If ever there was a film that toyed with the boundaries between documentary and feature films, James Marsh’s intensely striking Man On Wire is it. Based on the astounding 1974 exploits of wire-walker Philippe Petit, it recounts his beyond-daring attempt...

In a particularly swell episode of South Park, Stan and Kenny come up against indignant outrage when they dare to suggest that they didn’t like Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ, the notion being that its significance put it beyond critical evaluation....

One of the more remarkable developments in pop culture over the past 20 or so years is how the gap between the mainstream and the fringes has closed and with it, the notion of independent cult culture, be it in cinema or music, has been redefined.

It’s a difficult to not like Will Smith in some way or other. Supposedly the Nicest Guy in Hollywood, his amiability and thespy capability has made him a relatively safe pair of hands that can be entrusted with pretty much any kind of mainstream blockbuster....

Muhammad Ali was an arsehole. It’s not something that you ever hear, but that’s the unavoidable conclusion of John Dower’s cracking documentary. Long a sporting icon, a role model to millions and a symbol of man’s ability to overcome the greatest of obstacles,...

Journalism is littered with incidents of notable bravery, moments when men and women have put the need to uncover the truth before their own welfare - be they Kate Adie in a warzone, Roger Cook tackling bad-ass crooks or Russell Harty going mano-a-mano...

This year’s Oscars showed us that now, more than ever, films are being made to a standard that matches any period in Hollywood’s golden history. This means that whenever you go see or rent a new film you may be watching a bona fide classic in the making.

During this tricky period, where the gods of DVD release scheduling have set me on a comic-based review decathlon, I remarked that these films need to strive to create a distinct tone to prevent them from becoming a blur. While The Incredible Hulk didn’t...

Following closely behind Daniel Craig slipstream in the Brits-do-Hollywood steeplechase, James McAvoy does his mainstream profile no harm at all in this blistering big-budget outing. Brushing over the fact that Wanted is adapted from a comic, let’s merely...

As comic-book adaptations continue to broaden their hold of the multliplexes and DVD racks with franchises steadily taking root, what becomes important is that they each establish a tone that prevents them from blurring into a primary-coloured spandex...

There are some actors and directors whose name on a film poster or DVD cover will move you to check out something you may have overlooked. Guy Ritchie isn’t one of them, but for me Tadanobu Asano is. Having slinked his way into pop culture through well-chosen...

That Forrest Gump chump was right. Life is like a box of chocolates, and so is this engaging compilation of short films, one that offers something for all fans of the visual arts, though of course with a few coffee Revels thrown in for good measure.

Maybe they thought that A Beautiful Mind would have been so much cooler if George Clooney had played the troubled maths genius. Or that all that was missing from Ocean’s 11 was a bit of complex theory.

Whatever the thinking, that’s where...

It’s ironic really. Back in the day (he said hoping not to sound too much like an old duffer), the struggle was convincing people that comics had relevance as a medium that adults could relate to.

Graphic novels like The Dark Knight Returns...

Happiness, eh? Are any of us really happy? Is other people's happiness any of our business? Is it wrong to impose our ideas of happiness on others? That’s what director Mike Leigh seems to be pondering in his latest effort, one that sees him departing...

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Dwelling on the past is always a quick bliss fix, and a surefire way for film-makers to establish a connection with viewers.

A nifty reminder of the glory of the 80s and the birth of video culture, former ninja...

It's curious to see how Hollywood acts as a barometer to the American psyche. In the aftermath of 9/11, it was clear that would be too raw a topic to cover, until 2006’s World Trade Center eased it onto screens by way of tribute to the fallen.

Cinema has been an accepted part of or lives for so long that it’s easy to not question the affect that it can have on us. And when it comes to violence in films, that may actually be a momentous oversight – our over-consumption may have led to a certain...

Since we first had the bejesus freaked out of us by The Ring (Ringu, if you want to be picky), there has been a slow and steady string of lo-fi chillers that have taken turns in weirding us out, wresting the power away from fairground Hollywood horrors...

It’s funny, but the tricky thing about British film is its violent polarity. Our flicks are either canny literate pieces from the likes of Shane Meadows, Danny Boyle and Pegg & Wright cracking or St Trinians weak. The question is which end of the spectrum...

The fact that a talent as kooky as Michel Gondry can make mainstream, big-budget Hollywood movies is a cracking illustration of the healthy and liberated state of modern culture.

Be Kind Rewind, his third major film, follows the astounding...

With Rocky now resuscitated, Sly Stallone continues his franchise refreshment with a new instalment in the Rambo saga, ahead of 2009’s Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot 2. Maybe.

Much was made of the fact that Odeon refused to carry this, with the...

There’s every reason to have high hopes going into this. Director Doug Liman’s form is sound – from Swingers to The Bourne Identity, he has produced mature, suave flicks that sit well in the mainstream. After tackling action, a bit more shouldn’t pose...

Breaking down Cloverfield into its nuts and bolts - Blair Witch does Godzilla - it should have been little more than a fun, but derivative affair. The mockumentary is a style borne of the indie fringes - see also Man Bites Dog – so the deft subtlety it...