Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones star as Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, ageing cowboys and former Texas rangers who organise a 2,500 mile cattle drive for one last great adventure in this excellent 1989 mini-series adaptation of Larry McMurtry's novel. The best friends, who steal the herd from a gang of Mexican cattle rustlers, drive their herd from Texas to Montana, battling horse thieves, angry Indian tribes, and a renegade half-breed killer named Blue Duck (Frederic Forrest) on a mission of revenge. The excellent cast also includes Robert Urich as cardsharp and former Ranger Jake Spoon, Anjelica Huston as McCrae's old flame Clara Allen, Danny Glover, Ricky Schroder, Diane Lane, Chris Cooper, DB Sweeney, Steve Buscemi, and even a small role for author Larry McMurtry. Australian director Simon Wincer shows a tremendous capacity for balancing sweeping drama and intimacy against the gorgeous landscape of the American Southwest, giving a grandly epic feel to the film despite its small-screen target and limited budget, and for forging memorable characters of even the smallest supporting parts. The heart of the drama belongs to McCrae and Call, memorably etched by Duvall and Jones as the last of the range romantics. In the age of revisionist Westerns, this excellent cattle-drive drama nicely maintains an old-fashioned feeling while still showing the dark side of the American West. -Sean Axmaker, Amazon. com.

Sixteen years after Francis Ford Coppola won his second Oscar for The Godfather II (his first was for the 1972 Godfather), the director and star Al Pacino attempted to revive the concept one more time. Despite an elaborate plot that involves Michael Corleone seeking redemption through the Vatican while simultaneously preparing his nephew (Andy Garcia) to take over the Corleone family, the film fails to take shape as a truly meaningful experience in the way the preceding movies do. Still, Pacino is very moving as an elder Michael, filled with regret and trying hard to make amends with his wife (Diane Keaton) and grown children (one of whom is played, and not all that well, by the director's daughter, Sofia Coppola). -Tom Keogh.

An informal sequel to his breakthrough feature Distant Voices, Still Lives, Terence Davies' film revisits the same vivid autobiographical sources as its predecessor. Set in working-class Liverpool in the mid-50s, it's less a linear story than an impressionistic tapestry of sights, sounds, colours and above all music woven together in the head of the 11-year-old protagonist (called Bud, but very clearly meant for Davies himself). Brought up in a mainly female household-widowed mother and four older sisters-Bud undergoes ordeals of bullying and stern punishment at his new Catholic school. But he spends most of his time lapped by the warm fringes of the adult world, of which he's a fascinated observer, often delighted, sometimes obscurely troubled. A nostalgic mix of film clips and popular songs-on the radio or in family sing-songs-contribute to Bud's rich inner life, but sentimentality is held at bay by the poignancy for the boy's situation, alienated from children of his own age and nervously aware of his emergent gay sexuality. Davies' stylised lighting heightens the sense of captured memory, while his stately, elegant camera traces patterns and connections, eliding the borders between reality and fantasy. -Philip Kemp.

When the theatrical release of James Cameron's Titanic was delayed from July to December of 1997, media pundits speculated that Cameron's $200 million disaster epic would cause the director's downfall, signal the end of the blockbuster era and sink Paramount Studios as quickly as the ill-fated luxury liner had sunk on that fateful night of April 14, 1912. Some studio executives were confident, others horrified, but the clarity of hindsight turned Cameron into an Oscar-winning genius, a shrewd businessman and one of the most successful directors in the history of motion pictures. Titanic would surpass the $1 billion mark in global box-office receipts (largely due to multiple viewings, the majority by teenage girls), win 11 Academy Awards including best picture and director, produce the bestselling movie soundtrack of all time and make a global superstar of Leonardo DiCaprio. A bona fide pop-cultural phenomenon, the film has all the ingredients of a blockbuster (romance, passion, luxury, grand scale, a snidely villain and an epic, life-threatening crisis), but Cameron's alchemy of these ingredients proved more popular than anyone could have predicted. His stroke of genius was to combine absolute authenticity with a pair of fictional lovers whose tragic fate would draw viewers into the heart-wrenching reality of the Titanic disaster. As starving artist Jack Dawson and soon-to-be-married socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater, DiCaprio and Kate Winslet won the hearts of viewers around the world and their brief but never-forgotten love affair provides the humanity that Cameron needed to turn Titanic into an emotional experience. Present-day framing scenes (featuring Gloria Stuart as the 101-year-old Rose) add additional resonance to the story and, although some viewers proved vehemently immune to Cameron's manipulations, few can deny the production's impressive achievements. Although some of the computer-generated visual effects look artificial, others-such as the sunset silhouette of Titanic during its first evening at sea, or the climactic splitting of the ship's sinking hull-are state-of-the-art marvels. In terms of sets and costumes alone, the film is never less than astounding. More than anything else, however, the film's overwhelming popularity speaks for itself. [+]

Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones star in the excellent 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove, adapted from Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Best friends Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call are aging cowboys and former Texas Rangers and who organise a 2,500-mile cattle drive for one last great adventure. They steal the herd from a gang of Mexican cattle rustlers, then drive it from Texas to Montana, battling horse thieves, angry Indian tribes and a renegade half-breed killer named Blue Duck (Frederic Forrest) on a mission of revenge. The excellent cast also includes Robert Urich as cardsharp and former Ranger Jake Spoon, Anjelica Huston as McCrae's old flame Clara Allen, Danny Glover, Ricky Schroder, Diane Lane, Chris Cooper, DB Sweeney, Steve Buscemi and even a small role for author Larry McMurtry. Australian director Simon Wincer shows a tremendous capacity for balancing sweeping drama and intimacy against the gorgeous landscape of the American Southwest-giving a grandly epic feel to the film despite its small-screen target and limited budget-and for forging memorable characters of even the smallest supporting parts. The heart of the drama belongs to McCrae and Call, memorably etched by Duvall and Jones as the-last-of-the-range romantics. In the age of revisionist Westerns, this excellent cattle-drive drama nicely maintains an old-fashioned feeling while still showing the dark side of the American West. Winner of seven Emmy Awards the original was also responsible for two miniseries sequels (Return to Lonesome Dove and Dead Man's Walk) as well as a TV series. -Sean Axmaker, Amazon. com.

A handful of people in California's San Fernando Valley are having one hell of a day. TV mogul Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) is on his deathbed; his trophy wife (Julianne Moore) is stockpiling tranquilliser prescriptions all over town with alarming determination. Earl's nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is trying desperately to get in touch with Earl's only son, sex-guru Frank TJ Mackey (Tom Cruise), who's about to have his carefully constructed past blown by a TV reporter (April Grace). Whiz kid Stanley (Jeremy Blackman) is being goaded by his selfish dad into breaking the record for the game show What Do Kids Know? Meanwhile, Stanley's predecessor, the grown-up quiz kid Donnie Smith (William H. Macy) has lost his job and is nursing a severe case of unrequited love. And the host of What Do Kids Know?, the affable Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), like Earl, is dying of cancer, and his attempt to reconcile with his cokehead daughter (Melora Walters) fails miserably. She, meanwhile, is running hot and cold with a cop (John C. Reilly) who would love to date her, if she can sit still for long enough. And over it all, a foreboding sky threatens to pour something more than just rain. This third feature from Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) is a maddening, magnificent piece of film-making, and an ensemble film to rank with the best of Robert Altman (Short Cuts, Nashville)-every little piece of the film means something, solidly placed for a reason. [+]

Chutney Popcorn is an amusing exploration of surrogate motherhood that never lets cross-cultural or lesbian issues overrun what is essentially a family drama. Nisha Ganatra directs, writes and takes the lead role as Reena, a New York artist and lesbian with Indian roots that include an over-indulgent mother and newlywed perfect sister, Sarita. On finding that Sarita is infertile, Reena proposes becoming a surrogate mother, not just to help out her sister but to prove to her mother that she is capable of living up to the traditional values of womanhood. The pregnancy puts obvious strain on Sarita's marriage and she begins to distance herself from Reena and the unborn baby. At the same time, Reena's live-in girlfriend Lisa (Jill Hennessy) has commitment issues; babies never being part of her life equation. For her first feature film, Ganatra shows much promise with her ability to blend the various issues at the film's heart without becoming over-sentimental about them. Madhur Jaffrey offers a surprisingly sparky comic turn as the doting mother trying to hold on to the values of her homeland. The script is loaded towards the inevitable happy ending, which feels far too easy and upbeat, leaving the audience with unanswered questions about the future of the child. Despite such reservations, Chutney Popcorn is a spicy look into the alternative family that's more substantial than just a simple side dish. -Nikki Disney.

A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood predecessors, Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes movie-making back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. While not as fluid as the computer work done for, say, Titanic, it's an impressive achievement that will leave you marvelling at the glory that was Rome, when you're not marvelling at the glory that is Russell Crowe. Starring as the heroic general Maximus, Crowe firmly cements his star status both in terms of screen presence and acting chops, carrying the film on his decidedly non-computer-generated shoulders as he goes from brave general to wounded fugitive to stoic slave to gladiator hero. Gladiator's plot is a whirlwind of faux-Shakespearean machinations of death, betrayal, power plays, and secret identities (with lots of faux-Shakespearean dialogue ladled on to keep the proceedings appropriately "classical"), but it's all briskly shot, edited, and paced with a contemporary sensibility. Even the action scenes, somewhat muted but graphic in terms of implied violence and liberal bloodletting, are shot with a veracity that brings to mind-believe it or not-Saving Private Ryan. As Crowe's nemesis, the evil emperor Commodus, Joaquin Phoenix chews scenery with authority, whether he's damning Maximus's popularity with the Roman mobs or lusting after his sister Lucilla (beautiful but distant Connie Nielsen); Oliver Reed, in his last role, hits the perfect notes of camp and gravitas as the slave owner who rescues Maximus from death and turns him into a Colosseum star. Director Scott's visual flair is abundantly in evidence, with breathtaking shots and beautiful (albeit digital) landscapes, but it's Crowe's star power that will keep you in thrall-he's a true gladiator, worthy of his legendary status. Hail the conquering hero! -Mark Englehart, Amazon. com.

Based on an idea by Gene Roddenberry Andromeda wears its debt to Star Trek on its sleeve, recalling the best sci-fi of Roddenberry's heyday. Kevin (ex-Hercules) Sorbo plays Captain Dylan Hunt, the sympathetically flawed idealist in command of the Andromeda Ascendant, a massive 1. 4km long starship of the now-disbanded Systems Commonwealth. The fall of civilisation has meant that although she ought to be a relic she remains the zenith of technological advancement. Episodes on this tape:Under the Night, An Affirming Flame, To Loose the Fateful Lightning "Under the Night". The pilot show for Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda presents a vaguely familiar future (to Star Trek fans anyway). The Galaxy is united under a common cause for good (The Commonwealth). Keeping the peace are enormous starships like the Andromeda Ascendant commanded by men of solid chins such as Kevin Sorbo's Captain Dylan Hunt. Unfortunately the calm only lasts about 10 minutes before the peace is shattered irrevocably in a spectacular space battle and Dylan finds himself "Under the Night" and 300 years too late too save it all. "An Affirming Flame". [+]

San Francisco has been the setting of a lot of exciting movie car chases over the years, but this 1968 police thriller is still the one to beat when it comes to high-octane action on the steep hills of the city by the Bay. The outstanding car chase earned an Oscar for best editing, but the rest of the movie is pretty good, too. Bullitt is a perfect star vehicle for cool guy Steve McQueen, who stars as a tenacious detective (is there any other kind?) determined to track down the killers of the star witness in an important trial. Director Peter Yates (Breaking Away) approached the story with an emphasis on absolute authenticity, using a variety of San Francisco locations. Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Duvall appear in early roles, and Robert Vaughn plays the criminal kingpin who pulls the deadly strings of the tightly wound plot. -Jeff Shannon San Francisco has been the setting of many exciting movie car chases over the years but the one in Bullitt is still the one to beat when it comes to high-octane action on the city's steep hills. The outstanding car chase earned an Oscar for best editing but the rest of the movie is pretty good too. This 1968 police thriller is a perfect star vehicle for cool guy Steve McQueen, who stars as a tenacious detective (is there any other kind?) determined to track down the killers of the star witness in a major trial. Director Peter Yates (Breaking Away) approached the story with an emphasis on absolute authenticity, using a variety of San Francisco locations. Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Duvall appear in early roles, and Robert Vaughn plays the criminal kingpin who pulls the deadly strings of the tightly wound plot. [+]

David Lean's wintry adaptation of Boris Pasternak's melodramatic Russian Revolution romance, Doctor Zhivago, is a masterpiece of epic filmmaking, but one that risks leaving the viewer cold. Though none of the film was shot in the then USSR, Lean's assured technique nevertheless illuminates the breathtaking backgrounds magnificently: from the snowy wastes of the Urals to the strife-torn streets of Moscow, Lean stages a series of wonderful set-pieces showing war, revolution and its terrible aftermath. The problem lies in the foreground. Omar Sharif's entirely passive Zhivago is, we are told, a romantic poet of great sensitivity who internalises all his emotions and expresses them in verse. The trouble is the audience never gets to see a line of his poems, not even the centrally important "Lara" cycle. Thus Zhivago at the end of the picture is as much an emotional blank to us as he was at the beginning. His affair with the idealised beauty that is Julie Christie's Lara is also taken for granted by the filmmakers rather than set up in any convincing way, their mutual attraction remaining a mystery that creates a vacuum at the core of the picture. Given that none of the central characters with the exception of Rod Steiger's fire-breathing lecher Komarovsky ever give way to strong emotions, the romantic heart of the film remains oddly frigid. Matters are not helped by composer Maurice Jarre's incessant "Lara's Theme", which many will find teeth-grindingly irritating. Still, any David Lean epic, even a flawed one, is always going to be a first-class cinematic experience, and Zhivago is assuredly that. [+]