A documentary that simultaneously makes you despair at and exalt in the capacity of our fellow man, The Big Uneasy is an absolute must-watch. Uncovering the real story behind the New Orleans disaster of 2005, it’s a tale of government blunders, buried reports and continuing oversights that culminate in a conclusion far more terrifying than any Hollywood thrill ride. It’s just a shame that John Goodman keeps interrupting.

If you’re reading a Fringe season 2 review, you’ve probably already made it through season 1 – so we’ll preach to the converted. Fringe is a sci-fi TV series made possible by the longevity and success of The X-Files.
Just what is this trippy, whimsical, conspiracy-laden sci-fi series up to now?

Wonderfully acted and beautifully shot, Winter’s Bone has been causing a sensation on the festival circuit. Yet although the film may deliver as a piece of cinema, its story leaves little impact. A bit like looking at a lovely painting of nothing in particular.

Three skiers are trapped in an abandoned chairlift. Their survival depends on life-or-death decisions. Should they try to escape or stay put and take their chances? Unless they want to end up frozen, there’s only one way to find out.

John C Reilly and Jonah Hill plod happily through comedy/drama Cyrus; it’s just such a shame that their material never quite matches their obvious talent. Though a few moments of great dark humour lift the storyline, dreadful camera work and a lack-lustre ending drag Cyrus’s high flying stars down almost to amateur level.

A foreigner working through the last ten years of British cinema could be forgiven for thinking that this is a nation composed entirely of council estates, sports fields and leftover shreds of the Second World War. After such a torrent of grittiness, Tamara Drewe feels like it’s going to be a real treat – which makes it even more of a shame when it fails to deliver on almost every level.

At the invitation of the Swedenborg Society, Best For Film is publishing a special series of reviews to follow its ‘Images of the Afterlife in Cinema’ film season, which will be exploring life, death and everything in between. This week we’re looking at the Japanese classic; Afterlife.

Certified Copy is a cautionary tale to every filmmaker who aspires to be considered artsy and deep, a maker of striking and thought-provoking cinema. Its lesson? Make sure you’ve actually got something to say – unconventional camera angles are all very well, but they don’t fill an hour and a half. One can only spend so long admiring Juliette Binoche’s cheekbones.

What do you mean you’ve never heard of the Essex Boys and the Rettendon murders? Are you trying to wind me up? Bonded By Blood is a true-blue British gangster film about the 1995 range rover killings. It’s “The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the F**king Truth”, so round up the few lads you still trust and get yourself down the picture house. Now. You don’t get second chances round here. This is Essex…

We’re happy to see that Chris Morris’s fantastic Four Lions has reached its well deserved place in the DVD top ten. Simultaneously hilarious, heartbreaking and terrifyingly intelligent, this attack on stupidity itself is vital viewing for every one of us.