Shrek 2
The original Shrek was one of the most groundbreaking (and successful) animations of all time. Now the Dreamworks team are back with the second instalment – but has the magic worn off? Ben McCann finds out
»
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Special Edition)
The third part of Sergio Leone’s seminal Dollars trilogy is widely hailed as one of the greatest westerns ever made, so this special edition re-release is long overdue. Ben McCann thinks it was worth the wait
»
Last Party 2000
With another American presidential election looming in 2004, it seems like a good time to look back at this mock-documentary take on the sagas and shenanigans last time round. Ben McCann ends up amused but confused by the world of US politics
»
The Barbarian Invasions
Denys Arcand’s films have usually fared better with critics than audiences, but his latest movie, which follows a womanising young man diagnosed with a terminal illness, has proved a big hit on the European circuit. Ben McCann thinks it combines "genuine emotion with incisive social comment"
»Victim
Victim is the last in a trio of recent re-releases from one of Britain’s most underappreciated directors, Basil Dearden. Ben McCann applauds a surprisingly frank story of homosexuality and middle-class prejudice in the swinging Sixties
»
The League of Gentlemen
The crime caper was once a staple of the British cinema, and no one handled the formula better than Basil Dearden. He might not be very well known these days, but these Carlton re-releases might bring a new audience to his films. Ben McCann reports
»Underworld
Vampires, werewolves, tight-fitting catsuits, and enough high-octane action sequences to have the new Governor of California quaking in his size-thirteens – surely Underworld is modern horror’s answer to the Matrix? Ben McCann doesn’t think so
»
The Shawshank Redemption
Though it bombed during its initial cinematic release, Frank Darabont’s life-affirming prison tale The Shawshank Redemption has taken on a life of its own on video and DVD. Ben McCann reviews a new critical take on the film from Mark Kermode
»
L’Homme du Train (DVD)
The French critics loathe him, the film establishment ignores him, but somehow Patrice Leconte continues to make his peculiar brand of movies. Ben McCann reviews his latest effort – a skewed buddy story between a small-time crook and a literary professor
»
Recent Comments