iainwatson

Seven years ago at the Edinburgh Film Festival I was lucky enough to see a 'Breathe Control', a documentary about the unofficial fifth element of Hip-Hop, Beat-Boxing. I say 'lucky' because the film was never released, and lots of people still want to see it - My review is still on the films page on IMDb. 'Turn it Loose' feels like part two of in an 'Elements' documentary series, focusing as it does on another one of Hip-Hop's elements, Break dancing... or to give it it's accepted term 'B- Boying'.

Every year see's Red Bull put on the One B-Boy Championship where dancers square off against each other in a knock-out one-on-one tournament. Each dancer dances three short 30 second rounds against each other in an arena while the crowd cheers and whoops it up from the stands. Hong 10 won the tournament in 2006, and returns to defend his titles in 2007's battle, which the documentary is based around. Hong 10 is a young Japanese kid who lives for the thrill of that baying crowd. He compares the rush he gets in the battle and from the cheers with almost drowning as a kid, that sense of panic when you know you are out of breath.

Lilou is a cocky French Algerian who won the competition in 2005 but got put out in the first round in 2006. He refuses to hand back his winning Championship belt to Red Bull as without it he is nothing. He's a Muslim and we see him praying to Mecca in the build up to the competition, which he enters wearing a traditional Arab headscarf to show his solidarity with Muslims around the world when he battles American Roxrite in the semifinal.

Roxrite wins, and the crowd starts booing. Lilou takes this as a personal win. Roxrite puts it down to the fact

he's American. The championship takes place in Johannesburg, and he says everyone thinks it's all great for everyone in the US. We learn he's had a tough life and grew up homeless on the streets with his family and he believes that's what gave him his drive to succeed in the B-Boy world.

My favourite B-Boyer was Taisuke, not for his abilities (Roxrite perhaps the most technically accomplished dancer), but for his Samurai-like take on life. He lives on his own in Tokyo after leaving his disapproving parents in Nagasaki. His entire life is dedicated to the art of B- Boying. He says "I live for the Breakbeat. Even when I'm old I will always remember the Breakbeat. It's with me till I die". I just wish it wasn't in Japanese, but English, so I could sample it for a tune.

The introduction of each character always takes parts during one of the battles. The camera will freeze in the middle of an amazing move and we hear the bboy's voice-over. It had a feel of Caradiru/City of God feel to it - IE. I am Lilou, this is my story. While I liked this at first it started to grate after a while as it interrupted the flow of the battles themselves. This narration also felt a bit too 'X-Factor'/BGT at times, every B-Boyer giving us a tragic story relating to his life, that while I sympathised, was unnecessary.

While I really enjoyed the film, that came from the characters, their personal philosophies and the little moments of comedy that came from those beliefs. The dancing whilst spectacular did get a little samey at times, and because of this I'm willing to forgive the continuous character story interruptions as it might have been a poorer film without them. However I couldn't help but feel a lack of emotional connection between filmmaker and subject that was abundant in 'Breathe Control'. What BC lacked in budget, cinematography and direction it more than made up for in it's enthusiasm for the subject matter. 'Turn it Loose' seemed to be made by an insider looking into a scene he isn't part of. The film was made by an ex music video director, Alastair Siddons in conjunction with the sponsors Red Bull and I feel this corporate driving force was to the film's detriment. I'm going to dig out 'Planet B-Boy' on DVD now, hopefully that will be free of corporate shilling.

PS. A bonus of the feature was also seeing Spike Jonze's new short featuring skaters in slow motion, on the build up to tricks. It continuously cut to another just as the money shot was about to happen and eventually built to a collage of stunts where the ramps exploded. Very cool.

Stardust - Tristan (Charlie Cox) is a young dreamer in olden days England, obsessed by Victoria (Sienna Millar). They see a shooting star crashing to earth and Victoria promises to marry Tristan if he can bring it to her. He goes to find it and crosses a wall where normality ceases and the land of the surreal and bizarre come to life. He finds the fallen star in the shapely form of Yvaine (Claire Danes) and starts a quest to take her back to Victoria. However a battle is taking place for the kingship of the land, and the princes fighting for it need the ruby around Yvaines neck that the king flung into space and that caused her to crash land. Also hunting her is the evil witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her evil sisters who want to cut out her heart and consume it to retain their eternal youth.

It goes full steam ahead from the great opening, right to the best ending for a film I've seen in ages. With a massive A-list ensemble cast and a veritable who's-who of British acting talent almost without exception giving fantastic performances. Pfeiffer in particular brings a depth to Lamia that makes you hate the character and want to see her get her comeuppance. Newcomer Cox seems a bit wooden at first, and up against acting royalty he looks a bit out of his depth, but I soon warmed to him as his character changes through the film and he seems to embrace Tristan's burgeoning confidence.

I admit that I was extremely sceptical of the film when I started watching it, but I was completely won over after the first half hour. Stardust is in the vein of those great epic action fantasy films like Baron Munchaussen and Time Bandits. It shows up Harry Potter for the clunky shallow children's story that it is. The action slightly slows in the middle of the film, and a few small trims could have made this the 10/10 it nearly was - 9/10

We, the "developed" nations, are a controlled by fear. The media continuously bombards us with stories of terrorism, disease and disasters. The bigger the fear is, the more we allow our governments to control us, to dissolve our civil liberties.

In various nations people can be held with no trial or charge simply for looking a certain way, having faith in non-Christian gods, or being brown and having a beard. Claw for a hand optional. These people are tortured and humiliated.

Terrorism is a real threat, there is no denying it. There is only avoidance of the cause. Very little asking why, but a lot of finger pointing and knee-jerk reactions. These reactions are caused by fear but simply fuel terrorism, like a self-fulfilling prophecy it scares more and more people every day while the reactions fuel the anger of the terrorists. If we, the people, force our governments to examine and eliminate the causes of terrorism we will eliminate our own fear. This is unlikely to happen as the governments will no longer have the power to control us. The power of nightmares is strong, the politics of idealism long gone, we are firmly in the grip of the politics of fear.

This may lead to the situation presented in 'V for Vendetta'. A Naziesque totalitarian government keeps a tight grip on the citizens of Britain. Evey part of the media is controlled and every event is spun for the benefit of keeping the public in fear and the government in power. Until one man decides to fight back.

So is V the most subversive mainstream film to ever hit cinemas? Possibly. Is it a cheesy b-movie with bad acting and forced dialogue? Definitely ... and that's why I think it's brilliant. It's top level allows the subtext to get plastered on thick, and it's all the better for it.

This wasn't bad but wasn't very good. It ticked all the right boxes for a horror, but it was just so stupid I'm surprised it never got a PG rating with it's comic book violence. Supposedly brutal scenes were so OTT it became a bit of a farce in places.

I got sucked in by all the hype, but I was pretty disappointed. However by the half-way mark I was looking at the film as a comedy, and actually started to find it reasonably enjoyable... kind of like Sin City, but not as stylish and with a really bad story.

Was the rising of the weakest character into a blood drenched mentalist with a baby in one hand and a bat in the other a deliberate attempt to try and create a horror icon like Ash? If so, in my eyes it failed.

But yes, it's pretty funny :)

Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman - Rushmore) is an urban guerrilla. A freedom fighter against Urban Sprawl and Corporate-sponsored Over-Development. At least this is how he likes to think of himself. In reality he's a self-obsessed insecure neurotic, and his environmental action group 'Open Spaces' is having little success in the face of their nemesis, the Huckabees corporation. That is until Brad Stand (Jude Law) steps in. As the caring face of Huckabees he sets up a co-operative group with 'Open Spaces' and shows that corporate entities and environmental groups can work together for the good of the community.

Again, that's how Brad likes to think of his work but he's not a happy man. His mental wellbeing is unravelling, his home life is not good, and his work is beginning to suffer. His wife is Dawn Campbell (Naomi Watts - Mulholland Drive), she is the gorgeous face, body and voice of the Huckabees corporation. That is until she discovers that life is meaningless, we are all simply atoms caught up in a never-ending cycle, and identity is an illusion.

She discovers this through the work of Bernard (Dustin Hoffman) and Vivian (Lily Tomlin), a husband and wife existential detective agency. They are hired by Albert to investigate why he feels so empty in his life, and to answer his number one question - what is the meaning of life. They observe him 24 hours a day and investigate all other relationships in his life. This leads them to Dawn, who starts wearing dungarees and a babies bonnet after their "treatment".

Meanwhile Tommy Corn (Mark Wahlberg - Boogie Nights) is a client of Bernard's and Vivian's agency. He is going through a crisis. An ex-pupil of Bernard and Vivian's, a Russian Nihilist Existentialist called Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert) has sent him her book, on why Nihilism holds the answers he seeks. He comes to believe this is correct and Bernard and Vivian believe he needs the help of an "existential partner" and introduces him to Albert. He try's to convince Albert Nihilism is the way forward, but Albert falls in love with Caterine and finds out it isn't.

Being billed as an "Existential Comedy" I've been meaning to see 'I Heart Huckabees since it was originally released about 6 months ago, but never got round to it. Totally kicking myself now cause it was absolutely superb. Awesome soundtrack, inventive and original cinematography, some amazing performances and most importantly a great story. Directed and co-written by David O. Russell (along with Jeff Baena) who last gave us 'Three Kings', the well-received anti-war comedy drama set in the first Iraq war. I personally didn't think 'Three Kings' lived up to the hype, an enjoyable film sure, but not particularly ground breaking or terribly thought provoking.

'I Heart Huckabees' blows 'Three Kings' away, the dialogue has so many levels it's hard to peel them away, but as Bernard teaches "it's all connected". The soundtrack is from the always-awesome Jon Brion who has given us the great music to some of the best films of recent years such as 'Magnolia', 'Punch Drunk Love' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. The performances are powerhouses, Law and Watts both standing out as two of the finest young actors in the world today. Watts steals the show thought, surpassing her turn in one of my all-time faves, 'Mulholland Drive'. The film's main theme is one of anti-corporatism, but it isn't so pervasive as to effect the overall upbeat feeling of enlightenment and acceptance the film immerses us in.

The best part of the film for me was the inventive use of the visuals to perfectly illustrate scientific and philosophical ideas. It's pure eye candy, sections of the film peeling away, mixing with other areas of the screen to form new pictures, showing us how everything can be deconstructed. We are all the same. It's all just atoms, identity is an illusion, we are all connected.

'I Heart Huckabees' is released on DVD in the UK today.

Hollywood has a terrible habit at the moment. They take great Japanese horror films, relocate them, put 'stars' in them, and obviously strip away all the subtitles. 'The Grudge' has the edge over recent US remakes here as it only stumbles into one of those 'dumbing down' pitfalls, placing Sarah 'Buffy' Michelle Gellar into the heroines role.

The story goes that the Japanese say when a person dies in terrible circumstances they hold a grudge and take revenge on anyone who comes into contact with the place they died. A young mother and her child were murdered by the mothers jealous husband in a house in the Tokyo suburbs. Three years later the house is rented out to an American couple and the husbands invalid mother who have come to Tokyo for work. They hire help to look after the mother, but the first girl that arrives disappears after her first visit. Her replacement is Karen Davis, a foreign exchange student (played by Gellar) in need of a Social Work credit.

The film still takes place in Japan, and it still has a lot of subtitles. The story is almost exactly the same as the original 'Ju-On : The Grudge', and the set is exactly the same, using exactly the same house as the original. The Japanese actors have been re-employed. This all begs the question... why? I assume Hollywood still has a misconception that the Western cinema-going public won't go to see a film unless it stars someone they "know". The suits should look at the success of films such as 'Hero', 'City of God' and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' to realize that this is not the case. If a foreign film is good enough the suits should give the public some credit by giving the original film a full scale mainstream cinema release. I am hoping other studios take note of Miramax doing just that with 'Hero' and in future follow their lead with foreign language films.

Back to the film itself. The story is reasonably good if you haven't seen the original, and the director (Takashi Shimizu, the director of the original) manages to steer well clear of the usual US horror clichés and cheese and delivers a solid genre film that relies on creeping tension rather than gore to deliver its shocks. Hollywood take note.

'Finding Neverland' is the story of how JM Barrie (played by Johnny Depp) was inspired to write the children's classic 'Peter Pan'. Barrie is an unhappily married playwrite who meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, a widowed society woman (played by Kate Winslet), and her 4 sons in the park. Barrie becomes a surrogate uncle to the boys, and finds himself drawn towards Sylvia.

It's a perfectly pleasant affair with good performances all round. Depp does a passable Scottish accent (not a Dumfries one though!), and Winslet is lovely as always. The film is ideally suited to those over 50 who have fond memories of Pan. I found myself yawning through most of it, as the story is rather boring. I know Depp is trying to have some sort of mainstream success at the moment and is making films that his children can watch, but I long for a return to the Depp of 'Ed Wood', 'Blow' and 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'. Bring back Rock-n-Roll Johnny! The campaign starts here!

My problem with the film is that I have never found the story of 'Peter Pan' interesting, even as a child. I always thought the story was for posh middle-class English kids who liked visiting mummy and daddies country retreat in the summers and pretend to be pirates. Most people of my age I've spoken to hold the same opinion too. I think one of the main reasons for this is that my generation was far more concerned with the future than the past, our great story was 'Star Wars', and we all wanted to be astronauts, not pirates. Today's children might have a hard time relating too, as most of them want to be celebrities... Pop stars or actors. With the prolification of video, on-demand internet and computer games the imagination that is so greatly relied on in 'Peter Pan' is now in it's death-throes, barely clinging on via grandparents stories of what it was like before Nintendo and Pokemon.

'Finding Neverland' is Miramax's great Oscar hope. The film has been receiving great plaudits from the film bibles such as Empire (which awarded it a five star review), and word of mouth from an older audience should help it perform reasonably well at the box office. Depp may be in with a nomination chance again this year at the Oscars, and I do hope he wins as he can then go back to starring in the films that we all actually want to see him in.

'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is the latest film from the genius that is Charile Kaufman. Much like 'Being John Malcovich' and 'Adaption' it doesn't easily fit in with any genre definition. IMDB has it listed as a comedy/drama/romance/sci-fi, I'd also add 'fantasy' to that... it hops through the genre's with merry abandonment.

ESOTSM is about a couple (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) who are at the end of their relationship. Carrey's character, Joel, finds out that Winslet's character, Clementine, has had a procedure to erase him from her memories. Joel decides to undergo the same procedure.

The film is essentially about relationships. Joel is a complete introvert whereas Clementine is an extrovert. When these two polar opposites are attracted to each other the inevitable happens, the introvert is scared of losing the extrovert to someone "more interesting" and the extrovert feels like they can never be themselves. So through a complete lack of communication the relationship breaks down. While undergoing the mind erasing procedure Joel comes to realise this and feels he needs to change things, but first must find a way to stop the erasure process inside the confines of his memories.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

A strong supporting cast backs the main themes up, with Kirsten Dunst as a young nurse called Mary. She's in love with her older married boss, and finds out that she was in love with before, but went through the procedure herself. It's a definite attempt to make the viewer realise that even although you can try to erase someone from your memories, your true feeling are still there, you can't erase them.

The patients who undergo the treatment have to make an audio tape before the procedure stating their problems with whoever they're erasing. Mary takes these tapes and sends them out to everyone along with a letter explaining what's happened. Joel and Clementine have just 'discovered' each other again when they receive the tapes, and Joel heres all about Clementines faults from himself while she's present, and vice versa.

In a way I feel like it's the perfect start to their "new" relationship. The two characters know each others bad points (the way the other viewed them at least) at the start of the relationship, and not at the end as per the usual. It got me thinking - maybe if you could get all those issues out in the open at the start of a relationship you could actually get on with the business of enjoying each other. However if you did actually know these things, would you stay or would you go? Both parties would have to hear the tapes at the same time - if the tapes were heard one at a time I think the other would run off, freaked out, believing the other to be a nut. Such is the confinements of social interactions unfortunately.

*END OF SPOILERS*

Kate Winslet is an absolute joy, she bring Clementine to life. She seems to revel in the part, and I think she gives her best performance to date. As someone said on the imdb boards, we see her at her "sweetest and hottest". Carrey is excellent too, proving yet again that his talents go far beyond pulling stupid faces. The supporting cast are all excellent, from Elijiah Wood's panties-stealing Patrick to Mark Rufallo's eccentric Stan. A special mention to Kirsten Dunst for a great performance as Mary, she plays a small but key role in the film, and her mannerisms make the character believable.

This is Michel Gondry's full-lenght feature (you might know his work from one of the Chemical Brothers music videos) and it's an absolute masterwork that I feel he's going to have a tough time topping. Alongside his cinematographer Ellen Kuras and editor Valdis Oskarsdottir (he's Icelandic and this is his first English-language feature) he has created something visually which I wouldn't have thought possible on screen - a perfectly flowing journey through someone's disjointed memories. The trip through Joel's memories is such a large part of the film that I really have a hard time getting my head round how long the sequence must have taken to create. The attention to detail is amazing, and the whole thing seems so real.

Kaufmun's script is so sharp it almost cuts you. Gondry co-wrote it with Kaufman, but from a rumour I've heard the only change Gondry actually made was to the ending. Whereas Kaufmun's was a lot darker and ironic, Gondry wanted the film to end in a positive light, but still retain an element of the original. The dialogue is absolutely fantastic. I guess one of the main reasons I loved it so much was that I feel most people could relate to the situations the characters found themselves in as we've all been there at some point in our life. I personally really empathised with Joel, and even some of the things he says sounded like things I've said/though myself in the past "How is it possible for me to fall in love 100 times a day" and especially "talking all the time isn't communicating".

The music is simply amazing, bringing thoughts of 'Lost in Translation' and also Paul Thomas Anderson's films. I wasn't surprised to learn that the music was created by Jon Brion who did the composition for 'Punch Drunk Love' and 'Magnolia'. The soundtrack is a defo on my 'must purchase' list.

'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is released in the UK on Friday 30th April 2004. It's already at 46 in the imdb top 250 films of all time, and I believe that for once with a recent film, it actually deserves to be there. Unfortunately I have a lot of other things I'd like to say about the film but can't, unless I give away the whole film. Needless to say I'd welcome comments from everyone after seeing it.

'Carandiru' is a film based on the real experiences of Dr Drauzio Varella. He worked in Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the late 80s/early 90s carrying out Aids prevention work. During his work he came to know a lot of the inmates closely, and as he was a doctor got to see prison life in a way the other prison workers didn't. He made friends with a lot of the inmates, and learned a lot of their personal stories. The prison is extremely cramped, and the situation came to a climax in 1992. One entire block of the prison fell under prisoner control and a riot squad was sent in, killing 111 men.

The film is being dubbed by some as "this year's City of God", but it's very different to last years Brazillian smash. Where 'City of God' had some very flashy direction and MTV-ized zip-bang editing, 'Carandiru' is pretty straight forward. The film still has some great direction though, Hector Babenco has a leisurely style (matched by his actual output, it's been 7 years since his last film, and nearly 20 since 'Ironweed'), allowing the story the space it needs to breathe but still picking up the pace to build tension. Ironically the only section of the film I didn't really like was the bit that was the most 'City of God'-like. When the doctor is dealing with his patients he asks each one what their story is, and sometimes it's a bit forced, just like in 'City of God' with the "now it's my turn to tell you my story".

Where it's very similar to 'City of God' is it's themes - it's essentially a humanist comedy with a moral edge, dealing with love, hate, revenge, innocence and betrayal. The cons are poor and murderous, but lovable at the same time. If this film and 'City of God' are to believed drug-dealing thieving murderers all have their hearts in the right place and are all okay guys who just took a wrong turn on the road.

There's a bit of a stink being kicked up at the moment on the imdb forum for 'Carandiru'. A lot of Brazillian's are posting, very upset with filmmakers consistently showing Brazil in a negative light. I think that although both films do have that slant to them, they have actually increased interested in the country, and even more so the countries film output, taking it to a global audience. If all Scottish films are to be believed we're all a bunch of Glasweigan Gangster Hardnuts or heroin-addicted thieving murderers too, so I fail to see what the fuss is about.

The director drives home the real point of the film in the last 20 minutes. The overcrowding and in-fighting finally erupts into a full-blown riot that results in the main characters block being taken over by the prisoners. A riot squad enters, and the ensuing rampage is one of the most graphic and genuinely shocking ever committed to film. Definitely not for the faint-of-heart. I remember seeing the prison riot being reported in the UK news, and being appalled at how crowded the prison was, and how a government could let it reach boiling point like that. The last 20 minutes really smacked that home, but with the closing shots of the prison finally being demolished in 2002 you feel like there was at least some sort of closure on the tragedy.

The story is harrowing, but heart-warming, and the acting (mostly from unknowns) is top rate. It's my favorite film of the year so far, but do beware the last 20 minutes, you won't leave the cinema feeling happy.

WARNING : The following review may be extremely biased based on my predisposition towards anything related in any way to the-bestest-thing-on-telly-ever, aka 'Spaced'. Please bear this in mind before rushing out to see it. If your over 40, don't like blood and guts, and aren't British, then your probably not going to like it.

'Shaun of the Dead' is released on Friday. Described as a 'romcom', or 'a romantic comedy with zombies', SOTD focuses on the life of Shaun (Simon Pegg), an almost-30-something who fears responsibility and growing up. So much so that his girlfriend of 3 years has had enough and dumps him, leaving him to his life sharing a flat with his best mate Ed (Nick Frost), a 30-something with the mental age of a 10 year old. To make matters worse he doesn't get on with his family and he's been stuck in the same dead-end job since he was a student.

Drowning his sorrows with yet another night in the pub across the road from their house, Shaun decided to sort his life out. He's going to be a good son to his mother, going to win his girl back, and going to sort his life out. One small problem though, the living dead has decided to start walking the earth. Shaun enlists the help of Ed and together they battle across London to rescue his mother and girl, and pick up the crop of the current British sitcom elite on the way.

SOTD is basically an extension of the 'Spaced' universe. This means we get repeated jokes (Ed and Shaun's straight-as-a-peg Heterosexual man love, just like Tim and Mikes), in-jokes (Jessica Stevenson, aka Spaced's Daisy, popping up saying "I'm glad one of us made it), and the obvious running themes. Not wanting to face up to responsibility, trying to cling on to your youth. Make what you will of the fact that the zombies may be representative of that responsibility... take on that responsibility and you become another drone, wheeling that trolley through Asda on a Sunday afternoon wondering what happened to your life.

It's also very British. The Yanks just might not "get it". There's lots of references to British media (news, T4, music) and British institutions (the pub, pork scratchings, popping down the corner shop for a pint of milk). Then there's all the little 'Spaced' bits - references to clubbing, drugs, and dance music. One of my favourite lines is "It's not Hip-Hop, it's ELECTRO!".

Lastly a word on the certification. The actual film cert is a 15. How it managed this I have absolutely no idea because it's even more violent than the latest 'Dawn of the Dead' remake which received an 18. It perhaps managed to scrape past because it's a comedy, the violence however is not comedic. It's extremely gory and, respect to the sfx guys, extremely believable.

Anyway, despite the violence if you love 'Spaced' and/or you love zombie films and/or you love romantic comedies go see it. Support these guys, because I'm sure if you will they'll pay us back with more gems like Shaun.

'The Barbarian Invasions' is a French/Canadian film, based in Montreal. It focuses on a life-loving university lecturer who has been diagnosed with cancer. His ex-wife contacts his oil/stock-trading millionaire son and asks him to visit, the son is reluctant as they have been estranged for quite some time. The son agrees to visit as his mother cannot get hold of his sister, who works delivering boats around the world. The son arrives and after a brief argument is soon best friends with his dying father, and attending to his every need - securing him his own floor in a neglected hospital, and also his own heroin supply to counter the pain (it's 800% more effective than Morphine we're told). The son then manages to gather his father's friends and past mistresses together, who all get on like a house on fire. They all proceed to organise the lecturer's last day on terra firma.

It's suffered from some mixed reviews, and it's not hard to see why. The film does characterisation and dialogue extremely well and extremely intelligently. The dialogue is razor-sharp, especially the father's conversations with his nurse and the group conversations during the gathering of his friends. Even peripheral characters feel fleshed out, my favourite being the junkie daughter of one of the father's mistresses, who procures the heroin used to abate the father's pain.

It's not without it's faults however. On one level you find yourself empathising with the father and sympathising with the son, then on another cursing the father's infidelity and the son's capitalist wrong-doings. The barbarian invasions of the title relate to the father's preoccupation with bloody conflicts through history (he appears to be a professor of History). An out-of-place news report on 7/11 stipulates that the deaths from that tragedy are inconsequential when compared to the 20th centuries other conflicts, but what is of great note is the fact that the terrorists struck at the heart of the empire. Personally I don't think this comment was needed as I think anyone who has given any thought to the matter has realised the this was the perpetrators major intent. You are no longer safe anywhere.

Despite these issues, speaking hand-on-heart, I loved the film. It is very moving, very poignant, and is a stirring reminder that we're all here for a limited amount of time, and we should all make the most use of it. There are laugh-out-loud moments, and there are have-a-quiet-sob-into-your hanky moments. It's a film that's in the strange position of being both utterly depressing and wonderfully uplifting. The film's heart is in the right place, and it definitely get's you thinking so it get's full marks from me. Sometimes we all need a little reminder of the important things in life.

Just back from "watching" Dogville - in quotes because it didn't feel like I was watching a film. It felt like I was taking part in some form of torturous endurance test.

Simply put, it's the most pretentious pile of utter rubbish I have ever had the misfortune to watch.

Great acting, blah blah blah, great script, blah blah blah, cutting-edge film-making, blah blah blah, serious critique of American values, blah blah blah. More like utterly banal and so full of itself that I'm surprised the actors didn't explode from gorging themselves on the scripts over-inflated sense of self-importance.

The summing-up by the voiceover at the end made me almost literally wretch. DIE LARS VON TRIER DIE!

Just watched 'Big Fish'. Admittedly I am a complete Burton fanboy, so it's with great delight that I report 'Big Fish' is a stunning return to form after the disaster that was the 'Planet of the Apes' remake. Some people have been questioning Burton's skill since Apes, with reports of remakes abounding - the much-hyped Johnny-Depp-starring redo of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', and also his ability to appeal to the mainstream and keep the studio's happy. I think 'Big Fish' will silence his critics once and for all.

In my opinion 'Big Fish' is easily his best work. Both mature and delightfully childlike I think he's been watching a lot of Jean-Pierre Jeunet films. It has the same hyper-realism and surrealism as Jeunet's work, but retains everything that makes Burton's films so unique - his own brand of off-kilter story-telling, slightly off-centre humour and childlike wonder.

'Big Fish' is also Burton's most commercial piece of work, and I suspect it's going to be a massive hit with everybody - critics and audiences, young and old, film buff and film newbies. You can't help but get pulled along by the youthful exuberance of the whole film - it's like 'Amelie' on acid. One critic dubbed the film the new 'Wizard of Oz', and I'd say that's pretty much spot on - both films are a delight to watch, are visually inventive, and bursting with happiness.

Story wise it's pure Burton. Tall tales, bizarre misfit characters, but heart-warming and uniquely beautiful. There are no real "stars" in the film, as it seems to go beyond any one actor or actress... so real commendations to all involved as it takes some doing to make you believe that your not watching "stars" Jessica Lange, Ewan McGregor, and Helena Bonham Carter. The rest of the cast is equally sparkling, cameo's by a whole host of players at the top of their game. Albert Finney get's the real kudos - he plays the old dying 'Big Fish', Ed Bloom, perectly... with the perfect balance of emotion, charm and wit. I have little doubt that he'll walk away with a paperweight or two this awards season.

I think 'Big Fish' is a timeless masterpiece. A film that parents will show their children, and children will show their children. It's pure cinema magic, and I don't often say that... you really do get a real sense of magic and wonder while watching it, the "time stops" sequence is as perfect a piece of cinema as I've ever seen. So a welcome return to the boy-wonder Burton after a brief spell in the wilderness. So now I'm going to be waiting on the remake of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' with baited breath... it'll either be simply amazing or astounding awful, Burton never does things by halves.

'Punch Drunk Love' is the newest release from Paul Thomas Anderson - the guy that brought us both Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson it's a very eccentric and bizarre romantic comedy where Barry (Sandler in his best performance), a lonely and frankly crazy small business owner, starts a unlikely romance with Lena (Watson) - a woman just mad enough herself to put up with his strange fits.

I've always been a Sandler fan since seeing 'Happy Gilmore' and 'Billy Madison' (previously his best films IMO), but was starting to doubt his ability as an actor after seeing him going from top-drawer box-office smashes like 'The Wedding Singer' to junk like 'Little Nicky' and 'Mr Deeds'. By putting faith in Sandler, Anderson has shown us that he is truly one of the comic greats. Even though the film itself isn't strictly your standard "comedy", Sandler brings his early comedic flair to a strange and difficult role.

A special mention however must be given to Phillip Seymour Hoffman - a brilliant performance from this underrated fast-rising actor. He gives his best performance to date, even with his limited screen time... even outshining his stint in Anderson's previous film, 'Magnolia'. With 'Love Liza' soon to start showning in the UK, I'm looking forward to seeing more of him on the big screen.

My fave film since 'Donnie Darko', Punch Drunk Love definitely packs a fair wallop to the psyche with it's brilliant blend of strong fully-realised characterisation, eccentric script, amazing score, great directional flair, and beautifully artistic cinematography.

Peter Shaffer's 'Amadeus' is back on general cinema release today - in Forman's original 'Directors Cut'. With an extra 20 minutes of added footage the film that blew me away as a kid did it again.

I sat like a stunned 10 year old in and was blown away all over again - I sat and laughed at Mozart's antic's, marvelled at the absolutely amazing music (especially the scene's of Mozart conducting his Operas), and gasped as he descends into an illness and madness forced upon him by Salieri.

This is cinema as it's meant to be - MASSIVE. Watching it again after nearly 15 years I saw how it's influenced today's cinema - most notably 'Moulin Rouge'. Weighing in at nearly 3 hours, and with the seriousness of the film it's certainly not for lightweights - the largly empty cinema (3 other people were in there I think) a testament to that fact. I think this is a sad indication of the current filmgoing public when the horribly terrible 'Reign of Fire' was showing to a nearly sold out audience at 1.30 on a Friday afternoon (the dragon's were nice tho).

This is a film that people NEED to see. It's about genius, it's about love, it's about hate, it's about tragedy. It'll make you laugh, gasp, and cry. It really is that good. If your into music the whole spectacle will make your jaw drop - if your not into music you should see the film at least 3 times until you are. It's definitely one of my top 10 all time faves.

Went to see the European premier of Joey Garfield's 'Breathe Control' at the Edinburgh Film Festival - was totally blown away, as was everyone in the audience judging by the rapturous applause at the end of the film.

The film is about a little discussed topic - the unnofficial 'fifth element' of Hip-Hop, beatboxing. Filmed completely out of Garfields pocket and on his own camcorder, this is documentary filmmaking done for the pure passion the producer has for his subject matter (being an ex-beatboxer himself). It featured the history and future of beatboxing, the science of it, as well as lots of classic beatboxers and up-n-comings. The original's Doug-E-Fresh, Buff (from the Fat Boys), Biz Markey (my personal fave) and others, through to the new school - Rahzel, Scratch and others. He had also made a little bit on the international appeal of Beatboxing with international beatboxers such as Edinburgh's own MR6.

Garfield was there to answer questions at the end of the film, and he turned out to be a very honest, funny and normal geezer - none of the pretentious bull***t that normally goes along with filmmakers. Asked whether he beatboxes, he gave us an impromptu lick which he dug out from his past as a beatboxer, which met with much applause.

I'd recommend this film to anyone - even if your not into hip-hop or even into music, you can't help but get caught up with the vibe of the film. As one guy in the Q&A said - "i hadn't heard of beatboxing before sitting in this cinema and now I wanna go try it". I guarantee you will come out after seeing it trying to bust ill grooves from the back of your throat.

okay, I'm a sucker for big budget hollywood action swashbuckling popcorn flicks. This does what it says on the tin - explosions, sword fights, babes, stupid-obligitory wise-cracking side kick, and more explosions. With totally OTT "acting. And a crap load of stuff nicked from 'Live and Let Die' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. The Rock is well cast, which becomes esp. apparent during one WWF-esque fight sequence, and Kelly Hu (who's got big things ahead of her IMO) gives the best performance of the film, and also the best eye-candy of the film.

I saw this by accident. I was on my way to see 'Roadkill' and had missed the start by 30 mins, and this was the only thing starting when I got there. I normally HATE these 'brit comedies' with a passion but this was GREAT. It's got humorous elements to it, but it deals with some suprisingly deep issues. It's very touching and moving at bits, and I didn't actually want to punch Hugh Grant's smug face in for a change. His character is brilliant - from what I've seen of his acting this film is definitely his best. Really really well done. And Rachel Weisz is in it which is always a nice thing :-)

Okay, I think everyone will admit that recent British horror films ain't been up to scratch when compared to the State's output. 'Long Time Dead' goes some way to closing the gap.

Probably the first film in a few years that have made me actually jump out my seat in shock, the film's fright's don't stop and end with shock-factor. The most frightful moments come from unseen forces being at work - similar to 'Final Destination', but a lot more 'real' due to the enemy being spirits/ghosts/demons rather than 'death'. Some very tense moments come when nothing can be seen, only felt - you can actually feel the fear.

The acting in the main is pretty poor apart from the actual 'fear sequences' that are very believable (far more so than Blair Witch). I think the problem lies with some shady dialogue as opposed to the actors talents. The one problem with the film is that when the demon manifests itself it just isn't as scary as when it was invisible.

If you love classic horror along the lines of 'The Exorcist', the hammer horror series, and 50s b-movies, you'll love this. If not, avoid it. Pure popcorn fodder.

Jon Favreau's 'proper' follow-up to 96's 'Swingers' see's him as part of a double-act with Vince Vaughn. The whole film is based around this double-act, and the various banter that passes between them - mostly ricocheting from Vaughn's outrageously outlandish interactions with everyone he meets, and Favreau's handling of the ensuing situation.

At times this makes for extremely funny entertainment, at other times however it makes for extermely cringe-inducing entertainment. Your not quite sure whether to love Vaughn's antics, or want him dead. Your also left wondering exactly WHAT Vaughn's character helped Favreau's out with in their younger days in order for Favreau to have such as deeply-routed tolerance and understanding for the man.... personally, I would have gotten rid of him years ago.

The story itself takes a backseat because of Vaughn's antics, which is a shame, cause there's some really juicy material in there. I would have loved to see more development between Favreau and his girlfriend, played by Famke Jansen, and also Jansen's daughter. Peter Falk (yes, 'Columbo') is absolutely brilliant as Max, the ageing boss, fully believable and a fully-realised characterisation.

Overall the film fit's together extremely well - the pace is fast, and you do get caught up in it... even during Vaughn's most cringe-worthy moments. Basically if you like 'Swingers' or general crime-capers, you'll love 'Made'.

I had heard mixed reviews of this film... "load of rubbish", "boring", "brilliant", "bad ending", "really good ending", etc. So with a bit of coaxing I went along to see it last night.

I don't want to give too much away, but if you've seen the trailer, it tells you nothing about the true story behind the film... I expected the worst from this film, and I was pleasantly surprised when it came up trumps by not only being an intelligent and thought-provoking story, but also being extremeley well executed and 'big cinema' at it's best.

The story itself can be a little confusing at times with the amount of time jumping being done, and things being changed all the time, and I thought "oh here we go, it's gonna turn out that he's in a coma and has been dreaming the entire film", but it turns out nothing along those lines. The main hook which really pulled me in was the idea how taking people in your life for granted and not thinking about the consequences of your actions can totally alter your life... and it's one of those things that stick with you after you see the film and get's you thinking - always a good thing in my book.

Cruise was extremely believable as the silver-spoon kid who's life disintegrates round him, Cruz a little less so - a bit wooden I thought, but the winning performance for me was put in by Diaz who proves her acting talents far outshine her modelling prowess with every film (okay, mibbe not Charlie's Angels)... she is actually bloody scary in this film... majorly neurtotic, kinda like in 'Very Bad Things' - nuts.

The only bad things I have to say about the film is that it perhaps drags on at certain points and doesn't keep the tension of the movie as tight as it should be, and there's a few really twee scenes that could have been left on the cutting room floor.

I still have this flick on a battered VHS tape from when I managed to grab it when it was on TV... pls pls... I pray, release this on DVD!

It really is an unheard of classic - everyone I know who I've shown the film to agrees. It throws 'The Breakfast Club' on the ground and kicks dirt in it's face... it really is that good!

Lynch. Love him or hate him, there's no denying that his work get's stuck in your head and makes you think. In his latest film, Mulholland Drive, he may have outdone himself. Quite possibly his greatest film, it's halfway between a cryptic crossword puzzle lacking 90% of the clues, and a very strong dose of LSD.

The film is about a woman who's in car crash, get's amnesia, and is helped out by a wannabe-actress freshly arrived in LA from middletown America, and full of the youthful excuberence that goes along with that. Lynch plays them off perfectly against each other - one the brooding femme fetale (played by the ever-gorgeous Laura Harring) who has each line she utters perfectly formed and developed, and the other the bubbly dizzy blonde who seems a bit out of place in a Lynch picture (played by Naomi Watts).

From the most bizarre open sequencing of any film ever through to the most abrupt ending of any film ever, it keeps you in it's grasp and on the edge of your seat... partly wondering what the hell is going on it has to be said. But your helped along with your conclusions about the films theme by a beautifully composed haunting soundtrack. The music helps set the mood through the film right till the end - one of brooding underlying kept-in-check violence. An immediate comparison I was making was between this film and 'Memento' - due to the jumbled sequence of events leading to ultimate confusion, and the amnesia. Here's to the DVD with the easter egg of the film in the correct chronological sequence!

Twin Peaks fans are in for a treat too - lots of little homages being paid - from the red (nearly) curtained rooms, to the backwards-talking dwarf, and the ever omnipresent Laura Palmer.

This film also get's the vote for most sinister use of old age pensioners in a film too - SCARRRRRY! Go see it while it's still in cinemas and be prepared to be shell-shocked. Rating = 9/10.

It's been hailed as the 'first epic of the millienium', and also 'the greatest fantasy film ever made'. Needless to say having finished the first part of the book (which the film is based on) literally 30 seconds before I stepped out the door to go see the film I had pretty high expectations. Almost everyone I know who had been to see it has said "brilliant", and that included those who had read the book... so I was really looking forward to seeing it, but...

I wasn't really impressed... and I soooo much wanted to be. It IS a stunning film, with some good believable character acting, and some amazing locations. The cinematography is excellent. But nothing much happens - it's just an introduction for the other films, and I don't think it works at all as a film in it's own right.

The whole problem was the film was too rushed. It *did* manage to fit in all the important bits to tell the story by juggling a few things and rewriting here and there, but it was all thrown in your face too fast and you never had any time to stop and take a look around.

Saying this tho I have every faith that when the next two parts are released and the film is viewed as a whole it will work a lot better. But until that time I must judge it on it's own merits - and those only get it 5 out of 10 on my scale.

Now I'm no military intelligence expert, but since when do the CIA need an almost-retired field-operatives help to frame one of their own as a dissident? Especially when the "help" simply consists of a few hes-a-good-guy-really-and-you-lot-are-bad-for-not-wanting-to-save-him tales centred around Vietnam, Germany, Beruit and China?

There's a good film to be had though, if you do manage to put your sense aside for 2 and a bit hours. The main plot is a little flimsy, but the bulk of the film is made up of the tales of espionage in Vietnam, Germany and Beruit... and there's some good story there, the Beruit one being particularly involving. There's also some good character acting from Robert Redford as the almost-retired maverick CIA recruitment officer, as well as some stunning set pieces - esp. in China and Beiruit.

On the whole though this film seems to have been created as a vehicle for Pitt's chiselled features, and we see little example of the good acting talent we know he has. It is relatively entertaining though if you like slow-paced, well-drawn out political/military thrillers. If that's your bag, this is right up your alley.