Film Reviews by AS

This is a half-page outline stretched beyond breaking point. Even the set-up takes an age in coming and after that virtually nothing happens until the leaden close. Annette Bening's face pulling and over-emoting verges on the ridiculous. Robin Williams wanders in a couple of times to no effect whatsoever. Ed Harris's fine acting is utterly wasted. How on earth this got the go-ahead is an enduring mystery.

Have the writer and director ever seen a musical? Has the composer ever heard a show tune? This is an old-as-the-hills cliché with not a spark of originality. The production is utterly tepid; there is no panache; there is no zing. Gosling and Stone can dance a bit but neither of them can sing: they look like drama class students doing their best- which isn't good enough; and they have no interpersonal chemistry whatsoever. Above all, there isn't a single number anyone will recall five minutes after leaving the cinema. Remember, the people who voted this an Oscar live in la la land.

An early made-for-TV movie that is far and away superior to many of today's cinema releases. Vince Edwards and William Shatner on good form as the crash investigators. Richard Basehart convincingly coming apart as the flawed general. Excellent choreography of the ghost bomber crew as they move on and around their crashed plane sets them apart from the everyday actions of the living. The tension ratchets up without any blatant intrusive music or spooky special effects till the highly satisfying end. An original and sophisticated take on the genre.

Middle-aged people behaving like prats is not a pretty sight. Chief culprit is Keaton, shrieking and gesticulating like someone demented. The narrative is just a ragbag of scenes with no coherent order, held desperately together by the presence, or non-presence, of a missing dog. The intent, probably, was to engage the viewer with the humans' relationships, but these are as gripping as the hold of the twit who let go of the dog. Will they/won't they find the mutt? By the time they're all standing in a field in the middle of nowhere yelling, 'Freeway, Freeway,' the overriding emotion is one of relief that the entire sorry spectacle is about to end.

The Coens are not the geniuses they're often made out to be. 'Hail Caesar!' writing and direction is totally inept. The actors do their best with a pitiful script but can't save this shambles. There are several plot lines, all of them flimsy, some of them ridiculous, none of them going anywhere. They call this a comedy - there isn't a single funny moment or gag. Not just the Coens' worst movie but a contender for worst movie of all time.

One man battling the elements, trying to stay alive against all odds. That's it; but a gripping performance form Robert Redford and sharp direction by J C Chandor make this edge-of-the-seat stuff right up to the final stunning second

If you love action and excitement and tension and twists and Liam Neeson and a director who knows how to mix 'em all and keep 'em fizzing watch this movie.

Nothing new here; all a bit of a cliché. Repetitive and overlong. Nevertheless, an entertaining movie with a good performance from Sean Connery and an excellent one from Rob Brown.

A group of thirty-somethings meet up for a reunion in a remote cabin. Nothing happens. Then they see a bright light in the sky. Nothing happens. Then they set off to walk to civilisation. Nothing happens. Then they find a boat. They go on board and sail away into the mist. Nothing happens.

Old Richard Curtis jokes and themes regurgitated yet again. Desperate attempt to recapture the zip of 'Four Wedding' but falls short by a mile with a lacklustre script and nondescript cast. And, of course, Bill Nighy doing his usual stick insect routine.

After the first five minutes maybe you think this is going to be a comedy, but the humour evaporates as rapidly as the plot. What might have been an original 'cops-turned-bad' tale turns into yet another 'drilling-through-the-floor-to-get-to-the-loot' caper. Cage's characterisation verges from edgy to loony (nothing new there then); while Wood simply smokes a lot, seemingly in a desperate attempt to make himself look macho rather than a cardboard cut-out. Jerry Lewis makes an appearance for no purpose whatsoever. Script and direction are as dull as the locations. The title is a mystery.

Four of the coolest guys you'll ever see, living the coolest life in LV; and with Mary Steenburgen along. What more could you want?

Similar stories have been told before, but rarely as well as this. Often the end result is maudlin, even saccharine. This movie arrives at a perfect balance, engaging the viewers' sympathy without blatantly exploting their emotions. This is a fine example of sensitive direction. The acting from Cromwell and Bujold is close to perfection. And the plot of lone man against bureaucracy holds its tention to the end.

A very poor rendering of a very serious subject. The faults lie with the writer who thinks a few pithy one-liners will suffice over in-depth observation, and the director who overlays flimsy comedy onto themes he seems afraid to tackle maturely. Brendon Gleeson, as always, imbues his role with insight and great characterisation, towering over a movie which is so much smaller than his presence. Most of the other actors appear to think they're in a pantomime. The premise had terrific potential; none of which was realised.

Westerns don't get any better than this. Not many movies get better than this. Four men who understand about honour, commitment and a reason to die. Marvin, Lancaster, Ryan and Strode play it to the hilt. Direction, script and cinematography were Oscar-nominated. The script should have won: there are more great one-liners here than in fifty latter-day blockbusters. A truly great movie from a great source novel