Film Reviews by AS

Forget the ramshackle plot, just listen to the laconic one-liners, the crystal-edged dialogue. Mitchum is the perfect Marlowe, the only Marlowe, the Marlowe as written by Chandler. And Charlotte Rampling is the doll to die for. Brilliant.

Acting doesn't come any better than this. Tommy Lee Jones and Hillary Swank are superb in their portrayals of Glendon Swarthout's characters from his award-winning novel. Jones also confirms himself as a first-class director, imbuing the movie with the same gamut of emotions as the book, capturing the bleakness of landscape and lives while deleting very little from the source material. Beautiful, tragic, a near-masterpiece.

Looks like, sounds like and feels like a Woody Allen movie. It's all here: angst, humour, romance, drama, a bit of craziness and, of course, some brilliant one-liners. But it isn't a Woody movie; he's simply one of ther stars. The writer/director is John Turturro, and a great job he does, balancing the various elements and coming up with a fine resolution, then ending with a neat coda. Great stuff and it is to be hoped he will do it again.

TV-style movie with by-numbers direction and writing. The story is simplistic and repetitive, with seemingly endless car rides and visits to run-down shacks that all look alike. The sub-plot of estranged wife and rebel daughter is straight out of the cliché manual. The final shoot-out, supposed to be between professional cop and professional crooks, looks like a blind gun battle from the Beverley Hillbillies. Overlong by about an hour.

A cross between 'Conan the Barbarian' and 'Downton Abbey' in togas, with acting about the same level as 'Postman Pat' and dialogue so awful it makes 'Up Pompeii' look like a work of genius. On top of that, the makers clearly haven't the remotest idea of what actually happened at the doomed city. All concerned should be dropped into the nearest volcano. Goes straight to the top of the list of The Most Ludicrous Movies Ever Made.

Sort of a rewrite of the classic 'Ace in the Hole'. Of course, Hoffman and Travolta put in great performances; the supporting cast, however, are far too lightweight. The plot lacks any real depth, is extremely repetitive and ultimately goes on way too long.

Kathleen Turner sizzles and William Hurt steams as they bring their perfect murder plot to the boil. Latter-day noir as dark, sharp and classy as yesteryear's.

Liam Neeson is pretty much as he always is and always has been; but his down-at-heel private eye is a character who grips your attention in this nervy, twisty tale of cross and double-cross. Direction by Simon Moore is dark and slick from his own sharp screenplay. The reveal at the end is a stunner

Completely plotless. Looks like nothing more than a series of scenes cobbled together from TV soaps. No originality in either writing or direction. A sad swansong for the great Kirk Douglas.

Sly charging around fighting people, shooting people, snarling at people, jabbing one-liners at people. Nobody does it much better and fans will love it. But it's too seen-it-all-before' to make any converts.

Watch this, but only if someone will pay you a great deal of money to do so. The story, as worn-out and gripping as a bald tyre, takes an age to get not very far, and you knew perfectly well where you were going anyway. Plot, direction and characterisation are all over the place. The acting looks like daytime TV of 40 years ago.

If you don't like dumb action movies, stay away. But you must watch if you appreciate a crime caper that never lets up, delivers scores of snappy one-liners, and, above all, doesn't take itself too seriously. Stallone and Russell were oh-so-young here yet already had charisma by the bucketload. Add Teri Hatcher and you've got popcorn entertainment that'll keep you hooked to the final over-the-top showdown.

Call it weird. Call it unusual. Call it odd. Just don't call it interesting. The narrative is all over the place, while the basic plot is shallow and boring. It is also a gross insult to Bucharest.

After a promising set-up, straight from the source novel, the movie meanders into little more than a traverlogue, bland and unengaging, with very scant plot and barely any narrative arc. None of the characters invites either sympathy or empathy. The fault is the writing/directing: Viggo Mortensen doesn't seem to have been advised what to do with his character; Kisten Dunst told simply to look like a perplexed wife; Oscar Isaacs to be perpetually gloomy. The climax, when it eventually comes, looks like something from the Keystone Kops. The final scene is an excruciating cliché.

This type of tale has been done before and much better. The direction is pedestrian and Colin Firth's performance wooden. The placement in time also seems very odd, the 1980s locale appearing much more like the 40s or 50s. The greatest pity is that some of the prison camp scenes are stilted and their background unconvincing, while the torture scenes become gratuitous. Overall, with such a scant plot, at almost two hours the movie is far too lone.