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Winner displaying all the talent you’d  expect for staging musical numbers! 
Actually kind of starts off quite endearing. Incredibly cheap looking, music hall comedians gurning through atrocious one liners, Lionel Blair as a Japanese man. Laughably fun for a while. Inevitably it becomes a bit tiresome. 
Hard to believe he made West 11 the same year.

Surprisingly accomplished for an early picture by Michael Winner.

A technical wonder with an all timer everyman over his head performance from God Hemmings (and no one played that role better than him). Argento’s masterpiece.

Loved this, one of the great San Francisco movies. Beautiful Nic Roeg photography. Clearly the best thing Lester made, a shame he seemed to stick with the slapstick after it.
A slippery, mysterious romance with a great John Barry score. 
Oh and a Grateful Dead cameo too.

Dug this a lot more second time around. A great hang out movie.

Deeply sexist but undeniably interesting as a an early Elliott Gould vehicle which I can only assume he’d signed on for before his Oscar nomination.

Misogynistic in the extreme - but there’s an occasional laugh at the absurdity of how outdated this must’ve felt even in 1970. 
Highlights include Gould:
- being disgusted at his pregnant wife eating for two, immediately getting the horn for other women and beginning a string of affairs 
- horrified at the thought of jerking off as a married man so dragging his wife out of bed to have his way 
- deciding the only way to fix the marriage is to send her off to fat camp for a month 

We’re clearly not supposed to like Gould’s character. But none of the comedy is at his expense. It’s basically the ‘for you’ tab on Twitter.

1973: Sarah Miles is blackmailed by a man she’s involved with. He dies under mysterious circumstances on a film set and she is accused of covering up his murder.

1989: Sarah Miles stars in a Barbara Cartland TV movie in which she is blackmailed by a man she’s involved with. She murders him and covers up the crime. 

For that reason alone I award this the highest rating possible for a Barbara Cartland adaptation.  Two stars and a like.

Camper than a warehouse full of tents and starring several people who should be above this sort of thing, it’s possible to wring some fun out of Miles’ scenery chewing performance. And Oliver Reed plays an Indian Raja.

Much lighter and funnier than I expected. For some reason I had this pegged as two hours of misery and punishment being heaped on old Clint. Instead he’s dancing with the chicas and singing in the car. Nice movie.

Life has many pleasures but not many of them come close to George C Scott delivering Chayefsky dialogue. Terrific stuff.

Fell head over heels for this last year, loved it just as much today. Siegel’s masterpiece.
RIP Joe Don Baker, mean as hell here. Nearly steals the whole picture.

Watched on Thursday May 15, 2025.

This was delightful. What a surprise. A great LA movie, one of the finest neo-noirs I’ve seen. Looks amazing, wonderful old Hollywood score.
Absolutely incredible cast.
Kind of predictable but it’s a total blast seeing how it plays out. Newman rules in this. 

RIP Robert Benton

Not a bad film, has that 90s Touchstone gloss and a Mark Isham score so it’s a reassuringly easy watch. Stone is decent enough, there’s just no weight to the drama so none of it really lands with the intended effect. Lifetime movie of the week with a budget.

Still wonderful.

I think I kind of dug this. Glacially fascinating, shot with a Vaseline smeared frame, Paul Newman in fur solving a puzzle. The world he creates feels all too real. One of Altman’s most interesting pictures. Feel like this would definitely improve on repeat viewings.

Immediately arresting from its first seconds, it remains sinister and ambiguous throughout, aided by Shaw’s typically devilish performance. Losey has a wonderful eye for landscapes - a terrific looking picture.

Minor Walter Hill but nice to see him back in Louisiana. Never quite goes as OTT as it’s visuals and some of the performances suggest (Freeman and Barkin are having a great time) but it’s a fun 90 minutes. Terrific cemetery set climax.

Finally watched this. As great as I’d heard.
Jeff Bridges the coolest guy ever despite awful moustache and bouffant hair. 
John Heard giving one of the greatest performances of the 80s.
Wonderful Lisa Eichhorn giving confusing Lisa Blount energy.
*Incredible* ending.

Feels largely misguided and Lumet is on total auto pilot, some of it looks awful. 
Stone seems a bit at sea and would have been better off without the Noo York accent but is more effective in some of the quieter moments. 
A lot darker than I’d imagined (haven’t seen the original).

Haven’t seen this in years, thought this might not hold up - still pretty into it.
A great ‘ing cast’ movie. Lots of faces. John Hurt wonderful but Stephen Rea is perhaps my favourite part of the whole movie. One of our most underrated actors. 
Great ending - quite moving IMO.

Dug this a lot, feels like something me and my friends would have rented for a sleep over in 1993 but somehow never did. 
Hill on top form, those claustrophobic interiors  look great and the action is first rate. 
I have never been convinced by Ice-T as an actor and this film did little to dissuade me of that, could’ve used a better lead antagonist.

Didn’t fully connect with this first time, pleased to see I was wrong.
O’Neal never cooler, Adjani one of the most beautiful faces, Dern in uber cunt mode (again). Great LA vibes and exciting car chases. What’s not to like? Hill’s run at this time is unmatched.

Kind of comforting seeing Polygram/Propaganda at the start of a film. 
First rate neo-noir, looks wonderful, 90 minute run time, bags of atmosphere. A good time.

A little bit all over the place but an excellent Holmes and Watson. Terrific chemistry. Feels like that awkward bridge between old and new Hollywood with the drugs and latent homosexuality brought to the surface. Very funny in parts.

Iffy little curio that plays like a cheap Canadian tax shelter but benefits from some wonderfully grimy NYC locations and a big star in the lead. 
Kind of boring with occasional flashes of exploitation mayhem, the last 15 minutes certainly brings some much needed energy (but is largely driven by the cruel humiliation of  children!)
There’s an undercurrent of incest through the whole thing that the makers of Amityville 2 would find ‘a bit much’

RIP JAMES FOLEY
Great looking neo-noir made with a high level of technical skill and a considerable amount  of atmosphere. Didn’t fully click for me despite a committed performance from Patric and another great scum bag turn by Bruce Dern. 
Nice Maurice jarre score that I would’ve sworn was Brad Fiedel.

"If you can't fix it, you gotta stand it"

Hadn’t seen this in at least 15 years. Still one of the most beautiful films ever made. An exceptional achievement on every creative level. Each role no matter how small is perfectly cast. Every scene has one of the most incredibly framed/lit images you’ve ever seen.

Oscars don’t matter at all. But this one losing still feels like a one of the Academy’s biggest mistakes.

One of Altman’s most authentic feeling works, you can almost taste the Great Depression. Ending’s a kick to the guts. Maybe his most underrated.

Beautiful to look at, incredible sense of place. You can feel the COLD. Never quite chills or thrills but not without some sense of unease or moment of dread. Worth 85 minutes of anyone’s time.

Ryan O’Neal is fantastic in this, one of the most unsung leading man performances of the 70s.
A truly joyful picture. Gorgeous to look at. Near perfect.

Walks that fine line between being very well made and very safe. Main problem is the one that often sinks these biopics… no room for any of these relationships, particularly the romantic ones, to mean anything.  
But isn’t Monica Barbaro great? And why am I suddenly moved by Cash’s letter? And doesn’t it all look terrific? Good movie. Can’t see why I’d ever want to watch it again though.

À ton of fun. Zips along at a tremendous pace. First hour the best. Connery and Cannon have terrific chemistry, Martin Balsam camping up a storm, funky Quincy Jones score. 
The actual heist seemed to bring things to a bit of a drag, I felt.  Cannon disappears for the last act. Not quite as much fun. A shame as for a while there I thought I’d stumbled across a new favourite. Will definitely revisit. Have a feeling I’d like it even more second time around.

Relentlessly bleak WW1 drama, Bogarde on wonderful form. Depths of misery never seen before or since in a war movie.

Deeply upsetting, piss boiling stuff. Beautifully performed.

Looks great, not without a moment or two, but I’m beyond bored of this whole sad lady horror genre. Nothing unique here at all.

Really liking Altman’s play adaptations. Heavy stuff. Always heard this his 80s period was a wilderness before his big 90s comeback… it’s a lie!
Last 30 minutes takes a shocking turn but includes a moment of physical comedy that made me laugh out loud before gasping in surprise.

Watched on Saturday May 3, 2025.

Wonderfully made, near masterpiece stuff that I’m sure will only improve on further viewings. Incredible to look at and listen to.  
Kind of preferred the twins returning home to set up the club and reconnecting with their pasts to the vampire part - but that’s so much fun this is barely an issue. 
A terrific achievement.

No greater feeling than watching these ZAZ movies maybe once a decade and all the gags landing like it’s your first time. 
Stayin’ Alive still one of cinemas all time greatest scenes.

I don’t know when Ireland became the world capital of horror - particularly this kind of thing - but I will always go back to the well. This lays on the trauma a bit thick but has some decent spooks and unsettling folk imagery (corn heads!).

Lesser Altman but still enjoyable. Great cast. Glenn Close wonderfully detestable.

I am of course pre-disposed to liking this more than many for one very big reason, but I am generally inclined to enjoy these bloated, silly sci-fi yarns made by reputable directors with great casts and big ideas. 
This was better than I’d ed. Goes off the rails a bit but it looks great, some of the set pieces are well staged, the effects hold up well, and it has a great Elliot Goldenthal score. 
Reminded me a little of the similarly reviled Mission to Mars… which I also enjoy.

Hadn’t seen this in 15 years at least. Wonderful stuff. The funked up Also Sprach Zarathustra sequence as Chance enters the outside world is one of the best scenes of the decade. 
Great performances from all.
Fun fact - sellers allegedly based his performance on the same Gardner who inspired Stephen Stills’ song Johnny’s Garden.

Watched on Tuesday April 29, 2025.

Involving, surprisingly cinematic adaptation. Scofield is impressive as the stoic Thomas Moore and is backed by an impressive ing cast, but everyone one is upstaged by a ferocious Robert Shaw as an unstable Henry VIII.
Looks terrific, and John Hurt has a haircut which looks as if it inspired The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper barnets.

This was quite lovely. Knew nothing of it going in. Genuine laughs, a wonderful look and some excellent voice work, particularly Nyong’o. 
A shame it all feels derivative of a dozen previous animated films. 
Still head and shoulders above anything Pixar and Disney have churned out recently.

Haven’t seen this in at least twenty years and I it very fondly. It’s not quite the classic I recalled but it does feature three great performances from Nicholson, Bates and Hope Davis. 
Davis is an undervalued actress who excels at portraying this kind of exasperated character. Nicholson of course can cut you to the bone whether it’s with a dazed stare or sobbing through his dead wife’s face cream. 
Lovely to revisit. Will watch again in 20 years.

Feels like there’s a real chance this is becoming an under appreciated Scott movie when it’s actually top 3. Every bit as a monumental as Alien or Blade Runner. 
Both leads fantastic, but Davis particularly does an exceptional job of selling Thelma’s “crossing over”. 

Watched on criterion’s recent 4K disc. Adrian Biddle’s beautiful photography has never looked better.

Somehow never seen this but wonderful stuff. Murray doing his thing very well aided by an incredible ing ensemble.
Jeffrey Wright is terrific as Murray’s amateur sleuth neighbour, but little thrills me more than a director pulling something really great from Sharon Stone. She’s awesome here. Maybe better than she’s ever been. Really wish she leant into this warmer, funnier side more.

Watched on Saturday April 19, 2025.

1. The Mechanic
2. Scorpio
3. Death Wish
4. Death Wish 3
5. Lawman
6. The Big Sleep
7. Death Wish II
8. Chato's Land
9. West 11
10. I'll Never Forget What's'isname

...plus 19 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
2. The Long Goodbye
3. Nashville
4. Brewster McCloud
5. 3 Women
6. Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
7. The Player
8. Thieves Like Us
9. Short Cuts
10. California Split

...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Alien
• Blade Runner
• Thelma & Louise
• The Duellists
• Napoleon
• Prometheus
• The Last Duel
• The Martian
• Black Rain
• Gladiator

...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• St. Ives
• China 9, Liberty 37
• Term of Trial
• Prime Cut
• The Star Chamber
• Lady Caroline Lamb
• West 11
• Bad Company
• Unman, Wittering and Zigo
• Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

An attempt to list my 50 favourite films, not in any order of preference apart from the first 10 or so!)

1. The Exorcist
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Barry Lyndon
4. Superman
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
8. Alien
9. Rocky
10. The Wicker Man

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
• Magnum Force
• The Wicker Man
• Badlands
• Charley Varrick
• The Friends of Eddie Coyle
• Emperor of the North
• The Long Goodbye
• Paper Moon
• The Last Detail

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Friday the 13th Part 2
2. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
3. Friday the 13th
4. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
5. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
6. Friday the 13th Part III
7. Freddy vs. Jason
8. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
9. Friday the 13th
10. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Servant
2. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
3. Ryan's Daughter
4. Hope and Glory
5. The Big Sleep
6. The Hireling
7. Term of Trial
8. Lady Caroline Lamb
9. Venom
10. The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Capricorn One
2. Outland
3. Busting
4. The Star Chamber
5. 2010: The Year We Make
6. Running Scared
7. Sudden Death
8. The Relic
9. End of Days
10. The Presidio

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• The Beyond
• Don't Torture a Duckling
• City of the Living Dead
• Zombie Flesh Eaters
• The Psychic
• Four of the Apocalypse
• One on Top of the Other
• The House by the Cemetery
• Contraband
• The Black Cat

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
6. Freddy vs. Jason
7. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
8. New Nightmare
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street

1. Carrie
2. Blow Out
3. Body Double
4. Dressed to Kill
5. Scarface
6. Carlito's Way
7. The Untouchables
8. Hi, Mom!
9. Mission: Impossible
10. Phantom of the Paradise

...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Fog
2. The Thing
3. Prince of Darkness
4. Christine
5. Assault on Precinct 13
6. Escape from New York
7. Halloween
8. They Live
9. Big Trouble in Little China
10. In the Mouth of Madness

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Carlito's Way
2. Jurassic Park
3. The Remains of the Day
4. True Romance
5. In the Line of Fire
6. The Piano
7. Cliffhanger
8. Falling Down
9. A Perfect World
10. Untamed Heart

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Total Recall
• Point Break
• Boogie Nights
• Election
• Batman Returns
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
• The Silence of the Lambs
• Basic Instinct
• Bram Stoker's Dracula
• L.A. Confidential

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Rocky
2. Rocky III
3. Creed
4. First Blood
5. Rocky Balboa
6. Paradise Alley
7. Cop Land
8. Cliffhanger
9. Rocky II
10. Rambo: First Blood Part II

...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Falling Down
• Blue Thunder
• Dead Again
• True Romance
• The Long Goodbye
• The Player
• The Terminator
• Sunset Boulevard
• The Neon Demon
• Chinatown

...plus 7 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• The Exorcist
• The Wicker Man
• Dawn of the Dead
• The Fog
• Suspiria
• The Shining
• Carrie
• Don't Look Now
• Bram Stoker's Dracula
• The Omen

1. The Wicker Man
2. Don't Look Now
3. In Fabric
4. The Innocents
5. The Descent
6. Taste the Blood of Dracula
7. Death Line
8. Asylum
9. Tales from the Crypt
10. The Blood on Satan's Claw

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
2. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
3. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
5. Jaws
6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
7. Munich
8. West Side Story
9. Catch Me If You Can
10. Minority Report

• L.A. Confidential
• Predator 2
• Under the Silver Lake
• Point Break
• Falling Down
• Heat
• Collateral
• Nightcrawler
• To Live and Die in L.A.
• Boogie Nights

...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• The Terminator
• Aliens
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• The Abyss
• True Lies
• Avatar
• Titanic

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street
2. The Hills Have Eyes
3. The Last House on the Left
4. Scream
5. The Serpent and the Rainbow
6. Scream 2
7. New Nightmare
8. Red Eye
9. The People Under the Stairs
10. Scream 4

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Boogie Nights
• There Will Be Blood
• Licorice Pizza
• Punch-Drunk Love
• Magnolia
• The Master
• Phantom Thread
• Inherent Vice
• Hard Eight

• You Only Live Twice
• THX 1138
• Wake in Fright
• Death Line
• Halloween
• Dracula
• Escape from New York
• Halloween II
• Alone in the Dark
• Phenomena

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Halloween
2. Halloween Ends
3. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
4. Halloween
5. Halloween II
6. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
7. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
8. Halloween
9. Halloween Kills
10. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Sleepless
2. Dark Glasses
3. The Mother of Tears
4. The Card Player
5. Giallo
6. Dracula 3D

• Taxi Driver
• The King of Comedy
• GoodFellas
• The Age of Innocence
• After Hours
• Casino
• Raging Bull
• The Wolf of Wall Street
• Shutter Island
• The Irishman

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Thief
• Heat
• Collateral
• Manhunter
• The Last of the Mohicans
• The Insider
• Miami Vice
• Public Enemies
• The Keep

1. Zodiac
2. The Social Network
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Gone Girl
5. Panic Room
6. Alien³
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
8. Se7en
9. Fight Club
10. The Game