The Wicker Man

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Wicker Man!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st October 2025

It's Halloween night so what better way to see out this year's clutch of horror movies than to go on hard mode?

In a way this movie surprised me: I was expecting to have some dread, the building of tension and Christopher Lee at his freakish best. Certainly I did get that but what I wasn't expecting was some musical numbers. And some bright colours. And some truly bizarre behaviour.
I have to wonder: has time been kind to this movie? True we know how it's going to end (even though it still hits like a truck) and somehow the movie comes across as more comical than threatening. Or maybe this inspired a line of imitators so long that the original's power has faded

I also found myself wondering: is this a movie about being threatened by a cult? Because one may come away with the impression that the cult looks appealing...

The Sting

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Sting!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th July 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 46 (1973)

Given the 1970s are regarded as one of, if not the, strongest decades of Best Picture winners, it does raise an interesting question: Which of the ten winners is the weakest? 
Such a question is by no means a slight against the movie in question. It just sits besides some titans that would easily overshadow it. So would The Sting be the weak point of the 70s? 

Well I will admit it certainly stands on it's own. Whereas 70s cinemagoers embraced the New Hollywood movement and cynicism, The Sting is a deliberate throwback to the 1930s style of film-making. And it's not just in the aesthetic: the structure and direction is undeniably lifted from an earlier, long-gone era of film-making. If anything this seems to be a flipside to The French Connection: if that movie embodies the realism and cynicism of New Hollywood, then The Sting seems oddly resistant to them.  
But that is by no means a bad thing: This is a solid crime caper based around building up a con-game to take down a crime boss. Certainly the narrative is bogged down by multiple double-crosses but I do admire the effort gone into making this movie. After all, it has the most compelling poker game I have ever seen on celluloid. 

The Exorcist

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Exorcist!

Original image located here. Accessed 27th October 2023

And so we reach the end of this year's clutch of horror movies. And what better way to see it out then to go on Hard mode.

So yeah, approaching this movie, it is a given that it bears the label of one of - if not the - scariest movie ever made. That's all well and good but at the same time, it is difficult for this movie to shake off such a tag. So much so, it may be intimidating for a newcomer like myself. What I do know however is that movie has been referenced and parodied so many times that it provides a degree of familiarity as I head into uncharted waters...

First up, I do like how this movie relies on the atmosphere and the sense of creeping dread. And I will favour such movies over those that rely on jump scares.
Having said that though, it seems that this movie's reputation relies heavily on it's final half hour. It is gripping indeed but for me that's when the movie feels like a horror movie. That's not to disregard the build-up beforehand but it's odd that The Exorcist's status only applies to a quarter of it's running time.
I suppose I could put this down to the many references (as mentioned above) but also to the notion that this movie threw down a gauntlet that numerous film-makers have picked up since.

So yeah, not bad but I was left wanting more...

Live and Let Die

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Live and Let Die!

Original image located here. Accessed 2th July 2021

The goal of watching more James Bond movies continues as we now enter the Roger Moore era. For many people, this era gave us one of the more recognizable Bonds (with Moore doing seven of them). However at the same time, this is the point where Bond started taking deviations into the silly and preposterous. And a cynic would say this is the point where the threat of formula truly takes root.

Apparently prior to this movie the James Bond franchise hit something of a slump - that was until Moore stepped in turned things around. And who can argue? He hits the ground running, showing the debonair class and witty one-liners that one would associate with the character (perhaps moreso than Connery did). Also of note is his astonishing ability to be completely unflappable in any situation (was that why this series eventually descended into nonsense?). Throw in some decent gags, some great action sequences, a terrific boat chase, one of the best Bond themes and Solitaire, and it becomes clear that Moore has come out with gun blazing.

American Graffiti

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....American Graffiti!

Original image located here. Accessed 6th July 2018

Behold: George Lucas' second movie.
I've said in an earlier post that it's often been said that getting a movie made is no small task, usually involving a lot of blood, sweat and tears. So for a young and upcoming film-maker, it must be incredibly rewarding to have your second feature film reap numerous successes: Nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Making 200 million off of a 700-grand film, and making enough money to be a millionaire.
However whilst such success may be impressive, it must look feeble compared to that of George's next movie (need I say what that was?).

As for the movie itself, i was at first unsure of it - but within time I grew to enjoy. It was funny, compelling and well-shot. And, for a guy known to overload his later films with special effects, it had a whole lot of heart.
It's also a reminder of what a valuable asset editor Marcia Lucas was to George

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid!

Original image located here. Accessed 16th February 2018

Call it a holdover from my University days but I'm always up for a decent western. And this was one I have been eager to see largely because it was one from director Sam Peckinpah: A volatile drunk with a hair-trigger temper that went one to make some of the greatest westerns ever made - one of which being The Wild Bunch (a personal favorite).

Needless to say, this movie was something unexpected. Sure there is the trademark Peckinpah violence but this is something more slower paced than what I'm used to. If anything, this is the most unique western I've seen: The plot is a string of set-pieces and the mood is very grim and drab, as if this was intended to be a eulogy to an entire genre of film-making.
Much has alreayd been said of the performances of the two leads (James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson) and the presence of a whole laundry list of veteran western actors/actresses. It's a credit to Peckinpah that he attracted such names and got superb performances out of them (including one Bob Dylan) but the ultimately, the thought that this is the endpoint of the western is an inescapable one. Everyone seems to remarkably accepting towards their end (which frequently happens) and are really living anachronisms in a time long gone (a familiar theme in Peckinpah's work).
All in all, a very different western and honestly? For a film signalling the end of a genre it adds much to it.

Enter the Dragon

And this weeks Friday night movie has been.....Enter the Dragon!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th August 2016

This may come to a surprise to some people but I haven't seen any Bruce Lee movies before this one. Maybe it was the whole martyring of him that put me off (see also: James Dean, River Phoenix and Heath Ledger). But you can only stick your head in the sand for so long.

So what did I think of this movie? Well, it's interesting to see this movie having been familiar with Mortal Kombat (both the game and the movie) and see where Midway pillaged their ideas from. But in reality, we go to see Bruce Lee in a movie just to see him kick the living daylights out of so many goons. And to that end, the movie delivers: The fight scenes are all superbly done and the action is exciting & fast-paced.

So in the end, Enter the Dragon is Bruce Lee's show and what a show it is