Quantum of Solace – 2008 – Marc Foster

Take one clean shaven spy, two sultry chicks, endless car, plane and boat chases, mix in some exotic locations, vendettas, diminutive villains, public transport, touchscreen technology, the CIA, – and Canadian intelligence, who knew? – shake it all up and you have yourself another Bond installment. No classic, but it goes down okay. JJ

Watchmen – 2009 – Zack Snyder

The longest three hours of my life; it should have been cut in half, or never made at all. The convoluted and unraveling plot spins all over these barely likable characters, not to mention the digital blue cock and balls all the way through the movie. (Brian gave it three expletives) Brian Murray

Tony Takitani – 2004 – Jun Ichikawa

Beauty and materialism are weaved together with tragic consequences in this artful adaptation of a Murakami Haruki short story. This is one of, if not the best, adaptations I have seen; tinged with the universal elements in Murakami’s writing – sadness, yearning, loneliness, strangeness, music, love and despair. JJ

Pink Floyd The Wall – 1982 – Alan Parker

I guess it’s the fallout of the vanity project that struck the 60s/70s super groups. Simply egostrokin’, proving that they can do it better than The Song Remains the Same, Sympathy For The Devil, and the appalling Tommy. Just another long music video, with a point (possibly) that escapes me. Brian Murray

There Will be Blood – 2007 – Paul Thomas Anderson

A charismatic but solitary oil tycoon uses his adopted son to charm his way to success. Underneath his professionalism, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a madman and a ruthless opportunist. Day-Lewis’ execution is off the charts, it’s hard to discern if he’s evil or just a tortured soul – something a more prominent sub-plot could have shed light on. Cristina Pittelli

Piety meets the pipeline in this epic tale of oil, greed and false prophets. Daniel Day Lewis is hypnotic as an entrepreneurial ‘oil lord’ – his voice, his ruthlessness, his unnerving grin and manic tendencies. The lesson to be learned; oil men are mad men. JJ

Roman de gare – 2007 – Claude Lelouch

If you liked the sometimes violent scripts of Chabrol and Truffaut,  strongly inspired by Hitchcock, or the endless dialogues of Rohmer about love – take a bus and go watch Roman de gare.  A is B, or C but no, maybe it’s D. Is E, killed by F or by G? Is this character even alive.  Lots of questions, and answers too. Mario Alemi.

Buffalo Soldiers – 2001 – Gregor Jordan

Joaquin Phoenix plays an opportunistic American soldier stationed in Germany prior to the end of the Cold War with nothing to fight except boredom and the occasional superior officer. Makes me ponder what Yossarian from Catch 22 could have been like if he sold American WMDs on the black market. JJ

Dan in Real Life – 2007 – Peter Hedges

Starring Steve Carell as an ‘Agony Uncle’ – who dishes out tales of caution and morality – as a single parent. He falls for his brother’s girlfriend, falls foul of his siblings, and children, and realizes that he is not the perfect person, or parent that he always wrote about in his column. There’s a moral in there somewhere. Brian Murray

Syriana – 2005 – Stephen Gaghan

A complex and compelling tale of corruption and retribution. Works best in its portrayal of outsiders; George Clooney as a cast-out from the CIA machine, Jeffrey Wright as the black virtuous lawyer, the Saudi reformist Prince and the young Pakistani terrorist,  all connected and complicit in a nefaorius web. One to watch. JJ

Boxcar Bertha – 1972 – Martin Scorsese

Scorsese’s first feature film is certainly one for his fans and “genre film” enthusiasts. Though Roger Corman’s influence as the producer is obvious, you can see flashes of the genius that was going to establish Scorsese as one of the greatest through the film’s cinematography, score, editing and humor. Omid Nikfarjam