Latest – Page 689
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Reviews
Aro Tolbukhin: In The Mind Of A Killer
Dirs: Agusti Villaronga, Lydia Zimmermann, Isaac P Racine. Sp-Mex. 2002. 96mins.Aro Tolbukhin: In The Mind Of A Killer is a profoundly spooky, startlingly original contribution to the cinema's enduring fascination with serial murderers. This intricate, multi-layered false documentary based on a notorious real-life case is by no stretch of the ...
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Reviews
The Legend Of Suriyothai
Dir. Chatri Chalerm Yukol. Thai 2001/US 2002. 154minsThis mammoth historical pageant, originally directed by a prince who is also one of his country's leading filmmakers, broke all home box office records in Thailand last summer, grossing over $14 million, about three times as much as Titanic did in that territory. ...
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Reviews
Sweet Home Alabama
Dir: Andy Tennant. US. 2002. 108mins. The $37.5m opening of Sweet Home Alabama over the weekend in North America confirms the superstar status of its lead actress, the 26-year-old Reese Witherspoon, whose soaring popularity now ranks her as one of Hollywood's most bankable opening acts. Indeed, there's no question that ...
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Reviews
Pure
Dir: Gillies MacKinnon. UK. 2002. 96 minsAn exceptional performance from child actor Harry Eden provides the heart and soul of Pure, an unflinching portrait of the unbreakable bond between a drug-addicted mother and her loving son. Returning to territory familiar from his work on award-winning television projects like Needle and ...
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Reviews
Minimal Stories (Historias Minimas)
Dir: Carlos Sorin. Arg. 2002. 93 mins.The title says it all: set in the remote Patagonian steppes of Southern Argentina, Minimal Stories is a comedy of great warmth and sweetness whose charm lies above all in its unpretentious ambitions. Careful marketing and critical support will be essential to nurture this ...
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Reviews
Whale Rider
Dir: Niki Caro New Zealand-Germany 2002 105min.Whale Rider deftly melds in a spirited package a portrait of contemporary rural Maori life with a tale from its rich mythology. Avoiding the overt sentimentality that often mars coming-of-age tales, this New Zealand-Germany co-production offers something for every age group without pandering to ...
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Reviews
Cabin Fever
Dir: Eli Roth. US. 2002 94 min.This is not the next Blair Witch Project, nor does it aim to be. Cabin Fever is a throwback to the minimalism and stasis of a George Romero zombie movie. Indeed, the film says more about first-time filmmaker Eli Roth's attentive viewing of ...
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Reviews
Jet Lag (Decalage Horaire)
Dir: Daniele Thompson. France-UK. 2002. 91mins.There could be no more marketable French film than Jet Lag (Decalage Horaire), Daniele Thompson's romantic comedy starring Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno. First of all, it is a classic formulaic romantic comedy with none of the introspection or intense drama traditionally associated with French ...
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Reviews
Open Hearts (Elsker Dig For Evigt)
Dir: Susanne Bier. Denmark. 2002. 113 mins. Just when you thought the Dogme 95 movement was out of fashion, Susanne Bier (The One And Only, Once In A Lifetime) delivers Open Hearts, a knockout adult drama made according to the controversial Danish manifesto. Eliciting painfully true insights into human ...
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Reviews
Common Places (Lugares Communes)
Dir: Adolfo Aristarain. Arg-Sp. 2002. 113mins.A graceful, intelligent and humorous portrait of a sixty-something couple forced to rebuild their lives, Common Places (Lugares Communes) confirms the director-actor team of Adolfo Aristarain and Federico Luppi as San Sebastian favourites. Very warmly received at the festival, the film, which opened in Argentina ...
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Reviews
Mondays In The Sun (Los Lunes Al Sol)
Dir: Fernando Leon de Aranoa. Sp-Fr-It. 2002. 113mins.A bittersweet comedy about men facing unemployment led by a barnstorming central performance from Javier Bardem, Mondays In The Sun (Los Lunes Al Sol) looks like another decisive critical and popular hit for one of Spain's most hotly tipped new young talents. Fernando ...
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Reviews
AUTO FOCUS
Screened at Toronto (Special Presentation)Dir: Paul Schrader. US. 2002. 104minsDirector Paul Schrader mixes a potentially lethal cocktail of sex, celebrity and scandal in Auto Focus, a solid, absorbing but far from completely compelling biography of troubled 1960s TV star Bob Crane. Greg Kinnear does a fine job of capturing the ...
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Reviews
Together (Han Ni Zai Yiki)
TOGETHER (HA NI ZAI YI QI)Screened at Toronto (Masters)Dir: Chen Kaige. China. 2002. 116mins.US buyers scrambled to buy Chen Kaige’s latest Chinese film when it world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival - and it’s easy to see why. Wearing its heart on its sleeve, Together is a crowd-pleasing ...
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Reviews
Callas Forever
Dir: Franco Zeffirelli. It-UK-Fr-Sp-Rom. 2002. 103 mins.Whether Franco Zeffirelli's biopic of opera star Maria Callas satisfies its audience will largely depend on demographics. Like its director, this is a film of the old school that will appeal to an older generation of music lovers and occasional cinemagoers, who do not ...
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Reviews
Phone Booth
Director: Joel Schumacher. US. 2002. 80minsA slick, Twilight Zone-style premise is stretched to the limit of narrative credibility in Phone Booth, a trim, trashy little thriller that reunites the Tigerland team of director Joel Schumacher and star Colin Farrell. A compelling central performance and energetic direction serve to distract from ...
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Reviews
Antwone Fisher
Dir: Denzel Washington. US. 2002. 117minsAn assured directorial debut from double Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, Antwone Fisher is an inspirational true story of one man's struggle to overcome the legacy of an abused childhood. It may sound like the subject matter of countless TV-movies dramas but, handled with discretion and sensitivity, ...
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Reviews
The Crime Of Father Amaro (El Crimen Del Padre Amaro)
Dir: Carlos Carrera Mex-Sp-Arg-Fr 2002 118mins.Already breaking records at home in Mexico, Carlos Carrera's fifth feature is a compelling, multi-textured social drama that fires some hard questions at the role of the Catholic Church amid the extremes of wealth and poverty. Rising star Gael Garcia Bernal (Amores Perros, Y Tu ...
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Reviews
Springtime In A Small Town (Xiao Cheng Zhi Chun)
Dir: Tian Zhuangzhuang. China-Hong Kong. 2002. 116minsSpringtime In A Small Town is a glossy period piece, which coolly depicts the pressure-cooker atmosphere created in a small family following the arrival of an unexpected house guest. Director Tian Zhuangzhuang, who has not made a feature since his celebrated The Blue Kite ...
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Reviews
In America (Working Title)
Director: Jim Sheridan. Ire-UK. 2002. 103 minsA heart-warming portrait of an Irish family's life and death struggles, In America marks another uplifting human drama from writer-director Jim Sheridan. Beautifully acted by the entire cast, its sure-footed mixture of laughter and tears is on the sentimental side but should win over ...
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Reviews
11' 09' 01
Directors: various. France. 2002. 135minsTrailing controversy and accusations of a vicious anti-American sensibility, portemanteau production 11'09''01 proves to be a much more measured, wide-ranging and humanist response to the events of September 11, 2001. Commissioned to make a short film, eleven directors of international standing have created a collection ...