THE IDES OF MARCH

Dir: George Clooney - Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Evan Rachel Wood

I've always had a soft spot for a US political drama, and this compelling effort comes on something like a more serious take on the Clintonesque dramedy Primary Colours.

As in that film, we follow a relatively young political consultant (Gosling), this time trying to help elect a potential democratic presidential nominee (Clooney). Backroom shenanigans and moral complexities quickly multiply, what with Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman playing rival campaign managers and Wood a seductive and possibly compromising intern. As pressure mounts on him, will Gosling's idealist turn to the dark side?

As with previous directorial outing, Good Night and Good Luck, George Clooney plays things straight, giving space to his excellent cast and trusting the intelligence of his audience. He is also perfect as the candidate, suave and charismatic with just a hint of darkness.

This may struggle to hold its own against the finest of such efforts – The Candidate, All The King's Men (the original) – but it's possibly because the malfeasance on display seems relatively small by contemporary standards. After all, any believable fiction will have a hard time matching the sleazy revelations in the recent corruption trial of 2008 candidate John Edwards. But it's still classy stuff.

With striking blue eyes, Sam Shepard could easily be an older version of Paul Newman's Butch Cassidy. That's who he plays in Blackthorn a beautifully shot if somewhat low-key Western which finds the former outlaw living in Bolivia, planning to return to America. Along the way he accidentally teams up with a young thief (Edward Noriega) and meets a Pinkerton detective from his younger days (Stephen Rea). The lack of action thrills is compensated for by a fine control of mood and the resultant meditation on loss, aging and the passing of time makes good use of the stunning locations and charismatic lead.

The remarkable story of America's (and possibly the world's) greatest chess player is grippingly explored in Bobby Fischer Against The World Fischer became American Chess Champion in 1958 at the age of 15 and subsequently held the world in thrall during the 1972 World Chess Championship in Iceland, where the cold war was symbolically re-enacted with Russian Boris Spassky. Then long-standing mental problems seemed to overcome him and the rest of his life was a tragic descent into paranoia and anti-Semitism. It's a strange, fascinating story, examining the fine line between genius and madness with sympathy and intelligence.

And if that exemplifies one sort of documentary, taking a specific subject and making it interesting and accessible for everyone, Brian Eno 1971-1977 The Man Who Fell to Earth is another kind. This is an unauthorised fan-led project and, if you are interested in Eno's seventies work – Roxy Music, his solo albums and collaborations with Robert Fripp, German band Cluster, and David Bowie - it will prove fascinating. There are few mainstream names interviewed (and the man himself is only briefly on screen) but there are generous contributions from minimalist composers and other obscure notables. And at two and a half hours, there's an undeniable level of detail.

Still in a musical vein, anyone who missed bits of Elvis Costello's musical interview show Spectacle – since it showed at late stupid random times on TV - will be pleased to hear it is now out on DVD. Talking to Steven from Brookfield VideoEzy we both agree this is about the best show if its kind we've seen. The interviews are informative, the music is great, the balance between the two perfect. Guests include Elton John, Lou Reed, Jakob Dylan, Norah Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Diana Krall, Smokey Robinson, Herbie Hancock, Rosanna Cash, Tony Bennett and many more.