Reviews

This is not a great film by any means, but a gently enjoyable comedy. There are some very funny moments, most of them involving Benedict Cumberbatch's pompous Patrick. The shaky period sense is a bit distracting - the music is all over the place, and surely no one in the mid-80s used the expression 'we'll just hang out', for instance? The acting is fine, with one really exceptional performance from Rebecca Hall. She has that rare quality of seeming completely spontaneous; her lines don't seem rehearsed but completely natural. She has huge charm and if there is any justice she will be a big star, and not just because of her family connections - this girl acts everyone else off the screen.

I have a feeling I'm in a very small minority here ... but having seen Casino Royale at a preview last night, I was very disappointed with it, particularly given all the glowing reviews. Daniel Craig is fine, but the plot was a mess and the villain wasn't all that scary. The film seemed to lurch from one set piece to another, and the twists at the end were frankly baffling (can anyone explain to me what happened to the Algerian boyfriend? Is he alive or dead? When was he kidnapped?) Okay, I admit Daniel Craig looks great in his tight swim shorts, and Montenegro looks extremely pretty, but as a film it was pretty dull (and way too violent.)

Although I'm a film buff I had never heard of this film, but found it surprisingly good. The plot isn't particularly startling but there are some neat twists. Above all, there is a terrific performance from Ed Harris as Kyle. You can see from the way the other cops react to him just how good he is at his job, and how much they respect him, and his fall from grace is heart-rending. By the end of the film, he looks about ten years older than he did at the beginning. His romance with Rachel is totally convincing - just the way he looks at her says it all. All in all, an interesting film which didn't deserve to sink without trace.

I've seen Casablanca about a dozen times and it is certainly up there in my top five. What I love most about it is Rick's Cafe. Don't you wish you could go to a place like that? Full of beautiful, desperate people who will do anything to make some money, get a plane ticket or get some information about the Resistance. It's seething with spies, secret agents, Nazis and Free French. The staff are quirky and witty, the piano player is sublime and over it all there is Rick's brooding presence. I love the croupier, who looks so reproachfully at Rick when he allows the Bulgarian couple to make enough money for their plane ticket out.

I don't think any film has matched Casablanca for romance, intrigue and suspense. Corny, but wonderful. And, as someone said of Hamlet, it's so full of quotes.