Cold Comfort Farm is a jolly film that bounces along as merrily as its theme tune. It's a rollicking good comedy with a laugh-out-loud collection of Dickensian characters (the doom-stricken Starkadders, the rustic Adam Lambsbreath, and the upper crust Hawk-Monitors). Certainly the film is very over-the-top and silly, but it's light-hearted fun - a welcome alternative to the glut of psychological, heart-wrenching, blood-and-guts fare on the market.

The Starkadders live on the bleak acres of Cold Comfort Farm, where "the cows are barren and the sows are farren". Into this gloomy and eccentric setting comes young, 1930s-modern Flora Poste, who sets to winning the hearts and minds of Cold Comfort's inhabitants, and dragging the Starkadders into the twentieth century. Along the way she manages to rearrange and enliven her own life too.

Kate Beckinsale (prior to her arrival on the scene of big-budget American flicks) is a likeable and chirpy young lady with a talent for organisation. In the supporting roles, Joanna Lumley is delightfully sarcastic as Flora's incongruously named aunt, Mary Smiling, who has a rather unusual hobby. And Ian McKellen is a real scene-stealer as the fire-and-brimstone preacher of the Church of the Quivering Brethren.

The plot revolves around Great Aunt Ada Doom and the 'narsty' thing she saw in the woodshed nigh on 70 years ago. There is also the mysterious wrong perpetrated on Flora's father by the Starkadders sometime in the dim and misty past. So it is a tad frustrating that the audience is never let in on either of these secrets! But these are minor quibbles in what is otherwise an excellent comedic romp, with some interesting and atmospheric cinematography. A very good (and very British) laugh.

Johnny English is a tired comedy, with stale and predictable gags. Consider the following example of outrageously unfunny verbal wit: "I think I'd rather have my bottom impaled on a giant cactus than exchange pleasantries with that jumped up Frenchman," says Johnny, unknowing that the 'jumped up Frenchman' is standing right behind him. It doesn't even raise the ghost of a smile. Rowan Atkinson should resign himself to the fact that his metier is as the silent Mr. Bean.

The film begins well enough, with an amusing daydream sequence, where Johnny English - pen-pusher at M17 (comic cousin of Britain's M15 spy agency) fantasises about his dangerous, dashing life if he were the notoriously brilliant Agent One. When Agent One, and the entire M17 spy corps are killed - through English's blunders - his dream becomes reality. It is up to him to save England from the machinations of a megalomaniac Frenchman, who wishes to claim the British throne and turn the country into a massive prison.

With a plot and characters like these, there is obviously the potential for Johnny English to be a humorous Bond-spoof, but the potential remains largely inactivated. There are occasional moments of genuine mirth, such as a hearse being chased by a tow truck, and the subsequent scene in the graveyard, but these are few and far between. The jokes are signposted a mile off, and include juvenile toilet humour. One does get the impression the scriptwriters were rather low on inspiration and in the resultant morass, one joke is even utilised twice. Ironically, the funniest moment of the movie is tacked on part way through the end credits, by which time most of the audience will have switched off in disappointment.

Saving Grace is surely one of the leading contenders for the 'How to Ruin an Adequate Film in the Final Few Minutes' award. Naturally if you mix a quaint Cornish village - largely populated by retired genteel ladies - with a liberal dose of marijuana, a certain amount of silliness will ensue. However, the last seven minutes of the film descend into the totally ludicrous and is not even redeemed by being particularly funny. It is a real shame, because this comedy has the potential to be every bit as good as 1998's Waking Ned Devine, which also portrayed a picturesque small village and its oddball inhabitants trying to extract themselves from a tricky situation.

The protagonist of Saving Grace is middle-aged, recently widowed Grace Trevethyn, whose husband's legacy of bad debts has forced her into an unconventional way of earning money. Helped by her gardener, Matthew, she turns her horticultural expertise to the lucrative cultivation of marijuana. Unfortunately, this leads her into confrontation with the local police, her husband's creditors and a French drug baron. . . . . . . . . . whom all turn up at her greenhouse simultaneously. The relationship and rapport between Grace and Matthew is well-portrayed, and Brenda Blethyn gets the viewer emotionally involved with her likeable character - you can really feel what she is going through.

The casting of the minor roles is excellent, even if some of them are rather outlandishly eccentric. However, the transformation of Jacques the drug lord into Grace's romantic interest is highly implausible and does not fit the tone of the movie at all. And surely hydroponics is not such a revolution in the world of cannabis growing? Sadly the film swaps gentle humour for slapstick and ends up being as fake as the marijuana plants.

Finding Nemo is, quite simply, brilliant. Computer animation has come on in leaps and bounds since the days of Toy Story (1995) and Finding Nemo stunningly attests to this. From the vibrantly coloured and gently undulating coral on the reef, to the murky depths of Sydney harbour, to the clever use of reflection and refraction off the fish tank, this is a film in which the constantly changing scenery is a large part of its attraction. The original and well-judged score enhances the viewer's sense of wonder and their empathy with the characters.

But computer wizardry alone cannot create a great film. Finding Nemo is also blessed with an action-packed story and lots of laughs (largely courtesy of Dory - a well-meaning blue tang fish with short-term memory loss). Nemo is a young clown fish, eager to test his boundaries, who is caught by a diver and taken to an aquarium in Sydney. Whilst there, he makes friends with a motley collection of aquatic creatures who help him plot his escape. Meanwhile, his over-protective father, Marlin, begins a frantic quest to find his son. Along the way he is helped and hindered by three new-age sharks, some bodacious-dude turtles, a whale, and a monstrous angler fish (amongst others).

And yes, the ending may be a little mushy, but after such an epic adventure, the viewer will find the sentimentality relatively easy to stomach. Indeed, the character development is surprisingly deep for a children's movie, and it's a nice change to have not every character being entirely good or bad. Parents in the audience will certainly identify with Marlin's dilemma of wanting to protect his child, and yet coming to realise that the time comes when one has to let go a little.

Election is a very difficult movie to classify and review. With staple actors from the teen pulp genre, like Reese Witherspoon and Chris Klein, it would be easy to write it off as merely another school holiday flick. However, the issues dealt with include sexual relationships between teacher and student, and marital infidelity; subjects more suited to adult fare.

The story is centred around an ambitious and perfect student (Witherspoon), and the teacher (a woefully miscast Matthew Broderick - stick to the slapstick, buddy) who decides to meddle with destiny and stop the rise and rise of Tracy Flick. His solution? To persuade another, more popular student to run against Tracy in the all-important election for student president. What he doesn't foresee is how the election will change his own life forever.

It is a comedy that works very well in some places. Never again will one be able to consider a cupcake, without thinking of the 280 "Pick Flick" personalised cupcakes. And the collection of sports jocks, nerds and sundry other students, whilst highly stereotypical, are good for a few laughs. It is when the movie *tries* to be funny that it fails. A bit of special-effects make-up slapped on to resemble a bee-stung eyelid isn't all that amusing, and seems out of character with the rest of the film. Another notable aspect is the voiceovers done by the characters. These are funny and very clever, in that the viewer gets a lot more by reading between the lines, than taking what is said at face value.

Election is certainly worth a watch on an idle Saturday afternoon. But don't be surprised if, at the end, you are unable to decide if you enjoyed it or not.

Waking Ned Devine is one of those charming and funny movies that you just can't help liking. Surely everyone has pondered on what life would be like if one won the lottery. . . . . . . . . . In the quaint Irish town of Tullymore, an elderly pair of jokers, Jackie and Michael, discover that one of the villagers has won the National Lottery's First Division. There's a problem though - the villager in question is dead. And so Jackie and Michael embark on an increasingly complicated scheme to convince the lottery scrutineers that Ned Devine is in fact still alive and well, and eligible to claim the £7 million winnings.

It's a refreshing change to watch a comedy where the protagonists are largely - to put it bluntly - old. The late Ian Bannen and David Kelly turn in marvelous performances as the irascible duo. Not only do they manage to create and capture the humour of the film, they also touchingly portray the affection each character has for the other.

But it is its own unique brand of humour for which Waking Ned Devine will most likely be remembered. The motley collection of villagers should raise a few chuckles, and the sight of a naked scrawny old man tearing along the Irish byroads on a motorbike will leave the viewer in stitches. However, the rather macabre method of dispatch dealt to the story's 'villain', while it is funny at the time, doesn't bear thinking about too closely.

Interestingly, the movie was filmed in the Isle of Man, rather than Ireland; nevertheless, the scenery is beautiful, and is complemented by some stirring Irish music (although this is a little loud in comparison with the dialogue). Overall though, this is a great film to watch to unwind a little.

The Mists of Avalon is a good story that unfortunately fails to work. At 183 minutes, it is too long, and yet the viewer is introduced to the large number of integral characters at a dizzying pace. It surely would have worked better had it been released as two movies, and the storyline slowed down somewhat.

Having said that though, the storyline is certainly exciting and involving. It is the story of the Court of Camelot and its ties to the mystic isle of Avalon, as recounted by the oft-maligned Morgaine Le Fay. It is set in ye olde Britain, where Christianity is gaining ascendancy over the ancient druid religion. In an increasingly desperate effort to keep the old ways alive, Viviane - the Lady of the Lake - shapes the destinies of Morgaine, Arthur, Gwenwyfar, Lancelot and the other familiar characters. But some of them begin to rebel at being moved around like pieces on a game board.

Why, in such a quintessential British story, were so many American actors used? They either speak painfully slowly in their attempts to sound English, or they use dreadful faux-British accents that frequently slip. And while Angelica Huston's accent is admirable, she is too strident and not ethereal enough as the Lady of the Lake. The thoroughly evil Mordred acts entirely with his eyebrows, and there are some abysmal performances in the minor roles.

Such a lavish production deserves better. The sets, scenery, and costumes are visually spectacular, but there are too many annoyances to distract the viewer. The 'mists' of the title are created through an overindulgence in smoke machines, and perhaps this is symbolic of the fact that in the wrong hands, a good story can become a bad film.

The Crucible is gripping, yet it is also frightening and terrible in the inexorable march of its protagonists towards their doom. The story is based on Arthur Miller's rendition of the infamous 1692 Salem witch trials. In this Puritan town, a group of girls are caught dancing and love-spell casting in the woods. To save themselves from being whipped, they claim it was the Devil's doing and furthermore that some of Salem's residents are compacted with Lucifer. But private vengeance is also at work here. The girls' ringleader, Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) is obsessed with a local farmer (Daniel Day-Lewis) and will stop at nothing to get him for herself. Then the court investigating the claims of witchery begins to proscribe hanging for those who won't 'confess'. . . . . . . . . .

It is unfortunate then, that a movie such as this is marred by several flaws. While it vividly and unnervingly portrays the transformation of a community into warring factions, and ultimately the disintegration into mob-mentality and mass hysteria, it also seems very stagey. You can almost see the notations in the film script - "crowd murmurs in agreement", and so on. Additionally, Day-Lewis, and particularly Ryder, play the entire film at full volume. Thus, several integral speeches get lost in the blast. However, there are some excellent performances from those in the court scenes - the steely remorselessness of Judge Danforth and the pompous and insidious questioning of Judge Hathorne. Fortunately director Nicholas Hytner has moved as much of the action as possible out of doors, which is just as well, for Puritan dwellings are no great objects of beauty.

However, despite its shortcomings and largely unadventurous cinematography, The Crucible is a film that will remain with the viewer long after its dramatic and memorable conclusion. Even in death there is triumph and redemption.

The Others is a riveting and darkly menacing thriller, yet, during the course of the film, not a drop of blood is shed and no one dies. It is a reflection on the talent of director Alejandro Amenabar that small things, like a door slamming shut in one's face or a ghostly hand upon one's cheek are far more frightening than any amount of special effects that films in this genre are increasingly becoming reliant upon. A sense of claustrophobia is introduced from the outset by the thick fog surrounding the house in which most of the action takes place, and also by the permanently closed curtains and doors that prevent sunlight from brightening the rooms.

In this house the light must always be contained, because the two young children (who live there with their mother) are photosensitive, and exposure to daylight will make them very ill. But it would seem that the family and their three somewhat mysterious servants are not the only inhabitants of the darkened house. Footsteps are heard, doors are opened, curtains are removed, but search as they may, nobody can find the perpetrators of these actions. And it would seem that whatever these beings are, they bear an ever-increasing amount of malevolent ill will towards the family.

The film's conclusion is unexpected, even for those viewers who have managed to second-guess an earlier plot twist prior to its revelation. The surprise factor is at least partly due to the outstanding performances by the cast; special mention must be made of Alakina Mann, who is a young actress with a very bright future. This film is an example of outstanding cinematic production, and to maximise its impact, it is best watched in a darkened room.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is much darker and more insidious in nature than 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is not meant as a criticism; indeed, it is partly due to the undercurrent of menace, that this second filmic journey into the wizarding world surpasses its predecessor in terms of quality, enjoyment and heart-in-your-mouth scares. While it is funny and light-hearted in places, it doesn't gloss over the unpleasant aspects of life, and deals with racism in particular.

It is Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but owing to a blocked up wizarding portal, a flying Ford Anglia, and a whomping willow, the beginning of the term is far from ideal. Then Harry begins to hear voices in the walls of the school; voices that no one else is aware of. It would seem that the fabled Chamber of Secrets has been opened, and that the horror residing within has been unleashed upon the students.

It is nice to see how the young actors have developed their roles, although Ron's (Rupert Grint) slightly overdone comedic style would perhaps be more suited to stage performance. The real stars of the film however, are not the actors, but the wonderful and intricately detailed sets. From Hogwarts' gothic cathedral, to the glorious muddle of the Weasley household (complete with self-washing dishes and self-knitting jumpers), to the grime and nastiness of Knockturn Alley, the built sets are far more impressive than the CGI wizardry. In particular, the Quidditch match takes far too long and isn't really all that exciting. Having said that though, the computer-animated outsize spider sequence will likely scare the socks off small children, and probably even some parents as well!