
Robert Hanks
Movies reviews only
Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
---|---|---|---|
|
Bronson (2008) |
It's not a masterpiece by any stretch; but it's original and pacy, and those qualities are rare enough. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 15, 2017
|
|
|
Iron Man (2008) |
Iron Man manages to be both a lot of fun, and quite possibly the most effective commentary on the war on terror that Hollywood has produced so far -- not the best argued or the most committed, but the one that most people will see, and think about. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Jun 09, 2015
|
|
|
La Danse -- Le Ballet de l'Opera de Paris (2009) |
- Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Jan 22, 2013
|
|
|
The History Boys (2006) |
- Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 17, 2011
|
|
|
The Joneses (2009) |
Borte, directing his first film, does a smooth, confident job, so that even though the set-up isn't quite plausible you're happy to go along with it. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Apr 12, 2011
|
|
|
Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005) |
- Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Mar 29, 2011
|
|
|
Séraphine (2008) |
This biopic, which swept the board at the Césaires, is somewhat over-inclined to reverence and simplification; but it is also, some of the time, rewarding and touching. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 27, 2009
|
|
|
Nativity! (2009) |
The plot wouldn't pass muster as an episode of a CBBC drama, but its various twists and turns and grotesque emotional idiocies are engineered through some of the most wooden dialogue I've ever heard. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 27, 2009
|
|
|
Mr. Right (2006) |
Despite efforts towards the end to import a little serious sentiment, much of the time it feels as though Mr Right is setting out deliberately to confirm every nasty stereotype about gay men. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 27, 2009
|
|
|
Law Abiding Citizen (2009) |
The film's entertainment value resides almost entirely in the ingenuity of Butler's modus operandi; but this is cancelled out by the film's underlying stupidity. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 27, 2009
|
|
|
Bunny and the Bull (2009) |
The sets have a cardboard cut-out charm that recalls the old animated Paddington Bear series; but that isn't enough to sustain interest once it dawns that for a supposed comedy this is remarkably humour free. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 27, 2009
|
|
|
The Horseman (2008) |
In the end, good intentions are overwhelmed by repetitive nastiness - you've seen one man beaten about the face with a crowbar, you've seen 'em all. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
Tales From the Golden Age (2009) |
Given what we know of Ceausescu's Romania, the Orwellian penetration of the state into every corner of daily life, the mildly comic, wistful tone of this portmanteau of short dramas seems puzzling. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
Dead Man Running (2009) |
Is there any way of stemming the flow of post-Guy Ritchie cockney crime comedies? Would, say, sticking Danny Dyer's head on a pike somewhere in Bethnal Green be enough of a deterrent? Because I for one would be willing to pay that price. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
Starsuckers (2009) |
A shambling mix of strained metaphor and truism in the service of a silly conspiracy theory. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) |
Animal House is a self-congratulatory mess; but it's also spattered with terrific one-liners and sight gags, and it's the best showcase extant for John Belushi's subversive, attention-grabbing screen presence. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
Citizen Kane (1941) |
It would be nice to be able to buck the critical orthodoxy and say how tired and overrated Citizen Kane is; but the dulll truth is, it's still, indisputably, one of the great masterpieces of cinema. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
An American Werewolf in London (1981) |
Some of the special effects are a little creaky now, but the snap of Landis's editing and the razor's-edge balance of horror and comedy are still fresh. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
9 (2009) |
A Disneyfied cliché, disfigured by incoherent mysticism and trite warnings about the dangers of technology. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
An Education (2009) |
Nick Hornby's screenplay lays out the progress of their relationship, up to the point where David proposes marriage, with great economy and wit. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
|
Chevolution (2008) |
This intelligent documentary wonders how it happened, and how a hardline Marxist keen on political violence became a marketing tool and patron saint of every vaguely anti-establishment movement on the planet. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
I Want to See (2008) |
Sincere and nicely shot, but unengaging. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
The Agent (2009) |
Another low-budget home-grown product - a comedy with touches of very mild suspense - about an unsuccessful writer confronting his agent. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
Three Miles North of Molkom (2007) |
Amusing but overlong documentary about the No Mind festival deep in the lakeside woods of Sweden. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
The Firm (2009) |
Given that the original's on DVD, Love's done hooliganism, and the plot gets shut down just when it's getting interesting: why? - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
Birdwatchers (2008) |
By the end, it is leaning towards melodramatic simplification; but its broad sympathies, startling landscapes and non-professional cast make up for that. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
31 North 62 East (2009) |
A low-budget British "thriller" that is comfortably the worst film I can remember seeing: threadbare plot, clunking dialogue, brain-dead conspiracy theorising, and a gallery of embarrassing racial stereotypes. Avoid at all costs. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) |
It's not The Incredibles, but it has a solid gag ratio and good animation (the spaghetti tornado is spectacular). - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
Away We Go (2009) |
Away We Go is slight, implausible and more fuddy-duddy than it wants to let on, but it's well-made, interesting, cynical enough to undercut its moments of sentimentality, and kind of fun. When I came out, I felt a little more cheerful than when I went in. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
|
Devil's Reincarnation (2008) |
It's a very peculiar film indeed, the self-conscious nastiness at odds with Joe's rather bland philosophy of materialism and self-determination. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Jul 03, 2009
|
|
|
Strawberry and Chocolate (1994) |
It verges on the preachy, but it's a generous and intriguing film. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Jul 03, 2009
|
|
|
Freakdog (2008) |
It isn't scary enough or funny enough to be worth your time. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Jul 03, 2009
|
|
|
Am I Black Enough for You? (2009) |
Olsson, a Swedish enthusiast, doesn't manage to resolve the questions or even convince me that they're interesting enough to sustain a whole film. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Jul 03, 2009
|
|
|
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) |
It's not nearly as funny or as cute as it needs to be, but it will do as holiday entertainment for children who liked the first two and have reasonably short memories. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Jul 03, 2009
|
|
|
What Just Happened? (2008) |
Levinson keeps the pace sharp, and at moments you get an acute sense of the crushing weight of ego and money. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 28, 2008
|
|
|
To Get to Heaven First You Have to Die (2006) |
It feels like a Central Asian remake of some American indie thriller, except that few American films would be prepared to take things so slowly, or with so few words. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 28, 2008
|
|
|
Lorna's Silence (2008) |
Unclassifiable, accomplished and mysteriously enjoyable. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 28, 2008
|
|
|
Flawless (2007) |
If only the plot was as sleek. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 28, 2008
|
|
|
Year of the Nail (2007) |
The story, about a Mexican boy's overheated crush on an American student, is indescribably banal and amateurishly acted. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 28, 2008
|
|
|
Four Christmases (2008) |
A fabulous cast is thrown away on forced gags; still, by the genre's standards the message is interestingly complex and ambivalent - pro-family, naturally, but with such qualifications that you almost feel it's sincere. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 28, 2008
|
|
|
Changeling (2008) |
There are so many hints of a really good film lurking here that at times it feels as if the real article has been stolen away, an inferior knock-off put in its place. Heck, I'll settle for the one I've got. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Nov 28, 2008
|
|
|
Quiet Chaos (2008) |
But on balance, they're outweighed by some striking and funny moments, and Moretti's immensely charming, reassuring presence. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
|
|
Incendiary (2008) |
After that, clich piles upon clich, interspersed with moments of wild unreality and some ill-thought out conspiracy theory. It makes you feel embarrassed for everyone involved. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
|
|
Ghost Town (2008) |
A warm, clever and often very funny film. On this showing, Gervais's assault on Hollywood looks winnable. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
|
|
Chocolate (2008) |
The slightly slushy plot is really an excuse to catch your breath between the action sequences, which are fast, loud and crammed with references that only Bruce Lee fans will properly appreciate. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
|
|
A Bloody Aria (2006) |
I suspect it falls between two stools: not nearly grisly enough for the aficionado of extreme Asian cinema, rather too grisly for everyone else. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
|
|
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) |
Next to this, Dawson's Creek and Gossip Girl look like Ken Loach. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
|
|
La antena (2007) |
The Tim Burtonish retro design and the blatant references to silent masterworks don't amount to a style; and even if they did, wouldn't make up for the kitsch story. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Aug 01, 2008
|
|
|
We Own the Night (2007) |
A sombre, intelligent, feeling crime drama set in a working-class New York characterised by striving and shabbiness. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Dec 14, 2007
|
|
|
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) |
Better to prepare your children for the world with a DVD of Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy. - Independent (UK)
Read More
| Posted Dec 14, 2007
|