BULL DURHAM

A sex comedy about baseball and why the hell not! I guess if you're a fan baseball can be a real turn-on and it certainly is for Susan Sarandon, the fan who makes a point of sleeping with a new player each season and this season it's the turn of big lug Tim Robbins and let's just say that in or out of the sack these two are hot but then so is Kevin Costner as the older player assigned to Robbins' case leaving Sarandon with something of a dilemma. Written, (brilliantly), and directed, (brilliantly), by Ron Shelton and terrifically acted by the three leading actors this had classic written all over it when it appeared in 1988 and it's stood the test of time beautifully. "Bull Durham" is a sex comedy that is both sexy and funny and, believe it or not, it's pretty good on baseball, too.

THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING

"The Whole Town's Talking" may hardly be typical John Ford or indeed, for that matter, typical Edward G. Robinson, (it's a screwball comedy for starters), but it's a gem and Robinson is positively magnificent in the dual role of a mild-mannered clerk and the Nation's Number One Most Wanted. Naturally the clerk is mistaken for the criminal giving Robinson ample opportunity to send himself up. Throw in a wise-cracking Jean Arthur at her very best and a supporting cast that includes Donald Meek, Wallace Ford, Edward Brophy and that great and underrated character actor Etienne Giradot and you may have one of Ford's least typical but most enjoyable films. A treat from start to finish.

L.I.E.

L.I.E. was 17 year old Paul Dano's sophomore film. He plays a 15 year old troubled teen who forms an unlikely relationship with the local neighbourhood paedophile, (a magnificent Brian Cox). Michael Cuesta's film is a darkly funny look at an aspect of growing up in 21st century America not often tackled in the cinema. It certainly doesn't pull its punches and it benefits considerably from Cox's performance. He doesn't do anything to make his character sympathetic but he is recognizably human and not always in a bad way; in fact, it's the film's and Cox's triumph to make his character the most likeable person on screen. Dano, too, shows considerable promise here and there's a very nice performance from Billy Kay as a young hustler. The film was a huge hit on the Indie circuit even if it was never going to find a mass audience. Not seen much now, it is worth seeking out.

STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND

Minor Ford at his most homespun and with Will Rogers in the lead they don't come much more homespun than this piece of Americana. Of course, minor Ford is still pretty good when set beside some of his rivals. This one is almost a companion piece to "Judge Priest" with Rogers' steamboat captain racing his boat against a rival while trying to clear his nephew from a charge of murder. Rogers is excellent and there's a fine supporting cast of Ford regulars but as the young lovers Anne Shirley and John McGuire are terrible. Still, it's richly atmospheric, at times verging on the poetic and if you think the scenes with Stepin Fetchit are more than a little racist try to remember when it was made and the period in which it is set and put it into some kind of historical perspective and be thankful we are living in more enlightened times. The race itself, (and it's a long time coming), is superb