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SMB Film Thread 2025

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Monty Pigeon said:
That's the one. It's a fun watch.

NWR: So you had to cast a star.
Friedkin: Roy Scheider wasn't a star.
NWR: But he was well known. You wouldn't have cast your neighbour.
Friedkin: Why would I cast my neighbour? My neighbour was a schmuck. I wouldn't give him a cup of sugar.


[Friedkin lost out on casting Marcello Mastroianni and Lino Ventura.]
NWR: And how did Universal/Paramount feel about that?
Friedkin: They didn't give a shit.
The whole thing is here:

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Getting super nerdy now, apparently the Criterion 4k has two audio tracks. The original stereo mix and a modern 5:1. One of them has a gunshot at the end, one of them doesn't
 

lchavez said:
Umbrellas of Cherbourg - not as good as I was expecting nor what I was expecting. I knew it was a musical but I didn’t know every single line was sung. 6/10
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I saw this a while back and liked it, which surprised me given I usually dislike musicals that sing EVERYTHING. Visually it's flippin' gorgeous. I still haven't got round to watching any more Jaques Demy stuff, though.
 
Cockney Mackem said:
Getting super nerdy now, apparently the Criterion 4k has two audio tracks. The original stereo mix and a modern 5:1. One of them has a gunshot at the end, one of them doesn't
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I opted for the 2014 5.1 remix, which has the gunshot. Just rewatched the end with the default soundtrack, and you're right - no gunshot. Subtly changes the ending.

The choice to add it was apparently Friedkin's. But I think the ending is more ambiguous - and therefore more powerful - without.
 
Pants said:
This and Wages of Fear are two films I still haven't got round to watching. Should I watch one before the other? Will there be spoilers?
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They each work well in their own right. Friedkin is more faithful to the book; his film deals with the concept of fate. Wages of Fear is much more concerned with wringing out every drop of suspense. I'd toss a coin for it. Let fate determine the order.
 
Monty Pigeon said:
Lady Vengeance (2005) 10/10
Marginally the best of the three. A woman serves a prison sentence for a crime she didn't commit in order to gain the skills to reap revenge on the real perpetrator. Brilliant use of baroque music for the soundtrack.
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Finally got round to watching this, has replaced Snowpiercer as my least favourite work from him.
But I'll forgive him due to "Thirst", "The Handmaiden", "Stoker", "Little Drummer Girl" and most definitely "Old Boy"!
 
Fletch73 said:
John Candy: I Like Me [2025] 8/10
(Amazon Prime)

A lovely tribute to a VERY funny man. A good mix of home movies, archive interviews and new ones with Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and John's wife and kids.

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Its good but I noticed his early TV comedy stuff was bloody awful. Monty Python shows why British comedy is supreme. I did cry a little though coz he was part of my teenage/early twenties.
 
Dangerous Animals
Think Wolf Creek on a boat.
Not being adverse to a shark nor a serial killer movie I quite enjoyed this.
7/10

Screamboat
Art the Clown is Steamboat Willy in ridiculous horror comedy, taking full advantage of that particular cartoon hitting public domain.
Way more watchable than I was expecting, this should appeal to those who embrace schlocky stupid horror, everyone else should stay clear.
5/10
 
The Pretender (1947) - YouTube

A crooked investment banker (Albert Dekker) is the trustee of Catherine Craig’s huge fortune. He is whittling it away behind her back by playing the stock market. To cover up the debt, he asks her to marry him. She refuses, saying she has her eye on another. Dekker can’t risk the whole wheeze getting rumbled, so he takes out a contract on her future husband. Meanwhile, she realises she can’t marry someone who is married to his job, so accepts Dekker’s proposal. Meaning, effectively, he has taken out a contract on himself.

Sounds better than it is, but there’s some things to like amongst some chod acting and iffy pacing. The cinematography is decent, being handled by John Alton, who went on to do stuff like The Big Combo. It’s not a bad film, just cheap in places.

5.5/10


The Painted Smile (1962) - TPTV Encore

Liz Fraser and Peter Reynolds have a scam going: convincing drunken fools to go back to Fraser’s house on a promise, only to find angry husband Reynolds there, ready to create havoc. She snares a reluctant student, who goes back with her and finds Reynolds dead. She panics and, despite knowing the villain who did it, tells the student to ditch the body or she’ll tell the police that he did it.

It’s a right old mess, this. Some of it is filmed confidently and moves along nicely, but the script is muddled, motives are unclear, and none of the characters are worth rooting for. I was disappointed because the Mancunian Film Co stuff I’ve watched recently has been good.

4/10

The Hideout (1956) - YouTube

A great cast - Dermot Walsh, Rona Anderson, Ronald Howard, Sam Kydd, Edwin Richfield - can’t help this dreary effort much. Some drivel about swapped cases, imported furs and a prison break. Nothing was helped by the dogshit prints online - it was like watching a film filtered through a game of Tetris.

4/10
 
Kill Your Friends is on Netflix. Ten year old but I'd never heard of it.

It's like a weird mash-up of American Psycho, Layer Cake set in the 90s British music industry. Way better than the reviews would suggest, 7/10.

Downsides: features James Corden
Upsides:
he is beaten to death very graphically quite early on.
 
Cockney Mackem said:
Sorcerer is a stupid title though. Otherwise this film is just about perfect
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Aye. Ridiculous title for 1977 when there was almost only Barry Norman and Newspapers in the UK to advise what was coming up for release. In 1977 the only Video player I’d heard of was the one at my old school which some old boys had attempted to steal!
I remember me and the couple of mates who used to go to see stuff a lot more regularly than ive ever done since initially not fancying it whatsoever thinking it was all wizards n swords n cloaks n sandals and spells.
In fact im certain I’ve never seen it on the big screen.
 
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