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SMB Film Thread 2025

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fyl2u said:
The Damned (2024)

Tense and atmospheric slow-paced Icelandic/English horror movie. A tiny fishing community in the frozen wilderness is already low on food when a sailing ship is wrecked on rocks across the bay. Choosing not to rescue the sailors because there wouldn't be enough food to go around, the villagers are haunted by their decision and their superstitions play with their minds. Freaky encounters start happening and people start dying. Have the dead come back for their revenge?

Canny.

Not a classic by any means, but one of those "if you watch it alone in the dark and give it your full attention, it'll spook you" kind of movies.

7/10
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That's me out then. :oops:
 

Cockney Mackem said:
He's not as good as his Da - yet

But his first three films compare very favourably to his Da's first three

Infinity Pool is a complete mind fuck, and Mia Goth may well be my favourite wrong'un in the whole wide world
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Mia Goth is fantastic at being completely batshit 🤣

I watched a weird one with her in where a girl goes to a war torn history where men v women…it wasn’t great but quite a clever idea.

I loved Infinity Pool, and his art is improving…I think he can do it. Overall he’s actually a little bit more extreme than his dad imo.
 
DJ Doubt said:
Jurassic World: Rebirth – 6/10

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“Hungry? Why wait”

The longest Snickers advert I’ve ever seen.

After a shockingly bad opening that is rushed beyond belief, we get dropped into more of the same Jurassic World sequel nonsense. For the first 45 minutes I was gutted as it retains the same goofy tone from Fallen Kingdom. I was under the impression that this was going to be a tonal reset for the franchise, but this is just more of the same f***ing slop. Not only is it crap, but it looks like shit too. From a pure cinematography POV, it looks horrible. Faces are constantly hidden in shadow and like many modern blockbusters, it looks cheap as hell. It was in 1 star Dominion territory for a good while.

I’m relieved to report that once the Spinosauruses show up, it starts to pick up and gradually morphs into a fun, Jurassic Park 3 style adventure B-movie. There are plenty of exciting set pieces with lots of new exotic beasts, but no matter how many genetically altered dinos they shove down our throats, it’s always the OG T-Rex steals the show.

It’s not one for the nitpickers who can’t switch the critical part of their brain off. People are constantly saying and doing stupid things. Characters inexplicably escape the snapping jaws of giant monsters at least 20 times. Dinosaurs hold off from attacking the more morally rounded members of the cast to allow them ample time to escape. The little girl is so bad at acting, they only give her three lines. But, hey, it’s a 7th Jurassic Park film released in the age of shit blockbusters. It’s exactly what you should expect and about as much as you could hope for.

They make turds. They do make turds. It’s up to whether you decide to pinch your nose or gleefully roll around in it.
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Going to see this tomorrow. Can't wait now 😅
(The kids will be fine with it am sure)
 
F1 (2025)

Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, the aging driver with one last shot of glory in the big time, working alongside the young, angry rookie played by the excellent Damson Idris.

They’ve taken Days Of Thunder and made it good. The racing sequences are exhilarating and Joseph Kosinski does a brilliant job of making stretches that should be predictable full of jeopardy. During the final race in the cinema, to quote Sonny Hayes, I felt like I was flying. Sometimes the most straight forward films are the most fun.

8/10
 
Drexl said:
F1 (2025)

Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, the aging driver with one last shot of glory in the big time, working alongside the young, angry rookie played by the excellent Damson Idris.

They’ve taken Days Of Thunder and made it good. The racing sequences are exhilarating and Joseph Kosinski does a brilliant job of making stretches that should be predictable full of jeopardy. During the final race in the cinema, to quote Sonny Hayes, I felt like I was flying. Sometimes the most straight forward films are the most fun.

8/10
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Any cool cinematography tricks in this like Maverick, Oblivion and Tron? I like Kosinski’s eye.
 
Jurassic World: Rebirth.
A few decent action set pieces but that's about it. Flogging a dead horse but it'll make a shit ton of money so expect another one in a couple of years.
Loads of kids in the screening I was at and it's sad that this is what they get served up when I remember being so thrilled and scared seeing Jurassic Park when it first came out.
 
Cockney Mackem said:
Watching Kurosawa's Yojimbo right now
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Kurosawa. A master.

Nothing so highbrow for me last night. Another whodunnit from big Edgar.

Flat Two (1962)

Casino boss twat lets a lass run up 10k in debt. Demands that she becomes his tour holiday dame to pay off the debt. Her boyfriend (Jack Watling) gets wind of it and goes round to see him. On the same night, casino twat is visited by a former buddy who is after a big payoff, and a barrister from whom he wants legal advice. He winds up dead, and there are quite a few suspects!

Watchable mystery that doesn’t ever tax the brain - it’s obvious who did it - but there’s joy to be had from the performances of John LeMesurier, Bernard Archard and Charles Lloyd Pack. The problem is, once the suspects are whittled down, there’s only one possible visitor left, so at that point into becomes a ‘how does Archard work it out?’ exercise.

And it’s handled quite nicely. There’s a few red herrings throughout, but a couple of motives are just thrown out from the blue. Most of the reveals are through backstory and exposition heavy dialogue, but the cast make it decent. So it’s a better watch than it is a film. I enjoyed it. Very limited and not a great whodunnit, but a nice effort on a Friday night after a week in the hellhole.

6.5/10
 
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Presence (2024)

Slow burn supernatural psychological drama from the pen of David Koepp, directed by Steven Soderberg, starring Lucy Liu. Unusual low-budget indie-flick-style movie by these writer/director powerhouses, where everything is seen from the perspective of the ghostly presence living in a troubled family's new home.

Not sure what to compare this to. Don't expect it to be like Paranormal Activity, Poltergeist, or any of your normal ghost thrillers, this is more about the family's drama that the ghost involves itself in, as opposed to a "ghost terrorises family" type movie.

Seeing everything from the ghost's perspective gives an "arm's length" feel to everything that's going on, so the acting can come across as a little distant and understated, almost "improvvy" at times but in a way that adds realism and draws you in. This definitely works in the film's favour and gives strength to the ending.

If you're looking for something a little different with a bit of a "film festival" vibe to it, this is definitely worth seeing. It's not a movie you'll want to rewatch again and again, nor is it a film for thrillseekers or blockbuster-lovers, and it certainly isn't the kind of movie you'd expect from Koepp or Soderberg. I found it enjoyable though.

7.6/10
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Oh, I just checked the Wiki page. Filming took 11 days, and it was screened at Sundance last year.
Soderberg did his own cinematography and most of the filming on a Sony mirrorless camera on a motorised stabiliser, wearing slippers to hide the sound of his own footsteps.
 
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The Share Out (1962)

Bernard Lee, Alexander Knox, Moira Redmond, William Russell, Richard Vernon, Richard Warner and John Gabriel. A decent cast, then. Lee is terrific, again, as a dogged detective fighting for justice to the very last frame.

It’s a steady enough premise: a pack of blackmailing bastards operating under the guise of a respectable company start to turn on each other as the loot pot expands. Bernie Lee drafts in an investigator to act as a double agent.

Plenty of machinations and double crossing, this is a very decent effort that keeps up the run of entertaining sub-hour Brit 1960s B flicks churned out using EW’s material.

6.5/10
 
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