An American Affair
Gretchen Mol is superb in this terrific adult drama set in Washington D.C., in 1963. It is the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and The Bay of Pigs. John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Administration is hitting its stride, but, behind the scenes, winds of discontent are swirling. Gretchen Mol stars as a beautiful, blonde woman who moves into a town house opposite a family with a teenage boy. At an age when he is becoming interested in girls, the boy starts to spy on Gretchen, and soon his curiosity is enflamed. Determined to learn all he can about his new neighbor, the boy discovers that Gretchen has a regular, mysterious, late night V.I.P. caller. Produced and directed by William Olsson, the movie develops into a fascinating political thriller.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
For those of you familiar with Charles Dickens’ famous novel ‘A Christmas Carol’, the plot of this romantic-comedy won’t hold very many surprises. However, the movie, directed by Mark Waters, does have some rather nice moments of gentle situation comedy. Matthew McConaughey, looking pretty trim and terrific, stars as a determined bachelor and playboy, who, on the eve of his brother’s wedding, where he is to act as a reluctant Best Man, is visited by the Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Present and Future. They are to show him the errors of his ways. Jennifer Garner is also very appealing as Matthew’s childhood girlfriend, who still harbors much affection for him.
Drag Me to Hell
Sam Raimi is an American master-director of horror movies. Some of his films include: ‘The Evil Dead’ (1983), ‘Dead by Dawn’ (1987) and ‘Army of Darkness’ (1992). With his latest horror story, ‘Drag Me to Hell’, Sam Raimi has made another instant classic. A bank clerk, eager to impress her boss and gain a promotion, refuses a little old Eastern-European lady an extension on her home loan, consequently dispossessing her. Humiliated in front of everyone in the bank, the little old lady places a devastating curse on the bank clerk. Sam Raimi presents a new kind of ‘victim’ in this movie. The bank clerk is actually a bit ‘dumb’ and ‘timid’, and doesn’t deserve the horrors she is put through. The movie has its fair share of thrills and chills. Look out for the ‘fly’ scene, which owes a lot to the art of Alfred Hitchcock!
The Haunting in Connecticut
This is another gripping horror story, and it is supposedly based on real life events. Directed by Peter Cornwell, the movie tells the story of a family who rent a house in Connecticut, so that they can be near the hospital where their teenage son is receiving experimental treatment for cancer. Shortly after moving into the house the horror commences, but, the sick boy is unsure if he is really seeing things, or simply experiencing hallucinations as a side effect of his cancer treatment. Pretty soon, though, there is no denying that something is going on. If the events depicted in this movie were anything like those in real life, then it must have been a truly terrifying experience.
Public Enemies
Michael Mann is the noted director of the movies ‘Collateral’ (2004) and ‘Miami Vice’ (2006). In his latest movie, ‘Public Enemies’, Michael Mann looks at some of the better known episodes from America’s criminal past. The movie follows the Rise and Fall of the gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd, and, it also studies the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or, the F.B.I. The movie concentrates fairly heavily on Dillinger’s story, and though most of us are probably aware of Dillinger’s legend, his story having been filmed many times before, Mann is able to bring an inventiveness to his version of the events, which keeps our interest throughout the ‘epic’. Johnny Depp, as Dillinger, proves once again that he is the best Leading American Movie Star of his generation.
Bruno
That idiotic comedian Sacha Baron Cohen follows up his unexpected hit, ‘Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’ (2006), with the invention of a new outrageous movie persona. ‘Bruno’ is a totally over-the-top gay fashion commentator in Austria, and when he looses his Viennese TV fashion show, he decides to move to Los Angeles to become internationally famous. The movie takes the form of Bruno bombarding a series of un-expecting L.A. real life agents, producers, PR consultants, and other sleazy members on the periphery of L.A. show business, with stupid questions about how to become rich and famous. Bruno then sits back to record and watch their reactions. Australian ex-pats familiar with the ‘Norman Gunston’ TV show will recognize the formula. The movie is guaranteed to amuse and offend just about everybody.
Bathory
This formidable Hungarian film, which is directed by Juraj Jakubisko and stars Anna Friel, investigates the life of the early 17th Century Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She has the reputation of being the greatest murderess in the history of mankind. She was credited with torturing her female victims, bathing in their blood, and tearing their flesh from their bodies while they were still alive. But, was this all just a fabrication put about by a jealous nobility, envious of her wealth? The movie investigates her established legend, while still dabbling in black magic and other such like macabre practices. The movie also features some extraordinary sets and costumes.
