craigypants
Striker
I liked it until the final scenes. Also the Sam Worthington gang were laughably stupid despite having so much tech. Still....Riz Ahmed is just amazing so I gave it too high a score. Amended to a 5...5.5?
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SMB Film Thread 2025
- Thread starter Fletch73
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Seems Hollywood has managed to even f-up B movies now. Anaconda was a bit of a guilty pleasure film, seems it now a comedy.....
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I meant their characters tbf
Monty Pigeon
Striker
Sneakers (1992) 7/10
Rewatched this in tribute to Robert Redford. Some of the issues it raises about online security - even though it was made before email was even a thing - are more relevant than ever. Not bad, though some of the smart-ass lines fall flat.
Married to the Mob (1988) 6/10
Mafia comedy. Michelle Pfeiffer is great, but all the other major roles are miscast (apparently lots of big names were linked to it, but in the end the producers had to go with lesser choices). Docked a point for a silhouetted final scene that makes no sense, and for the deleted scenes dumped into the end credits.
Office Space (1999) 7/10
Quirky comedy from the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head. Ron Livingstone undergoes hypnotherapy to overcome his depression about work - only for the hypnotherapist to die while Ron's still hypnotised. He returns to work not caring about the rules. Jennifer Aniston in a bit part that was fleshed out to give her co-star billing.
Rewatched this in tribute to Robert Redford. Some of the issues it raises about online security - even though it was made before email was even a thing - are more relevant than ever. Not bad, though some of the smart-ass lines fall flat.
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Married to the Mob (1988) 6/10
Mafia comedy. Michelle Pfeiffer is great, but all the other major roles are miscast (apparently lots of big names were linked to it, but in the end the producers had to go with lesser choices). Docked a point for a silhouetted final scene that makes no sense, and for the deleted scenes dumped into the end credits.
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Office Space (1999) 7/10
Quirky comedy from the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head. Ron Livingstone undergoes hypnotherapy to overcome his depression about work - only for the hypnotherapist to die while Ron's still hypnotised. He returns to work not caring about the rules. Jennifer Aniston in a bit part that was fleshed out to give her co-star billing.
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Doogie Hauser
Midfield
This feels like it misses every single point about why the original is so good. I think Burton as an actor is terrific, but I can’t see this being up to much!
League Wan
Winger
Hate it when they do that like, full marks from every outlet. It'll be shite then
Ramone
Central Defender
Horrible, unfunny, nasty movie so far. Started it during the week and think put something else when the kid was talking about having a hard on.
Had few beers today and thought might be better tonight, shockingly unfunny, shocking script, you are a generous man Fred. 1 is too high.
Monty Pigeon
Striker
It's bad movie by any usual measure, but I love Burton and Loren - and they're both as expected - and it was filmed in and around Winchester, where I used to live, and I know the exact house where Loren's character lives.
Other than that, give it a miss. The original is perfect.
DJ Doubt
Winger
Hate it when they do that like, full marks from every outlet. It'll be shite then
No it won't
It's Paul Thomas Anderson FFS
Monty Pigeon
Striker
In Cold Blood triple bill.
Capote (2005) 8/10
The first of two films released within months of each other dramatising Truman Capote's experiences while researching his true crime book In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman in an Oscar-winning performance as Capote.
Infamous (2006) 8/10
I prefer Toby Jones's performance, and this movie has the better screenplay. It's let down by a wooden performance from Peter Bogdanovich and overacting from Juliet Stevenson (who, usually, is one of my favourite actresses). A pity you can't mix and match actors from the two movies to make one definitive movie.
In Cold Blood (1967) 10/10
The original adaptation of the book. Neo-realist masterpiece.
Capote (2005) 8/10
The first of two films released within months of each other dramatising Truman Capote's experiences while researching his true crime book In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman in an Oscar-winning performance as Capote.
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Infamous (2006) 8/10
I prefer Toby Jones's performance, and this movie has the better screenplay. It's let down by a wooden performance from Peter Bogdanovich and overacting from Juliet Stevenson (who, usually, is one of my favourite actresses). A pity you can't mix and match actors from the two movies to make one definitive movie.
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In Cold Blood (1967) 10/10
The original adaptation of the book. Neo-realist masterpiece.
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Clash City Rockers67
Full Back
Warfare (2025) on Amazon Prime.
Was better than I expected, more in the mould of the Hurt Locker or Generation Kill. Based on a true life firefight in Ramada from 2006. No use of dramatic music and built very well around the tension of the battle. Some graphic and (literally) raw scenes involving wounded troops. Been a lot of Afghan/gulf war movies and TV series down the years but definitely one of the better ones. Only 96 mins so not a long watch either
Was better than I expected, more in the mould of the Hurt Locker or Generation Kill. Based on a true life firefight in Ramada from 2006. No use of dramatic music and built very well around the tension of the battle. Some graphic and (literally) raw scenes involving wounded troops. Been a lot of Afghan/gulf war movies and TV series down the years but definitely one of the better ones. Only 96 mins so not a long watch either
Drifter
Winger
Samaritan on prime. Stallone as a retired superhero wanting to live a quiet life. One of his latterday not shouting in every scene roles. The bratty kid sidekick wasn’t too bratty, bad guy was suitably deranged and the plot twist was signposted very early. Reasonably young-adult friendly, which was probably the biggest surprise. Enjoyable way to spend 100 minutes or so. 6.99/10
League Wan
Winger
Got a good cast as well. Definitely give it a watch but those scores must mean it's the best film ever.
Supposedly the best reviewed film of the decade
I still can't believe they've given PTA a $140m budget
fyl2u
Striker
I've decided to do a Robert Redford deep dive. The ones I can find anyway.
Started with...
Tall Story (1960)
Redford's only a non-speaking basketball player in this early Anthony Perkins movie. Enjoyable film though! 7.3/10
The Chase (1966)
Slightly bigger role for Redford this time as an escaped convict in a movie that sees Marlon Brando as the main lead as the sheriff. Fairly confusing start with multiple plotlines seemingly unrelated, but they tie together quickly as the film turns unsettling and then utterly brutal. Great film. 8.5/10
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Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
Weird. I expected this to be better. Haven't seen it since I was very young but for a movie considered a classic it was very disappointing. A handful of iconic scenes interspersed with a lot of filler, a bizarre slideshow in the middle that went on for way too long, and more musical montages than a movie this long should really have. If it had've been 30 minutes long it probably would have made a really great mini-story.
All in all, the good bits were worth watching but for all the filler I can't give it more than a 6.7/10.
Started with...
Tall Story (1960)
Redford's only a non-speaking basketball player in this early Anthony Perkins movie. Enjoyable film though! 7.3/10
The Chase (1966)
Slightly bigger role for Redford this time as an escaped convict in a movie that sees Marlon Brando as the main lead as the sheriff. Fairly confusing start with multiple plotlines seemingly unrelated, but they tie together quickly as the film turns unsettling and then utterly brutal. Great film. 8.5/10
-----------
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
Weird. I expected this to be better. Haven't seen it since I was very young but for a movie considered a classic it was very disappointing. A handful of iconic scenes interspersed with a lot of filler, a bizarre slideshow in the middle that went on for way too long, and more musical montages than a movie this long should really have. If it had've been 30 minutes long it probably would have made a really great mini-story.
All in all, the good bits were worth watching but for all the filler I can't give it more than a 6.7/10.
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Doogie Hauser
Midfield
The Scarlet Thread (1951)
Laurence Harvey teams up with Sidney Tafler to rob a Cambridge jewellery store. They end up hiding out in a campus residence.
This was oddly compelling. Tafler is great as an alumni crook, hobnobbing with the university toffs, and Harvey does ‘panicked yet overconfident’ quite well. The setting and premise makes it stand out from the standard B crime stuff.
5.5/10
Patterns (1956)
Rod Serling scripted and directed this boardroom drama, which sounds incredibly dry, but I found totally absorbing. Van Heflin is a newly-employed exec, headhunted by ultra gobshite sociopath Everett Sloane. Van is paired with Ed Begley, an old hand with morals and scruples that don’t sit well with cutthroat Sloane. Van starts to grow conscious that Sloane is using him to force Begley out.
There’s so much to applaud in this. The script is sharp and fast, and not afraid to indulge long, escalating arguments between the characters. Heflin is great, as he wrestles with his conscience, first when being the new boy prevents him from speaking his mind, then later as his sense of fairness and right starts to take control. Sloane is a whirlwind of nastiness and corporate brutality. Begley is a wounded animal, full of resentment and pride, to the detriment of his own family.
The direction is sharp, and even the building itself feels like a character. There’s a lot of questions raised throughout, and the film does a fine job of hooking in the viewer. This film isn’t afraid to position character and dialogue at the centre of itself.
8/10
Laurence Harvey teams up with Sidney Tafler to rob a Cambridge jewellery store. They end up hiding out in a campus residence.
This was oddly compelling. Tafler is great as an alumni crook, hobnobbing with the university toffs, and Harvey does ‘panicked yet overconfident’ quite well. The setting and premise makes it stand out from the standard B crime stuff.
5.5/10
Patterns (1956)
Rod Serling scripted and directed this boardroom drama, which sounds incredibly dry, but I found totally absorbing. Van Heflin is a newly-employed exec, headhunted by ultra gobshite sociopath Everett Sloane. Van is paired with Ed Begley, an old hand with morals and scruples that don’t sit well with cutthroat Sloane. Van starts to grow conscious that Sloane is using him to force Begley out.
There’s so much to applaud in this. The script is sharp and fast, and not afraid to indulge long, escalating arguments between the characters. Heflin is great, as he wrestles with his conscience, first when being the new boy prevents him from speaking his mind, then later as his sense of fairness and right starts to take control. Sloane is a whirlwind of nastiness and corporate brutality. Begley is a wounded animal, full of resentment and pride, to the detriment of his own family.
The direction is sharp, and even the building itself feels like a character. There’s a lot of questions raised throughout, and the film does a fine job of hooking in the viewer. This film isn’t afraid to position character and dialogue at the centre of itself.
8/10
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