Reviews by David Stanners

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  American Splendor (2002)

  True story about misfit who creates a popular comic series based on his own life.
• 
  One For The Road (2003)

  Drink-drivers gang up on a boozy millionaire and relieve him of his large change.
• 
  Blind Shaft (2003)

  Review preview for Blind Shaft

  This is a simple tale, carrying simple messages.

  Moral parable about greed and deception in rural China.
• 
  Blind Spot (2002)

  Gritty Slovenian drama about a girl trying to help her drug-addicted brother.
• 
  The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Part One The Moab Story (2003)

  Review preview for The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Part One The Moab Story

  A self-important, prosaic and ill-defined artistic tableau.

  A meandering historical epic life story of a traveller/natural historian/writer.
• 
  New Life (2002)

  Review preview for New Life

  The less said about this dishevelled misogynistic piece of detritus the better.

  Exploitative, misogynistic film about men treating women as dogs.
• 
  A Decade Under The Influence (2003)

  Review preview for A Decade Under The Influence

  Demme and LaGravenese have done a decent job in documenting what is undoubtedly the most important era in modern US cinema.

  Documentary outlining Hollywood’s 1970s heyday.
• 
  Intermission (2003)

  Review preview for Intermission

  The delivery of the script is highly polished from a large ensemble cast with CVs running off the page.

  Multi-character ensemble comedy action heist.
• 
  Sophiatown (2003)

  Review preview for Sophiatown

  This documentary is an unsentimental portrayal of a time experienced and cherished by a community at odds with a senseless vision of the world.

  Documentary about black cultural renaissance during apartheid in an area of Johannesburg in the Forties and Fifties.
• 
  Fear X (2002)

  Review preview for Fear X

  Fraught and anxious, yet enigmatic, Turturro's performance is beautifully understated.

  A dark noir-ish mystery about a man looking for his wife's killer.
• 
  The Rage In Placid Lake (2003)

  Review preview for The Rage In Placid Lake

  It's hard to know exactly where the humour is heading, which is refreshing, but when it hits the high notes, it's both quirky and delivered with razor precision.

  Subversive comedy about an oddball making his way in a bland world.
• 
  Le Chignon d'Olga (2002)

  Review preview for Le Chignon d'Olga

  Twentysomething French director Jerome Bonnell displays incredible maturity beyond his years.

  Introspective drama focusing on the trials and tribulations of a family.
• 
  Dans Ma Peau (2002)

  The odyssey of a young woman who becomes addicted to self-mutilation.
• 
  God Save The Queen (2001)

  25th anniversary celebration of The Sex Pistols.
• 
  Frozen Assets (2003)

  Review preview for Frozen Assets

  Every operatic ingredient is thrown into the pot.

  An operatic chiller.
• 
  Chang And Eng (2003)

  A short documentary on the lives of 19th Century Siamese twins.
• No Fly Zone (2003)

  Review preview for No Fly Zone

  It's a bit of a duff note.

  Apocalypse Now in 3 minutes.
• Uno (2003)

  Review preview for Uno

  To make a documentary about a Seventies clown trick, is really not that good, is it?

  Documentary short on unicycling.
• The Total Eclipse Of Sybil Price (2003)

  Review preview for The Total Eclipse Of Sybil Price

  The story packs an ethereal twist.

  Supernatural drama short.
• 
  A Boy's Life (2002)

  Review preview for A Boy's Life

  If it weren't for the fact that A Boy's Life is set in the bedrock of white trash Mississippi, this would be no more than an extended social services report.

  Documentary about a dysfunctional boy and his family in small town Mississippi.
• 
  Spare Parts (2002)

  Review preview for Spare Parts

  Slovenian punk rocker director, Damjan Kozole has opted for gritty realism at a time when issues of immigration are tight on everyone's lips.

  Drama about Slovenian immigrants being smuggled over the Italian border.
• 
  Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)

  Review preview for Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead

  Every theatrical device in the book is here and everything that makes a film interesting is not.

  Tom Stoppard directs his first play about minor characters from Hamlet.
• 
  Nowhere in Africa (2001)

  Review preview for Nowhere in Africa

  Directed with supreme confidence, Caroline link explores themes of isolation, the pain of unknowing, and the beauty of cultural diversity.

  A poignant Nazi era lesson in cultural understanding and tolerance.
• La Spagnola (2001)

  Review preview for La Spagnola

  Bitter sour and mean spirited.

  Rites-of-passage for teenage Spanish girl growing up with a manic mother in Sixties Australia.
• 
  Maid In Manhattan (2002)

  Review preview for Maid In Manhattan

  As far as the usual diet of formulaic Hollywood romances goes, this isn't so bad. No new ground is made, but then there's very little left to make.

  Ralph Fiennes is a prospective senator who falls for Jennifer Lopez, as a hotel maid.
• 
  Waking Life (2001)

  Review preview for Waking Life

  There are moments when it treads dangerously close to pretension and self-importance, but the dream-like feel of the whole thing brings it down to earth.

  Rotoscope hero attempts to divine the meaning of life through his dreams.
• 
  My Uncle Silas (2000)

  Review preview for My Uncle Silas

  Good, light-hearted Sunday evening fun.

  Tales of a nephew and his madcap uncle.
• 
  Silken Skin (1964)

  Review preview for Silken Skin

  Before making the film, Truffaut spent considerable time with Hitchcock, who's style of filming and fascination with nature's dark side is echoed here.

  A man begins an ill-fated affair with an air stewardess.
• 
  Fellini: I'm A Born Liar (2001)

  Documentary of a final interview with Federico Fellini, plus rare footage.
• 
  Earthly Possessions (1999)

  Review preview for Earthly Possessions

  Sarandon is convincing, endearing, charming and real.

  Susan Sarandon is abducted by Steven Dorff after a bank raid and he steals her heart.
• 
  28 Days Later (2002)

  Review preview for 28 Days Later

  Garland needs to get back to the drawing board and look up the term 'character development' in his notes.

  Survivors run from infected killers after apocalyptic rage virus devastates Britain.
• 
  Gimme Gimme Gimme: The Complete Third Series (2002)

  Review preview for Gimme Gimme Gimme: The Complete Third Series

  Every episode features a greedy helping of dark slapstick humour.

  Kathy Burke is a fat sex maniac and James Dreyfus an effeminate luvvy who share a flat.