Latest – Page 654
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Reviews
10 On Ten
Dir/scr/ed:Abbas Kiarostami. Fr-Iran. 2004. 83mins.Essentiallyan extended lecture on cinema, Abbas Kiarostami's Un Certain Regard entry willbe sure to adorn every self-respecting festival in the world yet, by the sametoken, few commercial exhibitors will ever contemplate selling tickets to apaying audience. Devised as a series of 10 lessons in film-making, the ...
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Reviews
Somersault
Dir/scr: Cate Shortland.Australia. 2004. 106 minsA haunting little story ofsex, guilt, love and all the confusion in between, Somersault marks aquietly impressive feature debut from writer-director Cate Shortland after astring of award-winning shorts. The interaction between a number of complex,interestingly developed characters is set against the unusual beauty of remoterural ...
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Reviews
Mondovino
Dir:Jonathon Nossiter. US-France. 2004 159minsSomewherewithin Jonathan Nossiter's bloated, self-indulgent new documentary Mondovinothere may lurk a fascinating hour-long offering, perfectly suitable for a spoton cable TV, that explores the contemporary world of wine but one would be hardpressed to find it. Thedirector of the genuinely affecting Sunday (1997) and the ambitious ...
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Reviews
Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban
Dir: Alfonso Cuaron. US.2004. Alfonso Cuaron brings a newstreak of magic to the Harry Potterseries in the third picture from JK Rowling's books, The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Draining the world of Hogwarts of colourand Hollywood trappings, Cuaron delivers a genuinely spooky and emotionallyinvolving adventure which gives the world of Potter ...
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Reviews
Cavedweller
Dir. Lisa Cholodenko. US.2004. 120mins.A powerful and nuancedpiece of storytelling, Cavedwellerfollows in the wreckage-strewn wake of a woman trying to rebuild her lifeamidst the deaths of her two husbands and the bitterness of her daughters byboth men. Based on the novel by Dorothy Allison, it stars and is executiveproduced by ...
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Reviews
Nobody Knows (Daremo Shiranai)
Dir/scr: Kore-edaHirokazu. Japan. 2004. 141mins.A nightmare scenario ofparental neglect is rendered as a plaintive neo-realist ode to childhood inthis long-gestating project from writer-director Kore-eda Hirokazu. Inspired bya true event from the late 1980s, NobodyKnows offers a closely-observed portrait of four youngsters seeking tomaintain some semblance of normality after their mother ...
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Reviews
Aftermath (Lad De Sma Born)
Dir: Paprika Steen.Denmark. 2004. 100 minsAn award-winning presence in a string of Dogme films (Festen, Mifune,Open Hearts etc), actress Paprika Steen takes a very different stylisticapproach in her assured directorial debut. Aftermath is a polished, mournfulexamination of grief distinguished by its careful compositions, deeply feltperformances and rigid avoidance of sentimentality.Its ...
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Reviews
The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers
Dir: Stephen Hopkins. US. 2004. 129 minsA tour de forceperformance from Geoffrey Rush is the star attraction and saving grace of The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, aflashy, highly selective biography of the late comedian. Sellers signaturecharacter was the defective detective Inspector Clouseau but Chance in Being There appears ...
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Reviews
The Day After Tomorrow
Dir: Roland Emmerich. US.2004. 125 mins TBA.The box office fate of TheDay After Tomorrow was sealed the moment its trailer hit theatres.Eye-popping scenes of the beleaguered streets of New York City being engulfedby a tidal wave or Los Angeles ripped apart by tornadoes created ripples ofexcitement among audiences itching to ...
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Reviews
Clean
Dir/scr: Olivier Assayas.France/Canada 2004. 80 mins.Like his film's heroine,French director Olivier Assayas returns to the straight and narrow in Clean,an emotionally fluent drama that is a world removed from his last film, theexperimental cyber-thriller Demonlover. Another predominantlyEnglish-language venture, Clean sees Assayas working again with Asianstar and ex-wife Maggie Cheung for ...
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Reviews
Exiles (Exils)
Dir/scr: Tony Gatlif.France. 2004. 103minsDirector Tony Gatlif'syearning to return to the land of his childhood is the guiding motivationbehind Exiles, a polished road movie journey of self-discovery thattakes place between France and Algeria. Unfortunately, it is the local colour,vibrant locations and use of music that linger in the memory rather ...
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Reviews
House Of Flying Daggers
Dir/scr: ZhangYimou. Chi-HK. 2004. 119minsBeyond a doubt the mostvisually ravishing film on offer at Cannes this year, Zhang Yimou's return tothe sword-fighting genre - following last year's Hero - mixes action,romance and a touch of dance to uneven but often thrilling effect.Acquired by Sony PicturesClassics in the US, the film ...
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Reviews
2046
Dir/scr: Wong kar-wai. HongKong. 2004. 128 minsThe title may suggest aspace age drama but Wong Kar-Wai's long-awaited 2046 proves to be anelaborate, languorous continuation of In The Mood For Love that revisitsthe Tony Leung character as he once again struggles with the impermanence andimpossibility of true love. The restraint and ...
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Reviews
Dear Frankie
Dir:Shona Auerbach. UK. 2004. 105minsItis unfortunate, but Dear Frankie is a perfectly good film that tells astory which has been seen too many times before. It is the eternal search ofthe child for a missing parent, accompanied by poverty and a curmudgeonlygrandparent with a heart of gold.Thatsaid, Dear Frankie, which ...
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Reviews
The Holy Girl (La Nina Santa)
Dir/scr.Lucrecia Martel Arg-Spain-It. 2004. 106minsThecombination of Catholic anxiety and female sexual awakening is hardly a novelone in auteur cinema, but it receives an idiosyncratically oblique treatment inThe Holy Girl. Director-writer Lucrecia Martel made her name with debut TheSwamp (La Cienaga), which marked her out as a central figure of thenew ...
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Reviews
Look At Me (Comme Une Image)
Dir/scr:Agnes Jaoui. France. 2004. 110minsFiveyears after her hugely successful directorial debut Le Gout Des Autres,Agnes Jaoui rewards her impatient admirers with Look At Me (Comme UneImage), a wise and witty ensemble exploration of individuals attempting toovercome their own insecurities and the wounding tyranny of other people'sexpectations. Reminiscentof vintage Woody Allen, ...
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Reviews
The Edukators
Dir:Hans Weingartner. Ger-Aust. 2004. 126minsThefirst German film to screen in competition in Cannes in a decade, HansWeingartner's second feature The Edukators is a fresh and likable taleof youthful idealism. Boosted by a standout performance by Daniel Bruehl (oneof Europe's fastest-rising stars), vigorously shot in a hand-held style - whichmight best ...
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Reviews
The Assassination Of Richard Nixon
Dir:Niels Mueller. US. 2004. 103minsLastyear at Cannes, Mystic River marked out Sean Penn as an early best actorOscar contender. This year, The Assassination Of Richard Nixon doesexactly the same. Currently in the prime of his career, Penn adds to his recentrun of outstanding work with a performance that captures every ...
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Reviews
9 Songs
Dir: MichaelWinterbottom. UK. 2004. 65minsAlthough scarcely inmid-career, Michael Winterbottom has attempted almost every available filmgenre in which to test his considerable talents. 9 Songs, filmeddigitally, like his 2003 Berlin Golden Bear winner In This World, is hisbest shot at a film about sex.You could almost call it aporn movie - ...