Weeds Season 1 - even though I found quite a lot of the drama and comedy to be forced and/or predictable, on the whole this was quite a decent show mainly due to the performances. Mary Louise Parker does a really good job, even on the numerous occasions the script lets her down, and most of the others rise above the material too.

But I shouldn�t criticise the scripting too much, even though its not as clever as it thinks it is, it hits the mark regularly enough for it to be satisfying.

7/10


Criss Cross (1949) - excellent film noir from Robert Siodmak. Burt Lancaster does really well here, his character seems to be aware he is doomed right from the start and Lanacaster portrays the reluctant acceptance of his situation very well. Tight script with neat supporting performances and its shot very well too.

7.5/10


Ugetsu (1953) - hmm, it's pretty well made in almost all areas and has some very neat ideas, but it just didn�t work for me beyond an appreciation level. Kenji Mizoguchi's period fantasy about the actions of two farmers during civil war in the samurai times is part neo-realist cinema and part ghost story, with both parts fairly convincing in their execution.

The story, however, is very melodramatic and I personally think melodrama requires a heightened form of acting to work and the neo-realist approach adopted here did not work for me in that aspect.

Still, well worth checking out.

6.5/10


The New World (2005) - Definitely overlong, and the last half an hour doesn�t work as well as it should, but otherwise I found this to be an excellent take on the Pocahontas story with engaging performances from Colin Farrell, newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher and Christian Bale.

Terence Malick obviously has a slow, ponderous and meditative style, and it's one which annoyed me no end in The Thin Red Line, but here I found it captivating in managing to transplant you right in the middle of where this movie takes place. The cinematography here goes beyond just pretty imagery and actually makes you feel the location, so much so that after spending 2 hours in the jungle when the movie finally shifts to England for a brief period, it seems as alien to the viewer as it does to one of the characters.

Now admittedly the style and pace is not for everyone and will most likely bore many when coupled with the lack of any real story, but this is in my mind what cinema is all about. A good story is a bonus but when you have such command over sound and image and are able to extract performances from your cast that support the atmosphere, narrative drive is not all that necessary in my book.

7.5/10


The Little Foxes (1941) - very well acted and scripted (if predictable) melodrama by William Wyler starring Bette Davis. Davis is terrific as usual and the supporting cast are wonderful, most of them underplaying their scenes with Davis but still having as much impact.

William Wyler also must have had a thing for staging crucial end scenes on stairways, this is the third movie (the others being Jezebel and The Heiress) of his where I've noticed it.

7.5/10


Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) - gold black comedy but it would be a disservice to the great script in calling it just that. The great thing about the writing is that although its often wickedly clever, it manages to also be touching and dramatically convincing when it needs to be. Great ending too.

Add to that the brilliant performance(s) of Alec Guiness who plays 8 members of a royal family that are targeted for murder by an unhappy descendant (an excellent and deadpan Dennis Price) and you have a great film.

8/10