Spider-Man 2 (2004)

"Everybody loves a hero" says Aunt May to Peter Parker when he tries to give up his Spider-Man alter ego, and yes this film is basically a love story.  He believes he can never be with Betty Jane since this would endanger her life should his enemies discover their relationship; yet neither he, nor as it turns out she, can be really happy without each other.  Yes, we have a villain in Doc Ock as brilliantly played by Alfred Molina ( he doesn't want to die a monster), but his story disappears into the woodwork for great chunks of the two-hour running time as our hero ponders his destiny.  Similarly the sub-plot of James Franco looking to revenge his father, the villain of the first film, comes and goes.  Both Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst bring a real likeability to their roles and the franchise looks set to run and run.  And I suppose I must mention the impressive computer effects throughout, although one does begin to tire of these at times -- there is only just so much swooping about the city that the viewer can take.

The Pickwick Papers (1952)

One of the most enjoyable Dickens adaptations, this movie leaves  the viewer with a big smile and a zest for life.  There are no big stars in the cast but a lot of familiar British faces from the films of the period, all uniformly excellent.  James Hayter is Mr. Pickwick whose exploits with his close friends form the episodic narrative; a particular stand-out is Nigel Patrick as the rascally Mr Jingle whom neither we the viewer nor Mr Pickwick can quite bring ourselves to dislike. Beautifully filmed in crisp black and white, the movie is a real pleasure.

Connie and Carla (2004)

Nia Vardalos' follow-up to her mystifyingly successful "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is this cross between "Some Like it Hot" and "Victor/Victoria" although not as classic a film as either.  She and her co-lounge singer, Toni Collette, witness a murder and go on the lam, ending up as girls pretending to be boys pretending to be drag queens.  With their unconventional looks the two actresses can just about get away with the bizarre appearance their new act demands.  To be honest, it is on balance not a particularly good movie, but it does have its entertaining moments and it certainly has a very big heart in the right place.

The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)

The first time I came across the title of this film I had visions of its being some sort of fairy tale, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  A Palme d'or winner at Cannes, it is considered the Italian director Ermanno Olmi's masterpiece, but it is hard-going and at the best part of three hours, not an easy watch. It is set in Lombardy in Northern Italy at the end of the 19th Century and relates incidents from the lives of a number of families living together as tenant farmers.  There is no simple narrative; rather one is presented with vignettes acted out by the non-professional cast and there is not a lot to smile about.  The film covers poverty, birth, a wedding (with a honeymoon in a convent where the happy couple are made to take on a year-old child), tomato-growing in detail, and finally desperation as one family is forced to leave for the sin of having cut down a tree to make new clogs for their clever son who must walk six kilometres to and from school each day.  As a slice of peasant life it may be brilliant, but as satisfying viewing, forget about it.

Out of the Woods (2005)

This is a nothing special cable movie about a yuppie lawyer (Jason London) sent by his greedy parents to prevent his grandpa (Edward Asner) who has moved to a cabin in the woods from squandering the family inheritance by purchasing the surrounding land.  Guess what?  After failing to communicate they begin to bond and by the old man's death London has learned to appreciate the virtues of the simple life.  Yawn.

Tooth (2003)

A would-be charming British fantasy film that is completely charmless, gormless, and a waste of time.  A number of well-known British actors totally embarrass themselves in this idiocy involving tooth fairies, the Easter Bunny and some very uncomic baddies.  It is anyone's guess for whom this farrago was intended; it is set in an unrecognizable America that jars with the assorted British accents and its message that we need "magic" to save the day reads like the poor man's Peter Pan.

Jane Eyre (1944)

Not the first or the last, but certainly the best, of the Bronte adaptations starring a radiant Joan Fontaine as Jane and a slightly unrecognizable Orson Welles as Mr. Rochester, plus a host of sparkling character actors.  It is also worth noting that the young Jane, played by Peggy Ann Garner, has a number of scenes with Elizabeth Taylor in one of her earliest movies (she was also a lovely child).  The film has high production values and striking photography, and while it may feel slightly padded, it does remain reasonably faithful to the source material and totally enjoyable in a romantic gothic sort of way.

The Runaway Jury (2003)

I had all I could do to stay awake through this long and serpentine movie despite its stellar cast.  Based on yet another of John Grisham's courtroom sagas, it is the story of a woman suing a big gun manufacturer for her husband's wrongful death.  She is represented by Dustin Hoffman somewhat less bandstanding than he can be; the lawyer for the defense has employed Gene Hackman to manipulate the jury to their benefit.  One of the jurors is John Cusack (who is another actor who can do no wrong from my point of view), but he and his galfriend Rachel Weisz have their own agenda.  It all ends with Hackman getting his comeuppance but it is a slow slog getting there.

The Candidate (1972)

Michael Ritchie made a number of interesting films in the 70's (he also made some real duds) and this is one of them.  With a particularly literate script which won an Oscar, it tells the tale of an idealistic young lawyer (Robert Redford) who is cajoled into running for office as the senator from California by a devious Peter Boyle on the grounds that he can not possibly defeat the incumbent.  He therefore feels free to speak his mind on the various issues rather than play politics as his father (Melvyn Douglas) did before him. His refreshing approach results in his victory and it is only then that he realises that he has no idea whatsoever as to what he has taken on.  For once one could actually see Redford displaying real emotion in his puzzlement.

Against All Odds (1984)

I re-watched "Out of the Past" (see below) after viewing this film which is meant to be a loose remake, but while the plot is similar, this is far more bloated and unnecessarily longer.  Jeff Bridges takes the Mitchum role as successfully as he takes most and manages to emulate the latter's laid-back approach to life; the love interest here is Rachel Ward.  The big difference is that she does not incorporate Greer's amorality and the scene at the end implies that she and Bridges will live happily ever after.  The gimmick in the casting is that Jane Greer plays her mother, a character who has no part in the older film and who is not really necessary here..

Out of the Past (1947)

An archetypal film noir with all the ingredients in place: the tough but easily led hero played by Robert Mitchum with his usual sleepy efficiency, the quintissential femme fatale in Jane Greer, the suave but slimy Mr. Big played here by Kirk Douglas in a supporting role (one forgets that Mitchum was the bigger star then) and brilliant shadowy black and white composition.  Perhaps the plot is over-complicated but one just knows that there can never be the hoped-for happy ending.

End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2004)

Another documentary which would probably be more at home on the small screen.  I am not all that familiar with the Ramones' music apart from their involvement in the l979 cult classic "Rock 'n' Roll High School".  It covers the period from the early 70's through their farewell concert in 1996 and seems to be saying that they were more influential in creating new bands in their wake than in earning any lasting financial success for themselves.  From the original four (who were not related but who all took the surname Ramone for their act), replacements came and went during this period -- again always adopting the same last name. There is a remarkable amount of archive footage included, much of it of poor quality, but it does give the movie an authentic feel.  Sadly two of the original band died before the doc's release and a third has died since.