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Birmingham Post

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
North (1994) Bob Shelton Not great satire, but not bad, either.
Posted Jan 24, 2026  Edit critic review
Unstrung Heroes (1995) Mike Davies Keaton invests her film with a sensibility that is both wonderfully comic and unbearably poignant. A small but lingering treasure.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
The American President (1995) Mike Davies So liberal it makes Clinton look like Sadam Hussein, Rob Reiner's frothy confection is engaging, amusing and generally downright charming fare about public face and private life.
Posted Jan 22, 2026  Edit critic review
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Birmingham Post Staff There was a chance here for the fine speaking of fine ideas, but in ton and theme the dialogue never rises above glib generalities.
Posted Jan 16, 2026  Edit critic review
Gaslight (1944) T.C. Kemp It is gratifying to see Charles Boyer cast as the man with an overload of mischief. That dark deliberation of his fits this picture's mysterious business as aptly as Ingrid Bergman's cryptic beauty suits its melancholy romance.
Posted Jan 13, 2026  Edit critic review
A Place in the Sun (1951) T.C. Kemp George Steven's direction is discreet but powerful.
Posted Jan 12, 2026  Edit critic review
Alice in Wonderland (1951) T.C. Kemp The most to be hoped for is that too much violence shall not be done to the spirit of a book. When we consider what Disney might have done to "Alice," we are impressed by his restraint.
Posted Jan 08, 2026  Edit critic review
A Few Good Men (1992) Bob Shelton Cruise's acting redeems his one-dimensional Irish immigrant in Far and Away, while Nicholson establishes an unsympathetic character you'll not soon forget.
Posted Jan 06, 2026  Edit critic review
Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) T.C. Kemp Warner Brothers are to be complimented upon their courage in presenting realities.
Posted Jan 06, 2026  Edit critic review
Death Race 2000 (1975) Michael Billington No-one could pretend that Death Race 2000 is activated by a savage moral scorn; but there is a glimmer of satiric intelligence behind its zany comedy and for that, at least, one is grateful.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
Final Analysis (1992) Bob Shelton A psychological thriller that is almost a catalogue of Hitchcockian suspense and devices. Strangely, they work in this complex, first-rate drama.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
Hook (1991) Bob Shelton As eye-opening spectacle, Hook is filled with inventiveness and opulence. It is not so strong as a moral fable.
Posted Dec 19, 2025  Edit critic review
True Lies (1994) Bob Shelton This is the ultimate blockbuster with more stunts than a circus, more visual splash than Charles Bronson or Sean Connery ever dreamed of.
Posted Dec 09, 2025  Edit critic review
Born Yesterday (1950) Birmingham Post Staff Though the dialogue is sometimes difficult to follow, Born Yesterday is a well directed, cleverly written film.
Posted Oct 13, 2025  Edit critic review
Casper (1995) Bob Shelton Ghost stories have been entrancing people from time immemorial and it's good to report that the modern magic of special effects only heightens the wizardry and mystery of these spectral tales.
Posted Oct 03, 2025  Edit critic review
Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis (1998) Mike Davies This lame, outdated music-biz satire is a woeful reminder of just how bad British comedy can be. Like The Full Monty never happened.
Posted Sep 24, 2025  Edit critic review
Paradise Road (1997) Mike Davies The ensemble cast pulls out all the stops to ensure the deaths do shock and the heart is well and truly wrung.
Posted Sep 24, 2025  Edit critic review
The Devil's Advocate (1997) Mike Davies It's risible melodrama. But diabolically good fun.
Posted Sep 24, 2025  Edit critic review
Boogie Nights (1997) Mike Davies A rise-and-fall parable of the American Dream and an end of innocence, the emotional heart of Anderson's overlong, flawed but nonetheless dazzlingly brilliant, style-laden and confidently cocksure film is its non-judgmental, compassionate character study.
Posted Sep 24, 2025  Edit critic review
Hard Eight (1996) Mike Davies Punctuated with sporadic bursts of violence, this engrossing, claustrophobic fable about the roulette wheel of life is already out on video but you really should take advantage of its first cinema screening in the city.
Posted Sep 22, 2025  Edit critic review
Waterworld (1995) Bob Shelton A fairly original concept for an adventure film that is far from the predicted fiasco it was rumored to be.
Posted Jul 28, 2025  Edit critic review
Red Rock West (1993) Bob Shelton Neither deep nor cheap, this thriller will keep you guessing about who to trust, if anyone.
Posted Jul 15, 2025  Edit critic review
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Mike Davies Too few shocks, a not particularly scary villain and plot holes you could lose a trawler in ensure the only jolts you're likely to experience are from waking up when it's over.
Posted Jul 15, 2025  Edit critic review
South Central (1992) Bob Shelton Gritty and well-acted melodrama with topical relevance, if limited appeal.
Posted Jul 01, 2025  Edit critic review
Savage Nights (1992) Bob Shelton The film is driven by a sort of frenzy, not so much for escape as for the embracing of life.
Posted Jul 01, 2025  Edit critic review
Jurassic Park (1993) Bob Shelton If you thought the world's most commercially successful director had lost his touch for action adventure with Hook, be assured that the maker of Jaws, E.T. and "Close Encounters" is back in top form again, and then some.
Posted Jul 01, 2025  Edit critic review
Conspirators of Pleasure (1996) Mike Davies A mesmerising, dialogue-free shaggy dog comedy.
Posted Jun 30, 2025  Edit critic review
Johns (1996) Mike Davies It suffers from overworked, leaden symbolism and an inconsistent script but the twin performances are excellent, there's some snappy dialogue and it's shot through with a poignancy and humanity that'll linger in your heart.
Posted Jun 30, 2025  Edit critic review
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Mike Davies As rides go, for the most part this is a real switchback of heart-pumping thrills, gob-smacking special effects and sudden shocks that'll have you jumping out of and sometimes under your seat.
Posted Jun 30, 2025  Edit critic review
A Man of No Importance (1994) Bob Shelton Strange tale, but Finney is always watchable.
Posted Jun 24, 2025  Edit critic review
The Quick and the Dead (1995) Bob Shelton Sam Raimi has directed this for some in-crowd laughs, some overdrawn characters, and a fair amount of fun action.
Posted Jun 24, 2025  Edit critic review
Carrington (1995) Bob Shelton The film will have its cult admirers for its daring look at eccentric sexual history.
Posted Jun 24, 2025  Edit critic review
Apollo 13 (1995) Bob Shelton Apollo 13 seems predictable, but it isn't. It stands out as exceptionally good adventure fare.
Posted Jun 24, 2025  Edit critic review
Night Moves (1975) Michael Billington Moseby, embodied by the ubiquitous and astonishing Gene Hackman, is a brilliant creation.
Posted May 28, 2025  Edit critic review
Mission: Impossible (1996) Mike Davies It's ultimately disappointingly hollow.
Posted May 06, 2025  Edit critic review
The Stepford Wives (1975) Terry Grimley Forbes directs this malarky with a striking feeling for light and space, and for what you might call the aesthetics of suburbia.
Posted May 02, 2025  Edit critic review
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Lisa Wood It's a fun film. I envied George Lucas, the author and director, of his opportunity to indulge in this piece of fairy-tale nonsense which rarely fails in its inventiveness.
Posted Apr 22, 2025  Edit critic review
Brannigan (1975) Michael Billington Wayne as usual occupies the screen with massive authority plus a bear-like tenderness and there is a good saloon-bar ruckus.
Posted Apr 12, 2025  Edit critic review
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Michael Billington I am not sure that the attempt to construct a loose narrative framework actually suits the team's gifts... But, given the lacklustre witlessness of most British screen comedy, it is refreshing to find a film as madcap as this.
Posted Apr 01, 2025  Edit critic review
Rancho Deluxe (1975) Michael Billington It is an ironic, sparky modern Western set in Montana but it isn't directed with enough style or rhythmic variation to achieve proper lift-off.
Posted Mar 27, 2025  Edit critic review
Tommy (1975) Michael Billington The sheer relentlessness of Russell's approach leaves one deafened and exhausted.
Posted Mar 18, 2025  Edit critic review
My Pleasure Is My Business (1974) Anthony Everitt An overstated farce about a promiscuous film goddess.
Posted Mar 11, 2025  Edit critic review
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) Michael Billington It shows Simon attempting to extend his own comic territory by tackling serious subjects. I find the result both funny and moving.
Posted Mar 07, 2025  Edit critic review
Nashville (1975) Michael Billington In a medium still dependent on the touting of bankrupt formulas, Nashville comes as an energising tonic. And a signpost for the future.
Posted Feb 26, 2025  Edit critic review
Barry Lyndon (1975) Michael Billington I would not have thought Kubrick could ever have made a somnambulistic film: But here he has.
Posted Feb 25, 2025  Edit critic review
Shampoo (1975) Michael Billington Although it is a writer's movie, Ashby direct with a nice sense of farcical rhythm and gets better performances out of everyone than they have given in a long time.
Posted Feb 10, 2025  Edit critic review
Scream 2 (1997) Mike Davies As sequel rules dictate, the body count and shock quota's a lot higher. Unusually, it's also a lot scarier and funnier too.
Posted Feb 05, 2025  Edit critic review
Tarzan (1999) Mike Davies Full of depth, colour and a look so lush you can almost smell the vegetation, the forest looks fabulous. The characters, while clearly cartoon, have real life.
Posted Dec 20, 2024  Edit critic review
Mulan (1998) Mike Davies Great for kids, and just as good for the grown-ups, this delivers an emotional resonance, dramatic excitement and visual magic to rank it in the same league Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
Posted Dec 19, 2024  Edit critic review
Monkey Trouble (1994) Bob Shelton This is mildly amusing kids' stuff.
Posted Dec 19, 2024  Edit critic review
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