BIRTH [2004]

Birth is a creepy little mystery, from director Jonathan Glazer, that seems like a mixture of Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski (Rosemary's Baby haircut included).
This intensely hypnotizing film tells the story of a widow who meets an odd little boy who swears he's her dead husband reincarnated.  Both Nicole Kidman and Cameron Bright turn in some immensely haunted performances that will leave many a little uncomfortable with the more intimate scenes.  There's some flaws here and there, that breaks the tense atmosphere but all in all, Glazer proves he can craft a beautiful piece of thoughtful cinema that deserves more acclaim.

3½ buried secrets out of 5

Misery (1990)

Dir. Rob Reiner’s vision of a different kind of terror from Stephen King is bursting with Hitchcockian style but never quite reaches the heights the fat man would’ve taken it. No matter, it has Kathy Bates to detract from that. She's simply amazing as an obsessed fan with an unpredictable on/off switch in her brain. At her mercy is a writer, whose imagination could be the only thing that saves him from her tough love.
Despite some major changes, including the addition of an entirely new character and subplot, William Goldman’s screenplay captures the essence of the novel admirably.

4  _umber o_e fa_s out of 5

The Shootist (1976)

John Wayne plays an ageing shootist whose life is winding down. It was his final film and served as a fitting tribute to the big man while simultaneously marking the end of an era in style.
Wayne gives an understated performance filled with empathy because the same disease that plagues his on-screen character was killing him slowly in real life. When he looks tired, it's probably because he was.
It was The Shootist that convinced me The Duke was the 'Giant' that folks said he was when I first saw it over twenty years ago, and of all the classic John Wayne films that I've watched since it's still my favourite.

4 streaks of kindness out of 5