The 50 Word Review

Om, an inspiring actor during the 1970s, is murdered but reborn in the present day. He attempts to get everything he couldn’t in his previous life – the stardom and the love of his life. Whilst the film is boring, Shah Rukh Khan’s six packs and newcomer Deepika are simply yummy! Neha Kumar

HB is the stuff of stoner legend. Dave Chappelle provides the guidance for a team of potheads to spring their friend from behind bars. With character names like Mary Jane Potman, Simpson Samson and Thurgood Jenkins - a.k.a. Sir Smoke-a-Lot - director Tamra Davis created an underrated comedy classic. JJ

A sober look at the experience of first love in the late 1960s. It somewhat reminded me of the atmosphere in Mike Nichols’s Graduate, so if you liked that, you’re going to love this one which is a decent adaptation too. Beautiful soundtrack. Omid Nikfarjam

Essentially Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Rear Window recycled, Disturbia is entertainment through and through. As the teenager under house arrest who turns to spying on neighbours, Shia LaBeouf is funny, as he was in Transformers, but he’s already gravitating towards becoming a cliché. He should be more cautious in choosing his roles. Omid Nikfarjam

Nancy Drew is a know-all white middle class American girl detective cleverer than the FBI and the CIA combined. She wants to obey her father’s wishes, stop sleuthing and become a ‘normal’ teenager. That all goes awry when they move into a mystery house in LA. Queue the drama, and so forth… Brian Murray

A gay fashion photographer facing his mortality is determined to leave a legacy. Now is the time for reviewing old memories and trying to leave a trace in a future he’s got no place in. Ozon’s made a little gem. I’ve rarely come across a movie about loss and death as warm and reassuring. Omid Nikfarjam

A perfect blend of reality and fantasy. The reality is set post Spanish Civil War, where a young girl is exposed to pain, sadness and death. In the fantasy world, she completes three tasks to become an immortal princess. Well-woven together, making for an ambiguous but interesting ending. Neha Kumar

A ridiculous chick flick about a granny who sets out to repair her past with the help of her family and an angel. By revealing a family secret she unites her dysfunctional and dislikeable daughters. Evening was such a slow and frustrating movie that one could guess the conclusion, but not bother to find out. Brian Murray

Eric Steel’s documentary examines the post card perfect Golden Gate Bridge as a suicide jumper’s paradise. Does the camera go too far following a jumper plunging to his death? Are such sequences a bridge too far? This is a documentary first about filming taboos and mental health secondly. JJ

A Coen brother classic. A suitcase of cash from a Tex-Mex drug deal turns up in the hands of a fortuitous hunter. Enter some of the richest and most watchable celluloid characters in ages. Brilliant for it’s understatement, ellipsis, scorching wit and supreme dialogue. Thank God for the Coens. JJ

As good as the Coen brothers are, they’ve never before made anything as powerful and brilliant as NCFOM. Tommy Lee Jones nails the melodic Texan banter, and Javier Bardem is a revelation starring as a terrifying psychopath. This is the benchmark for 2008. William Hilderbrandt

A masterpiece. It’s not just the script, it’s how they direct the actors. How they place the camera. Gauge the colours. The irony behind each shot and dialogue. But, for six Italians watching NCFOM in English was like rabbis reading an old Aramaic version of the Thora – each one had their own interpretation. Mario Alemi