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Latest reviews – Page 438
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Reviews
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Dir: Wes Anderson. US.2004. 118mins.Bill Murray owes anenormous debt of gratitude to writer/director Wes Anderson, whose wonderfullydry, absurdist films have stretched the actor in ways the comedy star mightnever have attempted on his own.Forced to venture outsidehis comfort zone into uncharted emotional waters, Murray has delivered oneoutstanding performance after another ...
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Reviews
A Midwinter Night's Dream
Dir. Goran Paskaljevic.Serbia-Montenegro. 2004. 95mins.More introspective andless explosive than his remarkable feature Powder Keg (1998), GoranPaskaljevic's A Midwinter Night's Dream may, in many respects, be ametaphor for Serbia today, but it is still a powerful and moving personaltragedy that functions well, regardless of its political subtext.The finely tunedrelationship between a ...
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Reviews
Blade: Trinity
Dir:David S Goyer. US. 2004. 114mins.There'sas much joke cracking as blood sucking in the third episode of New Line'ssolidly successful Blade franchise, a young-skewing horror outing withWesley Snipes again starring as the titular Marvel Comics vampire slayer.Theraunchy humour, together with some boisterous action and a coven of newcharacters, gives the ...
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Reviews
The Aviator
Dir: Martin Scorsese. US.2004. 169 mins. He's perhaps best knownas a nutty old recluse, but it's the younger Howard Hughes, the ambitious movieproducer, industrialist and aviation pioneer, that interests Martin Scorseseand Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator, their epic period biopic forMiramax, Warner and Initial Entertainment Group. Director and star paint ...
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Reviews
Silver City
Dir/scr/ed: John Sayles.US. 2004. 128minsWith his political satireslash noir murder mystery Silver City, American maverick John Saylesmight just have made his most commercial movie to date. While much of the film'stopicality, especially in the US, might have rested on last month's USelection, the return of George W Bush to power ...
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Reviews
Les Soeurs Fachees
Dir/scr. AlexandraLeclere. Fr. 2004. 93mins.A vehicle for theconsiderable thespian prowess of Isabelle Huppert, film-maker Alexandra Lecleremakes an effective debut with Les Soeurs Fachees, a family drama thatshould play well in mainstream Francophone markets.The traditional French feeland the cast attraction of Huppert (enjoying a higher profile of late through IHeart Huckabee's) ...
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Reviews
Machuca
Dir: Andres Wood.Chile-Spain. 2004. 120mins.Originally screened inDirectors Fortnight at Cannes this year, Andres Wood's Machuca haspicked up steam throughout the year, is the official Chilean selection for theforeign language Academy Award and was recently picked up for US distributionby Menemsha Films.It's an unsettling piece seton the eve of the military ...
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Reviews
The Alzheimer Case (De Zaak Alzheimer)
Dir:Erik Van Looy. Belgium. 2003. 120minsEveryoneis looking for the fresh twist that can raise a thriller out of the ranks ofthe ordinary. Erik Van Looy appears to have found it in The Alzheimer Case.The twist here is a hired killer turned avenging angel struggling with theonset of Alzheimers. His faltering ...
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Reviews
Silver City
Dir/scr/ed: John Sayles.US. 2004. 128minsWith his political satireslash noir murder mystery Silver City, American maverick John Saylesmight just have made his most commercial movie to date. While much of the film'stopicality, especially in the US, might have rested on last month's USelection, the return of George W Bush to power ...
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Reviews
The Great Water (Golemata Voda)
Dir: Ivo Trajkov.Macedonia 2004. 90minsSet in Yugoslavia duringthe immediate aftermath of World War II, when Stalin was extending his reachover Eastern Europe, The Great Water concerns an all too real subject:orphans who were rounded up and sent to labour camps to be indoctrinated withCommunist ideology.Containing elements of bothdrama and surrealism, ...
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Reviews
Tell Them Who You Are
Dir/prod/cine:Mark SWexler. US. 2004. 95minsA son's search for hisfather, even a famous one, might appear to be too narrow a theme for atheatrical documentary were it not for the recent success of theOscar-nominated feature My Architect.Tell Them Who You Are, which has been shortlisted for Best DocumentaryFeature for this season, ...
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Reviews
Blood And Bones (Chi To Hone)
Dir: Yoichi Sai.Jap.2004. 144mins.Known in Japan as a TVcelebrity, actor and director of both commercial hits (Quill) and awardwinners (All Under The Moon), Yoichi Sai resembles friend and colleagueTakeshi 'Beat' Kitano in not only his resume but his earthy,quick-witted public persona.He is now building asimilarly high international profile with his ...
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Reviews
Eyes Of Crystal (Occhi Di Cristallo)
Dir: Eros Puglielli.It-Sp-UK. 2004. 110mins.The latestCattleya-Alchimia co-production (after Callas Forever, Don't Moveand I'm Not Scared), Eyes Of Crystal is a declared attempt torevive the horror-thriller genre that, in Italy, is virtually synonymous withDario Argento. Though uneven, second-time director Eros Puglielli's serialkiller yarn is a stylish and enjoyable essay in shock ...
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Reviews
It's All Gone Pete Tong
Dir/scr: Michael Dowse.Can-UK. 2004. 90minsCanadian writer-directorMichael Dowse first came to attention with the quirky heavy metal comedy Fubar(2002), but with It's All Gone Pete Tong (rhyming slang for "it's allgone wrong") he turns his sights on DJ producer-performers.The result is a tuneful,spirited rag tag of a movie with an obvious ...
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Reviews
Christmas With The Kranks
Dir: Joe Roth. US. 2004.98minsThe holiday-themed comedyChristmas With The Kranks sees itself a big-hearted, slightly sappymovie about family and community, shared values, good cheer and the true spiritof the season. But the story's Stepford Wives-like emphasis ontraditional values and communal approval is enough to make one queasy.Considering the cultural climate ...
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Reviews
Alexander
Dir: OliverStone. UK-Fr-Neth. 2004. 165mins.Alexander is a magnificent mess of a movie, a wildly ambitiousold-style epic filled with as many moments of greatness as creative mis-steps.The first feature film in five years from Oliver Stone, produced and financedindependently to the tune of $160m by Moritz Borman and Intermedia, Alexandercertainly won't ...
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Reviews
Closer
Dir:Mike Nichols. US. 2004. 98mins. Adouble love story with a brutally forthright view of modern relationships, thescreen version of British writer Patrick Marber's acclaimed stage play Closer,incisively directed by stage-to-screen expert Mike Nichols, is not a film forthe faint hearted. And that may prove to be a mixed blessing at ...
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Reviews
Childstar
Dir:Don McKellar. Can. 2004. 98minsFollowingup on his auspicious directorial debut Last Night, Don McKellar plungesinto a movie about movies focusing on a 12-year-old star and his circle offamily, reps and general hangers-on. While the territory has considerablepotential both dramatically and in humorous insights, McKellar fails to plumbits depths. The film ...
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Reviews
National Treasure
Dir: Jon Turteltaub. US.2004. 131minsWalt Disney Picturesexperiments with a PG-13-rated adventure movie for all the family in NationalTreasure delivered by the studio's in-house stalwarts producer JerryBruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub. The result is an efficientlycrowd-pleasing, wholesome popcorn picture short on violence and long onmystery, although it is also short on ...