THOROUGHBREDS (2018, Corey Finley) 
An independent production that was picked up by a major studio after it had generated some raving comments at the Sundance Film Festival. It tells the story of two girls who rekindle their friendship after a couple of years of separation, and then develop a plan to get rid of one of the girl’s oppressive stepfather. The tongue-in-cheek approach never really pays off and the film is not as grim, funny and incisive as it thinks it is, but Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy are among the most talented and attractive young actresses around (especially Cooke is very good here) and they are almost believable as the two destructive friends. Worth a look, in spite of its flaws.
THE BATTLE OF ROGUE RIVER (1953, William Castle)
An Indians versus Cavalry western with a familiar premise: unscrupulous businessmen try to frustrate the peace negotiations between the red and the white men, risking a war. I like a good old-fashioned Injuns western from time to time, even if it’s a bit stupid, but this one is weak in nearly every department. The good cast is wasted
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1964, Lewis Gilbert)
When I first saw it, as a teenager, it hit me like a storm, when I re-watched it some twenty years later, it felt more like a mild breeze, and that’s probably still the way to describe it: this is an undistinguished, but easygoing Bond. Most of it is routine (a fistfight, a girl, another fistfight, another girl, a chase, a set, girl, and so forth) but it passes the time smoothly. Some of the special effects are of Thunderbirds quality and the script (by no other than Roald Dahl) is almost laughably stupid, but the nice Japanese locations, Ken Adam’s tremendous sets and especially Little Nellie save it
SOUTHERN COMFORT (1981, Walter Hill) ½
A group of National Guardists is targeted by the locals in the Louisiana bayous after stealing two canoes. In my mind this was one of the director’s best movies, probably only second to The Warriors. I still think it’s quite good, but it’s not without shortcomings. For a Walter Hill movie, it is rather restrained, with the emphasis on menace and atmosphere rather than action. The Deliverance type of premise and the great cinematography turn it into a good suspense yarn, but - as more often with this director - characterizations are superficial and most of the dialogue is rather simplistic. Best part is the finale, set within a Cajun village
JUNGLE (2017, Greg McLean) ½
Again a survival movie, but this one was based on facts: Daniel Radcliffe plays Yossi Ghinsberg, an Israeli adventurer who undertook a survival trip in the Amazone forest, along with two guys he knew from earlier adventures, and a mysterious stranger who says he has information about some undiscovered places and a hidden tribe, living deep into the forest. Of course things go terribly wrong. Radcliffe finally manages to shake off his Harry Potter image with a bravura performance. The drug induced hallucinations and flashbacks slow the movie down, and the narrative occasionally verges on melodrama, especially in the second half, but overall this is a good survival movie, eerie, intense and occasionally quite gruesome
They should’ve jettisoned Lewis Gilbert and Roger Moore into space for that one. Although, tbf, good old Rog pulled Bond back around immediately after with For Your Eyes Only (Glen, 1981), my favourite Bond flick from the Moore era.
