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Directed by: Kirk Jones
Written by: Emma Thompson, based on the book by Christianna Brand
Starring: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Kelly McDonald, Thomas Sangster
My rating: * * * 1/2
D, F
Directed by: Gregor Jordan
Written by: John M. McDonagh, based on the book "Our Sunshine" by Robert Drewe
Starring: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush, Joel Edgerton
My rating: * * * *
D, A, Cr
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Written by: Adapted by Jan Sardi, screenplay by Jeremy Leven, based on novel by Nicholas Sparks
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Gena Rowlands, James Garner
Review: This film, while certainly having its clich�d moments, is a genuine tear-jerker. I could hear many of the audience members around me sniffing. You have to leave your cynicism at home for this one, and just give in to the story, because it is beautifully played out and acted and will draw you in. The audience was laughing at some parts that were most likely not intended to be funny, but by the end of the movie they were all reduced to a teary mess!
Although the story of young Allie (Rachael McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling) is the focus of the movie, full of youthful passions, heartbreak, true love and so on, I found the present day story of the older Allie (Gena Rowlands) and the man who reads to her from the notebook (James Garner) to be the more moving of the two parts of the movie. However, every actor in the movie does a wonderful job taking a story that could have veered toward clich� and soap opera to a genuine and heartfelt place. While the story is not without clich�, and tends to reinforce the �one true love� idea that drives so many people�s expectations (and can lead to so much discontentment), the film does acknowledge the harder aspects of love, but makes the point that it�s worth fighting for. As I write this I know it sounds a little cheesy, but it doesn�t come across that way.
It also doesn�t shy away from the older couple�s story and their hardships. It shows the fading of beauty and that there needs to be a continuing commitment to loving and caring for someone no matter how much age has destroyed them. It seems to say that love isn�t about the things that pass away, but that it should be sacrificial and unconditional. Maybe I�m giving this movie a little more meaning or depth that it deserves, but in essence this is what it said to me. And these things really give it an emotional resonance. I�d bet on it bringing a tear to the most cynical of people (not that they�d admit it).
My rating: * * * *
D, R
Directed by: Neil LaBute
Written by: John C. Richards and James Flamberg
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, Chirs Rock, Greg Kinnear
My rating: * * * *
C, D, Cr
Directed by: Tim Blake Nelson
Written by: Brad Kaaya, based on William Shakespeare's Othello
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Mekhi Pfeiffer, Julia Stiles, Andrew Keegan
My rating: * * *
R, D
Directed by: Mark Romanek
Written by: Mark Romanek
Starring: Robin Williams, Michael Vartan, Connie Nielsen
Review: This is a very creepy film at times. This comes more from Robin William�s portrayal of Sy Parrish (and the signs of his obsessiveness with the Yorkin family), however, than the �scary bits� that are designed to make you jump in your seat. William�s performance is chillingly brilliant; his changed appearance also helps one to distance themselves from Williams the funny-man. As Sy Parrish he manages to make us feel uncomfortable and anxious whenever Sy comes on screen; we want to hate him at times, yet we also feel sorry for him. The music is effective and creepy as are the cold, sterile locations. This is impressive for Romanek�s only second feature film (his last one being a quirky, seldom seen feature called �Static� from 1985, he mostly does music videos); I�m surprised he hasn�t been making more movies since then, but One Hour Photo should give him the chance for more in the future. The film isn�t without its flaws though. It is not fully explained why Sy Parrish is the way he is; the psychology of the film is a little sketchy, particularly the last scene, in my opinion. This is a bit of a shame, because it is a chilling and effective film for the most part.
My rating: * * * *
D, T, Cr
Directed by: David Fincher
Written by: David Koepp
Starring: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam
My rating: * * * *
T, D, Cr
Directed by: John Woo
Written by: Dean Georgaris, based on the short story by Philip K. Dick
Starring: Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhart, Paul Giamatti
My rating: * * * 1/2
A, SF, T
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Written by: Larry Cohen
Starring: Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Keifer Sutherland, Katie Holmes, Rhada Mitchell
My rating: * * * *
T, D
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Ronald Harwood, based on the book by Wladyslaw Szpilman
Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard
Review: This film has an understated and moving performance from Adrien Brody, the surprise Oscar winner, but certainly not undeserving of the accolade. The Pianist is a sometimes brutal and chilling film, beautifully made, with superb direction from Polanski. A restrained and subtle narrative makes it all the more compelling. Granted someone being shot point blank in the forehead is not what one would call subtlety, but the performances and script are the opposite. Nothing is said blatantly and the film is all the better for it. The story draws you in and you are able to form your own conclusions.
My rating: * * * * *
O, D, W
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightly
My rating: * * * 1/2
C, A
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport, Stellan Skarsgard
My rating: * * * 1/2
C, A
Directed by: Gary Ross
Written by: Gary Ross
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels, J.T. Walsh
My rating: * * * 1/2
D, R
Directed by: Joe Wright
Written by: Deborah Moggarch, based on the book by Jane Austen
Starring: Keira Knightly, Matthew MacFadyen, Rosamund Pike, Donald Sutherland
Review: coming soon
My rating: * * * 1/2
D, R
Directed by: Kaige Chen
Written by: Kaige Chen
Starring: Dong-Kun Jang, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cecilia Cheung, Nicholas Tse
Review: -
My rating: * * * 1/2
D, R, A, FL
Directed by: Philip Noyce
Written by: Christine Olsen, based on the book by Doris Pilkington
Starring: Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Laura Monaghan, David Gulpili, Kenneth Branagh
My rating: * * * * 1/2
D
Directed by: Jerry Zucker
Written by: Andy Breckman
Starring: John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jon Lovitz
My rating: * * 1/2
C
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Written by: Roger Towne and Kurt Wimmer and Mitch Glazer
Starring: Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan
Review:
My rating: * * *
T
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Written by: Ted Tally, based on the book by Thomas Harris
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Kietel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour-Hoffman
Review: A genuinely suspenseful and clever thriller, made even better by a clever beginning and ending. The actors give good performances � we�ve perhaps seen Hannibal too many times by now but Anthony Hopkins is none the less good, and Edward Norton as Will Graham and Ralph Fiennes as Dolarhyde give believable and sympathetic performances.
The film is a bit gory at times, but smartly written and filmed, and this is an above average thriller. However, I think the film may have suffered slightly from Hannibal�s (1998) failings, because Red Dragon really is a good movie, very enjoyable (well, not exactly enjoyable) but it is satisfying. There are both great edge-of-your-seat moments and excellent psychological aspects.
Red Dragon is working from a successful and well-written book, with a strong storyline, character development and psychology. Perhaps in the film Dolarhyde could�ve been given more depth by adding more history from the book, whereas Lecter was used more than in the book, but not excessively. Graham was a very intriguing character in the book, with a lot of emotional/psychological depth given to him. Norton played him well, bringing to the character some things that the script did perhaps not allude to, yet were true to the book. The movie does go for a slightly happier ending that the book, but I felt it was more appropriate in the case of a movie. The beginning differs from the book; this also works however, putting some things that are explained later in the book into the beginning, for a stylistically brilliant opening sequence and credits, setting the tone of the movie.
My rating: * * * *
T, H, C
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: Ehren Kruger, based on the novel by Koji Suzuki and the 1998 screenplay for Ringu by Hiroshi Takahashi
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox
Review: This was the scariest movie I�ve ever seen. And I�ve seen The Exorcist; I watched that to compare which was scarier. The Exorcist is brilliant film-making and that theme music is the best I�ve heard, but it seriously didn�t scare me nearly as bad as The Ring. I had trouble getting to sleep for a week afterwards. Even now I get the creeps occasionally. Not everyone will agree though; I have had people say it was nothing, didn�t really scare them, then others who have the same look of terror I get when the movie is mentioned! The main offender is the image of Samara walking towards me from out of the well. Yikes.
This is a first class horror movie. From the moment it starts, there is a palpable feeling of tension that never leaves until the film is over. Every moment I was waiting for something to happen. And very often something scary DID happen. The music was eerie and very effective. The images, especially those from the mysterious videotape, are very disturbing. Combined with the music, I could hardly watch. Part of the reason they�re so disturbing is because you find them scary, yet nothing scary is actually happening onscreen. Who though a ladder falling over or a wooden chair, or a river, or a tree could freak you out? It�s the grainy, amateur feel of the film on the tape, and the weird noises and music that gets to you. There are also some quite graphic images that I couldn�t watch. I swear, I must have had my eyes closed half the movie. My hand was indefinitely poised near my face so I could cover my eyes quickly! Gee, I sound like a wimp, but this really freaked me out! It was so effective that I�m giving it four stars, because it really was good, albeit not without a few dodgy plot elements. But 4 stars � for freaking the hell out of me!
My rating: * * * *
H, T, M
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: David Self, based on the graphic novel by Max Allen Collins and Richard Piers Rayner
Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci
My rating: * * * *
Cr, D, T
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson
Starring: Gene Hackman, Angelica Houston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray
My rating: * * *
C, D
Directed by: Tom Tykwer
Written by: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu
My rating: * * * *
T, Cr, D, R
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Written by: Jeff Nathanson, based on character originally created by Ross LaManna
Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker
My rating: * * * 1/2
C, A