A Good Year (2006)

Adapted by Ridley Scott from Peter Mayle’s novel, this is a surprisingly low-key drama. Russell Crowe stars as Max, a London-based trader who inherits his uncle’s home and vineyard in Provence. He travels to the estate, which he plans to sell, but slowly becomes absorbed into a simpler, quieter way of life and falls for a local (Marion Cotillard). Albert Finney plays Uncle Henry, who we only get to meet in flashback, and Abbie Cornish plays the young Californian visitor who may or may not be his daughter.

It’s appealing escapism, but ultimately it’s light, forgettable fluff. The scenic locations look nice and there’s a lot of wine. But the wine sub-plot isn’t satisfyingly explained: was the lousy produce being used to jinx the sale of the estate or was it intended to obscure their better wines as part of a shady business trick?

An enjoyable enough two hours, it only works because Crowe is so charismatic and magnetic.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Superb biographical whistleblower thriller/human drama starring Julia Roberts as the young legal clerk who took on Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and sued them for water contamination in Hinkley, California. 

Roberts is remarkable in this role – she makes every moment of every scene count. It’s such a vivid and entirely believable performance that it's difficult to imagine anyone else doing it better. Albert Finney is excellent, too. He plays her boss, a lawyer nearing retirement, whose cynicism is challenged by Erin’s refreshingly unorthodox approach. 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it looks good too. He really captures the beauty of the dusty California landscapes that contain an ugly secret. It’s a long film, but every detail matters and contributes something to the unfolding drama. Character and story are kept central throughout.

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

In the third film in the series, Jason Bourne is still on the run and still trying to piece together his past. Plus, he’s continuing his attempts to expose corruption within the CIA. It’s a clever continuation of the first two films (you could argue that they simply made the second film again) that manages to develop the story and character as well. 

Matt Damon continues to pace around and cross the road a lot, escaping from vicious killers and generally evading capture again and again. Julia Stiles appears for the third time as the CIA’s Nicky Parsons and Joan Allen returns as CIA deputy director Pamela Landy. The baddies working within the agency are played by David Strathairn and Albert Finney. There’s even a journalist (Paddy Considine) who works for The Guardian. 

It’s fast cut, with director Paul Greengrass using the same jerky-camera “documentary” style he employed in United 93 and The Bourne Supremacy. The action sequences are brilliantly done, and you end up glued to the screen as you try to fathom how Bourne can possibly stay alive through these increasingly desperate situations.

As with The Bourne Supremacy, the title makes no sense.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

Kitchen-sink drama, written as a novel and then adapted for film by Alan Sillitoe, starring Albert Finney as Arthur Seaton. A smooth-talking factory worker who is dating two women, including the wife of a work colleague, Arthur lives life to the full until events begin to catch up with him.

It’s superbly scripted, with sharp, rapid-fire dialogue bringing the characters to life. There’s plenty of wit and pathos throughout. The fairground sequence – in which Seaton fails to evade two soldiers intent on beating him up – is especially dynamic.

It’s also an amazingly vivid portrait of industrial England in the post-war years – a grey and grim world that would soon undergo modernisation.