What was the last film you watched?

[Spooky Owl!]

I never thought I'd see a print this good:

 

[Spells & Karma]

Fackham Hall (2025)

I greatly enjoy Jimmy Carr's standup. The same cannot be said for this film - presumably a spoof of Downton - which he co-wrote.

Not that I would be hasty to denounce this as a terrible film. Yes, the thought crossed my mind several times as I watched but, having slept on it, I've decided it simply isn't my cup of tea.

It looks nice, has a few funny lines. Trouble is, the gags are intended to be Airplane!-style, with a high rate of visual and spoken-word gags per minute and - for this viewer - it wears out its welcome within minutes. There's a decent-ish story which gets hidden beneath a barrage of gags. It's like being constantly tapped on the shoulder by someone with a headful of one-liners.

There are some familiar faces; It's nice to see Jimmy himself in a small role as a vicar, which feels like a nod to the kind of wordplay that Ronnie Barker used to do (albeit the 21st Century version is less clever and more obvious). Sue Johnston plays a great aunt in what I suspect is a nod to Maggie Smith's dowager (I've never actually watched Downton), but my prevailing thought was how wasted she was here.

The "upper class" characters, of course, speak with Standard Southern British/contemporary RP accents (lots of glottal T's), while using anachronistic cadence and language. Some of this is intentional - such as the manservant named Cyril being "hilariously" asked "Hey Siri. What's the weather doing tomorrow?" - but that didn't greatly soften the blow for me.

As I said, I'm probably not the right audience for this film. But for that group, it may well be a riot. The trailer certainly made me smile (which was how I ended up watching in the first place).

 

[Werewillie Oleson]

The Last Detail (1973)

When you search the internet for "buddy comedies" or "buddy road movies" then the results are going to be mainly films from the 1980s and 1990s, with a mention of pre-1960s musicals, westerns and even the slapstick kind of comedy like Laurel & Hardy.
Not much from the 1970s so you'd think that The Last Detail would be mentioned (at least on wiki) but apparently it really is a somewhat forgotten film.



It's a funny movie and not a very subtle one, but it's not caroonish comedy.
As a slice of life story it looks far more commercial than Easy Rider so I'd say The Last Detail mostly resembles Midnight Cowboy except that it doesn't quite pack the emotional punch of John Schlesinger's film.
And that's how many almost-great films become overlooked and overshadowed by their more well-remembered contemporaries.
Lots of these films are rediscovered and reevaluted thanks to the many online underrated gems-lists and videos, and also the splashy home video releases by boutique distributors.
"Underrated" may sound a bit exaggerated because it's not as if all these films were previously hated, but the word makes for a catchier list title.

Despite the film's ensemble cast it was marketed as a Jack Nicholson film who had almost reached the peak of his career (the most iconic roles would happen in Chinatown, Cukoo's Nest and The Shining) and he does indeed gets to do most of the scenery-chewing antics in The Last Detail.
But ensemble cast films don't require a perfect balance, it's more about finding out what works the best for what actor/character.
There's no racial tension in the film but the fact that the navy officer played by Otis Young is taking his job more seriously says something about the racial background.
Well he actually mentions that it took the recommendation of a white man to get him where he wanted to be, which kinda hints at the idea of "it can be easily taken away from me".
Randy Quaid is entertaining as the simple Hicksville type with the hidden physical strength and an infectious laughter similar to Stan Laurel's.
As an odyssey of beer & cheese burgers and brothels & chanting cult parties it still stands out as one of the more restraint buddy comedies, and of course it has a lot of seventies "gritty realism" nostalgia value (and the detailed, lived in, semi-psychedelic interior designs of seventies films look way more interesting than the bland, eco-friendly IKEA sets in modern films).
I might watch it again.


Kong - Skull Island (2017)



I presume this film has no connection with King Kong (2005) because the events take place after he had died in New York City, even though the monster design is exactly the same.
As a CGI blockbuster spectacle it does what it says on the tin and the post-Vietnam angle made it interesting for some characters.
Overall it feels like a theme park dark ride with more monsters popping up as the ride goes along, while the destruction of those monsters has a strong video game vibe.
None of the characters look like they could exist in the 1970s decade, and since a lot of danger was expected it seems peculiar that the non-army characters walk around in flimsy casual attire. Not a single hair of Tom Hiddleston's perfect coiffure was harmed or out of place in the making of this film. Phew!
It was enjoyable enough to watch all of it, but it also made me feel dirty afterwards.

 

[Spooky Owl!]

I just saw Woody Allen's MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993) for the first time in ages. I didn't recall a lot of it until it really got going. Woody's and Diane Keaton's neighbor kills his wife, and the stars investigate. Hijinx ensue. The movie has a nice, early-'90s relaxed vibe about it. And the "neurotic's jackpot" in the elevator is funny.

I hear Woody Allen's least favorite film amongst his own is CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION (2001) but I didn't have a problem with it.