The success of the original 'Batman' meant that Tim Burton could have a wider scope to develop his vision in the sequel and indeed 'Batman Returns' is more Burtonesque than it's original. Danny DeVito's Penguin is a genuine Tim Burton freak as he himself admits when he taunts Michael Keaton that all his power is in his mask and he's 'jealous of a genuine freak'. In that sense the Penguin is closer in form to Edward Scissorhands than he is to Jack Nicholson's Joker. A perinnial Burton theme of not being able to connect and touch like others e.g. the Penguin's deformed hands.

Although titled 'Batman Returns' this movie spends far less time on the Batman character than the original. In the first installment The Joker was two-dimensionaly bad, no redeeming features whatsoever. Against this the Batman character came across as a dark, complex figure who had the potential to be just as emotionally unstable as his nemesis. Each of Batman's opponents in the sequel however have some secret longing they're trying to protect (even Christopher Walken's character shows some love for his son). Against these divided personalities, Batman comes across as two-dimensionaly good.

In 2004, scenes such as dogs with bombs attached to their backs blowing up stores might seem like bad taste but Burton must have been over the moon to have such a large budget to play with. Unfortunately he tries to pack in far too much in comparison with the first movie. On it's own 4/5 for being imaginitive, bold and flamboyant. 2/5 for being cartoonish, brash and over-sentimental in relation to the original film.

At the time of its release in 1988, 'Beetlejuice' was a huge hit. Although it does seem a little dated now, it still has some wonderful visual jokes (especially the characters in the waiting room). The laughs begin with the main characters' deaths after only 10 minutes. They look expectantly at a little dog who is balancing their car on a plank of wood over the edge of a bridge. He tip-toes off and they fall to their deaths. The film is full of satirical vignettes e.g. the after-life is managed by a number of desk clerks who have condemned themselves to an eternity as civil servants because they committed suicide. The Deetz's interior designer Otho is unafraid of all the ghoulish horrors that surround him, but yet finds himself in his most frighteneing moment when Betelguise removes his designer suit to reveal a 70's pastel leisure suit and he runs in terror.

Apparently director Tim Burton loved making the film as Warners stayed off his back for most of it, so he had greater freedom to improvise with the actors and the story. Half-way through its making, he didn't know how it was going to end. The stop-motion techniques might look a little dated but Burton was a big fan of Godzilla as a child.

Tom Cruise initially turned down the role of Edward Scissorhands because of the character's 'lack of virility'. Some have even suggested that Edward is the opposite of Freddy Krugar. Frighteningly deformed yet with innocent intent.

The film is a fairy tale and the suburbs to which Edward is taken seem like the stereotypical fantasy of the American Dream. It was against this fantasy that Tim Burton developed his own artistic vision. As Burton himself has said of his childhood in suburbia "If you're culturally devoid of something, of artistry, of interesting architecture, you manufacture these things for yourself." 'Edward Scissorhands' is the most autobiographical of Burton's works, where Johnny Depp's character gives some sense of the alienation Burton must have felt growing up in Burbank, California. Despite his obvious talent as an animator, Burton went through most of his late teens and early 20's with "the feeling that you can't connect, you can't touch." Edward is the literal translation of Burton's young adulthood where his work is prized while the man himself is despised.

Great cameo performances by Dianne Wiest and Alan Arkin. The movie is only spoiled by the ever 2-dimensional Winona Ryder.

Tim Burton's vision of Batman has to be the closest to the original comic-book creation. It's dark noirish look was put together by Burton and Stanley Kunbrick production designer Anton Furst (who mysteriously committed suicide during the making of 'Batman Returns'). Gotham city evolves like the inversion of Manhatten island. Instead of buildings arranged to let in light, Gotham's homages to Babylon are built to exclude light.

Jack Nicholson obviously steals the show. In fact Batman comic-book creator Bob Kane thought that Nichiolson's interpretation of the Joker was even better than the original characterisation in his comic strip! Michael Keaton was a surprise choice at the time, but the character of Batman is so aloof and distant (almost as stiff as his suit) that even Arnie could have played him. I suppose in choosing a lead actor, it has more to do with how he plays Bruce Wayne than how he plays the caped crusader.

Danny Elfman's score is reasonably dynamic, but despite popular opinion I think Prince's songs fit in very well with the Joker's more festive moments, i.e. the scene in the museum and the free-money parade. In fact, 'Batman' is a refreshing inversion of type, where most of the most light-hearted frivolous moments are brought to us by the villian while most of the darkly serious parts surround the hero.

Like all great Almodovar movies, traditional gender roles are subverted in 'High Heels'. In fact for WASP suburbanite America, much of this plot would seem like an episode of Jerry Springer. Mother abandons daughter for singing career, daughter marries mother's former lover, mother continues to have affair with son-in-law while daughter becomes pregnant through a night of passion with a drag queen. How ironic it is then that Almodovar takes much of his influence for this movie from Douglas Sirk. A director noted for his melodramas about late 50's/early 60's family life amongst WASP suburanites in America. In fact this meshing of a traditional film genre with more modern edgy characters has even been given a name - an Almodrama -.

The title 'High Heels' refers to the time when Rebecca was a child and couldn't sleep until she heard the high heels of her mother click-clacking her way home from work outside her bedroom window. Despite being abandoned by her mother, Rebecca never lets go of her love for her and tries all her life to be as 'good' as her in her life and in her loves.

While this movie was critically panned by many critics both in Spain and abroad, 'High Heels' went on to become the then, second highest-grossing film in Spanish history, ('Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown' being the first!)

When originally writing this film, Pedro Almodovar asked himself the question "Can love be calculated or sketched the same way one could study for an exam?" This is certainly the conviction of the Antonio Banderas character who seeks to capture his former lover and eventually convince her of her love for him. Although one could initially interpret the theme of the film as overtly misogynist - man tries to physically force woman to love him - gender stereotypes are typically subverted in true Almodovarian fashion.

It would seem that the women are the figures of power in this film and both Ricky and wheelchair-bound film director Maximo are at a loss in trying to seduce the object of their desire in any conventional sense. They are both addicted to Marina, but the only thing she's ever been addicted to is heroin. By the end of the film the Antonio Banderas character is almost totally domesticated, making food, cleaning the appartment, making sure Marina has enough drugs etc.

There's also the reference to the Sacred Heart at the beginning of the film and masochism has often been perceived in some of the more archaic rituals of our Roman church.

None of these subtleties were apparantly noticed by the American classification board who initially wanted to give this film an 'X' rating because of playing with toys in the bath! (?)

In 'Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown', Pedro Almodovar subtley overturns traditional gender stereotypes. Outside of the shennanigans she encounters from place to place, Pepa takes stock of her situation in the taxi that carries her between buildings. Its here she recognizes that the mechanics of motorcycles are much easier to fathom than those of male psychology. Ivan's first wife Lucia, remains in the 60's fashion she was wearing when he left her. It's almost as if time stopped for her the moment he left. The array of colours seem to be used as a metaphor for the full and intense emotions of the women involved, compared to the grey and black of Carlos and Ivan.

Apparently Almodovar had to film the balcony scenes in a studio because the downtown skyline of Madrid is now just a sea of office and apartment buildings. Almodovar has never made any secret of the fact that a director should "never borrow, but steal if it is justified" from another director. Witness his homage to Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' when Pepa looks across the street into Lucia's apartment building.

It's ironic that in his native Spain, Pedro Almodovar finally broke free from being described as a 'cult' director to being appreciated by a wider audience with the massive success of this film. Meanwhile in the U.S., the film was specifically marketed by Orion as a 'minority' picture aimed at an Hispanic and female audience. They must have been pleasantly surprised when the audiences for this film crossed racial and gender barriers.

The success of 'Wings Of Desire' must have prompted Wenders to come up with a sequel. It certainly makes a greater effort at garnishing a wider audience, with the addition of Natassja Kinski, Willem Dafoe & Horst Buchholz to the previous cast. The script also has the novelty of being in 4 different languages.

In 'Wings Of Desire' Bruno Ganz's transformation from angel to human could be seen as a desire by Berliners each side of the wall to overcome their imprisonment from each other. In 'Faraway, So Close', the moral confusion that Otto Sander witnesses when he crashes down from above, mirrors the uneasy turmoil of the new united Berlin. Like an East Berliner untutored in the ways of the West, he stumbles about in an unsophisticated way until his new freedoms begin to overwhelm him and he finds his only refuge in a bottle. Despite all this, he tries to find meaning and do good, but finds that in the new Germany, the only options open to an ex-angel (or an ex-communist) is the criminal underworld.

Although the film starts to lose its way in the final farcical half hour, there are some impressive performances here, especially Horst Buchholz (last seen in 'The Magnificent Seven').

Wenders last great film, his talent has since floundered in making movies with the likes of Mel Gibson.

This is a fairly good representation of the Pogues, for the uninitiated. Their best album 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash' rightly gets its fair share of songs here. Shane was never at his most evocative and heart-wrenching than on songs such as 'A Pair Of Brown Eyes' and 'Old Main Drag', or at his rowdiest than on 'Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn'. Like any good 'Best Of' compilation, it also gathers together songs that are infuriatingly not available on other albums. The oft talked about 'Rainy Night In Soho', as well as two of their greatest songs 'The Body Of An American' and 'London Girl'. Any group that's managed to be produced by both Elvis Costello and Joe Strummer gives some indication as to the quality of songwriting involved in their work.

The second half of their career seems a bit disjointed on this collection, with only 3 songs from the brilliant 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God' compared to 4 from the above average 'Hell's Ditch'. Some odd choices from the later collection (e.g. Rain Street & Sunnyside of the Street sound like parts one and two of the same song) are picked over better songs from the earlier one. What about the single 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah', surely one of the best Pogues rock songs that's also pretty difficult to come by on albums.

Despite these minor reservations 'The Very Best Of....' is a great place to start.

Although some have suggested that this is a pop album or even a jazz album, it's actually closest in sound and ambition to ambient music. It's no surprise that Mark Hollis's songwriting partner (Tim Friese-Greene) is a producer, for these are not songs in the traditional pop sense, but tracks 'built up' in the studio. I have to agree with those who described this album as a mood piece that has to be listened to all in one. In order to maintain this mood there has to be as little melodic or harmonic movement as possible, which is why most of these tracks contain about two notes. In fact 'I Believe In You' was probably chosen as the single off this album as it features about 4 notes in its chorus and so consequently must have been considered the most pop track on the album. It was no surprise that the single flopped, as taken on its own outside the context of the album, it loses much of its expressiveness.

What elevates 'Spirit Of Eden' beyond the elevator muzak of the bass, guitar and synth behind it, is the enigmatic power of Mark Hollis's vocals and the wonderful choice of unusual instruments that colour much of the recordings. The choice of music may have been decided upon as a vehicle for Mark Hollis to express himself as personally as possible and he achieves this with a candour and an initimacy that was perhaps too intense for the pop world at large and EMI in particular.

The story of Talk Talk is a refreshing tale of a band who gradually spurned commercial success in order to develop greater artistic integrity. The exact opposite of the traditional pop/rock story. They must be one of the few bands who understand the process of maturity.