60-second cinema

7 out of 10 Curse of the Golden Flower is director Yimou Zhang ( Hero , House of flying Daggers )at his most audacious. It is spectacular, dramatic and colourful (maybe a little to colourful for some tastes). The action sequences are used more sparingly than in either Hero or Daggers. Yet this is a positive for me as it meant that the story was stronger for it. The story itself is one of a family at war. However the main protagonists are so unlikeable that you don't really know who you want to route for and as a result the ending falls a bit flat.

5 out of 10 On the face of it The Brothers Grimm is a perfect match for the dark surrealism of Terry Gilliam . However it fails to live up to its potential. The brothers (played by Matt Damon and Heath Ledger ) are travelling con-artists who arrive in a village with a real fairy tale curse. For a Fairy tale the cinematography is very grey and brown. There is little of the Gilliam imagination that we might have expected. Most surprising of all is that the special effects ranged from the sublime (blobby gingerbread man) to the downright awful. A scene where a CGI scarf was floating down a river was particularly derisible. At times it seems that the script is a vehicle for referencing yet another fairy tale rather than to tell the tale that the viewer is actually watching. This is a shame because when the movie does get going there are moments to enjoy.

6 out of 10 One of those films whose story you know from the moment you see the trailer, Stranger Than Fiction is a little predictable, but still fairly enjoyable. Will Ferrell does a decent job of reining in his Anchorman tendencies, while Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman perform reasonable support roles. Maggie Gyllenhaal , however, really impressed me — easily the best thing about the film. And she’s properly cute to boot. Overall, however, I doubt this is going to stick too long in the memory. It reminded me a little of the rather excellent Adaptation (in which Gyllenhaal also featured), but couldn’t hope to equal it. Worth renting on DVD nonetheless.

7 out of 10 (revised) One word to sum this up: bittersweet. Not just in the story being told, but also in how it fared against my expectations. Being a joint effort between Michel Gondry (music video legend) and Charlie Kaufman (screenwriting legend), I really wanted this to be outstanding. To find that it was merely very good almost feels like a let-down. It seems the curse of having read glowing reviews strikes again. :-/ Eternal Sunshine tells the story of Joel ( Jim Carrey ) and Clementine ( Kate Winslet ), a couple who’ve fallen out and end up seeking help to erase each other from their respective memories. Naturally, this fantasy aspect requires some suspension of disbelief, but beyond that, it’s a regular tale of an irregular relationship gone sour and the struggle to make sense of it all. Both Carrey and Winslet play their roles really well and are well supported by a strong cast. The writing, too, is equally strong and the film’s subplots support the mai...

8 out of 10 Mix one part Will Ferrell (Anchorman) with one part Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) and wait for the comedy gold. At least, that’s the theory. While some of the gags (privates-in-face, Ferrell doing his drunk thing) might be wearing a little thin, on the whole, this was pretty good and, for Ferrell at least, a return to form. Perhaps not his best, but a country mile ahead of Talladega Nights.

4 out of 10 This is Mel Gibson’s film about the death of Jesus, and a brutal death it is too. This is one of the most unrelentingly violent films I have ever seen. What respite there is comes in the form of brief scenes of Christ's life, but these are few and far between. I don’t know who this is meant to appeal to. Most people I know (whether Christian or not) are not going to want to sit through what amounts to two hours of a man’s sustained torture in glorious Technicolor. At least I seriously hope they don't. There is very little here for anyone familiar with even the most basic knowledge of Christianity. The great shame is that it is very well made, the performances are good, cinematography is amazing and it is a movie that raises issues that will make you think. You can't say that about too many films. However, I didn't really know what the point of the movie was. The focus on the torture and brutality was at the expense of any background to Christ...

8 out of 10 Not being able to remember the original TV series, I wasn’t sure where this was going to lie on the slapstick-to-serious scale. As it turns out, it was closer to the slapstick end of the scale, so neither Ben Stiller nor Owen Wilson were particularly stretching themselves. Teaming up with the likes of Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell just reinforced the impression that this was a job for the boys. Nonetheless, there’s a reason these guys team up so much: they work well together. And I really enjoyed it. Nothing ground-breaking, perhaps, but good for a laugh.

9 out of 10 The Science of Sleep is the screen writing debut of director Michel Gondry. If you have seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , a film he directed with scriptwriter Charlie Kaufmann you will have some idea of what to expect. It is the story of Stephane who has had problems confusing dreams and reality. Stephane returns to Paris where he meets his neighbour across the hall, Stephanie. Like most films where romance plays a central theme the enjoyment you get out of the film will rest with the two main characters. A fantastic performance by the two leads Gael García Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg and the way in which their relationship develops makes this completely compelling. It has come under-fire as being pretentious and self-indulgent. However the film is visually stunning (as you may expect from a director that has made his name from making Music Videos), has an intriguing concept, three dimensional characters and is quite unlike anything else out there. If t...

4 out of 10 Once again, I find myself struggling to review a foreign-language film. I’m not a subtitle hater — indeed, they’re miles better than dubbing — I think it’s just that I sometimes fail to connect with the cultural nuances. Zatôichi, for instance, left me wondering whether the performances were stilted — especially that of Beat Takeshi — or whether Japanese mannerisms are simply that different to English ones. I still can’t make my mind up. Unfortunately, I’m not one to be impressed with fancy swordplay either, so overall I was left wanting. You may get more out of it, but for me, it just didn’t click.

7 out of 10 Squarely aimed at the sentimental Christmas market when released in the cinemas, The Holiday stands up fairly well, even now, on DVD. While some of its Englishness might be a little over-egged (we all live in thatched cottages, don’t we?), overall, it does a pretty good job of not drowning you in schmaltz . Cameron Diaz even turns in a performance that doesn’t make me want to kill her — impressive stuff. Yes, it’s still quite a chewing-gum-for-the-brain kind of movie, but as such things go, it’s a Juicy Fruit. Gav nailed it when he asked “Can a romantic comedy really be a great film?” I doubt it can. And that’s why my mark hits the rom-com glass ceiling.

8 out of 10 I enjoyed this film. I knew I was going to like if from the beginning - it had that typical feel good film feel to it, which was just what I was in the mood for. It also helps that I'm a big fan of Jack Black and Kate Winslet. The 8 out of 10 is kinda relative to the genre. Can a romantic comedy really be a great film? I don't know. I do know that there aren't any films of this kind that spring to mind when someone asks me for my top 5 films. But, as far as rom-coms go, I thought it was very good. Given that, the 8 may be a little generous, but this is my first review here, so that's what it's getting. I thought all four of the main characters were good (Black, Winslet, Law and Diaz), real enough, and believable, in the romantic comedy sense. Watching each pair develop had its own rewards: two people hopeless with romance finding each other and a women who has been unable to attach herself to happiness finally letting it happen. That said, the...