Reviews by Donald Munro

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  360 (2011)

  Review preview for 360

  Two things that save this cowp of a film from utter banality are the cinematography, which is technically competent, and the quality of the actors and their performances.

  A dynamic, star-studded study of love in the 21st century.
• 
  Acacias (2011)

  Review preview for Acacias

  Las Acacias is a slow subtle film which focuses on the interaction of the three main characters within the bubble of the truck's cab.

  A truck driver agrees to transport a woman and her baby, not anticipating the change it may bring to his quiet life.
• 
  Akira (1988)

  Review preview for Akira

  Akira was a step change in what animation could show.

  The classic anime tale of rivalry between two boys who uncover the mysterious secret of a post-apocalyptic world. On re-issue.
• 
  All Is True (2018)

  Review preview for All Is True

  Elton has free reign to give life to just about any flight of fancy, but what he produces is quite ordinary.

  A look at the final days in the life of renowned playwright William Shakespeare.
• 
  The Angry River (1971)

  Review preview for The Angry River

  What sets it apart is writer/director Huang Feng's eye for composition. His landscapes are amongst the best in Hong Kong cinema.

  A respected martial arts elder is poisoned by a treacherous kung fu master, who plans to rule over the martial arts world. His daughter makes a perilous journey to obtain the only known cure, but things don't go according to plan.
• 
  Armoured (2009)

  Review preview for Armoured

  Clips along at a fast enough pace for you to avoid noticing its flaws.

  A former soldier in financial difficulty is persuaded to take part in a heist, but nothing goes to plan.
• 
  Art Talent Show (2022)

  Review preview for Art Talent Show

  What makes Art Talent Show special is the way it captures human moments: a snippet of interpersonal communication in a meeting; a conversation; someone stretching off and doing a little half-hearted dance after a long day.

  Documentary about life in an art academy.
• 
  The Age Of Stupid (2009)

  Review preview for The Age Of Stupid

  The differing perspectives of the participants show that our relationship with oil is complex.

  Docudrama about a future archivist looking back on the events that devastated Earth.
• 
  The Angels' Share (2012)

  Review preview for The Angels' Share

  One of The Angels' Share's strongest points is the way the script and the actors capture natural language.

  A group of young offenders doing community service find inspiration in whisky.
• 
  Assassin's Creed (2016)

  Review preview for Assassin's Creed

  This film is not worth seeing. The costumes, special effects and a brilliant cast can't save it.

  Two factions struggle for control of mankind's destiny.
• 
  The Battles of Coronel And Falkland Islands (1927)

  Review preview for The Battles of Coronel And Falkland Islands

  The depiction of The Battle of Coronel is truly gripping.

  Silent-era econstruction of two decisive naval battles from the First World War.
• 
  Barry Lyndon (1975)

  Review preview for Barry Lyndon

  Kubrick badly misses the mark with this film, not in quality, but by a whole decade. It simply does not fit into the 1970s.

  The rise and fall of an Irish rogue.
• 
  Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Vixens (1979)

  Review preview for Beneath The Valley Of The Ultra-Vixens

  50 attempts at shark jumping sexplotation and a main plot that consists of three puerile jokes.

  Believe it or not, even Smalltown USA still has people who are unfulfilled and unrelieved in the midst of plenty.
• 
  Ben-Hur (1959)

  Review preview for Ben-Hur

  The film uses an unusually wide aspect ratio: 2.76:1, which accentuates the stillness of the fleets approaching before the screen erupts in the chaos of battle.

  A Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, but it's not long before he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
• 
  The Big Blue (1988)

  Review preview for The Big Blue

  The Big Blue is pure cinéma du look.

  Two of the best ‘free’ divers in the world are set to compete against each other at the world championships.
• 
  Blackport (2021)

  Review preview for Blackport

  It should add up to a fast paced, racy show, but it's all a little lacklustre.

  A young married couple see their livelihoods threatened when the government starts enforcing restrictive fishing quotas after they have built up a small fishing empire in a village.
• 
  Black Tuesday (1954)

  Review preview for Black Tuesday

  The film has a German Expressionist look about it, more so than many of the later American film noirs: the way faces are shot, the bizarre object in the warehouse.

  A gangster and a bank robber escape from Death Row minutes before their scheduled execution by electric chair.
• 
  Blue Giant (2023)

  Review preview for Blue Giant

  When Blue Giant steps away from anime cliché it puts its foot straight into light entertainment.

  When a student receives a saxophone as a gift, he starts practising immediately, and finds himself drawn into the world of jazz.
• 
  Bonnie Blue: James Cotton's Life In The Blues (2025)

  Review preview for Bonnie Blue: James Cotton's Life In The Blues

  A mix of archival material, sections of interviews with people who knew the man and a few talking heads to give their opinion on things.

  A documentary about James Cotton, schooled by Sonny Boy Williamson II and Muddy Waters, who brought delta blues into the rock 'n roll mainstream and the blues to everyone.
• 
  Boy Kills World (2023)

  Review preview for Boy Kills World

  The film goes at it with all the manic intensity of an old Saturday morning kids TV show: Wacaday cruentus.

  A dystopian fever dream action film that follows Boy, a deaf mute with a vibrant imagination. When his family is murdered, he is trained by a mysterious shaman to repress his childish imagination and become an instrument of death.
• 
  Bullhead (2011)

  Review preview for Bullhead

  As a study of damaged masculinity and sexuality, Bullhead has a lot more depth than the crime thriller it started off as.

  A young cattle farmer is drawn into a dangerous deal.
• 
  The Campaign (2012)

  Review preview for The Campaign

  There is nothing glaringly awful about the film, it's just that it's very middle of the road.

  Rivals slug it out over a North Carolina electoral district.
• 
  Cecile Is Dead (1944)

  Review preview for Cecile Is Dead

  The comedy is quick, funny and often well observed. The actors are all quite capable of delivering it at pace.

  A woman keeps coming to Quai Des Orfevres to see Inspector Maigret about disturbing events in her household. Maigret is annoyed, until this woman is found dead and he realises she was on to something.
• 
  Chantal Akerman: Volume 1, 1967-1978 (2025)

  Review preview for Chantal Akerman: Volume 1, 1967-1978

  A collection of early films by Chantal Akerman.

  A selection of early films by Chantal Akerman.
• 
  Cop Out (2010)

  Review preview for Cop Out

  The rules for this film are tell don't show and signpost everything.

  A stolen baseball card leads a veteran NYPD cop to track down a gangster obsessed with memorabilia
• 
  Cross Of Iron (1977)

  Review preview for Cross Of Iron

  First rate acting from Coburn and Schell is complemented by fine performances from the supporting actors.

  As the Wehrmacht retreat on the Eastern Front, two German soldiers are locked in a futile personal conflict.
• 
  Cruel Tale Of Bushido (1963)

  Review preview for Cruel Tale Of Bushido

  Tadashi Imai is an excellent director of both character and action, but what really stands out in Cruel Tale Of Bushido is the way he frames suffering.

  After a salaryman's fiancée attempts suicide, he remembers his gruesome family history, which sees his ancestors sacrificing themselves for the sake of their cruel lords, and realises that he's repeated their mistakes.
• 
  Cuckoo (2009)

  Review preview for Cuckoo

  Writer/director Richard Bracewell uses Andrew Hewitt's eerie soundtrack, darkness and dead space to produce a disjointed, slightly disturbing viewing experience.

  A young woman struggles to retain her sanity as she has to cope with a cheating partner and an intrusive supervisor.
• 
  Cursed Films (2020)

  Review preview for Cursed Films

  The archive footage is well chosen and the interviews are concise.

  A documentary series which explores the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood's notoriously cursed horror film productions.
• 
  Cutting Loose (2011)

  Review preview for Cutting Loose

  Cutting Loose has a certain style and flair that brings out the artistry of hair dressing.

  Prisoners move toward rehabilitation and struggle with their hopes and dreams in the run up to the annual Scottish Prison Service hairdressing competition.
• 
  The Darkest Hour (2011)

  Review preview for The Darkest Hour

  I'm surprised that there wasn't a tech on set who could have told people how electricity works.

  Five English speakers in Moscow try to survive an alien invasion.
• 
  Dark Winds (2022)

  Review preview for Dark Winds

  Despite the somewhat formulaic plot - the twist and turns are what you would expect and where you would expect them - the pacing of the narrative makes Dark Winds very watchable.

  Two Navajo police officers in the Southwest US in the Seventies are forced to challenge their own spiritual beliefs when they search for clues in a double murder case.
• 
  Daughters Of Darkness (1971)

  Review preview for Daughters Of Darkness

  The story is told more through symbols, the expressionist, the surreal, rather that through the harsh binary abstractions of language.

  While passing through a vacation resort, a newlywed couple encounters a mysterious, strikingly beautiful countess and her aide.
• 
  The Devil's Hand (1943)

  Review preview for The Devil's Hand

  Considering when and where the film was made there is an obvious allegory between the plot and cooperating with the Nazi regime, or at least the Vichy puppet government.

  Roland buys a severed hand talisman for a nickel, gaining love, wealth and fame. After he has enjoyed a year of success, the devil appears to collect payment.
• 
  Devil Girl From Mars (1954)

  Review preview for Devil Girl From Mars

  Part of the charm of Devil Girl From Mars is how seriously the movie takes itself.

  An uptight, leather-clad female alien, armed with a ray gun and accompanied by a menacing robot, comes to Earth to collect Earthmen as breeding stock.
• 
  The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966)

  Review preview for The Diabolical Dr. Z

  Almost safe for work.

  Dr. Zimmer, a neurosurgeon disciple of Dr. Orlof, dies when trying to prove that the origin of good and evil is physiological. His daughter seeks to avenge her father by controlling the mind of a Black-Widow dancer with long fingernails.
• 
  The Dilemma (2011)

  Review preview for The Dilemma

  There are a couple of good laughs but they certainly don't carry two hours of film.

  A socially awkward guy agonises over whether or not to tell his business partner that his wife is unfaithful.
• 
  Dirty Harry (1971)

  Review preview for Dirty Harry

  Dirty Harry helps usher in a series of nihilist American thrillers that typified the 1970s.

  When a man calling himself the Scorpio Killer menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails police Inspector 'Dirty' Harry Callahan is assigned to track him down.
• 
  Dough (2021)

  Review preview for Dough

  The thing that will keep you watching Dough is the cast and performances.

  One woman finds a bag of money buried in the ground while another is hunted by criminals in this mini-series about robbery, money laundering and running a bakery.
• 
  Edge Of Darkness (2010)

  Review preview for Edge Of Darkness

  The film does feel like it has been cut down from something that was far bigger and is a little awkward, clumsy as it tells rather than shows.

  A former detective uncovers his daughter's secret life and the reasons why people want her dead.
• 
  The End We Start From (2023)

  Review preview for The End We Start From

  If you take it for what it is rather than what it was marketed as, The End We Start From is an interesting watch.

  A woman who along with her newborn try to find their way home as environmental crisis that submerges London in flood waters and sees a young family torn apart in the chaos.
• 
  Evangelion: 3.0 1.01 Thrice Upon A Time (2021)

  Review preview for Evangelion: 3.0 1.01 Thrice Upon A Time

  It is not the innovative experience that some have made it out to be.

  The fourth and final instalment of the Rebuild of Evangelion. Misato and her anti-Nerv group Wille arrive in Paris, a city now red from core-isation. Crew from the flagship Wunder land on a containment tower.
• 
  Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

  Review preview for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

  The strongest features of the of the film are the performances by Max von Sydow and by Sandra Bullock as Linda, Oskar's mother.

  A boy trying to come to terms with the death of his father on 9/11 finds a mysterious key.
• 
  Fantômas (1913)

  Review preview for Fantômas

  Much of the cinematic language that is used in crime, action and spy films today has its origin in these silent films.

  Fantômas is pursued by Inspector Juve (Edmund Breon) and newspaper reporter Jérôme Fandor (Georges Melchior) as he carries out his nefarious schemes.
• 
  The Fault In Our Stars (2014)

  Review preview for The Fault In Our Stars

  The problem is that it's not just sugar coated, it's frosted and sprinkled.

  Teenagers who meet through their cancer treatment embark on a journey together.
• 
  The Fires (2025)

  Review preview for The Fires

  What Sigríður, Markus Englmair, and Ugla have done as writers and writer/director is hang a disaster movie on top of a family drama. That is what makes the film compelling.

  Anna Arnardóttir, Iceland's top volcanologist, faces two disasters at once: a volcanic eruption that threatens the safety of the capital city and a love affair that could destroy her marriage.
• 
  Friday the 13th (1980)

  Review preview for Friday the 13th

  Friday The 13th is a well made but fairly unremarkable film. What about it could so incense the white male American critic?

  A series of vicious murders occurs at a summer camp.
• 
  Furious Swords Fantastic Warriors (2025)

  Review preview for Furious Swords Fantastic Warriors

  Some superb, if sometimes overlong, Kung Fu fights combined with physical stunt work that is truly impressive.

  A box set featuring ten films by Chang Cheh.
• 
  Goon (2011)

  Review preview for Goon

  What Goon does well is action on the ice and banter.

  Labeled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.
• 
  Hamish (2016)

  Review preview for Hamish

  Hamish provides an interesting and enlightening insight into a culturally important man.

  A documentary portrait of Hamish Henderson, poet, soldier, intellectual, activist, songwriter and leading force in the revival of Scottish folk music.