Film Reviews by Pete W

Broadly based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, except that Ripley has moved from France to Italy for some reason. Why don't film makers just film the Highsmith stories without "improving" them - the films would be much better. Biggest problem for me was Malkovich - too old for Tom Ripley, he can do the chilling psychopath pretty well but lacks Ripley's essential charm.

Typical Le Carre country but not up to the standard of the Smiley series. The story seems too slow moving and drawn out. Ray McAnally is excellent as Pym's conman dad and Peggy Ashcroft steals several scenes but Peter Egan just didn't work for me as the lead character.

A gripping representation of life in an American EOD team in Iraq. This doesn't present the guys as purely heroes but shows the corrosive effect of the constant pressure in terms of their relationship with each other and with outsiders. Not afraid to duck the possibility that the whole adventure may be pointless.

Star Trek gets the Star Wars treatment in this entertaining prequel to the Star Trek TV series. The younger versions of the characters are very believable in a film with a solid storyline - even if it starts getting a bit difficult to follow about half way through when two versions of the same character appear after a bout of time travelling.

I don't think that this film really seizes all the opportunities presented by the situation. The sole joke seems to be that two straight guys have agreed to make a porn film with each other and are now very embarassed by the whole situation. Had the film been a bit more daring, and made the comedy broader, it might have been more entertaining. As it was, it was a bit of a yawn.

I'm afraid this didn't work for me. It took a very superficial approach to some serious issues such as child mutilation and exploitation. I couldn't see any comedic element to the film or any feel-good factor. In fact, I found the whole piece rather depressing.

Tom Cruise does a good job of portraying von Stauffenberg, supported by the usual cast of supporting British actors (plus Eddie Izzard). Even though we all know the outcome, the film maintains a good level of tension throughout. Interesting to wonder how close the plot came to ending the war nearly a year before it actually ended.

I haven't got the faintest idea what this film was trying to say. Perhaps it was just an exercise to see how far you can push the boundaries of censorship. Yes, you get to see total nudity, erections - the lot. But why?

Bruno Ganz's portrayal of Hitler should have won him an Oscar. A lengthy film but it doesn't drag (even though you know the ending!). The scene where Magda Goebbels slaughters her children is appalling - in the true sense of the word, as it should be. Don't be put off by the fact that the film is in German and subtitled - but it helps if you understand a bit of German. Special mention of the DTS soundtrack - the first Russian shell to fall on the bunker nearly blew my front room windows out.

Remember all those westerns that used to be on TV on a Sunday afternoon? Well this is out of the same stable but updated for the 21st century. Solid performances from Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in the lead roles and a storyline that holds the attention with constant twists and turns. Special mention for Ben Foster as a psychopathic outlaw who gets what he deserves in the end from an unexpected source.

Cotillard deservedly won awards for her performance as Piaf - an extraordinary performer but a pretty hopeless drunk and drug addict who died at the age of 48 completely burnt out. Tragedy follows Piaf everywhere - a feckless father, absent mother, blindness while being brought up in a whore house, life in the gutter in Paris, the murder of her first manager and the death of the love of her life (unfortunately married to someone else)in a plane crash. The film jumps around a bit but Cotillard carries it and you get a real sense of the magnetism of Piaf on stage, in contrast with her complete unsympathetic real life persona.

Someone in France saw "Shakespeare in Love" and decided to do something similar about their national playwright, Moliere. Entertaining enough but I expect it would have been more interesting if I had more than a long forgotten French A level standard acquaintance with the works of Moliere

I found this a disappointing sequel to "Elizabeth", mainly because of the liberties taken with history and geography. The film is centred around the Armada - which would make Elizabeth in her 50s which Cate Blanchett clearly is not. Walter Raleigh is given a starring role in the defeat of the Armada but there is no mention at all of Cecil or Leicester. The affair between Raleigh and Bess Throckmorton is moved forward by 5 years and it is suddenly possible to see the coast of France from Tilbury. All this inaccuracy (and an invasive musical score) eventually overwhelms the film despite good portrayals by Blanchett, Clive Owen and particularly Geoffrey Rush.

OK, the message of the film might be a little trite but I defy anyone not to find their foot tapping along to the lively dance numbers. Travolta makes a good fat lady, Pfeiffer is a great bitch and there are quite a few new kids on the block who can sing pretty well. So sit back and enjoy.

Superb performance by Timothy Spall who shows us the humane side of an executioner and the eventual trauma which his profession causes to those who carry it out and their families. The film evokes the atmosphere of the 1930s to 1950s when capital punishment was an accepted part of everyday life but by the mid 1950s we see the unease caused by executions of innocent men like Evans and Bentley and of women - Ruth Ellis in particular. A strong cast all round. Based on fact, only one incident appears improbable but may be true for all I know. Recommended for those who enjoy a thought provoking film on a serious topic, well acted.