Breach - 2007 ****

Another surprisingly good political thriller, the kind that really gets under your skin. Added to which, the fact it's based on true events gives it even more of a kick. 

Ryan Phillippe is a junior employee of the Washington Bureau named Eric who is assigned to keep an eye on an intelligence agent named Hanssen who has been reassigned to the FBI headquarters. At first Eric believes he is doing nothing other than checking out Hanssen in case he displays sexual perversions, but soon finds out that Hanssen is a lot more dangerous to the FBI than he first imagined.  

Well crafted and enjoyable, although could've been a bit shorter in length. 

Gravity - 2013 ***

'Gravity' has an exceedingly good premise - an astronaut and engineer find themselves separated from the shuttle they are working on, and are stuck in space with barely no oxygen and no contact whatsoever with anyone. The acting is excellent, and I'm surprised to say that Clooney and Bullock work very well together. It's brilliantly designed too, to such an extent that after a while the idea of floating in space can give you a serious bout of nausea. 

The Paperboy - 2012 *****

I would expect anyone with an ounce of a brain to approach this with trepidation after seeing Zac Efron's name on the poster.

Seriously, I haven't seen anything like this ever before, but it was amazing. I really loved it. It sort of reminded me of 'In the Heat of the Night'. In many scenes you can almost feel the heat and sweat dripping off the characters. Nicole Kidman was the standout performance here although I must say (and I'm going to get shot for saying this) but Zac Efron wasn't as bad as I thought he was going to be. The story revolves around John Cusack's character who is languishing in jail after being found guilty of murder. Nicole Kidman is his adoring but spunky pen pal, who, believing that he is innocent, teams up with two reporters to try and investigate the story and ultimately clear his name. 

Kidman's makeup is fantastic, and her character is so gutsy and savvy that she becomes the centre of Efron's infatuation. 

This is a brilliant film. Kudos to director Lee Daniels for coming up with such an excellent end result. 

*(NOIR) The Lady Confesses - 1945 ****

I really liked this noir. I thought the story was excellent, and the twist at the end I did not see coming.
Larry Craig's wife Norma disappeared 7 years ago. He decides to get on with his life and becomes engaged to a girl named Vicki. Without warning, Norma appears out of the blue, and is murdered shortly after. Larry has an alibi, but do other people that Larry knows also have one? And why did the manager of the club that Larry was at on the night of the murder refuse to acknowledge his existence there?
One of the best of the month so far.

(NOIR) Impact - 1949 ****

Wow. For a relatively unknown film noir this was an excellent nail - biter. Brian Donlevy is brilliant as the spurned husband of suitably evil fatale Ella Raines. Desperate to get rid of her doting husband so that she can be with her lover, Raines plots for her lover to meet Donlevy and see that he has an accident in their car. However, things go very wrong when Raines' lover dies by mistake and Donlevy is left unconscious and battered. Raines believes that her husband is dead. Her husband has other ideas.
Really tense and interesting noir with a very original storyline. One worth watching.

Copycat - 1995 ****

For a film I've only heard of once before this was surprisingly good. Sigourney Weaver plays Dr Helen Hudson, an expert in criminal psychology and serial killers. One day after she has given a lecture, she is attacked in the toilets by a former subject of hers and as a result, becomes severely paranoid of setting foot outside of her apartment, to the extent that she finds it difficult to pick up the newspaper from outside her door. When a new series of murders takes place she is drawn into the terrifying world assisting the two main detectives on the case. Holly Hunter is excellent. Weaver is brilliant as the manic and intellectually stimulating Doctor. Great film, but I am very interested in the criminology of serial killers.