The story of Stuart Sutcliffe, the fifth Beatle, is the basis for this superior bio-pic. In 1960 the Fab 5 set off for Hamburg, where they discover that sex and drugs go hand in hand with rock n' roll. But when Stu falls in love with Astrid, his close friendship with John Lennon and indeed his whole future, is threatened. A brilliant film. find out more...

Chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster.
High production values and a fine ensemble cast: HBO knows how to do TV.

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This dramatic history of Chicago's Chess Records has a superb soundtrack(though it consists almost entirely of covers) and its insights into the relationship between white money making businessmen and poor black talent back in the stifling '50s more than makes up for its overwrought melodrama, historic inaccuracies and poor script. find out more...

Winner of an Oscar for "Best Documentary", this film (beautifully shot in black and white) recaptures the life and music of the late, great jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. The founder of the Californian school of "Cool Jazz" this film is in itself remarkably cool and stylish. find out more...

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A mesmerising dramatisation of one of the kings, Ray Charles. Unsurprisingly the soundtrack is pure bliss, but it is Jamie Foxx in the title role that pulls everything together, an hypnotic performance of a music legend, through all his highs and lows, and one of those increasingly rare examples of a leading actor Oscar that actually makes sense. find out more...

It's all sweetness and light in this moving music biopic classic of Glen Miller's impressive rise to fame with June Allyson playing his childhood sweetheart and James Stewart outstanding as the man himself. It's got all the great arrangements from 'Pensylvania 6-500' to 'Moonlight Serenade', all scored by Henry Mancini in homage to Miller's style, plus Louis Armstrong makes an appearance playing 'Basin Street Blues' and Frances Langford does 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo'. find out more...

After the 11th September 2001 the War Against Terror is preparing to move on to Iraq. The UN have sent in the weapons inspectors to find if Saddam has indeed Weapons of Mass Destruction and the political machines in both the UK and US are working to present the strongest possible case for war in the face of (in the UK) very vocal opposition from the public. With the dossiers released and the threat established the "need for war" is set and, on the 19th March 2003, th find out more...

A journalist in search of a story meets a mentally ill musician, Nathaniel Ayers, on the streets of LA and, through a succession of stories, attempts to better his and all the homeless community's lot. This isn't just a sincere movie about community politics and the need to help the less fortunate, it's a vibrant telling of the basic insanity of city life adapted from the memoirs of LA Times columnist Steve Lopez. find out more...