Reviews by Jeff Robson

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (1976)

  Review preview for The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea

  It all builds to a climax that should be ludicrous but instead manages to be satisfyingly strange and sinister.

  A troubled young boy becomes jealous when his widowed mother falls in love with an American seaman.
• 
  Killer Of Sheep (1977)

  Review preview for Killer Of Sheep

  A profound, lyrical and moving film that paints a vivid picture of another world without ever resorting to cliché.

  A slaughterhouse worker in 1970s Los Angeles tries to provide for his family and stay out of trouble. Out on reissue.
• 
  Some Came Running (1958)

  Review preview for Some Came Running

  This film doesn’t have a single nude scene or four-letter word in it, but it’s still one of the sexiest bits of celluloid you’ll ever see.

  A failed writer returns to his home town after leaving the Army, and finds himself torn between two very different women.
• 
  Smart People (2008)

  Review preview for Smart People

  Anyone who believes there’s also a place in cinema for old-fashioned stuff like a good script, top-notch acting and the occasional attempt to ask (if not always answer) some of the Big Questions should make a bee-line.

  Can a little romance and a bit of brotherly bonding help a self-absorbed professor confront his life?
• 
  Charlie Bartlett (2007)

  Review preview for Charlie Bartlett

  Yelchin is a charismatic and believable anti-hero, smart but insecure and neither a walking wisecrack-machine nor a stereotypical ‘mixed-up kid’.

  A bright but troubled rich kid unexpectedly finds himself in the American ‘public school’ system – and finds a novel way of beating the bullies.
• 
  Garbage Warrior (2007)

  Review preview for Garbage Warrior

  Hodge is confident and clever enough to let the story tell itself

  Maverick architect Michael Reynolds has spent years building eco-friendly ‘sustainable’ homes in New Mexico. Just as the state authorities crack down, a call for help comes from an island hit by the Asian Tsunami.
• 
  Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution (2007)

  Review preview for Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution

  The trouble is there’s not that many laughs for a comedy, and the few there are trade on stereotypes.

  In 1968, an idealistic schoolteacher moves his family to East Germany in order to experience life in a Communist paradise. But his family, especially his wife, are not so eager.
• 
  Speed Racer (2008)

  Review preview for Speed Racer

  As the shiny roadsters perform death defying stunts to get to the chequered flag, I defy the greenest carphobe not to feel their pulse racing.

  Family values versus corporate dirty tricks in futuristic motor racing spectacular.
• 
  Three And Out (2008)

  Review preview for Three And Out

  Worth a look if you appreciate four top actors giving better performances than the material really deserves.

  A Tube driver accidentally runs over two people, then hears of the ‘three and out’ rule, which offers a huge financial incentive to find someone suitably suicidal...
• 
  Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

  Review preview for Happy-Go-Lucky

  Shot through with Leigh’s trademark improv-based dialogue, constantly finding humour and truth in the mundane.

  Poppy, a young primary school teacher living in Camden Town, starts taking driving lessons with an instructor who is her opposite in every respect.
• 
  My Brother Is An Only Child (2007)

  Review preview for My Brother Is An Only Child

  A tough, compelling tale of just how unhappy families can get, given the wrong circumstances.

  Two brothers growing up in small town Italy in the 1960s devote themselves to opposite ends of the political spectrum. Then they both fall in love with the same girl.
• 
  Under The Bombs (2007)

  Review preview for Under The Bombs

  This film is not a hectoring polemic, rather a passionate plea for understanding and empathy.

  As the Israeli army bombs Lebanon in 2006, a mother makes a desperate journey to try to save her son.
• 
  Forbidden Lie$ (2007)

  Review preview for Forbidden Lie$

  A terrific tale.

  A harrowing ‘true-life’ story about an honour killing in Jordan becomes a publishing sensation. But the author is not all that she seems. Touring.
• 
  Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens (2006)

  Review preview for Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens

  One of the things that shines through very clearly from the footage of Leibovitz at work is how sensitive she is to her subjects, consistently managing to capture original and unexpected images of even the most-photographed actors, performers and politici

  Documentary focusing on the American photographer.
• 
  Youth Without Youth (2007)

  Review preview for Youth Without Youth

  What emerges, despite the magic realist trappings, is a classic Coppola tale; Like Kurtz and Michael Corleone, Dominic is a man alone, haunted by his memories and driven to tragedy by the essence of his character.

  A university professor is struck by lightning and finds himself growing younger.
• 
  The Magic Flute (2006)

  Review preview for The Magic Flute

  A bit kitsch and over the top, but in a good way.

  A First World War officer, concussed by a shell blast, is transported to a magical world in which he must undertake a quest to rescue a beautiful princess.
• 
  Lake Of Fire (2006)

  Review preview for Lake Of Fire

  A powerful, restrained work which sets out the arguments on both sides.

  Documentary on the abortion debate in America, which arouses passionate feelings on both sides.
• 
  Half Moon (2006)

  Review preview for Half Moon

  Sympathy for the underdog and belief in the power of the human spirit shine through.

  A Kurdish Iranian musician travels to Iraq for a concert after the fall of Saddam, determined to bring a legendary female vocalist with him, despite the fact that women are forbidden to sing in public.
• 
  Fox And His Friends (1975)

  Review preview for Fox And His Friends

  The quality of the writing, editing, cinematography and everything else is top-notch, but it’s undoubtedly a bleak, hard watch.

  An unemployed young homosexual finds that a lottery win grants him access to a new, but hostile, world. Out to own now on the RW Fassbinder Commemorative Collection: Vol 2.
• 
  Katzelmacher (1969)

  Review preview for Katzelmacher

  An excellent introduction to his nihilistic but strangely poetic worldview.

  The aimless lives of a group of young Germans are disrupted by the arrival of a Greek immigrant. Out to own now on the RW Fassbinder Commemorative Collection: Volume 1.
• 
  The Black Cat (1934)

  Review preview for The Black Cat

  Despite the fact that no supernatural events actually occur, there’s an all-pervading air of evil, insanity and downright perversion.

  A couple of newlyweds find themselves trapped in a spooky Hungarian mansion after a car crash.
• 
  Brick Lane (2007)

  Review preview for Brick Lane

  A sensitive and beautifully acted tale.

  A Bangladeshi woman struggles to come to terms with a new life in Britain and her own identity.
• 
  Sicko (2007)

  Review preview for Sicko

  Moore’s sense of outrage is as keen as ever, as is his showman’s instinct for what makes good documentary cinema.

  Michael Moore investigates corruption in the American health insurance industry.
• 
  Circus Of Horrors (1960)

  Review preview for Circus Of Horrors

  It ain’t Citizen Kane, but equally it’s a notch or two above the legions of Z-grade schlockers that Hammer was already beginning to churn out at the time and which proliferated as the Sixties swung on.

  A deranged plastic surgeon transforms disfigured prostitutes in a circus - but leaving the ring could prove deadly.
• 
  As You Like It (2006)

  Review preview for As You Like It

  Much Ado About Nothing was like being given a surprise invite to a lavish summer party in Tuscany; this feels more akin to being trapped in a 'back to nature' weekend theatre workshop where the actors are having a lot more fun than you.

  A banished duke and a young nobleman, Orlando, seek refuge in the Forest of Arden. The duke's daughter, in love with Orlando, pursues him disguised as a boy and devises a test for his love.
• 
  Last Waltz In Sarajevo (1990)

  Review preview for Last Waltz In Sarajevo

  Rattles along at a cracking pace, attaining a truly epic feel despite an obviously limited budget.

  A tragicomic look at the events preceeding the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
• 
  Exhibit A (2007)

  Review preview for Exhibit A

  You forget you are watching a fictional narrative for long stretches of the film, so completely do the actors inhabit their characters.

  Camcorder footage reveals the events leading up to brutal murders within an ordinary family home.
• 
  The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

  Review preview for The Heartbreak Kid

  This film sees the brothers right back on form but ringing a few changes and even making the odd serious point.

  A newly married man meets the girl of his dreams.
• 
  In The Shadow Of The Moon (2007)

  Review preview for In The Shadow Of The Moon

  One of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a long time.

  The surviving members of the 1968-72 Apollo missions tell the story of the moon landings in their own words.
• 
  Withnail And I (1986)

  Review preview for Withnail And I

  Richard E Grant's performance is a masterpiece in comic acting.

  The cult film about the adventures of two out-of-work actors on holiday in the Lake District gets a big screen re-issue.
• 
  December Boys (2007)

  Review preview for December Boys

  The buzz around December Boys has been considerable – but in truth it doesn’t bear the weight of expectation, being a slight and somewhat predictable coming of age drama with a heavy dose of religiosity.

  Four boys from a Catholic orphanage in Australia are given a summer holiday in a remote cove, where they learn more about love, family and friendship.
• 
  3.10 To Yuma (2007)

  Review preview for 3.10 To Yuma

  Mangold’s version proceeds far too quickly to a ludicrous, logic-defying shoot out.

  A Civil War veteran tries to raise the money to keep his ranch afloat by escorting a notorious outlaw to jail.
• 
  Daft Punk's Electroma (2007)

  Review preview for Daft Punk's Electroma

  They really do do nothing but walk. Across the desert...this is all no doubt a radical deconstruction of conventional narrative assumptions and cinematic codes. It’s also very boring.

  Two robots' quest to become human.
• 
  Gandhi, My Father (2007)

  Review preview for Gandhi, My Father

  Any film about Gandhi will inevitably invite comparisons to Richard Attenborough’s, but Khan... has created a much more intimate, low-key exploration of the man rather than the myth.

  In 1906, Gandhi’s eldest son Harilal joins his father at his recently-founded communal farm/ashram in South Africa. But as Gandhi’s civil rights campaigning gathers pace, the relationship between the two men becomes strained.
• 
  Breach (2007)

  Review preview for Breach

  Congratulations are in order to Shattered Glass helmer Billy Ray for playing it straight and subtle, resisting the temptation to jazz up the action quota and indulge in Hollywood speechifying.

  A young, ambitious FBI agent is ordered to spy on his boss, who the organisation believe has been betraying his country for 20 years.
• 
  Sugarhouse (2007)

  Review preview for Sugarhouse

  It's refreshing to see a British film that aims for the freewheeling, semi-improvised feel of Scorsese's Mean Streets.

  A white collar worker meets a petty crook to buy some illegal merchandise, which happens to have been stolen from the neighbourhood psycho.
• 
  Captivity (2007)

  Review preview for Captivity

  The finale takes an age to arrive and then manages to be both unbelievable and predictable.

  A beautiful fashion model is kidnapped and tortured by an unknown assailant.
• 
  Magicians (2007)

  Review preview for Magicians

  This is one of those films you keep hoping will step up a gear while slowly realising it won’t.

  Magic duo Harry (Mitchell) and Karl (Webb) part company after an unfortunate accident, but a national magic contest tempts them to reunite.
• 
  28 Weeks Later (2007)

  Review preview for 28 Weeks Later

  Focus on character gives way to the temptations of a bigger budget – more bangs and gore but markedly less suspense.

  Six months after the events of 28 Days Later a US-led force begins a tentative attempt to repopulate Britain.
• 
  My Best Friend (2006)

  Review preview for My Best Friend

  Leconte’s film constantly amuses and surprises, genuinely uplifting while making very clear that people can be a bit rubbish sometimes.

  A successful antiques dealer, challenged by his dinner companions to introduce his best friend for a bet, realises he doesn’t have one.
• 
  Ten Canoes (2006)

  Review preview for Ten Canoes

  This is storytelling in its truest sense and the cast rise to the occasion.

  An Aboriginal hunting party passes the time by retelling an old fable that has a particular resonance for the youngest member.
• 
  Lost Embrace (2004)

  A young Jewish man comes to terms with his identity and copes with the trauma of an absent father, helped and hindered by his eccentric family and friends.
• 
  The Great Ecstasy Of Robert Carmichael (2005)

  Review preview for The Great Ecstasy Of Robert Carmichael

  I’m at a loss to see what Thomas Clay’s point is.

  The fall of an intelligent teenager into a life of ultraviolence and depravity.
• 
  Jindabyne (2006)

  Review preview for Jindabyne

  A compelling look at the tensions and contradictions behind the image of ‘The Lucky Country’.

  A close-knit Australian community is rocked when four men discover a murder victim’s corpse and do nothing about it.
• 
  Alpha Dog (2006)

  Review preview for Alpha Dog

  Cassavetes could easily have made all this into a dead serious finger-wagging morality tale of wasted youth. Fortunately, he realises the potential for jet-black comedy.

  The party-hearty lifestyle of bored Californian rich kids is rocked to the core when a botched drug deal has tragic consequences.
• 
  Paradise Lost (2006)

  Review preview for Paradise Lost

  Despite a running time of barely 90 minutes, this film seems to take an age to get to the point.

  A gang of backpackers find themselves terrorised in the Brazilian jungle.
• 
  Straightheads (2007)

  Review preview for Straightheads

  The climax of Adam and Alice’s vengeance becomes so extreme that it veers into black farce. As a thriller it’s tight and gripping enough.

  A couple, brought together by a chance encounter, react to a horrific attack by plotting vengeance.