Watching this retrospective collection is like entering the strange, cluttered mind of a bureaucratic librarian, full of eccentric catalogues and desultory associations. A labyrinth of alien intelligence – intriguing, under-stated, anal-retentive, and joyously funny.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Quentin Tarantino is a genius, and this is his masterwork. Exuberant, inventive, kinetic, violent and fun, it grabs your attention right from the beginning and never lets go. Quite possibly the reason cinema was invented.
Auto Focus
An absorbing dramatisation of the downfall of a US TV celebrity but definitely not for kiddy-winks.
Antwone Fisher
Up-beat but not sickeningly so, this is a well paced and terrifically performed first stint in the directors chair for Denzel Washington.
Spellbound
A documentary about a spelling competition which is funny, gripping, and somehow manages to take in much broader aspects of American society and immigrant culture along the way. In a word , T-H-A-U-M-A-T-U-R-G-Y.