Reviews by David Stanners

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Mambo Italiano (2003)

  Review preview for Mambo Italiano

  This is all been done before and in much subtler, funnier ways.

  Gentle comedy about a gay scriptwriter 'coming out' to his family.
• 
  Welcome To Mooseport (2004)

  Review preview for Welcome To Mooseport

  A middle of the road rom-com, with decent laughs sprinkled throughout.

  Small town comedy romance, featuring a former US president pitted against a blue collar worker for mayor.
• 
  Vodka Lemon (2003)

  Review preview for Vodka Lemon

  Dialogue is at a minimum. In films like these, less if definitely more, and, here, less works brilliantly.

  An Armenian village struggles to come to terms with economic problems and family loss amidst a very cold winter.
• 
  Code 46 (2003)

  A futuristic sci-fi movie about a fraud investigator romantically entangled with his suspect.
• 
  Mamay (2003)

  Review preview for Mamay

  Rather than attempting to dissect the story, it is easier to surrender to the lyrical qualities, the poetry, exquisite cinematography and poignant music.

  A mysterious pastiche of Ukrainian mythology and folklore mixed with a Romeo and Juliet style love story.
• 
  The Green Hat (2003)

  Review preview for The Green Hat

  Debut director Liu Fendou has done a magnificent job.

  A hard-edged drama about dysfunctional relationships and man’s need for acceptance and love.
• 
  Blinded (2003)

  Review preview for Blinded

  All credibility and tension, manifested during the bulk of the film, is completely robbed at the final hurdle by a ludicrous ending.

  A Danish backpacker faces sinister consequences after his work on a rundown farm leads to romance.
• 
  Dead Man's Shoes (2004)

  Review preview for Dead Man's Shoes

  The violence is heavy going and the atmosphere constantly fraught with a growing sense of foreboding.

  An ex-army man strolls into town, seeking revenge on his disabled brother's assailants.
• 
  Pearls And Pigs (2003)

  Review preview for Pearls And Pigs

  What should have been a delicate, bittersweet comedy becomes a long-winded caper that fails to capitalise on its raw materials.

  Comedy featuring four heavy-drinking misfit brothers who find a new meaning in their lives when their half sister moves in with them and discovers a lucrative, hidden talent.
• 
  Peace One Day (2004)

  Review preview for Peace One Day

  An undulating account of one man's spirit and determination to make an impossibly idealistic vision a concrete reality.

  One man goes on a global pilgrimage in search of world peace for a day.
• 
  Passages (2004)

  Review preview for Passages

  The pace is slow, and at times lethargic.

  A young couple, disillusioned with student life, take off on a search for special mushrooms that could land them a fortune.
• 
  Violent Summer (1959)

  Review preview for Violent Summer

  Violent Summer is not an epic wartime romance. It's a smaller, quieter film, reflecting people's motives, actions and truths.

  Set in the summer of Mussolini’s demise, a tempestuous love affair ensues between the widowed wife of a naval hero and a younger dodge drafting dandy.
• 
  Coffee And Cigarettes (2003)

  Review preview for Coffee And Cigarettes

  The film's charm is the feeling of spontaneity and randomness.

  Series of sketches based around coffee and cigarettes, featuring a collection of the great and the good from the indie side of Hollywood.
• 
  United (2003)

  Review preview for United

  A lighthearted, slightly flimsy little film, which is funny and nicely executed.

  Light-hearted comedy, where one man’s obsession with playing for Manchester United threatens to tear up his relationship.
• 
  Control (2003)

  Review preview for Control

  Control is a highly eclectic tableaux of darkness and humour, life and death, characters and incidents, supernatural and commonplace.

  A bizarre fictional insight into the idiosyncratic lives of Budapest’s underground train inspectors.
• 
  Catwoman (2004)

  Review preview for Catwoman

  Catwoman is a hybrid of superhero/romance, with a feminist touch.

  A weak-willed designer is murdered and reborn as Catwoman.
• 
  Home On The Range (2004)

  Review preview for Home On The Range

  A film like this is great for kids: fun, bright, short (76 minutes) and action packed, with a soft nurturing touch.

  A greedy cattle rustler tries to evict the animals from their land, but the animals have other ideas.
• The Stepford Wives (2004)

  Review preview for The Stepford Wives

  Featuring an up to scratch all-star cast, it is Close who really shines, with a cracking quirky little performance, again demonstrating her range.

  Sci-fi/comedy thriller where a seemingly perfect American suburb, with unfeasibly obedient women, raises suspicious eyebrows amongst the latest newcomers.
• 
  Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

  Review preview for Fahrenheit 9/11

  Fahrenheit 9/11 is powerful, thought-provoking and highly selective.

  Michael Moore's indictment of the Bush Government in the wake of September 11.
• Highwaymen (2003)

  Review preview for Highwaymen

  Cars, appearing from nowhere to taunt and intimidate nervous men on the road, have been test driven brilliantly by the likes of Spielberg, but are now showing high mileage.

  A vigilante goes on a road rampage to avenge his wife’s death.
• Elvis - The Last 24 Hours (2003)

  Documentary outlining the final 24 hours of Elvis Presley’s life.
• 
  Deep Blue (2003)

  Review preview for Deep Blue

  Deep Blue will have at least something that will drop your jaw a notch or two.

  Documentary on the beautiful and brutal realities of the undersea world.
• 
  You Got Served (2004)

  Review preview for You Got Served

  The subject is fine, but handled with kid gloves.

  Two rival groups of black inner city kids from L.A thrash it out for the prize of best dance crew.
• 
  Mean Girls (2004)

  Review preview for Mean Girls

  There are some funny moments along the way and Lohan is good.

  Teen comedy, where the new girl on the block tries to fit into an image-obsessed high school.
• 
  Jersey Girl (2004)

  Review preview for Jersey Girl

  Surprisingly good.

  A high-flying Manhattan music publicist is forced to reassess his life.
• 
  I'm Not Scared (2003)

  A country boy makes a startling discovery, while his family try to hide their secret from him.
• 
  The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

  Review preview for The Day After Tomorrow

  A decent concept and incredibly impressive special effects are irreparably jolted by a shoddy script, one-dimensional plot and sluggish pace.

  Dennis Quaid is a climatologist, trying to save his son, as the country is taken over by a freak ice age.
• The Football Factory (2004)

  Review preview for The Football Factory

  Probably a fairly accurate, if brutal, insight into the lives of a group of middle class thugs trying to fill a void in their dull meaningless existences.

  An open view into the degenerate lives of London football casuals.
• Game Over (2003)

  Review preview for Game Over

  This is something for chess fans and non-fans alike.

  Documentary about Garry Kasparov’s chess match against IBM’s computer Deep Blue
• 
  Imagining Argentina (2003)

  Review preview for Imagining Argentina

  Thompson exudes strength from start to finish.

  A theatre director whose wife is kidnapped by the government, taps into psychic powers to try to find her.
• 
  V-Max (2002)

  Review preview for V-Max

  The trouble with V-Max is that you couldn't care less about the characters.

  A talented young mechanic is taken on as an apprentice and learns a thing or two about life.
• The Wedding Dress (2003)

  Review preview for The Wedding Dress

  The tension could have been heightened even more if the ending hadn't been so abrupt.

  A beautiful woman struggles to come to terms with her life, after being gang raped just before her wedding.
• 
  Benzina (2001)

  Review preview for Benzina

  Doesn't have a great deal to say.

  Two lesbian lovers attempt to disguise a dead body, while being chased by local hoodlums.
• 
  50 First Dates (2004)

  Review preview for 50 First Dates

  There are some good gags along the way.

  Adam Sandler is a marine biologist in Hawaii who falls for a girl with no memory.
• 
  Monster (2003)

  Review preview for Monster

  Construed by some as a blatant feminist sympathy trip, Theron's performance is a tour de force, picking up Jenkins's contentious baton with extreme gusto.

  Dramatised version of the life of serial killer Aileen Wuornos.
• 
  Gothika (2003)

  Review preview for Gothika

  Berry is watchable, as always, but isn't exerted, while Cruz and Downey are wasted in small bit parts.

  A criminal psychiatrist is suspected of the brutal murder of her husband.
• 
  Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004)

  In this second instalment, Cody Banks jet sets to London, in an attempt to thwart a lethal mind-controlling device.
• 
  Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

  Flesh-eating zombies inhabit the city centre, forcing the few remaining mortals to take cover.
• 
  Zatoichi (2003)

  Review preview for Zatoichi

  The storytelling - a benchmark of all great Japanese films - is first rate and unravels slowly and subtly, building to an almighty crescendo between two classically trained craftsmen.

  Japanese myth of the blind warrior made flesh by Takeshi Kitano.
• 
  Starsky And Hutch (2004)

  Review preview for Starsky And Hutch

  You can't go wrong here. The ingredients for a good cops-and-robbers romp are all present and correct.

  Comedy remake of the Seventies most infamous TV cop double act.
• The Principles Of Lust (2003)

  Review preview for The Principles Of Lust

  The whole affair is a dishevelled mess, with no linear narrative, no cohesion in the script or characters, and a revolting grimy looking film which drowns in its own cadaverous undercurrents.

  Gritty, hard-nosed drama about a man caught between love, lust and temptation.
• Torque (2004)

  Review preview for Torque

  In between the 1000cc revs, the squeaking leather and the speed-induced adrenalin rushes, a plot lurks.

  A two-wheel adrenaline rush, with raging testosterone, tight leathers and CGI.
• 
  Man Dancin' (2003)

  Review preview for Man Dancin'

  The plot strands are endless and allow for little character development.

  An ex-gang member returns to Glasgow to clean up his neighbourhood.
• 
  One Last Chance (2004)

  Review preview for One Last Chance

  The script is laced with expletives and the comedy weakened by a lack of dialogue support.

  Black comedy, set in the Highlands of Scotland.
• 
  Scary Movie 3 (2003)

  Review preview for Scary Movie 3

  The gags are at death's door.

  Third instalment in the comedy horror spoof.
• Twist (2003)

  Review preview for Twist

  This is an accomplished directorial debut.

  Very modern take on Dickens’s classic tale Oliver Twist.
• Luck (2003)

  Review preview for Luck

  Wellington has orchestrated a little gem here.

  Canadian melodrama about gambling, luck and the nation’s jewel in the crown, ice hockey.
• 
  Freaky Friday (2003)

  Review preview for Freaky Friday

  Funny, brilliantly scripted and subtly moulded.

  Screwball comedy about a mother and teenage daughter who switch bodies for the day.
• The Who - The Vegas Job (1999)

  Review preview for The Who - The Vegas Job

  A fit, tanned Daltrey gyrates from side to side, still full of verve and youthful swagger.

  The Who’s reunion in Las Vegas, 1999.
• 
  Cathy Come Home (1966)

  Review preview for Cathy Come Home

  It just goes to show that for tens of thousands, the Sixties was a distant cry from sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

  Gritty socio-economic analysis of homelessness in Sixties Britain.