Reviews by Caro Ness

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  The Red Balloon (1956)

  Review preview for The Red Balloon

  In 30 minutes we are treated to a story that teaches us more about the resilience of the human spirit and the triumphs it can achieve over hardships and injustices than many films three or four times as long.

  Classic short film about a boy and his friendship with a balloon.
• 
  Re: Joyce! (1991)

  Review preview for Re: Joyce!

  A wonderful wallow in nostalgia.

  Maureen Lipman celebrates the life and comedy of Joyce Grenfell.
• The Sandbaggers: The Complete First Series (1978)

  Review preview for The Sandbaggers: The Complete First Series

  Still packs a hefty punch, due to its tacit understanding of the political dynamics.

  Seventies spy series that has aged like fine wine.
• The Sandbaggers: The Complete Second Series (1980)

  Review preview for The Sandbaggers: The Complete Second Series

  Not explosive action, but smouldering intrigue and skulduggery, with very little outdoor camera work, and much more enthralling as a result.

  The continuing intrigue and tension of a special unit of British Intelligence during the Cold War.
• 
  Shake Hands With The Devil (2004)

  Review preview for Shake Hands With The Devil

  Simultaneously an incredibly powerful indictment of the Western world’s apathy... and a testament to the innate goodness of man.

  Story of Canadian Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire's UN role in Rwanda, tracing his return to the country 10 years after the genocide.
• 
  The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2 (2008)

  Review preview for The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2

  A feel-good coming-of-age movie that leaves you with a smile on your face.

  A pair of jeans becomes a symbol of a group of gal pals' friendship.
• 
  Space Chimps (2008)

  Review preview for Space Chimps

  I’m afraid when you are used to animation of the standard of Pixar this is a very poor substitute.

  A group of chimps travel through a wormhole to another world.
• The Sure Thing (1985)

  Review preview for The Sure Thing

  A film to treasure.

  A mismatched couple find love on a comic roadtrip.
• 
  Sydney White (2007)

  Review preview for Sydney White

  Despite its inevitability, it is a really likeable film.

  Snow White gets a modern makeover.
• 
  There Goes The Bride (1932)

  Review preview for There Goes The Bride

  Matthews steals this bright little comedy.

  A bride-to-be flees her wedding... and finds herself suspected of being a thief.
• 
  The Tracey Fragments (2007)

  Review preview for The Tracey Fragments

  This is a film that you will either love and call daring for its visually challenging style or loathe for its pretension.

  A mentally fragile teen goes in search of her lost brother.
• 
  Union City (1980)

  Review preview for Union City

  For me the film promised to truly shock and yet I felt somehow cheated as it unravelled.

  Milk snatching leads to murder.
• 
  Who Killed Bambi? (2003)

  Review preview for Who Killed Bambi?

  While watching the film, you almost feel that you are seeing it from one remove apart; you are never sufficiently disturbed, or scared.

  A student nurse investigate the nighttime activities of a spooky doctor.
• 
  Wild Child (2008)

  Review preview for Wild Child

  It may be derivative, it may contain one too many clichés but nevertheless, the film is dynamic, energetic, amusing and clever.

  A spoilt LA rich kid is packed off to a traditional English girls’ school. At first she is determined to escape, but then she begins making friends – and catching the eye of the headmistress’ handsome young son...
• 
  The World Unseen (2007)

  Review preview for The World Unseen

  The film suffers from over-simplification and pastiche.

  Romantic drama amid the social constraints of Fifties South Africa.
• 
  The Wuthering Heights (1985)

  Review preview for The Wuthering Heights

  The single most striking memory of this film is its brilliant transposition of the characters and plot from the wilds of Yorkshire to the wild, sun-drenched landscapes and isolated farms of the Cévennes in France.

  Bronte's classic is transported to 1930s France.
• 
  The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (2007)

  Review preview for The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep

  A good old-fashioned British family film that does not make any allowances for its young characters and does not insult our intelligence as viewers.

  A lonely young boy discovers a magical egg and befriends the strange creature which hatches from it. Plus read our exclusive interview with Jay Russell.
• 
  White Mane (1953)

  Review preview for White Mane

  A fabulous mix of docu-realism, myth and pure imagination.

  A friendship blossoms between a white stallion and a boy.
• 
  Young @ Heart (2007)

  Review preview for Young @ Heart

  Never has old age seemed so young and alive.

  Senior citizens win while they're singing.
• 
  Young At Heart (1954)

  Review preview for Young At Heart

  This proved to be the only film that Day and Sinatra made together and judging by the great chemistry they have on screen, it is a crying shame.

  The only film that Doris Day and Frank Sinatra appeared together, although they sang apart.