Latest Staff Picks
The films listed below are Alice's Latest Staff Picks, finding their way into this category generally as a result of agreement between staff that they have real merit for one reason or another. Most titles represent a safe choice for those that find choosing a film difficult or are bewildered by Alice's depth and breadth...
For personal Staff Picks, you are cordially invited to take a journey into the mind's eye of Alice's movie mavens by clicking on the 'Staff Favourites' link (stage left). Click on the Alice Guide of your choice, and take an ushered journey through the looking glass and into their personal cinematic wonderland.
The Lives of Others (2006)
8.4/10
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Muhe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-U...
This skilfully-crafted thriller, deserving winner of the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, is an intelligent and potent blend of polit... Read more
The Host (2006)
7/10
Director: Joon-ho Bong
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Ah-sung Ko, Hae-il Park, Bae Doo-na
AKA 'Gweomul'. 'Godzilla' meets 'Alien' in this monster movie with everything, from Korean director Joon-ho Bong. Following a careless toxic waste le... Read more
Shortbus (2006)
6.5/10
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, PJ DeBoy, Raphael Barker, Peter Stic...
From the writer and director of cult film 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch', this New York indie-style 'smart-porn' follows a group of largely non-actors, a... Read more
V for Vendetta (2006)
7.5/10
Director: James McTeigue
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, Rupert Graves, John Hur...
The dystopian world depicted in the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd is brought to the screen in this thrilling sci-fi actioner. In a fasci... Read more
Brick (2005)
7.4/10
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O'Leary, Emil...
A fresh take on the hard-boiled noir, this festival hit stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an outsider teen-turned-stoic gumshoe after his ex-girl (Emilie... Read more
A Bittersweet Life (2005)
7.6/10
Director: Kim Jee-Woon
Starring: Min-a Shin, Byung-hun Lee, Yeong-Cheol Kim
For the past seven years super-smooth Sun-woo (Byung-hun Lee) has served his gangster boss with unflinching loyalty. He is such a trusty that his bos... Read more
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (2005)
Director: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Min-sik Choi, Yeong-ae Lee, Il-woo Nam, Byeong-ok Kim, Bu-seon Kim, Mi-ran Ra
The final instalment in Chan-wook Park's vengeance trilogy, after 'Sympathy for Mr Vengeance' and 'Old Boy', this follows the story of Guem-ja, impris... Read more
Grizzly Man (2005)
7.8/10
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Timothy Treadwell, Narrated by, Werner Herzog
Timothy Treadwell was a self-styled crusader for the Grizzly Bears of Alaska. After spending 13 summers living with and recording the animals he love... Read more
Collateral ( Blu-ray ) (2004)
7.5/10
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Bruce McGill, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smi...
Hired to kill five witnesses before they can testify against a drug cartel, existential hit man Tom Cruise forces cabbie Jamie Foxx to drive him throu... Read more
Closer ( Blu-ray ) (2004)
7.3/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen
Emotional and sexual gamesmanship, as seen through the couplings and uncouplings of four people - photographer Julia Roberts, stripper Natalie Portman... Read more