A less effusive Shakespeare in Love rehash, Stage Beauty fails to delve into the complexities of gender and sexual identity.
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The Oscar-nominated The Grandfather works both as a Fernando Fernán Gómez showcase and as an irresistible message movie.
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Oliver Stone opts to ignore the facts in his brazenly dishonest yet engrossing political thriller JFK, an account of the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination.
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Best Actress Oscar nominee Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence is seriously marred by its own inauthentic ‘rawness.’
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Starring Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton, Marc Forster’s 2001 drama Monster’s Ball offers quality moments that fail to amount to a satisfying whole.
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The all-star ‘existential’ David O. Russell satire I Heart Huckabees is all but unwatchable; its notable moments actually took place behind the scenes.
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Gaping narrative issues hinder Sam Mendes’ gangster noir Road to Perdition, otherwise a great showcase for stars Tom Hanks and Paul Newman.
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Naomi Watts delivers an exceptional performance - or rather, two of them - in David Lynch’s unsettling Hollywood horror tale Mulholland Dr..
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What are the best British films of all time? Starring Michael Caine, Mike Hodges’ violent thriller Get Carter is critics’ surprise #1 choice, while women-focused titles are completely absent.
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John Cassavetes’ landmark and widely admired 1968 independent drama Faces is a narrative wreck and a long-winded cinematic chore.
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The Manchurian Candidate (2004) movie review: Meryl Streep is the one bright spot in Jonathan Demme’s stale remake of John Frankenheimer’s 1962 classic. Denzel Washington stars.
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About a Boy (2002) movie review: Chris and Paul Weitz’s moralistic ‘family’ comedy stars Hugh Grant as a self-centered dude who tragically discovers his inner family man.
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Training Day (2001) movie review: In a less showy role, Ethan Hawke effortlessly steals Antoine Fuqua’s mediocre cop thriller from Best Actor Oscar winner Denzel Washington.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) movie review: Alfonso Cuarón’s big-screen version proves that CGI and movie magic aren’t the same thing. Daniel Radcliffe stars.
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Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) movie review: Michael Moore documentary incinerates the warmongering George W. Bush White House and members of the eagerly complicit American media.
The Alfred Kinsey scale of facts vs fiction: The life of the revolutionary and contentious American sex researcher vs Bill Condon’s well-regarded but sanitized 2004 film.
Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga’s overreaching psychological drama 21 Grams is immensely helped by 5 stellar performances.
Four news DVDs focus on Oscar-winning director George Stevens: A tribute to British colonialism; an immigration family drama; and two documentaries, one of which features rare WWII color footage.
In Old Arizona (1928) movie review: Pre-Code Western is of interest as the first ‘outdoor’ talkie and for its risqué sensibility. Edmund Lowe and Best Actor Oscar winner Warner Baxter star.