My Favorite Movies

My favourite film.

Ridley Scott takes us on a journey through the Japanese underworld, with two New York cops as our out-of-depth guides.

After chasing down a Yakuza gangster in New York, Michael Douglas and his partner Andy Garcia are charged to take him back to Japan where he is a wanted felon. A clever ploy at the airport enables the prisoner to escape and now Douglas and Garcia must help track him down once more.

Michael Douglas is suberb as Nick Conklin. He is a cop under pressure as he is being investigated back home for corruption, so cannot be seen to be letting criminals go. Douglas captures the character's stubborness beautifully, as he bashes his way through this undergound world he knows nothing about. Andy Garcia is also perfectly cast as his likeable partner, Charlie, who is only too happy and loyal to help Conklin get his man.

Ken Takakura is also outstanding is the Japanese officer assigned to the US pair. The fact that he is the embodiment of everything that Douglas hates - 'a suit' - feeds the tension between them well until both begin to see the merits in each others qualities.

Ridley Scott's direction fits in perfectly with the landscape of the film - especially post- Bladerunner. Most shots are tight around the actors, enabling the viewer to relate to their view of a strange new place - only taking in what is immediately around them and never feeling a sense of grounding. Our leads are strangers in a dangerous world and Scott helps sustain this feeling throughout.

The script is a fantastic product of the 80's, with a wonderul story structure as well as brilliant one-liners. "I usually get kissed before I get fucked," Douglas spits out at his superior. These are the kind of lines with a certain delivery that can't be copied anymore. In the 80's they worked, now they would just seemed spoofed.

Hans Zimmer provides a good score and Jan De Bont some beautiful cinematography. All in all, I think this film is as closed to perfect as I've seen any cop thriller be.

The fact that it is a cop thriller, and that the 80's were full of them, is much to the detriment of its reputation. As outstanding a film as it is, it is unspectacular in its story which has made it easily forgettable to most viewers over the years.

Take the time to watch this one and I am sure you will quickly realise its merits and give it the credit it duly deserves.

Amazing film.

The birth of the blockbuster. This film changed the face of cinemas every summer since it's release in 1975.

Steven Spielberg's masterpiece chilled and thrilled audiences to such an extent that the beach holiday industry in parts of America really took a hit after this beast came out in cinemas.

Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss are all equally wonderful in their roles as the shark hunters.

John Williams unforgettable and thumping score keeps on the edge of our seats as Spielberg's wonderful underwater camerawork has us chewing our nails with our own jaws!

A truly fantastic film.

As hard as they try, they can't make films like this anymore. Lost Boys is one of the staple films of the 1980's, a gloriously true product of it's time with it's cast, script and soundtrack.

Sam & Michael have just moved to Santa Carla with their single mother to live with Grandpa. It doesn't take long for them to discover there is something not right about this seaside town - vampires.

Jason Patric solid as the lead, a perfect foil for Kieffer Sutherland's sinister vampire, while Corey's Haim and Feldman keep us entertained throughout. Diane Wiest is great as the single mum, whilst Edward Herrmann is also wonderfully cast as the hopeful gent vying for her affections.

Joel Schumacher has become hit and miss with a few of his films in the 90's, but this was made during his peak and subsequent decline. He captures the sexuality of the vampire tale beautifully for a new generation, emphasising his points with a fantastic soundtrack.

I personally would have liked to have seen some more nastiness from our villains, which brings the film just shy of 5-Stars for me. David and his gang, while killers, only seem to come across as mischievous rather than evil so I never really had a tense feeling of dread or what was at stake for our heroes.

Despite that it is a fantastic film and one of my favourites. It had all the ingredients an 80's classic needed and it doesn't disappoint.

A very cool film. Cusack in one of his best performances with great support from Dan Ackroyd, Alan Arkin, Joan Cusack and Minnie Driver. "I killed the President of Paraguay with a fork. How are you?"

This film has a lot more heart to it than the posters and tag lines suggest. This is not a film about a bunch of guys going out, getting drunk and looking for girls...

...ok, there's some of that in there, but the film is really journey through one man's heartbreak and how he, and his friends, deal with that.

Mikey is an aspiring actor that has moved to LA with his friend Trent. In the process he has left his girlfriend of 6 years, Michelle, and is struggling to reassemble himself as a person in his new surroundings. It also doesn't help that his ex never calls him or returns his phone calls - much to his friends despair. Trent's solution is to grab his friend by the balls and take him on a tour of the LA dating game to try and get back in the saddle, often against his will and always with funny results.

Jon Favreau wrote the script for this film, and it's characters are based on the actors who star alongside him, helping him through his own break-up. Not a bad way to get over it of you ask me... So as you can imagine, the interplay between such talented performers and good friends as Favreau and Vince Vaughn are, is believable, passionate and kinetic.

Doug Liman, after initial difficulties securing funding, eventually took the film down the independent route and a cult favourite was born. Quite often scenes were shot with no crowd blocking, they would just turn up to a bar and shoot. That feel only adds to the movies quality.

Ron Livingstone, Brooke Langton, Heather Graham, Patrick Van Horn and Alex Desert provide solid support.

The film is a must for all break-up victims, and as such will have a very satisfying ending, but it's also a must for anyone who's ever been single!

One of my favourites - let's face it, everyone's favourite! Is this true? "Yes, it's true. This man has no dick."

You can keep Ocean's Eleven, when it comes to assembling a ragtag team for criminal capers, this film is the daddy.

Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas bounce off each other superbly as the two men challenging for the allegiance of their unit. Savalas wants to get them 3 days of poon-filled r&r whilst Eastwood wants to lead them miles behind enemy lines to rob a bank full of gold! Needless to say the gold wins, but Savalas remains in charge of the outfit nonetheless taking his cues from Eastwood.

The outfit itself comprises of a wonderful supporting cast, most notably Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland. Rickles plays the combat-shy but money-hungry Crap Game, whilst Sutherland shows us WWII's first hippie tank commander with Oddball. These two are hilarious.

The film has a fantastic opening scene that is still topical to this day - Americans bombing their own troops - and the cynicism that that breeds among the troops. Savalas sums up perfectly the feeling of the men when a German POW tries to warn him of an impending German advance on their position. 'German Army? We're not worried about the German Army, we've got enough troubles of our own! To our right General Patton, to our left the British Navy and to our rear our own Goddam' artillery!'

There are some wonderful scenes that seem to be becoming rarer these days in the age of CGI. Spectactular shots of military rallying point with trucks, troops and tanks stretching as far as the eye can see with explosions going off all around being one example.

The second act does seem to drag somewhat however, and the film appears to lose it's rhythm somewhat. Fortunately by the time you really start to become too aware of this, the third act arrives and it's time for the robbery itself!

It's a fantastic film that I would not be surprised becoming a Bruckheimer remake sometime in the future!

Hilarious. One of the funniest films I have ever seen, Jeff Bridges is outstanding as The Dude and Goodman as Walter is one of the best supporting roles I have seen!

Having not been impressed or informed by the trailer and therefore having no idea what it was about - I was surprised at how blown away I was by this movie. It is fantastic!

Action, romance, comedy, thrills - it's all here. Not only that, but there is something else that makes this film special. It's the blend of American, French and British influences. A Hollywood story and leading man, music by Eric Serra, clothes by Jean Paul-Gaultier, not to mention Besson's vision himself, plus a superb supporting cast of British actors including Gary Oldman, Ian Holm and Lee Evans... I've really not seen anything like it since.

Bruce Willis is here to save the world. Again. As NYC taxi driver Korben Dallas, a formerly ranked Major in the Space Fighters. Just as we begin to see few shades of John McLane appearing, a big problem literally falls in his lap - an alien supreme being called Leeloo, here to stop an evil planet destroy our world. This is just the start of the fun...

Besson's idea of the future is spectacular, yet it is peppered with entirely believable details at the same time. Over expansion forcing cities to build up instead of out, networked driver's licenses in cars, cigarettes where there is more filter than tobacco, etc. The score also stands out yet compliments this backdrop wonderfully.

It would have been nice if the film had gone for a slightly higher rating than PG, as that what keeps it from being a 5-Star for me. Some scenes came across a little too kid-friendly than might have been better, but notwithstanding that it is still a fantastic film.

This film should make the favourites list of any bloke aged between 18 and 80. "Game over, man! Game over!"

Reno, Oldman and a young Natalie Portman are wonderful in this film, also with nice support from Danny Aiello. Flawless.

"It's a trick. Get an Axe." Another classic cult film with some great one-liners. Bruce Campbell is simply in a class of his own.

The first and the best. If there was ever a film to watch when you were off school 'sick' this was it! "Hans! Booby! I'm your white knight!"

Brucey at his wise-cracking best in this Shane Black scribed action comedy. As a Tony Scott film and being '91, it still manages to hold on to some 80's visual charm whilst the quickfire dialogue moves into the 90's. Great.

Paul Newman's hangover cure of sticking his face in a sink of ice gave me hope... sadly, I still suffer. At least the film makes up for it.

The first film to truly blow me away with special effects! Before this I was used to the stop-motion monsters of Sinbad the Sailor - after this... Every time I heard bushes rustle I needed to change my pants!

One of John Carpenter's finest films. This claustrophobic alien thriller has you squirming to the end. You'll also not trust your dog for a few nights after...

This is the first film to really move me for a long time! Chazz Palmiteri is wonderful as Monty and Diane Wiest as his wife. A moving story with outstanding acting from all - excellent stuff!

One of the most under-rated films I know. Michael J Fox and James Woods are outstanding oppostie each other in this buddy movie! Nicely shot after a very noir-esque opening, it's entertaining from beginning to end. "Yeah, maybe when my asshole learns to chew gum!"

Film of the year for me when it came out in 2004. Fantastic film and a superb thriller.

This is as cheesy as they come! Kurt Russell delivers a feature length John Wayne impersonation whilst Forrest Gump-ing his way through Chinese demons, murderous gangs and Kim Cattrall.

Bullets, blood and more bullets! The very cool follow up to Robert Rodriguez's original 'El Mariachi'. Steve Buscemi is wonderful in support and Banderas clearly has a lot of fun in his role. "His name was something like, Bitch. Or Bucho?"

A heavy-weight cast (in Stallone's case, literally) and a very tidy film. Ray Liotta's character is the best for me. "Being right is not a bullet-proof vest, Freddie!"

Superb in every way. A stellar cast each at the top of their game. Brilliant.

Awesome.

I've never been a huge fan of Shakespeare movies but this one is really good. Kenneth Brannagh is hilarious and Emma Thompson is fantastic in this turbulent romp. Michael Keaton has a great part! Shame about Keenu...

A very nicely made French film with American martial artist Marc Dacascos in support. Vincent Cassel is at his sinister best, and Monica Belluci at her perkiest!

Funny as hell, absolute classic. "You playing with my emotions, Smokey!"

This one snuck in under my radar a few years ago, but I'm glad it did! A very good film from the maligned Troy Duffy with an outstanding performance from Willem Dafoe as gay FBI agent Smecker.

This film is absolutely brilliant.

It is one of the most well written comedies you'll ever see, has a brilliant cast and caters to just about every sense of humour there is.

Miami nightclub owner Robin Williams and his partner Nathan Lane are shocked when their son announces he's getting married. Things get worse for the gay couple, when it turns out their future in-laws are conservative politicians - so Williams and Lane have to play it straight when the two families come together for dinner.

As said before, there is humour in here for all tastes. Robin Williams is sarcastic and witty, Nathan Lane is hilariously over the top as his camp partner, Gene Hackman is wonderful as the naive straight guy, Dianne Wiest is perfect as his old-fashioned wife and Hank Azaria provides some wonderful slapstick as the faithful butler. It's all there.

Mike Nichols directing also makes it easy to forget your watching an out-and-out comedy, as the filmmaking is top notch.

The soundtrack is happy and upbeat throughout the film, We Are Family is the films title track, and is perfect for helping put the message across that all the straight-edged homophobes out there wrapped up in their own judgement are missing out on the fun side of life.

That may be reading a little too much into it, but it's certainly the message I got. A great film.

D-Day Lewis swaps a dodgy left foot for a trusty rifle in this Michael Mann film. Wes Studi is very menacing too! Great film, great music.

Very funny film with a fantastic cast! Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara shine in this doc-comdey about show dogs!

Not exactly cinematic excellence, but this first in a series of a great comedy franchise is brilliant! Never gets old!

Andrew McCarthy at his cheeky best in this fun film about a corpse!

A beautiful film. Russell Crowe should have got the Oscar nod (ahead of Denezel in Training Day) for this Ron Howard drama. The score is amazing too.

Exactly what I was hoping for! Rodriguez did a fantastic job helping Frank Miller realise his graphic novel on the screen!

Michael Keaton's most stand-out performance! Brilliant! Great support from Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones too. Dark and funny!

Outstanding film. I still get misty when I hear the cry of "Give 'em hell 54th!"

Martin Short playing a 10 year old boy, hellbent on getting to dinosaur world! This film is a hidden gem! Hilarious.

Genius. Chevy Chase IS Fletch! Very few people could hope to reprise this role with any shred of the calibre that Chase brought to the role. (Are you listening Joshua Jackson?)

The first and best in the trilogy! Axel Foley is still as brilliant today as he was back in '84! "Is that f**king Foley in here?"

What a great pairing! There is no way you could put these two together on screen and not come up with gold! I wonder how much of Nolte's attitude toward Murphy at the time was really all acting - like Cates is forced to work with Hammond, so Nolte has been forced to work with some 'punk' rookie comedian... Great stuff.

Superb film! Could only have worked in the 70's so NOBODY TRY AND REMAKE IT! Oops...

Another hidden gem, really good film. Jerry O'Connell and Ryan Reynolds are very funny, so give it a go.

A great, fun film with Dennis Quaid's maverick Tuck Pendleton inside Martin Short's nervous Jack Putter! Kevin McCarthy is also hilarious!

You have to love this film!

A fantastic character-driven piece with a superb cast. Michael Keaton is outstanding in this light-hearted yet eventually quite tense film. I wish there were more like this!

Wonderful film with a very powerful ending. The only film I was grateful to have seen as part of my course at uni.

Brilliantly directed and wonderfully performed by Pacino, who has one of my favourite speeches in a film.

It was the jump leads the genre needed to get back on it's feet. Wes Craven killed those kids with class.

Ok, forget Robin Hood is suddenly American (mostly) in this film and you'll see it's great stuff! Alan Rickman is magnificent as the Sheriff!

I remember my parents took me to see this after getting a good report at school! I loved it but that guy drinking from the wrong cup at the end really freaked me out!

Another hidden gem with a really great cast - a great action thriller.

Really, this film is a bit crap. I just can't help but find it really funny! It's great! "Prepare to die Earth scum!"

Love this as a kid, and depsite some dated effects, still do now! Has a lot of cheesy heart which always wins points with me.

You don't have to have been leaving school in the 70's to appreciate this last-day marathon. Ben Affleck is brilliant as the b*****d with the cricket bat!

Great road movie about 4 blokes trying to get to a Kiss concert, running in to all kinds of trouble on the way! A lot of fun.

Arguably the first great 'teen-movie'. John Belushi was my hero as booze-hound Bluto! Makes you want to get drunk! ;)

Another example of how Chevy Chase makes a role completely his own!! Very funny, great soundtrack!

This film is genius. Absolute genius. Hysterically funny.

The best from the Broken Lizard boys so far - Brian Cox backs them up superbly! "Licence and registration, chicken-f**ker!"

Keaton, Lloyd, Boyle and Furst as loose mental patients in New York City trying to save their doctor from to murderous corrupt cops... COME ON! :)

A great film, coming way before the current comic book trend we find ourselves in now. Good cast and well made considering the obvious difficulties.

This film freaked me out when I was a kid! It was the first time I ever saw the hero (Kyle Reese) get killed by the villain (big nasty robot with an Austrian accent). The storytelling is very clever compared to more contemporary action films - subtle moments moving the story along nicely (the dog at the motel, etc). It also has a true underdog hero as opposed to modern films tending to have the guys who are already hard as nails and the best at what they do as the lead! Great film.

This was exactly the film the new Batman needed to be. Doing away with the campness of the last two offerings from the Dark Knight and getting back to basics - exploring the fear and anger that drives Bruce Wayne to become Batman in the first place.

Christian Bale is superbly cast as the caped crusader. He is a physically imposing actor, with tremendous emotional depth and range, with a dark-side always seeming to lurk close by. A perfect combination for Bruce Wayne.

Christopher Nolan takes on Bruce's dark journey across the world trying to come to terms with the injustice of his parents murder and that all of Gotham seems to be consumed by it. We see, step by step, the motives for Bruce's actions and who he has the means to accomplish them.

The supporting cast is superb, with Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman helping Wayne through is superhero teething period, with Liam Neeson excelling in his role with the League of Shadows and Cillian Murphy is wonderful as The Scarecrow. Katie Holmes, however, wasn't a perfect choice.

All in all it is exactly what we want a Batman film to be - action-packed, dark, clever and also a lot of fun.

An obvious choice for the favourites list, but it is unquestionably a fantastic film.

Classic, classic, classic!!

Another gem that doesn't get the credit that it deserves! Great story, well made, solid thriller.

Clash of the Titans, and an arena for them to battle it out in - Michael Mann's bullet-soaked LA streets. Great film.

Fantastic film, one of the few that gets me a little misty from time to time... That's right, I'll admit it!

Classic film with a fantastic finale at Picadilly Circus! The special effects were groundbreaking and the dark comedic side of the film is a winner.

A wonderful film.

The greatest kids film of all time! Richard Donner needs some kind of award for this! "I smell ice cream!"

One of the greatest double-acts of the 80's, or arguably ever! Riggs & Murtagh were perfect opposite each other. Classic buddy cop thriller.

The first of the epic saga. A classic.

A fantastic film with a great cast. The train station scene with the pram has to be one of the best scenes of all time.

George Clooney triple jumps from goody-two shoes Dr. Ross from 'ER' to badboy thief Seth Gecko - and he gets a 9.0! Rodriguez does a great job with Tarantino's Assault on Precinct 13 vampire script.

Arguably Arnie's best film, especially when going mano y mano with the fanny-faced xenomorph at the end. Great film.

Absolutely brilliant film, epitomising the 'movie magic' of the 80's! Brilliant, brilliant stuff! "You made a time machine... out of a Delorean?"

One of Australia's best, always loved watching this growing up - always felt bad for those live kittens in the pie...

Fantastic film. Gritty and violent Wild West tale.

Very funny film where Grant is stranding on a tropical island with one woman and 7 schoolgirls... in the middle of WWII! "Well, you've slipped it to me again, haven't you Frank?"

Yup, even zombies would take a while to impress us over here!

Eastwood is iconic in this 70's detective thriller. "So that's why they call you Dirty Harry, you get all the sh*t jobs!" Classic.

Carrey's wicked best alongside Matthew Broderick! "Stevey, time to leavey!"

A classic. "You put little notes on my pillow! How many times do I have to tell you I can't stand little notes on my pillow?!"

Everyone is brilliant in this film (though I think Hunt is the weakest, despite her Oscar). Nicholson was born for this part and Greg Kinnear is equally as good as the neighbour. Nice cameo from Shane Black too.

Despite Andie MacDowell I think this is a really good film, helping put Brit comedy back on the map! Hugh Grant is brilliant, as is Simon Callow.

Blew me away the first time I saw this film, especially the knife death scene toward the end - yikes. Hanks is very good as is Ed Burns. First time I saw Vin Diesel too.

This film represents the Hollywood fairytale. The superb and critically-acclaimed TV show Firefly was prematurely cancelled after one series due to poor viewing figures. After a rallying of support from the fans and creators alike, Universal saw fit to greenlight a follow-up movie, Serenity.

Much like Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, Joss Whedon has created a vision of the future that provides audiences with everything they could want in a movie - action, comedy, romance, suspense and thrills.

There are some wonderful characters that are all brought on from the TV show - no big stars here - and the film is all the better for it. Nathan Fillion is fantastic as Cpt Mal Reynolds, leading the ragtag crew of a salvage ship through less then legal odd jobs.

The cast and their respective characters have all moved effortlessly from the small screen to the silver, sadly though Joss Whedon - in his feature directorial debut - has not quite made that leap with them here.

Understandly so for a man who found fame as creator of the TV phenomenon's Buffy and Angel. Serenity does too often have a TV 'feel' to it. Almost like a TV movie that's being shown in a cinema. The budget of this film was fairly low by blockbuster standards, but I would like to have thought that without star salaries to pay, there would have been enough left to invest into the making of the film.

Nevertheless, it's a very entertaining film with some wonderful characters and one-liners that were enjoyed by all too few in the TV show.

If only there were more like this.

Forget Friday The 13th. John Carpenter really gives the slasher film it's best stab with this tense thriller.

The opening scene sets up the eery tone beautifully, whilst closely followed up with a superb turn from Donald Pleasance as the psychiatrist trying to warn the quiet town of Haddenfield that a killer is coming home for Halloween.

Jamie Lee Curtis provides us with a sympathetic character to root for throughtout the slayings, as opposed to us having to forcibly sympathise with a bunch of random, shallow, sex-mad teenagers - which makes all the killing that much more engaging as Michael Myers moves one step closer to our heroine.

The slow build up to Halloween night after a shocking opening, builds the suspense superbly until the evenings bloody climax. The music adds an eeriness to the daytime scenes until Michael is finally let off his leash when the sun goes down.

May seem dated to the newer generation, but for those who know what to look for can appreciate this for the classic horror movie that it is.

Amazingly original, Don Coscarelli does an amazing job with Bruce Campbell as Elvis and Ossie Davis as JKF! "Don't make me use my stuff on you, baby!"

Pure, uncut revenge. Creasy is going to kill EVERYONE that took the girl who made him like himself. Give her back you fools!

Great film, nicely shows how far some blokes will go to hold onto the craziness of their youth! So with that in mind, a little depressing too ;-)

Superbly made Hitchcock-style thriller - great to watch alone, in the dark with all the windows open, in winter, on a full moon... you get the idea.

It's almost impossible for me to write a truly unbiassed review for this film. I loved Transformers when I was a kid, so as soon as I heard that a live-action Optimus Prime would be hitting screens, I was always going to like it.

And I love it!

The fact that Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime from the cartoon series was brought in for the film as fantastic. The herbie-like relationship between the likeable Shia LaBeouf and Bumblebee at the start offers the right human touches that this film was always going to need. The special effects are wonderful and the action scenes are incredible, albeit lengthy.

However, even my rose-tinted glasses can't obscure some fairly large plot holes in the story or stop me spotting a few redundant characters that just took up space - most notably, the hackers and John Turturro.

As good as Anthony Anderson is, along with Rachael Taylor, this strand of the story could have been written out entirely. Likewise the irritating character of Turturro could have been written out to leave Michael O'Neill in charge of Sector 7.

The logic behind the search for the Allspark is also questionable, as is the Autobots methods of retrieving/destroying it. I'm still a little confused as to the conclusion of this, but it is forgettable and doesn't need much effort spare thinking about it.

All in all, Michael Bay made one of his finest trademark, aesthetically-pleasing action films to date whilst Spielberg was able to ensure there was enough substance to compliment the style.

Exactly was I was expecting and hoping for.

The first and the best. Perhaps a little too long but otherwise a brilliant film, delivering the birth of an iconic character.

Brilliant.

This film came out around the same time I was also finishing college, so it's pretty nostalgic. It's because of that I love it quite as much as I do.

Another film I loved watching when I was off school sick. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are brilliant and Danny Devito is hysterical.

Loved this film as a kid, another cheesefest! G.W Bailey and James Spader are brilliant!

A very good film with slick performances from James Spader and Danny Aiello. Charlize Theron has a memorable role too... :)

Stiff upper lip, boys!

This film was so much better than I was expecting it to be - and what an ending! Brillant.

My favourite Val Kilmer role, this film gives the Goonies a run for it's money as my favourite kids film. Stands up well to Harry Potter any day!

This film grabbed me by the balls when I was a little! The monsters, the puppets, the music, imagination - all of it! All kids should have seen this by the time they are 7!

Brilliant film - possibly my favourite action film.

Iconic little furry happy cutesies...until the ONE clock in your house gets chewed and you feed them after midnight!! When is no longer after midnight anyway?

It's easy to label this film as one big gunfight, but Scott does a great job of keeping the events of the story clear as they move along. Great film. Shame it's got Orlando Bloom...

Yeah, it's another obvious one - but it is bloody good! Put Russell Crowe on the map for most of the world and for good reason too.

I don't care what you think - I LIKE IT!!!!

A hidden gem this film, very under-rated.

Just brilliant. Paul Giamatti is outstanding.

One of the great comedies. Brilliant.

As far as I was concerned, this film appeared from nowhere with very little hype behind it. I wasn't expecting much, but as always, that can be the best way to go into a film. This one is brilliant.

Single father, Ben Stiller is the reluctant, new night security guard at the Natural History museum in New York. It's a job that proves to be much more work than he is expecting when he discovers all the exhibits come alive every night.

Stiller is solid and funny as our lead, but the supporting cast is fantastic. Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt, Ricky Gervais as the anal museum curator, Paul Rudd as the step-father, plus Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan as a sparring pair of miniture cowboy and Roman general respectively are especially hilarious. Patrick Gallagher as Atilla The Hun is also very good.

All this before we've even mentioned the old-school casting of Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney, also adds something special.

Taking place in an old museum instantly provides a very character-filled setting and the special effects, particularly with the minitures, never look too modern for their surroundings.

The one thing the film falls victim to towards the end is the customary 'sentimental' scene that steals our fun for a brief while, but it's not long before we're back to what we like.

The film is a lot of fun and one I wish I had been able to see when I was younger - but it works just as well for adults! Brillant.

A very cool little film about a motley crew trying to rob an safe! Very funny, very well cast.

One of THE greatest buddy movies of all time - few films since have been able to replicate the chemistry on display between these two lead characters.

Robert De Niro plays a down-on-his-luck ex-cop who is eeking out a miserable living as a bounty hunter. After catching another low-life, his bail bondsman boss, Joe Pantoliano, informs him that unless he can bring in wanted accoutnant Charles Grodin in a just a few days - he's out of business.

What follows is a cross-country race to get 'The Duke' back from New York to LA. The trouble for De Niro is that the FBI, a rival bounty hunter and Chicago mobster Dennis Farrina are all after Grodin too.

Both De Niro and Grodin are oustanding in this film, and I cannot stress that enough. Their performances truly reflect the wonderful writing that has gone into each of their characters.

De Niro excels as our irritable hero who is cursed with an absolute sense of right and wrong which has often been to his detriment. Grodin exploits this side of him beautifully, out-smarting his captor at every turn whilst doing his best to convince De Niro that he is still in charge.

In fact, every role in this film is blessed with wonderful characterisation executed by talented actors.

John Ashton as the talented, but very gullable, rival bounty hunter is fantastic, Joe Pantoliano is hysterical as the victimised shyster, Yaphet Kotto nails his role as the frustrated FBI chief and Dennis Farrina is perfect as the comical, yet villainous gangster.

Danny Elfman's score is also perfect for this film - both broody and fun in the right places.

Midnight Run is Martin Brest's best work by far, and along with Beverly Hills Cop, it's a real shame we didn't get more from him during the 80's.

This film is a really good laugh and, despite the pacing being a tad sluggish while De Niro first tracks down Grodin, is very entertaining from start to finish.

Brilliant.