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SMB Film Thread 2026


The Man is Armed (1956)

Dane Clark has spent a year in the slammer, after being set up to take the fall for a crime. He gets out and kills the bloke whom he blames. Next stop: his old boss, to get his old job back, and rekindle things with his lass. William Talman (his boss) calmly tells him that he was the one that set him up, as a test of loyalty, to see if he was ready to take point on a major heist.

Noir stylings in this crime yarn, which is a very decent way to spend just over an hour. Clark’s character rapidly becomes unsympathetic, making numerous decisions that reflect his descent into chaos. Talman is slightly wasted, which is a shame, because he’s a great villain.

Still, it’s a tight and energetic film, which isn’t anything special, but does what it does well enough.

6/10
 
Saipan
Dramatisation of the Roy Keane / Mick McCarthy fallout in the build up to the 2002 World Cup.
Reasonably entertaining with decent performances but struggles a bit to fill its 90 minute run time. Would probably have been better suited to being an hour long TV drama.
6.5/10
 
Good luck, have fun, don't die was a ride. Pretty sure Rockwell was just playing Rockwell but the style, pacing, black humour was all very, very good. I've a couple of small issues with the ending but the overall reveal I thought was well done. 7.5/10
 
Kborom said:
Good luck, have fun, don't die was a ride. Pretty sure Rockwell was just playing Rockwell but the style, pacing, black humour was all very, very good. I've a couple of small issues with the ending but the overall reveal I thought was well done. 7.5/10
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Saw this a few weeks ago really funny and different enjoyed it.
 
Double Jeopardy (1999) - American crime thriller - 6/10

Plot has promise and the pacing of the film is decent at 1hr 45mins. A woman (Ashley Judd) is jailed for her husbands murder who later learns he's actually still living. Tommy Lee Jones plays the parole officer and does a decent enough job as do most of the other actors but some of the scenes are ridiculous. James Bond himself would be proud of some of the main characters moves/escapes. Not the worst, but far from the best. IMDB rating has it right for this.

The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019) - Thriller/Action - 7.5/10

This follows the real-life story of a group of international agents and Ethiopians who in the early 1980's used a deserted holiday resort in Sudan as a front to smuggle out thousands of Jewish refugees. It starts with a good opening scene before slowing as it sets the scene/introduces the characters. The film then picks up again and continues well until the end. With films like this, I always enjoy reading afterwards what events actually happened and what were added. Most actually happened, so an extra 0.5 added to the score. Well worth a watch.

Both on Netflix currently.
 
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A Girl Cut in Two (La Fille coupée en deux) (2007) 6/10
Typically Hitchcockian suspense from Claude Chabrol. A TV weather woman falls in love with a married writer, but he won't leave his wife, so she ends up marrying his rival - a rich playboy, who happens to have a violent past. Takes an age to get going, and the pay-off isn't worth it. Not Chabrol at his best.
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A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme) (1966) 9/10
A couple who have recently lost their spouses meet at their kids' boarding school and tentatively embark on a relationship, but they have to overcome their grief. One of the great films of the French New Wave.
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Anatomy of a Fall (Anatomie d'une chute) (2023) 9/10
A man falls to his death from the top floor of his mountain chalet. Is evidence of marital disharmony enough to pin murder on his wife? Excellent, slow-burning courtroom drama.
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Not sure if I reviewed Mercy on here, futuristic policing where the defendent has to prove his innoence from a chair with AI helping. Good cast but lacking a lot for me, the primary story wasn't all that.

Watched Crime 101 today, now I enjoyed that. Basically a heist but you did sympathise with the key few people and I enjoyed the ending. 7.5/10
 
The Big Operator (1959)

Mickey Rooney is a corrupt union boss accused of racketeering. He’s brought before a Senate committee to testify. He makes it his business to silence or pay off anyone who might have dirt on him. Steve Cochran can’t be bought, so Rooney takes matters further.

Good film. It’s sharp and surprisingly violent in places. The pre-ending is a bit shaky in terms of believability, but it’s still entertaining.

The cast is solid. There’s the usual genre heavies on show. Mamie Van Doren is decent, though underused. Cochran is quietly strong. Mel Torme puts in a great turn. Rooney is excellent - a really menacing little bastard of a character. Better than I’d hoped.

7.5/10
 
Project Hail Mary.
Very enjoyable, very funny and touching at times in surprising ways. I’m a bit of a sucker for alone in space movies and I think this follows nicely in the tradition of silent running and Moon without having quite the gravitas. Nonetheless very enjoyable.
8/10
 
An Easter gathering today and I thought I'd introduced my young nephews to Laurel and Hardy, in particular the Music Box. Seemingly they know about this We also watched a bit of Metropolis and Harold Lloyd, it was just background stuff by and large
.

Ride the whirlwind 1965.
 
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Doogie Hauser said:
The Public Enemy (1931) - dvd

James Cagney in his defining role. A pre-code gangster film that feels cliched and meek today, but it has to be remembered what this and Little Caesar brought to the table.
Cliches exist because these films changed the face of cinema.

The general acting is better than LC (Edward G apart) and the sophistication of tracking shots shows it to be a superior film, though I found the dialogue to be slightly less sharp. There’s some nice camerawork and the rain-drenched ending is great. I find the brevity of the scenes in these early 30s films equally refreshing and frustrating.

Regardless of the dated nature of the film, it’s an iconic entry and still holds up well.

8.5/10
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I don't think either of these films are cliched except in hindsight. They were the forerunner. The trailblazers. We only think they are clichés because of every film following these two films using the tropes these films established
 
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Outstanding performance from Albrecht Schuch helps give this absurdist tale some real humanity. Laugh out loud moments and if you like the movies of Ruben Ostlund(The Square) then you'll love this. Brilliant. 8.5/10.
 
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