1971: Straw Dogs

Goodness gracious! If you are looking for a film to make you really, really aggressive, I recommend this one featuring Dustin Hoffman as a nerdy American mathematician whom the locals in his new, English home village dislike. Of course, things get out of hand. Everybody involved certainly did a very effective job on this one - the screenplay in particular is well-constructed - but an enjoyable experience this is not. (unrated)

2010: Salt

Pointless film in which a proper plot is eschewed in favour of almost constant, but not particularly spectacular, action. Even genius cinematographer Robert Elswit apparently could not be bothered. (5.5)

2002: Femme Fatale

A heist and its aftermath have repurcussions when their protagonists meet again in Paris 7 years later and everybody's looking for revenge. This no-punches-pulled, wham-bam-bam, in-yo-face film is another quality piece of work from the underrated Brian de Palma, mainstream auteur. (7.5)

1957: Kumonosu-jô (Throne of Blood)

Kurosawa's idea behind his version of Macbeth, the overriding aesthetic principle of which is scarceness, seems to be to make Ozu look like Busby Berkeley. (7) Just the right thing to watch after Sex and the City 2, and I've also got four Rosselinis lined up.

2009: Angels & Demons

With its high production values and general wham-bam-bam-ness, the film version of Dan Brown's thriller, about the hunt for kidnapped bishops in Rome, could be more fun if the viewer had to expand less energy on suspending disbelief. (6.5)

1960: Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring)

Bergman picture, black & white, 14th century, the Swedish woods: Three brothers rape a girl, kill her, steal her distinctive dress and go on to ask for a nights rest at - tadaaa - her parents' house. They offer her mother the dress to buy, which turns out to be a bad idea, cause daddy's got a knife. This film might have been more fun if directed by Tobe Hooper. Bergman, one feels, lacks the right sensitivity for the topic. What's more, like a 19th century novelist, he simply tells everything there is to tell as if there's no hurry in the world; the film's got no rhythm. (5.5)

1967: Point Blank

The plot about a man who wants his share of the money back from his partners in crime after escaping from Alcatraz has two feet planted firmly on "not a masterpiece" ground, and the film doesn't win the Sergej M. Eisenstein Award for Outstanding Achievements in Editing either. What makes this film worth a look is the lush late-60s interior decoration of the appartments most of the film is set in. I'm not being cynical here: The interior decoration is a marvel to behold. (6)

2003: Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (Best of the Noughties: Lists and Suggestions #5)

There's too much fighting in this film. Why can't these people just get along? (5.5)