Exam

Release date: June 2009 (Edinburgh Film Festival)

Stuart Hazeldine wrote and directed this stylistic thriller that has a mysterious group of wannabes entering a room to take an exam which will land one of them a much coveted job with the world's greatest pharmaceutical. At the outset the exam's invigilator (Colin Salmon) lays down the rules the 8 candidates must adhere to. These include no spoiling the exam paper; no talking to either the invigilator or the armed guard stationed in the room; and no leaving the room. With that, the exam and intrigue commence. The central players end up being White (Luke Malby), Black (Chukwudi Iwuji), Blonde (Natalie Cox) and Deaf (John Lloyd Fillingham) who - once they realize they can talk to each other - try to sort out the mystery and answer the question that appears to elude them. Exam is a well thought-out thriller expertly directed within the confines of a single room. It captures you from the opening credits forward with enough cerebral and physical action to keep you pondering. You'll look at your next exam a little differently for sure.

My rating 8 out of 10.

The Kids Are Alright

Release date: 25 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

Lisa Cholodenko directs a film she wrote - and a very good original screenplay at that - which follows the arrival of a surrogate father into the lives of two lesbians and their two children. Annette Benning stars as Nic, the successful physician and 'father' of the family. Julianne Moore is her partner, Jules, a woman still trying to find herself and her lot in life. When their teenage children - Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson) - decide to meet their sperm-donating father Paul (Mark Ruffalo) it sets off all sorts of doubts and drama that challenges the family's dynamic. The film is refreshing in that it portrays two not unusual occurrences in life within the (to some) unique context of a gay couple with kids. Filmed with good humour, it all ends predictably enough - poor Paul aside - and Benning steals the show.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Toy Story 3

Release date: 12 June 2010 (Taormina Film Festival)

Lee Unkrick directs this latest installment of the Disney Studios juggernaut that keeps going and going. The playpen of characters returns including Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Lotso (Ned Beatty), Mr Potato Head (Don Rickles - who this reviewer always thinks is deceased), and Ken (Michael Keaton). As Andy heads for college, he toys with what to do with his beloved childhood friends. Opting to cart them to the attic, they are inadvertently waylaid by Andy's mom and end up in a notorious daycare overseen by an evil strawberry-scented teddy bear called Lots-o'-Huggin'. The story is formulaic to its core and despite the gorgeous animation, Toy Story 3 has a thoroughly been-there, done-that feel. And the Academy picked this an Oscar 2011 contender? Oh my!

My rating 5 out of 10.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Release date: 8 September 2009 (Venice Film Festival)

Despite a stellar line up of stars, The Men Who Stare at Goats is simply too strange a film to warrant anything but passing interest. Ewan Macgregor stars as Bob Wilton, a loser journalist who ships out to Iraq to get a story that will make his girlfriend reconsider the fact he is a loser. There he meets Lyn Skip Cassady (George Clooney) who recounts a tale only a strung out San Franciscan could love of an army officer, Bill Django (a good Jeff Bridges), whose job it was to train a secret group of army misfits to be - wait for it - psychic Jedi warriors. Kevin Spacey appears being, well, Kevin Spaceylike as the Jedi warrior with a grudge, Larry Hooper. And yes, a goat dies. The film fails despite its tongue-in-cheek plot thanks solely to Macgregor who is thoroughly aggravating throughout the film. This reviewer kept hoping he'd be shot. Never a good sign, granted. Kudos to Clooney and Bridges for giving us something to focus on.

My rating 4 neahs out of 10.

Red

Release date: 29 September 2010 (Austin Fantastic Fest)

Retired Extremely Dangerous is what the initials stand for and to it you might add, fun to boot. Directed by Robert Schwentke, the ensemble piece stars a fine group of stars - Helen Mirren (as Victoria); Bruce Willis (as Frank Moses); Karl Urban (as William Cooper); the always crazy John Malkovich (as crazy Marvin Boggs); Mary-Louise Parker (as Sarah); Morgan Freedman (as Joe Matheson); the always fine Brian Cox (as Ivan) and even Richard Dreyfuss and Ernest Borgnine. Best watched by totally ignoring the plot and simply going along for the ride, it's great to see this cadre of fine movie stars in a vehicle that plays wonderfully to their age.

My rating 7 out of 10.

A Room With A View

Release date: December 1985 (Royal Command Film Festival)

An Ivory and Merchant film that is - as all Ivory and Merchant films are - exquisite. A Room with a View puts to film E.M. Forrester's fabulous novel of the same name. The film is a gorgeous love story with a overriding social commentary that pokes fun at English sensibilities at the turn of the century. Starring oh-so-young versions of Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch and Daniel Day Lewis as her pompous fiance Cecil Vyse; Julian Sands is Lucy's paramour George; the great Denholm Elliott is his father Mr. Elliott; Julie Dench is writer Eleanor Lavish - gotta love that name! - Simon Callow plays Reverend Beade and the great Maggie Smith is Lucy's cousin and chaperon, and ever-in-a-muddle, Charlotte. The film is rich on too many levels to count and the scene of Lucy coming upon George in the field high above Florence remains one of this reviewers most favourite movie scenes of all time.

My rating 9 out of 10.

500 Days of Summer

Release date: 17 January 2009 (Sundance Film Festival)

Marc Webb directs Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom Hansen and Zooey Deschanel as Summer Finn, the inspiration for the title of the movie. Tom is a greeting card copy writer who has become so caught up in his verses that when he meets new office employee Summer is instantly love-struck. What follows is a cute synopsis of their 500 days of ups and downs. Summer, you see, is a freer spirit and is fine with that nebulous commitment best termed 'friends with benefits'. When fate intercedes and she meets the man of her dreams, Tom is forced to realize sometimes love-struckness can be one-sided. 500 Days of Summer is a very good film that uses an inventive storyline complemented by fine acting to relate one of the great truths of dating - often you're not 'the one', but 'the one' is out there.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Finding Bliss

Release date: 8 January 2009 (Slamdance Film Festival)

Schlock. Pure schlock and poor schlock at that. A straight to dvd disaster that uses the premise of a 'real' film-maker Jody (Leelee Sobeiski), who, trying to make inroads into the industry, opts to work at an adult film company while secretly filming her 'real' movie in their studios at night. While the movie bills itself as a romantic comedy, the dreadful intermingling of a love story with porn makes the romance, pardon the pun, impotent. Directed by Julie Davis and with Matt Davis as Jody's romantic interest, Jeff Drake, the film's only redeeming quality is supporting actors Kristen Johnston as Irene Fox and PJ Bryne as Gary. What's sure, you'll not find any bliss in this awful film.

My rating 1 out of 10.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Release date: 24 June 2010 (Los Angeles Film Festival)

(yawn)... finally the end of this sad journey. The usual gaggle of werewolves and vampires reassembles again including the unholy trio of shamelessly inane 'actors' Kristen Stewart as Bella, Robert Pattinson as Edward and Taylor Lautner as Jacob. David Slade directs the two sorry hours of tedious boredom; Bella graduates; Victoria returns for more revenge; Jacob still lusts after Bella. Amid the tiresome seen-it-all-before scenes rank with simply brutal dialogue lies the end of the saga. Let do hope and pray this dreadful series that only got worse as it evolved has finally met its eclipse.

My rating 1 out of 10.

Before Sunset

Release date: 10 February 2004 (Berlin International Film Festival)

Nine years after their first encounter in Paris, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Deply) cross paths again when Jesse arrives in Paris at the end of a long book tour. The book, of course, is a veiled autobiography of his and Celine's before sunrise journeying. Both remain haunted by their first encounter and director Richard Linklater picks up where they left off dealing with the question: did either return to the train station as they promised. Before Sunset doesn't work as well as the first film. The couple are simply re-hatching old themes, driven by a plot vehicle - Jesse's soon departing plane - that feels false. Though both are wiser, sadder and more mature this time out, the passion that brought life to the first film is buried in too much psychological melodrama that is both too verbose by half and gives us characters weighted in stone rather than light. But perhaps that's the point?

My rating 6 out of 10.

Down with Love

Release date: 9 May 2003 (New York City, New York)

Down with Love is an homage to those silly, bantering romantic comedies of the 1960s. It is not trying to be something bigger or deeper or more meaningful. Its raison d'etre is simply lightness and silliness. Barbara Novak (Renee Zellweger) comes to New York to celebrate the publication of her women-can-have-lives-and-pleasure-without-men book - Down With Love. Journalist and womanizer extraordinaire, Catcher Block (Ewan Macgregor), is set on proving her wrong by trying to woe her - as someone else. It's all utterly ridiculous in the hands of director Peyton Reed and with the addition of David Hyde Pierce as Peter MacManus, Block's boss, and Sarah Paulson as Vikki Hill, Novak's agent, the mis-communication and comedic results are wonderful to see on screen.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Replusion

Release date: May 1964 (Cannes Film Festival)

In 1965 Roman Polanski directed a very young Catherine Deneuve in this deep and beautifully filmed psychological thriller. Deneuve is Carole, a young manicurist who lives in London with her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux). Carole is deeply troubled, in particular by men; repulsed in fact. A situation not helped by her sister who is banging her boyfriend Michael (Ian Hendrey) each nigh in their flat, nor by Colin (John Fraser) her wannabe boyfriend. Things come to a head when Michael takes Helen on a vacation leaving Carole alone in the flat. She soon slides into hallucinations as her mental state slips beyond the norm into a nether world where she imagines being raped as the walls of her flat - literally - come alive. Way ahead of its time, Repulsion is pregnant with subplot but try to avoid thinking too much and simply sit back and enjoy watching the great film-making. Exceptionally great even all these years on, Repulsion shows us how to create horror that doesn't need the gory effects so prevalent in today's films.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Sin Nombre

Release date: 18 January 2009 (Sundance Film Festival)

It doesn't end well. That said, Sin Nombre is a magnificent film that takes us deep into two miserable worlds: the gangs of southern Mexico and the lives of desperate families trying to escape poverty in Central America by making the dangerous journey to America. Directed and written by Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre shows us the story of El Casper (Edgar Flores), a Mexican lad brutally buried in gang culture and Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a young Honduran refugee escaping to America with her father and uncle by riding train roofs across the breadth of Mexico. When the lives of these two youths meet atop the roof of a train one night, the film's true journey begins. Beautifully filmed and oh-so-sad to watch, Sin Nombre gives us in the 'have countries' a reality difficult to comprehend. Fate is cruel and despite knowing intuitively that his days are numbered El Casper aids Sayra in reaching the border as though his redemption for past sins rests on this goal alone. A must see.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Mission Impossible 3

Release date: 24 April 2006 (Rome, Italy)

JJ Abrams directs Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in this latest MIF caper. Aiding Hunt is his usual crew - Maggie Q as Zhen and uber-cool Ving Rhames as Luther. Trying to finally exit the MIF life and retire, Hunt marries Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Alas the scriptwriters have different ideas for Julia after Hunt captures bad guy Owen Davian (a wickedly evil Philip Seymour Hoffman). She is duly dispatched to Shanghai as a bartering chip for Hunt to steal - wait for it - the "Rabbit's Foot", which is some crazy nuclear vial that will end the world or something - sorry, this reviewer lost track, and, frankly didn't really care by this point what it was all supposed to be about. In the end, there's plenty of action and Tom huffs and puffs his way through it all capably - the utter lack of any romance between him and Monaghan aside - and Billy Curdup, as double agent Musgrave, gets his comeuppance. Roll credits; roll eyes.

My rating 3 out of 10 for some breathtaking special effects.

The Book of Eli

Release date: 11 January 2o1o (Hollywood, California)

Allen and Albert Hughes direct the screen version of Gary Whitta's novel about a Christian black man wandering a post-apocalyptic America with purportedly the last copy of the Bible in his hands. Denzel Washington plays Eli with a sort of cool hand Luke attitude as he crosses America just ahead of the evil Carnegie (the always great Gary Oldman) accompanied off and on by Solara (Mila Kunis), a lass he rescues from bandits. While an excellent study of one man's journey to his destiny - at Alcatraz of all places - the marriage of Mad Max-like scenes with spirituality doesn't feel genuine. America - post-apocalyptic or not - is hardly the place we're going find a latter-day saint.

My rating 4 out of 10.

Black Swan

Release date: 1 September 2010 (Venice Film Festival)

Director Darren Aronofsky's companion piece to his Oscar-winning film, The Wrestler, is a macabre psychological thriller that plays brilliantly with the central theme of Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, where a dancer is required to play both the White Swan and her evil Black Swan twin. Nina (Natalie Portman) is chosen by her New York City ballet company director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) to champion the role. Nina is obsessed with perfection - a by-product of her wildly over-bearing mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) - and is clearly mentally ill. She soon begins to confuse what's real with what's imagined and believes a younger, more earthy dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) is vying to take her place. What results is a marvelous examination of an artistically ill mind filmed with a richness and complexity that is both horrific and beautiful. Aronofsky's directing is stunning with each scene a study in black and white. Black Swan is a deep film and will garner Oscar nods this year.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Congorama

Release date: 25 May 2006 (Cannes Film Festival)

Olivier Gourmet stars as a Belgian inventor with not much skill, Michel Roy, who lives his life in the limelight of his successful father, the author Herve Roy (Jean-Pierre Cassel). Michel is married to a Congoese refugee Alice (Claudia Tagbo) and has a budding tennis star of a son, Jules (Arnaud Mouithys). One day his father confesses he was adopted from a family in a small Quebec town called Sainte-Cecile. Fascinated by this, Michel travels to Quebec to pitch an invention and seek his roots. In Sainte-Cecile he meets Louis Legros, the son of an inventor of hybrid autos, and when their paths cross after an accident the real story of Congorama takes flight. Directed by Philippe Faladreau, Congorama twists a comic tale of fate and family as only the Quebecois can conceive. A wonderful little gem of a film that tells a cautionary tale of the importance of honesty.

My rating 7 out of 10.

The Social Network

Release date: 24 September 2010 (New York Film Festival)

David Fincher directs what will be an Oscar contender about the rise of Facebook and its founder, the acerbic Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Esienberg). When Zuckerberg gets dumped by his girlfriend he heads back to his Harvard dorm room and invents what will become Facebook. Helped by his closest friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) and initially funded by two wealthy Harvard classmates, the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence), Facebook takes off across American colleges. Zuckerberg moves to California and is befriended by Napster founder Sean Parker (a very good Justin Timberlake) who secures the 'in' needed to flow Silicon Valley dollars to the enterprise. But along the way Zuckerberg manages to alienate those who helped him and ends up being sued and sued again. Fincher does an excellent job pulling the matrix of connections associated with this story together and the scenes with Zuckerberg and his lawyers mediating settlements are by far the best. Guaranteed to make you look at Facebook a little differently after seeing it, The Social Network proves truth is - as always - stranger than fiction.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Entrapment

Release date: 29 April 1999 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

The single biggest problem with this Bond-lite flick rests with the utter lack of romance that is supposed to exist between its two stars, master thieves Robert MacDougal (Sean Connery) and Virgina Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Directed by John Amiel, the premise is the entrapment of the aging burglar by the younger agent who is working for an insurance agency. There's plenty of action, the requisite master thief training the up-and-comer, Mission Impossible-like antics at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur , a twist or three and moments of 'romance' which are laugh out loud silly. Rent this only if you're heading to Kuala Lumpur - as I actually was at the time - or want some comic relief, otherwise avoid being entrapped by its supposed star power.

My rating 2 out of 10.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Release date: 14 May 2010 (Cannes Film Festival)

The rumour is true, Gordon Gekko is back. Released from prison Gekko (Michael Douglas) is out to win the respect of the Wall Street world, regain the trust of his daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) and assist a young trader, Jake (Shia LeBoeuf) - who is rather too conveniently dating his daughter - in eking out revenge on mogul Bretton James (Josh Brolin) who had a hand in the demise of Jake's mentor Jules Steinhardt (Eli Wallack). Sadly the themes here seem dated despite the rash of Wall Street inside trading and the entire story feels forced. This reviewer has never been a fan of the work of director Oliver Stone. His films are all far too self-indulgent and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (dumb title by the way) is another example of this.

My rating 3 out of 10.

Let Me In

Release date: 13 September 2010 (Toronto International Film Festival)

Let Me In is a remake of the fabulous Swedish film Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It stars Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen, a young lad with an absent father and drunken mother who is bullied at school. Into his life comes Abby (Chloe Moretz) an ever-12 year-old vampire who appears one evening in the playground of his tenement. Abby's 'father' (a oddly miscast Richard Jenkins) acts as her protector and assists the vampire in securing the blood she needs. Directed by Matt Reeves, this version is honest to the original story and movie and does a good job at maintaining the eerie feel and tempo found in the Swedish film. Ultimately it is a tale of love, loneliness and revenge. Let Me In is an exception to the usual rule that remakes by Americans of Asian or European films are trashy.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Catfish

Release date: 22 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

Despite its marketing as some sort of Blair Witch Project, Catfish is decidedly more a statement on the state of social media in America and the lengths some folks will go to. Filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost document a story involving Ariel's brother, Nev, a 24-year-old New York-based photographer when he decides to actually visit a Facebook friend he's made in rural Michigan. Her name is Abby and while Ariel thinks Abby is a little girl who asked permission to paint one of his photographs, the truth when finally revealed is both intriguing and sad ... and certainly worth renting the film to see. Anyone who has ever created a Facebook page and accepted a 'friend's request' will want to see Catfish and will no doubt think twice about their online relationships.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Despicable Me

Release date: 20 June 2010 (Moscow Film Festival)

Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud direct the voice of Steve Carroll as Gru, a criminal mastermind biding for king of the kingpins by stealing the moon but really more interested in gaining the approval of his mother (voice of Julie Andrews). What Gru doesn't expect is a trio of orphaned lasses - Margo, Edith and Agnes - who don't see the evildoer but a potential papa in the making. Despicable Me is a wonderfully fun film that marries shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles with two genuine stories - a son's desire to make his mother proud and the desire of orphaned children to find a family that accepts them. Filmed in a luscious animation reminiscent of the animation of the 1970s, Despicable Me is a wee gem of a film worth renting.

My rating 9 out of 10.

The Expendables

Release date: 3 August 2010 (Los Angeles, California) (premiere)

An eclectic band of misfits is recruited for money to head to South America and depose a dictator in this homage to action films of the 1970/80's directed by the one and only Sylvester Stallone. There is a testosterone rush from the first scenes and the film maintains its relentless pace of toughness, violence and tongue in cheek cheesiness throughout. The Expendables is certainly not a great film but with a roster of stars that includes Sylvester Stallone (as team leader Barney Ross); Jason Statham (as ever romantic Lee Christmas); Jet Li (Yin Yang); Dolph Lundgren (as crazy Gunner Jensen); Mickey Rourke (playing his usual shtick, this time called Tool); Giselle Itie (as the lone female nod, Sandra) and Bruce Willis (as bad guy Mr. Church), everything works well. If you're looking for an A-Team-inspired flick for a night with the boys this is the one to pick. While it is instantly forgettable, it doesn't matter as the goal with this one is nothing more than fun, fun, fun.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Howl

Release date: 21 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

This docudrama combines funky animation with live acting and an interview with Allen Ginsberg to relate the genesis of his famous poem and the obscenity trial that resulted in California of the late 1950s. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman it stars an excellent James Franco as beat-poet Ginsberg and Jon Hamm as Jake Ehrlich, his lover of many years. Recounting Ginsberg's coming to terms with his homosexuality and the creation of Howl, the film works on every level. The use of animation to convey Ginsberg's poem is fabulous and the trial scenes add a real level of drama - and well-written drama at that. Treat Williams co-stars as Mark Schorer, Mary-Louise Parker appears as Gail Potter and Jeff Daniels plays Professor David Kirk. The film, like the poem itself, resonates even today as being ahead of its time and emblematic of literature that started a revolution.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Salt

Release date: 19 July 2010 (Hollywood, California)

Essentially a vehicle for Angeline Jolie to strut her stuff, Salt, directed by Phillip Noyce weaves a fantastically dumb premise of bad guy Russians who back in the Cold War days trained wee Russian kids to infiltrate the power halls of the US government awaiting Day X when they would all strike and bring down big, bad America. Salt works best if you can just sit back and enjoy the action and banish all thoughts of reality from your mind. Levi Schreiber does a good job playing pepper to Jolie's Salt. If you're looking for an adrenaline rush some night Salt is your ticket to high blood pressure for sure.

My rating 8 out of 10.

The American

Release date: 1 September 2010 (Canada)

Anton Corbijn is a photographer first and foremost and you can see his passion in this film. It is beautifully shot despite its violence. As the movie starts American assassin for hire Jack (George Clooney) has a job end badly in Sweden. He vows to his handler Pavel (Yohan Leysen) that his next job will be his last. Pavel sends him to the Italian countryside where he skillfully builds a gun and bullets to be used by Mathilde (Thekla Reuten) on an unspecified target. While there he befriends Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and falls in love with Clara (Violante Placido) and begins to self-reflect on the life he's lead. The American is a beautifully studied film, in many respects a very quite film which makes the violence that more meaningful.

At its core is the story of a man destined for hell who finds salvation in the strangest of places and well worth my rating of 9 out of 10.

Blood Simple

Release date: September 1984 (Deauville Film Festival)

This 1984 film landed the Coen brothers on the 'these-guys-are-hot' map. Directed by Joel and co-written with his brother Ethan, Blood Simple is a crime drama with a deliciously black angle. It stars a very young Frances McDormand as Abby, the wife of a very jealous and evil Texas bar owner Marty (Dan Hedaya). Thing is Abby is busy having an affair with one of Marty's barmen Ray (John Getz) and Marty hires a perfectly cast M. Emmett Walsh - a perfectly bent private detective named Visser - to investigate. The wicked plot that ensues is brilliantly played out. Misinterpretation, lying and deceit never looked so bloody good on film.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Runaway Vacation (aka RV)

Release date: 28 April 2006 (Canada)

Robin Williams does his usual routine in this take on Chevy Chase's Vacation. Bob Munro (Williams) has promised his family - wife Jamie (Cheryl Hines) and typical teenagers Carl (Josh Hutcherson) and Cassie (JoJo Levesque) - a family holiday to Hawaii. Plans go awry when his meano-beano boss orders him to prepare a pitch for a big client in Colorado. Bob then rents the mother-of-all-RVs and convinces the family head west so he can complete the presentation and assist the evil boss in the presentation. What ensues is typical stuff coloured by the arrival on scene of the very odd and very type cast Gornicke family, headed by papa Travis (Jeff Daniels). Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld RV has several (crude) laughs and does all it is supposed to do to unite the family through the course of a road trip. Original it is not; funny it is (in parts).

My rating for the sheer dumbness of it all, 5 out of 10.

The World of Suzie Wong

Release date: 10 November 1960 (New York, New York)

Richard Quine directed the film version of Richard Mason's novel (later a stage play) - the World of Suzie Wong. Premiered way back in 1960, it was a daring film for its time. The overt negative stereotyping of Asians aside, William Holden as Robert Lomax, the architect who escapes America to find his artistic soul in Hong Kong, and a so young Nancy Qwan as Suzie Wong, the prostitute who captures his eye, do a fine job as two misfits in their own worlds drawn, inexplicably, together. While Holden is too old (or Qwan too young) to make the love story really work, the film is worth a watch for its comedy; the wonderful scenes of a Hong Kong that no longer exists; and for boldly - yet compassionately - portraying an inter-racial relationship to a world ill-equipped to face it.

My rating 7 out of 10.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Release date: 16 November 2009 (Los Angeles, California)

Based on the wildly popular and poorly written trilogy, New Moon gives us part two of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Directed by Chris Weitz, all the regulars return including Bella (Kirsten Stewart), deathly white Edward (Robert Pattinson) and the now-realized-I'm-a-werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). New Moon has all the lads beefed up to heighten the sex appeal and get the legions of lovelorn lasses who pant after them all hot and bothered. Sadly in doing so, everyone forgot how to act and that for these films to work, a little action is required.

Painfully boring and interminably never-ending, this woeful effort has neither bark nor bite and is barely worth my rating of 2 out of 10.

Paranormal Activity

Release date: 14 October 2007 (Screamfest Film Festival)

This Blair Witch riff takes us into the house of Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherstone). Katie it seems is pestered by a demon that house hops with her and is, or maybe isn't, connected to a long line of families that have ended up bloodied on the five o'clock news. Ever resourceful Micah uses a video camera to film - over an interminable 23 days - the slamming of doors, appearance of footsteps, swinging of chandeliers, and general mischievousness the demon gets up to while they sleep. It's all about as horrifying as cutting your toenails. Directed and written by Oren Peli, this is a thoroughly miserable movie experience and is laugh-out-loud laughable from start to finish.

My rating 0 out of 10.

Born Into Brothels

Release date: 17 January 2004 (Sundance Film Festival)

A documentary made by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, Born Into Brothels takes us into Calcutta's red light district to meet the children of the prostitutes who roam its streets. Lower than the low, these children are all but invisible to Indian society and aid organizations. Deemed so low in fact, that neither government officials nor schools wish to take them on. But Zana brings photography to their lives, setting the kids up cameras, classes on how to use them and then weekly sessions to critique the photographs of the world they inhabit. The kids, of course, excel in the art and soon Zana conceives a plan to hold a photographic exhibition of their work to help fund their escape from the ghettos they inhabit. Beautiful illustrating a story we all should be aware of, Born Into Brothels shows us both the resiliency of children and the potential that lies within all, regardless of their birth.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Valmont

Release date: 17 November 1989 (USA)

Comparisons to Dangerous Liaisons are inevitable so upfront let's admit Valmont is the lesser of the two adaptations of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' bewitching 18th century novel redone by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Milos Forman, Valmont has the same sweep as Stephen Frears' film but is more a Sunday Night at the Movie version with far less edge than the Machiavellian characters gifted us by John Malkovich and Glenn Close. That said, Colin Firth as Vicomte de Valmont is more charming and Annette Bening as the infamous Marquise de Merteuil is more rounded with less cynicism. Cecile (Fairuza Balk) is more the true virgin than Uma could ever portray and it goes without saying that Henry Thomas as Danceny is light years stronger than Keanu. Meg Tilly as Madame de Tourvel is a blight on the film and seems to be channeling Sister Agnes.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Release date: 18 September 2009 (Canada)

Phil Lord and Chris Miller direct Judi Barrett's refreshing and ingenious 1978 children's book that sees nerdy misfit, Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) invent a machine that turns water into food. Great premise eh! In a sardine town on the edge of disaster, Mayor Shelbourne sees a tourist bonanza and using weather girl Sam Sparks (voice of Anna Faris) starts spreading the word globally. But Flint's machine goes awry and morphs into a Death Star-like monster that threatens to wipe out the planet with a rain of, you guessed it, ginormous meatballs. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs works on several levels - great characters and an honest connection to the plight of two nerds - Flint and Sam - trying to find their way in the world and a genuine story of a son trying to please his father. To boot, the animation is quirky and different than what you'll see elsewhere.

A movie well worth spending dinner with. My rating 8 out of 10.

Eye of the Beholder

Release date: 4 September 1999 (Venice Film Festival)

This is a thoroughly dreadful film based on - one can only hope, a better - novel by Marc Behm. British secret agent Stephen Wilson (Ewan McGregor) is sent to the United States to track a vicious serial killer of men, Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd). But rather than stopping the killer, poor Stephen becomes obsessed with her and thereupon travels the US for 10 years following her tracks. Yawn. One is teased halfway through the film by the appearance of Dr. Jeanne Brault (an I've-hit-the-wall Genevieve Bujold, or is the make-up artist to blame) and for bare moments we edge closer to our seats hoping sense will be made of the journey. But it's not to be. A film that bangs you over the head with the lengths some men will go when obsessed, Eye of the Beholder is nothing more than an insult to everyone involved.

My rating 2 out of 10.

Millennium Mambo (aka Qian xi man po)

Release date: 19 May 2001 (Cannes Film Festival)

Millennium Mambo is used by uber-brilliant director Hsiao-hsien Hou as a vehicle to showcase the considerable sultry talents of Qi Shu who play Vicky, a young woman living in Taipei at the turn of the new century. Vicky has endured a raucous relationship with Hao-Hao (Chun-hao Tuan) a lad lost to drugs, petty thievery and his obsessive compulsive tendencies for Vicky and her neckline. She takes solace with trips to Japan with Jun (Jun Takeuchi), a younger, kinder version of Hao-Hao and shelter in the home of a benefactor, Jack (Jack Kao). Originally conceived as a 6-hour film - something unfathomable - it is classic Hsiao-hsien Hou with long lingering shots and shots filmed askew as if a camera was set secretly into the lives of these characters. While nowhere as good as Hou`s other efforts, it does reaffirm a worldwide poll done in 1988 that he is one of the three most crucial directors to the future of film.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Alpha and Omega (in 3D)

Release date: 17 September 2010 (Canada)

Sadly Alpha and Omega is little more than a rushed effort to cash in on 3D mania that is now consuming the world of animation. Directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck, it concerns the love story of two wolves from opposite sides of the pack - Alpha Kate (voice of Hayden Pannettiere) and Omega Humphrey (voice of Justin Long). When the two are whisked away to Idaho from the Rockies outside of Jasper, they unite forces - with two golf-fanatic geese - to find their way home and solve the crisis of the western and eastern wolf packs at odds over elk herds. The problem with this film is an utter sense of deja-vu: we feel we`ve seen this all before. It is not helped by average (at best) animation and so-so 3D effects (the title blocks aside). In a hyphenated word, Alpha and Omega seems an after-thought and like most after-thoughts is not worth the effort.

My rating 4 out of 10.

Rashmonon

Release date: 25 August 1950 (Japan)

This 1950 film, directed by the great Akira Kurorsawa, is the quintessential crime drama that perfects displays the art of narrating a story from many different perspectives. In medieval Japan, a woman is raped and a man murdered and the conflicting stories of the witnesses to this crime - including the victim`s via a medium - make the story. In the end, we are left to judge ourselves - as in life - and are perhaps left saying (as noted in the film`s first line) `I do not understand". But that is the film`s purpose and point. Rashmonon Introduced Japanese film to Western audiences (it won both the Golden Lion and Academy Award) and remains even today hugely influential. It is a mesmerizing masterpiece. Filmed by cinematographer Kazuo Migagawa, it starred the great Tshiro Mifune as the thief Tajomuru, Masayuki Mori as the soon-murdered samurai Kanazawa, the beautiful Machiko Kyo as his wife, Masako, Takashi Shimura as the woodcutter who happens upon the scene, and Minoru Chiaki as the priest.

Worth viewing many times over, Rashmonon gets my rating of 9 out of 10.

Saraband

Release date: 1 December 2003 (Sweden)

Written and directed by the incomparable Ingmar Bergman, Saraband is a sequel that brings closure to two characters from Bergman's early career - Marianne (Liv Ullmann ) and Johan (Erland Josephson) - from Scenes of a Marriage (1973). Marianne has returned inexplicably to the lake cottage and there becomes entangled in a power struggle between Johan, his son Henrick (Borje Ahlshedt) and his daughter, the beautiful Karin (Julia Defvenius). Saraband is classic Bergman with all that means for angles and lighting and transitions. But beyond the utter perfection of the art of this film, lies the heartwrenching truth of its message - of how we live our lives and in choosing a certain path are either blessed or cursed to live loved or embittered. Saraband is a deep film that reveals more and more at each viewing and is a fitting testament to a great director.

My rating 10 out of 10.

Zombieland

Release date: 25 September 2009 (Austin Fantastic Fest)

An irrelevant and comedic look at a post-plague America where zombie's rule the land and a tiny group of four, as yet-not-infected, people learn a new definition of family amid the rules for life in Zombieland. Directed by Ruben, this delightful - if violent - romp stars Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee; Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus and Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin as Wichita and Little Rock. While over-the-top in a Roadhouse sort of way, the development of these characters as they travel west to Los Angeles is spot-on (thanks to the writers) and the addition of Bill Murray as himself is just perfect. Living amid the undead has never been so much fun and the search for a Twinkee just adds to the weirdness. Book passage soon; no passport required.

My rating 8 out of 10.

The New World

Release date: 25 December 2005 (USA)

The New World recounts the story of Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kitcher), the 17th century native American princess of lore. Directed by Terrence Malick. You know the story well, Captain Newport (Christopher Plummer) lands on Virginia's shores in 1607 and with him is the infamous Captain Smith (Colin Farrell) who is eventually integrated into Pocahontas' tribe as being banished from Jamestown. The two become lovers and the rest they say is history. While there is no denying The New World is stunning visually and incorporates a natural vividness that is breathtaking, director Terrence Malick cannot seem to decide what he actually wants to tell us. There is not one iota of connection between Smith and Pocahontas (blame both actors) nor between Pocahontas and her second husband, John Rolfe (Christian Bale). Worse, Malick incorporates very little dialogue and opts to give us Shakespearean moments where characters prattle on to themselves - in their minds. It's a very tiresome experience and has this reviewer wishing the New World had never been discovered to save us from schlop like this.

My rating 5 out of 10.

Goodbye Dragon Inn

Release date: 29 August 2003 (Venice International Film Festival)

"Did you know this theater is haunted?" is the first sentence spoken between characters in this movie. It comes roughly 45 minutes into the film. That's either boldness or craziness on the director's part. But the director here is Malaysian-born Ming-liang Tsai and in this case, boldness is appropriate. Goodbye, Dragon Inn stars Tsai regular Kang-sheng Lee as a smoking movie-goer in a theatre on the verge of its last show. When a Japanese tourist (Kiyonobu Mitamura) takes shelter in the theatre to get out of the rain he encounters all sorts of quiet folks who busy themselves watching King Hu's 1967 martial art film "Dragon Inn"; most memorable of these is the disabled ticket taker women (Shiang-chyi Chen). This film is a warm and comedic homage to film-going of yesteryear and is full classic Tsaisms, including a fascination with water and immeasurably long shots where very little happens. While not as good as either The River or I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, the addition of real-life Chinese martial art movie heroes Tien Maio and Chun Shih as themselves was a brilliant move.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Food, Inc.

Release date: 7 September 2008 (Toronto International Film Festival)

If nothing else, Food Inc. will make you take a more sobering look at the food you purchase as you wander the supermarket aisles of any American grocery store. Robert Kenner directs this documentary look at the business that is food in America and in the process dismantles our perception of farmers and the goodness and healthfulness of the food we consume. From the small handful of multinational companies that now control what we eat and how it is created and processed, Food Inc. unwraps the disturbing truth that money - not safety, not nutrition, not ethical employment practices - lies at the heart of nearly everything we lift to our mouths. It is a wake-up call to us all to get involved, ask questions of our grocers and demand answers.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Eight Legged Freaks

Release date: 30 May 2002 (Zurich, Switzerland)

If you're afraid of spiders avoid this movie but if you're a fan of either Scarlett Johansson or the campy 1950s creature-from-the-black-lagoon genre of movie making, rent this tout suite. Directed by Kiwi Ellory Elkayem, who makes this type of tongue-in-cheek sci-fi schtick his bread and butter, it stars David Arquette as Chris McCormick, the son of a wealthy Arizona miner who returns to his hometown days after giant mutant spiders start over-running it. His love interest is single mom Samantha Parker (Kari Wuhrer), the town's sheriff. Despite the film's you-see-everything-coming approach, it works thanks to Scarlett's presence (and even here she is a presence), the endearing quality of Harry Potter look-a-like Mike Parker (Scott Terra) and a perfectly played Deputy Pete Willis (Rick Overton). Is Eight Legged Freaks a good film? Hell no! But as pure entertainment on a Sunday night, you can't beat it.

My rating 6 out of 10.

Scenes of a Sexual Nature

Release date: 3 November 2006 (UK)

This cute British film was a bit of a flash in the pan but is worth a look. Directed by Ed Blum it follows scenes of a sexual nature among seven couple lounging on Hampstead Heath in London one sunny afternoon. The stories are hit and miss but there are a couple gems worth renting the film for. In particular the story of Iris (the fabulous Eileen Aktins) and Eddie (Benjamin Withrow), widowed seniors who cross paths on a bench in the park is truly heart-warming, if far-fetched, and Noel (Tom Hardy) and Anna (Sophie Okonedo) as an over-the-top couple - one just dumped; the other very horny. Amid the stories there lurks every manor of sexual truth and innuendo. The film fails in that it is simply too British; witty yes, but too British with the couples endlessly talking about sex rather than getting it on. It is all very droll and could have been better titled 'Endless Scenes of Seven Couples Talking A Lot'.

My rating 5 out of 10.

Chungking Express (aka Chung Hing sam lam)

Release date: August 1994 (Locarno Film Festival)

Where to begin with Wong Kar Wai's mysterious masterpiece that follows two cops' adventures with love? Chungking Express is, of course, the Chinese take-out restaurant Wong Kar Wai uses as the foundation for the stories and aside from that link, there is little else that knits the film together - and brilliantly so. Watching Chungking Express is both a joy and an experience. It confounds you ... but perhaps, like love, that is its point. Bridgette Lin stars as the Woman in the Blond Wig that Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) becomes infatuated with while Tony Leung is Cop 663 who is being systematically hounded by the fast food restaurant waitress, Faye (Faye Wong). Filmed back in 1994, Chungking Express is a film junkie's film concerned more with art than story. Mainstream it is not and like the films of John-Luc Godard - to which its style can be compared - you're going to either love it or loathe it. This reviewer falls firmly on the love side and is willing to make a stop into this eatery again and again.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Exit Thru The Gift Shop

Release date: 24 January 2010 (Sundance Film Festival)

Infamous street/graffiti artist Bansky directs this film that starts as a documentary purported to illustrate him and morphs into the making of a new art world sensation, MBW (Mr Brainwash); the French shop keeper, Thierry Guetta. Thierry spends every waking moment video taping well, everything in his life. This hobby eventually crosses into the world of graffiti artists, thanks mainly to the fact that his cousin is the infamous artist, Invader. His nocturnal outings eventually lead him to the mysterious Bansky, who takes him on as a comrade-in-arms. When Bansky finally asks to see the documentary Guetta has been making, the dreadful result is enough to have him ask Guetta to return to Los Angeles and take up graffiti full time; thus leaving the raw footage in Bansky's hands. At this point the film turns into a film about the creation of Mr Brainwash and the uber show he constructs jumping off from where Warhol left off. Exit Through the Gift Shop is a thoroughly engaging film; a shred marketing move on Bansky's part; and a glimpse into the vacuous world of modern art and what it means to be 'an artist' in this day and age.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Eyes Wide Shut

Release date: 13 July 1999 (USA)

The wondrous Stanley Kubrick directs this exceedingly sexual tome on love and jealously and seven year itches. Tom Cruise stars as Dr. Bill Harford, a man seemingly happily married to Alice (Nicole Kidman). But when Alice admits to a near affair, Dr. Harford embarks on a fantastical odyssey over two nights that nearly derails his marriage. Kubrick does what he does so well, giving us his unique immediacy and grandeur as Dr. Harford journeys first to a deathbed then onto a costumier and finally into a mansion-cum-sex-den straight out of the mind of the Pet Shop Boys. While Cruise is his usual stoic self throughout; Kidman seems out of her depth (despite her nudity) and is just plain awful, most especially in both her drunken and sexual scenes; which is odd as she was married at the time to Tom Cruise. In a fashion Eyes Wide Shut is the story of a frosh year student trying to lose his virginity taken far, far out into inner space. Sadly Kubrick passed away prior to the film's premiere in July 1999 but it remains a gorgeous, deep and luscious examination of one man's journey back to home. Kubrick considered it his best work to date and considering his filmography that's quite a testament.

This reviewer agrees and bestows a rating of 9 out of 10.

Before Sunrise

Release date: 27 January 1995 (USA)

Starring Ethan Hawke as Jesse and Julie Deply as Celine, this 1995 Richard Linklater directed film follows two strangers who meet on a train on route to Vienna and end up spending one of those wondrous paths-less-taken nights together. Jesse is coming off a break-up with his girlfriend in Spain and is heading to Vienna to catch a flight home to America. Celine is on route to Paris but opts to jump the train and spend the evening keeping Jesse company in Vienna. What evolves is a well-written, and honest, love story as the two wander Vienna's streets taking in the culture. The film works thanks to the great acting and truth that we feel these two people have a genuine connection that grows as they learn more about each other.

Perfectly paced through to its ending on the train tracks, Before Sunrise gets my rating of 8 out of 10.