Front Row Films Review

Carnage

5/10

Roman Polanski will be 80 next year. He directed his first film 50 years ago. Chinatown is one of the great all time movies. This is his new film. It's based on a stage play (and it shows). It has an impressive cast. I don't think I enjoyed it very much, but it's not a bad film. Is it worth seeing? Possibly. Read more...

Young Adult

5/10

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to tell you that this is as good as or better than Juno or Up In The Air, the last 2 films directed by Jason Reitman, who made this (from a script by Diablo Cody who wrote Juno), but I cannot tell a lie. While I enjoyed it moderately, I was left feeling shortchanged and underwhelmed.

Monster In Paris, A

6/10

There is a current fashion for nostalgic films about Paris, with The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec, Midnight in Paris and Hugo all giving us their version of the Parisian past. Now there's an animated French film set in the same city, which is not at all bad.

Grey, The

6/10

Not so much Dances With Wolves as "Oh God, there's wolves everywhere, and they're trying to kill us!' - which I agree is not a very snappy title, but possibly better than The Grey, which conveys absolutely nothing at all. Read more...

Like Crazy

8/10

If ever there was a film that provided the adage/cliche that less is more, this is it. Short, simple, sweet and sophisticated, it says as much about love and relationships as two hundred other films based on the boy meets girl template.

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W.E.

2/10

Dear Madge, Given your longstanding failure to show any talent either as film actor or as film director, I don't know whether to admire you for your persistence, or point out that the cinema is not a medium in which you flourish. But I will say that even by your standards, this is a pretty atrocious film.

Margin Call

7/10

It's a pity that this has come and gone from cinema screens so quickly, since it is an excellent film, but make sure you catch in on DVD; it would make an excellent double bill with Inside Job. This is my kind of film - talky, intelligent and dealing with the real world.

J. Edgar

3/10

I had hoped that after the disappointments of Invictus and Hereafter Clint Eastwood might have rediscovered his mojo with a film about one of the most famous and vile Americans of the 20th Century. Sadly, this is another dud.

Haywire

7/10

You have to admire Steven Soderbergh. Working with a speed and economy unmatched by any director other than Clint Eastwood, he knocks out his films at the rate of two or three a year, while his fellow directors struggle to manage one. And on this occasion he has produced an excellent thriller with an exceptional cast.

Coriolanus

8/10

Ralph Fiennes has been a major presence on cinema screens for nearly 20 years, since he came to prominence as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights and Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. He has never yet appeared in a Shakespeare film, nor has he directed a movie. This rectifies both omissions, with great success.

Descendants, The

8/10

It's been seven years since Alexander Payne made Sideways, but it's been worth the wait since his new film is as good if not better - apart from the title which is awful.

War Horse

3/10

Here are a few adjectives to describe Spielberg's new film: infuriating, cheesy, magnificent, dull, noisy, hamfisted, old-fashioned, long, clumsy and spectacular. And most of those, you will gather, are not recommendations.

Shame

8/10

If you were wondering (or worrying) whether Steve McQueen could follow up the brilliance of Hunger with another stunning piece of work, set your mind at rest. He has produced a second superb film, equally challenging, beautiful and original.

Iron Lady, The

6/10

It's hard to imagine what the real Maggie Thatcher would make of this film, if indeed she would make anything of it. We are led to believe that she is in the advanced stages of dementia and incapable of recognising anything very much. But if she did watch the movie, she might feel that she came out of it pretty well.

Artist, The

9/10

This is the first film I saw at Toronto (2011), and it's one of the best films I've seen in a very long time. There's no way it could be improved, and I hope everyone will go and see it. Yes, it's that good.