Latest – Page 604
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Reviews
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait Of Diane Arbus
Dir: Steven Shainberg. US. 2006. 122mins.A surprising and seductive curio from Secretary directorSteven Shainberg, Furis one of the season's most unusual films. On the one hand, its high-calibrecast led by Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jrscreams of prestige awards contender, while on the other its unconventionalpacing, largely fictional story about ...
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Reviews
Everything's Gone Green
Dir: Paul Fox. Canada. 2006. 92mins.A generally wellcrafted, breezy yarn, Everything's Gone Green has a lot of bright, nascenttalent but falls short of an artistic or commercial bull's-eye. It'sintelligently observed when it ought to be hilarious and lacks the requisitebite and tartness that would set it apart from the ceaseless ...
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Reviews
A Stone's Throw
Dir: Camelia Frieberg. Canada. 2006. 98mins.The directingdebut of producer Camelia Frieberg, AStone's Throw is a family drama underscored with hot button social issues.Adroitly crafted and well observed, the film shows a nascent talent behind thelens. However, the familiarity of the yarn and the absence of marqueeperformers present an uphill struggle ...
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Reviews
Trapped Ashes
Dirs: Joe Dante, Monte Hellman, Ken Russell, SeanCunningham, John Gaeta. US/Canada/Japan. 2006. 105mins.Monte Hellman's superlative,evocative and genuinely moving Stanley'sGirlfriend is the standout contribution of Trapped Ashes, the horror anthology of four macabre vignettes alsodirected by Ken Russell, Sean Cunningham and John Gaeta.Financed by Japanesebroadcast concerns and shot in Vancouver, Los ...
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Reviews
The Fall
Dir: Tarsem. 2006. India/UK/US. 117mins.Surely the most visuallyawe-inspiring film at the Toronto film festival this year, music video directorTarsem's The Fall will divide mostaudiences. Patient viewers, however, will be richly rewarded by a visual andaural extravanganza that is virtually sui generis. Think the brilliant andexciting images of Julie Taymor in ...
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Reviews
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Dir: Jonathan Liebesman.USA. 2006. 89 minutes.A lot of modern horrorhas become more synonymous with horrifying rather than terrifying - thechief difference being the latter is something that grips you on a base,visceral level certainly, but also provokes significant feelings ofpsychological unease. The gulf between these two approaches is roundly apparentin ...
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Reviews
Un Crime
Dir: Manuel Pradal. France. 2006. 110mins.Manuel Pradal,whose 1997 debut film Marie Baie DesAnges won universal plaudits, has unwisely decided to attempt a full-scalefilm noir for his third film. Set in NewYork City, Un Crime stars thenormally superb Emmanuelle Beart and Harvey Keitel, but there's littleconvincing chemistry between them, and even ...
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Reviews
Un Crime
Dir: Manuel Pradal. France. 2006. 110mins.Manuel Pradal,whose 1997 debut film Marie Baie DesAnges won universal plaudits, has unwisely decided to attempt a full-scalefilm noir for his third film. Set in NewYork City, Un Crime stars thenormally superb Emmanuelle Beart and Harvey Keitel, but there's littleconvincing chemistry between them, and even ...
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Reviews
Delirious
Dir: Tom DiCillo. US. 2006. 107mins.Neither a spoof of the celebrityindustry nor an earnest appraisal of what this industry is all about, TomDiCillo's Delirious is anintermittently amusing rags-to-riches lark about a small time paparazzo and hishandsome sidekick who ends up a screen star. DiCillo aims his gently pointedbarbs at pop ...
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Reviews
Lake Of Fire
Dir: Tony Kaye. US. 2006. 152minsThe Book of Revelations talks of a lake "which burnswith fire and brimstone" and this state of eternal doom proves an apt metaphorfor the subject of abortion. While there are hints on which side film-makerTony Kaye stands, his film will not be embraced by either ...
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Reviews
Griffin & Phoenix
Dir: Ed Stone. US. 2006. 102mins.A theatrical remake of a 1976 TV movie, Ed Stone's featuredebut Griffin & Phoenix never movesbeyond the narrative and emotional restrictions of a story about two people in lovedying from cancer. Stone tries his best to avoid manipulation or sentiment, butthe story is almost entirely ...
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Reviews
Griffin & Phoenix
Dir: Ed Stone. US. 2006. 102mins.A theatrical remake of a 1976 TV movie, Ed Stone's featuredebut Griffin & Phoenix never movesbeyond the narrative and emotional restrictions of a story about two people in lovedying from cancer. Stone tries his best to avoid manipulation or sentiment, butthe story is almost entirely ...
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Reviews
My Son (Mon Fils A Moi)
Dir: Martial Fougeron. France. 2006. 90mins Martial Fougeron's modest family drama went almostunnoticed during the San Sebastian film festival but certainly ended the eventcausing a storm of controversy when it was declared the ex aequo winner of theGolden Shell, a decision that was greeted by boos by some critics. An ...
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Reviews
Half Moon (Niwemang)
Dir: Bahman Ghobadi. Iran-Iraq-Austria-France. 2006. 107minsMore ambitious than his previous films, BahmanGhobadi's Half Moon about a famous musician travelling from Iran to Iraq for aswansong performance, explores the unifying spirit of the dispersed Kurdishnation. Not as narratively concise as his best work, the film tries to pack intoo much particularly ...
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Reviews
Employee Of The Month
Dir: Greg Coolidge. US.2006. 103mins.Neitheroutrageously funny nor sweetly romantic enough to generate much interest, EmployeeOf The Month is anegligible work-place comedy that struggles to establish its personality. Inhis first leading role, standup comedian Dane Cook does what he can withthreadbare material but, more critically, lacks the sort of undeniable screencharisma ...
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Reviews
Bunny Chow
Dir:John Barker. South Africa. 2006. 90mins. Ahopeful signal of change in the new South Africa, Bunny Chow is an exuberant hop in the hay, a bonk in the back seatand a flamboyant middle finger to the nation's apartheid past. The title is a referenceto a South African fast-food specialty, a ...
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Reviews
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil
Dir.Asger Leth. Denmark/US. 2006. 88min. Although it will prove a maddeningexperience for anyone seeking a traditional documentary approach to the enduring and vexing humanitarian crisis thatis Haiti, Ghosts Of Cite Soleil is anincredibly visceral journey into the meaning of the phrase "life is cheap". Avital melding of hip hop sensibility ...
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Reviews
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil
Dir.Asger Leth. Denmark/US. 2006. 88min. Although it will prove a maddeningexperience for anyone seeking a traditional documentary approach to the enduring and vexing humanitarian crisis thatis Haiti, Ghosts Of Cite Soleil is anincredibly visceral journey into the meaning of the phrase "life is cheap". Avital melding of hip hop sensibility ...