• The first stage of the forum upgrades has now been completed but they remain in a degraded state and are still being worked on. Normal posting/reading should now be possible.
    Please read this thread for more details.
    New user registrations are currently disabled.

SMB Film Thread 2026

Peter Ibbetson (1935) 8/10
One of the inspirations behind Joker: Folie à Deux. Imprisoned for murder, Peter Ibbetson (Gary Cooper) escapes captivity through his dreams. Remarkably inventive, narratively, for an early mainstream Hollywood film.
You must be logged on to see media items

Shoot to Kill (aka Deadly Pursuit) (1988) 6/10
Kirstie Alley is a mountain guide (not a very convincing one) leading a tour group that includes a ruthless killer. Tom Berenger as her boyfriend, and Sidney Poitier as an FBI agent, trying to find her before she's murdered. Part Lethal Weapon, part First Blood. Ridiculously contrived, but Poitier's good in it.
You must be logged on to see media items

Too Late for Tears (1949) 8/10
A couple are driving in the LA hills when someone in a passing car throws a bag of cash into their vehicle. The woman (Lisbeth Scott) decides to keep it, whatever the cost. Decent film noir. Full movie here:
You must be logged on to see media items
 

TheManFromSunderland said:
Backrooms - went to see it last night based on a lot of feedback on here. Very disappointed. First hour was very good, had a lot of potential then just went to sh*t, nearly burst out laughing at the sloth from the goonies type thing, WTF???
5/10 for the first hour, wouldn’t watch again. Reminds me of when Blair Witch was hyped and people dare not say it was sh*te.
Click to expand...
I dont remember seeing a sloth type thing from the goonies do you mean the giant pirate?
 
TheManFromSunderland said:
Yes but the scene would have been better had sloth been cast I didn’t mean literally did I
Click to expand...
The reason I'd been eagerly waiting for this film to be released as I like millions of others had watched the YouTube web series called The Backrooms. I knew what to expect as I'd seen the episode with the 'Roller Giant' it was the stuff of nightmares and difficult to forget even though it was obviously a low budget giant puppet.
 
Cosmo said:
The reason I'd been eagerly waiting for this film to be released as I like millions of others had watched the YouTube web series called The Backrooms. I knew what to expect as I'd seen the episode with the 'Roller Giant' it was the stuff of nightmares and difficult to forget even though it was obviously a low budget giant puppet.
Click to expand...
Ah I see…….i just thought it was sh*te….not a good film at all regardless of origin or budget, just my opinion though.
 
Hidden Fear (1957)

John Payne conducts his own investigation in Denmark after his sister is arrested.

Canny. No great shakes, but solid. 6/10


Cage of Evil (1960)

A pissed-off cop, passed over for promotion again, investigates a diamond robbery. He starts to get very close to the number one suspect’s lass. They plan to run off together. Ronald Foster and Patricia Blair star in this brisk B film about greed and ambition.

Enjoyed this. 6/10


Five Steps to Danger (1957)

Sterling Hayden shares driving duty with Ruth Roman on a long trip, but he becomes suspicious that she’s done something wrong, and that the police are on her trail.

Part noir, part Cold War mystery. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 6.5/10


The Crime Doctor’s Diary (1949)

A parolee convicted for arson is now up for murder. Warner Baxter looks to defend him. Decent role of Whit Bissell as an ambitious singer-songwriter. 5/10
 
A couple more Pacino's ticked off:

The Panic in Needle Park [1971] 8/10
Stark, gritty drama about drug addicts in New York. Pacino is very good, Kitty Win is very, very good.
You must be logged on to see media items

Scent of a Woman [1992] 7/10
Hackneyed direction, signposted plotting, Pacino overacting, O'Donnell annoyingly meek, 40 minutes too long. Still enjoyed it, though.
You must be logged on to see media items
 
Fletch73 said:
A couple more Pacino's ticked off:

The Panic in Needle Park [1971] 8/10
Stark, gritty drama about drug addicts in New York. Pacino is very good, Kitty Win is very, very good.
You must be logged on to see media items

Scent of a Woman [1992] 7/10
Hackneyed direction, signposted plotting, Pacino overacting, O'Donnell annoyingly meek, 40 minutes too long. Still enjoyed it, though.
You must be logged on to see media items
Click to expand...

1992, in which Denzel Washington was robbed of an Oscar by what wasn't even Al Pacino's best performance that year
 
Scarecrow [1973] 8/10
Al Pacino and Gene Hackman are two drifters heading east, getting in and out of trouble. Directed by Jerry Schatzberg who'd just directed Pacino in Needle Park, I was wondering why this looked so good - the first 5 minutes feel like a Terence Malick film. I checked the cinematographer and it's Vilmos Zsigmond whose work includes The Deer Hunter, Blow Out, Close Encounters and Heaven's Gate.
You must be logged on to see media items
 
Hokum (2026). Very disappointing in my opinion. Liked Oddity but this is a bit of a mess. Lots of easy jump scares, ludicrous characters, pathetic childhood trauma and a particularly twattish central character. Must be getting old coz this was exremely poor. Wanna score? 4/10 at best.
 
In the Grey [2026] 2/10
Guy Ritchie's latest load of wank. Despite there being a constant voice-over explaining the plot as it went I was still confused until I switched off after 45 minutes out of sheer boredom.
You must be logged on to see media items
 
Good fortune (prime) - Aziz Ansari Seth Rogan, Keane Reeves, not got a high rating on IMDb (6.5) but I really enjoyed this. Seen-it-before life swap type movie but some genuine chuckles, a really good social message and balanced the tone well. 8.25/10
 
Masters of the Universe (2016) - Flash Gordon with a bigger budget. Camp, Queen, Brian May, Skeleton being Skeletor and a ton of little digs at the original premise.

Bonus Dolph Lundgren in a pretty amusing "passing the torch".
 
Fletch73 said:
In the Grey [2026] 2/10
Guy Ritchie's latest load of wank. Despite there being a constant voice-over explaining the plot as it went I was still confused until I switched off after 45 minutes out of sheer boredom.
You must be logged on to see media items
Click to expand...
I made it to the end! Very strange cameo from Rosamund Pike who is on a running machine in her office outfit without explanation. I mean how sweaty would she be? It looked like she filmed all her scenes in one day so she must have thought it added interest to a boring character. Ritchie is a bit of a con man isn't he?
 
The Love That Remains (2025) 8/10
A drama, with elements of surreal comedy, about a dysfunctional Icelandic family. Beautifully shot - in more ways than one.
You must be logged on to see media items

Personal Shopper (2016) 6/10
Much heavier going than I expected. Supernatural suspense film about an American personal shopper (Kristen Stewart) in Paris. If ghosts could really make contact via mobile phone, surely we'd all be getting messages.
You must be logged on to see media items

The Wizard of the Kremlin (2025) 8/10
Another from Olivier Assayas. Fictionalised account of the rise and fall of Vladislav Surkov, the man responsible not just for Putin, but for the dark arts of media manipulation. Paul Dano is a bit of a void in the lead role (perhaps deliberately), but Jude Law is terrific as Putin.
You must be logged on to see media items
 
Armoured Car Robbery (1950)

Does exactly what it says on the bastard tin. William Talman is in top form as a ruthless shit, Charles McGraw is the grizzled rozzer on his tail.

Quality B crime film. Short, sharp, no messing about. I was in the mood for something like this, and it delivered.

7/10

The Devil Thumbs A Ride (1947)

Lawrence Tierney guns a nerd down and hitches a lift with a travelling salesman. They end up picking up two women and trying to avoid roadblocks.

Another single-issue crime B flick which clocks in at just over an hour and knows exactly what it wants to do. No pissing about. Tierney is great as a double hard bastard.

7/10
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top