Reviews by Rollo Tomasi

I'd been looking forward to seeing BSM ever since it garnered early buzz at lasy years Sundance. Craig Brewer is proving to be a solidly consistently impressive director and storyteller. He's like Tarantino without the swag bag of stolen references. And man Samuel L. Jackson sho' damn got the blues. The soundtrack is great too.

The best buddy flick I've seen in a long time. Fresh, original and heart-warming. The chemistry between Sandler and Cheadle is a joy to watch. Loved the references to The Who's song and the film 'Quadrophenia' it came from, however, Pearl Jam shoulda left well alone.

You've heard the saying it could only happen in America? I'd heard people bitching about the MPAA before but I had never read up on the organisation and had no idea just how dumb an idea the whole set up is. The KKK are a knitting circle compared to this bunch of numb-nuts. Interesting documentary though.

At times 'Infamous' came over a little cheezie, almost as if it was parodying Bennett Miller's 'Capote'.I did enjoy Toby Jones' portrayal of the In Cold Blood author as much as Phillip Seymour Hoffman', though.

I was highly entertained by the tongue-in-cheek satirical feel of this films plot, and it's references to 1980's culture. Hanks and Roberts didn't bring anything special to the production, but a supporting role.

"whoever has the money has the power" the tagline states. I'll tell you something Isla Fisher, Matthew Goode nor the walking cliche named 'Bones' had the money. If they had there's no evidence they ever spent any of it on acting lessons. Their performances, for me spoiled an otherwise solid film. Can't fault Scott Franks script or directing, and the two leads nail their roles. Shoot the casting director!!!

A coming-of-age drama about a boy (Shia Labeouf) growing up in Astoria, N.Y., during the 1980s. As his friends end up dead, on drugs or in prison, he comes to believe he has been saved from their fate by various so-called saints.

The first half hour is a little disjointed, but give it a chance, I assure you by the end you'll have been touched by the depth of its emotion and gripped by it's guts and grit. Shia Labeouf is really starting to impress me.

Left me feeling warm, fuzzy and pleasantly disoriented.

My initial thoughts during the first act of this film we're exactly the same as our other reviewer here. Holy hell, how many times are they going to remake Dangerous Minds??

Although I did at this stage recognise Freedom Writers was displaying a lot more depth as the afore-mentioned Michelle Pfieffer vehicle.

It was only when we got to the holocaust and the journal stories that the film started to grip me, and grip me tight it did. I didn't know much about Erin Grewell before going into this film; apart from the basics. And I left feeling like there were still a few pieces missing from the puzzle.

Freedom Writers is a good tribute to a remarkable woman (is there something about the name Erin?) and a gutsy group of kids, but all said and done the story behind the story continues to hold my interest -- this film just planted the seed.

Anthony Minghella's first original screenplay since 1991's Truly Madly Deeply is a garbled and somewhat lumbering affair between two sets of people from opposite sides of the social divide. His plot feels as forced as a smile on Anne Robinson's face, which in turn makes the performances labored and leaves the whole thing lacking plausibility.

I expected much more from this cast.

London comes out the only winner here -- un-cliched, oozing with grime and always an interesting subject to view. Still, not a good enough reason to watch this film.