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Reviews by Paul Griffiths

Order by: Date, A–Z

  • The Flight Of The Red Balloon (2007)
    Review preview for The Flight Of The Red Balloon

    A contemplative and visually dulcet experience.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    A busy mother’s young boy attracts the attention of a large balloon.
  • Flutter (2010)
    Review preview for Flutter

    Borg's assured direction and the cinematography of Christopher Ross (of darker Eden Lake and London to Brighton fame) maintain a noir-like chiaroscuro style throughout.

    Paul Griffiths · 2.5 out of 5
    John is a professional gambler but when he meets a beautiful and mysterious new bookie his life starts to spiral out of control.
  • Funny Games (2007)
    Review preview for Funny Games

    Haneke once again delivers intellectual, challenging and bravura filmmaking.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    English language remake of the ice-cold horror about a family held hostage by a pair of preppy youngsters. Plus read our with producer Chris Coen.
  • Flick (2007)
    Review preview for Flick

    There's enough style and aplomb to give this the makings of a minor cult classic and a suitable addition to the rotting canon.

    Paul Griffiths · 3 out of 5
    Ghoulish grindhouse flick about a Memphis cop who is called in to help solve a string of Welsh murders.
  • The Fourth Dimension (2012)
    Review preview for The Fourth Dimension

    Fawns completes the troika with a ringing emotional pop.

    Paul Griffiths · 3 out of 5
    Triplet of short films, conforming to a fixed 'creative brief'.
  • The Fourth Man (2007)
    Review preview for The Fourth Man

    An intelligently wrought and visually textured thriller.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    After awaking from a coma, an amnesiac man investigates who shot him at point blank range.
  • Gardens Of The Night (2007)
    Review preview for Gardens Of The Night

    A testament to harrowing real-life experiences.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    A harrowing account of child abduction and survival.
  • A Good Year (2006)
    Review preview for A Good Year

    Crowe's too substantial a lead man to fit into these Hugh Grant-ish shoes.

    Paul Griffiths · 2 out of 5
    Gentle drama about a ruthless investment banker who inherits his uncle's French estate.
  • Ghost In The Shell 3: Solid State Society (2007)
    Review preview for Ghost In The Shell 3: Solid State Society

    G.I.T.S.3 once again merits its sci-fi credentials by being punchingly relevant to today in its view of tomorrow.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    The latest feature length instalment of the renowned anime series.
  • Good Luck Chuck (2007)
    Review preview for Good Luck Chuck

    A lame romantic sex comedy that overcooks its meagre ingredients to be a very underdone American Pie.

    Paul Griffiths · 1 out of 5
    A young man struggles to keep a girlfriend when every woman he sleeps with promptly falls in love with someone else.
  • The Grudge 2 (2003)
    Review preview for The Grudge 2

    Trying to terrify you with nothing more than a wig knocks any serious attempt at the frighteners out the window.

    Paul Griffiths · 2.5 out of 5
    The chain of J-horror continues. Shimizu's original sequel is out to own on double-disc DVD just in time for his US remake.
  • Guilty Pleasures (2010)
    Review preview for Guilty Pleasures

    A feel-good recognition that nobody’s perfect, despite the ideal lifestyles we’re marketed.

    Paul Griffiths · 3 out of 5
    A documentary about a convention for romance novel enthusiasts who dream of making the Mills & Boone story come true.
  • Hand of Death (1976)
    Quality period kung fu with some modern day masters.
  • Happy Few (2010)
    Review preview for Happy Few

    The moneyed, beautiful bourgeoisie cooly emoting the eloquent travails of a menage á quatre.

    Paul Griffiths · 3 out of 5
    Life becomes complicated when two respectable Parisian couples decide to start sleeping together.
  • Heavy Load (2008)
    Review preview for Heavy Load

    A moving, entertaining and inspiring documentary that really is about what happiness can be, punk or no punk.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    On the rocky road with punk band Heavy Load.
  • Helena From The Wedding (2010)
    Review preview for Helena From The Wedding

    While the characters might amuse and irk, they certainly don’t touch us.

    Paul Griffiths · 2 out of 5
    Dissection of marriage in modern-day America.
  • The Hidden Hand (2012)
    Review preview for The Hidden Hand

    It is left for the viewer to decide, although by giving his documentary such a cabalistic title, it is clear where Carman stands.

    Paul Griffiths · 2.5 out of 5
    A guide to theories of alien contact with Earth.
  • The Hitcher (2007)
    Review preview for The Hitcher

    Bush and Knighton are underwhelming.

    Paul Griffiths · 2 out of 5
    The thumb's out for a second time around the block.
  • Hi! Otsuka Drugstore (2010)
    Review preview for Hi! Otsuka Drugstore

    The direction shows flair, picking out striking visual lines and depth in the most ordinary of locations, all awash with over-saturated video colours.

    Paul Griffiths · 2 out of 5
    A bullish drugstore owner befriends a schoolgirl with a hopeless crush on a boy.
  • Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (2007)
    Review preview for Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go

    A simple, moving documentary.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    Documentary following the lives of children suffering severe emotional trauma.
  • Home (2008)
    Review preview for Home

    This enticing tale of spiralling humour and darkness is an accomplished debut.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    Change knocks on a French family’s front door when a motorway opens up outside their house.
  • Hoodwinked (2005)
    The truth about Little Red Riding Hood.
  • Inception (2010)
    Review preview for Inception

    There is more than a nod the very art of storytelling - a neuro-noir fantasy this may be, but with its plucky band travelling to the underworlds and back it’s also as classical as it can get.

    Paul Griffiths · 4.5 out of 5
    DiCaprio's dream spy takes on the ultimate inside job.
  • I Am Legend (2007)
    Review preview for I Am Legend

    Quality science fiction let down by a heinous, politically work-shopped ending.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    In the aftermath of a devastating plague, the last man left must fight off those who are no longer human like him.
  • Incredibly Small (2010)
    Review preview for Incredibly Small

    With a slender premise, set up and resolution, the fact that its small ideas can resonate so well afterwards is a minor triumph.

    Paul Griffiths · 2.5 out of 5
    A guy, a girl, a 300 square foot apartment – let the fight begin.
  • La Influencia (2007)
    Review preview for La Influencia

    Not nearly as gruelling as it sounds, this is eventually a glass-is-half full film, as long as you seek out a positive way of looking at it.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    Depression overwhelms a single mother as she struggles to cope with everyday life.
  • Instant Swamp (2009)
    Review preview for Instant Swamp

    The real charm and humour comes from the characters’ feisty interplay.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    When a woman has a run of bad luck and her mother falls ill, she finds out that her family might not be everything she assumed it was.
  • In Memory Of Me (2007)
    Review preview for In Memory Of Me

    Enthralling, mesmeric, austerely picturesque and approachably profound filmmaking.

    Paul Griffiths · 4.5 out of 5
    A man tired of his superficial life decides to join the priesthood but finds a web of deceit in the monastery which makes him question his faith.
  • It's Your Fault (2010)
    Review preview for It's Your Fault

    The picture is a claustrophobic, intimate jumble... The terrific sound design is instrumental as well.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    When a single mother takes her injured son to the hospital, the suspicions she encounters turn her world upside down.
  • The IT Crowd (2006)
    Review preview for The IT Crowd

    All seven episodes had me laughing out loud a couple of times.

    Paul Griffiths · 3 out of 5
    Channel 4 comedy about computer support staff.
  • I Heart Huckabees (2004)
    Review preview for I Heart Huckabees

    This is as inventive and left field as Being John Malkovich, but with broader smiles and bigger issues.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    A man hires a pair of existential detectives.
  • Jetsam (2007)
    Review preview for Jetsam

    A well-polished calling card for writer/director Simon Welsford.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    An unconscious woman washes up on a beach, with intrigue in tow.
  • Jumper (2008)
    Review preview for Jumper

    Despite its winning formula of talent, concept and visual execution, Jumper feels like a slightly anaemic first instalment.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    A young man discovers he has the ability to teleport and that a secret society wants to kill him for it.
  • Juno (2007)
    Review preview for Juno

    The proverbial buzz surrounding Juno is, like, totally justified.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    A teenager finds her own way of dealing with an unplanned pregnancy.
  • Kill Me (2012)
    Review preview for Kill Me

    The moments of satisfying personal drama and suspense are built slowly rather than thumped out with high intensity.

    Paul Griffiths · 2.5 out of 5
    A suicidal teenager agrees to help a murderer on the run if he will kill her afterwards, but as they flee, he finds himself beginning to care for her.
  • Knight And Day (2010)
    Review preview for Knight And Day

    It all feels too professional, too clean, too choreographed.

    Paul Griffiths · 2 out of 5
    A car mechanic finds herself on the run with an AWOL Superspy.
  • Knuckle (2011)
    Review preview for Knuckle

    Palmer successfully captures the abundant passion, charisma and loyalty of those involved, yet inescapably through the prism of the community shows a wider, bleaker picture.

    Paul Griffiths · 3 out of 5
    An 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting.
  • Little Manhattan (2005)
    Review preview for Little Manhattan

    Kicking off with a fine one-two of gags, inventive credits and intelligently paced laughs, Little Manhattan thankfully has a deliberate game plan.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    The spirit of The Wonder Years lives on in another New York rom-com.
  • Lady Vengeance (2005)
    Review preview for Lady Vengeance

    Again and again Chang-wook and his cinematographer, Jeong Jeong-hun, deliver scenes and frames of singular cinematic style and beauty.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    Revenge is ugly and intricately planned in South Korea. Now out to own as part of the Vengeance Trilogy box set.
  • Legacy: Black Ops (2010)
    Review preview for Legacy: Black Ops

    The real star here is creator Eromose.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    A former special agent holed up in a hotel room in the aftermath of a failed Eastern European mission grows suspicious of his brother's political success.
  • Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
    A dysfunctional family's road trip to a beauty pageant.
  • Look Both Ways (2005)
    Review preview for Look Both Ways

    A real treat.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    Award-winning Aussie indie sees urban lives revolving around a tragic incident. Now out to own on DVD.
  • Love + Hate (2005)
    Review preview for Love + Hate

    Savage is undone by his untrained actors.

    Paul Griffiths · 2 out of 5
    Racial tensions and secret romances in a desolate northern English urban cityscape
  • Love Tomorrow (2012)
    Review preview for Love Tomorrow

    After the hard to swallow entrée and adagio, these variations do lead us to a satisfying coda.

    Paul Griffiths · 2.5 out of 5
    Two dancers get talking on an escalator and gradually find themselves embarking on a relationship.
  • A Man's Job (2007)
    Review preview for A Man's Job

    A Man's Job uses its simple story to probe a number of prevalent but subdued contemporary issues.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    An out-of-work father tries his hand at male prostitution to keep supporting his family.
  • Marathon (2010)
    Review preview for Marathon

    The dialogue is so laden with blunt exposition and little else that time and again it just rings false, a discredit to the real events it seems to be trying to tick off.

    Paul Griffiths · 2 out of 5
    Biopic about former US poet Laureate William Meredith and his partner Richard Harteis.
  • Mary Marie (2010)
    Review preview for Mary Marie

    Despite its missteps, there is substance in Mary Marie and indie dauntlessness in conjuring something from so little.

    Paul Griffiths · 2.5 out of 5
    Two sisters' love for one another becomes destructive.
  • Mister Lonely (2007)
    Review preview for Mister Lonely

    The glorious sight of a flying nun, an image Korine has said was one of his inspirations for the film, is both a moving and a joyous one.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    Celebrity lookalikes get to know one another whilst a crazy old priest takes nuns flying.
  • The Magician (2005)
    Documentary filmmaker follows a Melbourne thug about his business.
  • The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)
    Review preview for The Men Who Stare At Goats

    An enjoyable if uneven feel-good swipe at both US military and human endeavours.

    Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
    A reporter stumbles on the story of a lifetime when he meets a former 'psychic soldier'.

News and features

Paul Rowley on moving to New York, the Pulse massacre, and Gays Against Guns

Going ape Antonin Niclass on character creation, empathy and animated short Into The Forest

Freeform Will Niava on grief, new immigrant experiences and Jazz Infernal

In silence Emir Kumova on child marriage in Türkiye, moral challenges and making The Witness

Taking a ride into liminal spaces Katharine Round on making documentary Ghost Town

Flying blind Michael Woloson and Scott Tinkham on improvisation, experimental writing and Littermates

In deep water Dominic Curran on internet overexposure and A Little Learning Is A Dangerous Thing

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