Ross Bradford - Top Movie Picks

Is he a madman or a genius? You decide.

Ross Bradford's Top Movie Picks (See Ross's Picks Archive)

2008 Reviews

Hancock 3/5 Stars Couldn’t quite make up its mind whether it was a comedy or action picture. Should have stuck with the first option. (review July 2008)

Get Smart 4/5 Stars The new 86 and 99 find some of that old chemistry (review July 2008)

Mongol 4/5 Stars Who would have guessed you would wind up cheering for the young Genghis Khan(review July 2008)

The Happening 3/5 Stars. Uneven script, uneven performances. (Review June 2008)

The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian 5/5 Stars. Will each episode continue to be better than the last? (Review June 2008)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 4/5 Stars. Pretty much what you’d expect from Indy and there’s nothing wrong with that. (Review June 2008)

Son of Rambow 4/5 Stars. A sweet and sentimental ending, and there’s nothing wrong with that (Review June 2008)

Ironman 4/5 Stars Robert Downey Jr. can do the wise cracking super hero routine. (review May 2008)

Fugitive Pieces 5/5 Stars It was not all sweetness and light for the survivors. (review May 2008)

Deception 3/5 Stars. The plot “twists” really aren’t that deceptive. (review April 2008)

The Counterfeiters 4/5 Stars. What would you do to survive? (review April 2008)

Smart People 4/5 Stars. Smart cast. (review April 2008)

Leatherheads 4/5 Stars. Sure we may have seen it all before, but this homage to the past is pleasant enough fare. (review April 2008)

21 2/5 Stars. No luck charm. (review Mar 2008).

10,000 B.C. 3/5 Stars. The Mammoths were pretty cool. (Review Mar 2008)

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 4/5 Stars. Who says they can’t make screwball any more? (review Mar 2008)

In Bruges 5/5 Stars. Colin Farrell knows how to do twitchy. (review Feb 2008)

The Savages 4/5 Stars. Well acted gloom. (review Feb 2008)

There will be Blood 5/5 Stars. In spite of what you may hear the ending was just about right. (review Jan 2008)

Atonement 4/5 Stars. Saorise, Romola and Vanessa who can choose who did the better job? (review Jan 2008)

Juno 5/5 Stars. Chalk one up for the two Canadian Kids. (review Jan 2008).

Charlie Wilson’s War 4/5 Stars. Makes you nostalgic for the good old days of the cold war. (review Jan 2008)

2007 Reviews

Golden Compass 4/5 Stars. I haven’t read the books so I quite enjoyed it. (review Dec 2007)

I am Legend 3/5 Stars. Samantha the dog steals this one. (review Dec 2007)

No Country for Old Men 5/5 Stars. Meet Anton Chigurh, the most chilling psychopath since HAL 9000. (review Nov 2007)

American Gangster 4/5 Stars. A good but not great Godfather for the 2000’s. (review Nov 2007)

Darjeeling Limited 4/5 Stars. Listen up, Wes Anderson’s three best films are: Darjeeling Limited, Rushmore and Bottle Rocket, can we agree on that? (review Nov 2007)

Michael Clayton 4/5 Stars. What happens when you try to “Fix” a fixer? Wilkinson steals this one from Clooney. (review Oct 2007)

The Assassination of Jesse James, by the Coward Robert Ford 5/5 Stars. Remember those great movies they used to make in the seventies, this one might just top those. (review Oct 2007)

Gone Baby Gone 4/5 Stars. Casey shows which brother is the better actor. (review Oct 2007)

The Seeker, The Dark is Rising 3/5 Stars. Eccleston was much more engaging as the Doctor. (review Oct 2007)

2 Days in Paris 4/5 Stars. Who would guess that Chandler’s creepy roommate could pal a romantic leading man? With Julie Delpy no less! (review Oct 2007)

Eastern Promises 4/5 Stars. Yes, the knife fight scene is everything you’ve heard about. (review Sept 2007)

3:10 to Yuma 4/5 Stars. An existentialist western?? Works pretty well with Christian and Russell. (review Sept 2007)

Interview 3/5 Stars. Doesn’t quite ring true. (review Sept 2007)

The Last Legion 3/5 Stars. The search for the new Gladiator continues. (review Aug 2007)

Stardust 5/5 Stars. A Princess Bride for the 2000’s. (review Aug 2007)

Becoming Jane 4/5 Stars. Was Jane’s life really like this? Probably not but diverting all the same. (review Aug 2007)

Bourne Ultimatum 4/5 Stars. A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. (review August 2007)

Sunshine 4/5 Stars. Outshines Armageddon (review August 2007)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 4/5 Stars. I like the darker Harry. (review July 2007)

Black Book 4/5 Stars. Verhoeven should stay close to his roots. (review July 2007)

Live Free or Die Hard 3/5 Stars. Too much suspension of disbelief required. (review 2007)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End 4/5 Stars Better than part 2! (review June 2007)

La Vie en Rose 4/5 Stars You won’t regret watching Marion Cotillard’s performance. (review June 2007)

Fantastic Four, Rise of the Silver Surfer 3/5 Stars. Not that fantastic. (review June 2007)

Paris Je t’aime 4/5 Stars. Je T’aime the vampire episode. (review June 2007)

Away from me 4/5 Stars. Christie has more ”it” than stars half her age. (review May 2007)

Waitress 4/5 Stars. What might Adrienne Shelly have become as a director…? (review May 2007)

The Hoax 3/5 Stars. Alfred Molina steals this one. (review May 2007)

Fracture 4/5 Stars. Sir Anthony does not disappoint. (review Apr 2007)

Amazing Grace 4/5 Stars. Albert Finney the best of a fine ensemble cast. (review Apr 2007)

Next 3/5 Stars. Yes, lets move on quickly. (review Apr (2007)

The Host 4/5 Stars. Homer Simpson meets Godzilla and all set in Korea! (review Mar 2007)

Lives of Others 4/5 Stars. Why did Ulrich Muhe not get an Oscar nomination? Why didn’t he win?? (review Mar 2007)

300 3/5 Stars. Style over substance, but we knew that already. (review Mar 2007)

Days of Glory 4/5 Stars. A North African “Saving Private Ryan”. Not bad for all that. (Review Mar 2007)

Breach 4/5 Stars. Once again Cooper does his stuff. (review Feb 2007)

Hannibal Rising 2/5 Stars. Just what was that look on Gaspard’s face??? (review Feb 2007)

The Painted Veil 5/5 Stars. Story telling at its old fashioned best. (review Jan 2007)

Notes on a Scandal 4/5 Stars. The formidable Dame Dench will give you the shivers. Were you naughty as a school child? (review Jan 2007)

The Good Shepherd 5/5 Stars. Not boring at all. Matt can carry a film. (review Jan 2007)

Children of Men 3/5 Stars. “28 Days Later”, meets “1984”, meets “The Pianist”. Not as original as it thinks it is. (review Jan 2007

Volver 4/5 Stars. Penelope does it better in Spanish. (review Jan 2007)

Pan’s Labyrinth 5/5 Stars. Beware the Pale Man. The best of 2006 in any language. (review Jan 2007)

The Last King of Scotland 4/5 Stars. Forest pretty much has to carry this one, and he can carry the load. (review Jan 2007)

Letters from Iwo Jima 5/5 Stars. Sentiment aside, shouldn’t Clint really win the Oscar. (review Feb 2007)

Ross Bradford's Top Picks of the 20th Century

Greatest Movies:

Intolerance (1916)

Napoleon (1927)

City Lights (1931)

Philadelphia Story (1940)

Casablanca (1942)

A Touch of Evil (1958)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Henry V (1989)

Glory (1989)

Prospero's Books (1991)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Regeneration (1997)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Thin Red Line (1998)

Last Night (1999)

Sixth Sense (1999)

Ride with the Devil (1999)

The Next 25:

The Gold Rush (1925)

All quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Alexander Nevsky (1938)

Maltese Falcon (1941)

Laura (1944)

The Searchers (1956)

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

War and Peace (1967)

Taxi Driver (1976)

Deer Hunter (1978)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Romeo is Bleeding (1993)

Greatest Movie Soundtracks:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

American Graffiti ( 1973)

The Great Gatsby ( 1974)

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Manhattan (1979)

All that Jazz (1979)

Cotton Club (1984)

Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Oh Brother Where Art Thou ( 2000)

Please help keep this website current. Please send suggestions and reports on broken links to: