The James Marsh film review archive

  • Lifeboat

    In the midst of World War II, Alfred Hitchcock directed this high-concept chamber piece for 20th Century Fox, based on a specially-commissioned treatment from John Steinbeck. After their cruise ship… Read More

  • Contact

    Robert Zemeckis follows up his Forrest Gump Oscar success with this ambitious attempt to reconcile the age-old debate between Science and Religion. Jodie Foster stands on the side of Science… Read More

  • Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

    Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star in Tommy Wirkola’s fantasy sequel to the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale. What looked and sounded like a dreadful idea from the outset turns out… Read More

  • Hitchcock

    Anthony Hopkins gives a fantastic performance as the Master of Suspense in this otherwise slight and uneven big screen telling of the making of Psycho. Helen Mirren co-stars as his… Read More

  • REVIEW: Hitchcock

    I arrived at Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock prepared for an underwhelming big screen depiction of the Master of Suspense during the making of his most famous film, Psycho. Muted praise and… Read More

  • Sunrise

    As part of an ongoing project over at Twitch, contributors are finally tackling their Lists of Shame in a feature called “Full Disclosure”. First on my list was F. W.… Read More

  • Gangster Squad

    Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Sean Penn head up a strong cast that is largely squandered in Ruben Fleischer’s flashy yet superficial 1940s gangster yarn. The script seems… Read More

  • Goon

    Seann William Scott delivers what is perhaps the best performance of his career as the slow-witted yet lovable Doug Glatt, who finds himself swept up into the Canadian ice hockey… Read More

  • Universal Soldier: Regeneration

    After enjoying the hell out of the fourth installment in this resurrected franchise, Day of Reckoning, I was advised to check out the previous chapter. Also directed by John Hyams,… Read More

  • Trollhunter

    Witty, exciting and utterly original, Andre Ovredal’s found footage film succeeds by playing it dead straight, where others may have been tempted to play the film for laughs. A student… Read More

  • Hellraiser

    Clive Barker’s 1987 directorial debut sees Clare Higgins graduate from philandering wife and stepmother to serial murderer, when she discovers the reanimated corpse of her former lover hiding out in… Read More

  • Silver Linings Playbook

    Silver Linings Playbook

    David O. Russell’s adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel has received a huge awards push this season, becoming the first film since Reds in 1982 to receive nominations in all four… Read More

  • Django Unchained

    Quentin Tarantino delivers another rip-roaring slice of reverential exploitation Cinema, this time dressing up a condemnation of the American slave trade as a blood-soaked spaghetti western. Read my full review… Read More

  • REVIEW: Django Unchained

    REVIEW: Django Unchained

    It was a foregone conclusion that Quentin Tarantino would one day produce his take on the spaghetti western. There are glimpses of this distinctive genre’s style in many of his… Read More

  • Three Colours: Red

    I was relieved to discover that Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours trilogy ends as strongly as it begins, with a deceptively surreal story of a catwalk model who befriends an aging,… Read More

  • Looper

    I caught Rian Johnson’s much-loved indie time-travel thriller when it opened here in Hong Kong, but I had only just landed after a mammoth 48-hour trek from Texas to London… Read More

  • Futureworld

    I have seen Michael Crichton’s Westworld a number of times, but had never gotten around to watching this 1976 sequel before today. Starring Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner as a… Read More

  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1

    I often struggle to really appreciate these animated films, despite enjoying the comics and the characters. There’s something about the medium that simply fails to engage me the way live… Read More