Reviews by Robert Munro

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Macbeth Unhinged (2016)

  Review preview for Macbeth Unhinged

  The film is strongest when it is being visually and aurally adventurous.

  Modern interpretation of the tragedy, set within the confines of a stretch limousine.
• 
  Maggie (2015)

  Review preview for Maggie

  The pleasantly surprising performance of Schwarzenegger grounds the film with an emotional heft.

  A father struggles to do the right thing by his daughter, who is gradually turning into a zombie.
• 
  Maggie's Plan (2015)

  Review preview for Maggie's Plan

  Director Rebecca Miller gets terrific performances out of an admittedly terrific cast.

  A young woman’s determination to have a child catapults her into a nervy love triangle.
• 
  Mama Africa (2011)

  Review preview for Mama Africa

  Manages to do justice to Makeba’s wonderful talent and noble activism.

  A documentary portrait of the acclaimed performer and political campaigner.
• 
  The Maltese Falcon (1941)

  Review preview for The Maltese Falcon

  The Maltese Falcon provides us with one of the earliest, and undoubtedly one of the best, examples of Hollywood Noir.

  A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
• 
  Moneyball (2011)

  Review preview for Moneyball

  While the film does rattle through these pillars of the underdog sports movie narrative, it does so with an element of class, a helping of humour and a knowing wink.

  The story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
• 
  Mr Nobody (2009)

  Review preview for Mr Nobody

  Dormael’s film fizzles with an abundance of ideas, most of which are beautifully realised.

  A tale that spans different time zones of the 20th and 21st centuries.
• 
  Moon Dogs (2016)

  Review preview for Moon Dogs

  A really enjoyable piece of Celtic cinema.

  Two teenage step-brothers head on a road trip across Scotland.
• 
  The Night Of The Hunter (1955)

  Review preview for The Night Of The Hunter

  More than 60 years after its initial release as a critical and commercial flop, The Night of the Hunter remains a brilliant oddity without equal.

  A religious fanatic marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
• 
  Not Another Happy Ending (2013)

  Review preview for Not Another Happy Ending

  If there is one positive thing that can be said about the film it is that it lives up to the promise of its title.

  A publisher tries to improve an author's creativity by making her life less happy.
• 
  N - The Madness Of Reason (2014)

  Review preview for N - The Madness Of Reason

  A truly remarkable film.

  Drawing connections between European adventurer Raymond Borremans and present-day Africa.
• 
  Off The Beaten Track (2011)

  Review preview for Off The Beaten Track

  The film quietly and confidently draws us in to the lives of one particular family of shepherds, and their ordinary struggle for survival.

  Transylvania transported into the new world.
• 
  Oliver Sherman (2011)

  Review preview for Oliver Sherman

  Redford, and cinematographer Antonio Calvache, do an excellent job of subtly playing with the audience’s nerves.

  Nerve splintering drama about man's dual capacity for compassion and violence.
• 
  Only God Forgives (2013)

  Review preview for Only God Forgives

  Perhaps Winding Refn’s most deliberately difficult work to date.

  A drug smuggler in Bangkok is charged by his mother with finding and killing whoever killed his brother.
• 
  Orlando (1992)

  Review preview for Orlando

  A film which flatters to deceive, teasing the viewer with a fluttering of aesthetically-pleasing eyelids before dashing off in pursuit of another suitor.

  Young nobleman Orlando is commanded by Queen Elizabeth I to stay forever young. Miraculously, he does just that...
• 
  Pale Star (2016)

  Review preview for Pale Star

  A thrillingly cinematic film.

  An abusive relationship forms the backdrop for this Nordic noir.
• 
  Penumbra (2013)

  Review preview for Penumbra

  There’s something poetically haunting about the couple’s existence and the smallness of their world.

  An elderly couple living on the coast of Mexico remember their son, who was killed trying to cross the border into the US.
• 
  Port of Shadows (1938)

  Review preview for Port of Shadows

  The kindness of strangers in this foreboding and foggy world of gangsters and crooks reveals an aspirational and tender heart underneath it all.

  A military deserter finds love, trouble and a small dog in a foggy Le Havre - the Port of Shadows.
• 
  The Rest Of The World (2012)

  Review preview for The Rest Of The World

  Director Damien Odoul successfully blends a mixture of naturalistic and unobtrusive camerawork with occasional bursts of surreal imagery.

  A grieving woman finds no comfort in turning to her family, whose members all have their own dark secrets.
• 
  Raging Bull (1980)

  Review preview for Raging Bull

  De Niro’s renowned devotion to the art of acting has never been so tested as it is here.

  An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring destroys his life outside it.
• 
  Route Irish (2010)

  Review preview for Route Irish

  Route Irish just about overcomes these shortcomings in its portrayal of the de-humanising consequences of modern warfare.

  One man’s search for the truth behind the death of his best friend leads him into the murky underworld of contracted military mercenaries in Iraq.
• 
  The Search For Emak Bakia (2012)

  Review preview for The Search For Emak Bakia

  It soon becomes clear that it isn’t the destination, and the discovery of Emak Bakia, that is the most interesting thing about the film, but the journey itself.

  In 1926, Man Ray filmed a cinepoem in the southeast of France, and called it Emak Bakia, which is a Basque expression meaning 'Leave me alone' - now Filmmaker Oskar Alegria embarks upon an exploration of the film and its title.
• 
  September (2013)

  Review preview for September

  The performances of Kora Karvouni as Anna and Maria Skoula as Sophia are captivating.

  Anna, a taciturn 30-something, lives in a small flat with her dog Manu, who means everything to her. After a distressing incident which disrupts her life, Anna attaches herself to the family of Sofia, a happily married woman and mother of two children.
• 
  She's Funny That Way (2014)

  Review preview for She's Funny That Way

  The cast are terrific, and the comic set pieces are handled with precision and impeccable timing, even if not all of the jokes hit home.

  A married director falls for a prostitute-turned-actress.
• 
  Sodankylä Forever: The Century Of Cinema (2010)

  Review preview for Sodankylä Forever: The Century Of Cinema

  The weight of history lies heavy on the shoulders of these filmmakers.

  The Century of Cinema is a documentary which focusses on World War II in relation to filmmaking.
• 
  The Son's Room (2001)

  Review preview for The Son's Room

  A quietly devastating but surprisingly life-affirming film, brilliantly written, wonderfully acted and full of simple beauty.

  A family grives over the loss of their son in a freak diving accident.
• 
  A Story Of Children And Film (2012)

  Review preview for A Story Of Children And Film

  We're transported into a world of cinema; some of it is known, much of it unknown, which surely fires the imagination of any viewing cinephile.

  A look at the way children have been represented in film from around the world.
• 
  Swung (2015)

  Review preview for Swung

  Anya's performance as Alice does enough to keep the film interesting throughout.

  A relationship is taken to its emotional and sexual limits.
• 
  That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

  Review preview for That Obscure Object of Desire

  Funny, bewildering and occasionally slightly frustrating, The Obscure Object of Desire is everything you would expect from Bunuel

  A man regales passengers on a train with the story of his frustrated romance with the enchanting Conchita.
• 
  Tommy's Honour (2016)

  Review preview for Tommy's Honour

  The film rattles along at a fair pace, peppered with gentle warmth and good humour.

  Story about the father and son relationship between the founders of the modern game of golf.
• 
  Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

  Review preview for Take Me Home Tonight

  It’s a film to be watched late at night, sunken into the sofa with one eye open. And then entirely forgotten about come the morning.

  As the summer of 1988 winds down, three friends on the verge of adulthood attend an out-of-control party in celebration of their last night of unbridled youth.
• 
  The Third Man (1949)

  Review preview for The Third Man

  Lime is one of the cinema’s greatest baddies.

  A man searching for his missing friend in post-war Vienna uncovers a ruthless conspiracy.
• 
  Two Frogs In The West (2010)

  Review preview for Two Frogs In The West

  It’s clearly an earnest and (probably) autobiographical effort from Papineau, but there’s no refuge to be found amongst such details as the film blunders on for what seems like an eternity.

  Marie Deschamps, a 20-year-old French-Canadian girl, quits college to go travel and learn English in Western Canada.
• 
  Undefeated (2011)

  Review preview for Undefeated

  There are fights between players, season-threatening injuries, bashful romance and inspirational team talks, but none of it feels false.

  Meet the coach who is determined to help Mannassas High School football team overcome their 110 year losing streak.
• 
  Unfair World (2011)

  Review preview for Unfair World

  An odd film which seems as likely to find admirers as it is to find detractors.

  Dramatic comedy about the strange goings on of a police officer obsessed by making the world a fairer place.
• 
  We Can't Go Home Again (1976)

  Review preview for We Can't Go Home Again

  Truth be told, it is annoying as hell and becomes very tired, very quickly.

  A companion piece to Don't Expect Too Much, We Can't Go Home Again is an experimental vision of disillusioned American youth in the Seventies.
• 
  We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (2013)

  Review preview for We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

  The young cast all excel in roles which require the utmost duplicity

  Three Texas teenager get embroiled in the world of a local gangster.
• 
  We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks (2013)

  Review preview for We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks

  Manning's real life sacrifices and internal torment are the beating heart of the film.

  A profile of the Wikileaks organisation and the various people who contributed to its success.