VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[SaitoRyo]

33 minutes ago, Statto said:

Given you'd (surprisingly) not seen II before (and didn't really enjoy it), I feel compelled to give you the "Do yourself a favour... don't turn around" warning from The Simpsons about Part 3...

The thought of a third film, made years later without Burt Reynolds in it, sounds positively heinous. 

[Statto]

Oh, it's utter garbage.

I suffered through it once and once only - it was originally titled Smokey IS the Bandit with Jackie Gleason playing both Sheriff Justice and "The Bandit" but it tested very poorly so they hurriedly parachuted in Jerry Reed and re-shot it as Snowman impersonating The Bandit.

It makes an already dreadful storyline utterly incomprehensible, and in all the stunt shots "The Bandit" appears considerably heftier than he should be if it were Snowman in disguise (and it's quite clearly a stuntman with a cushion up his top anyway).

[SaitoRyo]

Watchers

Late 80s horror based on a Dean Koontz bestseller. A top secret government lab explodes, unleashing a strange creature that is intent on killing a highly-intelligent dog that escaped from the same lab.

Goofy, B movie creature feature fun with Corey Haim. The dog is the star of the show, obviously, but Michael Ironside puts in a decent shift as the shady government agent tracking the monster (which they do a good job of protecting with camera angles and editing before fully showing at the end).

Annie Hall

Probably the seventh or eighth time I've seen it, all told. Wasn't feeling too hot last night, so this was an easy watch for me and the missus as it's an old favourite of ours. I still really like it. It's still a great movie. Diane Keaton is still perfect. 

[poetofthedeed]

Power Ballad

Preview screening of the new Paul Rudd/Nick Jonas Dramedy about a washed up singer and a former boyband member who end up in a disagreement over a song. A very very enjoyable comfort watch that is largely filmed in Dublin and doesn't take the absolute piss out of Ireland.

It's loosely based on the story of Robbie Williams Angels .

 

 

 

[tiger_rick]

On 5/12/2026 at 12:16 PM, HarmonicGenerator said:

Good to hear it’s an effective adaptation - the book has a similar effect despite having the least Scottish Scottish character in any book I’ve ever read! (Is there a Scottish character in the film?)

Yeah, Colm Meaney's character who runs the shop is a Scottish bloke who settled in the village it's set. We watched it last week. It's a nice film. Lovely setting. Good cast. The octopus stuff is ridiculous but well done. The ending is one of those things that's just too sickly. Even in a film about a narrating octopus.

I mostly enjoyed how much my wife was annoyed by not being able to work out who played Tova and where she knew her from.

[Devon Malcolm]

We're old.

[SaitoRyo]

Busting

Low-ranking Vice cops Elliott Gould and Robert Blake ignore their superiors in an attempt to catch a drug kingpin in 1970s LA. 

Real good buddy cop movie with a tremendous performance from Gould. There's a chase/shootout scene about midway through that was exceptional and incredibly tense. The whole film is raw and seedy and the sort of thing that could have only been made during the Hollywood New Wave. There should have been a sequel (or two).

Edited May 22 by SaitoRyo

[LaGoosh]

Obsession lived up to the height its been getting. A clever, extremely well made, incredibly unsettling, often funny and mean spirited film. The lead actress is fantastic. 

[Mr_Danger]

Michael (the not Travolta one)

Like one of those naff biopics that used to be on VH1 all the time but with a shit load of money thrown at production. The musical performances of which there are many look great and if you still love the music and can look past the likely peeding there’s enough in it for you. Strange film for Antonio Fuqua. Hope he gets Training Day 2 or something out of it.

[The King Of Swing]

Mortal Kombat 2 

Rubbish but entertaining rubbish. 

[Jesse]

Same feelings on Obsession. Absolutely horrible to watch, not sure I could put myself through it again but haven't stopped thinking about it.

[SaitoRyo]

Twisted

Psychological thriller with Ashley Judd, Samuel L Jackson and Andy Garcia.

This was rubbish. I fell asleep a couple of times during it and wasn't really upset about it. One of those films that takes parts of much better films and makes them worse. A weird misfire, considering the cast and director (Philip Kaufman).

 Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice

Time travel action comedy with Vince Vaughn, James Marsden, Keith David and a bunch of other familiar faces. 

This was a fine Saturday night film. It's funny and never boring. Some decent action set-pieces, too. Not all the 'bits' land (there was a thing about the Gilmore Girls that went on forever), but the hit rate is good enough. 

Dead Bang

Action thriller with Don Johnson, directed by John Frankenheimer. 

Now this I can get into! A clear attempted to set Johnson up as an action star post-Miami Vice, as he plays a troubled LA detective hunting down a gang of white supremacists who killed a cop. 

And now, really, who doesn't want to see Don Johnson, hungover and somewhat pathetic, hunt down a bunch of neo-Nazis? Hidden late-80s gem.

[SaitoRyo]

Leaving Normal

Meg Tilly is the timid housewife who leaves her husband and hits the road after he slaps her during an argument. She tags along with Christine Lahti, the independent and rough-around-the-edges waitress and former stripper heading back to the family she abandoned in Alaska many years earlier. Along the way they encounter quirky characters and take stock of their lives. 

I really liked this. Tilly and (especially) Lahti are ace. It's gonna draw comparisons to Thelma and Louise, which was released a year prior, because there are similarities, but there also enough differences to make this stand out as its own thing. It's an overall funny, sweet and easy to watch road movie. 

Renegades (1989)

Kiefer Sutherland is a maverick undercover cop forced by fate to team with Lou Diamond Phillips in order to retrieve a sacred lance and take down some bad guys. 

Serviceable late-80s actioner. It adheres to the formula (and is very dated), but it's entertaining enough. I mean, the film makes sure of that by having a shootout, car chase, explosion or other exciting event happen every ten minutes or so. Probably would be been better if the two leads had stronger chemistry.

[gmoney]

Bad Company

This was the one with Lawrence Fishbourne and Ellen Barkin, rather than the ten other films with the same name. Some times you just get swept away by the vibe of a film and enjoy it despite its completely flawed plot and lack of almost anyone to root for. Larry's just got a great vibe. He should have carried more films. 

Best Seller

Again, this was super flawed but I enjoyed it quite a bit. James Wood's is always good playing a creep, and how can you not love watching Brian Dennehy. 

The Devil's Advocate

I'd amazing never seen this, despite being a huge crazy Pacino mark. It way too fucking long, and one of the bottom tier Keanu Reeves performances, but the highs are very high indeed. 

Night of the Juggler

Holy shit. This a visceral, gritty, grind of a film. Came out in 1980, but was filmed in 1978 and it's got all the grime and sweat of 70s New York all over it. No 80s glamour here, but it does feature a cop firing a shotgun wildly at man in middle of packed city streets. Hell of a movie. 

 

[davertfnewman]

4 minutes ago, gmoney said:

Night of the Juggler

Holy shit. This a visceral, gritty, grind of a film. Came out in 1980, but was filmed in 1978 and it's got all the grime and sweat of 70s New York all over it. No 80s glamour here, but it does feature a cop firing a shotgun wildly at man in middle of packed city streets. Hell of a movie. 

 

It also got referenced by Sid in his promo in Sheffield before he no-sold the Tombstone against the Undertaker.