Latest – Page 677
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Reviews
A Man Apart
Dir: F Gary Gray. US. 2003. 109mins.Filmed two years ago, before the release of its star's 2001 breakthrough The Fast And The Furious, Vin Diesel vehicle A Man Apart delivers some stylishly violent drug cop action but never quite makes it as the more weighty crime drama it clearly wants ...
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Reviews
A Big Girl Like You (Une Grande Fille Comme Toi)
Dir: Christophe Blanc. France. 2003. 91mins.This insider study of a mixed-up adolescent girl identifies so utterly with its main character that it risks appearing as stroppy and directionless as she is. But in the end there is something mesmeric about the camera's obsession with the face of first-time, pulled-off-the-street actress ...
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Reviews
Chouchou
Dir: Merzak Allouache. France. 105minsAfter nearly a decade of supporting roles in mostly indifferent French commercial pictures, Casablanca-born stand-up comic Gad Elmaleh at last makes his screen breakthrough in this serviceable self-devised screen vehicle. He plays a young Algerian trying to cope with life in Paris as an illegal immigrant ...
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Reviews
Johnny English
Dir: Peter Howitt. UK. 2003. 89mins.More Carry On Spying than Austin Powers, Johnny English is a surprisingly tentative spy spoof that should still prove a licence to print money for production company Working Title. A family-friendly version of Mike Myers' racier, more inventive espionage antics, the combination of local comedy ...
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Reviews
Anger Management
Dir: Peter Segal. US. 2003. There are some films in which the teaming of two stars is so enticing that critical appraisal of the film which goes on around them is almost moot. Anger Management - which brings Adam Sandler together with Jack Nicholson - is one such film. Critical ...
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Reviews
Basic
Dir: John McTiernan. US 2003. 95mins In a rather odd coincidence of timing, US majors have released three military-themed thrillers in the space of a month: Tears Of The Sun, The Hunted and, now, Basic. More of a whodunnit than the previous two, Basic finds action-director McTiernan (Die Hard) ...
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Reviews
The Core
Dir: Jon Amiel. US. 2003. 136 mins. This end-of-the-world action opus is an efficiently executed but unexceptional popcorn flick, which will fail by a long way to produce the big box office numbers its studio maker Paramount Pictures designed it to. The Core's biggest problem is that it falls squarely ...
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Reviews
Pater Familias
Dir: Francesco Patierno. Italy. 2003. 94mins.For really vibrant Italian cinema, it is not a bad idea to look away from the industry hubs of Rome and Milan. Naples, in particular, has built a healthy homegrown scene around such directors as Mario Martone (L'Amore Molesto) and Antonio Capuano. Newest boy on ...
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Reviews
Salamina Soldiers (Soldados De Salamina)
Dir: David Trueba. Spain. 2003.112 mins.Based on a best-selling novel, Salamina Soldiers (Soldados De Salamina) makes the Spanish Civil War unusually accessible by weaving it into a contemporary tale less concerned with local politics and more with humanity at large. This graceful third feature film from writer-director David Trueba, seems ...
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Reviews
View From The Top
Dir: Bruno Barreto. US. 2003. 87mins.Not the absolute disaster many had anticipated, this long-delayed star-studded comedy should overcome its numerous artistic failings and produce some decent numbers on theatrical release around the world. Certainly its $7m opening from 2,508 sites in North America was nothing to be ashamed of, and ...
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Reviews
The Suit (Shik)
Dir: Bakhtiar Khudoinazarov. Russ-Ger-It-Fr. 2003. 95 mins.The latest outing by director Bakhtiar Khudoinazarov is, essentially, about three country lads fooling about, telling unlikely stories and occasionally becoming maudlin or lovestruck. Charming in its own small way, it is unlikely to have the impact of 1999's Luna Papa on the international ...
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Reviews
Valentin
Dir: Alejandro Agresti. Argentina/Holland. 2002. 82mins.Valentin is an immensely likeable if lightweight addition to the existing host of nostalgic, bittersweet comedies about growing up in a dysfunctional family. Small but perfectly formed, it is keenly pitched at middlebrow art-house audiences and quality broadcasters. Miramax, which is also funding director Alejandro ...
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Reviews
Ned Kelly
Dir: Gregor Jordan. Australia. 2003. 109mins.The lasting iconographic significance of armoured 19th-century outlaw Ned Kelly to Australian culture and mythology can not be underestimated. However, as Gregor Jordan's unromantic recreation insists, the Kelly Gang were 100% Irish, fighting age-old wars against the hated English in a hostile new land. Ned's ...
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Reviews
Dreamcatcher
Dir: Lawrence Kasdan. US. 2003. 134mins. Castle Rock's latest big-screen take on the work of author Stephen King starts out with a spooky psychological intensity that recalls some of the company's most successful King adaptations, like Misery and The Green Mile. Before long, however, Dreamcatcher degenerates into a confusing horror/sci-fi ...
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Reviews
Utopia
Dir: Maria Ripoll. 2003. Spain-France. 105mins.Utopia adds to a growing body of stylish Spanish genre films and, with the right marketing and distributor Hispano Foxfilm behind it, will likely follow in their footsteps to healthy returns at the local box office. That said, it had a downbeat opening weekend, taking ...
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Reviews
Yossi And Jagger
Dir Eytan Fox. Israel. 64mins.Just a sketch, but highly perceptive and remarkably sensitive one at that, this compact gay love story, set in a remote Israeli military outpost on the Lebanese border, has already gone down a storm at home. Produced for cable television, shot in DV and first unveiled ...
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Reviews
The Bottom Of The Sea (El Fondo Del Mar)
Dir: Damian Szifron. Argentina. 2003. 90 mins.The new independent company Aeroplano looks like it has a winner on its hands with the drama comedy The Bottom Of The Sea. This lively but mature piece combines a very individualistic vision with a firm grasp of entertainment value that will make it ...
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Reviews
Willard
Dir: Glen Morgan. US. 2003. 100minsEverybody has heard of Cinderella. She befriended the mice that lived in her attic bedroom and made them cute little outfits to wear. In return, they sang and danced and kept her company. Now comes Willard, who pals around with the rats that live in ...
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Reviews
Agent Cody Banks
Dir: Harald Zwart. US. 2003. 102mins.Teen heartthrob Frankie Muniz becomes a teen 007 in Agent Cody Banks, an energetic but overly cute and calculated junior spy adventure from Bond studio MGM and German-owned independent Splendid Pictures. Interest from teen and pre-teen audiences - in Muniz and in his co-star Hilary ...
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Reviews
The Blessing Bell (Koufuku No Kane)
Dir: Sabu. Japan. 2002. 87mins.Even those who have learned to appreciate Japanese director Sabu, his deadpan ironical portrayal of his fellow countrymen and the laconic, elliptical delivery of his films, will find that with The Blessing Bell he has gone to lengths even he has not attempted before. An almost ...