Happy Feet (2006)

Aside from the rather sappy premise that each penguin has a ‘heart song’ with which they express their inner self and find love, this film has a good message to promote to its young viewers and a few laughs too. Showing environmental issues, in this case over-fishing, from the penguin point of view, we get a cute and cuddly socio-political comic drama.

Mumbo is a penguin without a ‘heart song’. A result of an accident while he was still an egg, Mumbo is instead an excellent tap dancer. Nevertheless, he is rejected by society and blamed for the recent lack of fish. Cast out, he befriends another group of penguins (with Hispanic accents for some reason) and begins to learn of aliens from beyond the ice, who he believes have taken the fish. Determined to solve the fish problem and return to his community (and the penguin he loves – the beautiful Gloria), Mumbo and his friends go on an adventure to find the aliens, who are, of course, us!

What follows is a debate on the attention we should give to other creatures, and the responsibility we have to live alongside them without threatening their lifestyles. Mumbo attracts the attention of the humans with his dancing and soon the make changes, but the message of the film is that we can’t afford to wait for the animals to come to us with some remarkable skill to make us value them – it simply won’t happen – but instead we must constantly bear their needs in mind or risk the extinction of thousands of species whose lives support our own existence in different ways.

The Wedding Singer (1998)

Ordinarily I find Adam Sandler a bit annoying, and immature, but when paired with Drew Barrymore (who I also find quite irritating), they somehow produce some of the only romantic comedies I enjoy. Most recently there was ‘50 First Dates’ but their earlier effort was ‘The Wedding Singer’, set in 1985 around the world of matrimony and producing many laughs and sweet-hearted moments.

As soon as love interest in introduced, Sandler’s characters grow up and become charming, as opposed to the grotesque simpletons of ‘Waterboy’ and ‘Little Nicky’. Barrymore’s similar sweetness is a nice compliment and the two make very nice, pleasant, slightly cheesy romances.

Here, Sandler is a wedding singer, providing entertainment for all the weddings in the local area and soon to be married to his high school sweetheart. Barrymore is working as a waitress and looking forward to her own wedding to a bigoted city worker. When Sandler’s bride fails to show, unable to accept his ‘failure’ as just a wedding singer, he is destroyed, but through the friendship of Barrymore he starts to put his life back together and the two draw closer, until – naturally – they fall in love. It’s a simple plot and the humour is often simple too, it’s just that everything is so nice and heartwarming. I’m not sure I could even say why I like this film…perhaps it’s the classic 80s soundtrack or the cameos from Sandler regulars, or maybe it because deep down I like to see two decent people fall in love just as much as the next man.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

I never particularly liked this film but I thought it was alright – an interesting insight to the world of sports agents and an interesting kind of romance to boot. Watching the film now it’s a disappointing romantic comedy with a tacky message of soul-searching and selflessness thrown in.

I’ll admit Maguire’s character is interesting. A man who makes a living from projecting the idea that everything he does is for his client’s benefit when really he is seeking to run his own business as successfully as possible. It takes the love of a simple woman and the needs of a demanding but talented football player for him to realise a little generosity and compassion. Unfortunately, the film shies away from this and makes it just about a guy who can’t be alone, who loves his business because he gets to schmooze and know every face in the room, and who will do anything to keep a woman at his side.

There are memorable moments: “Show me the money!”, “You had me at hello”, or even singing ‘Freefalling’ at the top of your lungs in the car (as I have done in the past), but none of these are particularly great moments. There is a good early performance from Renee Zellweger, before she went weird and skinny. Cuba Gooding Jr got an Oscar for his exuberant turn but Tom Cruise is just irritating and unlikeable, coming across as smug even when he’s supposed to have had his eyes opened.

Half Nelson (2006)

An independent American film that doesn’t fall into the usual trap of sentimentality or showy-off visuals, this is actually a touching and superbly acted (and directed) tale of a teacher and student, although rather than being your usual inspirational motivator, this teacher is actually a drug addict, and the student is being groomed as a dealer. The film refuses, however, to get drawn into the drama of the situation and remains intelligent and sensitive throughout. Ryan Gosling is excellent and should be watched for the future.

Persepolis (2008)

People often acclaim films that can make you laugh and cry within minutes of each other; if that’s a sign of cinematic success then ‘Persepolis’ must be one of the best films of recent years. The animated story of Marjan, an Iranian girl growing up through the Revolution, the onset of religious extremism, and her subsequent personal traumas, ‘Persepolis’ is touching, tender and, at times, terrifying.

Based on real events, the film is adapted from Marjan Satrapi autobiographical graphic novels, but where ‘Sin City’ portrayed comic book violence and vulgar sexual misogyny, ‘Persepolis’ presents a more stylised and harrowing reality. The fact that the film is animated has the opposite effect of suspending our belief, instead giving the impression that the truth is too unreal to dramatise. The style of the film is often expressionistic and through this we are able to interpret the emotional turmoil that Marjan experiences, both on a national and personal scale. This also brings lots of humour as we go through puberty with her, experience first (and disappointing) love, and her small rebellions against the system.

Surprisingly, there are also a lot of laughs that arise from the unthinkable situation the Iranians find themselves in after the Revolution. Most memorably, Marjan’s trip down back alleys to buy cassettes of rock music from shady dealers who whisper out band names like Class-A drugs (“Jichael Mackson?”). The film also shows the subtlety with which the system works – at moments I let myself think, “This isn’t too bad, they just have to be respectable in public and not draw attention to themselves”, but then when armed police officers arrive at a flat to break up a party and the young people are so terrified they race across the rooftops (resulting in one of them plunging to their death), suddenly you realise this is an absurd and unfair society to exist in.

Satrapi is an interesting character to follow in this situation. She had relatives connected to the uprising, persecuted by the governments both before and after the Revolution. She had a chance to escape and spend some time abroad but failed to appreciate the freedom she had until she arrived home again. She got married too young simply so she could be alone with her boyfriend. And she has both obeyed and disobeyed the law, as she goes through her journey of self-realisation. It is important to remember, however, her own bias in the story of Iran, and the ease with which we can judge them in the West. The Revolution occurred because the Shah was mistreating citizens and the subsequent elections saw the empowerment of the Islamic Party with 99% of the votes (mostly from uneducated, poor, rural communities). The Islamic Party may have turned into a worse dictatorship than the Shah but it was also the people’s choice and Marjan finds herself rubbing up against other citizens just as much as the authorities. Perhaps the best place for her, personally, is in Europe, where she has now settled, but there are many who prefer the rules and regulations of Iranian society.

Aside from the politics, this is a moving and empowering film, as Marjan seeks to take control of her life and her possibilities, outraged by the inequality and lack of understanding levelled at her in Iran. Sadly, she has to leave, and leave her family and friends, to be able to realise this.

Casablanca (1942)

Not much needs to be said about this film, which is easily amongst the most famous, critically acclaimed and commercially adored movies of all time. The story may be slightly confusing, following several characters as they pass through Casablanca trying to escape to America from the Nazis who reluctantly have no authority, but the charm and romance of it all transcend the surrounding complexities, personified by Humphrey Bogart’s Rick.

The film may be one of the most quotable ever (“Here’s looking at you kid”, “Of all the gin joints in all the world”, “Play it Sam”, etc.) but when Bogart speaks them in his effortless drawl they become throwaway lines for one of the coolest cats ever to appear onscreen. Whilst all around him lose their heads, Rick can not be stirred – until the arrival of a woman from his past (Ingrid Bergman) and her insurgent husband.

It is this old romance that forms the core of the film but it’s also the flashbacks to their blossoming love in Paris that appear the most forced, and badly dated, moments of an otherwise classic film. Every other character to appear in the film is a result of the political context in which the film is set and the romance threatens to be a distraction from the real story. In a way it is, as Rick overcomes his feelings of betrayal and jealousy and returns to ‘the fight’, no longer apathetic and filled with regret.

It’s a film everyone should see at some point. Inevitably it can’t live up to the high status afforded it, just as most people won’t understand why ‘Citizen Kane’ is considered the greatest film of all time, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable and extremely cool classic.

Comizi d'amore (Love Meetings, 1965)

Setting himself the task of documenting an entire nation’s sexual attitudes, Pasolini travelled the length of Italy and interviewed workers, intellectuals, celebrities and children for their opinions on sexual liberation, gender equality, marriage, prostitution, love and abnormal appetites. More than just hearing people talk about sex, the result was a dissection of Italian society, revealing prejudices, desires and fears at a time when there were large divides forming between generations in the aftermath of the Second World War.

The results are surprising, often producing a uniform response from very different areas of society on varied subjects, from the opening section of young boys describing the various ways in which they imagine babies to be born, to Neapolitan men debating why it is important for them to have cheap prostitutes. The females are probably the most revelatory, from young girls unaware that they're not given the same opportunities as boys, to women who encourage it. At one point there is a very voluptuous and desirable woman discussing her fear of sexuality, whilst the men try to appear macho in front of their friends by dismissing "queers" and using crude language.

The general impression is, unsurprisingly, very Italian, featuring particular ideas unique to the Italian culture. In the UK, for example, prostitutes do occupy a recognised position within a community and we certainly do not discuss the importance of visiting them. Alternatively, we have a much more relaxed attitude towards divorce than the predominantly Catholic population of Italy, especially in the poor, working class South.

Undoubtedly attitudes will have changed in Italy today but the film serves as an excellent portrait of a specific time and place, going beyond mere historical detail to capture the thoughts of ordinary people. It may only appeal to those with an interest in Italy or Pasolini but the film is about so much more than just the people in the film – it evokes a period that can never be relived and the moods that defined that period, much like Morin and Rouch's 'Chronique d'un été' in Paris. I’m only jealous that we have nothing similar in the UK.

Further proof, for me at least, that Pasolini’s early work was enough to cement his reputation and perhaps excuse his more impenetrable and whimsical films in later life.

La Nina Santa (The Holy Girl, 2004)

A rather confused and strange story about a convention of doctors in a hotel, and one in particular with whom the mother flirts and whose soul the religious daughter attempts to save after he gropes her. It doesn’t really work but there are several moments of cinematic invention that suggest the director could do better with other material.

Santa Sangre (Holy Blood, 1989)

Alejandro Jodorowsky (or however he chose to spell his name at any one point of his life) is enjoying a slight renaissance after the belated DVD release of his 'masterpieces' 'El Topo' and 'The Holy Mountain'. One thing for certain is that he produces highly original, unique cinematic experiences full of both high culture and crude exploitation. I would also go so far as to say he has no real understanding of cinema and his films are more experiments by a man who elsewhere has enjoyed success in theatre, mime, music, tarot cards and comic books.

I can appreciate moments of brilliance in both 'El Topo' and 'The Holy Mountain', although ultimately they are self-indulgent, incomprehensible and perhaps a little pretentious. With 'Santa Sangre', however, Jodorowsky opted for fairly striaghtforward shock-horror, albeit with many fairly bizarre components. As with all his films, we join the action with the feeling that we've already missed something. Thrown into the midst of a confusing narrative we spend the early moments trying to find our feet - in this case in a circus, where the heroes father is the main act and his mother is for some reason the leader of a religious cult whose headquarters have just been destroyed. At this point, the hero, Fenix, is portrayed by Adan Jodorowsky, the director's son, whilst the grown-up Fenix is played by Axel, an older son, both looking extremely like Alejandro himself!

Essentially the film becomes about showcasing Axel excellent mime abilities, when he becomes his mother's arms (after they were cut off by his angry father), seemingly possessing him and causing him to kill women. Unfortunately, it's at this point that the film just becomes stupid, without the deeper, more optimistic message contained within the earlier films. To a certain extent, this could be seen as Jodorowsky's commercial film, although one he was able to fully express himself with. I certainly think he's worth looking at but avoid this one, and take the others with a pinch of salt.

Jeder fur sich und Gott gegen alle (The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, 1974)

Herzog’s fantastically subtle satire on intellectualism and arrogance features the true story of a young man discovered in a village unable to talk or even walk properly, having spent his whole life looked in a cell by a mysterious man. His subsequent education at the hands of the townsfolk reveals the wisdom of naivety, as well as tugging at the heartstrings.

La Mome (La Vie En Rose, 2007)

This film on the life of Edith Piaf easily falls into the recent genre of musician biopics, and could just as easily feature Johnny Cash or Ray Charles – only its French. So we get the difficult childhood, complicated relationship with a parent, struggle for recognition, drug addiction, extra-marital love, all with an Oscar-worthy performance from Marion Cotillard – except her’s is truly amazing.

Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

Thanks to his roles in Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford will go down in the record books for being the highest grossing actor of all time. But that is a reputation built on franchises and an alliance with the might of the Spielberg/Lucas/Coppola alliance, and not really thanks to a great talent for acting. Not that he’s bad, just that he’s perhaps a little limited in his range.

This romantic comedy, then, is not really his cup of tea, and in the role of a hard-living pilot, Ford spends a lot of his time trying not to be Han Solo. This means more overt comedy, to which Ford isn’t really suited, and an emphasis on the fact that he’s not particularly well endowed with survival instincts. Which is unfortunate because he’s trapped on a desert island.

It’s an old formula and this instalment doesn’t buck the trend too much. I personally know of nobody who has ever been marooned on a desert island and yet it seems to keep happening in the movies, no matter how contrived. So here we get a New York assistant editor for a classy women’s magazine on holiday with her boyfriend but suddenly in a plane crash with the rather unsavoury pilot. Fortunately, it doesn’t take them too long to get on, but also, they don’t instantly fall in love either and the film is probably much more interesting for the fact that there are conflicting interests preventing them from getting stuck in immediately.

That doesn’t stop pirates turning up and spoiling the fun, nor David Schwimmer’s appearance as Ross from ‘Friends’. Everything turns out fine though, when an axe and a saw materialise from somewhere and enable the happy couple to fix their plane and fly to safety.

There’s something about Harrison Ford attempting to be funny that I find uneasy, when it’s more than just a sly wisecrack. Nor is he the most charming leading man and when coupled with the heterosexual appealing but famously homosexual Anne Heche there’s very little hope of any chemistry forming between them. Still, at least it tries, and well done to whoever greenlit this project for the sheer gumption they must possess. ‘African Queen’ is still the best version of this story of opposites being forced into affection through extreme circumstances – don’t waste your time here.

Fata Morgana (1971)

Abstract and experimental, Herzog has once again visited a cinematic and geographical territory that no one else would dare treat upon. In essence, this is a film-poem created from footage filmed around the Sahara desert, with the after thought of ‘aliens’ visiting the planet and trying to understand Earth through the sparsity of Saharan life. The result is dreamlike and alienating, yet extremely intriguing and unique.

Barton Fink (1991)

One of the Coen Brothers’ best films, this is also surprisingly simple, with its dark humour and subtly surreal setting. John Turturro is great as the ambitious but self-obsessed writer, keen to speak for the people, whilst John Goodman cleverly embodies the dark side of the ‘people’, who drags Barton into hell for failing to listen to him.

Children of Men (2006)

One of the most interesting British films of recent years, albeit by a Mexican, this is an ambitious, futuristic and apocalyptic tale told brilliantly with an incredible eye for detail and some very, very bold long takes. Alfonso Cuaron is the perfect example of a director who understands both his story and the capabilities of modern cinema. In some ways a modern Kubrick.

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

A very whimsical romantic comedy that was better received than it deserved to be, especially with the abominable Fiennes in the lead (originally intended for Daniel Day-Lewis when Julia Roberts had hoped to star). This film was a long time in the making and not entirely worth the wait as, essentially, the plot isn’t much unlike any other romantic comedy. Fortunately, Tom Stoppard helped convert the script into a witty, literary in-joke with clever comparisons between ‘then’ and ‘now’, and backed up by many visual gags. Despite the all-star cast, it’s really just a light film for female literature students.

Les clefs de bagnole (The Car Keys, 2003)

Beginning with a series of confrontations with the biggest actors in France, in which the director/star Laurent Baffie attempts to recruit a sidekick for his new movie, this film quickly descends into clichés and visual tricks all centred around the business of making movies.

Whoever Baffie does succeed in hiring he’s completely unknown to me and I get the impression he’s a fairly washed up actor in France – just as Baffie would be known to French audiences for his television work but not to anyone else. Together, the two rather irritating ‘comedians’ travel through space and time all thanks to the convenience of editing. Along the way they tick every box in terms of what a film can contain (even making a list at one point, to ensure everything gets a mention) and also how a film is made, finding humour in the use of inappropriate sound effects, recurring extras and disorientating jump cuts.

To the easily entertained this might be enjoyable but for me it had a similar effect to watching an exhibition by someone who has just decided to be a video artist and has created a piece revolving around a simple parallel montage, ie. they’re nowhere near as clever and innovative as they think they are.

Drowning by Numbers (1988)

In perhaps one of the most meticulous and complex films ever made, director Peter Greenaway displays a perfectionist's eye in this story of three women, all named Cissie Colpitts, who compromise Madgett, their coroner friend, by drowning their husbands. Along the way, we are treated to the repeated use of systems and codes, highly original and impossible games, calcualtions and measurements, all set amongst the breathtaking cinematography of Sasha Vierny that instantly evokes the paintings of Vermeer in their rich colour and composition, and the striking music of Michael Nyman, both uplifting and unsettling.

Like his contemporary, Derek Jarman, Greenaway has made a living from making films that no-one else possibly could. The combination of high art with science and systems is immediately distinctive, and the original vision he has is always perfectly realised in an intriguing mix of genres (usually involving some element of crime or thriller) and a unique visual style. Here that style extends from mise en scene to set design and costume, giving the impression of a reality only just removed from ours.

Whilst the women, a mother and two daughters all aged far apart, represent sexuality and cunning, Madgett and his child assistant Smut are symbolic of order and practicality, no matter how complicated. A third party of investigative friends and relatives, suspicious of the recent deaths, stands as a threat to the games played between the women and Madgett, as they use his sexual weaknesses to their advantage, and the film builds through repetition to an explosive climax - marked by the appearance of the numbers 1 - 100, often accompanying a corpse, as it is Smut's tradition to mark a death with fireworks and a painted number. It has long been a cineaste's test to identify each number and this further represents a game that Greenaway is playing, this time with the audience. As the games grow more complicated we approach the disastrous and deadly climax, which, like everything else in the film, goes beyond our expectations.

Words can't really do justice to such a visual film, and such a visual director. For me, Peter Greenaway is criminally ignored in this country, even by critics who prefer the deceased Jarman. Finding it increasingly difficult to find distribution for his work, Greenaway is becoming ever more experimental and challenging, and isolated from the mainstream, but a visit to his early work (even the short films he made for years before his first feature) is extremely worthwhile, especially as his systems are interweaved from film to film and the best way to appreciate his work is as a whole. 'Drowning by Numbers' was the first of his films I saw and it has always retained a special place in my heart, but I also recommend 'A Zed and Two Noughts', 'A Cook, A Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' and 'The Draughtman's Contract', as well as the shorts 'Dear Phone' and 'A Walk Through H' - each one incredibly distinctive but unmistakably the work of a cinematic genius.

Shine (1996)

I remember seeing this film when I was much younger and being incredibly impressed by it - blown away by the intensity of the story and the performances - and introduced to a type of film I'd never seen before. Watching it again now, having seen many other films since, 'Shine' has lost some of its power but is still undoubtably a fine portrait of a unique and complicated talent. Thankfully, the pianist David Helfgott has never been too famous, so this never strays down the path of polished biopic that we see in 'Walk the Line' and 'Ray'. Instead, this feels much more like an art film, and all the more unusual for being Australian.

The story follows the incredibly gifted young David from childhood to adolescence, consistently pressurised by his loving but strict father into winning every competition and always striving to be the best. It is this relationship that drives the film and makes it so fascinating. His father is incredibly ambitious and yet intensely protective, wishing for his son to be the greatest pianist in the world but refusing to allow anyone else to teach him. His past as an Eastern European Jew during World War Two is never directly referred to but we can see quite plainly that his suffering has caused both this ambition and protection for his son.

The film covers many years, from the boy David to adolescent David (Noah Taylor), who rebels against his father to study at the Royal College of London (where John Gielgud plays his tutor). Here he lives in poverty, unable to care for himself and putting his music before everything else. He may have been disowned by his father but his shadow still looms large and it is the 'unplayable' Rachmaninov symphony his father had always aimed for, that remains David's ultimate goal in piano playing - and his downfall.

The later part of the film sees Geoffrey Rush make his film debut with an Oscar-winning performance as the adult David, driven insane by his obsession and failure to live up to his father's aspirations. For years he hasn't touched a piano and lives in a care home, but thanks to the friendship of several kind women he is gradually reintegrated into society, finds love and marriage, and begins to play again.

The film is easily moving without resorting to sentimentality and the director allows his actors to fully explore their relatively simple characters and unearth the complexities within. The film may have put Geoffrey Rush on the map but he has relatively little screentime and Noah Taylor is equally mesmerising. The real genius here, however, is Armin Mueller-Stalh who gives an absolutely stunning performance as David's father - perfectly encapsulting the brutality and tenderness of his love. It's easy to see how David had been driven to insanity with an overbearing figure he could never please. For me, Mueller-Stahl's performance is one of the greatest in cinema - a simple man unable to see the impossibility of his dreams, and the weight with which they bear down on his son.

This is easily one of the best Australian films ever made, and probably one of the finest 'art' films in the English language. Yet again, I give it a strong recommendation.

Boy A (2007)

To be honest, this is only a TV movie, but it's so excellent I wanted to include it here. Telling the story of a young man released into society after many years in prison for the murder of a girl when he was still a boy (inspired by the release of Jamie Bulger's killers), this film offers a remarkable portrait of an adult discovering the world through the eyes of a child. The story covers the responsibilities of work, first love and sexual awakening, alcohol and drug use, social discomfort and a beautiful surrogate father and son relationship between Jack and his parole officer who helps him reintegrate into society.

The real treat of the film is the performance of Andrew Garfield as Jack, an incredibly sensitive and understated portrayal of a shy but strong-willed young man in a uniquely difficult situation. His performance is a real revelation and I definitely earmark him for a very exciting career in the future. He is supported by equally fine performances from all the cast, particularly Peter Mullan as his case worker, who has his own intriguing side-plot featuring his wayward son and the conflict between his professional role caring for boys and his troubled interactions with his own child.

The direction from John Crowley is great and the film is subtle even during some more slightly forced situations, such as when Jack accidentally takes an Ecstasy pill in a club (a scene which brilliantly captures the anxiety and adrenaline of the moment), or the scenes between the young Jack and his friend, where potential motives for their aggressive behaviour are proposed. I particularly like the scene where the very-much-under-the-influence Jack is dancing in the club - I'm seeing it increasingly more, in 'Beau Travail' or 'Requiem', but a physical dance still works brilliantly at expressing a character's awakening to freedom. Equally, I was impressed by the performances drawn out of the young children discussing very uncomfortable subjects such as anal rape by a sibling. It's dark but very moving and tender and I'm very excited to see what the director does next.

This is certainly one of the best things I've seen on TV in a long, long time and I'd put it up there with 'Nature Boy' as an excellent TV-made exploration of unconventional late adolescence. I've already seen it twice now, and I also hear it's been sold to the States, so hopefully this film will stay around for audiences to continue discovering. I really recommend this film, and also Andrew Garfield - an amazing talent. The film was adapted from a novel by Jonathan Trigell, which I'll definitely be seeking out.

Tess (1979)

Thomas Hardy is, in my opinion, one of the greatest English writers ever, and certainly one of the most cinematic writers, resulting in several excellent adaptations. Alongside Schlesinger's 'Far From the Madding Crowd' and Winterbottom's 'Jude' can be filed Roman Polanski's excellent treatment of 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles'. The stunning story of a poor girl ruined by the discovery that she is descended from a wealthy family, as those around her seek to exploit and abuse her, this is also, I feel, Polanski's most accomplished film.

Shot with a certain sentimentality for the English countryside in the permanent summer sunset of the film, the story soon turns much darker and the epic tale moves to romance, misery, ruin and, finally, a story of lovers on the run. The film couldn't really go wrong with such an excellent tale, but Polanski's direction is superbly subtle here, with a series of distant, long takes allowing the easy pace of rural life to control the film and the rolling hills to consume the story. There's an evocation of Sergio Leone, I felt, in the long moments of silence building to a climax, even if the result is not always so menacing, and combined with the rural setting and 19th century backdrop, Polanski creates a very modern feeling to a period that so easily traps BBC costume dramas, without resorting to modernist film techniques.

The young Natassia Kinski in the lead role performs well, despite a slightly confusing accent that teeters between her native American-German and West Country. The supporting cast maintain a feeling of rural community, with only a few men shining through and affecting Tess' life. The locations play an equally important part and the scene in the fog-enshrouded Stonehenge at the film's end is stunning.

For me, it's certainly one of Polanski's best, although my personal favourite probably remains 'Cul-de-Sac'. It's also one of the best period, literary adaptations, that avoids sentiment but fully communicates literary drama and emotions.

Coyote Ugly (2000)

I'm clearly the wrong audience for a film like this and come to think of it, I don't know why I watched it - a problem that arises when there's nothing but your female housemate's old videos in the flat.

The basic story is of the young and innocent girl, Violet (Piper Perabo) coming to the big city to 'make it' - in this case, as a writer of sappy love songs - but struggles with confidence. Through a life changing experience at a bar, where she is encouraged to dance provocatively on the bar and sing along with the jukebox, she finds her voice and becomes a star. Yeah, I know.

My biggest problem with the film is that by performing at the Coyote Ugly bar, a place where underdressed women dance with one another (occasionally pulling women out of the audience for a preposterously well choreographed line dance) for the pleasure of bellowing men, and are required to appear sexually available but not be, is supposedly good for Violet, and helps her realise her independence. Fortunately her father, John Goodman (I'm so disappointed - nearly as much as with 'The Flintstones') is disgusted by this turn of events and she comes to realise she is wasting her talents there. Nevertheless, the film still ends there, with everyone one big happy family. I just hope young girls don't take the film too seriously and think that by marketing themselves as sexual objects, they will achieve their goals.

There's also, of course, a love story with a genuinely sweet chap who tries to help Violet overcome her stage fright. This, to me, seems much more healthy for her, even if it does produce some terrible songs. The staff at Coyote Ugly don't actually care about her - they just want to make money - so I'm shocked that they become an acceptable surrogate family for her.

It's just a load of rubbish really.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Yes, I did watch this, feeling a sort of fondness for watching some Disney I haven't seen in a while, but then 'Beauty and the Beast' was never one I particularly felt an affinity with, which is odd considering it probably has the most relevance to male audiences.

A lot has been written about the way Disney film install early ideas of femininity in its young audiences, but here I feel the focus is much more on the male characters. We are presented with the Beast, a handsome but arrogant young prince who has been cursed until he can find someone to love him for the goodness within. This means that boys will be shown early on that a good heart is better than being the best. The alternative is Gaston, much more beastly than the Beast, the local strongman and selfstyled hero, who is much admired by women and men alike but is entirely self centred and cruel. Although he is clearly the baddie, his success and standing in the local community is attractive, and his raw masculinity and demonstration of brute strength would be very tempting for boys to try to imitate. Both compete for the love of Belle, a beautiful, dreamy heroine who is capable of seeing beyond facades and showing an interest in true character, of which Gaston is completely void. The other dominant male figure is Belle's father, who may be the most kind and gentle but is ridiculed by the townspeople and cast as too feminine, perhaps, to be taken seriously. Other male figures are the comical and suppressed assistant of Gaston, Lefou, the womanising but kind candlelarbra(!), Lumiere, and the uptight but, again, kindhearted clock(!), Cogsworth. They all present alternative ideas of masculinity and offer alternative amounts of authority, all of which Belle ignores as an independent spirit.

Belle is clearly an admirable role model for young girls: beautiful, friendly, independent, studious, strongwilled, brave, loving and gentle. The pick of the men, however, is not too appealing, and it's unlikely that any girls grew up wanting to marry the Beast. He makes an interesting antihero, whilst Gaston is clearly a bad example, but the way society at large responds to these characters could easily cause a minor dilemma in any young boy looking for a role model.

Or maybe it's just Disney. With a few songs, as usual, but not too many and none particualrly memorable other than the one accompanying the pioneering dance sequence and sung by Angela Lansbury as a teapot. It's nice to go back to the more oldfashioned style of cartoon, but that dance sequence, which made use of computer technology, hinted at the future of Disney films, and the good run of animations from Dreamworks. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

Dans Paris (2006)

A rather self-consciously stylish film, 'Dans Paris' is instantly reminiscent of the Nouvelle Vague and the various cinematic treats therein. We get a straight-to-camera narrative, an impromptu song, a jack-the-lad who just can't help having sex with three women just like that, Paris, and a disjointed plot that reels back and forth in time.

Thanks to the charm of its leads, Romain Duris and Louis Garrel, as two brothers, the film is interesting to watch and rather light-hearted, despite the deep depression that afflicts Duris' character. The pervasive feeling, however, is that the film isn't particularly original nor contemporary - any film that continues along the path of innovation forged by the Nouvelle Vague is ignoring the forty years since that has seen so much change in cinema, and says very little about contemporary society. Director Christophe Honore spoke of his desire to make a distinctly French film, without any particular genre in mind, and whilst he certainly achieved his goal, it does feel a little too much a part of the French tradition. Even Garrel's performance is a carbon copy of Jean-Pierre Leaud in his heyday.

Perhaps in the future, when we look back on this film, I can view it as a part of the Nouvelle Vague, as with 'La Maman et la putain', a definitive Nouvelle Vague film made ten years after it effectively ended. For now, however, I can't help but find it a little contrived, with nothing to say about the times in which it was made, and not as interesting as Honore's edgy 'Ma Mere'.

Zodiac (2007)

Chronicling the investigation that sought to capture the Zodiac killer of 1970s San Francisco, and the role the media played in both fulfilling the killer's fantasies of fame and announcing his crimes to the public, David Fincher's latest film is also his most mature is the handling of its complex film. Evoking films such as 'All The President's Men', 'Zodiac' is among those films seeking to reinvent the politicized films of 1970s Hollywood for the contemporary age. The attention to detail in reenacting the gruesome attacks (from which victims often survived to be haunted for the rest of their lives) is a tribute to the way the film attempts to present exactly what happened without a bias. It gives nothing away to say the case was never solved and whilst Fincher points towards the most likely candidates, their characterisation never goes so far as to present us with a clear-cut villain.

The detail of the investigation, by a journalist (Robert Downey Jr.), a cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and a detective (Mark Ruffalo), is also reminiscent of Kurosawa's 'High and Low', in which every element of a kidnap rescue is revealed to us, as opposed to the Hollywood tradition of only documenting those most exciting moments. 'Zodiac', however, retains the excitement by always emphasisng the tension that arrives from an unknown assailant and the games he plays with those pursuing him - much like Fincher's earlier 'Seven'. The story is told from the different perspectives of the three men, providing us with as much information as possible, but also allowing us to witness the manner in which the case consumes the lives of those unable to resolve the evidence. Each man is affected differently but it's the persistant Gyllenhaal we stick with, and thus stay closer to the case.

The film is successful in involving us with its frustrations, and has the contemporary relevance of a city living in fear that any of them could be next - particularly potent post-9/11. Fincher has revealed a great talent for storytelling and tense drama without the gimmicks of 'Seven' and 'Fight Club', and the fine performances, cinematography and script all play their part in confirming an exciting counter-culture in contemporary Hollywood.