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SMB Film Thread 2026

One Mile - Chapter One. (2026)

Special forces fella rescues his daughter from a cult.

Enjoyable if slightly predictable. 7/10

One Mile - Chapter Two.

Special forces fella rescues his daughter from the same cult, again.....

Meh 5/10
 

Can any of the film experts tell me what went on in the 60s I'm sat here watching the Good, the bad and the ugly for the umpteenth time yet it was only a couple of years back I twigged these films are called spagehti westerns for a reason. Since then I've discovered Frank Nero and Anthony Steffen etc but most importantly that it's not just cowboy films, it's war films, horror films, allsorts. What went on, just much cheaper, is it that simple?
 
SAFCOldie said:
Can any of the film experts tell me what went on in the 60s I'm sat here watching the Good, the bad and the ugly for the umpteenth time yet it was only a couple of years back I twigged these films are called spagehti westerns for a reason. Since then I've discovered Frank Nero and Anthony Steffen etc but most importantly that it's not just cowboy films, it's war films, horror films, allsorts. What went on, just much cheaper, is it that simple?
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I think there’s always been moves to create and protect a national film identity.

In France in the late 50s you had the new wave, in Germany in the 20s you had expressionist cinema. In Italy and (to a latter extent) France in the 60s and 70s you had poliziotteschi films. Italy had the swords and sandals genre in the 50s and 60s which aped the historical/religious epics coming out of America. It also had a decent sci-fi and horror scene, in addition to postwar neo-realism and spaghettis. Places like Japan focused on modern yakuza epics, or samurai themed films.

In the case of Italy in particular, they had a strong state-sponsored studio system, and concentrated on genre filmmaking. Cinema was seen as a strong export option, and a way to restore Italian reputation. Tax incentives were definitely involved, and they were able to attract stars from America with some decent money and a European holiday. Traditionally, Italy had provided the backdrop for huge foreign productions (like Ben Hur), with its big studios, cheaper production costs, and historical and varied locations. It helped its own creative talent pool to expand and develop.
 
The Bourne Identity (2002) 7/10
Enjoyed this when it first came out. Really strong first half, but doesn't sustain it.
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The Narrow Margin (1952) 8/10
A cop has to escort a gangster's widow by train from Chicago to LA, where she's going to give evidence in a court case. There are men on the train trying to kill her. Excellent film noir later remade starring Gene Hackman.
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A Little Prayer (2023) 8/10
Indie film about a North Carolina father dealing with the problems of his adult children. Superbly acted, well written. But very much in the fishing-for-awards-at-Sundance genre.
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Doogie Hauser said:
I think there’s always been moves to create and protect a national film identity.

In France in the late 50s you had the new wave, in Germany in the 20s you had expressionist cinema. In Italy and (to a latter extent) France in the 60s and 70s you had poliziotteschi films. Italy had the swords and sandals genre in the 50s and 60s which aped the historical/religious epics coming out of America. It also had a decent sci-fi and horror scene, in addition to postwar neo-realism and spaghettis. Places like Japan focused on modern yakuza epics, or samurai themed films.

In the case of Italy in particular, they had a strong state-sponsored studio system, and concentrated on genre filmmaking. Cinema was seen as a strong export option, and a way to restore Italian reputation. Tax incentives were definitely involved, and they were able to attract stars from America with some decent money and a European holiday. Traditionally, Italy had provided the backdrop for huge foreign productions (like Ben Hur), with its big studios, cheaper production costs, and historical and varied locations. It helped its own creative talent pool to expand and develop.
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Cheers for the info, much appreciated
 
riffraff said:
LA Confidential. 1997. 9/10.

As good as fillums get. 30yrs old next year ferchrissakes. Not seen it for nigh on 20yrs and it’s even better than I remembered. Is it better than Chinatown? Who cares? They’re both treading the same ground and the world’s a better place for their existence. Absolutely superb..
Surely it’s the highlight of all their careers Basinger, Crowe, Spacey, Devito, Pearce and Cromwell. The lot of em though the pimp feller was better in Goodnight and Goodluck. The girl in the couple nicked right at the start looks familiar anarl but she’s only on screen for 30secs or so. I think she may have landed a few bigger roles later.

Think I’ll start reading the Ellroys I’ve missed. Iirc I gave up on him halfway through American Tabloid in 1995 though I’m thinking I missed out White Jazz anarl.

I can’t think why I stopped reading Ellroy. I’ve just checked and I’d read all 8 or 9 of his previous books. Probably the sheer misery, sleaze and seediness.
I watched it tonight after reading the BFI Film Classics book on it last week. In it the writer mentions Bud Schulberg the esteemed Hollywood writer whose dad ran a studio iirc had revealed the secret lookalike hooker agency in the hotel his family first stayed in when they first moved to LA years previously. I thought it was fictional.
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Love James Ellroy
 
The Narrow Margin (1952)

Enjoyed this a lot. I’m not going to lie, it was going to be a 7 tops before the second half. Then it came into its own with the camerawork and story development. The shots of the car were great, and I liked the slow-burn suffocation of the protagonist trying to balance protecting/hiding the witness, with the guilt of setting up a patsy.

8/10

The Orphans (2025) - Netflix

A French language film about the death of a woman in a car accident. Her biological daughter tries to find the hit and run driver, and two men from the orphanage her mother used to work at try to intervene. One is an internal affairs officer, the other doing dirty work for criminals.

Plenty of potential for real drama and substance here, but it all feels so underwhelming. There’s very little that the film does well, and a shitload of averageness. Even the action scenes are lacking in muscle and tension, so it gets a mark knocked off for that. At less than 90 minutes, it seems long.

4/10
 
Abigail.
Bit of Dusk til Dawn. Bit of Annabelle. Bit of the exorcist. Bit of Black Swan.
8 out of 10, decent watch with some good dialogue.
 
Mr Vertigo said:
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

I usually struggle with the blandness of Alex Garland's writing but that's coupled with absolute stupidity on this one. It's just f***ing awful.
O'Connell does his usual over-acting and yet again spectacularly fails to pull it off.
The direction is turd too, the work of a hack - there's not an ounce of flair in the whole thing.
It looks like some mediocre channel 4 mini series.
And then, as if all that wasn't already bad enough, there's all the rubbish Duran Duran music.

1/10
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Sounds canny - where do you find that film?
 
Goat

Animated kids film about a Goat who wants to be the GOAT (clever) in a made up sport based on Basketball.

Covers themes such as social mobility,race,self-doubt,capitalism and trust.

7/10.
 
Picked up Strongroom (1962) on Bluray after enjoying it last year. It features as an extra The Man in the Back Seat (1961) which I’ve not seen before.

Strongroom is a really tight little film, and apparently counts Edgar Wright and Tarantino amongst its fans. It’s a BFI release so has a few decent extras.

Petey B in the Grauniad has given it a 5 star review. A broken clock.
 
The Secret Agent (2025)

Won loads of awards and easy to see why. Set during the dark days of Brazil's violent dictatorship a scientist who has run into trouble tries to flee the country with his son. Captures the violence of the era - the opening scene with the dead body rotting by the road side - the shark with a human leg in it's stomach - as well as the sun, carnival and sex.
It's long, but worth it, serious movie

Nothing to do with the movie, but this is Jorge Ben from his LP Africa/Brasil from the same era.

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Couldn't add to the old threads about them so I'll post in here. Had night watching a couple of absolute classic football/gangster films. So as much as I look in here for things to watch this is probably a reminder of what not to watch 🤣

Football factory 3/10
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lasted until about half way through this time. Total shite. The high ratings have to be from youngins (like I was when it came out) but the whole thing is just shite, crap acting. What was I thinking back in 2004 watching this crap thinking it was mint?

Bonded by blood 2/10
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Vaguely remembered this at the time. It's basically the story that's been told a million times about the land rover shootings in the 90s.its like an even crapper version of rise of the footsoldier and that's saying something
 
Lankester Merrin said:
The Secret Agent (2025)

Won loads of awards and easy to see why. Set during the dark days of Brazil's violent dictatorship a scientist who has run into trouble tries to flee the country with his son. Captures the violence of the era - the opening scene with the dead body rotting by the road side - the shark with a human leg in it's stomach - as well as the sun, carnival and sex.
It's long, but worth it, serious movie

Nothing to do with the movie, but this is Jorge Ben from his LP Africa/Brasil from the same era.

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I'm liking the Secret Agent the more I think about it afterwards, it's really stuck with me
 
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