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SMB Film Thread 2026


Cockney Mackem said:
My problem with Hamnet is this. Either it's a blatant piece of Oscar bait that uses the death of a child to manipulate the audience with basically grief porn, in which case I don't want to watch it. Or, it's a genuinely heartfelt portrait of the devastating effect on parents of the loss of their beloved child to a terrible disease, in which case I can't bear to watch it
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I think it's more the former than the latter. I don't think the rave social media coverage it got on release was organic - it smacks of publicists working overtime. The much heralded grief scene was overacting in the extreme.
 
Redux Redux [2025] 7/10
A cracking, original, low-fi, revenge thriller.

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Hard Eight [1996] 8/10
I've watched all of PTA's films now, this might be my 3rd favourite? Philip Baker Hall's best performance.

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Cockney Mackem said:
My problem with Hamnet is this. Either it's a blatant piece of Oscar bait that uses the death of a child to manipulate the audience with basically grief porn, in which case I don't want to watch it. Or, it's a genuinely heartfelt portrait of the devastating effect on parents of the loss of their beloved child to a terrible disease, in which case I can't bear to watch it
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Hmmm....

The final scene with the staging of Hamlet is great, even though they bafflingly leave out the final line of the play

But the 90mins leading up to it just aren't that interesting, and it doesn't seem thought through properly. For example early on there is a reference to Orpheus and Andromache, but this never really seems to develop properly - why was this included? Agnes is sometimes a forest witch, sometimes not so much. All a bit meh.
 
Fletch73 said:
Marty Supreme [2025] 9/10
Electric.

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It was canny, but pretty pointless. He's a good actor the lad mind.
SPUFF said:
Had first cinema visit in years this week, lad asked if i liked jalepinos n gave me a cup of them with nachos.

Nearly soiled myself on the journey home!
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For a bargain £30 I bet too. Its scandalous, hence I don't bother. However, I do have a burger and chips if I go to the Everyman cinema.
 
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6/10

Was alright, got a point knocked off for the constant shitty jazz piano throughout.
 
When Eight Bells Toll (1971)

Alistair McLean-scripted adaptation with Anthony Hopkins as the lead. He’s investigating missing bullion shipments off the Scottish coast.

There’s a great sense of place evoked here, with the mountains and sea being characters in their own right. It’s very nicely-filmed, and there’s some great kinetic camerawork filming dives, choppers and boats. The script is tight and the last exchange is amusing. Pacing-wise, I found it to be quite tight and engrossing, with no flab and some decent stunts.

It gets less press than the classic MacLean films, but I thought it was class.

8/10
 
Yi Yi (2000) 10/10
Lost count of how many times I've seen this, starting with a fuzzy DVD with burnt-in subtitles. Now in 4K, so got to marvel at all the background textures in addition to the film itself, which is still revealing new details.
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North Dallas Forty (1979) 9/10
One of the greatest films about sport. Nick Nolte as an NFL player approaching the end of his career, Features two of my favourite actors from that era, Charles Durning and Dabney Coleman.
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Marty Supreme (2025) 8/10
Not as stressful as the director's previous film, Uncut Gems - but like that one, this features a main character constantly making bad choices. Not sure about the juxtaposition of an 80s soundtrack with a 50s setting.
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errant said:
To me, the soundtrack was a highlight over the constant pace of one money earning scene after the next.

Gonna watch it on the small screen soon, wonder if I'll enjoy it more in that format over having gone to the cinema.
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Just been reading up on Safdie's reasoning for 80s music. Initially the film was going to end in the 80s, which would have justified the soundtrack on period grounds. But ultimately he decided that Marty is a man out of time - a 1980s, ambitious, greedy, wannabe Yuppie living in the homely 1950s. In that context it makes a lot more sense.
 
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