Ace in the Hole - MatthewHunt

a startling portrait of an England rarely seen on screen. Surely no one but Clarke could have
caught it so perfectly.
River's Edge
(Tim Hunter, 1986)
Bleak forerunner to Kids. Slacker teens barely old enough to tie their own laces (let alone roll
joints or steal beers) blankly cover up the casual murder of one of their peers. A conspiracy of
apathy follows, with dysfunctional role model Dennis Hopper the only adult Keanu Reeves,
Crispin Glover and Ione Skye can relate to.
Roberto Succo
(Cedric Kahn, 2001)
Deeply disturbing picture about the real-life spree-killer and existential bandit Roberto Succo,
with a stunning performance from Italian actor Stefano Cassetti. Succo robs, kills, defies the
law, stays on the run - and somehow has time to take transient jobs and seduce young
women at discos. He is motiveless, utterly unafraid and indeed unaware of the consequences
of his actions: which makes him very dangerous indeed.
Robocop
(Paul Verhoeven, 1987)
Verhoeven's techno-dystopian vision of the critically wounded cop turned into a crime-fighting
demi-robot was a brilliant piece of sci-fi satire. It may not have outshone James Cameron's
Terminator, but it had its supporters nonetheless. It's genuinely scary and funny.
Rock'n'Roll High School
(Allan Arkush, 1979)
Put teenagers and rock music together, and rebellion is never far behind, or generic youth
cinema. This transcends its disposable premise, though, and explodes into a good-natured
campus apocalypse. Part of its appeal is the way it casts the Ramones as the greatest band
ever, and the vivacious PJ Soles as their illicit schoolgirl promoter.
Roger & Me
(Michael Moore, 1989)
Moore originated his brand of confrontational documentary with this elegy for his workingclass
hometown, which was devastated when General Motors closed down operations there
in the 1980s. The film-maker itemises the human costs of bare-fangs capitalism with varying
degrees of snark, whimsy, and focused anger.
Rollerball
(Norman Jewison, 1975)
In a wacky "perfect, too perfect" future, all international conflicts are settled in the Rollerball
arena by teams of murderous rollerskaters-cum-thugs, the greatest of whom is James Caan's
existential doubter Jonathan E. Entirely ridiculous dystopian sci-fi that still somehow compels
fascination.
Roman Holiday
(William Wyler, 1953)
We don't have princesses any more, much less stars like Audrey Hepburn. She's a princess
on the lam, and Gregory Peck is the journalist who gives her some fun before duty closes in. I
suppose Princess Margaret inspired the film - alas, it didn't do the same for her.
Rome Open City
(Roberto Rossellini, 1945)
Neo-realist masterwork from Rossellini, filming his story of partisan actions against the Nazis
while fighting - for real - was still going on in the city. As never since, you see how modern
European cinema was forged out of the rubble of the second world war.