Lord of War
At the beginning of the film, Nicolas Cage knows what end
of a gun he wants to be on, so he starts a career as an arms-dealer.
Andrew Niccol’s movie makes gun-running appear as a
glamorous and lucrative profession.
Danny Deckchair
Bored with his lot, Rhys Ifans ties some helium balloons onto
his deckchair and floats off to a better life in Outback Australia.
This movie tends to over sentimentalize a true story which
involved a Sydney cement truck driver.
Last Days
This Gus Van Sant movie is supposedly based on the last days
of Kurt Cobain, the infamous Rock Star, leading up to his
suicide. In typical Gus Van Sant style the movie meanders
along and appears to be meaningless.
Jarhead
Criticized for not being critical enough of the Desert Storm
charade, this movie still makes its anti-war stance abundantly
clear in a low-key way. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx make
the most of their stereo-type roles.
The River King
Edward Burns is a stubborn police officer who suspects that
a suicide is not what it seems and refuses to let the case
go, even though his superior warns him off it. The movie is
a bit muddled, and it is not clear what is going on.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
Set in an idealized 1950’s, Julianne Moore keeps food
on her family’s table by winning jingle-writing competitions.
Julianne is so sweet and wholesome, that all you want to do
is just throw up all over her sparkling linoleum floors.
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking
This is not the Sherlock Holmes you will be expecting. There
is much opium smoking, and Sherlock certainly enjoys his cocaine
solution. The movie also involves a rather weird sexual fetish.
Rupert Everett makes a great Sherlock.
Festival
If you have ever wanted to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
you can save yourself the bother by watching this movie. For
a movie about a Comedy Festival it really isn’t all
that funny. Stand-up comedians are very egotistical.
The Tenants
Dylan McDermott and Snoop Dogg are the only tenants in a large
tenement that the greedy owner wants to demolish. They also
happen to be writers and artistic rivals. Everyone goes blah
blah blah a lot. Bring on the bulldozers!
Saraband
Legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman creates a stately
and measured movie dealing with time and memory and life and
death. His usual obsessive themes. It is heavy going but ultimately
rewarding. Liv Ullmann is dazzling.
In The Mix
This film has been created to showcase the talents of Super-Sex-Star
Usher. That is, if he has any. It deals with a hip African-American
man who lands a job protecting the daughter of a Mafia Don.
Figure out the rest for yourself.
Daltry Calhoun
Quentin Tarantino produces this oddball comedy that fails
to ignite. Daltry is a likeable entrepreneur, facing bankruptcy,
when he is suddenly lumbered with his long-lost daughter.
Father and daughter get to bond. I guess that’s it.
Polish Wedding
This movie has nothing to do with a wedding at all. It is
really just a slice-of-life set in the Detroit Polish Community.
Lena Olin and Claire Danes, as mother and daughter, both give
good performances in this low-key comedy.
November
Did Courteney Cox’s boyfriend really get shot in a convenience
store hold-up? Who took the pictures she finds in her slide
carousel? What is reality and what is fantasy? This is arty-farty
nonsense of the worst possible kind.
Paradise Now
This Academy Award nominated movie follows the probable last
48 hours of a pair of Palestine Suicide Bombers. The movie
is not as ‘heavy’ as you would expect. There is
much unforeseen humor which takes you by surprise.
You Can Count On Me
Laura Linney gives a fabulous performance in this adsorbing
drama about a woman who realizes she has grown apart from
her unruly younger brother, when he comes for a surprise visit,
and she doesn’t know what to do about it.
Three Extremes
This movie presents three horror stories. One comes from Taiwan,
one from Japan, and one from Korea. One is good, one is bad
and one is indifferent. It is up to you to decide which is
which, but, the Taiwanese one is very freaky!
Just Friends
At high school Ryan Reynolds was a big fat blob, in love with
the most popular girl in his class. Fast-forward a few years
and Ryan is a hunky stud holding down a fabulous job. He returns
to town and you can guess the rest.
Look Both Ways
This movie shows how eager Australia can sometimes be to ape
American trends. The movie is an ‘inter-connecting’
narrative, with various stories going on, which are loosely
linked by a railway accident or possible suicide.
Oliver Twist
Roman Polanski is best-known for his horror stories, but,
he does make the occasional serious drama. Unfortunately,
his adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’
is a dull affair, yet, it saves you the effort of reading
the book.
Bob The Butler
Tom Green, as Bob the Butler, is desperate for familial love
so he ingratiates himself into the family of Brooke Shields
(of all people) and makes himself indispensable to them. Words
cannot describe how nauseous this movie is.
Riding The Bullet
This is an adaptation of a minor Stephen King novella. Hitchhiking,
at night, to visit his sick mother, a college student, circa
1970, is confronted by ghosts of his imagination. Or are they?
Or has he just smoked too much damn pot?
Mozart & The Whale
What is the fascination movie-makers have concerning love
stories between mentally-retarded people? It’s a delicate
issue and must be handled tactfully. This movie makes its
points with a sledge-hammer. It is an embarrassment.
The Nun’s Story
Fred Zinnemann’s 1958 controversial movie caused a sensation
at the time, for its stark portrayal of the life of a nun.
Audrey Hepburn proves she can wear anything. She looks great
in a habit. But her eye make-up is a bit much.
Intolerance
D. W. Griffith’s legendary, but flawed, 1916 masterpiece
has been re-issued from a 35mm archival print, featuring a
new stereo score by Joseph Turrin. This is essential viewing.
It is where ‘inter-connecting’ narratives all
began.
