All articles by Allan Hunter – Page 58
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Reviews
Bonneville
Dir: Christopher M Rowley. US.2006. 104mins.A slushy salute to female friendship and the greatmysteries of life and death, Bonnevillehas the unmistakable feel of a TV-movie tearjerker. Filled with predictabledevelopments and heart-tugging revelations, it is bereft of surprises anddripping in syrupy sentiment. It has been a long while since an older ...
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Reviews
10 Items Or Less
Dir/scr: Brad Silberling. US. 2006. 82mins.The unpredictable career of Brad Silberlingtakes another left turn after the big budget spectacle of Lemony Snicket's A SeriesOf Unfortunate Events (2004) with his new feature 10 Items Or Less. More of a character-basedchamber piece than anything else, this virtual two-hander finds thewriter-director straying into ...
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Reviews
All The King's Men
Dir: Steven Zaillian. US. 2006. 125mins.The queasy compromises of love, loyalty and bareknuckle politics are at the heart of a handsome, star-studded new version ofthe Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All The King's Men. The celebrated 1949 adaptation of theRobert Warren Penn epic is probably best remembered for Broderick Crawford's Oscar-winningperformance as ...
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Reviews
Catch A Fire
Dir: Phillip Noyce. UK-S Afr-US. 2006. 98minsThe desperate struggles against the apartheid regimein South Africa have inspired a distinguished body of cinema that stretches from Cry Freedom (1987) to Red Dust (2004). Phillip Noyce's Catch A Fire tells of Patrick Chamussoand his journey from acquiescent model citizen to radicalisedfreedom fighter ...
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Reviews
For Your Consideration
Dir: Christopher Guest. US.2006. 86mins.The finest comedy stems from painfully truthful,accurate reflections of real life. That may explain why Christopher Guest'ssharply observed ensemble comedies have become such surefire guarantees ofhilarity. For Your Consideration isno exception as it captures all the inanity and indignity of the Hollywood Oscar season.Filled with quotable ...
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Reviews
Borat
Dir: Larry Charles. US.2006. 82mins.A hand grenade lobbed towards the American heartland,mockumentary Borat explodes with intermittently uproarious results. Fansof Sacha Baron Cohen's enthusiastic Kazakhstanreporter and his television escapades will not be disappointed by a featuredebut filled with caustic encounters and razor-sharp observations. Others mightwonder what all the fuss is about; ...
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Reviews
Penelope
Dir: Mark Palansky. UK.2006. 101minsMore of anexaggerated pantomime than a lyrical fable, Penelopestruggles to find the magical qualities that seemed to arise so effortlessly inEdward Scissorhandsor Amelie.The tale of a pig-faced girl's search for love and happiness is sweetly toldbut too often plays for easy laughs rather that true wonderment ...
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News
Fido
Dir: Andrew Currie. Can. 2006. 91mins.A boy's best friend is his zombie in Fido, areasonably inventive comic film that plays out like a fusion of Shaun Of The Deadand Pleasantville. Andrew Currie'sfeature has enough charm and smart moves to sustain what is essentially aone-joke premise, but its hybrid nature could ...
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Reviews
Fido
Dir: Andrew Currie. Can. 2006. 91mins.A boy's best friend is his zombie in Fido, areasonably inventive comic film that plays out like a fusion of Shaun Of The Deadand Pleasantville. Andrew Currie'sfeature has enough charm and smart moves to sustain what is essentially aone-joke premise, but its hybrid nature could ...
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Reviews
The Wicker Man
Dir: Neil La Bute.US. 2006. 97mins.When will they ever learn'Despite the evidence of everything from Psycho(1998) to The Omen (2006), sensiblefilm-makers still cannot resist the foolish temptation of remaking the iconicfilms of their youth. Neil La Bute's version of The Wicker Man is particularlyill-judged, diluting, distorting and demeaning virtually all ...
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News
London To Brighton wins new director's award at Edinburgh
Paul Andrew Williams won the Skillset New Directors Award for London To Brighton announced at the closing weekend of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Accepting the cash prize of £1,500, writer-director Williams admitted that the film had cost £80,000 and thanked the UK Film Council who had stepped in to ...
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Reviews
Life & Lyrics
Dir: Richard Laxton. UK.2006. 99 mins.Easily pitched as 8Mile with a British sensibility, Life& Lyrics moulds every musical genre clicheknown to humankind into a wearily familiar, entirely predictable tale of rivalrap crews, star-crossed lovers and a dynamic slamming competition finale.Slickly made but bereft of originality, it seems more at ease ...
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Reviews
Life & Lyrics
Dir: Richard Laxton. UK.2006. 99 mins.Easily pitched as 8Mile with a British sensibility, Life& Lyrics moulds every musical genre clicheknown to humankind into a wearily familiar, entirely predictable tale of rivalrap crews, star-crossed lovers and a dynamic slamming competition finale.Slickly made but bereft of originality, it seems more at ease ...
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Reviews
London To Brighton
Dir/scr: Paul AndrewWilliams. UK. 2006. 86mins.The gritty traditions of British social realist dramaare deftly combined with the dark violence of a gangland thriller in London To Brighton,an accomplished first feature from writer/director Paul Andrew Williams.Distinguished by its sharpcompositions, heartfelt performances and unexpected tenderness, it unfolds as acompelling tale in which ...
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Reviews
The Killing Of John Lennon
Dir/scr: Andrew Piddington. UK. 2006. 112mins.The very thought of a film about Mark David Chapmanis enough to provoke a knee-jerk reaction of resistance: do we really needanother portrait of a killer' The striking independent feature The Killing Of JohnLennon silences any reservations. Beautifully crafted, it studiously avoidssliding into the sensationalist ...
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News
Edinburgh festival opens with news of boost in funding
The60th Edinburgh International Film got underway on Monday evening with the worldpremiere of The Flying Scotsman andthe news that the event has received substantial extra funding.TheScottish Executive announced that it has allocated an additional $283,462 (£150,000)to the festival that will be dispersed through Scottish Screen. This in turnmeans an extra ...
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Reviews
The Flying Scotsman
Dir: Douglas Mackinnon. UK. 2006. 105minsThe triumph of the sporting underdog may be a triedand tested narrative convention but TheFlying Scotsman lends an extra human dimension to the formula; championcyclist Graeme Obree wasn't just chasing records hewas also fighting personal demons. Belying its fractured production history,Douglas Mackinnon's feature emerges as ...
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News
Protests expected at Flying Scotsman premiere
Protesters are threateningto picket the world premiere screening of TheFlying Scotsman, which is scheduled to open the 60th EdinburghInternational Film Festival on August 14.The production companyformed to make The Flying Scotsman,Mel Films Limited, is now in administration. Around 60crew members and extras have yet to be paid for their work ...
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News
New joint board announced to make way for Creative Scotland
Theestablishment of Creative Scotland has taken another step forward with theannouncement that there is to be a new joint Board for Scottish Screen and theScottish Arts Council which will be appointed before the end of the year.Thisfollows the Scottish Executive's announcement earlier this year that ScottishScreen and the Scottish Arts ...