Latest – Page 682
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Reviews
Hero
Dir: Zhang Yimou. China. 2002. 98 mins. One of the most eagerly awaited films in Asian film history - and already a box office blockbuster in China and Hong Kong - Zhang Yimou's Hero is an intoxicatingly beautiful, structurally enigmatic and decidedly brief epic which will struggle to escape comparisons ...
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Reviews
Hard Goodbyes: My Father (Diskoli Aporcheretismi: Babas Mou)
Dir. Penny Panayotopoulou. Greece/Germany, 2002. 108 min.A coming-of-age story that is richer and more original than most, Penny Panayotopoulou's first feature film effort is the most accomplished Greek film offering of this year. First unveiled in Locarno, where 10 years-old Giorgos Karayannis walked away with an acting award, it also ...
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Reviews
Equilibrium
Dir: Kurt Wimmer. US. 2002. 107 mins.You could call Equilibrium a poor man's Minority Report. Or, for that matter, a poor man's Fahrenheit 451, 1984 or The Matrix. Unimaginatively derivative and silly without being fun, this sci-fi thriller from Miramax's Dimension label comes equipped with a mid-level Anglo-American cast but ...
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Reviews
Star Trek: Nemesis
Dir: Stuart Baird. US. 2002. 117mins. After four years in space dock, Paramount's Star Trek franchise is back with a solidly entertaining 10th big-screen instalment, whose disappointing US debut nevertheless casts doubt over the future of the 23-year-old movie series. An opening weekend gross of $18.8m from 2,711 US sites ...
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Reviews
Nicholas Nickleby
Dir: Douglas McGrath. US. 2002. 130mins.Having captured the spirit of Jane Austen with his 1996 debut Emma, American writer-director Douglas McGrath now delivers a warm and engaging, though necessarily breezy version of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby that features an enticing, mainly British ensemble cast. The cast has already won the ...
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Reviews
Extreme Ops
Dir: Christian Duguay. Ger-UK. 2002. 93mins.Some effectively shot extreme skiing and snowboarding footage is the primary excuse for Extreme Ops, an otherwise pretty cheesy, virtually plot-free Euro-American action romp with a mid-level cast of youngsters and older hands from the British, German and US film and TV worlds. The long-completed ...
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Reviews
The Touch (Tian Mai Chuanqi)
Dir: Peter Pau. HK-Taiwan-China. 2002. 103minsAn 'Indiana Jones' with Chinese characteristics, The Touch is a sumptuous adventure whose hi-tech visuals are undercut by that most low-tech aspect of filmmaking: the script. Michelle Yeoh's initial venture as both producer and star possesses a glossy sheen but, due to scenario deficiencies, ultimately ...
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Reviews
25th Hour
Dir: Spike Lee. US 2002. 135minsA cautionary tale about the consequences of knowingly breaking the law, 25th Hour contains a commanding performance by the supremely-talented Edward Norton that is likely to generate an Oscar nomination for the actor but not greatly increase the box office. Spike Lee's films are always ...
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Reviews
El Alamein: The Line Of Fire
Dir: Enzo Monteleone. Italy. 2002. 123mins.At last, Italy too has its Saving Private Ryan (minus some of Spielberg's special effects) or it's The Thin Red Line (minus some of Malick's cosmic vision) . El Alamein: The Line Of Fire is the first Italian film to respect the new American war-movie ...
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Reviews
Catch Me If You Can
Dir: Steven Spielberg. US. 2002. 140mins (TBC) Steven Spielberg's customary polish graces the Christmas Day domestic release of Catch Me If You Can, another accomplished, somewhat soulless offering from the world's most famous director which is set to steal a large chunk of box office change from the world's multiplex ...
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Reviews
The Hours
Dir: Stephen Daldry. US. 2002. 114mins. What must have appeared a risky proposition going into production, The Hours is one of those rare book-to-film projects which flourishes in its cinematic realisation. Making it look like as if it were effortless, writer David Hare and director Stephen Daldry have turned Michael ...
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Reviews
Chicago
Dir: Rob Marshall. US. 2002. 113minsMoulin Rouge last year proved that there was box-office life in the movie musical. The eagerly anticipated Chicago should confirm that, at least in North America, where it opens on Dec 27, and other English-language territories. Buzz is furious on both coasts for the film ...
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Reviews
Analyze That
Dir. Harold Ramis. US. 2002. 95mins.Analyze That reunites the cast and creative talent of the hit 1999 comedy and, as with most sequels, the result is a half-measure. But while critics are apt to consider the glass half-empty, audiences are sure to find it half-full, although its $11m opening on ...
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Reviews
Abouna (Our Father)
Dir: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. Chad 2002. 81mins. An engaging, low-key coming-of-age story that rings the emotional changes with confidence elegance, the second feature from Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, the director of Bye Bye Africa, is a tender, accessible piece that has better prospects for wide exposure than any African feature in a long ...
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Reviews
Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
Dir: George Clooney. US 2002. 112minsGeorge Clooney dons two hats for Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind - actor and director - but that's nothing compared to the double life that the film's real-life protagonist enjoys. If former TV game show creator Chuck Barris (The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, The ...
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Reviews
Sonny
Dir: Nicolas Cage. US. 2002. 110mins.Nicolas Cage's first film as a director is a moody, atmospheric Southern drama starring up-and-comer James Franco in a sexily tragic role that Cage reportedly considered taking on himself earlier in his career. While it could eventually lead to bigger jobs behind the camera for ...
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Reviews
The Housekeeper (Une Femme De Menage)
Dir: Claude Berri. France. 88 min.Wistful, wry and touching, The Housekeeper is a small but finely observed tale about a middle-aged man who takes on a young girl as a cleaning woman and gets more than he bargained for. Claude Berri closes out a fabulously successful year as France's leading ...
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Reviews
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
Dir: Peter Jackson. New Zealand-US. 2002. 179mins.The second film in Peter Jackson's trilogy of JRR Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings is one of the year's best. Having introduced the elaborate story and its myriad characters in the much-garlanded first film The Fellowship Of The Ring, Jackson is now free ...
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Reviews
Gangs Of New York
Dir: Martin Scorsese. US. 2002. 165 mins.In terms of old-fashioned spectacle, few films today come anywhere near Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York. Already a part of movie folklore, the shooting of Gangs on mammoth sets at Rome's Cinecitta Studios is probably the last of its kind. A gargantuan undertaking, ...