Kiss The Boys Goodbye - Connie Haines

Advantages: great characters, great story
Disadvantages: not a huge amount of romance

...takes charge of Kate's fate and sorts her out both a flat and a job. The flat is a shared situation with two boys, Harry and Dant, who would obviously rather be left alone with one another (although Kate isn't entirely sure why!). The job belongs to the girl who used to share the flat with them, in a publishers company working under demanding Jennifer and nervy Elaine. Kate hates both the job and the flat - but, hey, she only has to put up with both for four months so everything is going to be okay - right? Anyway, she has made friends with Isobel, in the meantime, and she has also bonded with Cressida, Dant's twin sister who owns the flat in which they live, so there is an upside to it all. And gradually she begins to get to know Harry and Dant and realises they've got hidden depths she may never have imagined initially. Then one day... Read review

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Advantages: Jet Li, need I say more?
Disadvantages: Poor script, story not the most orginal

...After the success of "The Matrix", more and more films are leaning in the same direction, wire work fights, slow motion/bullet-time etc etc. Of course none of which being able to compare with the likes of "The Matrix". The only film that has managed to pull off such a good bullet-time effect that it can give "The Matrix" a run for its money is the exploding hostage at the beginning of "Swordfish", one of the most under ratted but one of the most enjoyable actioners that year. Also in 2001, we saw the release of "Kiss Of The Dragon", a film that dares to be different, going back to the grindhouse roots of martial arts movies with no wires, no digital effects, only gritty, raw hand to hand combat that is second to none. "Kiss Of The Dragon" stars a very fast and very furious Jet Li ("The One", "Romeo Must Die") in the mean streets of Paris... Read review

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Advantages: Superb acting, engaging storyline
Disadvantages: Kassovitz is miscast as a skinhead

...WHAT IS IT: La Haine is a French film - shot in black and white and released in 1995 - directed and written by Mathieu Kassovitz. It is in French with English subtitles and is around 90 minutes long. The film centres around 3 young men living on an impoverished housing estate in France. Vinz (Vincent Cassel), a French Jew, is full of rage at the injustices he is subjected to and the constant state of tension between the police and local youths in the aftermath of riots. Said is a talkative Maghrebin (French but of Moroccan/Algerian/Tunisian/Libyan/Mauritanian descent) who shares Vinz's dislike of the police but tries to keep the peace between everyone. Hubert is an Afro-French boxer and drug dealer who is philosophical about the situation he sees around him even when his gym gets burnt down during the riots. He suspects Vinz may have... Read review

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