Reviews by Scott Macdonald

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Los Muertos (2004)

  Review preview for Los Muertos

  Los Muertos has a certain cold beauty.

  An ex-convict's journey up river in deepest Argentina.
• 
  Lunarcy! (2012)

  Review preview for Lunarcy!

  There is no dull speaker, and director Simon Ennis deftly illustrates the subjects with well-chosen archive footage.

  Affectionate look at a group of individuals who are obsessed with the moon.
• 
  Madame Tutli-Putli (2007)

  Review preview for Madame Tutli-Putli

  The art direction is simultaneously gorgeous (beautiful lighting and well-crafted sets), yet lumpen, curved and ugly, as though exorcised from an exaggerated Expressionistic dream.

  A woman boards a train with all her worldly goods.
• 
  Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)

  Review preview for Mad Hot Ballroom

  The film goes a long way on charm alone.

  Competitive ballroom dancing for the ethnically diverse pupils of Washington Heights.
• 
  Mad, Sad And Bad (2009)

  Review preview for Mad, Sad And Bad

  I can't understand why anyone put this film into production.

  Comic portrait of a family in meltdown.
• 
  The Matador (2005)

  Review preview for The Matador

  It is hard not to be entertained.

  The last fling of a burned out hitman and his uncommon friendship with a failing businessman.
• 
  Meet the Robinsons (2007)

  Review preview for Meet the Robinsons

  High-tech, brilliantly crafted and old-fashioned...perfect Easter weekend fodder.

  A child inventor meets a mysterious man and goes on a time-travel adventure.
• 
  Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005)

  Review preview for Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

  An often delightful and entertaining essay on the anthropology of heavy metal.

  An enthusiast for the music delves wrist deep into the dark corners of heavy metal.
• 
  Milan (2007)

  Review preview for Milan

  The storytelling is crisp, clever and doesn't waste a moment with superfluous plot.

  A game of hide and seek has tragic consequences for two brothers during the 1999 bombardment of Yugoslavia. Showing at the EIFF as part of European Shorts 1.
• 
  The Missing Person (2008)

  Review preview for The Missing Person

  There may not be much beyond the surface, but it's a fine surface

  Neonoir about a private eye charged with following a man presumed dead after 9/11.
• 
  The Machinist (2004)

  Review preview for The Machinist

  Unique, with a startling vision.

  Christian Bale lives in the subconscious of a mentally frail insomniac.
• 
  Manhattan (1979)

  Review preview for Manhattan

  Allen's finest screenplay to date, filled with expostulating characters with relationship difficulties and hilarious interludes about the human condition.

  Woody Allen falls for his best friend's mistress, but is he really more in love with New York itself?
• 
  Man of Steel (2013)

  Review preview for Man of Steel

  The first two acts are so strong, it's almost a shame that the invasion plot arrives, and things start blowing up real good.

  A young journalist is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race.
• 
  Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003)

  Review preview for Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World

  An elegant and handsome action film.

  Life at sea on a fighting ship of the Royal Navy in South American waters at the time of Nelson.
• 
  A Matter Of Life And Death (1946)

  Review preview for A Matter Of Life And Death

  Undoubtedly one of the best films ever made.

  A wartime aviator begs a celestial court to let him escape death so he can be with the woman he loves. Out on re-issue in cinemas.
• 
  Melinda And Melinda (2004)

  Review preview for Melinda And Melinda

  Woody Allen's best picture of the decade.

  Two interwoven stories about one woman's life.
• 
  Merry Christmas (2005)

  Review preview for Merry Christmas

  The script's immaturity compares to a high school short story, serving to dilute the true stories.

  A recreation of the 1914 Christmas truce in the trenches during the first winter of World War One.
• 
  Million Dollar Baby (2004)

  Review preview for Million Dollar Baby

  A shattering masterpiece.

  A young female boxer persuades an old-timer to train her as a contender.
• 
  Mission: Impossible III (2006)

  Review preview for Mission: Impossible III

  In MiIII, the plot is just a waiting game of follow-the-breadcrumbs.

  The Ethan Hunt franchise gets personal, while chasing a psychopathic arms dealer half way round the globe.
• 
  The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

  Review preview for The Motorcycle Diaries

  There's an awful lot to recommend.

  Coming of age drama based on the writings of a young Che Guevara.
• 
  MNL 143 (2012)

  Review preview for MNL 143

  It's a thin and sketchy experience.

  A taxi driver picks up an assortment of quirky customers.
• 
  Morke (2005)

  Review preview for Morke

  A good 25 minutes could have been trimmed off the length without anyone noticing.

  Danish mystery about serial suicides.
• 
  Mr Pilipenko And His Submarine (2006)

  Review preview for Mr Pilipenko And His Submarine

  The subject probably lends itself to a better short than feature film.

  A wet-behind-the-ears sea captain and his obsession.
• 
  Mum And Dad (2008)

  Review preview for Mum And Dad

  A savage deconstruction of Thatcherite beliefs in family.

  Brit horror, sees an airport worker face the perils of a close-knit family. In cinemas and on DVD this Boxing Day. Plus read our exclusive interview with Perry Benson.
• 
  Mushrooming (2012)

  Review preview for Mushrooming

  It's just not very funny.

  An under-pressure politician finds a day spent mushroom picking with his wife goes south after they get lost in the woods.
• 
  My Summer Of Love (2004)

  Review preview for My Summer Of Love

  It's a straightforward enough tale, given life and zest by the performances.

  Sad, lonely girl finds happy, lovely girl and has a cuddly, kissy time.
• 
  Nathan Barley (2005)

  Review preview for Nathan Barley

  Its first two episodes suffer from a lethargic lack of quality drama and comedy, but from episode three onwards, it digs its heels in and occasionally stuns with cleverly observed satire.

  TV sitcom that satirises celebrity media types and pretentious art.
• 
  Native Son (2009)

  Review preview for Native Son

  This is one of my favourite performances of the year.

  Lonely farm-hand finds someone to be close to.
• 
  Never Apologize (2007)

  Review preview for Never Apologize

  A good evening's entertainment which, for an Anderson newbie like myself, provides a decent primer in his work.

  Malcolm McDowell's one-man memoriam for his mentor, Lindsay Anderson.
• 
  The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

  Review preview for The Nightmare Before Christmas

  Henry Selick directs with clever staging and infinite patience. The musical numbers are catchy, boisterous and hugely entertaining.

  3D version of Tim Burton's stop-animation film about Hallowe'en Jack's fascination with Christmas gets its annual trot around the cinema block.
• 
  North By Northwest (1959)

  Review preview for North By Northwest

  It's a nonsense, but when the storytelling is this good it doesn't matter.

  A case of mistaken identity and false accusation sees an innocent man go on the run from the CIA and a criminal gang.
• 
  Nowhere, No One (2006)

  Review preview for Nowhere, No One

  Burbled dialogue and snappy tempers doesn't substitute as drama.

  A man picks up a stranger in the woods.
• 
  No Man's Zone (2011)

  Review preview for No Man's Zone

  No Man's Zone is a crushingly dull documentary, at least twice as long as the selected material warrants.

  A journey through the stark post-tsunami landscape around Fukushima.
• 
  Nuclear Nation (2012)

  Review preview for Nuclear Nation

  They're interesting people, all with interesting and evolving stories to tell.

  Survivors of the 2011 Japanese tsunami discuss their experiences and reveal the nature of their lives as refugees.
• 
  The Number 23 (2007)

  Review preview for The Number 23

  Horribly unlikely, indulgent murder mystery, the outcome of which you're likely to guess at least half an hour before the end.

  Parallel murder mysteries have mathematical and literary connotations - perhaps.
• 
  Observe and Report (2009)

  Review preview for Observe and Report

  I found myself half-laughing at moments of acidic and keenly observed characterisation before being blasted with horrific crassness and vicious violence.

  Mall cop comes off his meds, and the world had better watch out!
• 
  Of Snails And Men (2012)

  Review preview for Of Snails And Men

  Mostly, Of Snails And Men is a light, entertaining comedy.

  When their factory is threatened with closure, a group of men plan to raise the funds to buy it by selling their sperm.
• 
  Oktapodi (2007)

  Review preview for Oktapodi

  Performances are so good that you could easily watch it with the sound down and still adore every bit of its squishy heroes adventures.

  Octopi in love!
• 
  Once I Entered A Garden (2012)

  Review preview for Once I Entered A Garden

  The film takes great joy in two old men poring over family connections and the past.

  Conversations across the Israeli-Palestinian divide, and memories of a love affair.
• 
  One Long Winter Without Fire (2004)

  Review preview for One Long Winter Without Fire

  A startling work that teaches the redemptive power of self-forgiveness

  A beautifully composed tale about redemption and coping with loss.
• 
  One Mile Away (2012)

  Review preview for One Mile Away

  Almost certainly one of the year's best films.

  Documentary on gang violence, its victims and its perpetrators.
• 
  Outcast (2010)

  Review preview for Outcast

  For much of its runtime, Outcast may be the best British horror film since The Descent.

  Beasties, romance, black magic, comedy and horror - sounds like it's got it all!?
• 
  Outcasts (2008)

  Review preview for Outcasts

  The scripting and performances are well-judged and Ian Clark keeps things running like clockwork.

  Disabled misfits kidnap a singer.
• 
  Peepli Live (2010)

  Review preview for Peepli Live

  A very large cast, outstanding production values and a solid story cement the reality of the situation, and no character's motivations go unexamined.

  Social satire about not-very-suicidal but desperate farmer.
• 
  The People Vs George Lucas (2010)

  Review preview for The People Vs George Lucas

  A rather affectionate fanboy love-in and whingefest.

  A documentary looking at the arguments for and against each part of the Star Wars series and its creator.
• The Perfect Catch (2005)

  Review preview for The Perfect Catch

  Hornby's novel is a master class in relationships and rich human interaction and the Farellys have done it reasonable justice, however diluted by its screenwriters.

  The Farrelly Brothers do Nick Hornby in an Americanisation of Fever Pitch.
• 
  Photo Session (2010)

  Review preview for Photo Session

  If photographs are infinitesimally small slices of time captured, the movies give us that additional dimensionality that turns them into real, living and breathing people.

  The passion a couple reveal during a photo shoot is lost when they are captured in still images.
• 
  Pineapple Express (2008)

  Review preview for Pineapple Express

  What you expect from a bunch of stoners, but done well enough so you won't care.

  Stoner comedy about a dude and his dealer on the run.
• 
  The Pizza Miracle (2010)

  Review preview for The Pizza Miracle

  Features a nice, if melancholy score and excellent photography.

  A son returns to say farewell to his dead father.
• 
  Planet B-Boy (2007)

  Review preview for Planet B-Boy

  Well-made and great to look at - but strictly for fans only.

  Documentary looking at the world of breakdancing.