The Boat that Rocked - 2009 * * * *

On Shore, off air, out of control.

After hearing of the history of Radio Caroline from my dad I was excited to see this movie, based on the infamous pirate radio station that was broadcast illegally this film centres on the lives of the DJs who, although illegal, were bringing amazing music to many people. Notable performances from Kenneth Branaugh, Rhys Ifans and Bill Nighy and a fantastic soundtrack make this film a must see for anyone who has ever been interested in pirate radio or just simply appreciated good music.

The Fantastic Mr Fox - 2009 * * * 1/5

Dig the Life Fantastic.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie as I have been a fan of Roald Dahl's work for years. This movie is aimed more at the mature fans of his work as opposed to the children but there still is something for everyone.
After getting trapped in a net with his pregnant wife trying to steal a chicken from Mr Boggis's farm, Mr Fox swears to her that if they make it out alive he will never go back to his old ways.
12 Years later and his cousin and the son come to stay and Mr Fox decides to plan the biggest robbery of his life, but it will come at a price.
Very good animation/puppetry and some unforgettable voices. It certainly gives a whole new take on the Mr Fox that I loved as a child.

Apres Vous ( After You...) 2003 * * * *

A Tasty comedy with a twist.

Daniel Auteil is becoming a staple actor in my various viewings of French films. He is extremely versatile and I find his comic efforts perfect.

One night, on the way to his girlfriend's house, Antoine comes across a suicidal man named Louis on the brink of hanging himself from a tree. After saving his life he allows Louis to stay with him and finds him a job as a wine taster in his smart Parisian restaurant. Believing he can help Louis he tries to track down the reason for his near-suicide attempt, his ex-girlfriend Blanche, with hilarious and heart-warming results.

All round good fun and a typical gentle comedy that only the French can do so well.

Chase a Crooked Shadow - 1958 * * * * 1/2

The Man Hunts the Girl, the Girl Hunts the Man.

Ok I would never have known or guessed that this was a B-movie until researching it online. The acting was really brilliant ( Herbert Lom gives excellent support as the police officer) and I was amazed by the story. I usually guess the twists that are about to come at the end of mystery type films but I was totally knocked back by this one!

Anne Baxter's character Kim retires late from a party to her room one night to find a figure standing outside her balcony. He claims he is her brother. Her brother is dead. From then on Kim must risk everything to make the police believe her before it is too late.

A really amazing film. The end will blow your socks off.

All About Steve - 2009 * * *

For god's sake stop tanning! You look like an orange with lips!

I'm not a huge fan of Sandra Bullock's quirky, ditzy roles and feel that this one didn't really do her justice because all in all she is a good actress. Her role as Mary, who spends her life designing crosswords for the local paper and as a result doesn't earn enough to move out of her parent's house doesn't really fit with her more gutzy roles in other films. There is a difference in acting as a character who is funny and who is ditzy, and strangely enough although her character is extremely intelligent she comes across as slightly mental ( her character reminds me of Poppy in Happy Go-Lucky who goes through life never feeling depressed or affected by anything) and amazingly hyper. When she meets Steve, a bloke her parents set her up with she finds herself falling for him in more ways than one.

The film had a few laughs in it but altogether her character was far too annoying for me to find any sort of empathy with.

Downloading Nancy - 2009 * *

The first cut is not always the deepest.

This film is based on a really gruesome and disturbing story of a lady from America, who four years ago advertised on the internet for somebody to torture and murder her. They did.

The main character in the film, Nancy, is a self-harming, sado-masochistic housewife, whose boredom with her husband (played excellently by Rufus Sewell) leads her to run away into the arms of the man she strikes a friendship with on the internet. She has started a depraved cyber relationship with this man and they spend days at a time emailing about different forms of torture they would like to perform on each other and which ways she would like him to eventually kill her. There is no doubt that Nancy is a very mentally ill person ( she can't even get through a whole counselling session without rushing to the bathroom to self harm) and whilst she gives herself freely to this stranger I cannot help feel sorry for her that she allowed some man to take advantage of her this way. This film definately doesn't shy away from taboo subjects and I think I didn't like it because it made me uncomfortable (the acting was brilliant.)

Across The Hall - 2009 * * * *

Rooms are cheap, the night will cost you.

I have started to lap up films made by Brittany Murphy a year or so before her death and I came across this movie that no one seemed to have heard of. Now that I have seen it I can't believe it hasn't been more widely acclaimed because it really is a brilliant and terrifying film!

An unfaithful wife goes to spend the night in a hotel with her lover, but unknown to her, he has found out about her infidelity and has rented the room across the hall from hers where he is waiting with a shotgun...

The film brings an amazing amount of tension and atmosphere to the viewer and the flashbacks are actually very useful in this although I find they can just confuse me in a lot of films! I also think the acting was pretty great as well (Brittany Murphy is astounding) and you are hard pressed these days to find a film with great acting, story and attention to detail.

Thoroughly recommended.