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Reviews by Caro Ness

Order by: Date, A–Z

  • The 2 Sides Of The Bed (2005)
    Review preview for The 2 Sides Of The Bed

    An undemanding, comic romp

    Caro Ness · 3.5 out of 5
    The course of romance refuses to run smoothly for a group of pals.
  • Anna Karenina (2009)
    Review preview for Anna Karenina

    No detail is too much trouble, nothing is out of place, discordant or jarring; it is a film of seamless beauty.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    Tolstoy's tale of a woman torn between her lover and her marriage.
  • ASSA-2 (2009)
    Review preview for ASSA-2

    A woeful piece of self-indulgence.

    Caro Ness · 1 out of 5
    Alika languishes in jail. Yet hope may be in sight for her, as a well-known director is touring Russian prisons, hoping to find the perfect woman to play the lead role in a new version of Anna Karenina.
  • Avril (2006)
    Review preview for Avril

    This is a little gem. It does not seem to travel very far and yet the central character makes an extraordinary journey.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    The life of a novice nun changes after she tracks down the brother she has never met.
  • Back To Normandy (2007)
    Review preview for Back To Normandy

    A quietly powerful meditation on the resilience of the human spirit, our ability to adapt, grow and transform and how our accomplishments seem to us in retrospect.

    Caro Ness · 3.5 out of 5
    A film-maker returns to the place where, 30 years ago, he persuaded local farmers to become actors in his dramatisation of the Pierre Rivière murders.
  • Bandit Queen (1994)
    Review preview for Bandit Queen

    Seema Biswas dominates the screen as the much-wronged, vengeful Devi, moving from tough to tender, from bandit to child with an easy naturalness.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    True story of a woman who led a gang of outlaws in northern India.
  • The Banquet (2006)
    Review preview for The Banquet

    The cinematography and choreography are breathtakingly beautiful and the acting uniformly excellent.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    The action of Shakespeare's Hamlet is transported to 10th century China.
  • The Barchester Chronicles (1982)
    Review preview for The Barchester Chronicles

    Rickman, as the ghastly Slope, turns in a performance of greasy ambition that beggars superlatives.

    Caro Ness · 4.5 out of 5
    Superior Anthony Trollope adaptation.
  • Black Book (2006)
    Review preview for Black Book

    Uniformly brilliant.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    Paul Verhoeven returns to Europe for an epic wartime tale.
  • The Big Bang (2010)
    Review preview for The Big Bang

    Banderas is convincing in this role but he is the only actor who brings any grace to a movie which is filmed with a dark and obscure filter to match the unredeemingly seedy world it portrays.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    A private investigator goes in search of a boxer's missing girlfriend... and a stash of diamonds.
  • The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (2008)
    Review preview for The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

    This is a great film that because of its understated nature, packs a powerful punch.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    The son of a Nazi officer forges an unlikely frienship.
  • Butch Jamie (2007)
    Review preview for Butch Jamie

    Ehlen, who also wrote and directed the film, has a light-hearted touch and employs a good deal of humour.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    A lesbian actor lands a role as a man... but is sworn to secrecy.
  • CSA: The Confederate States Of America (2004)
    What if the American south had won the Civil War?
  • Dance With Me (2008)
    Review preview for Dance With Me

    This is a thought provoking film that teases one’s perception of behaviour with frustrating persistence

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    The mind plays tricks in a beautiful landscape where relationships are explored.
  • The Dead (1987)
    Review preview for The Dead

    I defy anyone not to be moved by this performance.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    Superior adaptation of James Joyce short story, about guests at an Epiphany party.
  • Drifting Flowers (2008)
    Review preview for Drifting Flowers

    Offers beautiful moments of genuine sentiment.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    Exploring the many manifestations of lesbian love through the eyes of different generations of Taiwanese women.
  • Drop Box (2006)
    Review preview for Drop Box

    The charm of the movie lies in the fact that it is well written, acted and filmed, despite being shot in a single tiny, squashed location – the video store.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    A singer accidentally returns a homemade sex tape to her local video shop... and is desperate to get it back.
  • Echo Park, L.A. (2006)
    Rites of passage for Mexican- American teenagers in Los Angeles.
  • Echoes Of Home (2007)
    Review preview for Echoes Of Home

    It explodes the myth that yodelling is an outworn musical tradition, and shows us instead that it has a bright and innovative future.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    All you ever wanted to know about Swiss yodelling but never dared ask.
  • Eloïse (2009)
    Review preview for Eloïse

    I believe it is one of the best explorations of a lesbian awakening that I have ever seen.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    Lesbian awakenings in the student art world
  • The Flight Of The Red Balloon (2007)
    Review preview for The Flight Of The Red Balloon

    A beautiful film to look at but in the end the emotion and passion are missing.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    A busy mother’s young boy attracts the attention of a large balloon.
  • Finn's Girl (2007)
    Review preview for Finn's Girl

    Intelligent, thought provoking and beautifully acted.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    Thriller about an abortion clinic worker, her daughter and the police assigned to protect them.
  • Fit (2010)
    Review preview for Fit

    A film that explores profoundly and dazzlingly well the diversity of human sexuality and experience.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    A last chance dance class becomes a therapeutic encounter between adolescents struggling with ideas about sexuality.
  • The Flying Doctors (1985)
    Review preview for The Flying Doctors

    A delicious slice of Eighties nostalgia.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    Miniseries about a high-flying city doc who finds his career taking off in a new direction after he joins the emergency service at Cooper's Crossing.
  • Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
    Review preview for Gnomeo & Juliet

    Has a cute kind of uncomplicated charm, particularly for kids.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    Animated take on the Shakespeare tale.
  • Hester Street (1975)
    Review preview for Hester Street

    Silver makes us feel that this is an authentic piece of social history.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    The Americanisation of Jewish immigrants in New York at the turn of the 20th century.
  • The History Of Mr Polly (1949)
    Victorian comedy about a hapless shop owner.
  • I Didn't Know You Cared (1975)
    Seventies sitcom about an extended family.
  • I Pierre Rivière (1976)
    Review preview for I Pierre Rivière

    Allio deserves a medal for coaxing some miraculous performances out of his actors.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    Fictionalised retelling of the story of a man who murdered his mother, sister and brother in 19th century rural France.
  • Jackpot 2 (1982)
    Review preview for Jackpot 2

    An exercise in nothingness.

    Caro Ness · 1 out of 5
    Study of loneliness in a deserted Helsinki.
  • Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity (2007)
    Review preview for Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity

    Prepare to laugh till your sides hurt.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    The ventriloquist introduces some new characters.
  • Journey To Italy (1953)
    Review preview for Journey To Italy

    Since the film so closely follows the couple, it is vital that we feel this sense of alienation and despair, and feel it we do.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    A seminal film about a marriage in crisis.
  • Juste Avant La Nuit (1971)
    Review preview for Juste Avant La Nuit

    This is a masterful film about the meaning of friendship and the darker sides to human nature.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    Sexual betrayal, forgiveness and murder in a small, suburban town.
  • The Liar (1981)
    Review preview for The Liar

    I found the pseudo intellectualism in the movie tiresome and affected.

    Caro Ness · 2 out of 5
    Drama charts the life of a compulsive liar.
  • The Lady Eve (1941)
    Review preview for The Lady Eve

    Everything about this film marks it out as a masterpiece.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    Forties sex comedy at sea, with more twists than a tornado.
  • The Lion In Winter (1968)
    Review preview for The Lion In Winter

    The film is a triumph.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    Henry II chooses an heir, while all those around him plot.
  • Living In Oblivion (1995)
    Review preview for Living In Oblivion

    A quirky, funny, insightful movie of immense charm.

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    Fictionalised account of a day in the life of low-budget filmmakers.
  • London To Brighton (2006)
    Two prostitutes flee a murderous gang boss.
  • Make It Happen (2008)
    Review preview for Make It Happen

    So, yes, this film is derivative, yes, it is predictable, but it still retains some charm.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    A wannabe dancer aims to make it big.
  • The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
    Coming of age drama based on the writings of a young Che Guevara.
  • Out At The Wedding (2007)
    Review preview for Out At The Wedding

    This is an amiable farce, played at breakneck speed

    Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
    Trouble brews for a New Yorker when she tries to keep her mixed race beau a secret at her sister's wedding.
  • People I Know (2002)
    Review preview for People I Know

    The film deserves five stars for Pacino's performance alone, but relies too heavily upon him.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    Al Pacino is a New York publicist at the end of his rope.
  • Phone (2002)
    Review preview for Phone

    A pleasing psychological mystery, with a supernatural twist.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    Supernatural thriller about a journalist who becomes terrifed of her telephone.
  • Pornography: A Thriller (2009)
    Review preview for Pornography: A Thriller

    An excuse to show gay soft porn and try to emulate David Lynch’s uncomfortable weirdness.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    The mystery of a gay porn star who disappears.
  • The Painted Veil (2006)
    Review preview for The Painted Veil

    Undeniably beautiful.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    A marriage hits the rocks in Shanghai in an adaptation of Somerset Maugham's classic novel.
  • Patrik, aged 1.5 (2008)
    Review preview for Patrik, aged 1.5

    This is a charming and ultimately very uplifting movie.

    Caro Ness · 4.5 out of 5
    Gay couple apply to adopt a child only to discover that the age and attitude of their prospective "progeny" has been compromised.
  • Les Petites Vacances (2006)
    Review preview for Les Petites Vacances

    Explores a simple theme with subtlety and finesse.

    Caro Ness · 4 out of 5
    A doting grandmother takes the kids on holiday and discovers that she doesn't want to let them go.
  • Pigsty (1969)
    Review preview for Pigsty

    It was the last of Pasolini’s movies to be released in the USA, is certainly his worst film and it is probably one of his most disgusting.

    Caro Ness · 2 out of 5
    The story of a cannibal juxtaposed with the tale of two former Nazis turned businessmen. Out to own as part of the box set.
  • Pittsburgh (1942)
    Review preview for Pittsburgh

    This film is worth seeing for curiosity value more than anything else and also for the cinematography which depicts the hard life of the coal miner particularly well.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    A high-class "countess" helps two coal miners make a mint... but what is the price of success? Out to own now as part of Marlene Dietrich: The Movie Collection 18-disc box set.
  • P.S. I Love You (2007)
    Review preview for P.S. I Love You

    It will definitely appeal to women rather than men, but it will also touch anyone, male or female, who has had to or is having to face a terminal illness.

    Caro Ness · 3 out of 5
    A widow is guided through her bereavement by a series of letters her husband wrote to surprise her with.

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