Michelle, ma belle, sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble

"Paradise was a grey day on an English beach with my boy."

Michelle Williams' outstanding performance as "The Mother" (we never learn her real name) anchors this film which tries to be both a thriller and a meditation on grief. Unfortunately, this unwillingness to concentrate on one theme harms the film. As the grieving mother, Williams is truly superb and very understated, and when the film concentrates on her story and her struggle following the death of her son and husband in a suicide bombing, barely a foot is put wrong. The mention of a beach she took her son to by another character visibly wounds her, and her expressions tell more than the words she speaks. Conversely, the thriller aspects simply do not work - there's not enough scope (budget restrictions?) or breathing space for such moments to convince, and the other characters feel contrived. It's a shame - if Sharon Maguire had enough faith in her lead actress' ability and kept the film pared back then this could have been a masterpiece. Yes, it's based on a novel, so I'm assuming the final result is representative of the original source - but if so then perhaps a mini-series would have been a better medium. Incendiary is worth watching for Williams alone, but at the end of the day it remains a frustrating experience given the huge potential.

"Come to me. Come to me, and we will blow the world back together with incredbile noise and fury."

Proof that British cinema is capable of producing something other than stuffy romantic comedies or hackneyed Gangster flicks, Me Without You is an assured, compassionate, involving and perceptive film. The title is perfect - at once somehow ambivalent, poetic and eloquent, with directing, writing and acting to match. The film tells the story from childhood, through adolescence and early adulthood of two girls who have a friendship that is supportive and strong as well as suffocating and destructive - imbued with jealousy as well as tenderness.

Holly (Michelle Williams) is the mousy, Jewish girl with a love for brooding and inner emoting, and a mother who essentially tells her she is clever but plain. Living next door is Marina (Anna Friel), extravert, flirty, looking to experience life, and with a mother who only eats party food, drinks cocktails at all hours of the day and talks frankly about her sexual life (very similar to Rayanne's mother from TV series My So Called Life, which this films shares some similarity to). The girls admire each other, and envy each other, not just each other's characteristics but their personalities and upbringings.

Michelle Williams (who has a not-quite-right English accent, but it's consistent and somehow suits the character) is absolutely superb as Holly. She shines in many scenes, particularly when trying, and failing, to express herself adequately - she is certainly a very gifted actress. Marina, potentially an incredibly unlikeable character, is made sympathetic and real thanks to very good writing - we can see how her manipulation is actually eating her up inside as she slowly hates herself more and more - and Anna Friel's brilliant performance highlights the truth that sometimes friends do awful things to each other.

I was becoming exhausted emotionally near the end and was worried about how the film would wrap up, but, save for a misjudged final glimpse into the future which should have been left as a deleted scene, the film's very best sequence (involving a New Year's game) is one of the last. Very highly recommended. Oh and the soundtrack is perfect!

"Where are you going?"
"I don't know."
"...Can I come?"

"Don't you find it odd that when you're a kid everyone in the whole world tells you to follow your dreams, and when you're older they act all offended if you even try?"

The Hottest State is Ethan Hawke all over: he directs it, has written the screenplay, wrote the book it is based on and has a small part. The story also feels very much in his ideals; bohemian, 'beat', incredibly romantic, naïve. It's probably an acquired taste (obviously those who dislike Hawke aren't going to have a good time) but it's one I fell for.

Excellently adapted from Hawke's debut novel, it tells the story of how William, shortly before turning 21, quickly falls desperately, hopelessly in love with Sara - an aspiring singer he meets at a bar. The story tells of their short, powerful relationship (entirely from William's perspective but not always from his bias) - as William says in voice-over, his heart would be broken by the time he turns 21.

The slow pace makes the most of some truly beautiful photography and is very well shot - often in gorgeous sunlight - with much talking between the two leads about their romance and their future (think very much Before Sunrise/Sunset). The film would fall apart without good lead performances but luckily the casting is spot on: Mark Webber is stunning as William (the New York Post compared him to a young Gary Oldman or Marlon Brando) and Catalina Sandino Moreno gets it perfect as Sara (we can see why William falls in love with her whilst also understanding that her peculiarities may just hide a boring personality, not necessarily an interesting one). Michelle Williams brings personality to a tiny part and Laura Linney and Hawke himself are both wonderful as William's parents.

A very romantic romance, made from the heart with care and attention.

"I didn't break your heart. Your heart was broken a long time before you met me."

"Jack, I swear..."

The best film of 2005, and should have won best picture at the 2006 Oscars.

A short story that spans many years is faithfully transported to the screen, ideas and hints expanded to full scenes with the spirit of the source remaining intact.

The synopsis is pretty much common knowledge by now, but the label of "gay cowboy" movie is unhelpful as it will, unfortunately, prevent a larger proportion of an audience in seeing this film. It greatly troubles me to hear of people either boycotting this film outright because of its subject matter, or walking out of screenings, since this is a beautiful, moving and heartfelt movie. At the screening I saw, I'm glad to say the audience all seemed to appreciate the film, and I found it interesting to see that when the lights came on at the end, most of the women were crying and most of the men were sat in silence or deep in thought (or, indeed, crying themselves).

In any case, this a stunning film: the direction, the photography, the music, the writing and of course the acting; at the time of release, the film was graced with career best performances from all five key cast members - Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, and in a small but key role, Linda Cardellini as the waitress.

Required viewing for everyone who loves film.

Well, I watched this not knowing anything about it except that Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Williams were in it, which was enough for me to warrant it a place on my rental queue. If I was to compare it to anything else I've seen, I guess Moonlight Mile and The Squid and the Whale spring to mind, but it's definitely an original in its own right.

A slow pace that drip-feeds info that doesn't seem relevant until later is a risky approach, and for the first half-hour I was seriously considering switching it off and doing something else. It wasn't because it was boring, far from it, but I was guessing where things were heading and the quirkiness of it was pissing me off a bit. It's not until the New Year scene that things really begin to kick off, the story begins to take shape and character motivations start to become clear. I can't pretend to be unbiased here - a lot of things that happen are spookily resonant from my own experiences - and the climax of the New Year scene onwards I was gripped until the (slightly uneasy) hopeful ending.

Plainly but effectively shot, there a few loose ends here which seem the result of some deleted scenes that could do with being put back in, Imaginary Heroes is above all excellently acted. We've all seen movies with the cool parent figure dealing with grief by having a crisis and turning to pot, but Sigourney Weaver's performance puts a fresh spin on a potentially clichéd character. Jeff Daniels initially seems like he's going to be a bore but pulls things together, and there's a moment towards the end here where I was sure I knew how the confrontation with Tim (Emile Hirsch) was going to go down and was surprised and moved when the opposite happened. Sadly, Michelle Williams only has a small role but even so makes an impact whenever she's on screen. Biggest surprise of all is Emile Hirsch, who is simply superb here as Tim - I'm beginning to warm to him as an actor after dismissing him as just another pretty boy. Shame on me.

EDIT: After watching The Mudge Boy and noticing some thematic similarities (although the actual tone, setting and style are completely different), I wouldn't be surprised if Emile Hirsch was cast based on his strength in that picture, and he's equally good here.

A fave at Sundance, this film may not boast the most exciting-sounding storyline in the world, but this is truly a wonderful movie.

If you ever want to see what good acting is really about, then watch this. Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale and Peter Dinklage all give fantastic performances, in a film that's basically all about friendship and understanding. Sounds meh? It isn't, I promise. This is the kind of film that life is about - my heart breaks and reheals itself whenever I watch this. Go see it now!!!