Reviews by Jeff Robson

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Sands Of Iwo Jima (1949)

  Review preview for Sands Of Iwo Jima

  Undeniably gung-ho and corny at times... but the characters are more than mere stereotypes.

  A tough US Marines sergeant trains a squad of new recruits and leads them into battle, culminating in the fierce fighting at Iwo Jima.
• 
  The Secret Life Of Bees (2008)

  Review preview for The Secret Life Of Bees

  The film is even-handed... but I did feel like I was simultaneously having my heartstrings pulled and being lectured on female empowerment in African-American history.

  A young girl, escaping from her tyrannical father in Civil Rights era South Carolina, finds a very different surrogate family.
• 
  Senna (2010)

  Review preview for Senna

  The film’s undoubtedly a dream ride for any boy racer.

  Documentary about the three-times world champion Formula One driver.
• 
  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?
• 
  The Snows Of Kilimanjaro (2011)

  Review preview for The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

  Guediguian takes a subtle and even-handed approach, well aware that the selflessness of the central characters will be construed as weakness and misplaced guilt.

  Director Robert Guediguian returns to his old Marseilles stamping ground for an entertaining, politically passionate drama starring the director's ensemble regulars.
• 
  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.
• 
  Soul Men (2008)

  Review preview for Soul Men

  The two actors bring a wealth of experience and comic timing to their roles – Mac the constantly-hustling control freak riffs nicely off Jackson’s laid-back free spirit persona.

  Two soul singers are tempted out of retirement to perform at a tribute gig.
• 
  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.
• 
  State Of Play (2009)

  Review preview for State Of Play

  The producers have kept what was best about the original, added some interesting touches and resisted the temptation to pile on the contrivances and explosions.

  An investigative reporter finds his loyalties conflicted when a story involving murder, blackmail and conspiracy centres on his old friend, now an up-and-coming Congressman.
• 
  Stolen (2009)

  Review preview for Stolen

  One comes away from it with the definite sense that there’s a story here which needs to be told, but which a lot of powerful interests would rather remained hidden.

  Saharawi refugees in the Algerian desert speak out about slavery, and two filmmakers find themselves in unexpected danger.
• 
  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.
• 
  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.
• 
  Sunday Ball (2014)

  Review preview for Sunday Ball

  I’ll stick my neck out, Brian, and predict that this young lad’s got a bright future as a director.

  As the World Cup in Brazil reaches a climax, a very different final is taking place just down the road…
• 
  Sweetgrass (2009)

  Review preview for Sweetgrass

  It plunges you right into a Midwest midwinter, where wind and snow scour a starkly beautiful landscape and a built-in woolly jumper is a prerequisite for survival.

  A year in the life of a flock of sheep and the people who tend to them.
• 
  Taking Woodstock (2009)

  Review preview for Taking Woodstock

  A loving and gently funny take on one of the defining moments of America’s counter-culture era.

  The story of the youngster who set the wheels in motion for the iconic music festival.
• 
  Taxi Tehran (2015)

  Review preview for Taxi Tehran

  It’s a wonderfully subversive act...but on its own merits (which I’m sure is how Panahi would want it to be judged) it seemed to me overlong, repetitive and self-indulgent.

  An Iranian director forbidden to make movies works as a taxi driver, and installs hidden cameras in his cab…
• 
  Terry (2011)

  Review preview for Terry

  There’s no doubt that Nevern captures the constant sense of danger, mixed with moments of anarchic exhilaration, that make up the world of people like Terry – the editing is frenetic and the soundtrack suitably pumped-up.

  A film student follows a small-time criminal for a college project.
• 
  This Sporting Life (1963)

  Review preview for This Sporting Life

  Anderson is astonishingly assured for a first-timer.

  A Rugby League player embarks on a doomed affair with his landlady.
• 
  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...
• 
  Tintin And The Mystery Of The Golden Fleece (1961)

  Review preview for Tintin And The Mystery Of The Golden Fleece

  The somewhat uneven performances and machine-translator dubbed dialogue add to the sense of ramshackle charm.

  The eternally youthful reporter/ detective and his chums find themselves involved in a treasure hunt when Captain Haddock receives a surprise inheritance.
• 
  'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris (2006)

  Review preview for 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris

  Any doubts that this film might just be a devotee’s wilful championing of a mediocre talent that found its natural niche are immediately banished when he sings.

  Documentary about "the greatest voice you never heard".
• 
  Tony Manero (2008)

  Review preview for Tony Manero

  The nature of delusion and fixation has been explored many times in cinema, but rarely with such grim and gripping intensity.

  The story of a psychotic fiftysomething and his obssession with John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever.
• 
  To The Wonder (2012)

  Review preview for To The Wonder

  Once again, Malick tackles the big themes full on – love, the nature of creation and creativity, the relationship of Man to God, and of humanity to the environment – and reaches what seems to me a pretty pessimistic conclusion.

  A young couple – one French, one American – try to keep their relationship alive across two continents.
• 
  Transporter 3 (2008)

  Review preview for Transporter 3

  You can almost smell the burning rubber - and, indeed, the testosterone.

  Frank Martin is forced into another ‘transporter’ job. But this time the package is human – and very beautiful.
• 
  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.
• 
  Thelma And Louise (1991)

  Review preview for Thelma And Louise

  The fact that this film still gets people talking, and arguing, nearly 20 years on, is surely an argument for its quality and relevance.

  Two women go on the run when a road-trip vacation goes tragically wrong...
• 
  The Thing (1982)

  Review preview for The Thing

  A classic white-knuckle ride.

  A group of scientists at an Antarctic research station discover a killer alien that can mutate into any life-form it touches. See it in all its glory in big-screen re-release.
• 
  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.
• 
  Unforgiven (1992)

  Review preview for Unforgiven

  Perfectly paced and beautifully shot, this manages to be both a successful piece of revisionism and a classic Western at the same time.

  An ageing gunfighter is lured out of retirement to provide for his children.
• 
  The Unloved (2009)

  Review preview for The Unloved

  A striking and inventive piece of work that many more experienced directors would give their right arms for.

  After being beaten by her father, a young girl is taken to a children’s home.
• 
  The Usual Suspects (1995)

  Review preview for The Usual Suspects

  Singer and McQuarrie expertly sustain a rich and tantalising conceit, keeping the reader guessing to a superb climax – and beyond.

  Five criminals thrown together in a police line-up decide to team up for a high-stakes job.
• 
  Vigo (1998)

  Review preview for Vigo

  While it doesn’t quite get to the heart of the enigma, it’s still a striking and heartfelt film in its own right.

  While being treated in a TB sanatorium, aspiring filmmaker Jean Vigo meets a beautiful fellow patient.
• 
  Vampyr (1932)

  Review preview for Vampyr

  Profoundly unsettling, richly atmospheric, a milestone in the development of cinematic ‘grammar’ as well as an edge-of-the-seat horror movie to rival the best.

  A young occultist stumbles upon a French village shrouded in fog and haunted by a vampire.
• 
  Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

  Review preview for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

  The best movie this wonderful writer/director has made in a long time; funny, sharp, perfectly paced and rather gorgeously shot, with a quartet of cracking parts for excellent actors placed firmly at its centre.

  Two young American girls on holiday in Barcelona become romantically involved with a Spanish painter.
• 
  Wadjda (2012)

  Review preview for Wadjda

  A cracking film by a born filmmaker and I can’t wait to see what all involved in it do next.

  A young Saudi girl who will stop at nothing to earn enough money to buy the bicycle she craves.
• 
  Wah Do Dem (2009)

  Review preview for Wah Do Dem

  If you’re in the mood for an original riff on a familiar tune, you could do worse than hop on board.

  A young American tourist is robbed in Jamaica and his attempts to reach the American Embassy in Kingston turn into a surreal odyssey.
• 
  Warlock (1959)

  Review preview for Warlock

  Dmytryk keeps it all ticking along nicely with the assurance of an old pro, while giving all the central relationships and subtler nuances room to breathe.

  Restored Western. A town terrorised by a rancher’s thugs hires a professional gunfighter to bring order.
• 
  Water For Elephants (2011)

  Review preview for Water For Elephants

  The film’s an unashamedly full-on exercise in manipulating your emotions, giving you an event every five minutes and keeping Kleenex in business.

  An old man recounts his experiences with a travelling circus in the 1930s – and his love for the ringmaster’s wife.
• 
  The Way (2010)

  Review preview for The Way

  Quirky, moving and reflective, The Way also offers a long-overdue opportunity for a true screen icon to deliver a star turn.

  An American optician is prompted by family tragedy to undertake the ‘Camino’ pilgrimage to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.
• 
  The Wicker Man: The Final Cut (2013)

  Review preview for The Wicker Man: The Final Cut

  [The new footage] doesn’t severely blunt, and in some other cases enhances, the impact of a film that yields more with every viewing.

  A policeman gets more than he bargained for on a remote Scottish isle - now in a new, restored version with additional footage.
• 
  Wild Child (2008)

  Review preview for Wild Child

  It’s straight from the screenwriters’ manual and the final outcome is as inevitable as a Zimbabwean election result, but there’s a fair degree of fun to be had along the way.

  A spoilt LA rich kid is packed off to a traditional English girls’ school. At first she is determined to escape, but then she begins making friends – and catching the eye of the headmistress’ handsome young son...
• 
  The Wild Bunch (1969)

  Review preview for The Wild Bunch

  A revolutionary film, in every sense of the word.

  A group of ageing outlaws plan one last big score in the dying days of the American West.
• 
  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.
• 
  Women In Love (1969)

  Review preview for Women In Love

  Russell takes a full-tilt approach to bringing DH Lawrence’s novel alive on screen in all its earthy, sensual – and often ludicrously overblown – glory.

  Two sisters in a mining town in the 1920s fall in love with two contrasting men.
• 
  The X-Files: I Want To Believe (2008)

  Review preview for The X-Files: I Want To Believe

  The story boils down to a pretty familiar chase scenario.

  Mulder and Scully are reunited for a case involving a disgraced priest who has psychic visions linked to a series of gruesome abductions.
• 
  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.
• 
  Zebra Crossing (2008)

  Review preview for Zebra Crossing

  Holland’s directing shows a lot or flair and promise, often finding a striking image or unusual angle in his stark cityscapes.

  A young man growing up in south London tries to escape from a life of crime and violence.