James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart together on the silver screen? How can you lose? Read the rest of this entry »

The term “taut thriller” gets bandied about quite a bit these days, but no film in recent memory deserves the epithet more than the Coen brothers’ latest piece of work, No Country For Old Men. Read the rest of this entry »

Stark thriller about a taciturn man whose humanity and moral strength shines when he’s really tested. This is a tense and slow-simmering tale with an explosive finale. Nicholson is great, in a more understated performance than his more celebrated roles.

Pure class! Don’t expect another Se7en, this is a completely different beast - in a way, a far more mature film - less shocking (although it will shock in parts) and more emotionally involving. Read the rest of this entry »

Bogie playing a hardened crim with a heart of gold? How bad can it be? OK, it may seem kind of a hackneyed attempt at a crime film to modern-day viewers, but that would be an unfair judgement. Read the rest of this entry »

Tough action film from Sam Peckinpah. It doesn’t pull any punches and, like many Peckinpah movies, it portrays women in a pretty weird way. But it’s very exciting and I like how it avoids moralising about the characters - it’s just a dog eat dog world, and the only reason you root for the main characters is because they’re less despicable than everyone else!

A beautifully shot film in a gorgeous location, this could have been a really great film but for a bit of a sloppy plot and a pretty sub-standard supporting cast. Nolte is very good as the rough-diamond heroin-junkie ex(?)-thief, and his character is nicely developed, but the heist plot is rather unconvincing.