Wuthering Heights (Emerald Fennell, 2025). Deliberately absurd, highly stylised fairytale treatment of Bronté’s novel. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi play the windswept lovers. I admire the irreverence (it doesn’t even try to be realistic), but it’s probably not for anyone over 25. #WutheringHeights
Wuthering Heights (William Wyler, 1939). Prim, stilted version of the Bronté novel. Merle Oberon makes for a cold, charmless Cathy. Laurence Olivier is fine as Heathcliff, but the film only comes alive in the second half. David Niven plays Edgar Linton. Everyone speaks too quickly. #WutheringHeights
Wuthering Heights (Andrea Arnold, 2011). Refreshing take on the Bronté novel. Shannon Beer and Kaya Scodelario are both watchable as Cathy, while Solomon Glave and James Howson have charisma as Heathcliff. Striking cinematography makes the windswept landscapes look wild and brutal. #WutheringHeights
45 Years (Andrew Haigh, 2015). Excellent drama about a couple (Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay) about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary when damaging secrets from the past emerge. Brilliantly written and acted, with fully developed characters, it has the taut focus of a play. #45Years
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (Lasse Hallström, 2009). This simple but touching saga is a moving story about a man (Richard Gere) and the unending loyalty of the Japanese dog he adopts. Joan Allen is excellent as Gere’s wife. It would be a tough viewer indeed who didn’t shed a tear at the end. #HachiADogsTale
Syriana (Stephen Gaghan, 2005). Complex and oddly unsatisfying saga of geopolitics and the oil industry. An impressive all-star cast (including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, Christopher Plummer and Amanda Peet) cannot pull together the various threads coherently. #Syriana
Legal Eagles (Ivan Reitman, 1986). Good-natured blend of courtroom drama, crime thriller and romantic comedy. Robert Redford and Debra Winger play New York lawyers investigating an art theft. A sleepy Daryl Hannah is ludicrous as a performance artist trying to reclaim her father’s work. #LegalEagles
Romanzo Criminale (Michele Placido, 2005). A group of street gangsters rise to become big shots in Rome’s underworld. It’s eventful and well-crafted but suffers for a lack of sympathetic characters, with only the two women (Anna Mouglalis and Jasmine Trinca) being at all relatable. #RomanzoCriminale
Mud (Jeff Nichols, 2012). Two teen boys (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) assist a fugitive named Mud (Matthew McConaughey) hiding on a Mississippi river island. Sam Shepard and Reese Witherspoon play Mud’s friend and lover. Powerful and engaging, despite the slightly too sentimental conclusion. #Mud
Footloose (1984). Kevin Bacon plays a teenager who moves to a small Utah town where dancing has been outlawed. He falls for the minister’s daughter (Lori Singer), and gets the town dancing again. An “extended pop video” that’s also an engaging drama about repression and domestic violence. #Footloose
Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino, 2018). Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton star in an impressionistic remake of the Italian horror classic about a Berlin dance school run by a coven of witches. Initially heavy on tension and atmosphere, it starts out scary but becomes merely silly towards the end. #Suspiria
The Equalizer (Antoine Fuqua, 2014). Denzil Washington plays a retired Marine who takes on the Russian mafia. It’s a well-made film, but there’s a major moral ambiguity in the sadistic violence the hero employs to right wrongs. Chloë Grace Moretz is great as the teen girl he befriends. #TheEqualizer
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Ol Parker, 2011). Comedy. An ensemble cast of older people (including Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith) stay at a ramshackle hotel in India. Strong sense of place. Some of the story threads are better developed than others. #TheBestExoticMarigoldHotel
Is This Thing On? (Bradley Cooper, 2025). Excellent drama. Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) are a separated couple navigating their new lives apart. Alex starts stand-up comedy to work through his feelings. Bradley Cooper plays an eccentric friend. Poignant and nicely written. #IsThisThingOn
The Bourne Supremacy (Paul Greengrass, 2004) Second in the series. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is hiding in India when his cover is blown by the CIA. Once again, he has to go on the run. It’s ridiculously exciting, with spot-on pacing. A car chase in Moscow is especially thrilling. #TheBourneSupremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass, 2007). Third thriller in the series. Jason (Matt Damon) is still on the run, piecing together his past while exposing CIA corruption. Julia Stiles and Joan Allen are both excellent, as is Paddy Considine as the terrified Guardian journalist. #TheBourneUltimatum
Little Shop of Horrors (Frank Oz, 1986). An alien plant grows huge by drinking human blood. Surreal horror-comedy musical, with memorable songs and many amusing and disturbing moments. Rick Moranis endears in the lead role. Ellen Greene seems oddly reminiscent of Christian Bale. #LittleShopOfHorrors
Passengers (Morten Tyldum, 2016). Engrossing sci-fi. Engineer Chris Pratt is woken 90 years too early from spaceship hibernation and wakes fellow passenger Jennifer Lawrence to fend off loneliness. As the moral implications of this act unfold, technical problems put their safety at risk. #Passengers
Frankie and Johnny (Garry Marshall, 1991). Intelligent, engaging comedy-drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino. Strong dialogue – adapted from a play – and hugely charismatic leads. Subtle and nuanced, it’s sophisticated and moving without ever being obvious or sentimental. #FrankieAndJohnny
Three Colours: Blue (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993). Drama. A woman loses her husband and child and struggles to move on with her life. Juliette Binoche is highly watchable in the lead role, but somehow the film seems a little underwritten and ends up being oddly unsatisfying overall. #ThreeColoursBlue
Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003). Multi-plot narrative with an ensemble cast. Not all of it works (see the precocious child), but Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney and Emma Thompson are all tremendous. The film has been cancelled for sexism and fat-shaming. There’s lot of both. #LoveActually
The Martian (Ridley Scott, 2015). Masterpiece based on Andy Weir’s novel. Astronaut Matt Damon is stranded on Mars. Jessica Chastain leads the rescue crew. It’s dramatic, terrifying, funny and moving. Fabulous disco soundtrack, plus an inspiring belief that science is what might save us. #TheMartian
Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983). Ex-convict Cuban refugee Tony Montana builds a drug empire in Miami. Al Pacino is at his hypnotic best as Tony, while Michelle Pfeiffer is great as his junkie wife. A tense, gripping and violent narrative, with excellent electronic music by Giorgio Moroder. #Scarface
Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999). Rom-com written by Richard Curtis. William (Hugh Grant) works in a travel bookshop. One day a film star (Julia Roberts) walks in and the pair begin an unlikely romance. Grant is a pleasure to watch. Rhys Ifans seems a little too silly as his flatmate. #NottingHill
Fisherman’s Friends (Chris Foggin, 2019). The life of a London record company exec (Daniel Mays) is changed when he meets a bunch of Cornish fisherman who can also sing. Plus, he finds love with Alwyn (Tuppence Middleton). Based on a true story, it’s nice but often rather clichéd. #FishermansFriends
About Time (Richard Curtis, 2013). Life-affirming philosophical comedy-drama. Tim discovers that he can travel back in time to fix past mistakes, help his love life and protect his family. Domhnall Gleeson charms and his relationship with his ill father (Bill Nighy) is genuinely touching. #AboutTime
Jarhead (Sam Mendes, 2005). Compelling military drama based on Anthony Swofford’s memoir about his stint in the Marine Corps during the Gulf War. Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent in the lead role as a sniper who sees very little action. Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper also feature. #Jarhead
Changing Lanes (Roger Michell, 2002). A masterful drama. The lives of an insurance salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) and lawyer (Ben Affleck) collide, setting in motion a sequence of escalating events. Tense, thrilling and powerful, the film explores what morality means in an amoral world. #ChangingLanes
Dirty Dancing. (Emile Ardolino, 1987). It’s 1963, despite the 1980s clothes and music. A wide-eyed daddy’s girl (a subtle Jennifer Grey) falls in love with a dancer at a Catskills resort (Patrick Swayze). Light but enjoyable coming-of-age romp that also tackles class and gender issues. #DirtyDancing
Away from Her (Sarah Polley, 2006). An engaging drama. A woman (Julie Christie) gets Alzheimer’s and her husband (Gordon Pinsent) struggles to adjust to their changing lives. Oddly inconsistent in how it describes the condition, it lacks the ring of truth. Olympia Dukakis also features. #AwayFromHer
