Film Reviews by RP

It's a sci-fi film. It's about the survivors from a crashed spaceship fighting off hostile alien creatures. That's it – so far, so much the same as just about every other space fiction film you've ever seen. Vin Diesel stars as a bad-boy muscle-bound see-in-the-dark convict lending a hand fighting off the aliens and turning out to be Mr Nice Guy in the end. It's a boy's film but quite enjoyable of its kind. 3/5 stars. Recommended.

I've watched a few Clive Owen films lately, wondering if he was always such a wooden actor, and came across this one. Well, I can confirm it – he is indeed made of wood :)

If you like films where you don't have to think very hard and prefer to just sit and let it wash over you, then this just might be for you. The plot line is simple if not silly. Clive Owen meets woman on train, almost has an affair, but is assaulted then blackmailed for every penny he has, then seeks revenge. There are a couple of fairly obvious twists, but I won't spell them out here.

Jennifer Aniston, Clive Owen, Tom Conti – some well known actors here, but you'll have to suspend your disbelief at the implausible plot. Also, be warned that there is plenty of f-ing and blinding. And did I mention the wooden acting? I really can't recommend it, but I guess it's worth 2 stars – I have seen worse...

I've been catching up on films directed by Shane Meadows, as I've come to appreciate his work after first seeing 'Dead Man's Shoes'. I have now watched 'Once Upon A Time In The Midlands' and while it is a much more mature and reflective work, I regard it as a good but weak effort.

Given the strong cast of well-known British actors (Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Ricky Tomlinson, Kathy Burke) I expected it to be better – but it comes across as a sort of ensemble piece, with each actor playing the same role that they've played before in other films: Kathy Burke (loud mouthed council house dweller), Ricky Tomlinson (slob from 'The Royle Family'), Robert Carlyle (edgy, close to violence). The only surprise was Rhys Ifans who gave a much more rounded and mature performance than in other films where he was cast either as a buffoon or a misguided obsessive (eg 'Notting Hill', 'Enduring Love').

I was also disappointed given the title that the film showed so little of Nottingham (where it is billed as being set) and nor did any of the characters have Midlands accents – strange.

As for the storyline, I quite liked it: stranger rides into town to reclaim his woman who has now found romance with another – or has she. The trouble is, the film could have been a great deal stronger. I rate it as 3/5 – see it if you like Shane Meadows' work.

Battle-of-the-sexes film where man-eating women zombies attack and eat all in their path – well, all men – and especially a party of jack-the-lads out for a beery, womanising weekend. Plenty of gore but not much humour and definitely not PC. Watch this if you like lager, football, vindaloo and think that all a woman is good for is housework. 2/5 stars.

36 Quai des Orfèvres is the Paris headquarters of the Police Judiciaire (the successor to the Sûreté, sort of like Scotland Yard, I think...).

The film deals with the rivalry between Léo Vrinks (good cop, played by Daniel Auteuil) and Denis Klein (bad cop, played by Gérard Depardieu) who each head different sections of the police. Both are hunting for an armed gang that has held up a number of armoured cars – success will lead to promotion. The good cop is motivated to catch the gang, the bad cop is motivated by the prospect of promotion, and their rivalry plays out against a dark background punctuated by violent events. Vrinks gets a lead on the gang but finds himself in a very compromising position. Klein disrupts the subsequent raid, turns in Vrinks, kills Vrinks' wife and gets the top job. Vrinks is imprisoned. On release he seeks revenge but has it performed for him, courtesy of a subplot. He is reconciled with his daughter (played by Auteuil's real life daughter) and the film ends on a relatively happy note. So it's all nicely confused, it's in French with subtitles – but it's superb! The best cop thriller I've seen for some time.

The film is written and directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer himself, who claims in the 'extras' interview that the story is semi-autobiographical. It is co-written by Franck Mancuso, also a former officer. The acting is excellent – both Auteuil and Depardieu are major French stars. I enjoyed the film very much: 5/5 stars. Highly recommended.

With so many big-name stars (George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Ewan MacGregor...) surely this must be a good film? Err, no. It's dreadful.

I do have a quirky sense of humour. I love off-the-wall ideas. But I sat through 90+ minutes of this and on only a couple of occasions did a smile crack my face. Jeff Bridges reprises his role from 'The Big Lebowski' - but dude, this film is dire.

The problem is that the film could have been so much better. It deserves to be better - but it falls short. It currently has a score of only 6.3 on IMDB, which should really have told me something. While I have watched worse films, recently I've learned to avoid them - but unfortunately not this time.

It appears to be an attempt at comic satire in the vein of 'Catch 22' (WW II), 'M*A*S*H' (Korea), 'Doctor Strangelove' (cold war) or 'Apocalypse Now' (Vietnam). But regrettably it is a misguided attempt and hits few, if any, of the rather too obvious targets.

It's dire. It's a turkey. It's a stinker. I'd rather eat my own leg than watch this again. And no, I can't recommend it.

This is a romance, a chick-flick - something not usually my cup of tea. But against all my expectations I enjoyed it. My wife has the book, and wondered how it could possibly be made into a film. It hasn't - the film condenses the book, but still captures its spirit. Through the eyes of a girl, growing into a woman, and her daughter it tells the story of a love affair with a man who comes and goes through time, appearing and disappearing, and throughout this their love grows stronger, even after his death. I'm not ashamed to confess that the ending brought a tear to my eye. Recommended.

Slow-moving, atmospheric British gangster film. Some may find it too slow - but I enjoyed it.

I watched it because it was directed by Mike Hodges, the director of the original 'Get Carter'. And this film is similar to 'Get Carter' in many ways - a dark, bleak tale of revenge for a dead brother.

Clive Owen plays the central role of hard man Will Graham. He has retired in disgust from his former life in the London underworld and is living the life of a recluse, working in forestry, and living in the back of a van. He returns to his former South London stamping ground to find that his younger brother Davey has committed suicide after a nasty incident of anal rape, and sets out to avenge his death. The Clive Owen character is very introspective, and he knows that his brother would not have led the wastrel life that led to his death if his older brother had been around.

The film is dark, and the tension builds slowly and there are many unanswered questions and loose ends in the story line. Some will say that the plot is insubstantial and slow moving. This is certainly no jokey, blokey, Cockney gangster film as directed by Guy Ritchie. But I liked it: I don't like things too pat and polished. Recommended.

I selected this film because in won a BAFTA in 2010 for best foreign language film + the 2009 Cannes Grand Prix. It also currently has a score of 8.0 on IMDB, so it must be good, eh?

It tells the story of Malik, a 19 year old semi-literate, French/Arab youth (France's immigrant problem is from their ex-colonies in N. Africa) imprisoned alongside older, harder men in a brutal prison, where the 'big boss' is a Corsican gangster. Hanging onto his coat-tails and going against his fellow Muslims, Malik rises through the ranks to make it big as a drug dealer, running his small empire from within prison, and as he waits for parole he uses brief spells of leave to tidy up business on the outside.

Gritty, brutal, uncomfortable and sometimes difficult to watch, it is very well acted and the length of the film allows plenty of time for character development unlike most other prison dramas. It's a moving and complex film, following the growth of Malik as he uses his (prison educated) brain to manipulate others.

I'm a bit non-plussed at how to rate this. Yes, it's good. But is it that good? I'll leave that up to you. Watch it and see what you think.

I saw this at the cinema way back in 1985, and watching it again reinforced the lasting impression that it made on me then and has stayed with me for over 25 years. Beautifully photographed, it is perhaps one of the best anti-war films ever made.

Set in the time of the takeover of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge under the brutal tyrant Pol Pot, it tells the story of Dith Pran, the guide for a party of journalists who is captured when the capital Phnom Penh falls. It pulls few punches as it shows the brutality with which all are treated - but a special fate awaits Dith Pran as he is sent to a re-education camp in the fields - the 'killing fields' of the title. 5/5 stars.

I rented this because it was directed by Christopher Smith who also directed 'Creep', the shocker set in the London underground which I enjoyed. Enjoyed? You know what I mean...

Set in 1348, the film is beautifully photographed with a dark, brooding, atmospheric feel. If it's not a historically accurate vision of the 14th Century then it certainly gives a modern day viewer a sense of the squalor, disease, poverty and dirt that must have existed at the time. I haven't seen such a good representation of medieval times since 'The Name Of The Rose'.

As for the content, then it can't really be called a horror film. The fight scenes are well done with much realistic head-bashing and slashing, but apart from a scene near the end that's about the only violence seen, although much is suggested. The film is really about faith and power, and the events that turn a devout young monk into a witchfinder. The characters are of few words, but the acting in the two main roles by Sean Bean and Eddie Redmayne provides a surprising degree of character development.

It's not a cinematic masterpiece, but the dark mood and the slow building tension make this a film that I enjoyed and can recommend.

A tongue-in-cheek comedy horror film (is there such a thing as comedy horror?) that works very well. Plenty of action and suspense mixed with not a little gore - I liked it.

The characters encapsulate many of the annoying traits that I've encountered among salesmen out on a corporate jolly - and they get their come-uppance at the hands of unnamed assailants. Even some of the more sympathetic characters meet unpleasant ends and one of the good things is that it's not always predictable - there are plenty of surprises and shocks.

Very entertaining - recommended.

Wow - what a brilliant, complex and confusing film! I liked it very much, but I needed a little help and to watch it twice, and I mean to watch it yet again - it really is that good.

'Primer' is a film about time travel. Don't laugh - and don't expect a Hollywood blockbuster with lots of special effects. 'Primer' isn't like that at all. It deals with the paradoxes that arise through time travel, and the possibility that multiple versions of a person may therefore coexist, and what might happen when these different versions of a person interact with each other.

'Primer' is clearly a low budget film, with two central characters and a lot of talking. You will need to concentrate very carefully to pick up the clues as to what is happening - but it really is worthwhile spending the effort. At first you will be confused, but once you 'get it', you will realise what a deep and thought-provoking story you have seen.

It may help your understanding to read the FAQ about the film on IMDB, and follow the links to read one of the detailed explanations.

'Primer' is very, very clever indeed. 5/5 stars. Highly recommended.

This a mystery / thriller / horror film about a woman seemingly trapped in an endless loop of time and doomed to repeat the same actions over and over again. Can she escape? What has caused this? Indeed, who is she and what began this cycle of events?

I suspect that this is one of those films that you either love or hate. Well, I loved it. It's above average and worth over 3 stars, so I'll have to give it 4/5 (but that does seem a bit high). Recommended.

If you're looking for a scary movie, then give this one a miss. Yes, there's gore (and the opening scene in the ship's ballroom is good) but the film is atmospheric rather than shocking, the script is weak and the acting so-so. The ship itself is well realised, but the story is too slow and obvious for my tastes. A pretty average film.

I much preferred 'Triangle', directed by Christopher Smith – a more original story also set on a deserted ship. Less gore, more intrigue, better story. But each to his own taste...