On the BiTTE

Oh boy. Looks like we inadvertently put a bunch of sad (but good) films in a row to wrap up 2024. But honestly, it makes sense.

In David Attwood's film, based on the true story of the troubled homeless man called Stuart who meets a writer to detail the intricacies of his life, we are treated to another masterclass from Tom Hardy. In the final part of "Tomsgiving" bit of a tearjerker but it's a good tearjerker. Everyone likes a good cry. It's very therapeutic. Or something.

Anyway, get your tissues you fiends!

Whit ye sayin'?! (We can't actually write what he says without getting reported).

Yeah, that's right, SIT DOWN! Charlie Bronson is here and he's looking to cause some trouble. We're doing something quite majestic this November. A veritable TOM'S -GIVING! We're doing a Tom Hardy double-bill!

We're starting with Nicholas Winding Refn's BRONSON, the "true-ish" story of Britain's Most Violent Prisoner. What we have come to discover is that this breaks the ratio from the 90+ films we've covered so far. This is not one to miss!

Do you hear that? Do you hear that piercing scream in the darkness of the night? No, it's not Wilhelm. It's Belial! The freakishly deformed twin that is intent on murdering the very people that separated him from his loving brother Duane!

My goodness! We're so excited! It's finally here! In closing our Spooky Penis Month 2024, we're covering Henenlotter's BASKET CASE; the down-and-dirty video nasty that was inducted into the MOMA Collection for Film Preservation. This is one episode you do not want to miss. A celebration of Horror/Exploitation but also of the purest form that cinema can offer! 

It's that time again! Tis the season, many say! And no, it's October fool! Not Christmas! That's in December, duh!

I'm talking about "Spooky Penis Month!" What did you think I was talking about? No matter, we start this Halloween doubler with a real bang. A real bang of overly obsessive nuclear family perfection. All THE STEPFATHER wants is a family. A real family. A family that just "needs some order". "We need some order around here!" This is a horror film about a flannel shirt wearing dad (boomer) who obviously has had enough with the way things are done nowadays and played by the inimitable Terry O'Quinn, we see a man on a psychotic mission to attain that perfect family dynamic. But, as one might expect, that doesn't really come to pass.

Get ready for one of Laura's "some times" favourite films of all time!

Welcome to another edition of "THE MOST LITERAL FILM TITLE EVER"! Yeah, it is really that literal. It happens one night in a bar called "Heaven". Watching this film, you'd think every chain bar/restaurant opens its doors to male strippers every weeknight but in Florida, that seems to be the case.

You'd never believe that the guy who made ROCKY 5 made this honestly... Oh, and THE KARATE KID. And THE KARATE KID PART II. Oh, and ROCKY, can't forget that one. Yeah, strap in, it's one weird and wild ride for all you John G. Avildsen fans. 

INSERT LATIN PHRASE TO EXPRESS HOW INTELLIGENT WE ARE!

This film is a bit of a treat, honestly. There's a lot to like here, the most of which is a Sean Connery really hammering it out of the park with a riveting performance to remind us of how much range he had. Yeah, this also has some rich cinematography, some impressive set design, and some stellar makeup that transforms Ron Perlman into a hunchback. 

Yeah, we are congratulating this film a fair amount. But not of faith and religion (as we rip the idea apart for the better part of an hour). 

Ah, we're back. We're back in Scotland. I don't remember it being so "blue". Not only that, it's really dark, and moderately attractive men are acting like right twats to very attractive ladies. We're back on the "Ewan Train" with David Mackenzie's YOUNG ADAM. The "erotic" (?) drama about a bunch of folk on a barge and the lives Ewan McGregor's character basically ruins for the sake of creative inspiration. Yeah, doesn't make the most endearing of central characters but that's kinda the point. The one thing we did agree upon at least was the inclusion of custard. More custard, please! There's a bunch of sex in this but it's not as central as you'd think it would be. It just IS, so strap in, we've got a fair amount of stuff to talk about on this one. 

Like Schwarzenegger after him, he just needed to find the role he was born to play. Following the career track of Nicholas Roeg, we come to one of his seminal films, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. 

It's a head-scratcher and we say that with an understanding of Roeg's work being a little disjointed and a heavy use of visual metaphors and match cutting BUT... It would have been nice to get a better through-line in the story. But no one hates this movie at OTB HQ, certainly not when Rip Torn is tearing through this sexy sci-fi circus like a Professor Lothario!

At OTB HQ we're ALL business! But some times, just some times, we like to do a little bit in the name of PLEASURE. 

Depending on who you speak to (particularly Laura) they will let you know that anything we do is for "pleasure" but before this analogy begins to lose its muster, let's look at the Ninja Thyberg's debut, PLEASURE, based on the short of the same name. 

It's an in-depth, behind-the-curtain look at the American Adult Entertainment Industry, following a Swedish woman from a small town looking to become the next big porn star. 

As you might expect, there's A LOT.

Who thought putting criminals in space would be a great idea? I mean, if everyone was kind and everything was successful, would it make a great story? Who can tell but that's the basis of the Claire Denis film HIGH LIFE. 

Starring Robert Pattison, Mia Goth, Juliette Binoche, André "3000" Benjamin, and Ewan Mitchell, we follow a doomed space mission to a Black Hole and the obvious antics that ensue from locking a bunch of criminals on a spaceship and expecting them to produce offspring. What could go wrong? 

There's a bunch of fluids being slung around this vessel in scenes wetter than those in ALIEN where Harry Dean Stanton takes a shower in the cargo hold with his clothes on and every other scene where the Xenomorph shows up and it's drooling everywhere. 

HIGH LIFE is considered a sci-fi horror as well just so you know. That's why I mention it.