The Beat That My Heart Skipped. Jacques Audiard (Director). Artifical Eye (2005)

This is a very engaging drama that darts away from the expectations it sets up in a very satisfactory fashion. Thomas Seyer (Romain Duris) is a violent real estate broker, willing to resort to extreme methods to remove tenants from property and keeping them out. When he is offered the opportunity to audition as a concert pianist for his late mother's manager he comes into conflict with his father and his partners. His father (Niels Arestrup) is in the same business as Thomas, he wants Thomas to recover a debt he is owed by a Russian gangster, Minskov (Anton Yakovlev). Thomas's partners are unhappy with his being distracted by the music. The film juggles the two threads of the story with care, capturing Thomas's increasing frustration and impatience with his musical progress. The reveals are cleverly staged and the film builds to a savage,surprising and very satisfying conclusion.
Romain Duris is superb in the lead role, he has a ferocious charisma full of tightly wound and barely controlled energy. The conflict between the grip of the obligations of the present to his father and his partners and the possibility of a new life via music is vividly conveyed in his performance.
Niels Arestrup gives an equally outstanding performance of waning force and power, dependant on the son he loves while being a touch resentful of it. He wants Thomas to stick to the business as he needs him to help, the music is both a distraction and an unwelcome reminder of Thomas's mother. Linh Dan Pham delivers in a savagely difficult and unforgiving role with subtle dignity and care, she plays Miao Lin, the non-French speaking piano coach Thomas's hires to help him prepare for the audition.
The whole film has a taut atmosphere that never gives way, a great structure that brings the cast together in unexpected and engaging ways and delivers a great payoff, intriguing and very enjoyable.

Out of the Past. Director: Jacques Tourneur. RKO Radio Pictures (1947)

A superb film noir with a great cast, cleverly constructed plot and a bruised romantic heart. Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) answers a summons from Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), a gambler he had done a job for and had hoped to have left behind. On the journey to see Whit, Bailey tells his girlfriend the story of how he had been a private investigator hired by Whit to find Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), who had robbed and shot Whit. Bailey found Kathie and fell in love with her, their attempt to escape together from Whit had ended very badly and now Whit had found Bailey again. Whit wants Bailey to recover some papers for him, when Bailey finds that Kathie had returned to Whit the job starts to look dangerous. The plot coils and twists thought carefully staged reveals and double-crosses down to the grim climax and nicely ambiguous conclusion.
Robert Mitchum is superb, he has an easy charm and self-awareness about how he landed himself in the situation he finds himself in. He is devoid of self-pity, reacting with a sardonic competence and assurance to the ever increasing danger. Kirk Douglas, with his wide smile and held in rage is smooth and compelling. When the rage is finally unleashed, it is a quiet fury that has a frighteningly sincere intensity to it.
The dark heart of the film is Jane Greer, a sinuous and subtle performance, as a woman who is hell bent on surviving regardless of what she needs to do so. The men in the film are her playthings, none of them have her willingness to take any step necessary. In the last scenes of the film she emerges as truly herself, holding all the cards ands and ready to play them, the power of the moment makes her sparkle like a blood covered diamond. Men are sentimental fools who fall for her lure of romance, the price they pay for this is betrayal and death. The division between the wholesome world of small town America and the bleak urban underworld of Whit and Bailey is cunningly evoked to sharpen the shadows in the story. Unmissable.

Robin Hood. Ridley Scott (Director) Universal Pictures (2010)

A brilliant action film, with a solid story and superb acting from a stunning cast. Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) returns to England to deliver a crown to new king and a message from a dying man to his family. In Nottingham he encounters the man's wife (Cate Blanchett) and is persuaded to impersonate the dead man for a few days. He is drawn into the life at Nottingham as well as national concerns as French soldiers ravage the country in a prelude to an invasion. The ensuing struggle becomes one for freedom from English tyranny as well as French invaders. The story is very well structured and balanced, the set pieces are outstanding and the cast are outstanding.
This is not the classic Robin Hood story arc, it is concerned with how Robin Hood came to be. The story threads are crisp and clear, they weave together very nicely to deliver a strong narrative that firmly sets up Robin hood, the outlaw legend. The film is a joy to watch, the action set pieces are amazing The mixture of close up action and soaring views bring you right into the fighting and provide a understandable context. There is exactly the right balance struck between the necessary dirt to give the feel for the times and the romantic sense of the legend in the making. The story bears the political aspects easily and effectively, they are natural to the story of Robin Hood and are given their correct place here.
Russell Crowe is simply magnificent, he carries off the ferociously competent man of action with a understated macho assertiveness, allied to a subtle and engaging sense of the man looking for a home and his roots. Cate Blanchett is formidable as Lady Marion, married for a week before her husband leaves for 10 years never to return, she has the steely core and expressive charm required. There is a genuine screen chemistry between the two that feels like a meeting of equals that gives the romance real depth and strength.
A hero is defined as much by their enemies as by their actions and in Oscar Isaac's King John, Robin Hood has a suitably formidable and capable enemy. This is a silkily venomous performance, King John is a sincerely dangerous man. This film is a triumph, a joy to watch.

9. Shane Acker (Director). Focus Features (2009)

Brilliantly animated, imaginative story of a post-human world. After a brutal conflict between humanity and insurgent machines, humanity is wiped out. A small creature made from sacking, a zip and some electro-mechanical bits comes to consciousness and sets out to explore the devastated world. Number 9(Elijah Wood) finds another, number 2(Martin Landau) who gives him a voice and when number 2 is kidnapped by a skeletal mechanical cat, a mission. This mission brings him into direct conflict with some others, in particular number 1(Christopher Plummer) who wants to avoid trouble or conflict. 9 leaves with number 5(John C. Reilly) and after being rescued by number 7(Jennifer Connelly), inadvertently resurrects the chief machine. A struggle for survival and the future of the world follows.
Packed with stunning visuals, frequently clever ideas, brilliantly staged action sequences, great characters and a nice touch of bittersweet optimism the film is a treat.The ruined city where the action takes places is astonishingly realised, the ruins and the wreckage are depicted with care and attention, the details give it depth and solidity. They deliberately hark back to the ruins and battlefields of the First World War, the machines have an antique futuristic look that works very well.
The cast of dolls are lively and distinctively individual, the voice talent is superbly matched to the animation to imbued them with real personality. Christopher Plummer gives number 1, the cautious seeker after safety a querulous and honest determination, Jennifer Connelly as the action hero number 7, wearing a bird's skull and never willing to back down for anyone is superb.
That the film shows how a electro-mechanical animated puppet would get high in a credible and funny way as well as creating a genuinely nightmarish mechanical caterpillar and these are just two of the many delights is wonderful. Thoughtful, with the minimum levels of sentimentality, a pleasure.

Solomon Kane . Michael J. Bassett (Director) Epic Tales Ltd (2009)

Superb and enthralling adventure film, anchored by a brilliant central performance, great action and superb storytelling. Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) a reformed pirate is trying to avoid violence in order to keep clear of the devil. He encounters a Puritan family planning on emigrating to America and they find themselves travelling though a devastated landscape. The family are attacked and Kane finds that he has to resume his violent ways to rescue the daughter. The action on the way to the thrilling conclusion is superbly staged, the cast are full of life and the supernatural elements are handled with flair.
The film tells the story of how Solomon Kane became the extraordinary character he is in the stories by Robert E. Howard. There is noting very original in the story of a man forced back to violence to do good, it all lies in the the telling. The film has the strength of mind to take itself and the story seriously, there is no winking at the audience. This gives the film a terrific force and allows the cast to bring their characters to vivid life. The budget has been well spent on the glorious locations and the great sets, the context for the story felt solid and severe.
James Purefoy is simply outstanding as Solomon Kane, convincing in every aspect of the story, the moment when he becomes the terrible Puritan avenger of the Howard stories is signalled with beautiful grace. Pete Postlethwaite as the father of the family Kane encounters on the road is a warm and credible. The villains are exactly as melodramatic as they should be, lead by the masked Overlord (Samuel Roukin), they still have a genuine menace and relish for mayhem.
This is a model of how to make a fantasy film adventure, it mixes the elements with care and attention to detail, catching the spirit of the stories with breathtaking skill. This film is an undiluted pleasure.

The Count of Monte Cristo. Kevin Reynolds (Director). Touchstone Pictures (2002)

A superb swashbuckler,great performances drive a classic story with vigour, wit and passion. Edmond Dantes(Jim Caviezel) is falsely accused and imprisoned in the fearsome Chateau d'If, an island fortress. Here he is brutally treated by the wonderfully sardonic warden, Armand Dorleac(Michael Wincott)and encounters another prisoner, Abbé Faria(Richard Harris). The Abbe agrees to teach Edmond in return for his help in digging an escape tunnel. Dantes does finally escape with the secret to a fabulous treasure and returns to France as the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. He follows his plan to revenge himself upon his accusers and his ex-fiancee. The action is superbly staged, the plot drives at a great pace and the conclusion deeply satisfying.
While Jim Caviezel is better at being the innocent Edmond rather than the driven count he is still worth watching, the real star of the film is Guy Pearce as Fernand Mondego,a man consumed by bitter envy at the way Dantes can enjoy his humble life. Guy Pearce glows with a resentment that creates the emotional context for the film, he is simply astonishing. His final confrontation with the returned Dantes is brilliant, it has a depth of passion and rage that are electrifying.
Richard Harris as the Abbe is clearly enjoying himself and his humour is grimly enjoyable. Michael Wincott is a joy as the mordantly sarcastic warden, he has a relish for his activities that is amusing and horrifying. Dagmara Dominczyk as Mercedès Iguanada, Dantes fiancee who marries Fernand Mondego believing Dantes is dead, is more than a romantic toy. She reveals a very welcome strength and depth of character.
This is a hugely enjoyable film, it takes the classic adventure story and cleverly distills it into crisp romantic tale, a pleasure.

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon. Roy William Neill (Director) Universal (1943)

An enjoyable adventure that picks up very considerably in the second half. Sherlock Holmes is involved in a plan to smuggle a scientist out of Switzerland and away from the the grasp of the Gestapo. The scientist, Dr. Tobel. has developed a bomb sight that is of great accuracy and therefore value to the Germans and the British. Dr Tobel makes plans to control the manufacture of the bomb sight and then is kidnapped. Sherlock Holmes has to rescue him from the grip of Professor James Moriarty, the action is great fun, the clues are clever and the resolution very satisfying.
The opening sections of the film are weighed down by the propaganda aspects to the story, they are too much to the foreground. After Dt Tobel(William Post Jr.) is kidnapped and Professor James Moriarty(Lionel Atwill) enters the story the film picks up greatly. The personal battle between Sherlock Holmes(Basil Rathbone) and Moriarty is made clear and this give the film a considerable tension and dramatic edge.
The use of the Dancing Men code is a fun aspect to the story and the action sequences are wonderfully melodramatic. Basil Rathbone is a excellent, he has the vigour and barely contained annoyance at the limitations of others captured nicely. Lionell Atwill is superb, his mixture of enjoyment of the challenge represented by Holmes and the desire to be rid of him make their scenes together crackle. The struggle between them is one where victory is proof of intellectual superiority. A very enjoyable film.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Niels Arden Oplev (Director). Momentum Pictures 2010

A gripping and superbly acted thriller that has a light varnish of social and political advocacy over a brutally enjoyable plot. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist(Michael Nyqvist) is asked to investigate the decades old disappearance of the member of a powerful industrial dynasty. He encounters Lisbeth Salander(Noomi Rapace) a semi-socialised hacker and they continue the investigation together. The story develops nicely with horrific secrets and crimes being uncovered. The action is superbly staged, the reveals are cleverly done and the plot resolved neatly.
This film is saturated with sexual violence, there are three explicit rape scenes which are far more concerned with force and power than sex, the plot is explicitly concerned with sexual violence. It does lack the subtle victimisation of the female cast that so often accompanies such violence, the female cast are notably independent and capable.
This really is two stories loosely tied together, there is the investigation of the disappearance and the murderous secrets that lie behind it. This is a grimly efficient thriller that makes the most of a not terribly original plot with superb acting, terrific pacing and brilliantly engineered tension. The second story is that of Lisbeth Salander, Noomi Rapace is astonishing as the she shows the carefully guarded venerability and steely strength of the character. The most significant gap in the film is the link between both stories, it is explicitly raised and then ignored in the film.
What the film lacks in cohesion it more than makes up for in engaging drama, vivid storytelling and a simmering rage at the abuse of power. Strongly recommended.

Robots. Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha (Directors). 20th Century Fox (2005).

This is a brilliantly designed and very funny film. Rodney Copperbottom(Ewan McGregor), is an idealistic young inventor who leaves his home to travel to Robot City to present his invention to Big Steel(Mel Brooks). When Rodney arrives at Big Steel Industries he finds that there has been a change of management and policy. Ratchet(Greg Kinnear) is running the company and no longer produces spare parts so robots can be repaired, upgrades only will be the business. Rodney ends up meeting a bunch of misfit robots and with their help uncovers a sinister plot. The story continues exactly as expected,it really is just an excuse for plenty of excellent jokes and fantastic animation.
The slim story is given as much attention as it can reasonably bear, the struggle between the out-moded robots and the villainous corporate schemers is done with zest and sentimentality is kept to the genre required minimum. A considerable effort is made to give Rodney some class of a personality that extends beyond "pure hearted hero", he remains the weakest aspect to the story other than corporate big wig with a heart of gold, Cappy(Halle Berry).
With he rest of the cast and in particular, Robot City itself, the creators unleashed a torrent of brilliant and imaginative design ideas and flowing, colourful animation. The cross town express on which Rodney and Fender(Robin Williams) cross the city is a stunning sequence of Mouse Trap style set of connections that is a kinetic joy to watch. The styles of the various robots are beautifully realised and the possibilities inherent in their various forms are fully realised. The jokes are fast and furious enough, nicely balanced with visual and verbal cracks, to keep the dead weight of the plot at bay. This is a wonderfully exuberant film, superbly and wittily animated, a pleasure.

Sherlock Holmes Double Bill: Spider Woman (1944) & The Pearl of Death (1943). Universal Pictures.

These are two of the films from the series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson and both are very enjoyable. In the Spider Woman a series of "Pyjama" suicides occurs in London, Holmes suspects that they are in fact artfully concealed murders. His investigations lead him to Adrea Spedding, a wonderfully competent villain played by Gale Sondergaard. With elements taken from a wide range of stories this is a nicely convoluted story and a great climax at a fun fair. The source for the Pearl of Death is The Six Napoleons and the plot from that story is nicely nestled with another story about a very elusive and murderous master criminal. The plot is straightforward and the momentum is nicely maintained throughout, the final unveiling of the monstrous Hoxton Creeper is very well staged and remains enjoyably horrifying.
Basil Rathbone is superb as Sherlock Holmes, he is arrogant and autocratic in his manner, he has the restless energy required for the part. There is a wonderful verbal duel in the Spider Woman between Sherlock Holmes and Adrea Spedding where the unspoken conversation is as thrilling as the audible one. The fact that the villain in each film is competent and ruthless enough to present a genuine threat to Sherlock Holmes is one of the major pleasures of the films, the end is never in doubt, the journey is great fun.
Nigel Bruce is wonderful as Dr. Watson, he is bluff, hearty and just a bit slow on the uptake,without ever being simply comic relief. With excellent extras this DVD is a treat.

Jar City. Baltasar Kormakur. Blue Eyes Production (2007)

A gripping and grim murder story set in Iceland. A man is found dead in a basement flat. The investigation lead by Inspector Erlendur(Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson) follows a trail that leads to a decades old rape and police corruption as well as the Icelandic gene mapping project. The resolution of the story is as bleak as the extraordinary landscape of Iceland, the sins of the fathers are truly visited upon their children.
Among the numerous virtues of this film is the tightly wound script, the plot has been carefully structured so that the various elements reveal themselves in very effective fashion and the threads tie up tightly. The action is not plot bound however, the cast are tremendous and the action flows very naturally around them. Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson is the central figure in the film, a dourly effective police inspector with a troubled relationship with his drug addict daughter. He avoids being a walking cliche by the depth and force of his performance, the rest of the cast are excellent also.
The Icelandic setting is used to tremendous effect within the film, the soaring shots of the landscape are stark and beautiful, they capture the lack of sentimentality in the film. There are difficult family relationships at the heart of the action and they are depicted with care and feeling so that they ring true, shot through with an awkward restraint that that underscore the tension much more than shouting would do. An intelligent film that takes the viewer seriously, a treat.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. John Irvin. BBC Worldwide (1979)

Superb spy drama with a top notch cast. George Smiley was retired from British Intelligence on the foot of a failed operation to identify a traitor and has been asked to conduct an investigation when it becomes clear that there probably is one. Smiley starts to trace back through the recent history of the service and the details of the failed operation and he slowly uncovers an a deeply rooted conspiracy. The series unfolds at a steady pace, it grips like a python and builds to a bitterly satisfying conclusion.
Alec Guinness as George Smiley leads the superb cast as the brilliant spymaster whose investigation brings him face to face with the greatest failures of his own life. His mild and modest demeanour hides a steely intention to locate his enemy and rescues his beloved service from a traitor. Alec Guinness is masterly as a man who is supremely competent as a spy and so uncertain outside of that role. He does not dominate the series as the rest of the cast are also superb, from Hywel Bennett as the man who starts the process, Anthony Bate as the senior Civil Servant who is trying to control the mess before it becomes too widespread, among others.
The shabby exhaustion of the 1970s is captured beautifully, the Cold War was in full force and there was a sense of decline and wasting at large. This is a gripping portrait of a world where deceit and treachery are the tools of the trade and brutal bureaucracy of professional spying. Televion drama of the highest order.

IL DIVO. Paolo Sorrentino. Artificial Eye. (2008)

Paolo Sorrentino has directed a sophisticated, complex, gripping film from a very unlikely material, a study of the Giulio Andreotti, seven time Italian Premier, in the early 1990's when Italy was rocked by Mafia trials and the exposure of extensive political and civil corruption. The film focuses on the final period of Andreotti's political life as allegations of corruption and alliances with the Mafia were laid against him. The kidnap and murder by the Red Brigade of former premier Aldo Moro is a significant thread in the film. The focus of the film is Giulio Andreotti himself, while the context of political violence is shown, the weight of the film is a extensive character study of a bureaucrat who actions were secretive and intentionally low key.

The film is anchored by a subtle, perfectly timed performance by Toni Servillo as Andreotti, his hunch backed gait, slightly reptilian looks and closed demeanour are invested with a burning, secretive life. It is never entirely clear what Andreotti is thinking, he used his lack of responsiveness and closed attitude as a weapon to manage others, they rushed to fill the void he left open and then they were within his power. The supporting cast are all excellent, in particular the two most significant women in Andreotti's life, Anna Bonaiuto as Livia his wife and Piera Degli Esposti as Mrs. Enea his secretary. These women reveal more about Andreotti than he ever does himself.

The film is marvelously constructed, the mobile camerawork and the subtle lighting are as much characters as the human cast. The cinematic techniques are delivered with a flourish, they are not held back, they create the style of the film clearly and flamboyantly. This adds hugely to the pleasure of the film, it has been constructed with such a forceful intelligence that the the whole is deeply satisfying cinematic experience. It is impossible to imagine this as anything other than a film, simply glorious.

The Wrong Man. Alfred Hitchcock. Warner Brothers(1956)

A low key and gripping thriller based on a true story of mistaken identity. Manny Balestrero, a musican at the Stork Club in New York, is mistakenly identified as a man who has committed a number of armed robberies. He finds himself enmeshed in the criminal justice system and trying to prove his innocence is very difficult. Manny and his family come under tremendous pressure as he faces the very real possibility of being convicted for a crimes he did not commit. The film is deliberately low key, the story is very straightforward and deeply involving.

Alfred Hitchcock chose a documentary style for the picture and it works very well. The ordinary life of Manny Balestrero is established before events overtake it. Hitchcock creates an extraordinary sense of dislocation as Manny is drawn into the criminal justice process and feels himself helpless in the face of it and unable to understand how he could be in the situation. Henry Fonda gives a powerful performance as Manny, he is subtle and restrained, at the mercy of forces he cannot understand and trying to make sense of his situation. He is superb as an ordinary man who rages quietly against his powerlessness. Vera Miles as Manny's wife Rose is astonishing, the savage impact the situation has on her is developed with great skill. Rose's breakdown comes without melodrama, it has a fierce intensity and profound despair that ring true.

Alfred Hitchcock saw that the terrible aspect to the situation was that everyone involved was acting in the best of faith, the witnesses who identified Manny were sure it was him, the police had a very credible case, Manny's alibis for the relevant times were frail. The absence of malice and the strong probability that Manny would be convicted give the film tremendous dramatic force, which Hitchcock frames with trademark visual skill and panache. This is a great film, a superb cast giving powerful performances under the masterful direction of a true cinematic genius.

Babette's Feast. Gabriel Axel (Director. MGM (1987)

A wonderful film about faith, love, art, memory and food. On a desolate coast of Denmark a small village includes the aging congregation of a sect founded by a pastor whose two daughters carry on his mission. A Frenchwoman arrives on their doorstep, fleeing chaos and possible death in Paris and Babette becomes their servant. Babette's sole link to Paris is a lottery ticket and when she wins 10,000 francs on the lottery the daughter's permission to cook a meal for them on the centenary of their father's birth. This meal becomes an opportunity for memory, love, faith and art to be celebrated, confirmed and cherished.
This film radiates a belief in the possibility of joy and love without ever being false or sentimental. The grim life of the villagers is not glossed over, the petty rivalries of the aging congregation are aired without reducing anyone to caricature. The flashbacks to the younger years of the two daughters where they choose to stay with their father instead of leaving with men who loved them are wonderfully done and do not diminish the daughters.

The meal that is at the heart of the film is a wonder, the exquisite food that slowly mellows the congregation into companionship, that gives the chance for one of the daughter's suitors to return and make peace with her and memory is never forced. The simple pleasure of eating, the extraordinary artistry of cooking and creating the feast are allowed to emerge naturally and effectively.The cast are wonderful, Stephane Audran as Babette and Bodil Kjer and Brigitte Federspiel as the sisters Filippa and Martine are flawless. They give quiet roles depth and dignity and allow the rest of the cast to be more forward and overtly expressive. This film is a remarkable achievement, as much a feast for the viewer as it is for the cast.

Tokyo Godfathers. DVD (2003)

Gorgeous animation and a story that has the perfect balance of action, drama and warm hearted sentiment combine to create a wonderful, touching film. A makeshift family of homeless people, Gin, Hanna a melodramatic gay man and Miyuyi a runaway teenager, find an abandoned infant on Christmas Eve. The three start on a journey to find the baby's parents and return the child to them. In the course of this they find themselves confronting their own past decisions that lead them to their current situation. The reveals are very nicely paced, the action sequences are superbly staged and the conclusion is hard won and very satisfying.

The trio at the heart of the film are wonderfully developed characters, they argue and fight and look out for each other. The story is full of twists and sharp moments that capture the pressures of poverty and homeless living, Gin is brutally assaulted by some young men who are "cleaning up" for the New Year. The reasons that each of the trio are homeless are sad and ordinary, their humanity burns brightly and they find that bridges have not been burned after all.

The animation is joyous, the cityscape's are full of life and colour, they give a great context to the story. The character work is outstanding, each cast member is given a clear individuality and life, in particular the wonderfully, flamboyantly melodramatic Hanna is given extraordinary mobility and expressiveness. This film is a gem and should not be missed.

3:10 To Yuma. Columbia Pictures (1957). DVD

A classic Western, tense and gripping. Glen Ford plays an outlaw, Ben Wade, who is captured pretty much by accident by Van Heflin, playing rancher Dan Evans. A plan is hatched to move Ben Wade to a nearby town to wait for the 3:10 Yuma train to take Ben Wade to the jail in Yuma. Dan Evans takes the lead in transporting and guarding Ben Wade for the bounty on offer. The battle of wills between Ben Wade and Dan Evans as they wait in a hotel room for the train and Wade's gang arrive in town and act to free their leader is the heart of the film. The action is sparse and forceful, the tension is developed steadily as the time to the train departure draws closer. The conclusion is satisfying and truthful.

Glen Ford gives an extraordinary performance in this film, Ben Wade is highly intelligent, he is an outlaw because he wants to be, he enjoys it. From the opening scenes it is clear that he is a dangerous killer, he also commands the devotion as well as the loyalty of his men. He charms a bar girl (Felicia Farr) by actually seeing her as the woman she is rather than the job she is doing. His battle with Van Heflin is conducted with words and a deeply cruel insight into the character of his prison guard. He is fantastically dangerous and is deliberately, politely destructive.

Van Heflin gives an equally amazing performance, he has a significantly harder role to fill. He is an downtrodden everyman who takes on a job out of desperation and finds that he has a wolf by the ears. The blows that Ben Wade land on him do not break him, rather they forge him into a man who sees that what was just a job has become a duty and in deciding to do his duty Dan Evans becomes himself, a better man. This ability to make a good man watchable and interesting, to make his struggle not be sentimental nor stupidly noble, just a matter of fact acceptance of what needs to be done provides a steel core to Van Heflin's performance. It gives depth and strength to the battle with Ben Wade and gives a what is essentially a chamber piece force, tension and conviction. This film is compelling and gripping, a must see.

Assault on Precinct 13. Rogue Pictures (2005)

A tense and compact thriller that makes the most of its plot and cast. Sgt. Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), who is recovering from an undercover operation that went horribly wrong, is shutting down an old police precinct station house on New Year's Eve, when a bus taking prisoners to jail gets diverted to the station due to a snowstorm. One of the prisoners is Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), a leading gangster who has just killed a police officer. The precinct comes under siege by a group who want to kill Bishop and anyone else who gets in the way. The film makes the most of the elements it has, the restricted space in the precinct, the need for the prisoners and the police to uneasily cooperate against the external attackers, the escalating nature of the siege and the snowstorm itself. The deft screenplay gives prominence to character development of the cast within the precinct and this gives the situation its force and weight.

Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne are introduced in very well set up sequences that provide the essential motivation for their later actions in the film and gives depth to their desperate alliance. The rest of the cast trapped within the precinct, while essentially secondary, are given enough space and development to be engaging and provide some humour. Gabriel Byrne has the thankless task of proving a human face for the forces laying siege to the precinct. He does his best, the problem is that there is simply no dramatic need for him to be distinct, he just needs to be relentless, he does convey that very well.

This unpretentious thriller with tremendous performances from Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne in particular, the whole cast are excellent, achieves it aims with wit and confidence. Well worth seeking out.

The Sign of Four. (DVD) ILC DVD. (2000)

This is a very enjoyable version of the Sherlock Holmes story, it sticks pretty much to the original story, the variations are nicely done and add to the drama. Sherlock Holmes, portrayed with great skill and humanity by Ian Richardson, finds himself involved in a murderous plot centering around a stolen hoard of jewels and revenge. The plot is nicely paced and the reveals are well done. The deductive set pieces by Holmes are very nicely done, they include one of the most famous in the series, when Holmes makes some observations about an owner of a pocket watch and unwittingly upsets Watson.

Ian Richardson is excellent as Holmes, he captures the excitement that energises Holmes when there is a problem to be solved as well as his uneasiness with non-professional human relationships. His interactions with the police force, who are portrayed as settling for the easiest solution are explored with a nice light touch. Cheri Lunghi, playing Mary Morstan, has a tricky role to pull off, she is a damsel in distress and is largely required to be ornamental, she manages to infuse the role with warmth and depth. As with any Holmes adaptation the most difficult role to carry of is that of John Watson, he is all too frequently reduced to an idiot foil to Holmes, existing to reflect Holmes brilliance. David Healy provides a splendid Watson, his friendship with Holmes is evident as is his interest in their client and future wife, Mary Morstan. His performance makes it easy to see how the friendship between himself and Holmes could exist and flourish. All told, this is a very pleasant treat for any Holmes fan and equally good fun for anyone.

Die Hard Quadrilogy. Twentieth Century Fox . DVD.

A great collection of non-costumed superhero films that combine absurd action, smart humour and carefully crafted tension into a terrific package. These films wear their formula with pride, there is no attempt to disguise it or to update it. They solve the problem that superhero comics struggle with, how do you stick to the basic premise yet manage to provide enough fresh details so that the stories satisfy expectations and are crisp and fresh at the same time. These films also show just how hard that is to do also, none of them are less than really enjoyable, the first and the last are significantly more so than the second and third, the reasons are to do with getting the formula balance correct.

The plot is the same in all four outings, John McClane, a New York policeman finds himself entangled in an ambitious plot by a vicious supervillian and engages in an escalating series of encounters up to an final personal face off. McClane is a reluctant hero, dragged into these situations by chance and having a personal stake in the affair, usually involving a family member being in danger. The action will be loud, very fast, extremely violent and underpinned by a sharp humour. McClane will survive physical pummeling that would reduce any normal human to a bag of mangled bones and charred skin, he will look as though he has been trough the mill however. The supervillians will be truly despicable, nearly operatic in their evil, armed with scorn and savage will they use technology and with to drive their plots, which are always satisfying elaborate.

The second outing lacked the direct confrontations between McClane and the villain that add a key personal element to the contest between them, the third lacked the family element that adds directly to the urgency McClane feels about stopping the villain, the first and fourth films get the balance spot on. Bruce Willis is a charismatic action hero, frequently down, never out, success is always just ahead of failure. The action is always huge and beautifully choreographed, the plots are stoutly constructed, the reveals satisfying and substantial. Best of all there is not a single trace of irony to be seen in any of the films, they take themselves seriously enough to allow the audience enjoy the high energy absurdity to the full. Undiluted fun.