Reviews by Scott Macdonald

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Dark City: Director's Cut (1998)

  Review preview for Dark City: Director's Cut

  A stylish and engrossing mystery - an immature, yet energetic explosion of storytelling ideas.

  Extravagant sci-fi fantasy about a hunted man struggling with his memory gets a directorial polish.
• 
  The Dark Knight (2008)

  Review preview for The Dark Knight

  An outstanding achievement: a rich, dark and complex movie

  The Caped Crusader isn't the only batty one in Gotham... The Joker's also in town.
• 
  Das Boot: The Director's Cut (1981)

  Review preview for Das Boot: The Director's Cut

  The greatest submarine movie ever made.

  The claustrophobic experiences of an inexperienced U-boat crew trying to survive.
• 
  Death Proof (2007)

  Review preview for Death Proof

  Death Proof is as much an experience as it is a movie for those who love movies.

  Quentin Tarantino's glorious grindhouse send-up.
• 
  The Descent (2005)

  Review preview for The Descent

  Effective and brilliantly crafted...

  Six girls on a caving expedition find they are not alone in the dark.
• 
  Downfall (2004)

  Review preview for Downfall

  Oliver Hirschbiegel creates a film which refuses to play fast and loose with history, and allows it to take as long as it has to.

  German dramatisation of the last days of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.
• 
  Down In The Valley (2005)

  Review preview for Down In The Valley

  I was no longer watching a story about people. I was watching an uninvolving exercise in cross pollination of themes and story constructs.

  A pure love story goes dark in the shadow of the gun.
• 
  Down The Rabbit Hole (2009)

  Review preview for Down The Rabbit Hole

  An evocative mood-piece, strikingly photographed.

  Romanian drug trafficking and young infatuation.
• 
  Death Of A Salesman (1985)

  Review preview for Death Of A Salesman

  A sterling, if uncinematic adaptation, without pretence or frippery which could dilute the potency of performances or writing.

  The definitive telling of Arthur Miller's classic play.
• 
  The Deep (2012)

  Review preview for The Deep

  A superior sense of place and editorial timing lends the Breki's disaster urgency, tension and terror.

  The story of a man who survived for nine hours in freezing seas after a shipwreck, and the impact of his legacy.
• 
  Diary Of The Dead (2007)

  Review preview for Diary Of The Dead

  Youthful, energetic and lively as ever - George A Romero's cinematic resurrection is a cheerful and thoughtful horror delight.

  Film students try to record the end of civilisation as they know it when the dead begin to walk. Plus read our exclusive interview with George A Romero.
• 
  Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee (2009)

  Review preview for Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee

  The heavily compressed timescale does not compromise the feel of the talented cast locked into their grungy grooves

  Improvised mockumentary about rock and roll - shot in five days.
• 
  Dr Seuss' The Lorax (2012)

  Review preview for Dr Seuss' The Lorax

  For all the 3D eyeball-poking efforts, barbershop-quartet singing fish and more colours than an explosion in a paintbox, the thin story never rises beyond merely okay.

  A young man sets out to find the guardian of the forests as a swindler tries to trick people into paying for fresh air.
• 
  Edward Scissorhands (1990)

  Review preview for Edward Scissorhands

  By contrasting an artificial man with the real but unsubtly false men and women of the world and their queer existences, Burton presents satire with a dull thud.

  An intrepid Avon lady enters her local Gothic castle to find a lonely young home-made man with scissors for hands.
• 
  Either Way (2011)

  Review preview for Either Way

  A gentle, enjoyable little drama - a very comfortable and concise 80 minutes.

  Finnboeg and Alfred paint lines on a road in this gentle comedy. Re-released to coincide with David Gordon Green's remake Prince Avalanche.
• 
  The Electric Mind (2010)

  Review preview for The Electric Mind

  The film mixes testimony from surgeons, neurological scientists, patients and computer graphics to draw a complex, interesting layman study of the human mind as a physical entity.

  An insight into contemporary neuroscience and its applications in treating psychological disorders.
• 
  E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

  Review preview for E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial

  It showcases Spielberg's gifts for light comedy, spectacle, and fairy tale celuloid sorcery.

  Spielberg's beloved classic about a stranded and lonely alien.
• 
  Election (2005)

  Review preview for Election

  The most interesting characters, ironically, are those with the least screen time.

  The power struggle of a Triad election in Hong Kong.
• 
  Elephant (2003)

  Review preview for Elephant

  Everything about the film seems to fit a purpose, and Van Sant's purpose is to show that we can never understand the reasons why.

  An exploration of teen high school killing sprees.
• 
  El Casamiento (2011)

  Review preview for El Casamiento

  The film observes various individual slices of their lives, some of which are adorable, many dull.

  An elderly couple look forward to their wedding, made possible by Uruguay's changing attitude to gender recognition.
• 
  Empty Space (2008)

  Review preview for Empty Space

  It was a bore, and, thankfully, it was short.

  A construction worker tries to escape from reality.
• 
  Evil In The Time Of Heroes (2009)

  Review preview for Evil In The Time Of Heroes

  There's a dozen reasonable ideas, none of which are developed into fruition.

  Rather difficult to sum up in a one-liner - a barmy Greek zombie flick meets Doctor Who.
• Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

  Review preview for Exorcist: The Beginning

  'The best view of God is from Hell.' The best view of Exorcist: The Beginning is not at all.

  Prequel to The Exorcist, in which Father Merrin discovers the demon Pazuzu.
• 
  Fast Romance (2010)

  Review preview for Fast Romance

  A deeply derivative string of spew-inducing Inciting Incidents and plot contrivances aiming for the weakest in rom and com.

  Can just three minutes with a stranger change the course of your life, forever?
• 
  Face/Off (1997)

  Review preview for Face/Off

  Cheerful, bullet-strewn entertainment.

  A government agent chases a criminal mastermind.
• 
  Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

  Review preview for Fahrenheit 9/11

  Moore's film is a sledgehammer; a raw and passionate film

  Michael Moore's indictment of the Bush Government in the wake of September 11.
• 
  Fantastic Four (2005)

  Review preview for Fantastic Four

  It makes for a movie content to be horribly dull, in spite of the eye-candy.

  Cosmic rays unleash four new super heroes on the box office.
• 
  The Fountain (2006)

  Review preview for The Fountain

  Incredible imagery and emotive storytelling

  Three parallel stories, running across more than 1000 years explore the notions of life, love, obssession and loss.
• 
  Freedomland (2006)

  Review preview for Freedomland

  Freedomland attempts to touch as many storytelling bases... as possible and misses the respective targets by miles.

  A kidnapping in Jersey uncovers personal demons.
• 
  Full Employment (2008)

  Review preview for Full Employment

  A one-joke movie, but it's a good joke

  Short film about the future of employment.
• 
  Final Destination 3 (2006)

  Review preview for Final Destination 3

  The film is unnecessary, crude and unrefined, but takes its place in the entertainment black hole that is Friday night, as the cinematic equivalent of a fried Mars bar.

  Third time unlucky for the youthful victims of G Reaper, Esq
• 
  Five Children And It (2004)

  Review preview for Five Children And It

  An embarrassingly underwhelming British children's fairytale.

  Cranky sand creature whisks kids off on adventure.
• 
  Flawless (2007)

  Review preview for Flawless

  The film boasts at least one lovely switcheroo plot twist.

  A janitor and a disgruntled manager attempt to pull off a diamond heist.
• 
  The Fly (1986)

  Review preview for The Fly

  An intriguing science-fiction movie, a solid and believable romance, a meditation on disease and mortality, and a superb monster movie.

  A scientist invents a teleportation device, but accidentally splices his DNA with that of a housefly when testing it.
• 
  Follow The Master (2009)

  Review preview for Follow The Master

  This is a lovely film. Almost no moment of it is without some kind of sincere affectionate pleasure of its own creation.

  Edinburgh-based filmmaker creates a road movie like no other.
• 
  Fourteen Sucks (2004)

  Review preview for Fourteen Sucks

  Fourteen Sucks may be a provocative title, but it's a solid and promising debut.

  A teenage rites-of-passage that does not flinch at sexual violation.
• 
  Fred Won't Move Out (2012)

  Review preview for Fred Won't Move Out

  I found myself forgetting about actors acting, and saw a cruel divine joke played upon mostly decent, interesting people. It's achingly sad.

  A family contemplate what to do as the older generation lose their ability to live independently.
• 
  From Tehran To London (2012)

  Review preview for From Tehran To London

  It's an intimate, focused look on an unhappy family - but can only tell half of its story.

  An exploration of women's roles in modern Iran, told through the story of a poet.
• 
  Frozen (2005)

  Review preview for Frozen

  [Henderson] holds this difficult movie together in a powerhouse performance of quiet steel.

  Searching for a lost sister. Debut feature that blends mystery, horror and filial bonding.
• 
  George A Romero's Land Of The Dead (2005)

  Review preview for George A Romero's Land Of The Dead

  Appallingly developed characters and situations decay and rot onscreen.

  The creator of the zombie genre returns with an allegory of Bush's abuses in Iraq.
• 
  Geriatrics: The Musical (2007)

  Review preview for Geriatrics: The Musical

  It made me shudder every time it eked out a chuckle.

  Stop-motion claymation musical about four geriatrics in a ward.
• 
  Ghostbusters (1984)

  Review preview for Ghostbusters

  A ridiculous idea spun into a film that skilfully mixes genuine laughs with genuine frights and chills.

  Who ya gonna call?
• 
  Goldfinger (1964)

  Review preview for Goldfinger

  Superior slap-bang entertainment, joyously performed and directed with aplomb, with equal measures of silliness, joy and suspense.

  Big screen reissue offers another chance to see James Bond take on the man with the Midas touch.
• 
  Grabbers (2012)

  Review preview for Grabbers

  Grabbers is a thoroughly charming and welcome blend of terror and blarney.

  A small island community is terrorised by monsters from the sea.
• 
  Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)

  Review preview for Grave Of The Fireflies

  It is one of the most shattering anti-war movies ever made, a masterpiece so deeply sad and unrelenting that some may find it hard to watch.

  Isao Takahata's fiercely beautiful anti-war animated classic. Out for 25th anniversary re-release.
• 
  Great Expectations (1946)

  Review preview for Great Expectations

  One of the finest book to film adaptations of all time.

  Classic adaptation of Dickens' novel about a orphan who finds a mystery inheritance propels him into high society.
• 
  The Grey Zone (2001)

  Review preview for The Grey Zone

  It delivers every experience I treasure in great drama.

  A group of Jews working to support the mechanisms of the Nazi death camps ask themselves how far they will go to survive.
• 
  The Gift (2003)

  Review preview for The Gift

  The ambiguity of the characters's motives makes for annoying false mystery in a soup of suburban corruption.

  The old man, the prostitute and the dog that dies.
• 
  Goddess (1934)

  Review preview for Goddess

  The film's use of location as narrative drive is endearing, binding the strong heroine to her surroundings.

  A prostitute in 1930s Shanghai tries to build a future for her son.
• 
  God Bless America (2011)

  Review preview for God Bless America

  God Bless America is an uneven series of sketches.

  The anti-Ikiru. Terminal cancer patient tries to rid the world of as many morons as possible before he goes.