Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

Better known as Amelie to UK viewers, this film charmed the world on it's initial release, and it's hard not to fall under the magical spell weaved, even if in po-faced cynical reflection, the film is about two social rejects stalking each other!

But such a critique is to do this film a disfavour. Amelie exudes charm and whimsy from every frame - it lightens the heart and makes one glad that films like this are still possible, in a world awash with cod-epics, torture-porn and other cynical marketing ploys.

Part of the charm comes in the whimsical setting: a sepia-toned Paris recalled from childhood memories, not from reality. It is utterly contrived, but, just like the best Coen Brothers films, you greet the contrivance with open arms and submerge yourself fully into it.

It's hard to think of a film that looks as lovely as this. Every frame is perfectly composed (albeit digitally enhanced) - this is the look and technique that Kurosawa and Kubrick dreamed of achieving, had they had the technology available to Jean-Pierre Jeunet (making a tremendous return to form after clashing with Hollywood on the dire Alien: Resurrection).

The entire cast are a delight - you could quite happily watch a film that centered on anyone of the other cast. A rare feat indeed.

But where this film succeeds most is where so many others would fail: it is kitsch, contrived and emotional, but never slips into being twee, sentimental or fake. That very, very thin line is thankfully never crossed.

Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn

In 1980, some kids clubbed some money together and made The Evil Dead. It jumped on the horror band-wagon and told a basic story of some kids staying in a cabin in the woods, beset by demons. The acting, script and special effects were all rather rudimentary. What lifted the film were the humour and the direction: moments of slapstick and a total freedom of camera movement that were utterly inspired.

Some years later, they came back and made essentially the same film again, with a bigger budget. And this time the gallows-slapstick humour and wacky camera angles were pushed to the fore. They threw everything into the pot, nothing was left out. And it works. And it’s utterly joyous, exhilarating bravado film making by some kids that didn’t really know any better.

It’s like watching an 85 minute, gore-soaked Tex Avery cartoon. Every trick they could think of is in this film. The camera is restless – it is either strapped onto the front of a motorbike and chasing Bruce Campbell through the surprisingly large interior of the small wooden cabin, or it’s strapped to Campbell himself. Or in one breath-taking shot, the camera is attached to a crane, with Bruce Campbell on a spinning device hurtling him through every branch Sam Raimi can drive him through. And when the camera isn’t moving, there’s reverse-motion acting, stop-motion animation, speeded-up film. It’s absolutely breathless.

And at the centre of it, is a largely solo performance by cult-hero Bruce Campbell – he may not win acting awards, but this is one of the most enjoyable performances ever captured on camera. Behind the camera, Sam Raimi, never better, and you almost sense him twitching with new ideas for inflicting pain on Ash/Bruce. Film-making rarely ever comes this passionate, inventive, or exciting.