Film Reviews by RP

Kevin Costner is not one of my favourite actors - too wooden, with a strong and dislikeable accent - who struggles to play any part that requires subtlety. So he's pretty well cast here as a psychopathic serial killer :)

This is a moderately good film with sufficient blood and a few mild shocks and thrills - nothing too exciting though and certainly nothing to write home about.

The plot is straightforward, if a bit silly. Kostner plays Earl Brooks - the 'Mr Brooks' of the title - a successful businessman who has a secret side to him: he is a serial killer, indeed he is addicted to killing, and has an alter-ego (well played by William Hurt) who encourages him. But he is seen in his latest killing and is blackmailed into taking the witness along for the ride. So far, so good...

But this straightforward (?) scenario is then over-complicated by sub-plots including a multi-millionaire woman cop (Demi Moore) going through a messy divorce, a recently released violent killer whom she is attempting to track down, and the possibility that Mr Brooks' daughter has inherited his addiction to killing.

It's not bad - I quite enjoyed it - but it's not good either, and it's the sub-plots that spoil it, although the one involving his daughter does provide a cheap thrill near the end. Kostner is as wooden as ever, but here it doesn't matter too much and he's better than in many of his films. Demi Moore is poor and seems to be trying to prove something as a wannabe tough cop, complete with f-ing and blinding.

3/5 stars - pretty average stuff, but watchable if you like the genre.

This film won the 2009 BAFTA for 'Best Film Not in the English Language' - and deservedly so. The acting is excellent, the story emotional and painful as it tells the story of a woman attempting to reintegrate with her sister and family and their friends after release from prison.

Gradually it is revealed that not only has she been in prison but has served 15 years for murder, the murder of her 6 year old son, and in a final cathartic scene the reason is disclosed.

Kristin Scott Thomas is excellent in the lead role as is Elsa Zylberstein as her sister - they even look similar. I only wish that my French were better as I'm sure I missed some of the subtleties of the dialogue, too fast and colloquial for me. Certainly Kristin Scott Thomas' French is good - it should be as she's lived in France for some 35 years and married a Frenchman, but perhaps to a native speaker she may still show some trace of an accent - it's referred to in the film and also that the sisters have an English mother, who we briefly see in a nursing home. Part of the pain is that the parents disowned her after the murder trial, never mentioning her again.

The film brought me close to tears, particularly at the end where one line is "The worst prison is the death of one's child" - so very true.

My respects to Philippe Claudel who both wrote and directed the film - a great achievement.

Superb - 5/5 stars - highly recommended.

I'm disappointed. This is the third film in an unofficial trilogy, the two earlier films being 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz' which are both excellent, so I was hoping - indeed expecting - a really good film. But no, it's disappointing stuff.

The central character is Gary King (played by Simon Pegg) who is not only a dislikeable loud mouth who has failed to move on from his teens when a pub crawl was the highlight of his adolescent life, but also appears to be an alcoholic drug addict recovering from a failed suicide attempt. His contemporaries (played by the always excellent Eddie Marsan, one of my favourite actors Paddy Considine, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman) have become successful and middle class, while poor Gary is stuck in the past.

Gary manages to persuade them to join him in recreating an epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier when they were young and foolish, and now all feel foolish - except Gary, seemingly stuck in his adolescence. As they return to their old haunts something seems to have changed - is it them? or is it that, in a bizarre attempt at turning this embarrassing mess of a film into a sci-fi comedy, the inhabitants of their home town have been taken over by aliens and turned into blue-blooded robots? Cue much shedding of blue blood and the end of civilisation as we know it.

Nope, it's not funny, it's juvenile. If you can ignore the minor fact that 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' did it so much better some 60 years ago and that this film uses the boring town of Letchworth for its location shots (apologies if you come from Letchworth - but I have been there, and it is boring) then it is possible that you might find this mildly amusing rather than low quality drivel. The main problem is Simon Pegg's character (as I said, he's not very likeable) and a script that tries too hard to be too clever - and fails. There's also too much f-ing and blinding for my taste.

I really wanted to like this film, but it's not even amusing, never mind funny. 2/5 stars - very disappointing.

'The Elite Squad' and its follow-up 'Elite Squad: The Enemy Within' are box office phenomena in Brazil. I had seen 'The Elite Squad' and found it OK - violent, but not as great as the awards heaped on it might suggest. Perhaps I was missing something, so I watched the sequel...

This is good stuff, if you like that kind of thing: it's in Portuguese, with subtitles, and again told in a semi-documentary style, with two of the major characters from the first film. I liked it better than the first film, perhaps because the story is more complex rather than simply a series of shoot-outs and BOPE boot camp sequences...

Set 13 years after the events of the first film, after a bloody prison riot Nascimento falls from favour and is booted upstairs to a political role, where he is able to promote BOPE to a powerful military police force. With the reduction in income from drug dealers, the corruption in the regular police changes into protection racketeering and involves local politicians - and the film is based on the conflict between corrupt police, corrupt politicians, and the incorruptible Nascimento.

Despite its success, I only rated the first Elite Squad film 3/5 stars. I'll give this one 4/5 stars. Recommended.

Nothing much happens. Err, that's it…

If you're looking for suspense or drama then you won't find it here. No thrills, no terror, no horror - not anything other than boredom. OK, the finale is a knife attack - but that's about the only violence to be seen. And in the first half of the film nothing happens at all :(

It's not the worst film I've ever seen - there are much worse, far worse - but I want to send out a warning so you don't waste your time when you could be watching something so much better. 1/5 stars - give this one a miss.

When 'The Sopranos' was first shown on TV I only saw a couple of episodes but have been catching up and recently watched both Season 1 and Season 2 - and liked them so much that I've just watched Season 3.

If you're reading this you'll already be familiar with the somewhat bizarre scenario of an Italian-American mobster (Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini) visiting a psychiatrist to resolve his problems, the focus on Tony's friends / associates and his family rather than crimes and criminal investigation.

It's great TV - but I didn't find this Season as compelling as the first two. The characters have settled well into their roles, but here the emphasis is too much on Tony's family - his daughter Meadow's time at college and boyfriends, son Anthony Junior's troubles at school, his wife Carmela joining in the therapy sessions, Tony's obnoxious sister, Uncle Junior's cancer, and a couple of deaths, notably his mother, in real life the loss of actress Nancy Marchand.

There wasn't enough emphasis on Tony's 'day job' - his mobster activities, crime and violence. Yes, they're all present, but de-emphasised so that at times we lose sight of the fact that frankly, he's not a nice man. And once again, the series ending seemed a bit rushed.

But these are minor quibbles - it really is excellent, compelling TV. 5/5 stars - and yes, I will be watching the further series.

It's in Russian, with subtitles. But don't let that put you off - this is a powerful, distressing anti-war film and if that's what you're looking for you'll find it in spades here.

It tells the story of a young boy joining the ill-equipped partisans fighting a futile resistance against the German army as it cuts a violent swathe through Byelorussia in the Second World War. Pursuing a brutal 'scorched earth' policy, the Germans put entire villages to the torch - including the inhabitants.

This is not a film for the squeamish. Although only rated 15 (there is limited on-screen explicit violence) this film has scenes that I found quite horrific and very moving.

One of the very best anti-war films I have seen. 5/5 stars.

Based on a Tom Clancy novel, this is one of series of stories whose central character is Jack Ryan. There have been a dozen or so books and five films have been made. The films are 'The Hunt For Red October' (1990) in which Jack Ryan is played by Alec Baldwin, 'Patriot Games' (1992) and 'Clear And Present Danger' (1994) in which Harrison Ford played the role, 'The Sum Of All Fears' (2002) in which Ben Affleck took over the reins, and there is a reboot in the pipeline with 'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit' (2013) this time with Chris Pine in the role.

So how does Ben Affleck stack up here? My verdict: he's too young to play Jack Ryan. He's served in the Marines, has a PhD, is fluent in Russian and Ukrainian, is a respected intelligence analyst for the CIA - and he looks about 16. Nope, he's just too boyish for the role - and while Harrison Ford had a certain boyish look about him, at least he looked as if he'd got some life experience.

The film tells the story of a rich neo-Nazi terrorist (Alan Bates) who want to destroy the USA. He plans to do this by fomenting a war between the US and Russia and arranges for a nuclear bomb to go off in Baltimore. Who can save the free world from mutually assured destruction? Why, the boy wonder Jack Ryan of course.

Nope, didn't enjoy this one as much as the others, but the acting from James Cromwell (as the US President) and Morgan Freeman (who plays Morgan Freeman playing CIA Director) isn't bad. And the visual effects are OK.

But it all seems a little dated now, even though I suspect that the scenario of terrorists getting hold of a nuclear device is indeed something to be worried about. I found it all very average - and there are major differences from the book… 3/5 stars.

It's a Brazilian police action thriller, told in a semi-documentary style, about fighting violent drug gangs with violent police tactics.

It's won shed loads of award in S America and has been a huge commercial success - but to these Brit eyes it goes over the top. There's definitely no subtlety here!

Apparently, the regular cops are so corrupt that a special 'elite' force (BOPE) has been set up. Heavily armed, highly trained, ultra tough, heavily indoctrinated to put incorruptibility, their comrades, their creed above all else - their job is to shoot drug dealers.

Set in the period before the Pope's 1997 visit, the task in hand is to clear out drug dealing gangs from a favela in Rio so the Pope can visit in safety. Woven in with this is the story of a burned out BOPE major, Nascimento, who wants to retire. New police recruits Neto and Matias experience the corruption of the regular police and volunteer for BOPE where they undergo brutal training. Nascimento first selects Neto as squad leader and his successor, but he is killed. Nascimento then selects Matias, who doesn't fail him… Clear as mud?

This is a brutal film where the drug dealers and the Elite Squad are heavily armed and carry out their task using violence and torture. Frankly, if this is a realistic view of everyday life in Rio I don't fancy a trip there - but if violent cop stories are your thing, give it a watch. 3/5 stars - it's not bad, but you can only watch a certain amount of violence and corruption before the message gets lost… Not for the squeamish.

Huge Robots v Huge Sea Monsters. Err, that's it.

Great special effects, plenty of crash-bang-wallop, wooden acting, poor script. Think of Godzilla v Transformers and that's about it. Definitely one for the boys - most 12 year olds will love it.

And yet I liked it. I appreciate Guillermo del Toro's work - especially 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'The Devil's Backbone' - so I started to watch this with high expectations. Certainly there is consistency in the characters, there aren't too many of them, and the plot is pretty easy to follow. The action sequences are excellent (helped by much CGI of course) but it does boil down to fisticuffs between robots and monsters.

There are a couple of unfunny 'comedy' scientists, the rousing speeches don't rouse, the macho posing is a bit too much for me, there's too much shouting - but at least the female lead is there for her fighting qualities rather than her body. As for the storyline, it has clearly been 'borrowed' from Japanese mecha anime - but that's no bad thing.

Watch it on the biggest screen you can, don't think too much, just sit back and enjoy the epic scale. 4/5 stars.

It's a wilderness survival thriller - and a very good one, too.

Anthony Hopkins plays a billionaire with a beautiful wife (Elle Macpherson, aka 'The Body') who travel to a remote location for a fashion shoot. Hopkins suspects that photographer (Alec Baldwin) is having an affair with his wife. The men decide to fly further inland for some more shots, the plane crashes and the three survivors trek back through the wilderness where they have to fend off a ferocious Kodiak bear and Baldwin attempts to kill Hopkins. There is (of course) only one survivor.

Anthony Hopkins is a 'hammy' actor, but here he is quite restrained and plays his role well as a quiet, highly intelligent man who rather enjoys putting his theoretical learning to practical use in the wilderness. There is much male bonding and some scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat.

There are two real stars of this film: the magnificent scenery (it was filmed in Canada) and of course, Bart the bear.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure film with good acting, an excellent script and believable characters and I'm surprised that it isn't better known - it deserves to be. 5/5 stars - highly recommended.

Unlike some other reviewers I really liked this film.

It's a sparse, bare, tale of a man's descent into paranoia and hallucination following a tragic road traffic accident where the central character's guilt causes chronic insomnia, and is only relieved by a final confession [no, that's not a spoiler].

The acting is excellent - Christian Bale excels himself, including losing so much weight for the part that he appears almost skeletal.

I found it gripping - but it won't be to everyone's taste. If you're looking for a crash-bang-wallop action film or a thriller, you won't find it here (although there are some tense moments). If you're looking for a romance, then you won't find it (although the central character is involved with two (?) women). What you will find is a tense, bleak, mysterious psychological drama - and the mystery is revealed by a series of clues that are repeated and emphasised throughout the movie until the truth can no longer be denied. Although the story is different, the atmosphere of the film reminded me very much of 'Jacob's Ladder'.

Great stuff - 4/5 stars.

I had recently seen Terence Stamp in 'The Collector' and thought I'd see him in this classic 1960s film of the Thomas Hardy novel. I has also seen the 1998 made-for-TV version and thought it was about time I saw the 'proper' film version again - I did see it at the cinema waaaaaaaay back in 1967 or '68 when I were but a lad, but not since, and I remembered it as spectacular.

My memory hadn't failed me - this is a beautifully photographed film with an evocative soundtrack. Rarely has the Dorset / Wiltshire countryside looked so good - and rarely has Julie Christie looked so good. And therein lies the first problem...

Julie Christie is an iconic 1960s actress - and here she appears in 1960s makeup and while she acts well the part of the young, strong-minded woman farmer Bathsheba Everdene she just doesn't 'feel' right for the role as a Victorian farmer. The roles of Bathsheba's other suitors loyal, hard working Gabriel Oak (Allan Bates), lonely gentleman farmer William Boldwood (Peter Finch) and the dastardly Sergeant Frank Troy (Terence Stamp) are all well played, and it's Peter Finch who gives the stand-out performance.

But - and here's the second problem - the film is played out as a three-cornered romantic race for Bathsheba's hand in marriage, but Thomas Hardy's novel is far deeper than that. It illustrates not only rural life but the divisions of class and the dramatic use of tragedy: Troy, Troy's true love Fanny and Boldwood all come to tragic ends and the story is essentially a series of tragic or at best unfortunate incidents linked by a few happy interludes. But John Schlesinger's film and Frederic Raphael's script seem to me to concentrate on the romantic aspects and while the tragic incidents are present they are rapidly over and done with.

The accents are a bit of a mish-mash but there is no attempt at mock West Country accents, which is probably a good thing.

Having said all that, this an excellent film and I like it very much. Because of the superb photography (it really deserves to be seen on a big screen) and Peter Finch's performance I'll give it 5/5 stars.

[Aside 1: The Director of Photography was Nicolas Roeg, who also went on to a very successful directing career]

[Aside 2: The fiddler at the barn dance is Dave Swarbrick, who went on to great things as a member of 'Fairport Convention']

[Aside 3: The title comes from a line in Thomas Gray's poem 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard']

[Aside 4: Cinema Paradiso sent the Optimum Releasing DVD version. This is in the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio (unlike other versions) but the cockfighting scene has been cut - the BBFC site says by 24 sec. Unlike the cinema screening, the Intermission and interval music are not present. I think I'll acquire a copy of the 2009 Region 1 Warner Home Video DVD where these are all apparently present, just to see what I'm missing...]

Way back when, John Fowles was one of my favourite authors. He's perhaps best known for 'The French Lieutenant's Woman', 'The Magus' and of course 'The Collector'. I haven't read the book for some years and from memory there are some differences between the book and the film, but it's a pretty fair adaptation.

The young(ish) pre-fame Terence Stamp is excellent as the psychopathic butterfly collector and stalker Freddie Clegg, who wins big on the football pools and so can afford to buy a country house and convert its cellars into a cosy little prison for the next item in his collection, art student Miranda Grey, played by the lovely Samantha Eggar. Freddie is socially awkward and shy, professes his love for Miranda - but she is repulsed both by the fact that he has kidnapped her and by his butterfly collection, which of course he has killed. It can of course only end in disaster and without giving too much away, Freddie goes on to stalk again...

This is a claustrophobic psychological drama, superbly acted (the two leads won Best Actor and Actress Awards at Cannes) and directed. Great stuff - with an excellent 1960s period feel that places it firmly in an era just a short time ago, yet so far away.

[Aside: I enjoy trying to identify film locations, and recognise the victim leaving Belsize Park tube station (I used to live nearby), Haverstock Hill, Hampstead High Street, Holly Bush Hill and Mount Vernon where the kidnap took place.]

If you enjoy a creepy thriller then give this a try. 5/5 stars - excellent.

We usually think of Peter Sellers as a comedian and a comic actor - but here he's cast against type as a rather nasty villain.

This film is a great find and deserves to be better known. In its day it was X-rated (over 16s only) and deservedly so; perhaps by today's standards the violence and sexual innuendo is relatively tame but it's still a gritty film.

The story goes something like this: cosmetic salesman (Richard Todd) has his new car stolen, needs it to do his job but only has 3rd party insurance, tries to track it down himself and crosses swords with dodgy garage owner (Peter Sellers), is beaten up but gets his car back in the end. It doesn't sound much but the period detail and acting are excellent throughout.

Richard Todd gives an excellent performance as the insecure man who has repeatedly failed in all his ventures after leaving the army, and Peter Sellers' role is simply vicious. Adam Faith (pop singer turned actor) has a role as a young tearaway and also sings 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' that plays over the titles, giving a flavour of the promise of riches on leaving the forces and returning home in the 1950s only to find disappointment. Carol White - who seems to appear in almost all these early 1960s 'kitchen sink' films plays Peter Sellers' wife, and watch out for many other well known British actors of the period.

I did try to work out where the location shots were filmed. A CUNningham (Maida Vale) phone number is shown on a wall at one point - IMDB tells me that it's Chichester Road W2, now comprehensively redeveloped, and there's also a shot of a trolley bus in the background at one point outside the pub which has the Barclay's Ales & Stout tiled lettering. This is (or rather was) the Southgate Arms in Hoxton, N1 - Google it to see a photo. These background shots add to the period feel of a world now gone, but not far away.

Really good, gritty drama - 5/5 stars. Highly recommended.