Joe Simpson

Joe Simpson

Powered by stale popcorn and hot dog grease.

Favorite films

  • Some Like It Hot
  • The Elephant Man
  • Phantom Thread
  • Bride of Frankenstein

Recent activity

All
  • DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story

  • RoboCop 2

  • The Flesh and the Fiends

  • Full Metal Jacket

Recent reviews

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  • DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story

    DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story

    This is a nostalgic comfort movie for me, so take my review with a pinch of salt. It gets away with a lot of out-of-pocket jokes by giving them to the right characters - Ben Stiller's cartoonish villain and Rip Torn's crass mentor - who aren't exactly meant to be role models. Its heart is in the right place and, while some jokes haven't aged well (a few fat jokes feel at odds with the theme, and it weirdly conflates…

  • RoboCop 2

    RoboCop 2

    A frustrating watch, full of wasted potential. Almost everyone involved is firing on all cylinders - good direction, solid performances, great production design, and amazing effects - but the underdeveloped script lets them down. Phil Tippett's stop-motion effects steal the show, delivering some truly outstanding sequences. The action is gory, explosive, and fun, but the script lacks an emotional throughline, sidelines Nancy Allen, and sets up multiple subplots that ultimately go nowhere. A mid-film detour where RoboCop malfunctions and is…

Popular reviews

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  • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

    Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

    This movie sets the gold standard for comedy ensembles wherein none of the characters realise that they're in a comedy. The humour is razor-sharp, but the film never loses sight of the terrifying reality beneath the farcical premise. Peter Sellers is phenomenal in three wildly different roles, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden are bang on the money, and, of course, Slim Pickens riding a nuke like a rodeo bull in all its phallic glory is absolutely iconic. The screenplay…

  • Twin Peaks

    Twin Peaks

    A unique blend of police procedural, soap opera, absurdist comedy, and surrealist horror. The show leans fully into melodrama, satirising soap operas, but often comes full-circle to the point where it can be surprisingly moving once you are invested in the wide cast of characters. Speaking of which, Kyle MacLachlan is utterly charming as Dale Cooper - a kind of American Sherlock Holmes, and the perfect way into this larger-than-life setting. The ensemble cast are terrific, for the most part,…

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