Movie reviews by Michelle Thomas
Page 1 of 7, from 139 detailed articles
Nowhere BoyLiverpool, 1955, where a teenage boy called John (Johnson) is being raised by his aunt Mimi (Scott Thomas) and uncle George (David Threfall). Mimi is loving in a terribly English, aspirational and…
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood PrinceAnyone who has been reading this site over the years will know that I am a big fan of the Harry Potter franchise, both books and films, and was very much looking forward to this latest in the series.…
PostalPostal opens with a genuinely funny scene, with two Islamic fundamentalist suicide bombers looking forward to heaven and their promised allocation of virgins. Only – how many virgins are they going…
Golden DoorGolden Door or, translated from the Italian, New World, is the story of Sicilian immigrants who effectively travel from the past to the future by crossing the Atlantic to reach America. Sicily is a…
Big NothingCharlie Wood (Schwimmer) might be described by some as a loser. An unemployed former teacher and struggling writer, he is supported by his police officer wife Penelope (McElhone), but is tired of his…
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)Viva Mexico! I’m sure there are plenty of really bad films made in Mexico but the directors and actors making their names on the international stage – Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu,…
Special (PX)Les Franken (Rapaport), a kind-hearted but lonely Los Angeles parking enforcement officer, lives a dull and uninspiring life. He goes to work; he goes home and eats his microwave meals for one; he…
Mischief NightI don't mind telling you that I was pretty much dreading Mischief Night. Gritty Northern drama, film council funding, largely unknown cast - alarm bells were ringing, and my heart sank as I prepared…
Little ChildrenOpening with a group of suburban mothers gossiping in the park, its soon clear that Sarah (Winslet) does not quite fit the mould. She is, by the other mothers’ standards, a bit slapdash. She forgets…
A Good YearI like Russell Crowe. At least, I like him when he's playing muscular leaders of men, as he did in Gladiator and in Master & Commander. I like Ridley Scott - Blade Runner is my favourite film of all…
The Queen1997, and Britain is ushering in a new era. After thousands of years of Thatcher, the country rallies behind the young radical leader Tony Blair (Sheen), inventor of something fresh and exciting…
DestrictedDestricted is a collection of seven films by well-known artists and film-makers including Sam Taylor-Wood, Gaspar Noe and that old provocateur, Larry Clark. ‘It aims to bring together sex and art; a…
Right At Your DoorNewly-ish weds Brad (Cochrane) and Lexi (McCormack) have just moved into their new home in Los Angeles; they haven’t finished unpacking. But Lexi has to go to work; Brad is a musician, so has nothing…
Snow CakeAlex Hughes (Rickman) just wants to be left alone. Newly released from prison, he has travelled to Canada to meet the mother of the son he never met, and doesn’t seem to be entirely sure why he’s…
Driving LessonsSeventeen year old Ben (Grint) has a pretty miserable existence. His massively, neurotically overprotective and domineering mother Laura (Linney) barely lets him out of her sight, while his vicar…
VolverRaimunda (Cruz) is a hard-working young woman, with an unemployed husband and a teenage daughter Paula (Cobo), living in the Spanish equivalent of council flats in a working class neighbourhood of…
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm SchoolFrank (Carlyle), a widowed baker, works all night and spends his days delivering bread in his little van, resigned to misery until one day he pulls over on a rural highway to help a dying stranger…
Harsh TimesIt was a nice sunny evening when I went to see Harsh Times, and I was a bit disgruntled that there wasn’t so much as a glass of juice on offer, just straight on into the screening. So, was it worth…
Lady In The WaterThe improbably named Cleveland Heep (Giamatti), a widowed doctor, has, since the murder of his family, been working rather mundanely as a building super in a generic Philadelphia apartment block. One…
