Drive (2011)

Drive feels like the kind of film Quentin Tarantino could have made 15 years ago. Gritty, stylish and further cementing Gosling as one of Hollywood's most intersting actors.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Gary Oldman strives to get the wrong one out in Tomas Alfredson's masterful follow-up to one of my favourite films in recent years.

The King's Speech (2010)

As we enter awards season I'd imagine Colin Firth et al. are all mastering speeches of their own.

Janck 4.5 stars (Jan 2011)





Review to follow....

Mitch 4 stars

The Social Network (2010)

Janck 4.5 stars (Oct 2010)




I am indifferent about Facebook and it's daily usage, but I do appreciate a talented young cast and an Oscar winning screenplay. Extremely well made, Fincher combines all the elements well to tell a fascinating story.

Mitch 4.5 stars

Jaws (1975)

Over 30 years on and this original blockbuster retains all its bite.

Un prophète (2009) aka "A Prophet"

I often like to complain when a film is anything over 90 minutes long (if it's good enough for football then it's good enough for movies) but even at over two and a half hours long I didn't want A Prophet to end.. profonde douceur.

Janck 4.5 stars (Mar '10)


Gritty French prison drama which i wanted to love, but ending up liking a lot. Some superb performances are marred by a script this is meandering and, at times, unfocussed. Though do not let that detract from a solid drama that kills the rest of it's Hollywood peers.


Mitch 4 stars

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Winner of 6 Oscars, this gritty portrayal of an Iraq-based US bomb squad simmers for the most part, with some interesting cameos to boot. But some of these characters are incredibly two-dimensional, a real surprise for a Best Picture winner. Well received by the masses; perhaps they missed out on the superb Generation Kill.


4 stars

L'ennemi public n°1 (2008) aka "Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1"

Part deux doesn't disappoint, in fact I'd say it makes for a more coherent and exciting film.. probably the best film I've seen this year to date.

Moon (2009)

Very nicely put together Brit flick.. avoids many of the cheesy (groans) clichés you often see in sci-fi films to deliver the goods.

Janck 4.5 stars (Dec '09)


The Sam Rockwell show in space is not as 2D as one would imagine; this delivers and gives the viewer plenty to ponder. Does not have the same element of wonder as other cerebral sci-fi fodder (2001.... , Solaris etc), but firmly remains ''thinking man's'' science fiction.

Mitch 4 stars

The Damned United (2009)

I wouldn't say it is the best film about football ever made, but it is in the top one .. and the sequel will even better ;-)

Janck 4.5 stars (March '09)






Hard to imagine you could make a Cloughie film with barely a whisper of Forest, but they've done it (deliberately) chronicling his ill-fated tenure at Leeds Utd. (Dirty, dirty Leeds).

Mitch 4 stars

Vals Im Bashir (2008) aka "Waltz with Bashir"

This Golden Globe and Oscar winner paints a vivid, sometimes entrancing, but ultimately harrowing picture of the 1982 Lebanon War. A very brave and original picture.

Janck 4.5 stars (Apr '09)



Very impressive animated feature; the documentary style works well alongside the horrors of war. Poignant.

Mitch 4 stars

The Wrestler (2008)

A real suplex to the emotions.

Janck 4.5 stars (Jun '09)



Wonderfully acted, this past it wrestler role Mickey Rourke absolutely nails. Plus how hot is Marisa Tomei...

Mitch 4 stars

Star Trek (2009)

What the prequels should have been.

Janck 4.5 stars

To sum up in three words: Star Trek Wars. Highly entertainly on the big screen, J. J. Abrams has crafted a flat-out decent sci-fi spectacle.

Mitch 4.5 stars

Control (2007)

I've been waiting to see a transmission of this film for a few months now. Anton Corbijn pours his heart and soul into this feature, showing true control in his direction. This insight into the life of Ian Curtis deals with fame, isolation and how love will tear us apart. Decades on from his death, this is a moving and beautiful film that catches the atmosphere of the era perfectly. After viewing Control it becomes, quite simply, a known pleasure.

Janck 4.5 stars (Feb 2008)

Decent Ian Curtis biopic, with a fantastic lead performance from Sam Riley. Touching and well documented, this is well worth a look-in; but will strike a stronger chord with Joy Division fans rather than the masses.

Mitch 3.5 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

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

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

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

Fargo (1996)

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

4.5 stars

Casualties of War (1989)

Powerful and superior "prequel" to Redacted, shame that MJF seemed a little out of his depth.

4.5 stars