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SMB Film Thread 2026

Monty Pigeon said:
Tunes of Glory (1960) 8/10
Alec Guinness as a one-of-the-lads Scottish officer clashing with his designated successor, John Mills. Guinness is (mostly) impressive with a ginger barnet and Glaswegian accent, though the accent slips occasionally.
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About Time (2013) 3/10
Awful, saccharine, time-travelling rom-com from Richard Curtis, with his usual insufferable upper-middle-class characters, and Domhnall Gleeson in the Hugh Grant role. Absolutely full of plot holes. Especially at the end, when it establishes a rule about time-travel, then breaks it without explanation.
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Tenet (2020) 7/10
I think I understood this more the first time I saw it. Struggled to follow the time-travelling ins-and-outs this time, though at least it seems to adhere to its own rules, unlike About Time. Watched the 4K IMAX version, so there was at least plenty of impressive spectacle.
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About Time has got Lydia Wilson in it, though.
 

Whistle Down the Wind (1961)

Bernard Lee is a farmer whose three kids discover a bloke (Alan Bates) hiding in their barn and believe that he is Jesus.

Nicely-shot curio about religious belief, the innocence of youth and rural communities. Hayley Mills is the eldest of the three kids, and it’s produced by Richard Attenborough. I can’t say I enjoyed it much on an entertainment level, but I did appreciate the photography and attempt to say something about the nature of belief. I couldn’t quite work out, though, whether it was cynical of blind faith, or simply revelled in the naivety of its context.

5/10
 
Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)

It’s like being 12 all over again. A random spot on Amazon Prime and an hour in Stan and Ollie heaven. It’s just brilliant to watch. Not one of their finest, and quite heavy in terms of themes, but they never cease to amuse. Ollie and his camera looks. The pacing. Stan’s honesty. The verbal and physical gags. Wonderful.

This film is 94 years old ffs. 94. And it’s still funny and warm.

8/10
 
APEX - Taron Egerton is excellent as always and Charlize Theron is decent.
This should have been right up my alley as I love survivalist type films.
Unfortunately it does not hit the mark, there is is no real jeopardy and it's one those Netflix originals that just wash over you.
It's a Saturday night, leave your brain behind, look at your phone as you watch fodder.
I'd give it a 5/10 for the performances and the scenery.
This should have been so much better.
 
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DurhamRedStripe said:
APEX - Taron Egerton is excellent as always and Charlize Theron is decent.
This should have been right up my alley as I love survivalist type films.
Unfortunately it does not hit the mark, there is is no real jeopardy and it's one those Netflix originals that just wash over you.
It's a Saturday night, leave your brain behind, look at your phone as you watch fodder.
I'd give it a 5/10 for the performances and the scenery.
This should have been so much better.
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It's utter crap. He is totally embarrassing in this. His dance when he tells her to run is toe curlingly bad. They got well paid but what do we get?
 
Fred Army said:
I went to a "Concert of John Williams Music" at The Glasshouse a couple of years back. Hearing this live was proper rousing stuff.
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I remember hearing or reading that Williams would often (and especially with Spielberg) turn up with a couple of ideas for the film score and the director would decide they were both so good that they'd want them both in the film. Definitely the case with Raiders of the Lost Ark where some of the secondary themes and marches started out as different pieces of music altogether
 
Ballad of Wallis Island... 5*

Second time i've seen it, this time at the tyneside cinema - was much better the second time round, knowing the plot twists seemed to enhance the experience and it was certainly more moving & poignant this time round. tim key was in the audience as part of a Q&A he did afterwards, he's such a likeable easy going guy. reckons him & basden are working on another feature together (entirely different to this though).
 
Hokum (2026)

Decent enough plot for a horror and bloody creepy at times. Really put together to build the tension well. Don’t want to spoil it as it’s just came out and worth a watch. Could have done a couple of little bits differently for me and it could’ve been great.
Adam Scott is good in everything and he was perfect for this.

7.3/10

Best new horror since Weapons.
 
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Apex (2026) - Netflix

A grieving woman (Charlize Theron) is targeted by a lunatic in an Australian national park.

It probably means well, but I found it slightly dull. Taron Egerton is just ridiculous. It seems to borrow from a dozen decent sources, yet still feel pedestrian.

3/10
 
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