Dave’s Movie Diary

Today I’m looking at Against All Odds (1984), a very slick, very 80s thriller built around sun-soaked locations, shifting loyalties, and some beautifully questionable decisions. Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward and James Woods are all great here, but what really stood out for me was just how effortlessly entertaining it is. Not especially deep, but a perfect snapshot of that glossy mid-80s Hollywood styl...

Today I’m looking at The Long Good Friday (1980), a British gangster film about Harold Shand, a London crime boss trying to step into legitimate business just as everything around him starts to fall apart over one Easter weekend. What really stands out is Bob Hoskins’ performance, the tension in the way power slowly unravels, and the London Docklands setting as the city itself shifts between eras....

Today I’m looking at Deliverance (1972), where a canoe trip through rural Georgia starts as a kind of last hurrah and slowly turns into something much darker and harder to come back from. It’s the way the film tightens around these four guys — stripping away comfort and control — that really sticks with me. Still an incredibly unsettling watch, and one that doesn’t really fade once it’s over.

Today I’m talking about The Fabulous Baker Boys (1988), a film with a slightly predictable plot but undeniable chemistry between Jeff Bridges and Michelle Pfeiffer sustain this one plus the dynamic between the brothers is another plus. What a run Jeff Bridges was on from Cutters Way in 1981 all the way through to The Contender in 2000. Maybe the most underrated actor of his generation.

Today I’m looking at Rain Man (1988), a film I first saw at 15 in the cinema with my dad, double-billed with Twins. What’s stayed with me is how it works as a road movie built on forced proximity, where the emotional shift between the two brothers slowly does all the heavy lifting. Still a film I like a lot, but now I see Tom Cruise as carrying more of the emotional weight than I did at the time.

Today I’m looking at The Boost (1988), a very 80s story about ambition, excess and self-destruction. James Woods throws himself into the lead role as a man spiralling out of control, and while the film can be heavy-handed at times, it works as both a period piece and a cautionary tale.

Today I’m looking at Ferrari (2023), Michael Mann’s portrait of a man trying to hold everything together while the walls slowly close in around him. Adam Driver is excellent as Enzo Ferrari, and the film is less about racing than pressure, obsession and the personal cost of chasing greatness. It’s measured, deliberate and feels very much like a late-period Michael Mann film.

Today I’m looking at Dressed to Kill (1980), a film that reminds me why Brian De Palma was such a distinctive filmmaker. It’s stylish, suspenseful and completely unapologetic in the way it pushes sex, violence and voyeurism to the forefront. Not everything works for me, but it’s never less than fascinating to watch.

Today I’m looking at First Blood (1982), a film that’s much more than the action franchise it eventually became. Sylvester Stallone gives one of his best performances as John Rambo, a troubled Vietnam veteran pushed to breaking point by a world that no longer understands him. Tense, emotional, and surprisingly human, it still holds up remarkably well.

Today I’m looking at A Short Film About Love (1988), a quiet film about longing, obsession, and one-sided connection. It’s restrained and observational, letting the emotion sit without much explanation or resolution. Simple, but it lingers through what it doesn’t say as much as what it does.

Today I’m looking at Street Smart (1987), a gritty New York crime drama about ambition, desperation, and people trying to talk their way through bad decisions. What really stands out for me is Morgan Freeman’s performance as Fast Black—completely magnetic, unpredictable, and carrying the whole film whenever he’s on screen. It’s a bit uneven, but it has enough tension and energy to keep pulling you...

Today I’m looking at The Sting (1973), a smooth con film built around charm, deception, and a long-game hustle. What stands out most is the pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford and the way the whole film just runs on style, rhythm, and execution. It’s light, clever, and really just about enjoying how the con slowly unfolds.

Today I’m looking at Elephant (2003), Gus Van Sant’s stripped-back, observational film about a school shooting that’s more about mood and structure than story. It uses long tracking shots and quiet spaces to build this sense of everyday normality slowly breaking down. It’s restrained and unsettling, focused more on atmosphere and aftermath than explanation.

Today I’m looking at Return of the Pink Panther (1975), another Clouseau film built around chaos, misunderstandings, and escalating slapstick. Peter Sellers is the standout again, fully inhabiting that mix of cluelessness and accidental genius. It’s light, episodic, and really just about the gags, but it still works on that level.

Today I’m looking at Blood Simple (1984), the Coen Brothers’ debut, and it already feels like their world of bad decisions and escalating chaos is fully formed. It’s tightly constructed, with everything slowly spiralling out of control as each character digs themselves deeper. Dark, tense, and occasionally funny, it’s really the atmosphere and sense of paranoia that stays with you.

Today I’m looking at Saturday Night Fever (1977), a film that’s really as much about the world around Tony Manero as it is about him—Brooklyn life, routine, frustration, and then this escape into the dance floor where everything briefly feels bigger. John Travolta is the standout, completely owning that mix of confidence and insecurity, and the disco soundtrack just drives the whole thing with thi...

Today I’m looking at Raging Bull (1980), a film that hits more like a character study than a traditional sports movie. What stands out for me is De Niro’s transformation as Jake LaMotta, and the way Scorsese frames everything in these intense, almost suffocating black-and-white sequences that keep you locked in close to the violence and insecurity underneath it all. It’s brutal, controlled, and at...

Today I’m looking at Star Wars (1977), the film that really kicked off my whole movie watching life. I first saw it in the cinema when I was four, and it just landed as this massive experience—good versus evil, rebels versus Empire, lightsabers, spaceships, the whole thing. Harrison Ford as Han Solo was the standout for me, all attitude and charisma, and Darth Vader is still one of the great scree...

Today I’m looking at Repo Man (1984), this strange mix of punk LA, crime story, and sci-fi paranoia that just kind of exists in its own lane. It doesn’t really behave like a normal narrative — it drifts, it breaks rules, and half the time it feels like it’s not interested in explaining itself at all. What holds it together is that deadpan energy and the feeling that everything is slightly unhinged...

Today I’m looking at Black Bag (2025), a sleek Stephen Soderbergh spy thriller that’s more about tension, performance, and shifting loyalties than action. It plays like a constant game of reading people under pressure, where no one ever feels fully truthful. Quietly paranoid and restrained, it’s more about atmosphere than spectacle, and it’s held together by how controlled and precise it feels thr...

Today I’m re-examining Two Hands (1999), one of those late-90s Australian films that locks into a very specific Sydney energy—small-time crime, everyday life, and everything sitting uncomfortably close together. Heath Ledger really stands out in an early role, that mix of charm, awkwardness, and vulnerability as things start to spiral. It’s funny, tense, a bit rough around the edges, but it captur...

I watched Enter the Void last night, and it’s a film that’s more about experience than story, and I found myself reacting to the way it pulls you through it rather than anything traditional in terms of plot. It’s disorienting, immersive, and kind of overwhelming in a way that sticks with you after it ends.

Today on Dave's Movie Diary, I'm revisiting The Edge (1997), a film I've always enjoyed for its combination of survival adventure, psychological tension, and spectacular scenery. I talk about Anthony Hopkins' remarkable performance, Alec Baldwin's underrated work, the film's breathtaking wilderness setting, and why it's one of those highly watchable 90s movies that still holds up today.

This episode takes a look at Clerks (1994), Kevin Smith’s breakthrough indie comedy. I reflect on its place in 90s culture, my own history with the film, and why its mix of dead-end jobs, friendship, sarcasm and everyday frustration still resonates decades later. Sometimes the smallest films leave the biggest impression.

Today on Dave’s Movie Diary, I’m revisiting The French Connection (1971), a film that helped define the gritty, street-level crime movies of the 1970s. I discuss Gene Hackman’s unforgettable Popeye Doyle, William Friedkin’s raw directing style, the legendary chase sequence, and whether this Oscar-winning classic still packs the same punch on a modern rewatch.