ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies CHRISTOPHER NOLAN gave the Caped Crusader back his self-respect. Three years ago in Batman Begins, Nolan took the comic book legend back to basics, charting his journey from privileged playboy to ruthless crime fighter. Now, he goes one step further in The Dark Knight, transforming an epic Summer blockbuster into […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ERROL MORRIS makes films that change the world. His landmark documentary The Thin Blue Line exposed a miscarriage of justice and ultimately saved an innocent man from a lengthy jail sentence. Standard Operating Procedure casts an unflinching eye over the incidents at Abu Ghraib prison that made front page news […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies TRUE LIFE is frequently more fascinating and disturbing than anything from a screenwriter’s imagination as we discover in Savage Grace. Tom Kalin’s spare, claustrophobic drama takes its inspiration from the life and brutal death of 1940s socialite Barbara Daly. It is told with a sense of style and wit that […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies AMERICA has always been the land of opportunity, welcoming wave after wave of foreign settlers desperate for their place in the land of boundless dreams. The events of September 2001 may have changed that level of tolerance and welcome forever. The change provides the backdrop to The Visitor, a plaintive, […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SCOTS ACTOR James McAvoy never seems to put a foot wrong. He keeps making all the right choices from The Last King Of Scotland to Narnia and Atonement. Now, he edges his way into the American blockbuster market with the explosive, eye-catching Wanted, and proves that he is equally adept […]

OVER HIS forty year career, Brian Cox has become one of the cinema’s most valuable character actors. His mere presence adds some fire to even the most unpromising title. It is all too rare to see him in a leading role which makes flinty, stylish British crime thriller The Escapist all the more welcome. More […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies PIERRE SALVADORI’s film is being sold as a French Breakfast At Tiffany’s. That’s stretching it a bit but it is a very glossy, glamorous romantic comedy in which Audrey Tautou has one of her best roles since she first beguiled international audiences in the magical Amelie. Tautou plays Irene, a […]

FANS OF hard-hitting, page-turning mysteries will know that Dennis Lehane is one of the finest thriller writers of our time. Clint Eastwood made an Oscar-winning film of Mystic River. Now, actor Ben Affleck has directed a stunning, sure-footed adaptation of Gone Baby Gone, creating a film soaked in the atmosphere of working-class Boston and informed […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies RECENT Romanian cinema has caught the attention of the world. Films like The Death Of Mr Lazarescu and 12.08 East Of Bucharest have confirmed a new wave of talent at work in the country. Cristian Nemescu was tipped as a leading figure in that renaissance until his tragic death in […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies TWENTY YEARS is a long time to wait for a new Indiana Jones blockbuster, but fans will not be disappointed by Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull. Harrison Ford may be eligible for a bus pass these days, but when he dons the famous Stetson and cracks […]