled to care about the main character or story and it still felt like I cared more than either Glen Powell or Edgar Wright. It also felt weird to get something quite preachy and seemingly self-important after such a popcorn movie.

To be fair, I was mostly entertained through it but I didn't particularly enjoy it. I seem to be an outlier on this one, so fair enough.

[waters44]

I live five minutes away from Greenham Air Base and for the last week or so The Beekeeper 2 has been filming there. All I’ve heard is big explosions and guns, I can’t bloody wait to see it 

[SaitoRyo]

Angel (1984)

Decent 80s crime thriller about seedy 80s LA. It's about a fifteen-year-old girl who becomes a prostitute after her parents take off and leave her alone. Unfortunately for her and her hooker friends, there's a sadistic serial killer targetting hookers on the loose. Some odd moments of attempted comedy aside, I liked this. It's written and directed by the same guy who wrote Vice Squad (1982) and is similar in look, tone and feel. A clear influence on stuff like Maxxxine (which I also enjoyed). 

Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The Thirteenth

Absolutely shite slasher parody that I used to love watching on video when I was eleven. This was buried on cable and VHS because Scary Movie came out first and did everything better than it. A couple of small laughs, but a lot of misses. Only watched it because I was ill and the wife liked the sound of something that was (very) similar to Scary Movie. She can't say I didn't warn her. 

[BarryOVega]

Mixed bag last night and today 

Jackpot! Watched it last night, Cena and Awkwafina were good in it, usually find comedies like that a bit smug but liked it 

1984 Richard Burton’s little smirk in Room 101 makes it a great film on it’s own 

Crossing Delancey Second time I’ve seen it, thought the main character was a knob first time I watched it, must’ve been in a shite mood or something as I adored the whole film this time

The Witch Who Came From The Sea Watched it for the first time during lockdown and finally got round to watching the Arrow Blu Ray I bought ages ago, still a quality film dragged down by its shit poster making it look like a cheapo slasher, also from a technical point of view the Blu Ray transfer is approximately 45 billion times better than whatever version I watched on Shudder 5 years ago

 

 

Edited November 20, 2025 by BarryOVega

[Devon Malcolm]

4 minutes ago, BarryOVega said:

The Witch Who Came From The Sea Watched it for the first time during lockdown and finally got round to watching the Arrow Blu Ray I bought ages ago, still a quality film dragged down by its shit poster making it look like a cheapo slasher, also from a technical point of view the Blu Ray transfer is approximately 45 billion times better than whatever version I watched on Shudder 5 years ago

I watched this last month, probably the best thing I watched all October.