The latest releases reviewed

ROMANZO CRIMINALE/ CRIME STORY
Directed by Michele Placido. Starring Kim Rossi Stuart, Anna Mouglalis 18 cert
****

Set against turbulent political events between 1977 and 1992, this vigorous gangster movie follows three childhood friends as they build a criminal empire in Rome. While it doesn't aspire to the scale and ambition of The Best of Youth (from the same writers), it makes for arresting cinema with sturdy performances.

A GOOD YEAR
Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard 12 cert
*

There may well be an entertaining movie in Peter Mayle's reminiscences on life as an Englishman in Provence, but his book has found an entirely wrong match in the humour- impaired Gladiator team of Scott and Crowe. This tedious movie falters time and again in its eagerness to entertain.

MICHAEL DWYER