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Off the Leith

Irreverent film comment from the novelist William Leith
  • Sean Connery and Daniel Craig

    I used to admire James Bond - now I pity him

    William Leith: Every man wanted to be Bond when he was played by Sean Connery. But how many can say the same about Daniel Craig's vulnerable, chippy gym bunny?

  • George Clooney in Burn After Reading

    The Coens' recipe: make beautiful people look ugly and dumb

    Nowhere is this better done than Burn After Reading, where George Clooney and Brad Pitt are beautifully cast almost-but-not-quite against type, writes William Leith

  • Richard Gere in Nights in Rodanthe

    Richard Gere, eternal man of mystery

    Poised and graceful, he's the leading man with the idiosyncrasies of a leading lady. No one undoes buttons quite so exquisitely as he does, writes William Leith

  • Death Race

    Death Race suffers from car trouble

    William Leith

    Off the Leith: A film about racing to the death should be pretty exciting, right? Prepare to be disappointed

  • Taken

    How Taken took hold of me

    William Leith

    Liam Neeson goes from caring, ponderous presence to ultra-warrior in Taken. William Leith enjoys the ride

  • Belle Toujours

    Unlocking your inner perv, again

    William Leith

    The sequel to Belle de Jour is less about sex than the condition of being seventy, finds William Leith

  • The Women

    Fatal femmes

    What's not to like about a film where idiotic men are sidelined? Plenty, as William Leith discovered watching The Women

  • Liv Tyler in The Strangers

    Get hitched or die trying

    William Leith

    The message of today's horror films is still profoundly anti-feminist, says William Leith

  • Pineapple Express

    A pocket guide to stoner movies

    William Leith

    Pineapple Express is a textbook work of weedheads, as demonstrated by this pocket guide to drug-related films

  • The Banishment

    Rage, booze, snot and a lovely moment involving a jug: is this the most Russian film ever made?

    William Leith

    William Leith went to see The Banishment and he was so absorbed his tea went cold before he had the chance to drink it

  • You Don't Mess With the Zohan

    What I love about Adam Sandler

    William Leith

    The farting, the ogling, the repressed violence ... Sandler's gross-out characters ring true for millions of men

  • The Love Guru

    I hate The Love Guru but I still like Mike

    William Leith

    Mike Myers used to make William Leith laugh so hard he'd spit on the man in front. Their relationship has slumped - but there's still the possibility of a patch up

  • Baby Mama

    Getting away with birth

    William Leith

    Baby Mama is a parade of cliches but, like its central character, let someone else take the load and just relax into its embrace, advises William Leith

  • Summer Hours (L'Heure D'Ete)

    Keep your donkey punches. I like a nice French kiss

    William Leith

    Good food, arty chat, hesitant driving, a nice vase. If only all films were as dull as Summer Hours

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