--2008 films watched, 5,4 and 3,star films

a nicely acted drama following 2 young men as they think more about spraying there latest tag on awall than life and especially consequences, as police get involved, well directed some nice touches, and strong performances from the two leads

police corruption in the l.a.p.d and one corrupt cop played by reeves, whos under investigation,and aincident that will not ony put himin the frame with the force but the fellow bad apples in his group, is he being set up for a fall, so off he goes to investigate on his own back, while dodgeing real bullts and the verbal bullets fromall sides, a entertaining film all round, with some nice moments, chris evans does a nice supporting turn, and forest whiticker as reeves captain,,some good action scenes involving a lot of running and gun fire,another interesting look at l.a corruption

a very good early role for piper parabo,, before her breakthrough in cayote ugly, but then dident live up to it, here she plays one of 3 girls at a girls school, and her dealings with being a lesbian,its not all her story but is best thing in it,

a good role for perry, suffering from a disorder, and watching him go through his life, and dealing with it, nicely directed, and good support

josh brolin is superb as george bush, in apearence and voice, and while oliver stone hasent gone out to make a film to destroy the man, hes made him out to be both lovable, and a bit stupid, but full of conviction for what he wants to do, some moments here come off very spinal tap, if you watch it right, and others, especially anything concerning them talking about situation in irak, and plans are handled very well, and frightening, we have a look at his early life in texas, and his relationship with his father, also former preseident, and his disapointment in his son, bush comes out at times a lovable fool, if thats possible, and shows at the end of it all, put a guy in a job, he becomes that job, some great speeches also fom bush in this, using well, his famous bad use of phrases, theres also great support from james cromwell, richard dreyfuss, and sprcial mention to jeffrey wright as his advisers, oliver stone has said he didnt want to make a film to destroy him, but in a way, hes poking fun here, but thats not to bad

a cracking police coruption set in newyork, with two very good performances from ed norton and colin farell, as cops, one inocent, the other not so, and a case that brings it all out into the open, a nice feel to it, very 70s, newyork looks cold, and the story, full of corruption elements but also a family story as well, jon voight as the father, and noah emmerich also do some fine work

a slice of 20s life in a english estate, and what happens when a american whos due to marry one of the sons come to visit, not my cup of tea, but i enjoyed it, jessica biel was okay in it, and some good performances especially the two younger sisters and kristin scott thomas and colin firth

bond holds up well in his 2nd daniel craig outing, following on from casino royale, typical bond action throughout, with exiting set pieces, that traditionally give bond the edge,the look is great, and craig, fits perfectly as bond, judie dench also getting more to do with m, the plot isnt the best ive seen from bond, but that never is the best thing about bond,

northern ireland and political prisoners for the i.r.a, are kept in h block, brutally tortured, and not giving in to there british captives, eventually a hunger strike is on the cards, a tough watch this, firstly do you care for people who are terrorists, and knowingly killed in name of there cause, and do you agree with the abuse given out by the british guards. when you figure that out,its a interesting film, authentically showing a time and place in british irish troubles, very gritty, and hard to watch at times, not a film thats fully about its subject matter, that of the hunger strike, but everything is well thought out and depicted, including a very good scene, shot in one take, around 15 minutes of prisoner laying out his plans,

quite creepy in places and shot well, as a group of child hood friends, are drawn back to a old house, with a past, they were involved with, a short film that doesent out stay its welcome with some nice shocks

mike leigh film from the 80s dealing with typical 80s british working class life, and now notable for the actors who have gone on to great things, tim roth is really great as a withdrawn brother to older siblin played brilliantly by phil daniels, he really should havegone on to greater things after this, alfred molina as a stiff husband, and gary oldman as a skin head, shot like most leigh films, without a script, and coming from rehearsels and charactor background, a great kitchen sink drama, with great performances all round.

leo dicaprio, narrates this doc that tells it like it is, were killing our planet, an its gonna get worse, doesent paint apretty picture, and is brought across well, with various clips, of our modern world to bring points across, interviews with relevent people and good use of music, we know all this, but its always good to be reminded

some bikr londoners head to wales to get some local weed, and encounter various bikers, while getting a little high, the british wild hogs, without a embaressing john travolta comedy performance, but also missing a ray liotta bad guy, but the film is well directed, with some nice touches, and nice to see phil daniels doing something

spoilt kids spend the day mouring death of there father, as tensions rise secrets come out, and feelings are said, nicely shot, very loose, with some good moments, and situations

hey joany, heres your review

ricky gervaise is a joy to watch, in a typical american romantic comedy, bringing his brilliant english wit, that has come to great afect in his tv smashes the office and extras, the gervaise we know and love, is all over this, this film a;lso reminds me of a lot of woody allen inot just its newyork setting but wit and charm, again especially in gervaise and of course greg kinneer, the plot, which sees gervaise as a drntist, dying, for 7 minutes and able to se dead people, and there need for him to help them, and kinneer as a former husband to tori leoni, needing to finish his business, yes the plot does get sentimental especially towards the end, and typical romantic comedy rules kick in, but gervaise holds it all together very well, he shows here that he can pick his roles, aparently hes turned down woody allen, maybe allen will see this and come knocking again

modern terror in the u.k, michelle williams is a working class mom, with her bomb disposal boyfriend,living a grimm life in a tower block, eyeing up a better life for her and her son, things turn for the worse when theres a terror attack at arsenal football ground, where her son and husband were that day, they are tragiucally killed, but at the time of this a interest in a wealthy neighbour played exellently by ewen mcgregor, takes place, guilt playing heavily on her mind, and in his life being a reporter, looks into the attack, and wil find some alarming evidence that will come to a head, a fine drama from sharon maguire, a up and coming talent, michelle williams who broke out in brokeback mountain, does a terific job, along with english acent, events are wel handled, this including the attack on arsenal it self, both before and after, giving it a eery feel, a film about loss, and guilt, and some nice shocking twists in the tale along the way

a documentary thati have a suspician isnt one, as a loser guy goes on a quest for this doc to go seek out his ex girlfriends and find out why he couldent keep a relationship, hes had many and many points raised, in this touching story of a sad man, many embaressing incounters both sexual, and relationship based are raised, he just dident have a clue, its funny to watch as he goes on his quest with mic boom and sound equipment in hand, getting many knock backs as some just dont want to know, he must have been a waste of space, this doc is great in showing where a guy can go wrong

minnie driver travels to see the guy who killed her son whos on death row, a flashback sees story of how we get there, a ok story, but good to see jeremy renner, in more, hes up and coming for me

shot in the style of 300 and sin cit, all on blue screen, a great look and story helping this along, set in a future world where for some reason its very world war 1, and wars are raging, and inbetween this mutants arise, and a team go to stop it, a great look to this, and some exellent violence throughout, thomas jane and ron pearlman doing good work, and the action and pacing is really good, and after it all, and a name like chronicles it looks like threre might be more

good remake of asian original, some nice shocks, also using concept of mirors to play with audiance, sutherland is his moody self, and shouts a lot in this, but its all good, and a creepy third act, with a very fearce demon, the sets are creepy enough, with the main set, the burnt out wreck holds up well, some good 15 rated scares

a big dumb action holllywood film, thats both stupid but done in a entertaining way, think enemy of te state now 10 years old this yeaR, more advanced, a artificial intelligence unit controls americas defence and goes a bit rogue, getting a inocent drp out to carry out a plan by perfectly executing situations through anything computerised, which these days is everything, to get him to where he needs to go, once a project for exec spielberg, you can see some influence here, as he watches over disturbia director d.j caruso, again with labeouf, some great action sequence throughout make it watchable, a crappy ending does spoil things a bit but tension is there, just be a little daring please

not vintage coens, more,, intolerable cruelty, so a good film then, lots of nice touces on show, some typical coen moments, i cant decide if malkovich is really over acting or thats who he is, clooney is a little wasted, and oviously turned up because its the coens, its macdormand and pitt who steal the show here, there great together, and pitt as created a oddball charactor that will fit in a coens film no problem, and 2 scenes with j.k simmons that are the best in the film, and a special mention to coens regular carter burwell, for hisscore, certainly helps film a lot, reminds me of fargo, so no disaster for the coens,,this hasent happend yet,, but culd be a lot better

a young chinese american is not happy in his life and feels distant from his chinese heritage living in L.A a unsucessful actor. through a death in family he inherits a house in shangai, and eyeing a quick sale sets off there, but discovers a lot in the ways of his lost heritage, a nice little drama, although events and comments couldent be more sign posted throughout, with charactors saying what should be thought, but it runs along smoothly, the director maybe has watched a bit to much lost in translation, for parts, and shangai looks great,

manic security guard wes bentley is obsessed by a career girl, one night in a locked office garage, tension spills as a ct and mouse game runs through the night, some stupid situations, but still some good sequences throughout, but overall comes off a average, follow up from the director of exellent french film, switchblade romance

documentary showing the incident and other incidents of afghanistans being tortured and humiliated, a negative look at the american militery in todays war on terror, telling it like it is

relationships of a group of london friends, and encounters, good to see rupet graves and ralph little doing good work, a good relationship drama

a male devel wears prada and a good vehicle for simon pegg, using his english charm,, and awkwardness well, as sydney young a cocky brit, going to newyork to work for a top mag, and trying to work his way to the top very slowly, with some comedic moments based around his bumbling around, some good jokes throughout, and a okay story, a bit irritating, and a moany kirsten dunst, spoiling things, a typical last act of soppyness spoil things a bit

interesting and well made, based on a japanes cartoon, a young guy is given a book, the death note book, where a simple premise, write peoples names in there, they will die,,so off he goes, with the ghoulish figure who aproaches him, and uses it, on cons and murderers who are ether still at large or gotten off, but even though this could be a good thing, and his reputation across the globe, gaining exposure, debate emerges, as to wether hes doing good, and certainly the japanes authorities want him caught, so the hunt is on and the more he uses the book, the more complicated situations arise, and names turn to people getting close to him, and with a mysterious figure who cant be seen, thinking his moves, he needs to think fast and change ways, very entertaining, with a great asian feel to it, certainly capturing mood of a graphic novel or cartoon, the concept, could hook you in or distance you, but go with it, its quite enjoyable

the first adaption of the famous novel the i am legend, also filmed with charlton heston, in the omega man, and probely more famously will smith in i am legend from last year, all have been diferent in various ways, this being the more basic, and down to earth adaption, a bit stiff in places especially acting and the vampire dead, but a good watch

another good role from gael garcia bernal, as a rich kid, who invites all mates for a day of fun in his parents mexican home, eyeing up a girl, while getting ticked off with things in his life and various other things, not much else, but a good watch, esprcially for fans of him,

liam neeson is angry, very angry, his daughter has gone to france,and hasbeen kidnapped, so because of his past, and his skills,sets off on a one man mission to get her back, first off, this is entertaining,lots of gruesome deaths, great action set pieces, remins me of bourne in style and drama, but also its unintentinally funny,from his daughter played by maggie grace, her from lost, trying to play 17, but a very pigtale exited 17 year old, shes so bad, and the fact shes off to europe to follow u2 on there world tour should make matters worst, liam eeson is a hulking presence, he fills the screen when hes kicking arse, but in emotionalscenes especially concerning kid, hes quite bad, check his purchase of kareokee machine, this film also says everyone whos not american is bad, and stay in the us or youll die, oh and a french counciller arrives home with a french bread under his arm, thats all, you need to know really, but yea its entertaining

a update for the roger corman made sylvester stallone 70s cult, story has changed somewhat, gone is the points for pedestrians cross country road race, and confined to a prison, race track, with lots of carnage and mayhem, but what saves it are the set pieces, nicely done, gritty and bloody looking, well paced carnage, statham doing his thing nicely, dodgy plot throughout, but saved by the action

deniro/pacino, first things firt, seeing these two share the screen for more than one scene, is a joy, deniro clearly showing his age now, has the better role than pacino, but with some nice turns throughout, there a joy to watch, the story is a little diferent for a who done it cop thriller and nicely done, nothing that heat was 13 years previously, but it proves that you can get these fine actors to read a book, and something interesting will come from t

trust david mamet to take a subject and turn it on its head a bit, what could have been a segal vehicle becomes a nice little charactor piece about corruption and relationships in the world of martialarts big events, as one man trained in a form, gets corrupted, in the name of money, a well acted piece of cinema

ed harris directs this westarn, and a type i enjoy most, taking care of the bad guys, ed harris is a great gunslinger, along with his trusted companion played by viggo mortessan are hired to marshall a town, after years of hastle from jeremy irons and his gang of low lives, they suceed in warning them off, but are always on there toes, and when a young women played by renee zellwegger moves to town, a quiet life may be on the cards for the gunslinger, or could it be both of them she likes, things turn when irons is captured for murder, and justice needs to be served, the legal kind, a western from this year that is very old school in its aproach, takes its time and knows how to tell the story, harris and mortessen are great as old friends, and the usually annoying zellwegger comes off ok, irons also doing his dastardly deeds to great affect, some good moments throughout, action and drama combined, and yet again proof the western isnt dead

two brothers growing up in italy and 2two diferent brothers they are, one all for the goverment ways, the other against it, and women that will get in the way, a good little drama, showing a time, where vhange was happening in italy, which is a big part of the story, and how brothers survive not just family politics but political, a good and engageing story

chiller from spain, a son disapears and the mother has thoughts about the house, that was a former prphanage, has something to do with his disapearence, some nice moments and touches throughout, and a few genuinly creepy mments

dont miss the first 5 minutes of this, fake trailors doing the business, then with a slow start, things dont look good, downey juniors, and blacks charactors dont seem to work, at first, but then it all fits into place, stiller does his still stiler thing, which i love, a great coogan early role, and tom cruise doing a exellent supporting part, think of his turn in magnolia crossed with, his lions for lambs charactor, as i said, junior bounces back, hes so great, and the group are great together, but for me it is stillers show, from his simple jack, to his observations, some say it went stae years ago,,i dont, some exellent set pieces, and a film taking the piss out of holywood and a list stars, as a bunch of pre madonnas, the plot agroup of actors thinking there not in danger, works , but knows when to drop it, a great big action comedy, full of fun

phoenix is a father who loses his young son in a hit and run by driver and also a father played by ruffalo, torn with guilt, but decides not to go to the police, but is later brought back into events when, phoenix goes to his lawyer firm for help in speeding up process, while phoenix's loss comes down on him ad his wife, ad cant understand how justice works, both leads do a fine job, ruffalo, being the guy with guilt wrapped around him, and phoenix, as the father suffering a loss, a good story, nothing grounbreaking, seen before in films like in the bed room, and the crossing guard, which are quite similer iin theme, a good solid drama

would a dictatership work in todays germany, thats the question put to high school kids in gemany, and are given a