Latest – Page 675
-
Reviews
The Brown Bunny
Dir: Vincent Gallo. US. 2003. 118minsA theory began circulating in Cannes after the press showing of The Brown Bunny, Vincent Gallo's astonishingly self-indulgent second film as director (and producer, and scriptwriter, and... see the credits below for more details). The theory was that the whole thing was actually a wind-up ...
-
Reviews
Reconstruction
Dir: Christoffer Boe. Denmark. 2003. 89minsAfter sowing its wild oats, Dogme has settled down and started a family. Christoffer Boe, one of the first products of this post-Lars generation, is not so much concerned with stripping cinema down to its basics as with manipulating its shimmering surface. The first full-length ...
-
Reviews
Stormy Weather
Dir: Solveig Anspach. France-Iceland-Belgium. 2003. 90minsA compact little film destined to do well on TV screens, and with careful handling on the arthouse circuit as well, Solveig Anspach's third feature goes back to medical matters, but is quite different from those she explored in her Haut Les Coeurs' debut. This ...
-
Reviews
Dogville
Dir: Lars von Trier. Denmark. 2003. 177minsThe 900lb gorilla of this year's Cannes Competition, Lars von Trier's Dogville is a typically uncompromising experiment in stripped down narrative. Excessive in its running-time and highly theatrical in its execution, it ultimately emerges as a vivid and thoughtful exploration of a world condemned ...
-
Reviews
Swimming Pool
Dir: Francois Ozon. France. 2003. 102minsNobody is better qualified than Francois Ozon to speculate on the sources of an artist's creativity. Six features in as many years have made him one of the most prolific and admired of European young guns. Swimming Pool is an entertaining and initially intriguing exploration ...
-
Reviews
Young Adam
Dir: David Mackenzie. UK, 2003. 93mins.Scottish director David Mackenzie recently divided British critics with the release of his first feature, the rough-and-ready digital drama The Last Great Wilderness. His follow-up, Young Adam, is a more rigorous proposition that amply confirms Mackenzie's promise. A powerful, disturbing adaptation of the novel by ...
-
Reviews
Daddy Day Care
Dir: Steve Carr. US. 2003. 93 mins Working with animals in his two Dr Dolittle movies, Eddie Murphy produced some decent laughs and some good box office numbers (approaching $500m in total). Working with children in Daddy Day Care, Murphy and Dolittle 2 director Steve Carr come up with a ...
-
Reviews
Love Hurts (Amarte Duele)
Dir: Fernando Sarinana. Mexico. 2002. 110mins.Having proved his box-office mettle in his native Mexico, producer-turned director Fernando Sarinana has been building an international profile with such offerings as Hasta Morir (Til Death, 1994), Todo El Poder (Give Me Power, 1999) and his pitch-black fresco of Mexico City grotesques, Ciudades Oscuras ...
-
Reviews
Fanfan La Tulipe
Dir. Gerard Krawczyk. France. 2003. 100mins.Supposedly a fluffy piece of entertainment to kick off Cannes' 56th festival in style, Gerard Krawczyk's remake of the swashbuckler classic - which won Christian-Jaque the best director award in 1952 - is a pretty plodding and charmless experience that works too hard but not ...
-
Reviews
The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares)
Dir. Denys Arcand. Canada-France. 2003. 111mins.On paper, The Barbarian Invasions is a conventional drama about a dying man's reconciliation with his son and his acceptance of impending non-existence. In the hands of writer-director Denys Arcand, the result is an intensely personal exploration of life as a fifty-something Quebecois intellectual.. Ostensibly ...
-
Reviews
Present Perfect (Passato Prossimo)
Dir: Maria Sole Tognazzi. Italy. 2003. 89minsFive friends meet up in a country house somewhere outside Rome over a long winter weekend. Each has unresolved relationship problems, some have problems with each other, and memories of other weekends in the same house hang in the air like distorting mirrors. More ...
-
Reviews
Down With Love
Dir: Peyton Reed. US. 2003. 96minsDesigned as an affectionate send-up of the Doris Day-Rock Hudson romantic comedies of the early 1960s, the campy and colorful Down With Love a cinematic souffle that never fully rises. Fox is boldly opening the film in the US on May 16, as counter-programming to ...
-
Reviews
The Actors
Dir: Conor McPherson. UK-Ire-US-Ger. 2002. 92minsThe Actors is the kind of film that was more fun to make than to watch. A ragged, lightweight romp with more energy than credibility, it is a curious disappointment considering the track record of the talents involved. Based on a story by Neil Jordan, ...
-
Reviews
I Capture The Castle
Dir: Tim Fywell. UK-South Africa. 2002. 112mins.A handsome feature debut from director Tim Fywell, I Capture The Castle offers a sensitive, sympathetic adaptation of a much loved British novel. Boasting an acute sense of period trappings and lush locations, it also showcases a memorably engaging performance from newcomer Romola Garai ...
-
Reviews
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Dir: Jim Fall. US. 2003. 93minsAfter three, wildly successful seasons on the Disney Channel, tween queen Lizzie McGuire has made the leap to the big screen. First introduced to US audiences back in 2000 (the live action/animated series only began airing in the UK and other international markets a year ...
-
Reviews
The Matrix Reloaded
Dir: The Wachowski Brothers. US. 2003. 138 mins.If The Matrix (1999) remains memorable for its elegant visuals, ingenious story and cool humour, its sequel Reloaded is a case of system overload. Faced with the challenge of crafting back-to-back sequels (part III Revolutions is due in November), the mysterious and ...
-
Reviews
The Heart Elsewhere (Il Cuore Altrove)
Dir: Pupi Avati. Italy. 2003. 107mins.The Heart Elsewhere (Il Cuore Altrove), Pupi Avati's sentimental period drama set in 1920s Bologna, has its good points, notably the emergence of Neri Marcore - so far known mainly for his appearances on Italian TV comedy shows - as a serious actor but it ...
-
Reviews
Bright Future (Akarui Mirai)
Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Jap. 2002. 115 mins.Bright Future is more arthouse than midnight screening material, but its style and concerns are vintage Kiyoshi Kurosawa - and it should interest his growing international fan base, especially when they hear that a poisonous jellyfish is a central character. Although the film may ...
-
Reviews
It Runs In The Family
Dir: Fred Schepisi. US. 2003. 109mins Three generations and four members of the Kirk and Michael Douglas clan get into the act in this comedy/drama about conflicted family relationships. The film is tough-going for the first hour due to slow pacing, awkward acting, abrupt editing - as if a ...
-
Reviews
The Glow (Zimzum)
Dir: Igal Bursztyn. Israel. 2002. 86mins.A disenchanted metaphor for contemporary Israel, located in a satirical limbo, Igal Bursztyn's The Glow addresses politically-involved academic circles rather than mainstream film audiences. A low-budget production made for TV - it has already screened on cable in Israel - but shot on film with ...