Birmingham Post

Mike Davies Birmingham Post 4 days ago The real surprise, for those who misguidedly subscribe to the misanthropic, misogynistic cynical view of Kubrick, is that ultimately... it is a film steeped in humanity. Go to Full Review Eyes Wide Shut (1999) 77% 74%

Michael Billington Birmingham Post Oct 18, 2026 In the past I have yielded to no one in my admiration for Stanley Kubrick. But having seen [A] Clockwork Orange I am now prepared to yield to almost everyone. For, although the film is diabolically ingenious, I also find it totally repellent. Go to Full Review A Clockwork Orange (1971) 83% 93%

Keith Brace Birmingham Post Oct 16, 2026 Nabokov has re-created his novel in film terms. It is simpler, more farcical and melodramatic, less moving. But it retains a remarkable amount of the sour-compassionate flavour of the original. Go to Full Review Lolita (1962) 83% 84%

Keith Brace Birmingham Post Oct 14, 2026 The theme is worthy, indeed noble: so noble you can hardly breathe. But I get more and more resentful of these lumbering spectacles that weigh like a succubus. This one occupied more than three hours of my life. I feel like asking for them back. Go to Full Review Spartacus (1960) 90% 87%

Alexander Walker Birmingham Post Oct 13, 2026 This is unrelenting stuff; and Kubrick has passed up every opportunity for introducing those warm human stresses Hollywood loves so well. It makes me anticipate his next film with an excitement few other directors can arouse. Go to Full Review Paths of Glory (1957) 96% 95%

Bob Shelton Birmingham Post Sep 23, 2026 It is entertaining if you don't demand suspense. Go to Full Review Street Fighter (1994) 20% 20%

Mike Davies Birmingham Post Sep 19, 2026 There's solid comic support too, notable from Maggie Smith's socialite tastemaker, Dan Hedaya as Midler's wheedling low-life ex, and Sarah Jessica Parker as his grasping social climbing girlfriend. Go to Full Review The First Wives Club (1996) 56% 68%

Michael Billington Birmingham Post Aug 24, 2026 On the whole, Russell has done a remarkable job both in recreating the feverish hysteria that gripped Loudon and in creating the impression of a totally diseased nation. Go to Full Review The Devils (1971) 55% 88%

Terry Grimley Birmingham Post Aug 3, 2026 A relentlessly dull, shoddy, cheap and witless affair that swaps the original's dark vision for tongue in cheek swipes at Hollywoodland and largely relies on characters running around, shooting and shouting a lot. Go to Full Review Escape From L.A. (1996) 45% 39%

Mike Davies Birmingham Post Jul 16, 2026 It is burning jet-black comedy, gallows humour, and there's no denying the sheer anarchic exhilaration of its first half. Go to Full Review Trainspotting (1996) 93% 93%

Birmingham Post Staff Birmingham Post Jul 13, 2026 There are striking episodes, well managed in this story of a momentous event. Go to Full Review The Robe (1953) 74% 69%

Birmingham Post Staff Birmingham Post Jun 24, 2026 It lacks both the vigour and the poetry necessary to justify its adaptation to the screen. Go to Full Review Ulysses (1955) 52% 61%

Francis Fytton Birmingham Post Jun 24, 2026 The splendour of the sets spoil the whole film and leave little scope for the actors, but they are always just stage sets and I have never seen a film which gave less illusion of reality. Go to Full Review Cleopatra (1963) 61% 67%

Alexander Walker Birmingham Post Jun 17, 2026 A $15,000,000 film lasting 215 minutes, 15 of them the most furiously exciting I can recall undergoing in a cinema. Go to Full Review Ben-Hur (1959) 87% 89%

Birmingham Post Staff Birmingham Post Jun 15, 2026 A film that is distinguished not for its taste or imagination, but mainly for its length. Go to Full Review The Ten Commandments (1956) 82% 87%

Michael Billington Birmingham Post Jun 10, 2026 There's very little of the treacly sentimental coating you usually get with children's films and a good deal of healthy astringency in the observation of adolescent behaviour. Go to Full Review Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) 84% 87%

Michael Billington Birmingham Post Jun 9, 2026 It is clear, I hope, that Mr. Donner and his crew have done everything possible to give one a piece of well-upholstered hokum. I didn't believe a word of it: but I was totally hooked. Go to Full Review The Omen (1976) 76% 80%

Len Capeling Birmingham Post Jun 9, 2026 This is not one of Stephen King's most absorbing tales, but it's saved from itself -- just -- by another outstanding performance from Kathy Bates. Go to Full Review Dolores Claiborne (1995) 87% 82%

Mike Davies Birmingham Post Jun 4, 2026 It's pure derivative formula, but played with tongue firmly in cheek. Go to Full Review The Rock (1996) 76% 77%

Mike Davies Birmingham Post Apr 21, 2026 Pitt, who's done psychos before but never this charismatic, Norton and even a pathetic (in the true sense) Meat Loaf positively bruise the screen with thespian testosterone. Knockout. Go to Full Review Fight Club (1999) 81% 96%