Film Reviews by Steve

Superior frontier western which perhaps revisits too many standard situations for genre agnostics but is well directed by Anthony Mann on the dramatic peaks of Oregon, and in glorious Technicolor. And there's an impressive cast list led by James Stewart as a reformed outlaw.

Now he's guiding a wagon train west to open up new farmland. But their mission evolves into a parable on greed as gold is found in the territory. Stewart is too much of an everyman to play a morally ambiguous anti-hero. Arthur Kennedy is better as the slippery desperado from his past.

There are signs of studio interference with some bizarre casting, especially the salon-fresh glamour of Julie Adams and Rock Hudson who are more natural in swimwear than period costume. Their roles are add-ons anyway. And it's disappointing to see black actor Stepin Fetchit still doing his idiot schtick on the other side of WWII.

Yet there are progressive themes not usual in '50s westerns, more often seen in the Mann/Stewart cycle. But this is not realism; it's an episodic adventure for genre fans, with a shoot out and a punch-up and some dubious comic relief... and it's enough fun to feel even shorter than its already brief running time.

With the ascendency of digital technology, there is a consensus on what an action picture looks like, with the hyperkinetic editing, the ostentatious camera swoops, the muted colour tones and much of the frame completed in post-production. Even a second rate director can turn out a blockbuster in the customary style.

Now, what matters is the 'why?' What Alfred Hitchcock dismissed as the MacGuffin. Director Marc Foster has cranked out standard multiplex product, but lucked upon a pretty decent doomsday premise- from a 2006 novel by Max Brooks- which is especially resonant since the Covid pandemic...

A deadly global virus is spread via commercial trade routes which creates hoards of mindless carriers- yes, zombies! Except the few survivors trust the experts will plot a way forward. Well, backed by the military. Naturally, society breaks down, but at least there isn't a counter-uprising of anti-vaxxers...

Brad Pitt brings some star charisma as the burned-out UN enforcer pressed back into service. There's an adequate support cast for a zombie film though lumbered with banal dialogue. The CGI elevates many exciting action set pieces. It's an end of the world dystopia with some brains. And not merely those devoured by the undead.

Simply beautiful romantic drama adapted from Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel. It is set within that period, but is also like a hallucinatory dream. An inexperienced shopgirl (Rooney Mara) has a muted, but life-changing affair with an older married woman (Cate Blanchett as Carol) struggling through a hostile divorce.

This is on the threshold of the Eisenhower decade so the forbidden liaison threatens access to her young daughter. There is some thematic content about the limited rights and freedoms of homosexuals, but this is more intensely the story of an affair. Director Todd Haynes captures the narcotic disorientation of new love

This is principally through the gorgeous expressionist photography. But also the period set design, à la Edward Hopper. And the irresistible performances of the two stars. There is nuance; this not just about their transformative sexual attraction, but also how this is impacted by class, wealth, background, gender, age...

There is an abundance of good taste, including the score, the fashions, the brief sexual content, the muted, sometimes nebulous colours, and the understated script. If that also implies the tempo is adagio, then that is also true. But this is a heartbreaker. More than the social issues, this is about the mysterious complications of desire.

Ultra-suspenseful western expanded from a short story by Elmore Leonard. There are many effective changes from the 1957 adaptation by Delmer Daves. That was a psychological noir mostly staged in studio interiors. This retains some of the mind games but is an action film shot on location. And is much more violent.

A killer outlaw (Russell Crowe) is captured after a bloody stagecoach heist and escorted across Apache territory to catch a train to Yuma for trial and imprisonment, while his psycho-comrades attempt to free him. The last guard standing is a rancher (Christian Bale) who needs the $200 fee to save his barren fields and suffering family

And the feeling of jeopardy builds as he nears the departure time and the murderer tries to get inside the farmer's head. The stars don't quite equal Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in the original and Crowe's smirk gets a bit tiresome, but they are fine. Ben Foster makes an impact as the pitiless gunman leading the remainder of the gang.

The muted colour photography brings atmosphere. There's a decent script with interesting subtext about frontier justice, and an Oscar nominated score. The idea is overextended but still compelling and James Mangold directs with some style. While this doesn't surpass the Daves classic, it's a thrilling western on its own terms.

Really strange range war comedy-western which feels like several unrelated episodes stuck together. It's known by film anoraks for Walter Brennan's third Oscar in five years for best supporting actor, which led to a change in the voting rules. But he just gives his standard performance. May as well give it to Gary Cooper's horse.

It begins as a long whimsical conversation between Judge Roy Bean (Brennan), and the nonconformist saddle tramp (Cooper) he intends to wrongfully hang. This is mostly about the lawman's obsession with Lily Langtry, which apparently is factual. Then it morphs into a battle between the homesteaders and the cattlemen...

And then a weird climax where the hanging judge is gunned down in an empty auditorium where the Jersey Lily is booked to appear. It's a mainstream western, so there's a gunfight, a punch-up and a bashful romance. There's everything but a theme song by a vocal group of Irish baritones.

Cooper tried to get his role cancelled, then left the studio directly afterwards. And it shows. It's also astonishing that this mishmash was directed by the illustrious William Wyler! Still, it's a popular b&w western which passes quickly and fairly painlessly. And the anoraks may be charmed to briefly glimpse the beautiful Lilian Bond as Langtry.

Glossy remake of La Femme Infidèle (1969) which is quite faithful to the plot, but considerably alters the emphasis and mood. The French original is a psychological thriller, and this is more of an erotic melodrama. It's a date picture for grownups who can explore the provocative theme of adultery afterwards over dinner. Plus there's the chic lifestyle decor to aspire to.

Diane Lane plays a contented housewife with an attentive husband (Richard Gere!), a spirited kid and a lovely home in the suburbs But she's become a bit of a nag and isn't doing much with that college degree. She loves her family but is in a comfortable rut. When she literally runs into a sexy Frenchman (Olivier Martinez) with a Bohemian loft apartment, well what's she going to do?

Except her adultery sets in motion a chain of consequences which may take away everything she has. Lane is extremely good and wasn't flattered by her Oscar nomination. Though her co-stars don't make much of their conventional roles. Naturally, Adrian Lyne doesn't do suspense as well as Claude Chabrol. It lacks subtlety and is loaded with clunky symbolism.

The major debit is it botches the brilliant climax of the original, because it supposes the audience will not appreciate its unspoken implication. But presumably, the twist is why there is a remake at all! Still, it works as an entertainment. There's a tasteful soundtrack and it looks gorgeous, with its love triangle of beautiful people and just a shade of neo-noir.

Another tale from the neighbourhood... Martin Scorsese directs the memoir of Jake LaMotta, the Bronx Bull, former middleweight champion of the world (1949-51) and a legend as the boxer who put Sugar Ray Robinson on his back. There's a strange clash of styles, with the neorealism of the b&w photography, but also the sinuous, poetic Oscar winning montage.

Plus all the slo-mo artifice of boxing as ballet. Scorsese benefits from the landmark portrayal by Robert De Niro which is famous for his obsession with authenticity, including the massive weight gain and real-life boxing contests. The action is phenomenal and Scorsese/De Niro really communicate just how primal LaMotta was at his considerable peak.

But most of the suspense is generated by the anticipation of this violence bleeding into his personal life. The script apparently soft-pedals on this, and we mainly get the incessant verbal bullying of his wife (Cathy Moriarty) and his idiot brother/manager (Joe Pesci). But some is physical. The raging bull also threw fights and later sold booze to kids.

Scorsese saw it as a redemption story. But the champ's arc is from delinquent, to wife beater, to bum. This is not tragedy. When Jake and his brother are in long, vacuous conversation, it could almost be comedy. But for the brutality. It has value as an amazing looking boxing picture and for De Niro's 4real performance. But this is not entertainment.

Everyone knows this is the third film to win the big five at the Academy Awards. Which was well deserved for Jonathan Demme's hyperkinetic direction plus the outré performance of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, the imprisoned flesh eating serial killer who may be able to help the FBI in their investigation into another psychopathic murderer...

Jodie Foster was also recognised as the anxious but intuitive FBI recruit who liaises with a convict so threatening, his entire world has been reduced to zero. So he lives inside his massive intellect. The Oscar for the screenplay is more contentious, as there's not much the scriptwriter can do with the narrative from Thomas Harris' bestseller which falls apart under modest analysis.

Still, the direction, the rapid editing and ostentatious characterisations mostly obscure the flaws. There's a genuine frisson of Hitchcock going on. And the fetish/gothic feel to the incarceration of Hannibal (the Cannibal) sustains a palpable sense of jeopardy all the way. There are some extremely compelling set pieces... Including Lecter's incredible escape...

...And the nerve shredding climax, which is shamefully manipulative, but still, a blast. It's a landmark horror-thriller and a must-see work of suspense. Though it's apparently controversial for its critical portrayal of a transsexual. By the way, has anyone else won an Oscar with a performance as restricted as Hopkins; inside the cell, often behind a mask?

Maybe not quite at the level of the Wallace and Gromit short films for the dose of sweet joy they impart, but the much loved claymation duo's first feature is still extraordinary, and the animation even a little more sophisticated. And it successfully sustains the magic formula over a longer format. Our heroes are still funny, and uncannily heartwarming!

It was made for DreamWorks, so there is a pair of proper stars for the publicity. Helena Bonham Carter is the lady of the manor who Wallace has a crush on, and Ralph Fiennes his idiot rival. But it doesn't compromise on the quintessential Englishness. Thankfully, Peter Sallis returns to voice Wallace. And it is dense with quality puns and other dad jokes...

The inventor and his companion are in business protecting local gardens and allotments as the annual prize vegetable competition approaches... But Wallace disastrously gets his pest control apparatus mixed up with a brain moderation gadget and creates a giant... well, a were-rabbit. The science isn't clear... but it's extremely hungry.

Gromit must save the day, again. The suits didn't like its parochialism and dropped the Aardman contract. Even though much of this was inspired by Universal horror. Still, it's a milestone in screen animation both in terms of craft and content. And a family film that appeals to adults and children alike. Yet it's more; W&G make the world seem kinder, and more charming.

Critically adored '90s neo-noir skilfully adapted from James Ellroy's even more labyrinthine crime novel about corruption in the LAPD after WWII. This is set in the early 1950s and there is plenty of rich period atmosphere and weaves a few real life incidents from the bad old days into a fictional account of vice, murder and narcotics in Hollywood.

It begins as an investigation by three contrasting detectives into the murders of an off duty cop and a sex worker fixed up to resemble Rita Hayworth. Then is complicated when the threads lead back to their own department. Kim Basinger won an Oscar as the agency's Veronica Lake lookalike. Plus there is a well chosen support cast...

But the screen is dominated by the three stars. Guy Pierce is the square jawed but devious new recruit with an instinct for self advancement. Russell Crowe is a kind of a battering ram in a cheap suit. Kevin Spacey is a showbiz cop who liaises with television and runs a blackmail scam on the side. His death scene is truly phenomenal.

There isn't much subtext, aside from how out of control the LAPD got, which maybe relates to present times. The sexism/racism/brutality is off the chart. This is an articulate, complex, hardboiled crime story. The voice over, the smoky jazz score and the '50s LA production design make this feel like classic noir; and a sugary treat for genre fans.

Mythic Vietnam war allegory inspired by Joseph Conrad's 1899 classroom classic, Heart of Darkness. It's an extraordinary looking technical triumph, particularly with the ostentatious editing and the Oscar winning photography and sound. Francis Coppola contributes an impressive flair for visual narrative and spectacle.

Martin Sheen plays a special-ops soldier who must travel downriver through the horror/insanity of war to terminate an officer who has gone rogue. It's an odyssey into the interior of the country, as well as the assassin's psyche as he comes under the same pressures which set adrift the rationality of Colonel Kurtz.

It's a flawed masterpiece mostly because all this operatic bombast merely restates that war is hell, however persuasively. The initial narrative impetus is slowly lost. OK, it depicts a psychedelic journey which becomes more surreal as the party floats downstream... but also less compelling. And the climax is squandered.

Marlon Brando gives the closing scenes some folkloric weight, but is oddly presented like a confused west coast hippie cult leader- with an interesting library of modernist classics- rather than the essence of the heart of darkness. Still, it's a landmark Vietnam war film full of memorable scenes and dialogue. My pick is the longer 'redux' version.

*Warning- the film features the inhumane slaughter of a living animal.

Minor John Ford western with a familiar narrative and most of his standard motifs. So the film opens with the rich baritone harmonies of the Sons of Pioneers. On 25 minutes there's an extended fistfight. Then a tenderfoot on a wild horse and an improvised square dance. At length, a wagon train crosses a river...

There is attractive b&w photography of the same old locations. But no stars. This has an ensemble cast drawn from Ford's stock company of support players performing the usual archetypes. Ben Johnson and Harry Carey jr. are the scouts who take a party of god-fearing Mormons- led by Ward Bond- west across the Utah desert...

They have many adventures, including picking up a medicine show run by Joanne Dru and Alan Mowbray. Naturally he's always drunk. Western veteran Charles Kemper plays the patriarch of a gang of inbred outlaws. It hasn't got the critical status of Ford's classics, but will appeal to his many disciples.

And it's such an unassuming film that it may entertain some agnostics too. There are zero surprises, but it's a short, unpretentious genre picture which presents the customary scenarios with a broad, comical approach. It inspired the popular television series Wagon Train, which kept Ward Bond in work for the rest of his life.

Adorable neorealist musical-comedy set among the urban decay of Dublin, well before the Irish economic miracle. It is staged like a heist picture with a diverse group of hard up chancers who come together in a common cause, but are ultimately destroyed by their differences. And their own flaws.

There is mostly an amateur cast drawn from local musicians who hadn't yet broken through. Robert Arkins plays a switched on soul aficionado who wants to bring together a band, to reflect the struggles and aspirations of working class Dubliners during the '80s financial meltdown. Everyone is signing on and going nowhere.

But their pessimistic sense of humour survives. And the need for self-respect. And that is really what this is about. The greatest hits of US soul classics (Mustang Sally, Take Me to the River) offer some ersatz, ebullient positivity that speaks for the resilience of the people even better than the prickly, profane dialogue.

The cast of non-professionals are a formidable ensemble. The music brings passion; Andrew Strong makes a connection with his authentic soul vocals. Though Johnny Murphy steals the film as the likably mendacious trumpeter. It's good on the tribal impact of pop music, and how it nurtures a sense of identity and community.

Poignant memory film set in the US just before the profound social changes of the 1960s. With the nostalgic narration and rural locations it has the feel of many adaptations of William Faulkner. Except this happens in Oregon rather than the deep south, and is from a story by Stephen King.

Four boys aged about 12 shrug off their disinterested parents to search for the body of a child who has gone missing from their small town. Of course, like most pilgrimages, the significance is in the journey rather than the destination and they learn life lessons which may feel profoundly relatable for younger audiences.

And will be more nostalgic for older viewers, though all the cultural reference points and the late '50's soul/r&b soundtrack is specifically American. The quartet of child actors is extremely good, especially River Phoenix as the empathetic leader and Wil Weaton as the sensitive romantic who will tell the story many years later...

It's uneven- the older characters are shallow and some of the situations are laboured. It's like ersatz Faulkner... but the sunny day evocation of long ago friendships is haunting, as the boys start to test the boundaries of their small world. The recreation of the period is satisfying and it's thoughtfully directed by Rob Reiner.

Extraordinary true story about Aron Ralston, a climber/explorer who was trapped down a crevice in the remote Utah desert with his right arm stuck under a rock... for five days! He reflects on the circumstances that got him there, while weighing up the extreme measures it will take to survive.

It's mostly a one man show; James Franco delivers a standout performance as a sort of introverted free spirit, while flashback, hallucination and visceral recreation of the ordeal takes us through the 127 hours of entrapment. And his existence is suddenly reduced to a crack in the earth.

But we get deep inside his head... Director Danny Boyle employs an extreme, hyperkinetic visual style, particularly with the accelerated montage and split screen compositions. There's an abundence of ostentatious technique, but it snaps together with immaculate precision.

Ralston's eventual release is a vicarious spiritual exultation- enhanced by the music of Sigur Ros. This is incredibly 4real, and an unusual cinematic experience. Even though film buffs may notice the similarity of the scenario to Japanese arthouse classic, Woman in the Dunes (1964)!