Film Reviews by JD

4 and a half billion years of plant evolution you would not immediately pull off the shelf as a good evening's entertainment. It is brilliant. How plant evolution has interacted with geology and animal development in ways no other natural history documentary has previously mentioned. Clearly not for everyone, but even with a passing interest in Biology it is worth a watch. Some natural history films repeat CG sequences endlessly while slightly patronising even the younger viewers. I found the pitch of this just right.

There is a good age for watching this probably between 50 and 70. I am in that group and loved it partly for nostalgic reasons but also because I like the characters. Younger viewers I suspect will find it shabby, slow and a bit slapstick. None of it could be described as witty or sharp some of the jokes are based on racial stereotype funny only in the 70's when it was just a bit risque. Now not only old but embarrassing. I am however a die hard Rossiter fan.

This makes Benny Hill look sophisticated. It is goofy, zany, and ridiculous. It makes you smile for a while but unless you want your light entertainment to be a light froth don't bother. There are a lot of Benny Hill type chases and little girls doing silly things.

Jeff Bridges has the central character who is very cool and pretty lazy. His reaction to his friend John Goodman who is unhinged and aggressive is chaotic and often funny. The plot goes round and ties itself in a knot without being that interesting. I liked the general feel of it but not the plot. It is not really an 18, brief nudity and moderate violence. There are 2 moments of greatness one by a bowling competitor you may recognise from Men in black I and the other from the third quieter bowler.

The plot is simple enough. A very average detective who is not particularly sound in mind becomes tormented by a man he suspects of killing children and kills him while he is in custody. He is pretty foul to his wife who tries to help him. The rest is weirdness. Some is good weirdness, the opening is shot at sixteenth speed, this is pretty effective at suspending the tension. Some is just daft. You won't see Sean in a less heroic role.

The weak point is the boy's acting. There are even a few smirks at inappropriate (for the plot) moments which I thought should have been edited out. Apart from that brilliant. The poignant unreciprocated love the boy has for his father. The unreciprocated love the foster mother has for her charge and the adoration of the boy for an older boy who uses his trust for criminal gain. All much under-explored but important emotions. The acting of the boy's father and foster mother is wonderful and more than make up for the deficiencies.

Jack Black's sickly sweet role and Shirley MacLaine's vitriolic nasty role are too much. It was quite funny in places but most of the time it is an awkward humour. I know this is alot of people's taste but I did not enjoy most of it. Sometimes the timing and rhythm are right but there is a fine line in humour and for me the wrong side.

The central theme of this film is death. First the death of the parents of the 4ish year old girl and then the 6ish year old boy's brother and then several animals.The setting is a remote, very rural, slightly backward, French farmhouse in the 2nd world war. It doesn't sound great but it is a really emotional journey from the point of perspective of young children. I have not scored it higher because of the acting, the children which while being excellent for their ages is only fair and the adults again is only fair.

This French dark comedy is a masterpiece. A good plot, good acting and beautiful black and white photography. If you don't like old films you will be pleasantly surprised, if you do, it is fantastic. Theatrical acting is the usual spoiler for these but this (although a little dramatic in parts) is well played even by today's wooden standards.

I'm sure a lot of work went into making this historically accurate but this is essentially a drama and a very good one. There are however some factual sillinesses: on the first visit to Britain the Vikings storm Lindesfarne and find Cuthbert the first English christian. A year later they raid England again when everyone has become devout Christians with more bishops than soldiers. They come across a priest who can speak the Viking language even though no-one had previously dared to cross the North Sea from Scandinavia to England, also no-one had crossed the North Sea or presumably the Channel because they apparently had no means of navigation (stars hadn't yet been invented).

The facts aside, the brutal drama is utterly compelling, and some of the history may be true, (I'm not sure that the Vikings did sacrifice friends and relatives to the Gods but this film made me think it could be true). The costumes, the set, the battles and fights are believably genuine; the gore factor is pretty high and the 18 certificate due mainly to the fights. The main motive for pressing the remote control to start another episode even though the time might be 2 am is that it is a brilliant drama with tons of plot and utterly believable characters.

The setting is the films greatest asset. Set in a remote village near Arkansas Mississippi by the river. This is the tale of 2 boys who meet a fugitive. The boy actors are both good, Tye in my opinion a little better. It has a Huckleberry Finn meets Stig of the dump quality about it, with the difference being the river which is beautiful and wonderfully atmospheric. Not brilliant but quite charming. Should be a 12A.

The vile personality of one of the central characters is so well acted it will haunt you for days. The plot slowly unpeels the motivations and relationships of his character to show a repulsive centre. As the plot progresses he has to continue his path of evil until it can go no more. I cannot say much more without plot spoiling but it is utterly engrossing and shows the unpleasant side of human behaviour and its consequences. Great plot, great acting but should probably be an 18 rated for gore and general nastiness.

Set in the poorest part of Bradford, this is a film about extreme contemporary British poverty. It is very real but very harsh. In the kernel of this grim environment are some very tender hearted people. The 2 young lads are played brilliantly well, how do they bring out such talent when there are so many bad child actors in so many films? I felt so invested in the hopes and fears of the lads that the endings were devastating (no plot spoilers but you will cry).

The script could hardly be poorer. It is an American medieval sci-fi teen porn B movie. There is some risible chemistry between the 2 main protagonists which is the films main strong point. These 2 Americans however cannot act. The British actors are however given roles used entirely to enhance the goofy gags. Proper actors humiliated for crude humour, quite funny initially but wearing after a while. In parts it is pathetic with plenty of nakedness to emphasize how desperate the director is to get a laugh. Fun only if you're in a childish mood.

Emma Thompson plays an eccentric, quintessential, exact and forthright English woman. It is done so well that it is simultaneously funny, moving and inspiring. She is for me currently the best actress of any genre. Also of note is the actress who plays her as a girl. Equally moving. Colin Farrell's portrayal is moving but he struggles with the Australian accent, he's not very good at playing a drunk either. I find it very distracting when accents are done badly, better they are not done at all. The last quarter of the film is not particularly believable but pretty sorrowful nevertheless. 5 stars, mainly for Emma T.