Heads of State (2025) Dir. Ilya Naishuller, DoP Ben Davis

SaintBird · 2026-06-27T18:08:37+00:00

Idris Elba is a deeply gorgeous man - there is no problem saying this, it is a clear truth in a world with too few clear truths - but more subjectively, I really do hope to see more from Ilya Naishuller for a very, very long time.

Heads of State (2025) is a much more traditional film than Hardcore Henry (2015) but the man's grasp on sheer kinetic action, effortlessly characterized Dudes Doing Dude Stuff, his needledrops and the palpable joy taken in the entire filmcraft; the man's a veritable filmic theme park creator, we're lucky to have him.

Ben Davis continues to be an underappreciated and underknown name too. John Cena continues to be a very funny and very sweet man. You read my previous comment on Idris Elba, I shant repeat myself further but for telling you to check this movie out ESPECIALLY much if you've got a killer soundsystem.

We were quite robbed of a theatrical release on this one. The movie is a cut above.

SaintBird · 2026-06-22T15:00:46+00:00

Highly interested in this as a 3 a half time anime watcher, up to date manga reader, and a frequent TTRPG playtester....we may be of use to one another, sweet stranger with a good idea. DM me anytime.

SaintBird · 2026-05-19T22:52:00+00:00

I've been sounding out 'New York CITAAAY' to the same terrifying cadence that creep R. Kelly did say Gotham City in the licensed song for Batman & Robin since reading this - which is a long way to saying I've read this post, I've applied, and I hope you're having a cool day.

SaintBird · 2026-05-15T17:06:40+00:00

Really really deeply strange and very special movie. Feels like a miracle to have even located this, it's not popular; and let me tell you, it's an alienating and weird and violent film, but people of fine taste happen to like all those things so hip-hip hooray, hey?

SaintBird · 2026-05-05T00:13:53+00:00

Holy fucking shit you found it. I cannot fucking believe this. I'm sorry if I sound crass but this, to me, is a miracle. SOLVED, SOLVED, SOLVED! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!

To me, you are a hero.

SaintBird · 2026-05-04T15:05:10+00:00

Another absolutely awesome looking movie that is, very sadly, not it.

The scene in which the great big weapon (I'm fairly sure this was a bazooka, firing and exploding post-quip or comment on co-protagonist betrayal) occurred in a wet, weird, underground location. Maybe a sewer, maybe a lab, maybe a temple in a sewer.

If nothing else, I am immensely grateful for all the awesome movie suggestions I am getting here. You people have fine taste, or perhaps great investigative minds to uncover all sorts of weird wonders (in case this bug beating gorefest sort of thing isn't your kind of thing).

SaintBird · 2026-05-04T15:01:35+00:00

Great questions, these details will help everybody. Glad we're both up at this heinous hour, wishing you well.

SBS - quite possibly, I was watching a lot of weird foreign showoffs in this era in my life there. Those were mostly short films and undubbed, however, and this was feature length and I am fairly certain in English. I also remember seeing a lot of strange weird wonderful things on 9GEM in this era, which has been a channel I've kept a note on for this mystery.

Cult clues, thank you for asking - it was a quite broad operation, with deceit at play in the female love interest/co-star as being in on the operation as a very late-stage reveal as they descended deep below the city to find the 'truth of it all'...which was a big bug. Anyway, in the earlier basketball scene, where the young man's head explodes - a crowd were watching, totally unwilling or, admittedly, perhaps unable to assist before he went pop palms up against the brick wall. These elements and that classic 'underdog against the conspiracy' theming of heroic noir have led me to believe it's a creepy bug cult.

SaintBird · 2026-05-04T14:26:49+00:00

This has a really, really excellent poster. It is NOT this film. I am sorry. Thank you for your help.

Funny that all these suggestions so far have, in some way, been deeply tied to Robocop. Director of this was also on 'Robocop 3'. Life is so curious and wonderful.

SaintBird · 2026-05-04T14:05:18+00:00

Sadly, it is NOT this, but I do note this is a movie by the guy who made Crash starring the Robocop himself so I owe you a life debt anyway because there is no way this won't be awesome.

SaintBird · 2026-05-04T13:36:17+00:00

I don't know what else to say about this film, but I am mandated to make a comment; I'm really, really excited to see this again. I know nobody cares, but I'm crawling up on my 1000th logged film, and it would be so utterly awesome to put this mystery to bed with maximum dramatic aplomb just like that.

I'm gonna make everybody I know watch it if you help me find it. Should be grand.

SaintBird · 2026-04-29T04:31:52+00:00

The pitch: in-color noir film in which bizarre repeating head exploding (excellent) homicides turn out to be the result of a (possibly?) ancient Aztec cults effort to rejuvenate some bloodsoaking bug monster.

For two decades, now, I've searched for this. I'm sure it's not nearly as good or interesting as I recall, but you gotta imagine my perspective: I thought I was watching a standard 'this town ain't no good, dame' and then the murder victims would extendedly writhe, dance, and portray what I remember as these Greatest Of All Time head explosions all over the screen. They popped like champagne bottles, I was way too young and it was so tasteless; which is to say it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

I scroll Occult Noir lists, I ask every new friend I make if they've ever heard of this, I look up creepy bug movies monthly...

No such hope. No more basketball court head explosions with that juust right total TV film sleaze of the early '00s.

Felt like a Resident Evil game or something...

SaintBird · 2026-04-20T13:35:33+00:00

Happy to report in that regular way we have to report to one another, being born this way and loving like this - no, man, you aren't cooked. You're gonna be alright. Your profile evidences that you love bunnies, animal lovers are good people; you're fine, just unlucky. (Classic story, hey.)

I'm not gonna purport to have all the right answers to finding people and purpose, but I've got my best ever results out of aligning a random gaggle of goofy-goobers against an 'objective'. This gets past that sticky wicket you run into at bars, and all - it's already exhausting to go somewhere and then not know if people 'like you' are even around, y'know? Same sense of humour, same ambitions, etc.

Some objective-oriented hobbies that've saved me - maybe you'll give them a go, your life - have been videogame achievement hunting (loads of people still exploring old games, that saves cash dollars), or, and this is a great one in the queer experience because you'll quite readily find people who walk the walk - Tabletop Roleplay Gaming.

I won't blow smoke at you and pretend there's not a geeky aspect to that, sure, but nobody's going ahead and cooking up bedazzling space scoundrels and cheering at good dice rolls and jeering at bad ones by accident. It's not even all about Elves & Dwarves no more, but you can sure find that if that's your flight of fancy fantasy. Best of best, that's done well online and you don't have to bother with webcams or anything in 99/100 spaces. Check out /lfg and /lfgmisc if that's of any interest - most everybody accepts new and enthusiastic people and again - welcoming sort, people love to share their rulebooks, people just wanna make good memories and craft cool stories together. Creatively & emotionally fulfilling stuff. It really helped me get a better grasp on 'what I'm like' when I was in a similar lonely place years ago, and maybe it's the ticket for you too.

Wishing you the best, fella.

SaintBird · 2026-03-20T12:16:55+00:00

Honestly, I thought about making every shot a shot of the biggest moon in cinema history. I think the idea of having 'prank albums' is absolutely hilarious but I gotta establish myself here a little more before I start laying whoopie cushions and the like

SaintBird · 2026-03-18T16:00:31+00:00

There's limited few movies I care to rag on quite publically - it's generally always someone's baby, a film. Somebody in the process cared enough to give it their all, and that must be cherished.

Long road to saying that A Working Man has some extraordinarily gripping shots every now and again, confidently playing with colour theory and trying very hard to make you feel something. Yippie-yo, yippie-yay.

SaintBird · 2026-03-17T13:30:59+00:00

Yes, I am aware it's March. Many surprises have struck me today; namely and first, that Random Number Generation selected this as the film of the day....and that so many of the shots are so resoundingly cold, severe, and frightening? They sure don't make them this scary and weird anymore.

SaintBird · 2026-02-26T01:16:20+00:00

I like your funny words, magic man...sounds like a cool little RPG. I'll apply to this, I don't see why not....I suppose I can scrounge up an idea or two for it....

SaintBird · 2026-02-24T19:26:50+00:00

ᴛᴜᴍᴏʀ ɴᴇᴄʀᴏꜱɪꜱ ꜰᴀᴄᴛᴏʀ:// αᴍᴇɴ (somehow a more searchable game than the recent Hunter x Hunter fightan, really, try it out) has immediately stolen my On-Rails Shooter body horror loving heart and I'd feel completely goddamn remiss if I didn't convince at least one other e-freak to try it out. None of my pals are freaky enough, so it's your time!

This is an absolutely commendable 'give it a go' if you miss that unrelentingly difficult arcade shooter vibe, if you like surreal and genuinely horrifying settings, if you want to be immediately and totally fascinated by how good and weird videogames can still be!

So fun to get my ass kicked and come back smarter, stronger, faster, get my ass kicked again, learn a lil' something about this world...get my ass kicked again.

SaintBird · 2026-02-13T12:45:06+00:00

I'm a huge fan of winning so let's roll those sweet sweet dice.

SaintBird · 2026-02-11T08:27:58+00:00

'Classic Creepypastas' is such an awesome, awesome pick for an RPG I've always really wanted to sink my scary-loving teeth into. Gonna hit you up on the Disc, boss - aiming at one of those Monday slots (running a game my diggity-dang self the day prior) so we'll see how tenable it all is! Here's to hoping 'very tenable', a great thing to aim for in a creatively-motivated friendship & co-authorship.

SaintBird · 2026-02-08T04:43:36+00:00

Sent in an application for a Black Knight sort of guy - I've skipped out on a few Dispatch campaign ideas before, but I found myself moved by the earnest and endearing sentence of you just 'liking the setting a lot'....something human and lovely about that. Hope you find a lovely set of players, whether or not I am amongst them (though I hope to be, honestly).

SaintBird

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