Highly entertaining Stephen King adaptation, stylishly directed by David Koepp, with a mesmerising Johnny Depp as a best-selling mystery writer in the throes of a messy divorce who's accused of plagiarism—and threatened with unpleasant retribution—by sinister hillbilly John Turturro. Cue havoc on all fronts, and bodies piling up very quickly indeed. Splendid.
Affectionate, often very funny Christopher Guest comedy that gently sends up the American folk scene that Dylan fiercely put paid to. It's no Spinal Tap and probably not as hilariously fresh as Best In Show, but Guest and his familiar repertory company—co-writer Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Catherine O'Hara and Parker Posey among them—turn in typically irresistible performances.
Bafflingly shite title belies one of the great courtroom flicks of all time. A 1960 Stanley Kramer classic based on the true story of a Hillsboro professor arrested for teaching "God-bashing" Darwinism, it features effortless turns from Spencer Tracy and Fredric March as the duelling lawyers, some able support from a de-cheesed Gene Kelly, and a script bristling with one-liners.
Many are now admitting that the title may have been the funniest thing about Christopher Guest's latest piss-take of the earnest. Problem being that its chosen genre of cheesy '60s folk is barely remembered in the UK: Dylan and co presumably blew away the artists Guest is targeting. Also, he clearly nurtures an affection for these nerds.
