‘Robin Hood’
Reviewed by Christy Hogan
This historical piece stars Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong and Danny Huston. There is action a-plenty in this Ridley Scott version of the Nottingham do-gooder’s story. In fact the arrows descend at an alarming rate almost like confetti at a wedding.

This version of the story deviates from earlier tellings in that it concentrates on the early career of Robin Hood and serves as a sort of prequel to the story of Robin of Loxley.

In this reworking of the legend, Robin Hood (Crowe) returns from France having fought alongside the now-deceased King Richard. He returns to England and finds rampant corruption and exploitation. People are being evicted from their homes having failed to pay exorbitant rents (sounds familiar) to the crown.

He teams up with Lady Marian (Blanchett) and a motley crew of pugilists to fight against poverty and injustice. There are lashings of bows and arrows and pikes and swords to keep the action boiling and the viewers on the edge of their seats.

Surprisingly, arrows do manage to find their mark despite an abundance of chain mail and shields. As you would expect from the team that brought us Gladiator, the action is gritty and believable and fight scenes are bloody and tightly choreographed. This is a lively movie and there are some memorable scenes between Crowe and Blanchett.
Marks: 8 out of 10

‘The Ghost’
Reviewed by Christy Hogan
This film, directed by Roman Polanski, was adapted from his own novel by Robert Harris. The actors include Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Jon Bernthal, Kim Cattreall, Tim Preece, James Belushi and Olivia Williams.

A ghost writer (McGregor) lands the plum job of writing the memoirs of former UK Prime Minister, Alan Lang (Brosnan). Having been at 10 Downing Street for over a decade, Lang has retired to the US with his wife Ruth, (Williams).

He is living on an island in a mansion and money is no object. Luxury and ostentation abound. The house’s security is akin to Fort Knox and he has secretaries and chauffeurs to beat the band.

Lang then gets tainted with a scandal with international repercussions. It appears that Lang would have done anything to stay in the USA’s good books during his tenure as prime minister.

The ghost writer at this juncture realises that this controversy is of international importance. Before he closes the deal with the publishing company he is convinced that the details of the draft copy contain highly sensitive material.

This movie is slick and a bit complicated in spots but worth the effort in the long run. It is a good old-fashioned political thriller.

The suggestion of similarities with Tony Blair is evident in the early stages of the film, but I don’t think the analogy holds for the full length of the picture.
Marks: 8 out of 10