Wally Hammond

"Reviewed nowadays, the Guignol/Gothic elements impress less (...) [but] it still makes for an amusing and enjoyable romp (…) Rating: *** (out of 5)"  

"The middlebrow approach begs too many questions of motivation and historical context, and flatly undermines the film's effectiveness as a thriller."  

"Directed by Wilder with attention to detail and emotional reticence that belie its inherent darkness and melodramatic core, it's lifted considerably by the performances (…) Rating: **** (out of 5)"  

"Quietly touching and profound"  

"Exciting, dynamic and immediate (...) Few films rival its ability to capture the danger, drama, uncertainty and energy of civil war (…) Rating: **** (out of 5)"  

"[It] shows how a knowing eye and a sympathetic vision can reinvigorate the stale conventions of our own recent cycle of (sub)urban dramas (…) Rating: **** (out of 5)"  

"A likeable, dynamic and seductively characterised family entertainment (…) Rating: **** (out of 5)"  

"It's fascinating how this romantic thriller refers to Hitchcock’s finest work (...) A great film (…) Rating: ***** (out of 5)"  

"So much dash, flash and thrill (...) there’s scant time left for character, let alone, story, fun, seduction, humour or wit (…) Rating: *** (out of 5)"  

"'Badlands' is as psychologically precise as it is splendidly visually observant. But it also exudes a timeless, mythical and tragic quality (…) Rating: ***** (out of 5)"  

"It’s one of the great films of disenchantment (...) But like much pulp art and classic noir, subtext is king (…) Rating: ***** (out of 5)"  

"Beautifully composed and superbly shot (...) Closer to a study of madness and self-delusion than, as I believe Tarkovsky hoped, an illustration of the power of faith and self-sacrifice."  

"It’s Huston’s irony and his attention to character (...) that deepens it, ensuring the pastoral ending’s pathetic force and emotional kick."  

"[Honoré plays] thoughtful cinematic games with the personas of his two lead actors (...) A memorable montage of cinéaste location quotes and movie hommages (…) Rating: **** (out of 5)"  

"It encompasses the whole cycle of life and is told with a stoic wisdom and simplicity that’s as beautiful as it is moving."  

"Truffaut's third film may not look the masterpiece it seemed 40-odd years ago, but it remains one of his most enjoyable movies (…) Rating: ***** (out of 5)"  

"A magnificent and deeply rewarding example of Bresson's stripped-down methods"

"It all adds up to little more than a poorly paced, sporadically amusing farce which never finds a visual equivalent for Sharpe's wickedly acute social observations."  

"Thanks to genuinely engaging performances by Johnson and Chassay (...) as well as a witty script and economical direction, this turns treatise into treat."  

"Young's socially-concerned drama is unafraid of tackling complex emotional issues, but what few patronising and hackneyed insights it offers are waved like red flags. Unsophisticated."