True Grit (2010)

Punishment comes one way or another.

A very entertaining film, mainly because of the remarkably gutsy nature of the 14-year old protagonist, Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), and her single-minded quest to bring her father's killer to justice and how this determination drives the story forward across a wintry Arizona landscape into a succession of encounters, each potentially life-threatening, propelling the audience along in a transport of expectation and (sometimes audible) delight.

Even people who normally avoid westerns might well enjoy this tale, as it is less a genre piece than a human drama in a historical setting.

Key to this film's success is a master-class in building indirect characterisations through action, down to the Coen brothers' expert scripting. From the moment Mattie Ross steps off the train, her interactions with people build a character of sharp-tongued wit, precocious hard-headed business sense, determination and courage.

The man she is hoping to hire to pursue her father's murderer, US Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), is artfully introduced under cross examination in a courtroom trial, painting a picture of a tough, capable but dissolute man, and leaving unresolved the question of whether or not he's a heartless killer of men.

Later, in a brief, almost throwaway, scene (as in Robert Altman's revisionist take on Chandler's classic tale of loyalty and betrayal, "The Long Goodbye", where in an apparently trivial prologue to the main story, Elliott Gould's Philip Marlowe's negotiations with his cat provide in microcosm the key theme of the film), Cogburn and Mattie come across a couple of kids torturing an animal, and the nature of Cogburn's response, funny in isolation, serves to add not insignificant dimension to his character.

The interplay between US Marshall Cogburn and Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) as they compete for Mattie's attention and admiration, highlights the debauchery and pragmatism of the former, and the prissy correctness and high-mindedness of the latter, with Mattie left to decide which, if either, is better suited to her purpose.

The film feels absolutely authentic, partly due to the unsanitised grubbiness of some of the more unsavoury characters (unlike the 1969 version, I heard on a podcast, in which John Wayne's Cogburn appeared in relatively well-laundered clothes), but mostly due to the apparent verisimilitude of the dialogue, delivered at speed and without any contractions, and laced with old-fashioned, often biblical, expressions. One of the Coen brothers, speaking on a Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's film review podcast, said at least 90% of the dialogue was from the original source novel.

I have only vague memories of the 1969 version of the film with John Wayne, so l wasn't distracted with mental comparisons between the two versions, and thankfully, the plot was as new for me. Steinfeld is fantastic in the role; Jeff Bridges is marvellous; the supporting cast are uniformly good, notably Dakin Matthews as the double-dealing horse-trader that Mattie outwits.

My only doubt is about Matt Damon: he portrayed a proud man of prissy high-minded nobility well, but I wonder if another actor, perhaps with a more expressive face (Tobey Maguire? James Franco? Andrew Garfield?) could have added more insight. Montgomery Clift, up against Wayne in Red River (and plenty tough in From Here To Eternity), would have made a good contrast to Jeff Bridges.

Wonderful to hear, during the end credits, the unmistakable and eminently suitable voice of Iris DeMent singing the hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", from her 2004 album, "Lifeline".

For me, this is certainly an excellent film: at least full price, maybe higher.

• Rating: Exceptional
• When seen: 24 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Cinema
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Broken Lance (1954)

Fury of the West's Most Lawless Feud!

A Western drama that successfully integrates two important American themes into a powerful story of family conflict. One theme is the passing of the old West. At a time when the old lawless West was being subsumed, a rough-hewn pioneering cattle rancher, Matt Devereaux (Spencer Tracy), well used to battling for his rights face-to-face with fists, gun and whip, finds his life’s work under assault from various quarters, including a new breed of men in suits armed with property rights documents and other legalistic weapons.

Who will stand with the old man, at risk of livelihood, liberty, even life? Can he count on the three sons (Richard Widmark, Hugh O'Brian and the excellent Earl Holliman) from his first marriage, grown up now, disgruntled, but still working on the family ranch for a monthly wage, with little interest in carrying on their father’s legacy and a passion for city living? What about his devoted native American second wife (Katy Jurado) and their capable but "half-breed" son (Robert Wagner)? Surely not his native American ranch hands?

The other theme is that of the question of discrimination against native American "Indians". Specifically, how well accepted in polite social circles is Devereaux's second wife, politely classed as "Mexican" by more squeamish townsfolk? Will their son's good looks, good sense and easy charm be sufficient to smooth his path in society?

The bulk of the story is an extended flashback middle section with bookends in the present. The film begins well, with minimal dialogue, with a lean, dark-skinned sharp-looking Wagner being released from prison, and riding alone to his father's ranch. As the story develops, there is some great outdoor cinematography, and a very good climactic outdoor fight sequence, brutal, believable, almost as good as the end of Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur with James Stewart.

As with many other Westerns, there's a strong historical angle. In this case, it is of cattle ranchers being pressured by mineral developers, and in general, of the passing of the old West and the emerging power of city-based people in suits.

Spencer Tracy is excellent in the role of hard-nosed patriarch, facing a mixed harvest of sons, including the oldest (Widmark, always good value), a young refreshingly tough Wagner, and a convincing portrayal of the weak-headed youngest son by Earl Holliman.

• Rating: High matinee
• When seen: 20 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: corrected spelling from Spencer "Tracey" to "Tracy". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Starman (1984)

In 1977 Voyager II was launched into space, inviting all lifeforms in the universe to visit our planet. Get ready. Company's coming.

Heart-warming story of a visiting alien, knocked out of the sky by the trigger-happy US military, far from his rendezvous point three days hence, who takes the form of a dead man, press-ganging the man's grieving widow into chauffeur duty, as the US military machine gears up to track him down.

Excellent portrayal of the alien by Jeff Bridges, cleverly making it seem as if he is inhabiting a body whose workings are unfamiliar to him.

In a film underpinned by sentiment, Bridges manages to win our sympathies without falsely anthropomorphising his character. Karen Allen gives a luminous performance of a woman torn by contradictory feelings of attraction and repulsion. Good supporting performances by Jaekel as the head of the US military task force, and by Martin Smith as the SETI specialist.

Along the way, there is some fun to be had of the "stranger in a strange land" variety, with Bridges having to cope with a variety of new human experiences.

Parallels with the more common type of "alien" in the southern states of the USA are there for those who wish to see them. Bridges and Allen travel in the margins of society, hitching rides in the back of trucks and riding the rails at night like illegal immigrants who have just snuck across the border: a transient procession of diners, truck stops, motels, long dusty roads. The people they meet are the salt of the earth: generally kind (especially the waitresses), without thought of personal gain, though sadly not without a proportion of thick-headed red-necks.

Religious parallels are also present, but are included tastefully and appropriately, serving the story.

Special effects are relatively few, interestingly, strength of plot and acting performance being the primary sources of credibility.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 22 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Rare Breed (1966)

This is a pretty entertaining film, with a good story, entertaining characters, and an interesting historical slant.

The premise is great: drop a couple of well-brought up English ladies and their well-cared for hornless Herefordshire bull into the harsh wilds of Texas, with its brutal survivalist ethos and its famously hardy longhorn cattle. Will the bull prove unfit for such a harsh environment and fail to breed? Will the English ladies be too delicate and have to escape back to England?

The women's need for funds forces them to sell the bull, and their concern for the longterm welfare of the bull provides sufficient motivation to take them to Texas. Along the way, the women experience pretty much the whole gamut of western tropes, from lusty barroom brawls to life-threatening cattle stampedes, ruthless armed robbery and the stench and squalor of an isolated cattle baron's accommodation.

The standout performances are those of the two female leads, Juliet Mills (daughter Hilary), and even more so, Maureen O'Hara (Martha). The latter is magnificent, dominating every scene.

The film introduces James Stewart's character, Sam Burnett, as an archetypal American male: tough and unafraid, quick to defend his friends with his fists, and literally taking bulls by their horns. From the outset, the plot endeavours to make Stewart's employer, rancher Taylor, unsympathetic, so as to bring us more on side when Stewart's character later contracts to cheat the man - a key plot point. However, I was distracted by the idea of Stewart wrestling a powerful longhorn bull to the ground, wondering if the filmmakers were seriously going to expect us to believe that a middle-aged man would be up for such athletics. As is often the case, James Stewart (here 58) is really too old for the role (you can clearly see the use of thicker-bodied stunt doubles in the action sequences) and too intelligent to play such a simple-minded cowboy (John Wayne, anyone?). I've seen a documentary that included modern "bull-grabbers", and they were all fit young men. Stewart's role is rather subdued for most of the story, only once or twice rising to the thrilling intensity of one of his conflicted characters in the Anthony Mann westerns. Arguably, Stewart does not play the lead but rather a supporting character, and it's really an O'Hara movie.

One strange character choice was to portray cattle rancher Bowen (Brian Keith), Stewart's rival for O'Hara's affections, for all the world like a traditional Scottish laird in a ranch-house styled like a dark high-ceilinged Scottish Highland castle, and first seen in squalor, filthy furs piled all around, tearing meat from the bone with his teeth, with the dogs allowed on the table, snatching meat from the master's platter. According to Wikipedia, the story is loosely based on the life of rancher William Burgess, so maybe this was true to life. In any case, the inclusion of the ex-Scot, Bowen, allows the film-makers to pit a Briton against Stewart's archetypal American in a struggle for O'Hara's affections.

The outdoor snow scenes feature some stunning photography, notably when Stewart's horse is trying to force its way through very deep snow drifts. But on the whole, this is not a very naturalistic film. There are some poorly realised overlay shots where the colour palettes of the foreground characters and background scenes jar. The women maintain a high degree of enhanced photogeneity throughout, and apart from Bowen, the men remain fairly presentable. The fight scenes are generally of the comic bar-room brawl style, where fists connect with jaws with impressive sound effects, nobody gets seriously hurt, and nobody is even asked to pay for the extensive damage!

So, all in all, worth catching, but without the intensity of interest of an Anthony Mann western.

• Rating: Matinee
• When seen: 19 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Splice (2009)

She's Not Human... Not Entirely.

This film updates the Frankenstein trope of man creating life to the present day, and poses the question of what would happen if instead of one man, the creators were a childless husband and wife team, incubating the monster from a foetus in an artificial womb. This is an interesting angle, allowing the film-makers to address issues relating to parenthood - especially, Polley's character being the prime mover, motherhood - and allowing for an unusually wide gamut of responses, ranging from revulsion to devotion.

A neat plot device allows for a telescoping of time, and the story develops swiftly.

The story, in toto, is clearly quite fantastic. In order to keep the audience on board, the characters of the protagonists must be credible enough to drive the plot forward in an apparently inevitable succession, as inevitable as a line of falling dominoes. This is achieved pretty well, partly by scripting in certain character attributes, partly through the great casting of beak-nosed thin-as-a-rake Adrian Brody as nerdy scientist, partly through the strong grounded but intense presence of Sarah Polley, whose character is the prime mover behind most of the key plot points.

For me, the actor Sarah Polley was in fact the main attraction. In the film Go, she was really something special, giving a brave bloody-minded completely unglamorous performance, the standout performance of the film. Her IMDB entry says she is "[b]lessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts..." Exactly: her intelligence shines through.

The monster, when it comes, is very well realised, especially later on in the film. This is a crucial point: if the monster lacks credibility, the film crashes. Fortunately, the FX are good, and the portrayal of the monster is one of the high points of the whole film.

Others have criticised the finale for being too action-oriented, and dumbing down from the intelligence of the majority of the film. Maybe, but the film's final coda is pretty smart.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 18 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Crazy Heart (2009)

The harder the life, the sweeter the song.

Unfortunately, as with so many DVDs watched at home, under less than ideal conditions, I didn't see this all at once, but saw the last 15 minutes some days later. It wasn't easy to find the right occasion to watch the last part of the film, and now, sadly, I can't remember much of what I thought and felt about the film.

The story is very simple, and is told in a straightforward fashion. An aging country singer/songwriter with a failing career and a drinking problem meets a woman who he really likes. How will it all turn out? Can a person like him find happiness?

Bridges, of course, is very good, though so method (or mumble-core in modern vernacular) that it is sometimes difficult to make out what he is saying, at least for my poor ears, and I'll admit after a while I resorted to subtitles. (Apparently in True Grit, he's even more incomprehensible. Don't suppose they'll let me run subtitles at the cinema!)

Gyllenhaal too is fine, but at the risk of being ungallant, I don't really understand why she is chosen for lead romantic roles. I can't understand her appeal. Farrell is good as the face of new country.

I read on Wikipedia that The New York Times said the novel, written by Thomas Cobb, "also functions as a shrewd and funny running critique of contemporary country music." Sounds great. This film doesn't really achieve that, to my mind, although it does indicate that if you live the kind of hard-drinking life rhapsodised in many country songs, you'll be unsuited for a career in country music.

The story line with the Gyllenhaal's son is interesting and well done.

I remember thinking the country music was pretty good, and that Jeff Bridges sang well (bought a couple of the songs off the soundtrack album from iTunes). Made me wonder about other similar singing actors, like Joachim Phoenix in Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash story, Kris Kristofferson in A Star Is Born, Bob Dylan in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and in the shower I've been singing Lee Marvin's Wandrin' Star (which I really like - unlike many, apparently) from Paint Your Wagon, while wondering about Clint Eastwood's A side song (was it Talk to the Trees?) and thinking I should check out other stuff by him.

Clint Eastwood has a pretty good voice, and composed the music for a number of his films, if I remember right. So why hasn't he been praised for doing the whole shebang - the way Chaplin was? Could it be because country music is considered too low-brow?

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 17 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added genre tag "romance"; deleted a reference to a family member who objected to having their opinions aired in public. Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

It's Complicated (2009)

Divorced... with benefits.

I wouldn't normally have chosen to watch this film. It was lent to me, impromptu, by a colleague with whom I had been talking - positively - about Meryl Streep, praising her for her ability to pull off strongly contrastring roles in Mama Mia and Doubt. But then I thought, why not give it a spin: Xanthe and I can watch it on Valentine's Day!

So, it's clearly a chick flick - which is to say a film proceeding within or alongside a set of audience expectations relating to the loose conventions of the romantic comedy genre - but with such well-seasoned protagonists, definitely one for middle-aged chicks. I have mixed feelings about the film, but it does have some strong comic moments.

The plot plays with an interesting premise: given the opportunity to have a second chance at a relationship with your ex-husband or wife, who previously left you for a much younger partner (to whom they are still married), what happens? Where does happiness lie? Is it with the old familiar partner or might a new love interest win out?

Meryl Streep is in Mama Mia rather than Doubt mode: laughing, smiling, twinkling, chortling, cavorting; doing her winsome best to keep the proceedings light and frothy.

Alec Baldwin very good value as the ex-husband. Steve Martin, the new man on Streep's horizon, looking strangely well-preserved, so that Xanthe was sure he'd had some "work" done, especially as this was an topic raised early in the plot.

The attitude towards physical love-making is quite positive: two key protagonists get very excited about all the great sex they are having and behave very impulsively. By contrast, the young people in the film are all nicely dressed and behave quite demurely.

I was annoyed by the "Greek chorus" of girlfriends Streep's character, Jane, gets together with on occasion, who presumably function partly as our on-screen surrogates (or is it peers?), egging her on. Likewise, I felt that her therapist took a wrong turn in their meeting, in a way that stretched credibility.

The wealth of the main protagonists rather reduced for me the urgency of their personal stakes. At times I felt I couldn't care less about the petty emotional issues of such well-to-do, over-fed people.

Xanthe and I were stunned at the size and opulence of Streep character's home and garden, and couldn't understand why she needed to extend the building, which already seemed quite large enough. We also wondered where the money to pay for it all was coming from. I had thought she was just an employee at the bakery where she worked, but to have acquired so much disposable income, she must surely have been the proprietor.

• Rating: Matinee
• When seen: 14 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Heartless (2009)

The darker it gets the more you see.

Like a British Donnie Darko - a psychological horror film where the reliability of the protagonist's POV is questionable. How much of what happens is a projection of the protagonist's imaginings and how much is objectively true?

A good true psychological horror story emerging from the protagonist's curiosity about the activities of hooded youth gangs with horrible masked (or not masked?) faces.

Interesting parallel between the reason the protagonist hides his face beneath a hood when out in public, to hide a prominent birthmark, and the reasons young hoodies choose to hide their faces.

Another theme is the question of evil: is evil consuming the world? What leads people to commit evil acts? Is intrinsic internal goodness sufficient defence against temptation?

Along the way, there are some events that stretch credibility somewhat, that we can choose to go with or not, to suspend our disbelief. But overall, the story evolves in a reasonably psychologically credible way.

This means that there's a lot of suspense, and fewer outright thrills, but that's preferable.

The performance by Sturgess is excellent, presenting a shy, inherently good and pure young man.

• Rating: High matinee
• When seen: 13 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Katyn (2007)

Harrowing story about the massacre of the cream of Polish society men by the Soviet forces at the start of WWII. Very effective plot, dividing its time between the captive Polish officers, moving further into jeopardy, and the wives and survivors back in Poland, culminating in the shocking reality of mass execution, with all its logistical issues to be solved.

Great performances by actors new to me. Huge stakes, obviously, it being very much life and death, and also, whether or not to capitulate in the nation-wide cover-up, with tragic loss of life and liberty by unsung heroes and heroines refusing to capitulate.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 19 Sept 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

300 (2007)

Spartans, prepare for glory!

Based on a Frank Miller comic. Pretty good but not as compelling as Sin City. Fantastic visuals, especially the ravishing colour palettes used, and the gorgeous highly contrasted graphic scenarios, clearly owing a great deal to the powerful vision of the comicbook artists.

Some excellent action scenes. Good sound. Good performances by all. The casting is spot on, with Gerard Butler doing a Russell Crowe-alike performance as King. Lena Headey is very credible as the queen.

All in all, pretty good, it's just that it was all so macho and testosterone-charged and glamorous in its way, with much display of men's naked torsos and muscled stomachs and in general a great deal of rippling male muscles. Homo-erotic? Sure.

• Rating: Matinee
• When seen: 3 Oct 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) (1946)

Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!

Interesting, but not compelling. Nice interplay between the fantastic and the prosaic interpretations of Niven's character's ordeal. Didn't believe the instant romance between Niven and Hunter, though it was a nice scene. Some nice set pieces where time stops.

Very English view of Heaven as a place of absolute civility but dull as ditchwater.

Notable use of British actors in American roles, with laughable accents and characterisations (the guys have to run about indulging in rough horseplay, the gals just have to wear a lot of lipstick and chew gum), including the leading actress, Niven's love interest, Kim Hunter, whose accent sounds incredibly English to present day ears. Didn't think that much of Hunter's performance, to be honest.

In the 3rd reel, some odd arguments by the prosecuting lawyer, a colonial American with a hatred of all things English.

Didn't find Roger Livesy nearly as compelling as the Filmspotting guys did in Colonel Blimp.

• Rating: Low matinee / high rental
• When seen: 4 Oct 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: corrected spelling of label "Emeric Pressburger" to "Emeric Pressberger". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Funny seeing the film of a book so recently read. Good script stripping out a lot of the subplots, focussing on the central story of the mystery of the missing girl, Harriet.

Good casting of the crucial Lisbeth Salanders character (Noomi Rapace): she's believable and fascinating.

The theme of men's subjgation of women, and worse, is mirrored in Salander who becomes the avenging angel of abused women, taking on and vanquishing evil men. In this film, much more than the book we see the development of a dark female superhero.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 26 Oct 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Ride the High Country (Guns in the Afternoon) (1962)

The story and themes are sophisticated. Self-respect vs escaping poverty via crime. And for women, the choices appear even bleaker in the harsh US frontier: marriage or prostitution. The leads are excellent.

Randolph Scott gives a surprisingly sophisticated nuanced performance as the good guy gone bad. Joel Macrae is solid as the man who has chosen self respect. The female lead, Mariette Hartley, is very good, and very lovable.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 27 Oct 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: added actor tags: "Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Sin City (2005)

There is no justice without sin.

Fantastic film version of a strong artistic vision of a dark, violent, sexy version of our world.

When Xanthe and I saw this in the cinema on release, after a steady diet of kids' films, this was a massive shock to the system which left us gasping.

The visuals are gorgeous and so well realised with the limited colour palette and the stunning from above night time snow and rain shots, so iconic.

Of course it can be seen as offensive in its gender stereotyping but it's all tongue-in-cheek, no?

Awesome performance by Mickey Rourke as Marv and by Bruce Willis as cop Hartigan.

• Rating: Exceptional
• When seen: 29 Oct 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: added actor tags: "Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)

He's quite engaging. She's otherwise engaged.

Such a successful romantic tragi-comedy. Really funny, moving, emotionally credible. A breakout success that paved the way in the US market for a rush of other British films.

Remarkable how no backstory is given for the characters. Yet we believe in them as a strange social group. The plot cleverly excludes almost all references to the world of work, so the characters exist in a pure world of social relationships.

The WH Auden poem, Stop All The Clocks, is a real highpoint. I saw it on the day of a colleague's funeral, and wept.

Such a good performance by Hugh Grant - probably the key to film's success. Also of course Kristen Scott Thomas. Not to mention the gay couple Simon Callow and John Hannah. And McDowell is fine, if less desirable, ultimately, than Scott Thomas, who is luminous, rivettingly (regally?) fine and intelligent.

• Rating: Exceptional
• When seen: 17 Dec 2010
• Where seen: School
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: added actor tags: "Simon Callow, James Fleet, Rowan Atkinson, John Hannah, David Bower, Charlotte Coleman". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Zombieland (2010)

Survival rule#4: Don't be a hero.

Delightful start! Very good script, smart funny, scary at times. Cool use of over image titles, and voice over, surprisingly. Performances by the two male leads in particular are excellent.

There is also a substantial sub-text that works very well, about alienation, loneliness, suspicion of others, but desire for love and friends and family and belonging.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 21 Dec 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

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Enchanted (2007)

The real world and the animated world collide. This fairytale princess is about to meet a real Prince Charming.

Very enjoyable. Good story with strong positive underlying message about women's role in fairy tales, with Giselle (Amy Adams) developing from paper doll into a strong relatively rounded character.

Especially notable for Adams' performance, bringing credibility to a tricky role requiring sweetness and naïveté as well as inner strength.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 26 Dec 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: added actor tags: "Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey, Susan Sarandon". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Adventureland (2009)

Long hours. Low pay. High times.

Very nice romantic comedy drama, with realistic coming-of-age story. Excellent script. Quite low-key, but all the better for it.

Eisenberg very good as a sympathetic, sensitive geeky intellectual, thrown into a shitty work environment by his parents' financial straits. Stewart also good with her minimal poker-face style. Supporting cast excellent.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 07 Jan 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: added actor tags: "Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The King's Speech (2010)

When God couldn't save The King, The Queen turned to someone who could.

Excellent script, joining the ranks of works of fiction that cast political leaders in the central role(s), capitalising on the perceived inherent significance and gravitas, i.e. raised stakes, of such folk. In this story, the film-makers cleverly tie the protagonist's strong personal stakes (a wish to overcome stuttering) to national - even international - political imperatives (the need for live public speaking from the leader of state).

The scenes of greatest interest are those between George (Firth) and Logue (Rush), charting the various vocal techniques used, the progress of treatment, and the ebb and flow of the relationship between the two.

Much of the fun to be had is in seeing Logue stand up against the ideas of Royal prerogative. Perhaps another component of our enjoyment is that of schadenfreude, the spectacle of a member of the Royal Family, that highest class of Briton, being brought low, at least to a common level with us, by personal handicap. With all their wealth, they too are not immune to the ailments of the common man. Hah! In your face, aristo!

Great central performances by the three leads, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. Never warmed to Rush before (Smile, for instance, inspired respect for acting ability, but not liking) but here he is persuasive and likeable. Carter is spot on as George's wife, the Queen Mother to be.

Interesting as an insight into the life of the Royal Family of the time, and to see how, as George admits, until his dealings with Logue, he had been almost entirely isolated from "common" people.

As Mark Kermode said, how strange when the happy ending of a film hinges on a declaration of war.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 22 Jan 2011
• Where seen: Cinema
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: added actor tags: "Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Gambon". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Elephant (2003)

An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.

Short - only 80 mins. (I read that the title was taken from Alan Clarke's 1989 BBC drama about violence in Northern Ireland. Not sure why...)

Fantastically well realised in terms of naturalism of script, dialogue and performances. (I read that they were real high school kids, many using their own real names, and that much of the dialogue was improvised.) Most of the film is the build-up, as we accompany various kids around the school. Fantastic long (tracking?) shots, walking along endless corridors and other parts of the school, concentrating our attention on the people, often behind, sometimes from in front, often just on their faces. Time is fluid, as we keep returning to the same junctions between people, but from another person's point of view.

We see some of the preparation of the two boys who commit the massacre, how easy it is to buy assault weapons, and get them delivered to the door with no questions asked. The thoroughness of their planning beforehand, showing it was not a spontaneous but premeditated act. The FPS (first-person shooter - a type of violent video-game) they play, similar to what they later do - a bit controversial, this! Their (gay?) activity.

But we get little suggestion as to the motivation behind the boys' action. There is little/no emotion shown by the killers, apart from some enjoyment when they succeed in shooting people. Is this good or bad? On the one hand, we are allowed to draw our own conclusions. However, there is little evidence to base any conclusions on, so, on the other hand, it is difficult to ascribe motivation. It then becomes a film about outward actions, about surfaces, with little indication of anything beneath. So, somewhat unsatisfying: you give us the experience of the massacre but don't tell us anything really new, unless it's that motiveless crime exists? Interesting: the Radio Times review takes the same tack as I have, querying the lack of depth to the film.

Ebert puts a positive spin on it: "It simply looks at the day as it unfolds, and that is a brave and radical act; it refuses to supply reasons and assign cures, so that we can close the case and move on."

• Rating: Matinee
• When seen: 2 Sep 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: added actor tags: "Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Far Country (1955)

HE CHALLENGED THE GOLD-RICH GLORY THAT WAS THE YUKON! white with snow... scarlet with sin... yellow with the dust... that lured him on!

I love the way Mann explores moral issues: here, whether we can be self-sufficient or whether we need other people.

Here, Stewart is presented in a very dark light, as a bitter cynical loner, who rejects help from others and who refuses to help others. There is some very nasty business along the way, really.

This is leavened with various lighter even comic turns, including Walter Brennan, and the girl.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 16 Jan 2011
• Where seen: Home, on iPad
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added writer tag: "Borden Chase"; actor tags: "Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan, Jay C. Flippen, John McIntire, Harry Morgan, Steve Brodie, Connie Gilchrist"; deleted 1st paragraph erroneously copied from another review. Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Destry Rides Again (1939)

THE GREATEST CAST EVER CORRALLED for a frontier drama like you've NEVER seen in all your born days!

The script is excellent, with some scenes of real tension and excellent dialogue. The early scenes with Stewart are superb. Interesting theme of a lawman eschewing violence. Stewart has the charm, intelligence and sensitivity, and also sufficient inner passion, mental steeliness, and physical potential to be entirely credible in the role.

The only bum notes are the comic interludes, like those in the early John Ford films, which seem rather dated, unlike the rest, which still seems quite modern in a way.

Donleavy is very good as the villain. Dietrich is very good too, though her musical performances are not to all tastes. In the past, I've really liked her, and found her very sexy, in other performances, but somehow her musical performances in this film didn't quite grab me.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 04 Jan 2011
• Where seen: Home, on iPad
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added writer tags: "Max Brand, Felix Jackson, Henry Myers, Gertrude Purcell"; actor tags: "Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Night Passage (1957)

Saga of the McLaine Brothers, who followed different trails, lived by different laws, but wanted the same woman!

Not an Anthony Mann / Jimmy Stewart western. Has a different emotional tone, much lighter. (Again, the comedy Irish characters, who worst of all start out the story.)

As with other westerns of the period, we get an insight into a part of the history of the West, which is a nice bonus. This time the context is the expansion of the railroad across the USA.

The best thing about the film is the chance to see Stewart play his accordion and sing, which I assume is authentic, at least the singing is. (I read later on Wikipedia or somewhere that the studio later over-dubbed Stewart's playing with that of a professional accordion player: for shame!)

The plot is a strange half and half affair, with the two supporting stars not appearing till the second half. Audie Murphy has a lot of screen presence, though I'm not sure he has enough of a dark side for his role as the 'evil' brother, apart from dressing all in black.

Duryea's performance is very disappointing after his excellent crazy villain in Winchester 73, as good as Richard Widmark's psychotic killer in Kiss of Death ten years earlier (1947). All he does in Night Passage is shout, as if playing a character who is hard of hearing.

• Rating: Matinee
• When seen: 21 Jan 2011
• Where seen: Home, on iPad
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added writer tags: "Borden Chase, Norman A. Fox"; actor tags: "Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Elaine Stewart, Brandon De Wilde, Robert J. Wilke, Jack Elam". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Amelie (2001)

She'll change your life.

This is a wonderful film, a romantic comedy but not a genre film, set in the world of comic Jeunet grotesques (cf. Delicatessen, City of Lost Children).

The character of Amelie is something of a grotesque too, but made mainstream (= commercial) by the actor Audrey Tatou's personal charm and good looks, which provides a relatively normal access point, or point of view (POV), for the viewer. Switch Tatou for a less winsome, odder-looking young woman, and Amelie would be more unavoidably an eccentric amongst grotesques.

The stakes couldn't be higher. From the beginning, we are shown that Amelie is a young woman whose character has been been formed by an unusual childhood, which has given her an eccentric outlook on the world. As an adult, she now occupies a world of eccentrics, none of whom has been able to fully realise themselves, each one compromised by some flaw or circumstance. And we understand that Amelie herself is ultimately in terrible jeopardy, for unless something or someone changes the course of her future, she will share her neighbours' bleak fate, becoming like them a disappointed or embittered or damaged grotesque.

In many respects, Amelie is a modern version of Jane Austen's Emma: busy making matches between lonely people, and trying to bring hope and /or happiness to sad people, but reluctant to risk reaching out to seize happiness for herself. She is good at clever "schemes" but always at a distance, anonymously.

Jeunet uses every trick in the book to keep things fresh and surprising and delightful: ironic voice over, magic realism, breaking the fourth wall with direct looks and performances to the audience, speeding up sequences.

There is a wonderful mystery involving photo booths, like one of those logic problems people used to tease you with.

The sub-textual values of the film are to be cherished: art for art's delightful sake rather than commercial gain, although that message may be slightly ironic given the film's strong commercial appeal.

• Rating: Exceptional
• When seen: 03 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added writer tag: "Guillaume Laurant"; actor tags: "Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Claire Maurier, Isabelle Nanty, Dominique Pinon, Serge Merlin, Jamel Debbouze". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Shenandoah (1965)

Two Mighty Armies Trampled Its Valley... A Fighting Family Challenged Them Both!

Great story and script, set in Virginia near the end of the American Civil War, centred on a family which has managed to remain separate from the conflict. Strong opening, with Stewart's character taking an aggressive stance against involvement.

One wonders about the links to real wars faced by the American people, such as WWII and the war in Vietnam. As US involvement in the Vietnam war had just finished, it is likely that this story was a veiled discussion of US separatism vs. involvement. During the course of the film, some of the horrors and foolishness of war are pretty well illustrated. Despite the comic interludes, there are some harsh moments along the way.

The character of Stewart very interesting, forthrightly opposed to involvement, and more or less atheistic, though respectful of his wife's wishes.

Shame about some of the male cast (apart from the youngest son, Stewart's sons and McClure seem to be stolid but dull (unkindly expressed: beefy fatheads).

Interesting portrayal of women's roles, very traditional in many ways, but offset to a degree by Stewart's daughter's response to the plight of her young brother. Includes rather dated comic interludes with Stewart trying to explain the differences between men and women (or in reality, between himself and his wife) to crass young men.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 7 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home, on iPad
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tag: "James Lee Barrett"; actor tags: "Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, Rosemary Forsyth, Phillip Alford, Katharine Ross". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Ghost Writer (2010)

Read between the lies.

The performances are very good, particular the leads. Ewan McGregor is very good, Pierce Brosnan is particularly persuasive in the Tony Blair-alike PM role, and Olivia Williams, as the PM's wife, is very credible.

There's nothing that particularly marks the film out, stylistically, as the vision of any one particular film-maker. The story is pretty good, but the tone is a bit flat, a bit lacking in a sense of suspense for the first half, though it livens up considerably in the second half. There are some delightful twists to the story, and a particularly wonderful final twist.

But the most surprising twist of all comes after the final frame, as the credits began to roll: a film by Roman Polanski! Who would have thought? I'd forgotten who the director was, and was surprised, shocked even, that this entertaining but rather pedestrian genre piece was made by the auteur who brought moody shockers like Knife in the Water, Repulsion, Cul-de-sac and the great stylistic tour de force of Chinatown. And written by Robert Harris (Fatherland, Enigma).

• Rating: Matinee
• When seen: 5 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tag: "Robert Harris"; actor tags: "Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, Kim Cattrall, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, James Belushi, Eli Wallach". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Kick-Ass (2010)

I can't fly. But I can kick your ass.

Very enjoyable. A lot of fun. A lot of heart too (unlike The Dark Knight, for example). Kick-Ass is a very good addition to the superhero genre. The story clicks along very smartly, the characters are interesting, there's some kick-ass action, some highly realistic, some more cartoonish.

It's the story which is good, especially in the first third or so. It really does pull you along as you wonder how it will all go with the young protagonist.

Kick-Ass poses the question of what happens if people with no superpowers decide to become costumed superheroes. The main protagonist shows one answer to that question. The crime-fighting duo Big Daddy and Hit Girl show a different kind of answer. The clue is in the choice of weaponry: Kick-Ass has a couple of night-sticks and a tazer. Big Daddy and Hit Girl have an arsenal of death-dealing weapons: firearms, bombs, knives.

In training too, there's a big difference. Kick Ass tries to emulate Peter Parker's Spiderman, but is too scared to leap between rooftops, even during a fight. Hit Girl and Big Daddy can leap between rooftops. Big Daddy prepares a bullet-proof vest-wearing Hit Girl for being shot in the chest, by shooting her in the chest. Kick-Ass trains by shadow-boxing (or the equivalent). Kick-Ass's old-school non-lethal fisticuffs are no match for the lethal death-dealing tactics of Big Daddy and Hit Girl.

Aaron Johnson (from High Wycombe, UK!) is very good as the wannabe superhero. Mark Strong is very good as the Mafia boss. Choe Moretz is also very good. Nicolas Cage is fine.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 8 Apr 2010
• Where seen: Cinema
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tags: "Jane Goldman, Mark Millar"; actor tags: "Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Black Dahlia (2006)

Inspired by the most notorious unsolved murder in California history.

Pretty good overall. The tone seemed right, compared to the book: dark, savage, bitter.

The photography, production design and all were all good.

Good performance from Josh Hartnett. Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart were also OK, though I never believed Eckhart and Hartnett as buddies, no connection between them. Best performances were by the girl who played the dead girl, Betty, and a brilliant performance by Swank's mother.

The problem was the script: too dense, as the LoveFilm entry says. Difficult to follow the plot at times, especially at the beginning. Compare the adaptation of Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" in Blade Runner, which was stripped down and re-made, very lean.

The audio was poor, difficult to follow what they were saying, maybe too much information, or too fast and choppy. The effect was to confuse the viewer.

• Rating: Matinee
• When seen: 5 Jan 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tags: "Josh Friedman, James Ellroy"; actor tags: "Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Aeon Flux (2005)

The Perfect World Meets The Perfect Assassin

Based on an MTV cartoon. Quite entertaining. Good concept and set design. The technology in use was quite cool: telepathy pills, body enhancements. Charlize Theron's minimalist acting was OK for her character, though that made her rather icy in demeanour. The action sequences were fun. I didn't predict the twist ending, thought it was going to be more like the Matrix.

Pete Postlethwaite in a sort of caterpillar costume was pretty ridiculous.

• Rating: Rental
• When seen: 29 Dec 2009
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added writer tags: "Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi"; actor tags: "Sophie Okonedo, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Frances McDormand, Amelia Warner". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

127 Hours (2011)

Every second counts.

Strange to see films after hearing so much about them.

There seem to be two big questions with this film. One, could you do what Aron Ralston did? Two, can you bear to watch James Franco acting it out on screen?

According to Danny Boyle, the director, speaking to Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 5 live, with regard to the first question, most if not all of us would do what Ralston did; with regard to the second question, a few people have fainted or vomited or had to leave the cinema, some people kept their seats, but started humming, presumably to keep out the awful sounds.

My wife, Xanthe and I, occupied opposite extremes. Squeamish in such matters, Xanthe doubts she could do such a thing to herself, and watched and didn't watch scenes involving blood from behind her hands. By contrast, I suspect - pain permitting - that I could do what Ralston did. Mammals in traps have been known to bite their own paws off, at least according to popular legend. Although I flinched quite a bit during the worst of the onscreen ordeal, I was able to continue watching in entirety.

A third, perhaps more interesting question was raised by someone - I've forgotten who now - which is, assuming you could do what Ralston did, what would be the thing that compelled you to do it, i.e. what or who would you be doing it for? In the film, the answer to that is what arguably provides the character's dramatic story arc.

A fourth question, posed adroitly by Mark Kermode, is how do film-makers maintain audience interest over three or four reels of film where a lone character is trapped in a single confined location? And how do you get the protagonist to verbalise, believably, if there's nobody else around? Are you going to be forced to resort to voice-over internal monologue?

Kermode notes the parallel with the film Buried, in which the protagonist is trapped in a dark box underground, and in which the film-makers solve the problem of how to bring in other voices by including a mobile phone, which apparently works very well - haven't seen it yet myself.

In 127 Hours, Boyle solves the problem in several ways. One, there is a run-up to the confinement, in which other characters interact with Ralston. Two, Ralston has a digital video camera, and records himself, and even views past recordings. This really happened, though the content of his actual recordings has not been released to the public. This is a brilliant device, because it allows Ralston to speak aloud to camera in an authentic way, giving us access to what's happening in his head, to monitor his state of mind and hear his plans and hopes and fears. Three, Boyle sneakily inserts snippets of Ralston's internal imaginings, daydreams, night-dreams, and once the barriers of credibility have been lowered, increasingly, external hallucinations.

The other task faced by the film-makers, again well pointed out by Mark Kermode, is to keep the visual interest fresh during the periods of confinement, and Boyle does manage this very well. To an extent this is done in technical ways - varying camera angle and so on - but mostly it is achieved by having Ralston engaged in purposeful escape-driven activity, by making these small challenges easily understandable to the audience, and by engaging the audience in the suspense of the outcomes.

The whole outcome rests to a large extent on the performance of Franco, and he clearly does an excellent job, as one would expect from the strength of his performances in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, where he had to go from callow best friend to psychotic revenge-driven villain, and did so admirably. If you're going to ask an audience to spend a couple of hours tete-a-tete with a character, you'd better make that character credible, and especially if he's an apparently self-obsessed testosterone-fuelled over-achiever, you'd better give him some sympathetic depths. The script and the actor do achieve this, in my opinion. Franco certainly has a credible physique for the role, and pulls off the daredevil stuff well, and the script provides sufficient under-the-surface back-story to give him a story arc with psychological challenges with which to change and grow.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 05 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Cinema
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Added writer tags: "Aron Ralston, Simon Beaufoy"; changed phrase "a self-obsessed macho testosterone-fuelled over-achiever" to "an apparently self-obsessed testosterone-fuelled over-achiever". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Road (2009)

In a moment the world changed forever

It's a hard movie to watch, unrelenting: dark, dirty, full of violence, pain and despair. Apart from the full-colour flashbacks, the palette is reduced to muted dark colours, greys, browns, blues, as nuclear winter - as it seems, though never specified - takes its toll. I wept at the end. Don't know if I'd want to watch it again anytime soon.

The story is harsh, with humans pitted against their own loss of humanity and dropping of all moral behaviour in the face of starvation, with other people resorting to extremes in the their need for food. The father, Viggo Mortgenson, fights to remain "one of the good guys" in the eyes of his son. They are on a quest to the coast, but it becomes clear that the quest may have an ulterior purpose. The question underlying the protagonists' quest is whether there is really the possibility of a safe haven anywhere on earth. If not, what should a good man do? What should a good father do?

The performances by Mortgensen and the boy (Smit-McPhee) are brilliant, and supporting character actors met along the way are also excellent.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 10 Oct 2010
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tag: "Joe Penhall"; actor tags: "Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

Hulk (2003)

Unleash the hero within.

Interesting seeing this again after just seeing the later The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton.

This film seems to be poorly received by some, but I prefer it, probably for the reasons others reject it. It is a much more ambitious film than than its successor, attempting, properly, I would argue, to characterise the Hulk as a physical representation of Banner's psychology, in Freudian terms, of his id, his anger, in the manner of the monsters in the SF classic Forbidden Planet. The director makes a pretty good stab at it.

Eric Bana presents a stronger, more robust Banner than Norton's perpetually damaged, timid, crestfallen, waifish portrayal. He's a strange choice in a way, as he doesn't have a particularly expressive face, thought perhaps that could be seen as an advantage, strengthening his resemblance to his animated muscular alter-ego.

Jennifer Connelly is very good in the role of Betty Ross, giving her the requisite attributes of intelligence, goodness, sensitivity, steadfastness, and extraordinary beauty. The power she has over the Hulk, because of his strong feelings for her, are credible, and reminiscent at times of Beauty and the Beast, or King Kong and the girl. Sam Elliott is perfect in the role of Betty's father, General Ross.

This film, being first, shows the origin story, which is interesting and credible enough, being updated from the original comic-book version to contain DNA and nano-technology. The mystery of the childhood nightmares of the two protagonists is intriguing and well-handled.

The only fly in the ointment is perhaps the somewhat confusing nature of the finale, with the character played by Nick Nolte, and the father-son theme, absent from the original comic-books as far as I recall.

My ten-year old son prefers this film to its successor. He loves the action sequences.

• Rating: High matinee
• When seen: 3 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tags: "Michael France, John Turman, James Schamus"; actor tags: "Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Nick Nolte, Josh Lucas". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Naked Spur (1953)

Packed with Technicolor Thrills!

Another great pairing of James Stewart and Anthony Mann in a modern revisionist western.

Apart from a brief incursion by a group of Blackfeet Indians, slaughtered without too much lasting remorse by the principals, this is a tight five-hander. At the centre is the conflicted bounty hunter, Howie Kemp (Stewart), hunting Ben (Robert Ryan) and his companion (Janet Leigh), who inadvertently picks up a couple of partners, an old prospector (Millard Mitchell), down on his luck, and a brave dashing but dishonourably discharged soldier (Ralph Meeker).

The plot is excellent. The stakes are clear: as the lieutenant neatly points out, Ben is not so much a man as a walking bag of money. In fact, the situation is very similar to that in Huston's Treasure of the Sierra Madre, where the lure of gold puts pressure on the characters to double cross each other,

It struck me that part of what makes this such a great story is the character of Ben (Ryan), and his sly skillful psychological manipulation of the other characters, as he schemes to create conflict between his captors, with apparent confidence that sooner or later, by this method, opportunities to escape will emerge. This gives the villain of the tale unusual depth and credibility, if not exactly sympathy. After all, in his shoes, it's a tactic any of us would surely use.

The locations and cinematography are wonderful, contrasting strongly with the meanness and pettiness of the principal characters.

• Rating: Exceptional
• When seen: 31 Jan 2011
• Where seen: Home, on iPad
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tags: "Sam Rolfe, Harold Jack Bloom"; actor tags: "Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Millard Mitchell, Ralph Meeker". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.