Film Reviews by JR

Frances McDormand gives her usual nervy, prickly, mannered performance, and you need to be a fan because she is in every frame. She plays Fern, a woman who has lost everything, her job, her house, her husband and the film is a portrait of her grief and poverty. She is too stubborn to accept help, except from people she approves of. When she goes to visit her perfectly nice sister to borrow money to fix her van, she is rude and dismissive simply because they live in suburbia and are ordinary. The best parts of the film are when the real RV people appear and speak for themselves - genuine, kind and accepting of what life has has dealt them.

There are a few too many long landscape shots, and the whole film is dull in colour and light, and, I'm afraid, at times, a bit dull in content too. The music is intrusive and simplistic.

No-one understands the longings of the human heart like Miranda July, and as one critic put it 'she has this way of crawling into the little crevices of emotion that I don't even have names for'. I loved her previous two films, but this is not as good. Kajillionaire is her unique take on the American con movie. There are elements of comedy which seemed contrived and didn't work for me. But of course there were parts to love; her stunning video art installation moments, and a couple of heart-stopping insights into the human condition: but not enough of them. It felt too conventional; and I never thought I would say that about a Miranda July film.

If Kate Winslet is trying to regain credibility after embracing Hollywood and its values, she chose the wrong film. The film is unremittingly dark, the weather grim and windy every single day over the 2 or so months that the story covers. The metaphors are sledgehammer unsubtle - the moth fluttering in a jam jar - who could that be, I wonder?? Why do we see a close up of Mary squatting to urinate on the beach? Why do we see a full nude of Charlotte's husband? It is all very gratuitous and has little to say. With its disregard for the historical facts, it boils down to a lesbian soft porn flick dressed up in art house clothes .

This is an up to date, amusing, slick pastiche of/homage to the country house Agatha Christie murder mystery. But Daniel Craig is badly miscast and grated throughout. We all know he can do intense and threatening; but the part of the Southern, Louisiana gentleman detective requires charm, panache and irony - all of which his plodding performance lacks. It is a joy to see the wonderful Christopher Plummer in perhaps his last role , and the best parts of the film are when he is on screen.

This three hour film follows the story of a couple surviving a terrible personal tragedy, and the astonishing and often brutal changes that have taken place in China over the past fifty years. The narrative is strong, but not chronological, and reveals the story bit by tantalising bit. It makes you work, but the rewards are great. It is very moving, sometimes puzzling, and the acting is wonderful. The cinematography is startlingly original and intimate.

Anyone who knows and likes cats will know what an exceptional cat Bob was, and how he saved James Bowen's life. This second film sees James and Bob living in a run down flat and portrays the difficulties of James' life in transition from drug addiction and homelessness. James often doesn't have enough money to eat properly or heat his flat. He is assaulted by a former drug dealer, and jealous fellow buskers and beggars maliciously report him to the council animal welfare department. The film's strength is in the portrayal of the challenges of the responsibilities of 'normal' life for people who suffer from childhood trauma and abuse, and mental illness. It also highlights the unconditional support of James' friends; a woman who works at a homelessness charity project, and the owner of James' local corner shop. Luke Treadaway plays the part of James sensitively.

This being a Christmas themed film, there is the obligatory dollop of cheesiness, but it largely steers away from sentimentality.

This is at best a wet Sunday afternoon watch with a cup of hot cocoa; at worst magic realist, anachronistic, politically correct sentimental tosh. The cinematography makes the best of the Kent/Sussex coast, but the plot does not bear scrutiny, and the characters are rather one dimensional.

It is not just a 'feel good ' jolly British film, it is more serious, but wears its seriousness lightly. Women's equality, sexual objectification of women, racial injustice - these are the concerns of this film. Keira Knightly is as good as I've ever seen her, Rhys Ifans has a ball playing Eric Morley. It is pretty shocking that the cringe worthy cattle market that was the Miss World contest was considered good wholesome family TV viewing. The film shows how far we have come since the middle of the 20th century but also signals that we have much further to go. I enjoyed seeing the real people portrayed in the film before the end credits.

The film begins promisingly. There is the voiceover of a man and then woman and they are reading a description of their married life, and all they love about their partner. Then we cut to a marriage mediation session, and find these moving essays were a task so the session could start on a positive note. But the tone is set when Nicole refuses to read hers. She is an actress who is divorcing her meteorically rising star theatre director husband for what seems to be jealousy. At one point, she says she enjoyed being the star when she was taking the lead in his plays, but when she became just another member of the theatre company, and he became the star, she decided to take their child, leave New York for LA, and walk out of the marriage to pursue her own fame and fortune. They both agree not to involve lawyers, but Nicole soon engages a rottweiler lawyer, played by Laura Dern, and passively allows her to destroy the husband's life.

The film is far too long at 137 minutes and needs ruthless editing and more humour. The script feels rather stagey, theatrical and self indulgent, and culminates in a long cathartic scene where the couple lose all control and verbally tear each other apart. There are 2 Steven Sondheim songs inappropriately crowbarred in, although Adam Driver makes a pretty good fist of it.

This is a film about the big stuff in life: childhood, parenthood, families, love, death, emotional pain. It's also about something very old fashioned - virtue.

The film is inspired by real events where a driven magazine writer overcomes his cynicism and learns about decency, empathy and kindness from Mister Rogers, the host of a 'hokey children's televison programme'. It is at times funny and deeply moving, but any sentimentality is cut back by the clever, daring structure of the film and the really outstanding use of music (Cat Stevens and Nick Drake among others) and the jazz ensemble musical score. Scenes inside the miniature toy town on the set of Mister Rogers programme mark the 'chapters' of the narrative seamlessly.

The acting is all outstanding, and the film adds to the impressive body of work of Marielle Heller, who directed the estimable 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?'

I found the plot predictable and the so-called dark humour juvenile and simplistic. As the film goes on for its overlong running time, it descends into a kind of comic book gore fest with gallons of garish fake blood and cartoonish over-acting. There is a repugnant glorification of wealth and violence, and the characterisation is lazy and stereotypical - the poor people are monsters and the rich are gullible idiots.

Jack London's story deserves better than this. Harrison Ford brings a bit of acting class to the proceedings, but the rest looks like a video game, and the whole production looks cheap. The CGI animals are not very convincing and the majesty of the landscape has not been captured.

The film tells the story of Judy Garland's concerts in London six months before she died. She is a complete mess; broke, smoking, drinking, constantly taking prescription drugs, not eating. A series of flashbacks show the bullying and abuse she suffered as a young movie star. The creepy, intimidating movie tycoon Sam Meyer tells a young Judy that she is not as thin or as pretty as other young actresses, but it's her voice that will make her an enduring star. There are singers whose voices are so completely unique and distinctive that a biopic without the voice becomes a big problem. Zellweger portrays her charm, wit, fragility, but crucially for the film, unable to capture that Garland vocal magic.

Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave give an acting masterclass - every expression, every gesture is an expression of Lowry's love for his mother but also his pain and pent up frustration at her dismissal of his paintings. Redgrave as the bed bound Mrs Lowry balances her social climbing and sometimes cruel domination of her sensitive son with a portrayal of an intelligent and cultured woman whose every aspiration in life has been denied her by her social class and a bad marriage. Most of the film takes place in Mrs Lowry's bedroom in their grim Victorian terrace. but there is humour and beauty in the film's depiction of the landscapes and scenes of ordinary folk that we know from Lowry's paintings. Noble's direction and the musical score are both spot on and it all adds up to a first rate film.

'Home Alone' is the title of a Carole King song from 1971, and, despite topical references, this film feels like a seventies TV sit com - most of it is filmed in a very stagey 'garden' and large house. The script is bland and limp - one accepts a rom com 's narrative will be flaky, but the comedy should make up for it. But it is not very funny. Reece Witherspoon goes through the motions, acting winsome; Pico Alexander as her toyboy is devoid of personality, and what a waste of Michael Sheen's considerable talents.