Film

“A miracle movie” (Time magazine), “a wildly ambitious and gravely serious contemplation of life” (Variety). Synecdoche, New York is certainly a film that has had the heavy weight of critical acclaim placed firmly around its neck. With such powerful plaudits, the film demands to be appreciated; you must recognise its genius or be derided as unintellectual. It can be argued that this critical celebration is not the film’s fault, but then Synecdoche seems the kind of film specifically targeted at those critics: wilfully obtuse, thought provoking and depicting the trials and tribulations of a man not a million miles from themselves. more...

Set in a small Thai town in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, this minimalist film follows the tentative romance between a visiting Bangkok-based architect (Supphasit Kansen) and a local woman (Anchalee Saisoontorn) who runs the hotel in which he is staying. Surrounded by ghostly ruins, their relationship does not go unnoticed in a town struggling to rebuild after a horrendous tragedy, and a sense that love won’t win out in the end smoulders amid the stunning Thai scenery. more...

After the scandal that followed the leaked Wolverine-in-progress comes the genuine 100% complete release of the new X-Men movie. Since the first two films in the series were particularly good, expectations are high, but the latest outing for the Marvel mutants follows in the footsteps of the disappointing third movie, lacking the depth and charm that made the series so popular. more...

Adapted from Paul Abbot’s much-acclaimed BBC drama of the same name, State of Play chronicles the uncovering of corporate conspiracy linked to the deaths of three apparently unconnected civilians. “Only on TV,” sighs the detective in charge, Det. Donald Bell. Street-smart journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) and newbie hottie journalist Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) are the ones uncovering the evidence that get them close to the truth, if only they could keep holding that deadline. “You’ve got eight hours Cal!” So far, nothing new. Things aren’t helped much when half-way through the film the guy from the Orange adverts (“Don’t let a mobile ruin your movie”) appears in a minor role, as does Jason Bateman (last seen at the end of Forgetting Sarah Marshall), who does a comedy turn in the spoof detective series Animal Instincts. Beyond that, State of Play is an entertaining and fairly clever foray into political thriller territory, if only it hadn’t plundered so many recognisable staples of the genre. more...

Armando Ianucci’s BAFTA-winning TV series, The Thick of It, was an intensely satirical fictionalisation of the day-to-day absurdity of British politics. Inept politicians blunder their way through policy changes, accidentally sending explicit emails to small children and bitching about their receptionists. more...

Traitor’s Director/Screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff clearly hoped to deliver a sophisticated, open-ended judgement on the ongoing "war on terror" and has produced a film which seeks to be both Hollywood thriller and religious morality play. In this, he should be commended: there is nothing overtly facile about the film he ended up with. But it is plain to see that Nachmanoff was eventually overwhelmed by the task he set himself; Traitor is ultimately so at war with itself that any moral or artistic nuance it may have harboured is buried. more...

When English language films are released abroad, most of the time they retain the same title. Every now and then however, distributors feel that the movie may be more successful if its title is translated, or even renamed, to give it more marketing clout and appeal more to the native audience of that country. Sometimes this is done relatively well. Other times… more...

Since I’m not writing the top 5 this week (what the f**k?), I’m dishing out a special edition ultra top 5 which has been described as “The best f**king thing ever”, before I’ve even written it. It’s been a wild super fun ride; I thought the whole section should’ve been called “Top 5 HILARITY with J-Mart” but “the man” wouldn’t have it. Anyway, enjoy this cream of the crop because this is the end of an era. more...

Where in the world are you from? Bad accents in films can bring shame upon regions, provinces and entire nations. At the risk of having an overall xenophobic cinematic experience, some actors should just dress as stereotypically as possible and always have a famous landmark in the background to let us know what accent they’re attempting.. more...

If you’re wondering what a tagline is, it’s the small caption on the poster or advert used to really drive the spirit of the picture home. Essentially, the horror tagline is designed to leave you quaking in your boots, but they really just tend to end up sounding completely ridiculous. For example, if I were to give this Top 5 a tagline of its own, it would be: “If you thought you were safe from mildly amusing movie lists, think again!!!!” more...

Tom New catches up with the cast and crew of In the Loop to discuss how much comedy politics can take. more...

The Viva Spanish and Latin American Film Festival, the largest of its kind in the UK, invaded Cornerhouse last week. Film Editor Alec Hawley braved everything from Argentinian horror to Colombian gangster films to find the best of the bunch. more...

Yes, it is a predominantly American word, but there is no better one to describe these smug, self-centered, slimy and astronomically annoying people. Every second they spend on screen is one in which your fists are clenched and a symphony of verbal abuse sits suspended on the edge of your tongue. Were I ever to meet any of these people, I would happily say very nasty things to them (probably from some distance away and possibly out of earshot). more...

I never really found ghosts that scary since they don’t look that scary due to the fact that they’re invisible. That’s not to say I wasn’t scared of everything else… the dark, heights, my own shadow. I almost certainly still am; after an episode of Jonathan Creek the other day I had to run from the bathroom to my bedroom as they’re separated by a dark hallway. That Alan Davies gives me the creeps. more...

For many a year now the high school movie has existed as something of a guilty pleasure within our cinematic diet. But to hell with the guilt, high school films are there to be loved, and rightly so! Ever since Porky’s graced the silver screen and ignited the genre, high school movies have given us characters that we can love in our dark and greasy days of uncontrollable teenage lust and insecurity; movies that remind us we are not alone. To help us all embrace the high school flick, here’s a tribute to five of the finest. more...

Running low on ideas? Just re-do someone else’s with better effects and no soul. more...

Flawless, set in 1960s London, tells of the story of Laura Quinn (Demi Moore), a career driven woman in the male dominated business of diamond dealing. As she becomes increasingly frustrated by her lack of promotion despite years of loyal service to the London Diamond Corporation, the nighttime janitor (Michael Caine) convinces her to aid him in stealing a large amount of diamonds. more...

Australia is pure schmaltzy hokum, but look beyond its melodramatic tendencies and you will find a classily made film imbued with a real sense of the history of a nation. more...

Uli Edel's The Baader Meinhof Complex brings to life the history of the first wave of the West German Red Army Faction. The film is shot partially as a docudrama and partly as a kinetic action thriller with a certain degree of bombast to appeal to your inner revolutionary. more...

In an era long from the original age of comedy, it takes a lot for a comedy flick to stand out. Yet any film that can boast a lead protagonist who can make a hustle out of the Heimlich manoeuvre and believes he is cloned from the foreskin of a god surely deserves some attention, doesn’t it? more...

From director Brad Anderson (The Machinist) comes Transsiberian, a tense and disturbing thriller about an American couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) whose train journey from Beijing to Moscow turns into a nightmare as they unwittingly get involved with a drug-smuggling couple and a dangerous Russian cop (Ben Kingsley). more...

Ricky Gervais’ latest foray into Hollywood is the imaginatively-titled Ghost Town. However, aside from an English accent and an unusual look (half Hitler and half Mr Potato Head) he brings little to the role of Bertram Pincus, a misanthropic dentist who, in grand cinematic tradition, can “see dead people” after a botched operation. more...

Funnyman Steve Carell and Anne “Plain Jane” Hathaway star in a Hollywood remake of the espionage sitcom Get Smart. Don’t worry, I’d never heard of it either. more...

Now I’m no fan of musicals, and nor am I a fan of cheesy American High-School dramas, so when I heard that Troy and Gabriella were returning for round three, my first thought was: “They made a second one?” more...

Far from a pair to rest on their laurels, Hollywood’s most dynamic directorial duo, the Coen brothers, follow up last year’s Oscars triumph. more...

Three long years since the acclaimed director’s re-vamp of the Caped Crusader finally delivered us from the camp catastrophe that was the charred remnants of the Batman Franchise, Nolan is back to continue his quest and give us the Gotham City that we always needed. more...