Hillz Sportbike Rider

A movie of it's time, probably a good vehicle to introduce white audiences to rap music. "Rabbit" is not a fully formed character - showing bravado and machismo on occasion only to predictably "choke" in front of an audience. As widely noted Basinger is the revelation with her stand out performance. If you are a fan of Eminem it is certainly worth seeing but he is still in the formative stages of his rap career and this one off feature is an interesting roadmark.

It is hard to imagine someone coming to this film over 20 yrs after its release without an insight as to the core premise. If you are such a person, hold on. The performances put in by Norton, Pitt and Bonham-Carter are extraordinary in an atmosphere where the viewer thinks they know what is in store, but they are mistaken. Whilst criticised in some quarters as reinforcing the patriarchy and male self-gratification via violence (it probably does) the film is unapologetic about it - true to the book upon which it is based. Brilliant - until the last act. It seems the screenwriter simply could not reconcile what had been created by the storyline and the climax is less then what the film deserved.

This is a seriously significant achievement. Capturing devastating grief and combining it with laugh out loud moments (Annette Crosbie's cameo is beyond laugh out loud) is not to be underestimated in difficulty. Gervais (who I have not always been a fan of) shows what splendour he is capable of in his various roles in this series. If a TV show can make you genuinely feel devastated at one time and elated at another ... what more can you ask?