Good viewing doesn’t always mean happy viewing, and this is something to bear in mind when watching Longford (2006), an underrated masterpiece directed by Tom Hooper and written by Peter Morgan. Hooper, of course, went on to win an Oscar for his film The King’s Speech, and Morgan is famous for writing various successes such…
Lost Highway is not for people who like their films to have satisfying endings, and plots with clear beginnings, middles and ends that all work and serve one linear narrative. This movie, directed by David Lynch, is a weird, uneasy, dreamy film – a noir horror movie that morphs into something very bizarre as it…
Superbly adapted from an already controversial novel by Koushun Takami, Director Kinji Fukasaku and his son and scriptwriter Kenta Fukasaku bring to the screen a brilliantly bonkers masterpiece. Heavily stylised and told in a comically ultraviolent fashion that some may find too uncomfortable and shocking to watch, the film passionately paints a darkly original picture of…
It’s best to watch this outstanding, masterful film without knowing too much about it. For this reason, I’m not going to describe the plot beyond the obvious – a group of friends travelling around Texas stumble upon some really grisly people. The best thing about the film is the way it creates a harrowing, unforgettably…
Occasionally a film aimed at and about teenagers comes along that doesn’t feel sentimental, patronising and clichéd. 2010’s Easy A was a good example. This film, directed by Stephen Chbosky and adapted from his own novel, is a more serious work but it also fits into this rare category. It is a wonderful, feel-good film.…
Bette Davis was a great actor, and here she is enjoyably creepy as a Nanny who may or may not pose a threat to the little boy she is employed to take care of. He is certainly scared of her, but his parents dismiss his fears of his nanny as nonsense. This film, released in…
With the world avenged and the city of Gotham saved, the money focused summer blockbuster season has come to an end. What follows is a chance for award seekers, Indie flicks and burgeoning directors to make a name for themselves during the fall period. These characteristics are something that the sci-fi neo-noir Looper has in…
This 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Emma (one of two adaptations of the book released that year, the other made for ITV) stars Gwyneth Paltrow as the matchmaking heroine who can’t stop meddling in the love lives of her friends. Sharply written and directed by Douglas McGrath, who worked on US TV show Saturday…
Oscar Wilde’s witty comedy is brought entertainingly to life by Oliver Parker, who directed the rather poor St Trinian’s movies and the 2009 Dorian Gray adaptation. Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O’Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench all star in this tale of two bachelors (Firth and Everett) who get caught up with their own…
The Watch, to sum up: aliens, banter and exploding cows. One of the big releases this summer, this comedy sci-fi tries to follow in the wake of films like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Scary Movie’ but felt to me more like a ‘Superbad’; it’s a lads comedy at heart. When I first saw the…
Although production on the film was notoriously difficult, The Others is one of the best ghost stories committed to screen. Set in a post-World War II Jersey, the film sees a mother (Nicole Children) trying to bring up her two light-sensitive children in an enormous mansion. The big twist in the story may be widely…
Stephen Frears has been responsible for some of the most interesting British films of the last half-century. Not all of his films have been successful (artistically and/or financially), but he never fails to offer the audience a range of interesting characters leading fascinating lives. This 2002 feature, co-funded by the BBC and Disney, is one…
Bram Stoker’s terrifying creation Dracula has appeared on screen many times, played by a vast range of actors. This enjoyably creepy Hammer horror from the 60s sees Christopher Lee in the role of the blood-sucking legend. Four British tourists stumble upon an eerily empty castle while on a travelling holiday. Because this is a horror…
Andrew Dominick is an impressive filmmaker. His debut film Chopper punched its way onto the film world’s radar with its sheer brutal brilliance and put Dominick on the map as a major talent to watch. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford saw him in charge of a major, sprawling Hollywood-funded crime…