Reviews by David Graham

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  TT3D: Closer To The Edge (2011)

  Review preview for TT3D: Closer To The Edge

  Memorable for its array of humble and humbling characters as well as its jaw-dropping, white-knuckle footage, this will surely stand as one of the best documentaries of the year.

  A 3D documentary look at the thrills and spills of the world's most dangerous road race.
• 
  Thor (2011)

  Review preview for Thor

  The ideas are so shamelessly out-there and imaginatively employed that it's hard not to get caught up in it all.

  An adaptation of the Marvel comic in which Thor is cast out of the realm of the gods and finds himself defending humans.
• 
  Ballast (2008)

  Review preview for Ballast

  Ballast is absorbing because it bravely avoids dramatic cliches to deliver a more positive experience than might be expected.

  An emotionally frayed family find their lives torn apart in a small Mississippi Delta town.
• 
  Scream 4 (2011)

  Review preview for Scream 4

  Kevin Williamson's script repeatedly sets up tantalizing red herrings only to curtail into sharp set-pieces where Wes Craven's sure hand at wringing tension out of convention comes to the fore.

  When the survivor of the previous films returns to her home town, the killer reappears.
• 
  The Silent House (2010)

  Review preview for The Silent House

  A flawed but admirable attempt to bring the horror genre back to basics.

  A young woman considers whether to flee from a house which seems to harbour dangerous secrets.
• 
  Hatchet 2 (2010)

  Review preview for Hatchet 2

  While director Adam Green hasn’t really changed the formula at all for his sequel to 2006's retro slasher, he has tightened it up in every way to deliver a markedly more effective ride.

  The survivor of the first film returns to the swamp to wreak revenge on the undead madman who killed her family.
• 
  Faster (2010)

  Review preview for Faster

  Ultimately a curious hybrid that admirably tries to transcend its genre trappings but sadly falls short of its noble intentions.

  An ex-con aims to avenge his brother's death while avoiding a hitman and the lawman determined to bring him in.
• 
  Sucker Punch (2011)

  Review preview for Sucker Punch

  A sordid slice of rancid pop-culture vomit that leaves a toxic aftertaste.

  An abused girl uses an alternative reality to help her find the means to escape from the mental hospital where she has been locked away.
• 
  Territories (2010)

  Review preview for Territories

  This is a gruelling experience that forces the audience to look at events in today's 'liberated' world and consider the cost for those directly involved.

  Three American friends returning from a trip are arrested at customs and taken to a strange backwoods camp where they suddenly realise their lives are on the line.
• 
  Mother's Day (2010)

  Review preview for Mother's Day

  Funny and frightening from start to finish, with a set of memorable characters and powerful performances that do them the justice they deserve.

  Brothers fleeing a bank robbery invade a yuppie housewarming party at their mother's recently foreclosed home and sadistically attack the guests, but when mother arrives, events take a still nastier turn.
• 
  Hop (2011)

  Review preview for Hop

  Hop is ultimately more accomplished than it might need or reasonably be expected to be.

  After accidentally running over the Easter bunny's son, an unemployed man is forced to get involved in the egg delivery business.
• 
  The Eagle (2011)

  Review preview for The Eagle

  Macdonald proceeds to let his narrative grind to a halt from which it never recovers.

  A Roman soldier tries to retrieve his legion's lost emblem from the Pictish hordes.
• 
  The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

  Review preview for The Lincoln Lawyer

  McConaughey works above and beyond his usual remit to remind us that he can also convey a formidable intensity and subtle sensitivity.

  A hot-shot lawyer finds he may be out of his depth with his latest client.
• 
  Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

  Review preview for Machete Maidens Unleashed!

  While the documentary doesn't shy away from some of the more unscrupulous practices it works as a love letter to a period where all bets were off and anything could happen.

  A documentary celebrating the Filipino exploitation films of the Seventies and Eighties, where lax health and safety regulations led to remarkable thrills.
• 
  Rubber (2010)

  Review preview for Rubber

  Many will feel Rubber is a short student film stretched to breaking point and past it, but if you can tune into its whacked-out world-view it should have you smiling all the way through.

  Rubber is just an ordinary tyre, but one day he develops intelligence and telekinetic powers. Horrified by what he discovers about the fate of other tyres, he sets out on an implacable quest for revenge.
• 
  Little Deaths (2011)

  Review preview for Little Deaths

  Overall, each film boasts strong acting and well-written dramatic scenes, and a very polished look that belies what must have been very tight budgets.

  A triptych of disturbing tales exploring interrelated themes of sex and death.
• 
  The Resident (2011)

  Review preview for The Resident

  Overall, The Resident is a solid step in the right direction for Hammer, being an archetypal genre piece made with care and some style, distinguished by solid acting from reliable leads.

  Hammer Horror returns with a thriller about a young woman whose new apartment may not be as secure as it seemed.
• 
  Amer (2009)

  Review preview for Amer

  A totally idiosyncratic creation, something that deserves to be relished for its bravado refusal to play by the rules.

  A surreal look at three stages of a woman's life, drawing heavily on the giallo tradition.
• 
  Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

  Review preview for Battle: Los Angeles

  There's absolutely nothing here that hasn't been done before and better.

  Aliens attack Los Angeles and a marine platoon is called upon to stop them.
• 
  The Rite (2011)

  Review preview for The Rite

  Scraping nails and scratching heads are about as scary as this film gets, and these are two activities its audience will find themselves regularly indulging in.

  A student visiting Italy to learn how to conduct an exorcism encounters something unexpected.
• 
  The Tempest (2010)

  Review preview for The Tempest

  Changing the main character's sex from a man to a woman is the most obvious and radical idea Taymor brings to the table, and it succeeds in deepening several of the piece's key relationships.

  Usurped by her brother, Prospera lives in exile with her daughter and faces a power struggle against the monstrous Caliban.
• 
  Rango (2011)

  Review preview for Rango

  It is admirable that Verbinski has chosen to forgo 3D, as the spectacle he conjures in his various set-pieces is enough to have you ducking and diving already.

  A chameleon finds himself in a Wild West town that is desperate for a new sheriff.
• 
  Submarino (2009)

  Review preview for Submarino

  Performances are strong throughout the film, generating an effective mixture of simultaneous sympathy and anger in the audience.

  Two men struggle to escape a childhood of neglect.
• 
  Essential Killing (2010)

  Review preview for Essential Killing

  The cinematography is jarringly stunning, with episodes of pursuit and suspense broken up by breathtaking vistas of harsh landscapes.

  An interrogated man goes on the run.
• 
  Drive Angry (2011)

  Review preview for Drive Angry

  The film gleefully rips off everything from genre classics like The Terminator to recent upstarts such as Shoot 'Em Up, but manages to do it with a tongue so firmly in cheek that you should be too busy grinning to care.

  A man escapes from Hell to try and rescue his baby granddaughter from a cult that intends to sacrifice her.
• 
  Saw 3D (2010)

  Review preview for Saw 3D

  A visit to the dentist seems like light relief afterwards, and laser surgery wouldn't begin to erase the stains of tedium this moronic garbage leaves on the retina.

  A self-help guru falls foul of Jigsaw's legacy.
• 
  Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'hoole (2010)

  Review preview for Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'hoole

  The story is absolutely barking, but it comes alive in many moments of fine detail.

  A young owl undertakes a perilous quest to alert the legendary guardians who can save his people from the evil army of Metalbeak.
• 
  Easy A (2010)

  Review preview for Easy A

  Emma Stone really holds the film together, an immensely likable lead even when things get a little too indulgent.

  Modern take on The Scarlet Letter, sees a high school student use rumours to advance herself.
• 
  Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

  Review preview for Paranormal Activity 2

  The fear factor is maintained all the way to the delightfully provocative ending.

  A couple with a new baby begin to expect a strange presence in their home.
• 
  Deadly Impact (2009)

  Review preview for Deadly Impact

  This film just flounders from one uninspired location to the next, with set-pieces that could be interesting were they not handled in such a ham-fisted fashion.

  A cop with a troubled past tries to track down an assassin.
• 
  The Social Network (2010)

  Review preview for The Social Network

  Fincher's cautionary fable is way more riveting than anyone could reasonably have expected.

  The story behind the founding of Facebook.
• 
  Gummo (1997)

  Review preview for Gummo

  Gummo rewards repeated viewings like little else; there is so much to be gleaned from every vignette and even more from the film as a whole.

  Bored teenagers wander round their suburban neighbourhood.
• 
  Trash Humpers (2009)

  Review preview for Trash Humpers

  The film is a purely visceral experience, which by and large does everything it sets out to do – repel, amuse, horrify, bore – with a sickening but punk-rock panache.

  A group of elderly people film themselves fornicating with the debris of society.