All articles by Emanuel Levy – Page 6
-
Reviews
Blow Dry
Dir: Paddy Breathnach. US-UK. 2001. 91minsA large ensemble of talented actors, including Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson and Rachel Griffiths, is totally wasted in the disappointing comedy Blow Dry, written by The Full Monty screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy. Meant to be a funny satire of an annual British hairdressing championship, Blow Dry ...
-
Reviews
The Mexican
Dir: Gore Verbinski. US. 2001. 125mins.The first pairing of Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, Hollywood's beloved stars, proves to be a mixed blessing in Gore Verbinski's The Mexican, a mishmash of a movie in which different genres and different styles compete aggressively and strenuously for the viewers' attention. Although the ...
-
Reviews
15 Minutes
Dir. John Herzfeld. US. 2001. 120 mins.Andy Warhol's prophecy that everyone will one day achieve their own quarter-hour of fame gets yet another Hollywood workout in John Herzfeld's actioner, 15 Minutes - this time with two foreign criminals as media-hungry badasses. Robert De Niro, well-cast as a superstar homicide detective, ...
-
Reviews
3000 Miles To Graceland
The Tarantino effect is very much in evidence in 3000Miles To Graceland, a trashy, excessively violent action movie about a casinoheist that goes hilariously and uproariously awry. Using the iconic Elvis Presley and his ostentatiousattire as a conceit, the yarn is set against the background of the glitzy,high-energy chaos surrounding ...
-
Reviews
In The Bedroom
Dir: Todd Field. US. 2001. 135mins.Indie actor Todd Field makes an impressive feature directorial debut with In The Bedroom, a sharply-observed portrait of how one upper-middle-class family comes to terms with sudden tragedy. Set in New England, this meditative, multilayered drama is as much noteworthy for its accomplishments, providing a ...
-
Reviews
Hannibal
(The following is an extract from a review that ran in the weekly edition of Screen International. For the full review see Screen International, Feb 9-16)Dir: Ridley Scott. US. 2001. 141mins.The dark shadow of The Silence Of The Lambs looms large over Hannibal, the eagerly-anticipated sequel to the 1991 ...
-
Reviews
My First Mister
Screened at Sundance (Opening night premiere). Dir: Christine Lahti. US. 2001. 109mins.My First Mister, actress Christine Lahti's feature directorial debut, is a decent, mildly-engaging melodrama about the unlikely bond that develops between a rebellious high-school graduate and a sensitive, dying older man. Strong acting by both the up-and-coming Leelee Sobieski ...
-
Reviews
The Deep End
Screened at Sundance (Dramatic Competition). Dirs: Scott McGehee, David Siegel. US. 2001. 99mins.Without the brilliant Tilda Swinton, The Deep End, Scott McGehee and David Siegel's neo-noir, would have been just another technically accomplished thriller. With her, however, the film assumes a strong dramatic center and emotional resonance that elevates ...
-
Reviews
The Invisible Circus
Screened at Sundance (Premieres). Dir: Adam Brooks. US. 2001. 98mins.Adam Brooks' The Invisible Circus is a total miss, both as a potentially intriguing look into the tumultuous politics of the 1960s and 1970s, and as a coming of age of a young girl obsessed by the mysterious death of her ...
-
Reviews
The Believer
Screened at Sundance (Dramatic Competition). Dir: Henry Bean. US. 2001. 99 mins.The most provocative feature in competition at this year's Sundance Film Festival was The Believer, Henry Bean's mesmerising drama about neo-fascism in America, this time propagated by a Jewish youngster who rebels against his own tradition. Loosely based on ...
-
Reviews
Intimacy
Screened at Sundance (Premieres). Dir: Patrice Chereau. UK. 2001. 119mins.Based on short stories by famed UK writer Hanif Kureishi, Intimacy, Patrice Chereau's first English-speaking feature, is a stunningly-made film that explores the mysteries of sexual desire in a dauntless way. This audacious treatment, accompanied by graphic portrayal of sex (showing ...
-
Reviews
The Caveman's Valentine
BEST PICTURE:Chocolat (Prods: David Brown, Kit Golden, Leslie Holleran)Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Prods: Bill Kong, Hsu Li Kong, Ang Lee)Erin Brockovich (Prods: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher)Gladiator (Prods: Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, Branko Lustig)Traffic (Prods: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Laura Bickford)DIRECTING:Stephen Daldry - Billy ElliotAng Lee - Crouching Tiger, ...
-
Reviews
Hedwig And The Angry Inch
Screened at Sundance (Dramatic Competition). Dir: John Cameron Mitchell. US. 2001. 95 mins.A conceptually bold, visually striking production - a style often associated with the work of indie producer Christine Vachon and brilliant designer Therese DePrez - marks Hedwig And The Angry Inch an impressive screen adaptation of the long-running, ...
-
Reviews
All The Pretty Horses
Don't listen to Hollywood cynics who are dismissing Billy Bob Thornton's western, All The Pretty Horses, as a kind of The Hi-Lo Country. Stephen Frears' 1998 failure may have also co-starred Penelope Cruz, but further comparison is vastly unfair. While Pretty Horses is not an exciting epic or even a ...
-
Reviews
The Pledge
After the honorable failures of The Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard, Sean Penn makes a quantum leap forward with his third directorial effort, The Pledge, an intriguing murder mystery that's also effective as a psychological character study. Heading a splendid cast, Jack Nicholson, who also starred in Crossing Guard, ...