John Sayles scripted this Jaws-onland rip-off, with Robert Forster as the cop chasing a giant man-eating monster down in the sewers. Forster's dogged, and some of the set pieces are pretty nifty, but the plot's farcical, and this isn't strong on intellectual content despite its obligatory eco-message. The sequel is a made-for-TV retread, of practically zero interest.
"The Beatles tours were like Fellini's Satyricon," John Lennon once remarked, and seeing the director's 1969 masterpiece of decadence again, you can only wonder how they made it through alive. A bleak but visually stunning crawl through the paranoia, bisexuality and corruption of ancient Rome, it's hardly easy viewing, but stunning all the same as a lurid portrait of a world tipped over into the realms of madness.
A monumental 150-minute attempt at tracking China's cultural transition from Mao-ish uniformity to the eccentricities of Deng Xiaoping's quasi-capitalism, Platform (1990) follows four wannabe performers from Fenyang over a long and turbulent decade (1979-1989). Unlike director Jia Zhang-ke's excellent 1997 drama Xiao Wu, Platform has a bizarre disregard for character and narrative coherence.
A former Uncut film of the month, shamefully under-promoted by the British film industry. Imaginatively based on the cult BS Johnson novel, it stars Nick Moran as a misanthropic bank clerk who elects to wreak vengeance on society for perceived injustices. A sort of Billy Liar with fire in its belly, it's intense, inventive and, finally, explosive.
Brilliant comedy about snobbery and class, set in 1947: with food rationing (and the black market) still in operation, chiropodist Michael Palin and his piano teacher wife Maggie Smith discover the only way to climb the social ladder is to steal a pig. Great cast, but Alan Bennett's screenplay's the real star.
The crowning glory of the Anthology project, this DVD box set features the 10 hours of footage originally seen on TV and video, plus an extra 80 minutes on a fifth disc.
A relaxed Paul, George and Ringo, talking to interviewer Jools Holland, relate The Beatles story from top to bottom with humour, a wealth of anecdote and personal revelation, and a surprising willingness to relive the arguments, the bitter financial battles and the split.
Inter-cut with historic clips of the Fabs in action, this definitive documentary arrives with improved picture quality and stereo, and 5.1 surround sou
James Coburn's last film is a well-meaning but hardly unforgettable drama about a father's search across America for the owner of the gun that killed his daughter. The narrative structure is contrived, and although it's only 86 minutes long, you feel yourself growing old watching it.
Echoes of Jean De Florette only add to the charm of Christian Carion's bucolic visit to the Alpine French countryside. A young woman bored with life in the capital decides to become a farmer; cranky old neighbour Michel Serrault doubts whether she can hack it. Pretty scenery, yes, but also a perceptive study of mismatched spirits learning to rub along.
Knebworth 1980 is the last time all six Beach Boys appeared together in the UK. Brian is now a zombie, and Dennis is a mess. Nice harmonies, though, and the songs aren't bad, either. On Tour is riveting. Cameras track a content 21st-century Wilson on stage and off. Carol Kaye, Pet Sounds bassist, insists he "still has the power to do something mind-blowing" before he performs a new song that is, indeed, mind-blowing.
