Film Reviews by Steve

Uneven Gen. X melodrama which still elicits a few minor chords. In the present era of social media, and since the Columbine Massacre, this seems unexpectedly prophetic... A teenage pirate radio shock-jock operating from his bedroom in suburban Arizona changes the climate at his ultra-Conservative High School.

This is surprisingly sincere and while the disillusioned kid’s diatribes are often artless, then that's part of his vulnerability and some of the more profound material goes straight to the heart. Maybe looking like Christian Slater (or his eventual companion, Samantha Mathis!) would alleviate many teenage problems.

But Slater plays up his social anxiety which is unusual for the period. He can't communicate, except via his broadcast, when he talks for everyone and offers an outlet for misfits who suffer alone. Obviously there's a soundtrack of punk and hiphop classics. Boomers get Leonard Cohen singing Everybody Knows.

It loses focus in the later scenes, and the reaction from the fascist headteacher (Annie Ross) is idiotic. Plus it borrows the climax from Smokey and the Bandit (1977)! Yet its seriousness sets it apart from other 80s/90s High School films, while making salient observations on how some colleges finagle good grades. 

The best of Jim Jarmusch's run of idiosyncratic arthouse curiosities which attracted a worldwide cult in the 1990s. He calls this a psychedelic western, which sort of implies it's a head movie, which it really is, so it might be enhanced by hallucinogens. And it's also a quirky comedy and a key star vehicle for Johnny Depp.

He plays a frontier accountant- maybe Jarmusch read Viz!- who is shot and then swept up in diverse episodic adventures in the old west, while he slowly dies. He is loosely chaperoned through the rituals of death by a gnomic Native American played by Gary Farmer, who is intrigued by the white man's name: William Blake.

And the film overflows with allusions to the English Romantic, mainly his poetry. So this may appeal to literature buffs. Also there are myriad references to pop culture, as there usually are in Jarmusch pictures. This is made accessible by another of Depp's offbeat early roles; and he gives charisma to what is essentially a cypher.

He's supported by an offbeat cast, with a crossdressing Iggy Pop and a cameo from Robert Mitchum in his last film. There's a soundtrack of guitar atmos. by Neil Young and phenomenal b&w photography from Robby Müller. This may even be a shaggy dog story about the old west being a kind of hell. Well if so, it's a doozy.

My personal favourite from Hirokazu Koreeda's classical Japanese dramas which have accumulated global popularity in the new millennium. This one delivers a measure of gravitas with its themes of loss and time and the reflections on old age and mortality.

He is often compared to Yasujiro Ozu because of the similarities in technique... which makes this his own update of Tokyo Story (1953). Three generations of a middle class family gather each year to acknowledge the premature death of the elder son of a retired doctor and his wife.

And by day two, the barely discernible resentments climax into a muted spasm of passive aggression... and then they get out the dirty laundry. But this is understated and implied, in the Japanese way. It's an ensemble actors film with Kirin Kiki the standout as the stoical, conciliatory matriarch.

Though she eventually also reveals an edge. We get the expected tasteful piano score and long edits from a static camera. This may not be on the level of the postwar Japanese masters but it's still wistful and absorbing, especially considering there is little plot and much gnomic conversation. 

So-so big screen sitcom which might have been better done as a tv series, as these things normally are. Typically, all the characters are stereotypes, with Ben Stiller as a neurotic Jewish father who goes on the road to find his real parents, having been adopted at birth.

So he takes along his indifferent wife (Patricia Arquette), a sexy, available research student (Téa Leoni) and his new baby boy... but the adoption agency have their data scrambled so they encounter various diverse dead ends, leading to unsubtle, door-slamming farce.

These are familiar situations, like the frustrated dad bumping into the psych-grad in her lingerie... still, she is pretty hot. The entourage even picks up some gay cops. The cast is so stoked, it seems possible the camera will pull back and reveal we're watching am-dram...

The old-time stars are best on show, with George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore as the highly strung adopters and especially Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin as the ultra-liberal biological parents. But if ever it pushed boundaries, now it's only the stereotypes which may offend.

Austere social realism about a Russian immigrant (Dina Korzun) and her feisty 10 year old son (Artyom Strelnikov) who claim asylum in the UK, and then get entangled in bureaucracy and the miseries of a left behind southern seaside town. 

It's a compassionate look at her predicament and- made in 2000-  approaches the situation without most of the toxicity which has since poisoned public opinion. She is let down by an arranged marriage, but assisted by a local jack the lad.

Paddy Considine is fine in this early role, but it's Korzun as the vulnerable refugee frustrated by officialdom who makes an impact. Margate is shot vérité style by writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski on debut with a considerable eye for detail...

And this recalls the British Free Cinema movement of the '50s. It's as much a commentary on the derelict, impoverished location as a sympathetic, early rendition of an ongoing controversy. It belongs among the classics of UK social realism.

Number five in the long running comedy series and the best of the 70s/80s sequels. It's the one where Dreyfuss (Herbert Lom) escapes from a psychiatric hospital and commands the combined forces of international crime and espionage to murder Clouseau (Peter Sellers)...

It's busting with brilliant visual gags from the pre-credit sequence onwards, surely unequalled since the early films of Laurel and Hardy. Some are old favourites, like the anticipated assault from Kato (Burt Kwouk) but there are many new wild slapstick set pieces.

My personal favourite is Dreyfuss blowing up Clouseau's rooms while the immortal detective hovers outside, held aloft by a helium balloon... This is all crazy, cartoonish stuff, inspired by the serendipitous alliance between Sellers and writer/director Blake Edwards.

Credit is probably also due to Sellers' stunt double... The star's screen combo with Lom is sublime. Leslie-Anne Down brings considerable glamour to the later scenes. The solitary downer is Henry Mancini's legendary theme music is only heard over the credits. 

Passionate and fiercely intelligent polemic on the '80s political revolution, and the economic Darwinism left in the wake of the Reagan government in the US. And then the UK. Set in an office of desperate sales reps, this is my generation's Death of a Salesman.

Sure it's a photographed stage play, but with a once in a lifetime ensemble cast performing an actors masterclass. My pick is Jack Lemmon as the corporate also-ran, operating way beyond his breaking point. Actors must kill to grab material as good as this.

In adapting his own 1984 Pulitzer Prize winner, David Mamet sharpens the barbs and adds a satirical set piece of immortal corporate bull**** courtesy of Alec Baldwin's cutthroat sales tutorial. It's shot in the style of '80s tv noir, with the rain and the saxophone solos....

And that's what dates it- the drama is bang on the money; more than ever. These men are sleazy con artists, and it's easy to draw a line from their endemic American hucksterism to the bank crash of '08 and then Trump. No solidarity, just the lure of the buck. 

The screen version of The Who's concept album is a return to the kitchen sink values of the British New Wave of the early '60s (when the action is set). Phil Daniel is uncanny as a young mod assimilated into the superficial tribal identity, but inside, is all emotion.

There's an unglamorised presentation of working class life, distant from most of the usual chic of the decade, though the teenage mods do long for the elegant materialism that is hoarded elsewhere, and the status which will always remain out of reach.

The narrative, lifted from the impressionistic lyrics of the record, is mostly reportage; the speed and r&b singles, the beach fight, the classic clothes and knee tremblers. But the film fuses with the music brilliantly, cultivating a profound empathy for adolescent yearning.

This stems from Daniel's authentic performance, and Pete Townshend's songs, especially the spiritual ache of I'm One and Love Reign O'er Me. It's among the best films about the brief, tragic metamorphosis that happens between being a teenager and a wage slave.

Uneven Vietnam war picture divided by its two distinct locations and a style which fluctuates between black comedy and war-is-hell realism. The first half is better, as a diverse mob of malleable Marines goes through the dehumanisation of basic training under a grotesquely incompetent officer.

With the insidious brainwashing of the teenage grunts, Stanley Kubrick is back in the mindscape of A Clockwork Orange (1971). These scenes are elevated by outstanding performances from R.Lee Ermey as the sadistic Sergeant, and Vincent D'Onofrio as a bullied recruit who should never have been there.

We then follow a wiseass reporter of government propaganda into action- played by Matthew Modine. These fragmented episodes don't have as much impact, but the primary intent is to explain why so many mentally disturbed men came back from this futile war. And this is its main achievement.

The script is adapted from a novel by a combat veteran (Michael Herr) and has a dreamy, poetic quality. But it looks authentic... even though shot in the UK! It's a key 'Nam war picture, but my feeling is- at least during the re-evaluation of the '80s- it was better when these were made by the survivors.

Hammer's attempt to reboot their Frankenstein series is usually called a comedy, which may be misleading. Really there is just a layer of irony applied to the gothic grotesquery. The story begins again, so the younger Ralph Bates replaces Peter Cushing as Baron, but he's up to the same old tricks.

Bates is actually fine, playing the mad scientist as a decadent feudal aristocrat who likes to swing. Maybe he's a bit crazier than usual, but mainly it would be just weird if Cushing was so sexually switched on.  Plus the leading women are now more ostentatiously cast for their body type...

Though there is no nudity. During the decline of the British film industry, actors took what work was available, so odd things happen like Dennis Price in his sad alcoholic decline is cast next to Jon Finch, soon to play Macbeth for Roman Polanski. Obviously the old souse is much more fun.

This remake might sound like a desperate throw of the dice from a studio on its uppers, but actually it's surprisingly good for an hour, and only drags during the usual rampage towards the end. David Prowse's monster is a skinhead, a feral hooligan. Maybe an attempt at social commentary?

One from Susanne Bier's peak Danish period in the 00s which lost momentum in English language film and tv. After Brothers (2004) she moves further from the style of Dogme 95, though the subject and themes are similar. And this was another critical success which led to an inferior Hollywood remake.

These films- in association with longstanding co-writer Anders Thomas Jensen- typically have highly designed plots which trace connections between the personal and the political. Rooted in the disputes of both the family and global conflict, they dig deep into the personalities and relationships.

This one starts at a wedding, but takes place in the interface between business and humanitarian relief. Mads Mikkelsen plays the identification character, a frontline aid worker in Kolkata. But the protagonist is Rolf Lassgård as a rich businessman who might be interested in becoming a benefactor.

Except... he makes incredible demands. This is about the pressure his manipulative self-interest inflicts upon others, even if most accept it because of his wealth. It isn't the director's best, but is typical of her ultra-intimate approach, with the multilayered performances, and is actually, quietly horrifying.

Clever comic romance which mainly works as a parable for how modernity has squeezed out folklore and the poetry of love. There's a signature Johnny Depp fantasy role, as an ordinary stiff who gets absorbed into the mythology of Don Juan rather than confront complex real life problems.

And he intrigues the lovelorn females of the psychiatric hospital where Marlon Brando treats him for schizophrenic delusions. Except the Byronic dreamer is having more luck re-awakening the shrink's passion for his lovely wife (Faye Dunaway) than accepting he's just a loser from Phoenix, Arizona.

This was developed as an actors' duello between the male stars, but Depp is too beautiful and charismatic not to settle that contest instantly, with a virtuoso performance. Brando is fine and twinkles with elderly charm, but he's so startlingly overweight that it's hard to see beyond his physicality.

Those who like seeing JD play mythic oddballs will love this. Though his comedy Spanish accent is a reminder of his guest spot on The Fast Show. Depp may flourish a sword with zero credibility, but no-one will ever more persuasively portray a crazy misfit who is certain he's a romantic literary legend.

Australian cult favourite which flickers erratically between bad taste (almost gross-out) comedy and sentimental, life-affirming melodrama. The former is more successful with some wit and a few big laughs, though it often appears uncomfortably like we are expected to mock these characters for being ignorant, low class trash.

When the mood gets darker, it seems the plot is merely hitting the standard beats of a feelgood Hollywood narrative arc. It's manipulative, contrived and corny, but what the hell. It surely means well and there is some amusing satirical comedy. And it's carried by a much-loved performance from Toni Collette in the title role.

Muriel begins as a dim bulb fantasist who obsessively plans for the Big Day but without much pragmatism; not so much because she isn't conventionally pretty as she's a borderline psychopath with no self esteem. She packs her taped copy of Abba's Greatest Hits and leaves behind her unsophisticated provincial home and awful family.

Then in Sydney, after some comical misadventures and a few disappointments, she learns crucial life lessons and becomes a bit more normal. Writer-director PJ Hogan spins his own experiences into a conventional coming of age redemption story, though the Aussie locations and cultural observations make it feel more personal. 

The screen version of The Who's concept album is a return to the kitchen sink values of the British New Wave of the early '60s (when the action is set). Phil Daniel is uncanny as a young mod assimilated into the superficial tribal identity, but inside, is all emotion.

There's an unglamorised presentation of working class life, distant from most of the usual chic of the decade, though the teenage mods do long for the elegant materialism that is hoarded elsewhere, and the status which will always remain out of reach.

The narrative, lifted from the impressionistic lyrics of the record, is mostly reportage; the speed and r&b singles, the beach fight, the classic clothes and knee tremblers. But the film fuses with the music brilliantly, cultivating a profound empathy for adolescent yearning.

This stems from Daniel's authentic performance, and Pete Townshend's songs, especially the spiritual ache of I'm One and Love Reign O'er Me. It's among the best films about the brief, tragic metamorphosis that happens between being a teenager and a wage slave. 

The middle part of Richard Linklater's trilogy about the adjustments made in response to the key stages of life- is the best of the three. It catches Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) a decade after Before Sunrise and sets another conversation- in real time- against the allure of Paris in the sunshine. 

And it expresses elegantly and wisely the 30-something condition: when enough experience has accrued to feel meaningful regret; when definitive choices are coupled to last chances to review decisions already made; but with opportunity to change. Still young, but when time first comes to check your pulse..

Linklater captures one of the great screen romances, without even showing a kiss. Prodigious credit is due to the stars who create extraordinary chemistry between their two characters, and also co-wrote the script... which reflects acutely on modern life, as well as growing the will they-won't they suspense.

This is 80 minutes of dialogue, but there are no lulls. Just a developing euphoria driven by the joy that love and providence may bring. A conversation of asides and deviations and obfuscations that leads us to an unresolved cliffhanger of overwhelming emotional intent... I love this film, with all my heart!