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Latest reviews – Page 374
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Reviews
Ben X
Dir: Nic Balthazar, Belgium - Netherlands, 2007, 90 mins.A galvanizing portrait of autism and its profound impact on both the autistic person and their families and community, Ben X boldly melds virtual reality with live-action verite style and docudrama to create what may be a new film grammar. Inspired by ...
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Reviews
Lust, Caution (Se Jie)
Dir. Ang Lee. China/US, 2007. 156 mins. One of the main attractions in Venice this year, Ang Lee's new film promises much more than it actually delivers. Lavishly handsome and elegant, possibly too much so for its own good, this sprawling adaptation of a short story by Eileen Chang risks ...
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Reviews
Shoot 'Em Up
Dir: Michael Davis. US. 2007. 87mins.Merrily amoral, shamelessly watchable and outlandishly funny, Shoot 'Em Up is not for all tastes, but those with a dark sense of humour and a penchant for knowingly excessive violence will have a ball. Short enough so that its thin premise doesn't run out of ...
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Reviews
Sugarhouse
Dir: Gary Love, UK 2007, 92mins A claustrophobic psychodrama that never quite shakes off its stage origins, Sugarhouse is performed with ferocious intensity by its three leads. First-time director Love creates a genuine sense of menace. He also effectively cranks up the tension even if the plotting ultimately seems contrived ...
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Reviews
Balls Of Fury
Dir: Robert Ben Garant. US. 2007. 90mins. A rather shockingly enervated treatment of a colourful, wilfully silly concept, Balls of Fury looks to disappoint both those expecting the bawdy underdog tale of a make-good loser and those seeking something a bit more offbeat from its creators, the creative team behind ...
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Reviews
War
Dir: Philip G. Atwell. US. 2007. 103mins.A sturdy B-movie thriller with enough style to overcome its formulaic trappings, War finds mid-level action stars Jet Li and Jason Statham riffing on their already established personas to winning effect. A needlessly elaborate plot somewhat spoils the pairing of these martial-arts icons, but ...
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Reviews
War
Dir: Philip G. Atwell. US. 2007. 103mins.A sturdy B-movie thriller with enough style to overcome its formulaic trappings, War finds mid-level action stars Jet Li and Jason Statham riffing on their already established personas to winning effect. A needlessly elaborate plot somewhat spoils the pairing of these martial-arts icons, but ...
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Reviews
The Living and the Dead (Zivi I Mirtvi)
Dir: Kristijan Milic. Bosnia-Herzegovina/Croatia, 2007. 90 mins.The winner of theGrand Prixat The 54th Pula Film Festival,garnering seven awards in total (including best picture and director), The Living and the Dead is a striking examination of war-fever, unadulterated and Balkan-style. Kristijan Milic's debut film will strike a familiar chordwith its own ...
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Reviews
Saxon
Dir/scr/ed: Greg Loftin. UK. 2007. 92mins.Evoking resonances of vintage Clint Eastwood fare like High Plains Drifter, Saxon stars Sean Harris as Eddie, a prodigal son who returns to the council estate of his youth. An ex-con, he has recently parted company with an eye and is desperately seeking cash to ...
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Reviews
And When Did You Last See Your Father'
Dir: Anand Tucker. UK. 2007. 92mins.Anand Tucker's gentle touch and lush tone proved the perfect fit for the wistful romantic comedy Shopgirl but the same approach tends to dull the pain and deaden the impact of writer Blake Morrison's bestselling memoir And When Did You Last See Your Father' Morrison's ...
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Reviews
It's Hard To Be Nice (Tesko Je Biti Fin)
Dir/scr: Srdan Vuletic. Bosnia Herzegovina-Slovenia-Serbia-Germany-UK. 2007. 102mins.Local Balkan audiences will respond cheerfully to the familiar characters and scenes in Srdan Vuletic's lively sophomore effort, but international sales agents Fortissimo Films will have a tougher time selling this well-intentioned film to international markets. The story of a cab driver striving to ...
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Reviews
Special People
Dir/scr: Justin Edgar. UK. 2007. 78mins.Few films successfully negotiate the tricky expansion from short to feature but Special People is a happy exception. Justin Edgar's adaptation of his 12 minute 2005 short builds on the original material without diluting any of its sharp humour and also provides a deeper sense ...
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Reviews
The Nanny Diaries
Dir. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, US, 105 minutes, colour, 35 mm.In The Nanny Diaries, adapted from the best-selling picaresque roman a clef about tending to the offspring of New York's elite, Scarlett Johansson plays a would-be anthropology student immersed in a foreign culture as a nanny to a ...
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Reviews
Waz
Dir: Tom Shankland . UK. 2007. 103mins. Blend together elements of Seven, Saw and the CSI television franchise and sprinkle liberally with torture porn nastiness and you have the recipe for WAZ, a grimy, unremarkable serial killer thriller that looks like the kind of derivative material destined for an early ...
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Reviews
The Waiting Room
Dir/scr: Roger Goldby. UK. 2007. 96mins.A chance encounter changes lives and re-defines relationships in The Waiting Room, a mawkish, low-key ensemble piece that marks the debut feature of writer/director Roger Goldby. Stray moments of touching emotion and accomplished lead performances are some compensation for a central premise that is hard ...
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Reviews
3:10 To Yuma
Dir: James Mangold US . 2007. 117minsThe western has become the most unfashionable of genres, with a reputation for box-office poison that persists despite the relatively recent success of Open Range (2003). The fiftieth anniversary remake of 3:10 To Yuma is sturdy enough to withstand the jinx. Handsomely crafted, it ...
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Reviews
The Invasion
Dir: Oliver Hirschbiegel. US. 2007. 100mins The latest remake of Jack Finney's 1955 novel The Body Snatchers is a success if viewed as a slick thriller from mainstream producer Joel Silver but a disappointment as the US debut of Germany's Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall, The Experiment) starring Nicole Kidman. Completed, reportedly, ...
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Reviews
Beneath The Rooftops of Paris (Sous Les Toits De Paris)
Dir: Hiner Saleem. France, 2007. 100minsThis study of old age and solitude finds exiled Kurdish director Hiner Saleem divesting himself of the mischievous drive and wicked sense of humour which permeated such earlier efforts as Vodka Lemon and Kilometre Zero. Launched in a light, warm and humanistic vein which keeps ...