Reviews by Angus Wolfe Murray

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Charlie: The Life And Art Of Charles Chaplin (2003)

  Review preview for Charlie: The Life And Art Of Charles Chaplin

  By erasing the difficult stuff and concentrating on the triumphs, Schickel lets his audience down.

  Biopic of the little tramp.
• 
  Charlotte Gray (2001)

  Cate Blanchett is sent to France during war to help Resistance and discover romance.
• 
  Cherry Falls (2000)

  Review preview for Cherry Falls

  The first half is genuinely nasty, the second degenerates into bloody lunacy.

  Serial slasher targets high school virgins in American small town.
• 
  Chicago (2002)

  Review preview for Chicago

  Screenwriter Bill Condon and director Rob Marshall have retained the spirit of the original.

  Big screen adaptation of the hit stage musical about murderous dames on death row fighting for the limelight.
• 
  Chicken Little (2005)

  A story of misfits who save their high school (and the world) from alien invasion.
• 
  Children Of Rome, Open City (2004)

  Documentary on the making of Roberto Rossellini's neorealistic classic Rome, Open City.
• 
  Children Of The Marshland (1999)

  Review preview for Children Of The Marshland

  The message is wrapped in rose leaves.

  Soft-centred tale of a group of pals in rural France.
• 
  Child 44 (2015)

  Review preview for Child 44

  The ingredients are here, jumbled up, too confusing to fit the restrictions of a single screenplay

  A disgraced member of the military police investigates child murders from the Stalin era.
• 
  Chill Factor (1999)

  Review preview for Chill Factor

  The film is a reminder of how well directed Speed was and that James Bond stunts can't be replicated on the cheap.

  A couple of regular Joes find themselves on the run from terrorists after they come into possession of a top-secret weapon.
• 
  Chocolate (2008)

  Review preview for Chocolate

  The fight choreography is awesome. Having such a lithe young pupil in the person of Yanin only adds to the visual excitement.

  An autistic girl, with devastating martial arts skills, takes on the Thai mafia.
• 
  Chop Suey (2000)

  Review preview for Chop Suey

  Weber's discretion smothers gossip and edits anecdote.

  Cinematic scrapbook.
• 
  Chorus (2015)

  Review preview for Chorus

  The film is dark. Its message of disconnection has layers of sub plots, barely hinted at yet still damaging

  A marriage torn apart by the disappearance of a child is reconnected as events offer closure, resurrecting emotions and a kind of hope
• 
  Christmas Carol - The Movie (2001)

  Dickens' classic tale gets an animated makeover, chagal-style.
• 
  Christmas With The Coopers (2015)

  Review preview for Christmas With The Coopers

  You have no idea how enjoyable this is

  The Coopers are falling apart in different, funny ways. Christmas doesn't help. It tries to paste over the cracks. Yo ho, indeed!
• 
  Chronos (1985)

  The beauty of the world in a fleeting moment.
• 
  Chrysalis (2007)

  Review preview for Chrysalis

  If the film fails to connect the dots, it is never less than intriguing.

  Futuristic French thriller erases memories and fights a serial killer.
• 
  Chuck And Buck (1999)

  Review preview for Chuck And Buck

  The film is a kind of torture.

  An emotionally retarded man has sexual obsession for his childhood friend.
• 
  Churchill (2017)

  Review preview for Churchill

  The film breaks the rule that says Winston saved us, he cannot be criticised

  The British prime minister in the run-up to D-Day.
• 
  The Cider House Rules (1999)

  Coming of age story about a boy raised in an orphanage, who seeks answers in an orchard.
• 
  The Circle (2000)

  Review preview for The Circle

  Despite, or because of, the appalling nature of these women's lives, the film has a raw edge.

  Women from prison try to stay clean and out of trouble in a country where they are not respected.
• 
  Circus (1999)

  Review preview for Circus

  To call this Brit flick too clever by half, flatters it.

  The con is on... but it's too clever by half.
• 
  City Of Angels (1998)

  American reimagining of Wings Of Desire turns the schmaltz up to stun level.
• 
  City Of Tiny Lights (2016)

  Review preview for City Of Tiny Lights

  Not a satire on the aspirations, colonial hangovers and intuitive racism of the Asian community in England's fraught and fractured land, but a detective story cluttered with high school nostalgia.

  Crime thriller sees a PI from the Pakistani community of London's dark lands become embroiled in a missing person case.
• 
  The Claim (2000)

  Review preview for The Claim

  In his attempt to avoid Western cliches, Winterbottom is in danger of going too far the other way.

  A man's decision to sell his wife and child for a prospecting claim comes back to haunt him when they return 20 years later.
• 
  Claire Dolan (1999)

  Review preview for Claire Dolan

  By avoiding the cliche of tart-with-a-heart, Kerrigan dives into the murky depths of psychological motivation

  Call girl with muddy motives tries to escape the sex industry.
• 
  The Claude Chabrol Collection: Volume 2 (2005)

  Review preview for The Claude Chabrol Collection: Volume 2

  Secrets, lies and bloody murder.

  A second pick'n'mix of Claude Chabrol's prolific output.
• 
  The Clearstream Affair (2014)

  Review preview for The Clearstream Affair

  Who does what and how they fit into the scheme of things requires a refresher course

  Finance thriller, based on the real exploits of Denis Robert – an investigative journalist who spent years tracking the illicit activities of the Luxembourg-based Clearstream bank.
• 
  Click (2006)

  Review preview for Click

  Fart jokes, fat suits and randy dogs are the height of humour

  A workaholic is given a magic remote control that exposes his weaknesses.
• 
  Clockstoppers (2002)

  Science teacher's son in time speed travel thriller, as teenagers attempt to rescue kidnapped boffin.
• 
  Closer (2004)

  A four-handed modern drama of sexual mores and interlocking relationships.
• 
  The Closer You Get (2000)

  The unmarried men in a Donegal village advertise for women in a Miami newspaper.
• 
  The Closet (2000)

  Daniel Auteuil pretends to be gay to save his job at a condom factory.
• 
  Cloverfield (2008)

  Review preview for Cloverfield

  This is a gimmick picture. After admiration for the concept has blown away, you are left with a plotless disaster movie that goes nowhere.

  A small group of friends struggle to survive when a giant monster attacks Manhattan.
• 
  Club Dread (2004)

  Review preview for Club Dread

  Wit is the first casualty.

  Sexy singles holiday romp mixes with serial slasher bloodfest on fun island.
• 
  Club Le Monde (2002)

  Ensemble night at a London club - drugs, sex and garage sounds.
• 
  Cold Creek Manor (2003)

  Trendy family moves to the country and is threatened by bad things that happened in the house.
• 
  Cold Light Of Day (2003)

  Review preview for Cold Light Of Day

  Zam Salim breaks the rules with such bare-fisted confidence that you start wondering whether the rules were right in the first place.

  Total panic as a man who is late desperately searches for a present for his girlfriend.
• 
  Cold Mountain (2003)

  Epic, romantic journey of a Confederate deserter during the last year of the American civil war.
• 
  Collateral Damage (2002)

  Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on vigilante role in South America after terrorist bomb blast in LA.
• 
  Comedie De L'Innocence (2000)

  Review preview for Comedie De L'Innocence

  the mystery is intriguing and the performances engrossing and the cinematography exquisite.

  A nine-year-old announces to his mum that he has another mother.
• 
  A Comedy Of Power (2006)

  Investigating fraud amongst France's fattest fat cats.
• 
  The Commander (2003)

  In the shadow of Prime Suspect, a new female bobby takes charge of the Serious Crime Group.
• 
  The Commander: Vol 4-6 (2007)

  Review preview for The Commander: Vol 4-6

  This is better than good telly; it is excellent filmmaking.

  Three new mysteries from the doyenne of tough TV cop dramas.
• 
  Complicity (1999)

  An investigative journalist discovers people in his articles are being bumped off by a serial killer.
• 
  La Comunidad (2000)

  Review preview for La Comunidad

  Although hardly enjoyable, his films are never dull.

  Macabre comedy sees a woman trying to smuggle cash out of a house, from under the noses of her weirdo neighbours.
• 
  Confidence (2003)

  Review preview for Confidence

  Clever thrillers that flirt with film noir are always welcome, but this is too smart for its own good.

  Confidence trickery in LA, featuring a gang of smarty pants versus a very odd Dustin Hoffman.
• 
  Contact (2009)

  Review preview for Contact

  The concept is flawed. The aboriginals have been exploited, not in a bad way, but in order to make a film.

  The story of the indigenous Martu tribe, cleared from their land in 1964 to make way for rocket testing.
• 
  The Contender (2000)

  Rival vice-presidential candidates are embroiled in battle of PR and intrigue in this intelligent political satire.
• 
  Cookie's Fortune (1998)

  Review preview for Cookie's Fortune

  Altman has chosen the perfect cast.

  Ensemble drama centring on a death.
• 
  The Cooler (2003)

  The unluckiest man in Las Vegas finds love.