Ghost World (2001)

Cult comic book adaptation. Smart, a little odd and a wee bit endearing at the same time.

3.5 stars

Vantage Point (2008)

Mitch : Perfectly pitched Groundhog Day meets Anti-Terrorism thriller marketed for the masses. With each character's view of the same events, twists and turns abound. The film's pace never lets up in this Hollywood movie; but that's all this could ever be - just a Hollywood movie.
3.5 stars

Janck : Must rent Rashomon.
2.5 stars

Evan Almighty (2007)

Not as bad as you'd likely expect..

2.5 stars

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, a.k.a. Spirited Away (2003)

Endearing Japanese anime.


3.5 stars

The Good Shepherd (2006)

With a runtime of over 2 hours 30 mins, you'd be forgiven for thinking this is overreaching for De Niro. However, the end result is a well crafted CIA thriller which delivers some nice twists and turns amidst the mystery and intrigue.


4 stars

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Aronofsky, addiction and asses.

4 stars

Solaris (2002)

A visually beautiful and almost lackadaisical sci-fi remake from Steven Soderbergh, it does well to mix style and substance thus getting a thumbs up from me.

4.5 stars

Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)

Like a Seventies L O S T.

3.5 stars

The Mist (2007)

A film that suffers and succeeds in equal measures from it's B-movie credentials. Worth watching though, especially as Darabont doesn't provide a Zihuatanejo ending in The Mist.

3.5 stars

Wanted (2008)

Very average. Ridden with action movie cliches, and littered with plot holes. The action sequences are very impressive though. Teenage movie made for adults who should know better.



2.5 stars

Bobby (2006)

I think 'ensemble cast' best describes this effort from Emilio Estevez, with too many acting heavyweights to list here. There are some nice exchanges amongst many of the characters, but with so many sub-plots offered here, they do seem to pale into insignificance before the movie's inevitable climax.


3.5 stars

Teeth (2008)

Mitch : Far fetched cautionary tale of Vagina Dentata. The shock scenes are inevitable but are guaranteed to make any man wince. Then wince again. It's not totally two-dimentional though, a strong lead performance from Jess Weixler won her a Special Jury Price at Sundance in 2007.
3.5 stars

Janck : Sex satire with bite.
3 stars

Mongol (2007)

I originally heard that this movie was made by Kazakhstan as a riposte to the Borat film, a nice titbit of trivia if indeed true. Mongol itself is a very enjoyable and beautiful epic, which unfortunately let me down in the last twenty minutes.

3.5 stars

Jimmy Carter Man from Plains (2007)

Interesting documentary following Jimmy Carter promoting his controversial book, but not sure it justifies a two hour run time, perhaps an hour long TV special would've worked better here.

3 stars

Stop-Loss (2008)

Soldier returns home war-drama with a powerful performance from Ryan Phillippe. Thankfully this isn't too preachy on the war-on-terror, but prefers to focus on the aftermath of Iraq within small town Texas. Directed by Kimberly Peirce ("Boys Don't Cry").


3.5 stars

The Transporter (2002)

Guns and cars make this a pretty standard movie for the boys.. and when halfway through the pretty girl is replaced by Statham wrestling half-naked in oil and a man kiss The Transporter makes sure it caters for boys of all persuasions ;-)

2.5 stars

The Ruins (2008)

Decent enough horror fare, think Little Shop of Horrors meets The Descent.

3 stars

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

Picking off teenagers one by one with teenage 'issues' is uninventive to the point of cliché. The movie tries to claw it back towards the end, at which point it becomes as forgettable as it is farcical. I expected a lot more from this 18 certificate teen movie.


2.5 stars

Following (1998)

Christopher Nolan's debut feature showcases the talent that would one day make him a highly sought after director. Decent enough foot-in-the-door effort; the low budget and weak acting do make this feel a bit dated though.

Mitch : 3 stars


Average score from Mitch means only one thing.. I wholeheartedly concur.

Janck : 3 stars

Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

Utterly compelling tale of bloody revenge. Shane Meadows delivers a powerful movie, with an impossibly good unhinged performance from Paddy Considine. Superb Brit flick.


4.5 stars

In Bruges (2008)

Mitch : Enjoyable black comedy revolving around two hitmen being ordered to lay low In Bruges.
3.5 stars

Janck : Thoroughly enjoyed this dark "Brit Flick", one of the best films from 2008 in my opinion..
4.5 stars

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

I'm already forgetting Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Janck 2 stars







It wasn't that bad; I must admit I did chuckle a fair bit. Some nice one liners in this comedic set-up of PRP (post-relationship politics).


Mitch 3 stars

King of New York (1990)

Slightly disappointed in this cult gangster flick that up until now had passed me by. However, a nice cameo from a young Michael made it more than worthwhile.

3.5 stars

Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (2007) a.k.a. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

True story adaptations are usually let downs, but this speaks volumes about everything good about foreign cinema. Emotive and very well made; highly recommended.


4.5 stars

Syriana (2005)

Nicely constructed, inter-connecting polical tale about the industry for black gold. A solid picture; won Oscar.


4 stars

13 Tzameti (2005)

French roulette.

4 stars

Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

Some of the most powerful films I've watched this year have been documentaries, and this no exception. Exploring the Bush government's truly tortuous side.

4.5 stars

River Queen (2005)

An interesting, if disjointed, story of a woman torn between British colonialists and Maori people in nineteenth century New Zealand.

3 stars

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Pretty poor, but just about watchable.

2 stars

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

I would describe the Harold & Kumar movies as a guilty pleasure, but the truth is they probably say more about race/War on Terror and our (American anyway..) attitudes towards them than most heavy hitting dramas. Plus you get some wanking gags and nudity.. hurrah!

3.5 stars

Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo (1966) aka "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

The most spaghetti of all Westerns, I must shamefully admit to having not seen before, which thoroughly deserves it 'classic' status. The end shootout is (literally?) pure gold, I could havve watched that stand-off for hours..

4 stars

Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Mitch : Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid. This movie's heart is in the right place, but it suffers from a genre identity crisis and is short on laughs for a so called comedy.
2.5 stars

Janck : I smiled, in spite of Jack Black.
3 stars

Reservation Road (2007)

Downbeat drama concerning a suburban Conneticut family whose lives are changed forever after their son is tragically killed in a hit and run accident.

Admittedly, this won't be everyone's cup of tea; exploring themes of anger, guilt and loss, but there is some fine acting from a well assembled ensemble cast. Not exactly made for the masses, explaining why this film never got a UK cinematic release.


3.5 stars

Saw IV (2007)

A poor Saw.

2.5 stars

Recount (2008)

Absorbing insight into how Dubya "won" the 2000 Presidential Election.

3.5 stars

Alpha Dog (2006)

This may be inspired by true events of when a kidnap goes awry; but the partying, drugs, guns, and Justin Timberlake give this far too much of a teen movie feel.


3 stars

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Crime certainly doesn't pay in this tense film from veteran director Sidney Lumet. Another sparkling performance from PSH, who leads the ensemble cast in this fine movie.

Janck 4 stars (3rd June 2008)


Totally agree with the above, although can I just point out how smokin' hot Marisa Tomei is in this movie.

Mitch 3.5 stars

Lions for Lambs (2007)

Robert Redford lectures his students and the audience in this commentary on the "War on Terror".

2.5 stars

Quel maledetto treno blindato (1978) aka "Inglorious Bastards"

Explosive war film, good fun but nothing too challenging.

3 stars

Cars (2006)

This is Pixar never really getting out of first gear. Lacking in va-va-voom.

Janck 2.5 stars





Third time lucky (thanks for the two previous scratched discs Lovefilm), but pleasantly surprised. Pixar manage to pull off another triumph, and actually feels like it was made for kids for once. Guilty pleasure.


Mitch 3.5 stars

Suspiria (1977)

Cult Seventies schlocker. I kept waiting for something scary, or even something good, to happen but it never really did. Nice use of Technicolor though in it's final cinema outing.

2 stars

The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005)

As a fan of the TV series, this is very short on belly-laughs and comes across a touch self-indulgent. The potential was there, but the result is fairly so-so. Stick to the TV series.



3 stars

Haute tension (2003) aka "Switchblade Romance"

Oooh la la. This is how horror movies should be, nasty and stylish in equal measures, director Alexandre Aja leads the way in the recent spate of throwback slasher movies.

4.5 stars

Smokin' Aces (2006)

Actually quite enjoyed this; guns and action with at least an attempt at a plot. Lots of big name actors; I recognised at least 3 from L O S T. (One of which was a cameo from Matthew Fox). Entertaining hitmen tale.


3.5 stars

Capote (2005)

Finally got round to watching this (sorry Janck, you can have the DVD back now). I'd heard much about Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance from a few years back, but the real star is the cinematography. And sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.


4 stars

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Mitch : More enjoyable Summer blockbuster fare from Marvel. At least filmmakers are learning to pursue the darker, character-driven facets of such comic book transitions. Lessons have been learned from the previously offensively neon and corny mid-nineties Batman movies.

3.5 stars

Janck : The worst last half an hour of "film" I've seen in a while.. Why bother with separate cover art for the DVD when they could have used that of the videogame.

2 stars

Fargo (1996)

Not quite the Cohen Brothers best work, but pretty darned tootin' close to it.

4.5 stars

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Indian rail trip about three brothers who somehow lost their way but undertake a spiritual journey to learn more about themselves and each other. Let's make an agreement and give this:


4 stars

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

There is nothing uplifting here, although that's to be expected when the British army is occupying Ireland in 1920 and independence is being threatened. The film is very heavy going and uncompromising at times. Several very good performances throughout, although Cillian Murphy's is the standout. Palme D'Or winner in 2006.


3.5 stars

Death Sentence (2007)

Another average vigilante movie. The problem with this genre is that it is too formulaic, and the bounds of reality have to be stretched in order to feel the central's character's sense of revenge. Unfortunately, I never quite bought into it.


3 stars