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SMB Film Thread 2025
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Monty Pigeon
Striker
The Death of Stalin (2017) 8/10
Watched this after reading a biography of Stalin. The reality of his death is not far off Iannucci's satire.
Mississippi Masala (1991) 8/10
Interesting exploration of race and identity directed by the new mayor of New York's mum. A family of Ugandan-Asians expelled by Idi Amin end up in Mississippi, only for their daughter to fall in love with an African-America (Denzel Washington).
The Medusa Touch (1978) 4/10
Absolute tosh. Richard Burton dials it in (he's lying in a hospital bed with his face concealed for most of - or at least his stand-in is), Michael Horden does Michael Horden stuff, and Derek Jacobi manages to chew the scenery in a role that basically consists of him looking out of a window. Lino Ventura does his best to hold it all together as a French detective on an 'exchange scheme' to the UK (a shaky plot explanation to cover the producers' need for a continental star for French funding).
Watched this after reading a biography of Stalin. The reality of his death is not far off Iannucci's satire.
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Mississippi Masala (1991) 8/10
Interesting exploration of race and identity directed by the new mayor of New York's mum. A family of Ugandan-Asians expelled by Idi Amin end up in Mississippi, only for their daughter to fall in love with an African-America (Denzel Washington).
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The Medusa Touch (1978) 4/10
Absolute tosh. Richard Burton dials it in (he's lying in a hospital bed with his face concealed for most of - or at least his stand-in is), Michael Horden does Michael Horden stuff, and Derek Jacobi manages to chew the scenery in a role that basically consists of him looking out of a window. Lino Ventura does his best to hold it all together as a French detective on an 'exchange scheme' to the UK (a shaky plot explanation to cover the producers' need for a continental star for French funding).
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Shack
Striker
I Swear (2025) - 8/10 - Really enjoyed this. Such a sad yet funny and uplifting movie. I remember seeing the documentary on the main character all those year ago and to a young lad it was hilarious. You don't really think about the impact but seeing the journey now from pre-tourettes to how his life drastically changed and all the shit he had to deal with through no fault of his own, it's heart breaking. To then come through that with the help of some fantastic people and become a roll model of sorts. What a story! Great acting and the the structure of the movie really worked well (jumping years ahead etc). I hope it wins lots of awards.
errant
Striker
When reading serious books on that period, whenever marshal zhukov is discussed i can't stop myself thinking his real life was exactly as Jason Isaacs portrayed him in that movie. I so want to think he'd 'represent the red army at the buffet' when he welcomed monty in berlin in '45.
One of my favourite supporting actor performances.
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
Really liked that one. Got a great pace to it.
Bloody hell. I remember watching that on the telly as a kid. I thought it was amazing then.
Tried to find out what fillum it was a few times before but always ended up down the wrong rabbit hole.
garyeaststand
Winger
Just watched this , it’s by far the best thing iv seen in a long time
Anyone know where to watch the documentary that I swear was based on ?
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There were two docs this was the first one whihc - being cruel teenagers found hilarious - there was a second one about 15 years later. Seems a great guy and must have been torture
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garyeaststand
Winger
Thanks, can’t imagine what he went through and how he turned it positive helping others was really inspiring
Reilhan
Full Back
I know the horrors in it are real etc but I think The Death of Stalin is one of the funniest films I've ever seen.When reading serious books on that period, whenever marshal zhukov is discussed i can't stop myself thinking his real life was exactly as Jason Isaacs portrayed him in that movie. I so want to think he'd 'represent the red army at the buffet' when he welcomed monty in berlin in '45.
One of my favourite supporting actor performances.
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
The Greed of William Hart (1948) - Encore
Tod Slaughter (who was from Gosforth) stars as a Victorian era bodysnatcher, who, with the aid of his accomplice, decides to skip the ‘waiting for them to die’ part before handing them over to a local surgeons’ college in Edinburgh. Their murderous ways are suspected, but there’s no proof.
British B crime film that feels more 1930 than 1948, and that’s not just down to the setting. It’s incredibly stage-y with just a few static locations and some very theatrical performances and lines. I struggled to engage until I put the subtitles on, because it’s very dialect-heavy and the sound quality is muffled and tinny. It’s a very simplistic and naive film, but charming in its own way. I ended up quite liking it.
5/10
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) - YouTube
I expected a noir about a serial killer. Nope. It’s about a diamond smuggler (Evelyn Keyes) who returns to town ill. She gets meds from a doctor, William Bishop. She then meets her husband (Charles Korvin) but finds out that he’s been nobbing her sister while she’s muling for him. She vows to get revenge, but she’s being trailed by Treasury agent Barry Kelley. She eventually hides with her brother, Whit Bissell. Meanwhile, people she’s come into contact with start to drop like flies - she’s a smallpox carrier. Bishop and Kelley are after the same woman, without realising it, while the city prepares for a public health crisis.
Intriguing little film, this one. Post-Covid, it’s interesting to see how the situation detailed here (based on a 1947 outbreak) compared to the recent pandemic. The narrative is reasonably well handled, but the smuggling angle only exists as a reason to hide the main character and create the race against time threat. Nicely-performed and quite tight.
7/10
The Return (1973) - YouTube
A 30 minute short with Peter Vaughan and Rosalie Crutchley. The latter has maintained a house for years after a murder was committed in the master bedroom. It seems unsellable. The former arrives eager to buy it, fascinated by the history of the house.
A combination of two stories: Nobody’s House by AM Burrage, and The Middle Toe of the Right Foot by Ambrose Bierce. The copy online ruins the photography and sound design of a very decent little ghost story, that’s firmly in the style of the Ghost Story for Christmas shorts. It’s blurry and muffled. It’s a shame because it’s very well performed and seems very atmospheric. Still, its quality shines through. Vaughan is excellent as the haunted lead.
7/10
Tod Slaughter (who was from Gosforth) stars as a Victorian era bodysnatcher, who, with the aid of his accomplice, decides to skip the ‘waiting for them to die’ part before handing them over to a local surgeons’ college in Edinburgh. Their murderous ways are suspected, but there’s no proof.
British B crime film that feels more 1930 than 1948, and that’s not just down to the setting. It’s incredibly stage-y with just a few static locations and some very theatrical performances and lines. I struggled to engage until I put the subtitles on, because it’s very dialect-heavy and the sound quality is muffled and tinny. It’s a very simplistic and naive film, but charming in its own way. I ended up quite liking it.
5/10
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) - YouTube
I expected a noir about a serial killer. Nope. It’s about a diamond smuggler (Evelyn Keyes) who returns to town ill. She gets meds from a doctor, William Bishop. She then meets her husband (Charles Korvin) but finds out that he’s been nobbing her sister while she’s muling for him. She vows to get revenge, but she’s being trailed by Treasury agent Barry Kelley. She eventually hides with her brother, Whit Bissell. Meanwhile, people she’s come into contact with start to drop like flies - she’s a smallpox carrier. Bishop and Kelley are after the same woman, without realising it, while the city prepares for a public health crisis.
Intriguing little film, this one. Post-Covid, it’s interesting to see how the situation detailed here (based on a 1947 outbreak) compared to the recent pandemic. The narrative is reasonably well handled, but the smuggling angle only exists as a reason to hide the main character and create the race against time threat. Nicely-performed and quite tight.
7/10
The Return (1973) - YouTube
A 30 minute short with Peter Vaughan and Rosalie Crutchley. The latter has maintained a house for years after a murder was committed in the master bedroom. It seems unsellable. The former arrives eager to buy it, fascinated by the history of the house.
A combination of two stories: Nobody’s House by AM Burrage, and The Middle Toe of the Right Foot by Ambrose Bierce. The copy online ruins the photography and sound design of a very decent little ghost story, that’s firmly in the style of the Ghost Story for Christmas shorts. It’s blurry and muffled. It’s a shame because it’s very well performed and seems very atmospheric. Still, its quality shines through. Vaughan is excellent as the haunted lead.
7/10
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Really enjoyed this one. A squad of six US infantrymen is sent to occupy a house to use as an observation post as the German Army is expected to advance through that area. 1992 Ethan Hawke 7.1 IMDB
riffraff
Striker
Ive an obvious problem with Peter Vaughan that I can nivver get over. Frinstance I’ve just watched the full four Sweeney series on ITVX and in one he played a gaffer villain and I automatically transposed the whole episode into a Porridge prequel without thinking about it.
Dennis Watermans character in New Tricks is the same deal.
Now I knaar I’m not the sharpest pencil in the box but I doubt I’m alone in this.
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
I know what you mean. It’s hard to disassociate from Grouty. The 1964 film Smokescreen helped me to separate them a bit.
Found a better print of The Return on YouTube this afternoon.
Wonderbra
Midfield
Fantastic soundtrack
Monty Pigeon
Striker
Viva Las Vegas (1964) 6/10
Supposedly one of the best Elvis films. Ann-Margret steals the show, which is apparently why she was never cast alongside him again.
I Swear (2025) 8/10
Manages to tread the tightrope of finding the humour in Tourette's without making it the butt of the jokes. A very likeable film.
Gran Turismo (2023) 4/10
Saw this recommended as a visual benchmark for 4K. Not sure it's even that - all too often it looks like the game it's based on. Agree with one of the reviews on Letterboxd: it's like an evangelical Christian film, only the religion it's pushing is Playstation. (If they're going to do true stories of gamers who tried the real thing, what next? The Will Still story?)
Supposedly one of the best Elvis films. Ann-Margret steals the show, which is apparently why she was never cast alongside him again.
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I Swear (2025) 8/10
Manages to tread the tightrope of finding the humour in Tourette's without making it the butt of the jokes. A very likeable film.
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Gran Turismo (2023) 4/10
Saw this recommended as a visual benchmark for 4K. Not sure it's even that - all too often it looks like the game it's based on. Agree with one of the reviews on Letterboxd: it's like an evangelical Christian film, only the religion it's pushing is Playstation. (If they're going to do true stories of gamers who tried the real thing, what next? The Will Still story?)
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Doogie Hauser
Midfield
Madame Web (2024)
Not as bad as some of the hysterical critics made out, but still very tepid, confused and quite pointless.
Dakota Johnson is ok, but hamstrung by a superhero plot that has no superheroes. Vague precognition is something you could base a film on. Running from a powerful enemy is something you could base a film on. But it’s not a recipe that works in this churnware effort that doesn’t really invest in real stakes. There’s no real sense of peril, and the revelations are muted and don’t work. It’s not really an origin film because Madame Web is a complete nothing of a character. Even her ‘powers’ are dull and lead to pretty much nothing. Even by the end there seems to be a massive dislocation between things now and what these teenagers were meant to become.
Set pieces are slightly dull and the main bad guys delivers every line like a bad dubbing job from the 70s. It’s not FF4 2015 poor, but not a patch on something like Blue Beetle, that has an actual arc with impactful changes.
3/10
Not as bad as some of the hysterical critics made out, but still very tepid, confused and quite pointless.
Dakota Johnson is ok, but hamstrung by a superhero plot that has no superheroes. Vague precognition is something you could base a film on. Running from a powerful enemy is something you could base a film on. But it’s not a recipe that works in this churnware effort that doesn’t really invest in real stakes. There’s no real sense of peril, and the revelations are muted and don’t work. It’s not really an origin film because Madame Web is a complete nothing of a character. Even her ‘powers’ are dull and lead to pretty much nothing. Even by the end there seems to be a massive dislocation between things now and what these teenagers were meant to become.
Set pieces are slightly dull and the main bad guys delivers every line like a bad dubbing job from the 70s. It’s not FF4 2015 poor, but not a patch on something like Blue Beetle, that has an actual arc with impactful changes.
3/10
craigypants
Striker
Robert Aramayo is outstanding in this.Best acting I've seen for ages. Yeah it could just be an actor swearing and gurning but he gives so much more. The other actors shouldn't bother turning up if he gets nominated.It surely must be a big winner at the Baftas where we should be celebrating British talent. Solid 8/10.
Monty Pigeon
Striker
Werner Herzog's 24 tips for filmmakers. Brilliant and bonkers, as you'd expect.
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