Stephen M (harrycaul)

"I don't trust this guy. Anyway, set up the ambush!"

Doubtless, a family film that appeals equally to children and grown-ups is probably not the easiest thing in the world to make. It has to be smart enough to amuse the adults without being so clever that it disenchants the kids. Having stumbled upon the winning formula with Toy Story, Pixar has been churning out exactly this kind of movie for the past fifteen years. Unfortunately, Wes Anderson does not strike the right balance here; his movie is much too clever for its own good and there simply isn't enough in it for the kids. I can't recall exactly what I was interested in seeing when I was seven or eight years old but it almost certainly it wasn't knife fights, ugly death scenes and foxes talking about existentialism! Fantastic? Not really. On the plus side, this is exquisitely animated, the voices are excellent and there are one or two surprisingly touching moments along the way. In particular, I thought the fox cubs mesmerised by the train set and the mystical late appearance of the wolf were beautifully done.

I'm pretty sure this was the first Cronenberg movie I ever saw and I still have a soft spot for it, even if I'm now old enough to appreciate that the story is kind of flimsy and the director is flirting with the mainstream by watering down his trademark body horror. As usual, Cronenberg assembles a fine supporting cast (Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Tom Skerritt, Martin Sheen) and the sensitive performances of Christopher Walken and Brooke Adams give the movie an emotional pull generally lacking in this director's work, making it, if not one of his best films, certainly one of his most moving. The Dead Zone also stands out in Cronenberg's filmography as being his only movie since The Brood, in 1979, not scored by Howard Shore; Michael Kamen did the music here. Ironically, Walken quotes Sleepy Hollow and went on to play the Headless Horseman for Tim Burton, and Martin Sheen, who plays a senatorial candidate hell-bent on the US presidency, ended up in The West Wing.

The most beautiful, imaginative and ambitious fantasy film ever made. Everyone should see it. Originally commissioned to improve Anglo-American relations at the tail end of WWII!

More of a character study than a thriller, though it does have a lovely twist at the end. Easily the best thing Coppola ever made and undoubtedly Gene Hackman's finest hour. I annoy people by declaring this Harrison Ford's best movie!