There’s no doubt in my mind that Batman Returns is better than Tim Burton’s first stab at making a film about the dark knight. Batman Returns is sharper, tighter, darker and, most importantly, more entertaining than its predecessor. In every regard it trumps the previous film.Now some people would say, ‘well, what about the Joker? Surely he’s better than the villains in this...

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I can remember as a kid that Batman was supposedly going to traumatise an entire generation of children. It was going to be so dark, so scary and so downright evil that youngsters nationwide were going to shit themselves in unison. Hell, the BBFC even came up with a 12 rating to keep the little blighters out of cinemas. But when you look...

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What a lovable pair the MacManus brothers are. They're Irish, they're religious and they horse about at work, hitting each other in the face with pieces of raw meat. What cracking fellows. Oh, and in their spare time (surprise, surprise) they drink a lot. The only problem is that some Russian Nikolai Volkov look-a-likes want to buy their favourite bar. They can't be...

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Not having seen it for a fair few years, I was rather surprised at how much I enjoyed Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I mean, I've always liked it and I've always known it's funny, but I'd kind of forgotten just how good it is. And it's very good indeed.The first bit that had me laughing was the showdown with Kevin Bacon, where he...

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Most Kubrick fans tend to look down on Spartacus. This is for a variety of reasons, but the main one is that it's the only film Kubrick made as a hired gun – he certainly didn't have full creative control. Well, hired gun or not, I think Spartacus is a fine film. It's one of the best epics ever made.The most enjoyable part...

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It wouldn’t be the least bit original to point out that 300 is a homoerotic film, but…damn is 300 a homoerotic film. Every frame bristles with the musty smell of sweaty manlove. This is a film where boys are ripped away from their mothers to become ‘real’ men, a process which seems to involve a whole lot of beating and whipping by fat,...

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When most people mention Dick Tracy they usually talk about style over substance. And yeah, they're right, the film is lightweight, and yes the production design and cinematography does take precedence over story and characterisation, but when the surface is as good as it is in this, I'm able to forgive the film's numerous shortcomings.What I enjoy most about Dick Tracy, rather obviously,...

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On the surface Cobra may sound like a tough nickname. It could conjure images of a man that has lightening instincts, a man that is volatile, unpredictable and lethal. But when the man in question wears reflective sunglasses, black shirts, jeans, leather gloves and stubble, you can't help but feel the nickname has a hidden meaning. After all, what else is a cobra...

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There are three endings you should avoid at all costs, endings which all reek of a massive cop-out. The first ending you should avoid is: everything was a lie. The second ending you should avoid is: everything was a dream. And the third ending you should avoid is: god saved us. Now there are notable exceptions to all of those, but by and...

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Christopher McCandless lived a silly life and died a silly death. Here was a guy who gave his savings to Oxfam (twenty-four grand, no less), left home without uttering a word to his family and who thought salvation lay in the wilderness. Too bad, then, that he ate the wrong type of plant and carked it.All the time we’re told what complete arseholes...

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It's always the quiet ones, isn't it? It's always the detached, the reserved and the remote who turn out to be the kinkiest. But then again, if you were in your forties, still lived at home and had a possessive mother, you might be a bit off-kilter too. The opening to The Piano Teacher sees Erika (Isabelle Huppert), a rather prim middle-aged woman,...

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Manhattan has an almost perfect opening...No, I'll start that again. Manhattan does have a perfect opening. No sooner has the film started than you're hit by the sublime synthesis of George Gershwin's music, Gordon Willis' black and white widescreen photography and Woody Allen's voice-over. It's a combination that spoils the senses and one that plainly states Allen's intentions. This is a movie with...

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You'd think the couple in Maybe Baby would be happy. They have lots of money, good jobs and a luxurious flat. Plus they're unable to conceive. But for some reason the absence of a tubby parasite fills them with a sense of loss. They want to enrich their lives by creating life, they want to share their love with a long-term sperm and...

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I'm not sure why Colin Farrell keeps on getting cast in so many big films. His movies rarely make a lot of money and he's not especially talented. He's the kind of actor who can just about tread water – he doesn't ruin the films he's in, but he does nothing to enhance them either. And so it is with The New World.In...

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3:10 to Yuma has one major flaw: at the end Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) doesn’t half seem keen to help Dan Evans (Christian Bale) out. Through the town they run, dodging bullets, and then they even take to the roofs and leap between buildings. Really, would a hardened criminal who wanted to avoid jail be so compliant, especially when his gang is there,...

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There's definitely something strange about seeing Klaus Kinski play a character that smiles and a character that is in love with another human being. After all, virtually every other character Kinski played was a frothing madman. But here he plays Fitzcarraldo, a man of passion and warmth, a man who loves opera instead of fear and death.The opening scenes set the character up...

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