VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[HarmonicGenerator]

26 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

A Matter Of Life And Death is one of the best films ever too. 

It's one of my favourite films ever. I didn't see it until a few years ago when it was on iPlayer, and ended up watching it back to back, and the second time had to keep pausing it just so I could look at how gorgeous certain shots were for a bit longer.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is another of theirs which is on iPlayer at the moment.

[DavidB6937]

Fackham Hall

Is it rubbish? Yes. Is it rubbish in a funny way? There were definitely some laughs so I can't say the entire thing was awful. Just most of it.

Would I have enjoyed it quite as much if I hadn't just done a Downton watch? Probably not. It's utterly daft. But if you're willing to go along with how stupid it is, it'll raise a few smiles.

Or, if you're the guy in the back row of my screening, you'll find every other word hilarious and be pissing yourself the entire time.

Ella McCay

This had quite a 90s vibe to it I thought. Hard to explain. But a great cast that were basically playing to type, especially Jamie Lee Curtis and Woody Harrelson. It's all very by the numbers, and while I thought Emma Mackey did a good job with what she was given, I definitely think she's capable of a lot more. She's got the White Witch in the new Narnia movies so that'll be interesting. 

[ReturnOfTheMack]

As I seem to be on a bit of a kick for bad Netflix/Amazon movies I decided to try Bride Hard. Rebel Wilson as a spy as well as her best friends maid of honour.

 

I dont know if Im still drunk from Friday, but it was decent. Not great, and very much predictable. But Ive seen far worse.

[johnnyboy]

Queen of the Ring

Biopic about Mildred Burke and lady wrestling.  Loads of wrestlers in it, Goggins, Kreese out of Karate Kid, and Larkin Poe are all over the soundtrack.  I recognised a lot of the names, and the wrestlers playing them, but I cannot attest to the historical accuracy of it.  That said, I really enjoyed it.  A couple of wrasslin lingo exposition bits that you'll probably roll your eyes at but they're over quickly.  A solid 2 count.

[TheBurningRed]

1917

Beautifully shot. Big name actors in supporting roles but not overshadowing the two leads. Although Andrew Scott was dressed like Sir Digby Chicken Ceasar from That Mitchell and Webb Look. Really well done and great performance from George MacKay. I’ve only watched two WW1 films. This and and the 2022 All Quiet on the Western Front. Any film recommendations for WW1 are welcome. 

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

I've only seen this one once so due a rewatch. The dialogue in this one is fucking mad. Some great action early doors, death by horse kick, the knife throwing scene. Not as good as the first two. John Wick and Halle Berry’s character claim to be dog lovers but have no issue shooting baddies in the head right next to dogs ears. They must’ve gone deaf. Wick Olympic Slams someone through a glass floor too which was cool.

Die Hard

It’s Christmas Eve and it’s the Nakatomi Christmas party. John McClane has got the badge in (his police badge that is), Ellis has got the bags in, and Hans Gruber has got the slags in (Super Large Army Germans?). I don’t care about the debate if it’s a Christmas move or not. For me it is, as I watch it every December, as close to Christmas as possible. Greatest action movie ever in my opinion. 

Edited December 17, 2025 by TheBurningRed

[gmoney]

8 minutes ago, TheBurningRed said:

1917

Beautifully shot. Big name actors in supporting roles but not overshadowing the two leads. Although Andrew Scott was dressed like Sir Digby Chicken Ceasar from That Mitchell and Webb Look. Really well done and great performance from George MacKay. I’ve only wayched two WW1 films. This and and the 2022 All Quiet on the Western Front. Any film recommendations for WW1 are welcome. 

Paths of Glory, if you've never seen that. Superb. 

[air_raid]

Heretic is worth a watch. Hugh Grant manages to simultaneously play the same awkward old English fop he always does, and yet pull of sinister/menacing. A real achievement.

I wanted to like Maybe I Do as I usually enjoy the work of all of Gere, Sarandon, Keaton and H Macy so I was hoping for a triumph of Magnolia levels for all four in the same flim. Unfortunately though the acting was good enough, they were let down by a script littered with nonsense that the writer probably looked at on paper and thought “that’s insightful” but bears no resemblance to how real humans talk. It might be a coincidence, but I’ve never seen Emma Roberts in a film I’ve enjoyed.

[HarmonicGenerator]

46 minutes ago, gmoney said:

Paths of Glory, if you've never seen that. Superb. 

@TheBurningRed I’ll add to this from gmoney and would also suggest Journey’s End from 2017, and the original All Quiet… is nearly a hundred years old now, but still really powerful.

Edited December 17, 2025 by HarmonicGenerator

[Devon Malcolm]

5 hours ago, TheBurningRed said:

1917

Beautifully shot. Big name actors in supporting roles but not overshadowing the two leads. Although Andrew Scott was dressed like Sir Digby Chicken Ceasar from That Mitchell and Webb Look. Really well done and great performance from George MacKay. I’ve only watched two WW1 films. This and and the 2022 All Quiet on the Western Front. Any film recommendations for WW1 are welcome. 

Paths of Glory is the best one. One of the greatest films ever made. Technically Lawrence of Arabia is one, also one of the greatest ever films. Gallipoli is excellent. Shout at the Devil is pretty good. In truth, there really haven't been that many made about WWI, certainly compated to WWII.

[TheBurningRed]

Cheers. I’ll seek out Paths of Glory. Didn’t realise it was a Kubrick.

Completely forgot about Lawrence of Arabia. I watched a bit of it many years back, but didn’t have the patience to sit through it like I would now. 

[Lorne Malvo]

The Roaring Twenties has about two scenes set in WW1 and isn't really about the war at all, but I'll recommend it anyway just because it's a ton of fun.

[TheBurningRed]

I love that film. I’m a fan of the James Cagney gangster films. Roaring Twenties, Angels with Dirty Faces, The Public Enemy, White Heat. All lots of fun. 

Edited December 18, 2025 by TheBurningRed

[LaGoosh]

As others have said Paths of Glory is easily the best WW1 film for my money.

The moment in the big battle where the camera follows them fighting through endless explosions and gunfire with soldiers dying all over for what feels like forever then pans round to show they still have miles to go literally made me gasp put loud. Incredible film.

[Devon Malcolm]

The Running Man (cinema)

18 years now since Edgar Wright made a good fiction film. Too long, not enough action, odd use of its cast. The Michael Cera house scene is the only real bright spot.

Zootropolis 2

Absolutely convinced there's not a single joke in this aimed at kids. Wouldn't have understood a thing in this when I was a kid. Gentrification and class inequality, just what any 8 year old needs. They're really weird films. I had a great time!

Lurker (cinema)

There have been loads of films about obsessive fans but Lurker nails it when talking about the boundaries between artists and followers. If you don't like uncomfortable or cringe-making stuff, absolutely not for you. But worth the ride if you can handle, it's a really good film.

Bob Trevino Likes It

Didn't know a thing about it going in - turns out it's one of the best films of the year. About as close as I've ever come to crying at a film. Absolutely lovely and horribly sad at the same time. Barbie Ferreira is amazing in the lead, John Leguizamo does some of his best ever work, and French Stewart, of all people, convincingly plays one of the worst dads in cinema history. The ending is beautiful and the end credits revelation even more so. Wonderful.

Ride Away

Similar to the above. A French docu-drama about two men who take a cycling trip across Europe to commemorate a dead son. Beautiful and funny and sad, really shows off the possibilities of cinema when not tied down by genre clichés. Really lovely, one of the top 10 of 2025.

She Rides Shotgun

Pretty good crime road movie. Taron Egerton does a good job in the lead even if it was a role clearly made for Ben Foster. Nothing I haven't seen before but well made and well paced. The kid is brilliant in it.

The Woman in the Yard

I am so borrrrrrrrrred of grief / trauma horror films. Danielle Deadwyler does her best but this is just the same old shit - really badly written and just plain boring.

Stone Cold Fox

Kiernan Shipka gets caught up in a crime cult or something headed by Krysten Ritter. Kiefer Sutherland has some fun but nobody else is while watching it. Features one of the most misjudged twists I've ever seen. Crap.

Riff Raff (2024)

Another awful crime comedy with an excellent cast. Terrible grasp of tone and a waste of every character in it. One of those films where I genuinely don't understand why it was made.

Corina

Lovely little Mexican comedy about a publishing house editor who writes the ending to a famous author's book when she refuses to finish it the way she was asked to. Echoes of Amelie only not as whimsical. Not for everyone's tastes but I liked it a lot.

Highest 2 Lowest

Spike Lee is such an odd filmmaker. Equally capable of making some of the greatest American cinema and baffling dogshit. This is the latter. It's so weird and rubbish - scored like a Hallmark film, badly acted by a really good cast, paced really unevenly, awful dialogue. Fascinating but in a bad way. Based on High and Low, one of the greatest Japanese films of all time. Just watch that ffs. The fuck, Spike.

Row

Psychological thriller about murderous happenings during a cross-Atlantic rowing record attempt. Goes on forever, badly acted, ridiculous ending. Very bad.

Materialists

Nah, not for me. A really disappointing follow-up to Past Lives from Celine Song. The three leads are really good, as you'd expect, but its cynicism and structure work against it. Past Lives is awesome though, watch that.

Oh, Hi!

Dreadful dark romcom about a woman who chains her boyfriend to their bed after he tells her she doesn't want a relationship. Uncomfortable and unfunny. I love Molly Gordon but this is questionable at best.

Spinal Tap II

Obviously not a patch on the original but it's very funny at times in the first half before it fades away. Maybe not the best time to watch it either, being just really sad whenever Rob Reiner was on screen.

Train Dreams

Not normally my thing due to how similar it was to Terrence Malick's stuff it is (can't stand Malick) and because I really hate voiceovers. Beautifully made though and the story flows naturally. Totally underuses Kerry Condon. I liked it more than I expected. Joel Edgerton is great, isn't he?

Dead Talents Society

Taiwanese horror comedy about a ghost who needs to produce a good quality haunting in 30 days or she'll disappear for good. The concept is so good but it's executed even better than I expected. Very funny (the lift scene is hilarious) and with lots of great gore. One of the surprises of the year.

[Jesse]

1 hour ago, Devon Malcolm said:

The Running Man (cinema)

The Michael Cera house scene is the only real bright spot.

Horrendous misrepresentation of the film. There's also several close-ups of Glenn Powell in just a towel that were worth the admission price.