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05 / 11 / 2008
Review: After the gruelling James Bond press junket tour, I bet Daniel Craig could use a Quantum of Solace.

02 / 11 / 2008
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Japan are in - just one rally to go and still the lead keeps changing! See how your team fared or see the Japanese rally results. Any of the top ten could still claim overall honours!

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Brad Pitt steals the latest from the Coen brothers: Burn After Reading.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Simon Pegg learns How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Ben Stiller directs stars aplenty in Tropic Thunder.

12 / 10 / 2008
Review: A few words on some recent movies: RocknRolla,
Death Race,
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,
Space Chimps,
Stuck,
The Babysitters,
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder,
Son of Rambow,
Jack and Jill vs the World,
Made of Honor,
Meet Dave,
Doomsday,
Pathology.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: You can mess with Adam Sandler, but You Don't Mess with the Zohan.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: Mike Myers tickles some chakras in The Love Guru.

14 / 08 / 2008
Review: Toot and come in, it's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

14 / 08 / 2008
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31 / 07 / 2008
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24 / 07 / 2008
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23 / 07 / 2008
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22 / 07 / 2008
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09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Jet Li and Jackie Chan team up in The Forbidden Kingdom.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Will Smith keeps the streets safe and smelling of booze in Hancock.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: M Night Shyamalan's latest, The Happening.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Spanish creepy-creepy The Orphanage.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: A quick catchup of movies that don't get the full treatment:
Be Kind Rewind,
Street Kings,
What Happens In Vegas,
Superhero Movie,
The Ruins and
Teeth.

08 / 07 / 2008
Review: Bend that bullet Angelina! Wanted.

01 / 07 / 2008
Review: Those cats were fast as lightning - Kung Fu Panda.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Don't make Ed Norton angry - The Incredible Hulk.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Carrie and Big's wedding, it can only be Sex and the City.

11 / 06 / 2008
Review: Everyone's favourite pot-addicts are back in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Harrison Ford returns in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Tube driver seeks suicidal man in Three and Out.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: CGI fantasy motor racing in Speed Racer.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: Your creases will fly away with Iron Man.

18 / 08 / 2005
Sudoku! Have a go at the online Sudoku game.

Plenty more
See the rest of the reviews here.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Shepard, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Schneider. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, adapted from the novel by Ron Hansen. Story: The assassination of Jesse James. Er, by Robert Ford. The clue's in the title. Running Time: 2hrs 40 minutes. UK Certificate 15.

I can't say I'm a fan of westerns. All that shootin' folk for lookin' at each other wrong - it just seems a tad ... insecure. So I was quite taken aback to find The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was right up my alley.

It helps having Brad Pitt in the lead role. Along with Johnny Depp, he's the most reliable performer of his generation, continually bringing new style and charisma to each and every role. It's stunning that he's only once been nominated for as Oscar (for 12 Monkeys), and here as the eponymous Jesse James he delivers another unrecognised but scintillating performance. Unbelievably, especially considering his dramatically-challenged brother Ben, Casey Affleck is even better as Robert Ford, the wet-behind-the-ears wannabe gangster with an obsession for his hero Jesse. In fact, if it weren't for Javier Bardem's menacing terminator in No Country for Old Men, I'd say Affleck was a sure thing for the Best Supporting Actor. He still has an outside chance and in my opinion he deserves it.

Amidst these two stellar performances, no-one else stands a chance. In particular, Sam Rockwell (Zaphod Beeblebrox in Hitchhiker's Guide) appears way out of his depth and Zooey Deschanel (Trillian in the same movie) can't do much with the ten minutes she's given at the end (despite getting a full credit, oddly). Fortunately that's not important, as the direction, by novice Andrew Dominik, is magnificent. The pace is VERY slow and the length enormous (2 hours 40!) but when the show is crafted this well, that's OK with me. The suspense builds palpably towards the inevitable bumping off moment and, even though we already know the outcome, it's still shocking when it happens. I'd never heard of this director before, but if this is anything to go on, we have a new name on the scene.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a very slow movie and thus will probably not appeal to those who usually like westerns. Drink it all in, though, and you have a masterpiece on your hands. The surprise gem of the year.

I enjoyed this film: 5/5

I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 4/5 - purely because the ponderous pace will put many off.

Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 1/5 - many guns, though this isn't Rambo. Every gunshot is carefully considered. Zooey does a fan dance but it stops before the good bit.

To enjoy this film you should: not expect a traditional western.