Reviews

Beautiful, breathtaking, brilliant. The low budget and use of non-actors adds to the realism. The score is fantastic. Brit Marling is simply stunning, let's hope we see much more of her. This isn't a space opera but a meditation on loss, redemption, hope and, ultimately, who and what am I? What does it mean to be me? Plus one of the best endings of any film I have ever seen.

As others have pointed out, this is not about science. Who cares if the gravity thing doesn't work, or the other Earth doesn't have a moon? The film wisely ignores all such considerations and doesn't try to invent some bogus scientific rationale. Instead it sticks to being one of the most emotionally affecting films of recent years.

Some of the negative reviews here beggar belief. I wish I lived on Another Earth where people with no taste, perception or intelligence are not allowed to review on the parallel IMDb...

A girl gets into a car; the owners don't say 'who are you?' or 'would you like a lift?' but drive off. She gets out the car and into another. She gets out and gets in the first car. She gets out and wanders around then gets back in another car. James Taylor stares meaningfully into the middle distance. This goes on for one hour forty minutes.

Yes, we're in existential 'masterpiece' territory folks. I can never work out whether people claiming to love this type of film genuinely love it (in which case they're definitely seeing something I'm not) or they're pretending to for film snobbery reasons. Both types are out there I think.

I could have directed this blindfolded and it couldn't have been any worse. I could never, in a million years, create a clever, profound, witty, insightful masterpiece such as an All About Eve or an Annie Hall or a Casablanca or a Quiz Show.

Truly, the emperor has no clothes...

Like many who have posted here, TGTB&TU is one of my favourite films ever.

However, something I'm curious about; my DVD version of the film states that Eli Wallach is "the bad" and Lee Van Cleef "the ugly"; also the original theatrical trailer says the same. The film though has them the other way around as does this site.

I've always thought of Eli Wallach as "the ugly" and Lee Van Cleef as "the bad", so what gives......?

By the way, Eli Wallach not getting an Academy Award is one of the all time great Oscar injustices.......

This will definitely go down as a missed opportunity. With an excellent performance from Will Smith, an impeccable director and enough time lapsed since the end of Ali's career to be objective, this should have been a great movie.

But it's not. Not that it is without merit. It is extremely well shot and edited and contains the best and most realistic boxing scenes ever (if you doubt this have another look at the over-the-top rubbish in, say, the `Rocky' films). As a film though it really doesn't work.

Part of the problem is `Ali' attempts to address different strands of Ali's life including (obviously) his boxing, his conversion to Islam, the black-rights issue in 60's America and his family life. However it doesn't get into any of these areas effectively and the resultant film seems unstructured and poorly paced. As other people have commented on this site, we never get any feeling for what truly motivated Ali or where he came from and let's not forget, we are talking about the most famous and greatest sportsman of the 20th century.

The film jumps alarmingly through ten years of Ali's life and the entire final fifty minutes or so are dedicated to the `Rumble in the Jungle' . Also long stretches at the beginning primarily feature Malcolm X (although we are never given any true insight into his relationship with Ali). As a result, large amounts of Ali's life and some of his key fights are never covered and after the film I felt I knew about as much about the man as before.

I can't go as far as some people though and say `don't watch this film' as it is still a well made and thoughtful picture and worth seeing for Smith's take on Ali. Sadly, this could have been a great biopic though and isn't. 5/10

In the 1980's, Woody Allen hit a prolific streak of form which I think has never been bettered in the history of cinema. During this period Woody released, amongst others, `A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy', `Zelig', `Broadway Danny Rose', `The Purple Rose Of Cairo', `Hannah And Her Sisters', `Another Woman' and `Crimes And Misdemeanours'. `Radio Days' followed in the wake of the critical and commercial success of `Hannah….' allowing Woody the money and freedom to make his most personal and nostalgic film.

`Radio Days' has been criticised for being too thin and flimsy but for the discerning film fan, who isnt bothered by the absence of explosions and car chases, the film is a delight. Basically a collection of anecdotal sketches, each featuring the backdrop of a radio programme, `Radio Days' effortlessly re-creates, in fine detail, America of the forties.

Well paced and beautifully acted throughout, `Radio Days' is funny, sad, evocative and memorable, a treat from America's most consistent, prolific and, arguably, greatest director. 9/10

I suppose it is always difficult following up a huge hit, but lets face it, Mr Lucas has done it before (The Empire Strikes Back being miles better than Star Wars). Unfortunately, Messrs Lucas and Spielberg appear to have left their sense of humour at home when they made `Temple'.

The film lack atmosphere and the attempts at humour often fall flat. Even the creepy-crawly quotient seems to try to out-do `Raiders' but ends up being silly. The film isn't without it's good points, being mainly Ford's hugely watchable Jones and his kid side-kick Short Round is good fun. The stunts are good, even if they occasionally stretch credulity to breaking point (did all that water really come out of that pot?). However, when push-comes-to-shove, this isn't vintage Spielberg. 5/10

If you know someone who claims to hate `foreign' films, take them to see `Amelie' immediately and open their eyes. This film is so wonderful on so many levels it is hard to know where to begin.

`Amelie' is a fantasy, but so grounded in real life and with such deftly observed nuances of people's lives that you accept what unfolds over the two hours without question. The cinematography, use of colour, score and performances are all brilliant. The direction and editing are superb as is Audrey Tautou as the eponymous heroine. Amelie is off-beat but lovable and has the biggest eyes you'll ever see!!

The film is also very, very funny with some of the best sight gags I've seen for years. The sheer imagination and invention that has gone into creating `Amelie' is stunning. In fact, there are more cinematic ideas in the first ten minutes than in a hatful of Hollywood blockbusters.

`Amelie' is the sort of film that reminds you of why you love films in the first place – witty, inventive, clever, poignant and entertaining. Round up your friends and family and drag them to the best two hours of their year. 10/10

Surprisingly this is a lesser-known Hitchcock film but still stands up today as an exciting thriller full of twists and turns.

Ray Milland is excellent as ex-tennis pro Tony Wendice who decides to commit the perfect murder of his wife (Grace Kelly) when he learns of her affair with Robert Cummings (who isn't given much to do). In fact, Milland's subtle performance has you wanting the murder plot to work! Though it has to be said, Kelly's helpless female turn does not help in this regard either.

Hitchcock's skill here is to totally involve the viewer in the labyrinthine plot involving keys, telephone calls and stockings so that at the end of the film you haven't even noticed that virtually all the scenes are in one room.

If you like clever, wordy films with a touch of humour then I recommend `Dial M For Murder'. 8/10

I watched Raiders recently after a gap of probably ten years and was surprised that it wasn't as good as my memory thought.

It must be said that Raiders is still a hugely enjoyable and entertaining film with Ford perfectly cast as Indiana Jones (did they really want Tom Selleck?). But, when push comes to shove, the effects and stunt work are starting to date, Karen Allen is mis-cast and the film drags in parts.

However, any film with a roll-call which includes George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and John Williams is bound to do well and Raiders is still considerably better than most of it's competition. Twenty years on though, it doesn't deserve the mindless adoration it receives from some quarters. 7/10

This 1949 MGM offering is an improvement on the similar `Anchors Aweigh' with better songs and more feisty leading ladies.

Kelly (as ever) is the star, stealing every scene he's in. The other major star is New York itself, the tourist board must have been rubbing their hands together when this came out!

Generally well paced (to stop you lingering on the flimsy plot too long) the one dull moment comes near the end when the whole film is re-enacted in a pointless dance presentation. Probably a bit of self-indulgence from Kelly the director.

Overall very enjoyable although it is interesting to note that within a few years Sinatra would be re-inventing himself in `From Here To Eternity' and Kelly would be dancing his way to immortality in `Singin' In The Rain'. 7/10

Although not a huge fan of war films, I thoroughly enjoyed this welcome return to form from Joel Schumacher.

The photography and performances are excellent throughout and Colin Farrell is superb as the reluctant trainee Bozz. In fact, it seems difficult to believe he isn't a major star already. The running time is spot-on as well (don't you hate films that drag on needlessly?). The hidden star of Tigerland is the Vietnam war itself which, although never shown, overshadows events with a brooding presence you can actually feel.

The film isn't without it's flaws (some of the characters and dialogue are stereotypical boot-camp stuff) but the most pleasing thing is that Joel is obviously prepared to take risks and not attempt an easy route back into favour. 8/10

Anthony Minghella's adaption of Michael Ondaatje's book scooped a hatful of Oscars in 1997 and attracted criticism for being `Oscar-friendly' and `conventional'. However, when film-making is as elegant and beautiful as this it is hard to argue.

All the performances are terrific but the stand-out is Fiennes' cold leading man driven to extraordinary lengths by his passion for Kristin Scott-Thomas. I found Minghella's narrative more cohesive than the book, but if it misses out anywhere, it is in the book's brilliant insights into the psyche of a bomb-defuser, which isn't really explored in the film.

Overall a rewarding watch for the discerning film fan. 8/10.

An enjoyable MGM romp, with Gene Kelly as good as ever. However the thin plot doesn't support the long running time and some of the set pieces and songs are just showboats for the stars and are nothing to do with the film!

Although probably best remembered now for the the famous sequence where Gene dances with Jerry Mouse, this is still an enjoyable, winter's afternoon sort of film. 6/10