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SMB Film Thread 2025
- Thread starter Fletch73
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Doogie Hauser
Midfield
Fred Army
Striker
Yeah, I didn't think it was bad, just misjudged for a re-boot of a well known property.
Yeah, agree with that.
There was something about the setting and atmosphere that made me think it was ok. I think 6 is fair.
Drexl
Striker
28 Years Later (2025)
Danny Boyle. Alex Garland. A hell of a swing to turn the whole story on its head. I found myself absolutely enthralled and at times emotionally drained.
The stuff on how the rage has mutated and civilisation in mainland UK has adapted and regressed was superb, Garland’s writing in this is nothing short of spectacular. Boyle’s direction is anxiety inducing.
It could be an 8, it could be a 9. I’ve just got out the cinema so need a little time to digest but my immediate reaction is it’s excellent.
Oh and the ending is ballsy as fuck!
Danny Boyle. Alex Garland. A hell of a swing to turn the whole story on its head. I found myself absolutely enthralled and at times emotionally drained.
The stuff on how the rage has mutated and civilisation in mainland UK has adapted and regressed was superb, Garland’s writing in this is nothing short of spectacular. Boyle’s direction is anxiety inducing.
It could be an 8, it could be a 9. I’ve just got out the cinema so need a little time to digest but my immediate reaction is it’s excellent.
Oh and the ending is ballsy as fuck!
BarrySheensAutograph
Midfield
Sinners, bang average don't get the hype
Unbalanced Views
Striker
Just watching Jaws again - ITV4 - a great movie
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
Shoot to Kill (1947)
I didn’t recognise the cast (Russell Wade, Luana Walters, Edmund MacDonald, Robert Kent), but was perfectly happy to give this a crack. Hmm. It’s pretty poor. I don’t know if it was the heat affecting my brain and concentration, but even at 64 minutes, it felt like a confusing slog in places. The print quality and sound were ghastly.
It’s something about a corrupt DA, his new secretary, and investigative reporter, three gang bosses and a wrong un convicted on phoney testimony. There were flashes of interest, but the acting was quite poor in places, and it didn’t really hit any of the right notes. Best bit was some bloke playing the piano like a man possessed.
3/10
Man Detained (1961)
This was better. A safe is robbed, and the company secretary phones the rozzers (Bernard Archard, great, again). The company boss is furious, and insists that the thief only made away with £20 in petty cash. The thief actually got away with ten grand.
Nicely-paced, clear, no-frills, no messing Edgar Wallace adaptation. Had me engaged throughout. Not because it’s great or anything, but because it set its stall out to present a simple mystery/crime caper, and it does it well. Everything is serviceable and succinct. The jaunty soundtrack would be offputting to some, but I felt that it kept the tone fresh without turning it into a farce.
6/10
I didn’t recognise the cast (Russell Wade, Luana Walters, Edmund MacDonald, Robert Kent), but was perfectly happy to give this a crack. Hmm. It’s pretty poor. I don’t know if it was the heat affecting my brain and concentration, but even at 64 minutes, it felt like a confusing slog in places. The print quality and sound were ghastly.
It’s something about a corrupt DA, his new secretary, and investigative reporter, three gang bosses and a wrong un convicted on phoney testimony. There were flashes of interest, but the acting was quite poor in places, and it didn’t really hit any of the right notes. Best bit was some bloke playing the piano like a man possessed.
3/10
Man Detained (1961)
This was better. A safe is robbed, and the company secretary phones the rozzers (Bernard Archard, great, again). The company boss is furious, and insists that the thief only made away with £20 in petty cash. The thief actually got away with ten grand.
Nicely-paced, clear, no-frills, no messing Edgar Wallace adaptation. Had me engaged throughout. Not because it’s great or anything, but because it set its stall out to present a simple mystery/crime caper, and it does it well. Everything is serviceable and succinct. The jaunty soundtrack would be offputting to some, but I felt that it kept the tone fresh without turning it into a farce.
6/10
Final Destination - Bloodlines,
If you watched any of these you know what you are getting, this was one of the better sequels, most enjoyable.
If you watched any of these you know what you are getting, this was one of the better sequels, most enjoyable.
Doogie Hauser
Midfield
Never Back Losers (1961)
Another enjoyable EWM entry.
Jack Hedley is an insurance investigator looking into the car accident of a jockey who is suspected of having thrown a race. He meets the replacement jockey, Larry Martyn, his sister (Jacqueline Ellis) and various underworld shady characters, unravelling rivalries in betting syndicates and other disreputable ventures.
By now, you know what you’re going to get. Not much character development, but a generally entertaining and pacy story. Some of the characters are genuinely engaging, such as Patrick Magee’s betting boss, and Hedley puts in a quality turn, so even though they don’t really develop in the hour they’re given, they hold your attention for what they are. They feel like actual players in a story, rather than just drivers of it.
Again, neat and compact.
6/10
Another enjoyable EWM entry.
Jack Hedley is an insurance investigator looking into the car accident of a jockey who is suspected of having thrown a race. He meets the replacement jockey, Larry Martyn, his sister (Jacqueline Ellis) and various underworld shady characters, unravelling rivalries in betting syndicates and other disreputable ventures.
By now, you know what you’re going to get. Not much character development, but a generally entertaining and pacy story. Some of the characters are genuinely engaging, such as Patrick Magee’s betting boss, and Hedley puts in a quality turn, so even though they don’t really develop in the hour they’re given, they hold your attention for what they are. They feel like actual players in a story, rather than just drivers of it.
Again, neat and compact.
6/10
Monty Pigeon
Striker
The Koker Trilogy by Abbas Kiarostami.
Where is the Friend's House? (1987) 9/10
A schoolboy in remote northern Iran realises he took another's boy's book home. He sets out to the next village to return it, meeting lots of characters along the way. Very affecting.
And Life Goes On (aka Life, and Nothing More) (1992) 9/10
Two years after the above film was made, the region was hit by a major earthquake. The entire village of Poshteh, central to the first film, was wiped out. Mixing fact and fiction, a film director goes there to find out what happened to the children from the first film. Did they survive? Incredibly poignant, and also uplifting.
Through the Olive Trees (1994) 10/10
Another testing of the boundaries of fictional filmmaking. Taking place during the making of the second film of the trilogy, this focusses on an actor who has fallen in love with the actress playing his wife. His obsession begins to destabilize the entire production. For me, marginally the best of the three films, though they're all terrific.
Where is the Friend's House? (1987) 9/10
A schoolboy in remote northern Iran realises he took another's boy's book home. He sets out to the next village to return it, meeting lots of characters along the way. Very affecting.
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And Life Goes On (aka Life, and Nothing More) (1992) 9/10
Two years after the above film was made, the region was hit by a major earthquake. The entire village of Poshteh, central to the first film, was wiped out. Mixing fact and fiction, a film director goes there to find out what happened to the children from the first film. Did they survive? Incredibly poignant, and also uplifting.
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Through the Olive Trees (1994) 10/10
Another testing of the boundaries of fictional filmmaking. Taking place during the making of the second film of the trilogy, this focusses on an actor who has fallen in love with the actress playing his wife. His obsession begins to destabilize the entire production. For me, marginally the best of the three films, though they're all terrific.
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Good channel for buffs
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Monty Pigeon
Striker
I watch it religiously. My own collection of Criterions would probably fill a wall of that closet. (See the Koker trilogy above.)
Why I love youtube
Nina persson to a Dutch woman riding the world on a motorbike to people talking films .
I shared 1 with my son as he's doing film at Uni and we have some good chats about the best ones
Monty Pigeon
Striker
The Runner (1984) 10/10
Breathtaking film by Amir Naderi following the daily life of a plucky orphan boy in the Iranian city of Abadan. Few films match it for a sense of place. (I looked up what happened to the boy playing the lead - he emigrated to the US and is now an educational administrator in California.)
Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986) 7/10
The lowest grossing Tom Hanks film. He made it immediately after Big, and it got slated by the critics - who apparently resented him for attempting to move beyond comedy. In the context of his later career, it doesn't seem the big stretch that they claimed. Here he plays an American pilot flying with the RAF in Jerusalem. He starts seeing a sephardic jewish woman - against the wishes of her family.
Architecton (2025) 8/10
Documentary in the 'visual symphony' style. Begins with stunning drone footage of bombed apartment blocks in Ukraine. Also some great footage of the Roman ruins of Baalbek - a place I've wanted to go back to since I was there in the 90s, but it's rarely been safe.
Breathtaking film by Amir Naderi following the daily life of a plucky orphan boy in the Iranian city of Abadan. Few films match it for a sense of place. (I looked up what happened to the boy playing the lead - he emigrated to the US and is now an educational administrator in California.)
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Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986) 7/10
The lowest grossing Tom Hanks film. He made it immediately after Big, and it got slated by the critics - who apparently resented him for attempting to move beyond comedy. In the context of his later career, it doesn't seem the big stretch that they claimed. Here he plays an American pilot flying with the RAF in Jerusalem. He starts seeing a sephardic jewish woman - against the wishes of her family.
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Architecton (2025) 8/10
Documentary in the 'visual symphony' style. Begins with stunning drone footage of bombed apartment blocks in Ukraine. Also some great footage of the Roman ruins of Baalbek - a place I've wanted to go back to since I was there in the 90s, but it's rarely been safe.
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Harry Gates
Winger
"God Bless Field Marshall Mont-Gom-Mary."
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