William Thomas

Stone takes gritty subject matter and hacks it into a perilous ride based on Boyle's life in Salvador. Showing the true, upsetting and harsh realities of which most of us try not to think of. Pure Oliver Stone.

It's in the animal capers that Disney's skill really comes into play, as stunning wildlife photography combines with an Incredible Journey-type treat-animals-as-furry-people attitude to the narrative, transforming an average adventure film into a humorous, dangerous and immensely watchable movie.

Good, gory fun.

The quintessential '50s rom-com.

Steinbeck himself praised it for reaching the parts his book couldn't. Need a better endorsement?

Beautiful to look at, but shot with a cruel and unerring eye, it gives no quarter to the German people for their complicity in events, and in turn disgusts, amazes and frightens.

Leslie Dixon’s script is effective, though sometimes seems stranded between the domestic humour and the big issues being played out. Still, engaging, undemanding stuff.

This film is more known for being the one which introduced Goldie Hawn to Kurt Russell than anything else, which is somewhat unfair as at its heart lies a sweet romance, with good performances from both the leads and an Oscar nomination for supporting actress Lahti.

A small film, but fresh and immensely charming.

A spare and authentic screenplay unfolds in an almost documentary-like enviroment, there are no histrionics and the acting is of the highest order, but the film shocks and disturbs as much for its morally questionable purpose as in its ugly subject.

It's not as poetic as My Darling Clementine or as historically accurate as Sturges' sequel-remake, Hour Of The Gun, but it is a wonderful evocation of the brassy Westerns of the 50s, when Burt and Kirk demonstrated more machismo than a whole posse of Arnies or Slys.

Simple, but effective.

Outrageous and endearing, the Zombieland team swaps horror for crime in a daft caper that's undoubtedly slight but terrifically entertaining all the same. Very fast and lots of fun.

From the visceral plunges of the first person mind clip sequences (including a terrifying, controversy courting rape sequence) to the overwhelming finale this is a, literally, stunning event. Some directors can, thank God, still make you experience films.

With a heavily improvised script Cassavetes gets the most from his actors, each giving emotive performances.

Mamet’s gem of a movie, with a great final twist, goads the Godfathers with just as much invention and wit as the much higher profile Married To The Mob.

Maddin's surrealism is always gently persuasive rather than all-out shocking. Nobody else is doing anything remotely like this; reason enough to treasure it.

Enormously influential, it spawned Hollywood's interest in smaller scale, prosaic dramas, few of which failed to match its resonance.

This is the Bond flick blessed with the best plot, a genuine sense of emotion and a spirit closest to Ian Fleming’s novels.

Despite some fuzzy thinking in the third act, when it gets hard to see what is on Guare's mind, the result is a thoroughly engaging and pointed film.

Likeable Robert Townsend — who also co-wrote and directed — is a delight in this patchy but consistently enjoyable chronicle of a young black actor’s efforts to crack Hollywood.

As with most Cassavetes' it is Rowlands who steals this show, this time expertly playing the happy housewife slowly going off the rails while Falk plays the part of her bewildered husband. At two-and-a-half hours, it could easily have dragged but with such strong performances, you're left wanting more.

The rebirth of Disney in the modern era and due to superb songs, enduring humour and a touching plot it remains an animation classic.

Dreamlike Ghibli animation that's well worth seeking out.

The Duke's last hurrah is one of the very best of a cycle of 70s movies that served as obituaries for the Western itself.

Undemanding, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable.

Suffused with the pessimism of Taxi Driver, Blue Collar is one of the most brutally honest films to have come out of 70s Hollywood.

At times puzzling due to the diverse panorama of subject matter, the film nevertheless corners touchy issues more than it flinches them.