Film Reviews by None

I'm beginning to think this man can do no wrong. Certainly this isn't a particularly original story, but it is done brilliantly, with superb performances from Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson, with plenty of twists and turns. One measure of a good film is whether you care what happens to the protagonists, good and bad, and I certainly did. A highly satisfying watch.

Great cast, interesting idea, but come on, SURELY we needed to learn who the mum was!

Got the picture very quickly of sad pointlessness of Don's life - didn't really need to see Bill Murray sitting stock still & expressionless for what seemed like hours on end.

As for the end - unexpected which isn't always bad, but pure cop-out and no message whatever

A bizarre small film, featuring one of the protagonists, preceded the main event - was it supposed to be clever, amusing or just scene setting?

The film was just trying too hard to be quirky, different and implausible to be funny. Owen Wilson seemed thoroughly uncomfortable [and I don't just mean the bandages]- I had the feeling he didn't get it either!

Having only heard the term "rendition " on the news in recent years, this was a graphic demonstration of how easily a respectable citizen can have his credibility stripped away, if that is what the authorities want. It is a shocking reminder of US policy to send suspects, however flimsy the evidence, to countries which are less scrupulous. In this case I certainly believed the subject of rendition was innocent, but if information which prevented the death of one of my family was obtained in this way, would I still condemn it?

First of all, feast your eyes on the black and white - think superb portrait, not grainy old films. The atmosphere of the period is beautifully portrayed and there isn't a poor performance in the film. Yes, it's still highly relevant and should, perhaps, be compulsory viewing for politicians on both sides of the Atlantic. If you aren't sure what the Mcarthey era was about, watch this - a gripping film on all levels.

Oddly creepy - we just couldn't see where this film was going, and only made it to the end of the first 45 minutes. If you're thinking of Restoration Comedy - broad humour, great costumes, political points, good dialogue - forget it! Just a series of unpleasant characters minceing about in hideous, surely exaggerated clothes and wigs, even for the age of excess. The premise was attractive - the film certainly wasn't.

Clint was, well, just Clint, but in the sort of character that this suits, but Hilary Swank was a revelation - superb.

Her heartbreak when her gift of a house for her horrible family was received so ungratefully nearly had me in tears, and I was pleased when they got their comeuppance.

By the way, I know Morgan Freeman's got a nice voice, but why does he get quite so many voiceovers? Shawshank Redemption, March of the Penguins & this, to name but three?!

Anyway, well worth it.

My husband probably enjoyed this more than I did, but it was a very satisfying evening's viewing - as you would expect from Costner, this wasn't a prettified version of the West - and it was good to be reminded that cowboys actually herded cows in between getting into fights and philandering with bargirls!

Wonderful, funny, sad, superb cast - loved the two girls Alice worked with and Gil's ghastly neighbours.

Beautifully written - not a foot wrong from start to finish. Anyone who's ever felt at odds with the rest of the world [most of us, surely?] will find their hearts going out to Alice and Gil, and praying that they will meet one day.

More please!

As a Ray Charles fan I approached this nervously, but Jamie Foxx's voice was absolutely amazing.

The story was well told and even though we all know how it ended, it was well worth the journey

Absolutely wonderful acting from the entire cast - Gillian Anderson could hardly have done more, following Lady Dedlock in Bleak House, to prove she is impossible to typecast. Robert Carlyle was a scallywag, as usual, but a very good one. The story was touching, funny and sad, and, according to my husband who knew Belfast well during the troubles, the background was very realistic.