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SMB Film Thread 2026

The Secret Agent (2025) - 8/10 - I loved this drama set in 1970's Brazil which follows an engineering professor on the run from the state and a corrupt businessman he and his wife have upset. Hitmen are on his trail as he tries to obtain fake passports to flee the country aided by underground dissidents. This has a great feel to it, evoking memories of those 70's movies which have room to breathe and it just has a great mood. The opening scene sets the bar and it rarely dips below it.
 

Albert R.N. (1953)

Brit war film about a group of POWs who try to escape using a dummy. Sounds daft but it’s based on a true story.

Absolutely excellent cast led by Anthony Steel and Jack Warner, and the whole thing has a great Boy’s Own feel to it. The camaraderie is first class and there’s some nicely-filmed moody shots.

8/10
 
365 Days (2020)

Massimo Torricelli, a young and handsome boss of a Sicilian Mafia family, has no other option but to takeover after his father has been assassinated. Laura is a sales director in a luxurious hotel in Warsaw. She has a successful career, but her private life lacks passion. She is taking one last shot to save her relationship. Together with her bone-headed boyfriend, Martin and some other friends, she takes a trip to Sicily. She does not expect that Massimo, the most dangerous man on the island, will get in her way, kidnap her, hold her captive and give her 365 days - to fall in love with him

This is widely considered verging on porn. I drench that ridiculous claim in cold water. It is almost certainly NOT verging on the pornographic. It is far from it. With porn you see everything in detail. You see nothing. Just a strong hint of what is happening. Your mind fills in the blanks. What this is is close to the Fifty Shades sage. A modern take on the steamy, tense thrillers of old like Lady Chatterly's Lover or novels by Jilly Cooper or Jackie Collins. It is a tense thriller that is just very charged with passions. You are more taken in by the emotional rollercoaster Laura is on and the decisions she must take and the fight with her own feelings. It delves into the Captive/Captor dynamic where often a captive can fall for their captor. Her boyfriend is kind but is given to using her own health issues (she has a weak heart) as an excuse to not do activities together. I think the film is a battle between a legal relationship that is bad and an illegal relationship that is good. Massimo is no Michael Corleone. He does hold her captive but he is kind. Her relationship with her boyfriend is legal but he is far from a nice guy. He never suggests doing stuff and uses her weak heart condition to not do things and be lazy.

Apparently the sequel is a lot more edgy but this one I enjoyed.
 
The Calendar (1948)

Horse-racing based yarn from an Edgar Wallace play-turned-novel.

John McCallum is a naive idiot horse owner besotted with gold digger Greta Gynt. She connives her way through the film, which sees McCall potless and manipulated.

It’s all quite knockabout and wry, with Leslie Dwyer providing an amusing wideboy manservant. A decent watch if you’re in the mood for this type of gentle drama.

5/10
 
Doogie Hauser said:
Albert R.N. (1953)

Brit war film about a group of POWs who try to escape using a dummy. Sounds daft but it’s based on a true story.

Absolutely excellent cast led by Anthony Steel and Jack Warner, and the whole thing has a great Boy’s Own feel to it. The camaraderie is first class and there’s some nicely-filmed moody shots.

8/10
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I'd forgotten about this one, may well watch tonight /tomorrow. A film I've also being trying to locate to watch again is the Wooden Horse but can't find it anywhere.
 
SAFCOldie said:
I'd forgotten about this one, may well watch tonight /tomorrow. A film I've also being trying to locate to watch again is the Wooden Horse but can't find it anywhere.
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Albert RN is on Encore until Monday and YouTube (I think).

Wooden Horse is here
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SAFCOldie said:
It's certainly on YouTube, I really only watch YouTube.

Thanks also for that Wooden Horse tip off, superb, I should be able to get that on my TV by opening the Internet I think. Phaffy but a good film so worth it 👍
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Yes it should be openable on a tv web browser. I haven’t watched it yet but it’s high on the watchlist! Sea of Sand and Malta Story are on encore too which I haven’t seen for ages.
 
Saipan (2025) 7/10
Better than I expected. Some genuinely funny moments, and all the better for the portrayals of Mick McCarthy and Roy Keene being interpretations by the actors rather than impressions.
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The White Balloon (1995) 9/10
Directorial debut from Jafar Panahi, with screenplay by Abbas Kiarostami. A 7-year-old girl in Tehran sets out to buy a goldfish on the eve of the Iranian New Year. Things don't go according to plan.
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3 Faces (2018) 10/10
A young girl in rural Iran sends a famous Iranian actress what appears to be a phone video of her committing suicide. The actress and Jafar Panahi (both playing themselves) set out on a road trip to find out what happened to her. All the elements of the Iranian New Wave: lots of tracking shots from cars, the clash of urban and rural values, family intrigue, village politics, lots of meta elements. All of it brilliantly done.
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Bulls 2026. 3/10 and that's being generous. A film about darts doesn't exactly fill you with excitement but I thought I'd give it a go. Absolute garbage, terrible Manchester accents, cringey throughout. Don't bother, even if you like darts

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The Bride (2026)

It has some great ideas, some great scenes, and some compelling peformances, but for me it just didn't work properly. Disjointed, uneven in tone, some ideas appear and then aren't developed properly, including one of the central ideas about Mary Shelley, which sort of peters out.

But.... everyone who I went with loved it.
 
War Machine (2026) - Netflix.

I thought this was decent. It’s a bit Terminator, a bit Predator, a bit Black Mirror episode Metalhead, a bit Jurassic Park, a tiny bit Aliens, and Metal Gear Solid is a clear influence. It doesn’t really do anything new. There’s a bootcamp bit, then onto the hunt. Some of the music and camera combos are pure 90s Michael Bay cheese, but it held my interest throughout and, despite having some functional dialogue (at best) was reasonably coherent.

6/10 for me.
 
Doogie Hauser said:
War Machine (2026) - Netflix.

I thought this was decent. It’s a bit Terminator, a bit Predator, a bit Black Mirror episode Metalhead, a bit Jurassic Park, a tiny bit Aliens, and Metal Gear Solid is a clear influence. It doesn’t really do anything new. There’s a bootcamp bit, then onto the hunt. Some of the music and camera combos are pure 90s Michael Bay cheese, but it held my interest throughout and, despite having some functional dialogue (at best) was reasonably coherent.

6/10 for me.
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Yeah was just daft entertainment no more no less, thought the ending seemed to be setting it up for a few follow ups which i wasnt keen on, one was enough 😁
 
Monty Pigeon said:
The White Balloon (1995) 9/10
Directorial debut from Jafar Panahi, with screenplay by Abbas Kiarostami. A 7-year-old girl in Tehran sets out to buy a goldfish on the eve of the Iranian New Year. Things don't go according to plan.
You must be logged on to see media items

3 Faces (2018) 10/10
A young girl in rural Iran sends a famous Iranian actress what appears to be a phone video of her committing suicide. The actress and Jafar Panahi (both playing themselves) set out on a road trip to find out what happened to her. All the elements of the Iranian New Wave: lots of tracking shots from cars, the clash of urban and rural values, family intrigue, village politics, lots of meta elements. All of it brilliantly done.
You must be logged on to see media items
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There's currently a Panahi retrospective on Mubi:

It Was Just An Accident [2025]
Taxi Tehran [2015]
Closed Curtain [2013]
Offside [2006]
Crimson Gold [2003]
The Circle [2000]
The Mirror [1997]
The White Balloon [1995]

I've not seen any of them yet, so the watchlist increases again.
 
Fletch73 said:
There's currently a Panahi retrospective on Mubi:

It Was Just An Accident [2025]
Taxi Tehran [2015]
Closed Curtain [2013]
Offside [2006]
Crimson Gold [2003]
The Circle [2000]
The Mirror [1997]
The White Balloon [1995]

I've not seen any of them yet, so the watchlist increases again.
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I can't get enough of his films. Watched Taxi Tehran last night. They should be required viewing for those aiming to 'bomb the crap out of Iran'. Panahi is fearless in showing all aspects of the society, good and bad. The amazing thing about his filmography is how many films he's made since he was officially banned from making films.

It Was Just An Accident is the ideal starting point. Incredible, with one of the greatest endings in the movies.
 
Lankester Merrin said:
The Bride (2026)

It has some great ideas, some great scenes, and some compelling peformances, but for me it just didn't work properly. Disjointed, uneven in tone, some ideas appear and then aren't developed properly, including one of the central ideas about Mary Shelley, which sort of peters out.

But.... everyone who I went with loved it.
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Agree with all of that yet I definitely enjoyed it!
 
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