Latest – Page 580
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Reviews
The Darjeeling Limited
Dir: Wes Anderson USA 2007. 91 mins.Wes Anderson treads water, or maybe lime tea, with The Darjeeling Limited, the latest quirky philosophical comedy from the US maverick. This tale of three brothers who meet up on an Indian train to bond and find themselves has a kooky, laid back charm ...
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Reviews
Cassandra's Dream
Dir. Woody Allen. UK, 2007. 108 min.Woody Allen's third British outing is neither the satire some of the Venice audiences seemed to denote in it, nor the forbidding tragedy painted in early rumours which spread around the Lido before the official press screenings. If there is a black comedy hiding ...
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Reviews
Death Sentence
Death SentenceDir: James Wan US. 2007. 106 mins.Death Sentence updates the scenario and ethos of seventies shocker Death Wish in a stylishly violent revenge thriller with 'Splat Pack' director James Wan behind the camera and baby boomer star Kevin Bacon in front. It's an unlikely pairing that makes for an ...
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Reviews
Michael Clayton
Dir:Tony Gilroy USA , 2007, 119 mins George Clooney isn't out to break the mould with Michael Clayton, a slow, moody and insomniac thriller which wears its social conscience very much on its sleeve. In Syriana andGood Night and Good Luck (and to some extent The Good German) audiences have ...
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Reviews
Redacted
Dir: Brian De Palma, US, 2007. 90minsDesigned to resemble an American's soldier video blog from Iraq , with additional footage from a French-language pseudo-documentary, YouTube clips and reports from local TV crews, Brian de Palma's attempt to reveal some of the expurgated truth behind the media coverage of the war ...
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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 ...