Reviews by Stephen Carty

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Deep Blue Sea (1999)

  Review preview for Deep Blue Sea

  Thankfully, Deep Blue Sea is also pretty easy to like if you can accept it for what it is – minimal intellectual input, maximum shark carnage.

  Research scientists may end up swimming with the fishes after sharks fight back.
• 
  Deja Vu (2006)

  Review preview for Deja Vu

  While Déjà Vu isn’t an intellectual think-piece, it gets points for attempting more than just wall-to-wall bangs.

  A detective in New Orleans goes back in time to solve a mystery and save lives.
• 
  Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

  Review preview for Diamonds Are Forever

  Flawed and tired without being completely unwatchable.

  The super-spy is assigned to a smuggling op.
• 
  Die Hard (1988)

  Review preview for Die Hard

  As a pulse-pounding actioner Die Hard remains largely timeless.

  Bruce Willis is a lone cop in an office skyscraper, taken over by terrorists.
• 
  Doc Hollywood (1991)

  Review preview for Doc Hollywood

  An underrated and decidedly charming affair.

  A hot-shot plastic surgeon has to come to terms with being stranded in a small town.
• 
  Dracula (1958)

  Review preview for Dracula

  Constantly chilling and never less than eerie, this first colour outing for Vlad is undoubtedly the stuff of nightmares.

  Adaptation of the classic vampire tale.
• 
  Dr No (1962)

  Review preview for Dr No

  Sir Sean's blend of masculine charm and cold professionalism make him the perfect 007.

  When a fellow agent is killed in Jamaica, the super-spy finds himself pitting wits against a mysterious new adversary.
• 
  Doctor Who: Series One (2005)

  Review preview for Doctor Who: Series One

  Yes, it’s flawed and a bit daft at times, but for transforming a show that virtually nobody thought was worth bringing back into impressive Saturday night TV, Davies deserves all the back-patting he gets.

  Russell T Davies' resurrection of the time traveller.
• 
  Doctor Who: Series Two (2006)

  Review preview for Doctor Who: Series Two

  Tennant’s Doc is less haunted by past events than his predecessor and more of an infectious enthusiast, but there’s no doubting the gobby Scot is very, very likeable.

  Torchwood, Cybermen and Madame De Pompadour - oh, my! And Peter Kay running around in a fat suit.
• 
  Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

  Review preview for Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

  After the 24th 'hilarious' hit in one scene it all wears thinner than one of White's lycra one-pieces.

  Misfits enter LA dodgeball tournament in a bid to save gym from closure.
• 
  Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

  Review preview for Dog Day Afternoon

  A compelling and powerful character piece.

  A bank job goes horribly wrong.
• 
  Dracula 2001 (2000)

  Review preview for Dracula 2001

  It starts off quite well, which raises your hopes, before descending into a dumb version for the MTV generation.

  Contemporary take on the Dracula myth is a sorry mess.
• 
  Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)

  Review preview for Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

  Charismatic, spontaneous, funny, infectious, Scott Lee doesn’t just play the dragon, he inhabits him.

  Biopic of the martial artist and film star.
• 
  Edge Of Darkness (2010)

  Review preview for Edge Of Darkness

  This is a talky affair designed to move away from the original BBC six-parter's cold-war paranoia in favour of a Michael Clayton-style corporate cover up.

  A former detective uncovers his daughter's secret life and the reasons why people want her dead.
• 
  Extreme Measures (1996)

  Review preview for Extreme Measures

  There isn't a massive amount of 'action' per say, but Apted's expertly-paced tale throbs with genuine suspense as the net progressively closes in on Guy.

  A surgeon begins to suspect one of his eminent colleagues may be in the business of harming rather than healing people.
• 
  Family Guy: It's A Trap (2010)

  Review preview for Family Guy: It's A Trap

  A half-hearted effort.

  Last in the trilogy of the animation's Star Wars specials.
• 
  Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side (2009)

  Review preview for Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side

  Bursting with detail and a clear love for the world George Lucas created.

  The Family Guy crew feel the Force.
• 
  Fast & Furious (2009)

  Review preview for Fast & Furious

  Predictably, it’s much better than the previous two but not quite up the first.

  Pimped-out motors, pumped-up muscles and lots of burnt tarmac.
• 
  Fighting (2009)

  Review preview for Fighting

  Instead of emoting and getting involved we’re left with a sea of questions.

  A young street hustler is drawn into the world of bare-knuckle fighting.
• 
  Following (1998)

  Review preview for Following

  Shot in handheld black and white with an obviously-low budget, it might seem rough – but what we’re watching is still pure Nolan.

  A writer hooks up with a thief in a tale of cross and double-cross.
• 
  The French Connection (1971)

  Review preview for The French Connection

  Friedkin's trend-setting handheld-camera gives a documentary-style feel, puting you right in among the tense surveillance and hunch-following legwork.

  An unorthodox cop and his partner are hot on the tail of a heroin shipment.
• 
  French Connection II (1975)

  Review preview for French Connection II

  Aside from the fish-out-of-water angle not working, this is a decent genre thriller.

  Popeye Doyle tracks a drugs kingpin to Marseilles.
• 
  Frequency (2000)

  Review preview for Frequency

  Hoblit and Emmerich try to engage the viewers' brains rather than using the set-up as an excuse to crowbar in action scenes at every chance.

  A man discovers he can talk to his long-dead father via a CB radio.
• 
  From Russia With Love (1963)

  Review preview for From Russia With Love

  In only his sophomore effort as James Bond, Sean Connery shows he has already mastered the role.

  James Bond tries to foil a plot involving a stolen espionage machine, and faces off against a deadly assassin. Enjoying a reissue.
• 
  The Firm (1988)

  Review preview for The Firm

  It's essentially the Gary Oldman show. The young actor gives a stunning, tour-de-force performance.

  Rivalry brews between hooligan 'firms' in the run up to the European Cup Finals.
• 
  The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

  Review preview for The Five-Year Engagement

  The problem isn’t that we seen it all before – it’s that we’ve seen it all done better. Much better.

  A young couple find it's tough to make it down the aisle.
• 
  Gangster No 1 (2000)

  Review preview for Gangster No 1

  Perhaps not as good as the sum of it’s parts, McGuigan’s second effort is visually impressive, a great comeback for McDowell and a launching pad for Bettany.

  As his former mentor is due for release from jail a gangster considers his life.
• 
  Galaxy Quest (1999)

  Review preview for Galaxy Quest

  Effects’ giants ILM and design guru Stan Winsto take credibility boldly where no Mickey-take has gone, but it’s the cast who really sell it.

  Star Trek spoof.
• 
  Get Carter (1971)

  Review preview for Get Carter

  Violent, full of hard-hitting moments and peppered with liberal nudity.

  A Cockney gangster travels to Newcastle to investigate his brother's murder.
• 
  Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

  Review preview for Glengarry Glen Ross

  Great cast, great dialogue, great Baldwin cameo, great movie.

  Competition hots up in a real estate office when the employees are told their jobs are on the line.
• 
  Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

  Review preview for Gnomeo & Juliet

  While the concept is a quirky, eccentric delight, the film itself rarely feels like anything other than a run-of-the-mill animation of (ahem) garden variety standard.

  Animated take on the Shakespeare tale.
• 
  GoldenEye (1995)

  Review preview for GoldenEye

  Where Goldeneye stands out is when it challenges the typical Bondian blueprint.

  Pierce Brosnan's first outing as the British agent.
• 
  Goodfellas (1990)

  Review preview for Goodfellas

  This is Scorsese at the top of his game.

  Biopic of mafiosi Henry Hill and his rise and fall through the mob.
• 
  Good Will Hunting (1997)

  Review preview for Good Will Hunting

  The end product might not feature too many surprises, but the dialogue is occasionally dazzling and leads to many poignant moments.

  A janitor is discovered to be a mathematical genius.
• 
  The Goonies (1985)

  Review preview for The Goonies

  Donner's era-defining adventure is at once lighthearted, serious, scary and lots of fun.

  A pirate treasure map leads a group of kids on an adventure.
• 
  Green Lantern (2011)

  Review preview for Green Lantern

  With a script written by four different writers(!), Green Lantern never decides what it wants to be.

  A fighter pilot is called upon by a league of intergalactic defenders to help them fight evil through the use of a powerful ring.
• 
  Gridiron Gang (2006)

  Review preview for Gridiron Gang

  When the sentiment ways us down, its Johnson who keeps us watching through sheer presence.

  A juvenile detention centre counsellor forms a football team to help keep the kids on the straight and narrow.
• 
  Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past (2009)

  Review preview for Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past

  There's some good material about how getting hurt changes you as a person, but the problem is its too often trapped underneath overly-trite sentiment and the need to please impatient teen girls.

  An eternal bachelor finds himself haunted by romance past, present and future.
• 
  Ghost Town (2008)

  Review preview for Ghost Town

  A fine start to Ricky Gervais’ silver screen career.

  After a brush with mortality a dentist finds himself haunted by ghosts desperate for him to help them with unfinished business.
• 
  The Great Gatsby (1974)

  Review preview for The Great Gatsby

  The majority of the cast seem as though they're reading lines from a book and struggling to make the dialogue appear real.

  A struggling salesman moves to Long Island and becomes intrigued by his wealthy neighbour.
• 
  The Hangover (2009)

  Review preview for The Hangover

  Broad and full of lazy clichés, the lowbrow 'laughs' on show are rarely intelligent and almost never funny.

  After a drunken stag night in Vegas, nobody can remember what happened - and the groom is missing.
• 
  Harry Brown (2009)

  Review preview for Harry Brown

  Caine is as magnetic as always.

  An elderly widower takes on a group of teenagers who are terrorising the estate.
• 
  The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

  Review preview for The Heartbreak Kid

  The approach feels too familiar while the sweet romance isn't that sweet and the hilarious gags aren't that hilarious.

  A newly married man meets the girl of his dreams.
• 
  Heroes: Season One (2006)

  Review preview for Heroes: Season One

  While the threat facing our gang is far too big and epic (how can Season Two top nuclear disaster?) it also casts a dark apocalyptic shadow over proceedings.

  A group of people discover they have special abilities – and fate soon draws them together to save the world.
• 
  Heroes: Season Three (2009)

  Review preview for Heroes: Season Three

  A season pretty much split down the middle, all the good work of the latter episodes will probably have been missed by viewers that have switched off already.

  The race is on to find a formula that will give normal folk super abilitites.
• 
  Heroes: Season Two (2006)

  Review preview for Heroes: Season Two

  Feels crammed and rushed as the writers scramble to wrap up storylines which were obviously designed to go on for longer.

  The fragmented Heroes band together to stop the Company unleashing the Shanti virus. And Sylar just won't stay dead.
• 
  He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

  Review preview for He's Just Not That Into You

  An ideal date movie that oscillates between chick flick clichés and a few long-overdue dating observations.

  Love is all around, but saccharine's kept at bay.
• 
  Heat (1995)

  Review preview for Heat

  Mann’s film is a stone-cold masterpiece.

  A cop and a career thief end up on a collision course.
• 
  High Fidelity (2000)

  Review preview for High Fidelity

  One of the many reasons why High Fidelity is essential viewing is how well-observed it is when dealing with love and relationships.

  Comedy about a record store owner and his romantic break ups.
• 
  Horrible Bosses (2011)

  Review preview for Horrible Bosses

  An amusing comedy no doubt, but all the best moments were in the trailer.

  Three friends conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness.