James Reviews The Latest Films

Every week, LBC film critic James Hartigan picks out the best film of the week. Read all his reviews here.

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• November's Film Of The Month: The Ides of March

  

  Ryan Gosling is outstanding, and George Clooney is really maturing as a film-mater.

• October Film Of The Month: Drive

  

  he highlight for me this autumn has been 'Drive' - an awesome, ultra-violent retro thriller.

• September's Film of the Month: Troll Hunter

  

  To quote Nigel Tufnel in 'This is Spinal Tap', "How much more black could this be? The answer is...none!"

• July's Film Of The Month: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

  

  The final hour of 'Transformers 3' could well be the cinematic experience of 2011 - especially when viewed in IMAX 3D.

• June's Film of the Month: X-Men: First Class

  

  Quite frankly, if you don't like this movie, I don't think we could ever be friends!

• May's Film of the Month: Hanna

  

  For the second month running, I'm highlighting a movie best described as flawed, with much to admire.

• April's Film of the Month: Sucker Punch

  

  It's an immature, superficial, pretentious, loud, nonsensical, over-stylised, over-long pop promo... and I loved every minute of it!

• March's Film of the Month: Fair Game

  

  A watchable, intelligent thriller, let down by awkward direction by Doug Lipman.

• February's Film of the Month: The Fighter

  

  Please don't dismiss this as "yet another boxing movie". It's a captivating human drama, brilliantly scripted and skilfully crafted.

• January's Film of the Month: Black Swan

  

  Who could possibly have guessed that combining ballet and horror would be an act of cinematic genius?

• Top Films In 2010

  

  With some great movies coming up in the next 12 months, take a look at the trailers for the top films of 2010.

• November's Film of the Month: The Social Network

  

  For the last three years, I've resisted pressure to open a Facebook account. After watching this film, I feel vindicated.

• October's Film of the Month: The Town

  

  A fine thriller that makes up for a cliched script with an excellent cast and superb direction.

• Film of the Month: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

  

  Style over substance. But what style! Edgar Wright has made a film which shows flair and originality.

• Film of the Month: Inception

  

  Christopher Nolan keeps up his 100% success rate with this intelligent, must-see thriller.

• Film of the Month: The A-Team

  

  The new film of the classic 80s TV show is a decent summer blockbuster, which is made to work by the impressive cast.

• Bad Lieutenant

  

  It's over-the-top and off-the-rails. But this movie is so much fun, who cares?

• 14th May: Robin Hood

  

  Read James's review of Russell Crowe's take on everybody's favourite tight-wearing fugitive.

• Kick-Ass

  

  A hugely enjoyable comic-book adaptation - the most fun I've had at the cinema since 'Zombieland'.

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

  

  An intelligent thriller, based on the first part of Stieg Larsson's 'Millennium Trilogy'. And it's another excellent Swedish film.

• The Wolfman

  

  Despite following every cliche of the genre, this is an entertaining, reasonably well-written horror film.

• Youth in Revolt

  

  A fairly sophisticated teen comedy in which the excellent Michael Cera is ably supported by Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta and Fred Willard.

• Precious

  

  A heartbreaking story - a film that's really tough to watch at times, but is so rewarding.

• A Prophet (Un Prophete)

  

  A must see for people who think prisons are luxury hotels? James gives A Prophet the thumbs up.

• Where the Wild Things Are

  

  James casts an eye over Spike Jonez' take on Maurice Sendak's illustrated book.

• Me and Orson Welles

  

  A charming drama about the founding of the Mercury Theatre Company with the best depiction of Orson Welles on film.

• Paranormal Activity

  

  Can the film picked up by Stephen Spielberg live up the the title of "scariest movie ever made"?

• A Serious Man

  

  The Coens' funniest film since Fargo, this sits alongside their Oscar-winning drama No Country For Old Men in the "masterpiece" category.

• The White Ribbon

  

  Another masterpiece from Austrian film-maker Michael Haneke, this is one of the best films of 2009.

• A Christmas Carol (3D)

  

  Another screen adaptation of the classic Dickens tale. But Robert Zemeckis makes this a visual treat.

• Michael Jackson's This Is It

  

  The movie showing Michael Jackson's preparations for his 50 London shows is a movie for Jackson's loyal fans - and they'll love it.

• Fantastic Mr Fox

  

  Not as fantastic as I'd hoped, but it's good fun, with great performances from George Clooney and Meryl Streep.

• Couples Retreat

  

  This is a frustrating film. It has a strong cast, but the end result is pretty average.

• Zombieland

  

  A horror comedy that is inventive, intense, outrageously sick, graphically gory, and incredibly funny.

• The Invention of Lying

  

  The more I think about this film, the less I like it. It demonstrates Ricky Gervais's limitations as a screenwriter and director.

• The Soloist

  

  Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx star in this moving tale of homelessness and the decline of American journalism.

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

  

  One of those films it's impossible to dislike: a delightful, cinematic treat.

• Dorian Gray

  

  Quite watchable, still a pretty lame adaptation of a great novel - and clearly done on a tight budget.

• District 9

  

  This film by Peter Jackson's protoge is a rare beast - a totally original science-fiction film.

• The Hurt Locker

  

  One of the most important war films of the last 25 years, this pseudo-documentary is gripping.

• The Time Traveler's Wife

  

  "Some delightful moments" in this literary adaptation, says James Hartigan.

• Mesrine: Killer Instinct

  

  The first part of a French gangster biopic, starringVincent Cassel as notorious criminal Jacques Mesrine.

• Antichrist

  

  Uunpleasant, pretentious and misogynistic. But also a captivating work of extraordinary power.

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  

  It gets off to a brilliant start, but seeing it's aimed at a young audience, why does it have to be so long?

• Bruno

  

  Less entertaining, more contrived than Borat. But it's totally hilarious!

• Public Enemies

  

  Another masterpiece from Michael Mann, as he takes elements from earlier films and places them in a gorgeous 30s setting.

• Year One

  

  Harold Ramis is the man behind Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, but this isn't his finest hour.

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

  

  A disappointment. The spark, wit and fun of the first film have been replaced by unfunny, childish humour.

• The Hangover

  

  It takes a while to get going, but this is possibly the best Vegas comedy ever made.

• Terminator: Salvation

  

  Overall, a decent sci-fi film and an enjoyable addition to this franchise. But it does have some negatives.

• Drag Me To Hell

  

  Sam Raimi doing what he does best - creating really effective, totally entertaining horror.

• Night at the Museum 2

  

  Not as horrible as I was expecting, but that isn't saying much!

• Angels and Demons

  

  Even more daft and pretentious than 'The Da Vinci Code', says James Hartigan.

• Star Trek

  

  A terrific re-boot which has total respect for the original franchise.

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine

  

  A pretty pointless prequel which brings nothing new to the franchise.

• State of Play

  

  A first-rate thriller. Moves along at a lightning pace, without ever feeling rushed.