THE
OBLONG BOX With Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Sally Geeson, Alistair Williamson
Directed by Gordon Hessler Edgar Allan Poe's tale set in 19th century
England has two bothers at its core, one locked away apparently having a contagious
disease. He escapes and murder ensues. With voodoo and a whole bunch of underhandedness
the horror catches up with those who found themselves at the wrong end of the
offended party. With two classic horror actors Price and Lee in the cast, this
is an enjoyable little film, which drags a little at times, but delivers a cool
payoff. 3 / C - PB
O,
BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? With George Clooney, John Turturro, John Goodman,
Holly Hunter, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Durning, Michael Badalucco Directed
by Joel Coen The genius of the Coen brothers should never be underestimated.
With The Big Lebowski quite a hard act to follow, this film might seem a touch
on the slow side. A convict convinces two idiots chained to him in the post WWII
South to escape with him to find a treasure. Along the way they encounter a host
of crazy characters like the gangster Babyface Nelson, a bluesman who sold his
soul to the devil, a KKK con man and more. An election is under way and our three
cons record a song at a radio station for quick cash. It becomes a hit without
their knowledge. And all along a bounty hunting lawman's on their trail. Exquisite
dialogue and wonderful scenes (as always) pack this film tight with a rich blend
of intelligent writing and masterful visualisation. In my ignorance I've never
read Homer's Odyssey and with this film being based on it, I will now supplement
my lacking intellect by catching up on it. This film is sure to have so much more
meaning after the fact. 4 / B - PB
OCEAN'S
ELEVEN With George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle,
Julia Roberts Directed by Steven Soderbergh Based on a Ratpack
movie with Dino, Frankie and the boys, our hunky cast plots to hit three of the
biggest Vegas casinos in one go. There's more behind this plot than mere greed.
Clooney's ex is now shacked up with the owner of the casinos, a nasty little man.
He puts a team of experts together and the machine is set in motion to pull the
biggest Vegas score ever. Our mastermind's surname is Ocean and they comprise
of 11 guys - hence the title, as opposed to its appearance as a street address.
Peppered with humour, intricate planning, some action and suspense, the only downside
is Ms Roberts - unappetizing and overrated, but thankfully with little screen
time. Good plot, fun characters and enough technical planning and wit to keep
you interested. But, please guys, enough with Vegas already… 4 / B
- PB
OCTOBER
SKY With Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, Laura Dern Directed
by Joe Johnston When the Russians launched the Sputnik everyone believed
it would change life as we know it. For Homer it was more true than most. Watching
it streak across the night sky one evening with the rest of the coal mining town’s
neighbourhood, he decides he wants to build a rocket. With the help of his three
friends, the go through many trials an errors to perfect their rocket. With their
teacher’s encouragement to enter it into the science fair that could take them
to the country finals in Indianapolis, they see new hope to escape from the dead
end coal mining fate that awaits them - they could get scholarships for college
and make something of themselves. But this is not as easy. Besides financial constraints
there are barriers like disdain from jock football players and their principal,
but mostly from Homer’s dad. He’s a strict, stubborn man who lives for the coal
mine. He’s brave and headstrong, but close-minded. His support for his son’s endeavour
is none if any. But his love for his son does filter through at times. It seems
like a real classic tale of the drive to escape the small town life and a father
who tries to prevent it, expecting his son to follow in his footsteps - surprise
is, it’s a true story. October Sky is a triumphant, feel good film that keeps
the soppy factor at bay making it a worthwile inspirational viewing experience.
4 / B -
PB
THE
OFFSPRING - Complete Music Video Collection In the early '90s the new
more accessible Punk-Rock style took off with a bang. Besides groups like Green
Day, another
band that stuck to their sound and convictions is The
Offspring.
Across their decade+ career Dexter, Noodles and their gang produced many catchy
tunes with some kick, and often a sense of humour. It also resulted in many music
videos, 17 of which are included here, from Come Out And Play (Keep'Em Separated),
Self Esteem, Gotta Get Away, Gone Away, and I Choose, to Pretty Fly (For A White
Guy), Why Don't You Get A Job, The Kids Aren't Alright, She's Got Issues, Hit
That, and Can't Repeat. Some clips are quite innovative or at least
interesting to watch while a few follow the routine path. Bonus features throw
in two more videos and 11 energetic live performances. You also get a making-of
look, storyboards and commentaries. While they may be a bit too commercial for
hardcore Punk fans, they do run a comfortable middle way for a divided crowd that
prefer more extreme music and those prone to radio fluff. 5 / B - PB
OF
MICE AND MEN With John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Sherilyn Fenn Directed
by Gary Sinise Sad, classic tale of two migrant working cousins, George and
Lenny, with high hopes and aspirations, faced with many up hills, mostly due to
the latter’s mentally retarded state. Emotional, moving and also quite hrash and
heartless as many of the characters are blunted, cruel and brutal during the hard
times. Lenny’s soft kindness unfortunately doesn’t sync up with his large frame
and uncontrollable strength that has fatal results. Based on the well-known Steinbeck
novella, this is the 3rd film adaptation very competently directed by Sinise who
only really came to the public’s attention 2 years later with Forrest Gump.
4 / C -
PB
OH
SCHUCKS I'M GATVOL! With Leon Schuster, Alfred Ntombela, Bill Flynn & every
other SA TV actor Directed by Leon Schuster Oh dear lord, is this the
future of SA moviemaking? The transitional shift to video has come with ease master
prankster Leon Schuster (but adds to the even more cheap & tacky look as result).
Leon cannot help but incorporate over-hammed, sentimental patriotism when it comes
to incorporating a narrative in between his hidden camera antics. This is the
worst yet, including a Saddam Hussein style renegade dictator (shrunk to a midget
from living in a small hide-out for years…?!) who ends up on the plane where our
Schuster character Mr. Schucks and his little sidekick are migrating to Australia.
The pranks are far too few, the pathetic storyline shockingly bad. As mentioned,
if it weren't for the hidden camera jokes (some great, others lame and a few staged),
this would be the dud of the year - although it's probably one of highest grossing
SA films ever - go figure. 1
/ B - PB
THE
OMEN TRILOGY
THE
OMEN With Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Billy Whitelaw Directed
by Richard Donner My lord the acting can sink to new lows of hamminess! It's
embarrassing to watch some of the scenes in this movie. But then suddenly the
same person who just did a bad soap stare is good again. I am at odds with myself
about this one. You can immediately see that the graveyard is a set. (crap) You
can immediately see the decapitation scene took a lot to get it just right. (Very
cool!) The scene in the zoo is absolutely satanic. Peck's 'wife' (Lee Remick)
is fucking terrible. Whoever told her she can act should be ritually stabbed with
Buchenhagen's knives. Little Damien kicks ass and Billie Whitelaw as his babysitter
is the best performer of the lot. After all is said the music is absolutely incredible!
Director Richard Donner's camera shots are beautiful, with thoughtful yet simple
framing. PS. The woman who hangs herself for Damien is Hollie Palance, daughter
of Jack. The special features include the obvious director's commentary and a
retrospective featurette incl. interviews with director, composer, editor and
writer. 4 / B - Uncle
Vinnie
THE
OMEN II - DAMIEN
OMEN With William Holden, Lee Grant Directed by Don Taylor The
2nd installment and the best of the lot. Far superior to The
Omen in terms of acting, chills
and storytelling. The film is not as beautifully shot as Donner's, but what it
lacks in the pretty dept. it more than compensates with hectic music and incredible
ominous atmosphere. Holden has a very strong screen presence, as usual. Compared
to the downbeat Peck he is an acting Ferrari. The crows take the place the Rotweiler
filled in the first movie and I daresay they are more freaky than the mutts.
PS. Beware of the elevator scene! 5 / B - Uncle
Vinnie
THE
OMEN III - THE
FINAL CONFLICT With Sam Neil, Rossano Brazzi, Don Gordon, Lisa harrow
Directed by Graham Baker The worst of the trilogy. A terrible, typical 80's
devil movie. Even the music sucks in this one. The series should have ended with
part 2. Neil is good when he prays to Satan though. Very sensitively played. But
in general it's a load of old crap. If you've never seen it, avoid it. It will
spoil the brilliance of the 1st two movies forever! 2 / C - Uncle
Vinnie
ONCE
UPON A TIME IN MEXICO With Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Mickey
Rourke, Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin Directed by Robert Rodriguez
One-man movie movement, Robert Rodriguez caps his Mexican trilogy off with
this written, produced, filmed, directed and edited ride of violence, deceit and
Mariachi music. Banderas reprises his role of the Mariachi turned vigilante, but
with a missing story filled in via flashbacks, a military character is brought
into the fray, who will justifiably taste his vengeance. There is a coup in the
making with a crime boss and El Mariachi's unfinished-business-villain involved.
A corrupt CIA agent (Depp) enlists El Mariachi and an ex-FBI agent to make his
orchestrated plot fall in place - our gun-slinging guitarist getting the man he's
been after and the retired agent getting the criminal who killed his partner.
Stylishly shot and choreographed, Rodriguez's utilization of high definition video
is hardly noticeable - if entering into it without this knowledge, not many viewers
will pick it up. The future is surely here, but it will still take a great deal
for the day to break when we find ourselves at the dawn of a total transition
from film to video. 3
/ B - PB ONCE
UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS With Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Ricky Tomlinson,
Kathy Burke Directed by Shane Meadows Hey! Carlyle, Ifans and Tomlinson
were all together recently in 51st
State!
Fancy that. What starts off as a batty comedy eventually turns serious. A woman
turns her awkward boyfriend's wedding proposal down on national TV. She loves
him and her daughter is mad about the guy, and he about the both of them. Her
ex happened to see the show and after a robbery (which left his partners in the
lurch) he heads from Scotland to the Midlands to claim back his family, his ex-partners
after him. Even with the drab and depressing gray weather the supporting characters
are quite colourful, realistic and nuts. The Western theme is not too blatant,
besides the bad guy coming into the small town to take what he wants and the frequent
musical references, stand-off situations and country music fan character of Tomlinson.
Carlyle does the wise-ass Scot thing while Ifans excels as the bad dress-sense,
nerd boyfriend with his souped-up Ford Sierra. A brilliant surprise is seeing
British comedy duo Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer making cameo turns as two of the
clowns being robbed.
3 / C - PB
ONCE
UPON A TIME IN THE WEST With Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Claudia Cardinale,
Charles Bronson Directed by Sergio Leone A Fist Full Of Dollars, For
A Few Dollars More and The Good The Bad & The Ugly director Sergio Leone made
this classic 'death of the western' by creating a lyrical and passionate homage,
bidding farewell to a time, era and genre as only he can. Money and power hungry
men operate above the law against the backdrop of the railway revolution opening
up the West, which with its progress also bred opportunities for corruption and
evil, life being cheap in their eyes. The unlikely blue-eyed nice guy Henry Fonda
is great in the villainous role, a cool career move no-one would've expected (although
he didn't jump at it, worried about his image at first). Charles Bronson is great
as the silent harmonica player who takes on the bad men with a secret agenda.
The fine performances, powerful storytelling, incredible pacing, amazing photography
and awesome Ennio Morricone soundtrack makes this one of the best Westerns of
all time. The double disc contains the film in glorious widescreen (any other
format should be avoided at all cost). Unfortunately Leone died many years ago,
but commentary tracks are supplied by experts like directors John Carpenter, John
Milius and Alex Cox, film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr. Sheldon
Hall, as well as cast and crew. It makes for a varied and enlightening glimpse
into this classic piece of cinema. The second disc contains a documentary with
exclusive interviews from key players like actress Claudia Cardinale, Gabriele
Ferzetti, Bernardo Bertulocci and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli. It also
contains archive interviews with Leone and Fonda. Besides the production picture
gallery, you also get a fascinating then-&-now look at the locations. Cast profiles
and the original trailer are also thrown in.
PS. For those who are tuned in, you'll notice the first name on the end credits,
that of the production manager, Mickey Knox - Quentin Tarantino
is a Leone fan… 6 / A - PB
ONE
HOUR PHOTO With Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, gary Cole,
Erin Daniels Directed by Mark Romanek Robin Williams has proven that he
can tackle a serious role with just as much precision as a comedic one, especially
of late. As he did with Insomnia opposite Al Pacino,
for instance. In One Hour Photo Williams plays Sy, a gray little everyman
working at the photo developing station of a supermarket. He takes his work absolutely
seriously - seeing as he has not much of a life outside of work. Over the years
he started to develop a fixation on a young family who drop their film at his
photo booth. We pick up on these characters as this obsession slowly becomes more
intense, heading for danger. In stead of turning it into your run of the mill
stalking/serial killer thing, the filmmakers look at these subjects with a meticulous
eye, Williams' portrayal evoking sympathy without him being a hero. We feel both
pity and empathy for him. The cinematography, scene- and shot construction takes
on a clinical, unreal yet artistic mood as we're pulled into this dual world of
familial bliss and the sorrow of having no-one. By avoiding too much clue planting,
the outcome diverts from your expectations. One
Hour Photo
is a classy thriller debut from writer-director Romanek (famed music video director),
with a more thought provoking theme than your usual dire faire.
5 / B - PB
ONE
NIGHT AT McCOOL'S With Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, John Goodman, Paul Reiser,
Andrew "Dice" Clay, Michael Douglas Directed by Harald Zwart They don't
make too many movies where one guy has throng of women in a daze. Tyler
is a scam artist with her scummy boyfriend (a dual role wonderfully played by
the Dice Man Andrew Clay)
- gaining sympathy after a "fight", they rob the Samaritan's house. A barman (Dillon)
is one such sucker, but the two get involved a bit more seriously, to the point
where her boyfriend ends up dead and she moves in. He loses his job while she
tries her best to turn the run down house into her life long dream home. Besides
his infatuation, his lawyer cousin (Reiser)
has similar burning desires, as does the cop (Goodman)
investigating the shot boyfriend and second body that turns up after the new couple
turn to a similar scam as she operated before. The story is told via their three
perspectives; Dillon
at a Bingo hall to a killer he's hiring to get rid of her, systematically ruining
his life, Reiser
at a therapist and Goodman to his priest - each perspective seeing the other players
from their subjective points of view. Co-producer Michael
Douglas delivers a fun role
as the hired killer while Liv
is pretty hot, but the laughs are few & far. As a bit of getaway entertainment,
which is well constructed, this is pretty much acceptable stuff. 3 / B
- PB
ON
HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE With George Lazenby, Diana Rigg Directed
by Peter H. Hunt After the ever popular Thunderball ('65) a long run as the
world's smoothest spy came to an end when Connery hung up his Walther PPK to pursue
other acting adventures - to many a fan's dismay, of course. The prospective new
Bond ended up being a bit of a bomb when George Lazenby realised the acting thing
wasn't for him, least of all in the ill-fitting shoes of special agent 007. His
stern, not-as-cool demeanour and the lack of elaborate wild gadgetry distracts
from the flavour of how we've grown to love it. But, none the less, it is a Bond
film and many aficionados actually praise it as a good installment, calling Lazenby
the "romantic Bond", since he falls in love and gets married ! The Avengers' Diana
Rigg is certainly one of the high-points inbetween the snow bound chases after
Telly Savalas who wants to unleash a deadly virus onto the world. 2
/ B -
PB
OPEN
RANGE With Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Bening Directed by
Kevin Costner Kevin Costner ventures back to his sure thing of the Western
theme. While this is no Dances With Wolves award winner, nor a drawn out
spectacle like The Postman, Open Range is a subtle contrast between
tranquility and the eruption of violence, personified by the character Costner
portrays - a man with a violent past who turned to the simple, quiet life. As
part of a quartet of freegrazers, Costner and Robert Duvall square up against
a wealthy landowner / rancher (with the sheriff in his pocket) who kills one of
their men and leaves another for dead. Bening is the female interest, helping
with the wounded men and siding with the freegrazers. With a languid pace and
more of an Unforgiven feel than Dances With Wolves, Costner takes
the viewer on a steady rise from scenic subtlety to a gritty, tense shoot-out.
4 / B - PB ORDINARY
DESCENT CRIMINAL With Kevin Spacey, Linda Fiorentino, Peter Mullan, Colin
Farrell Directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan Spacey and Fiorentino do the
Irish accent thang in this pretty funny little flick about a charismatic thief
who loves the media attention as much as he loves money. Cool, calm, collected
and celebrity thief (Spacey) has the cops in Ireland raving mad. He tries his
best to outwit and piss them off (even with a pending courtcase). This is an enjoyable
heist/action/comedy with Spacey’s Irish accent not too bad. His gang is portrayed
by fine actors, while the cloe microphone re-recorded sound acoustics on Fiorentino’s
voice gets annoying at times (she’s still damn tasty, though). The heat gets cranked
up when they steal a valuable painting, the cops camp out in front of his house,
the IRA think they’re stealing what they want to nab and in-fighting flare up
within the gang. The comedy/drama balance is well maintained while its gritty
feel hardly comes close to that of Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. 3
/ B -
PB
OUTBREAK
With Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin
Spacey, Donald Sutherland Directed by Wolfgang Petersen With so many
stoppable enemies on our planet, one is sometimes more dangerous than someone
armed with a bomb. A virus can infiltrate and destroy at an alarming rate. Spreading
like wildfire, they can wipe out entire populations. When a new virus dumps the
United States into a crisis, it’s up to Hoffman and his viral expert team to track
it, find a vaccine and thus ultimately destroy it. It’s no easy task, though,
especially since there seems to be serious opposition from within the military
ranks higher up. A tense drama with enough action & excitement to avoid it being
a dreary mini-series adapted from a Grisham novel, as well as a good dosage of
thought provoking possibilities that a situation like this is not unlikely. Scary.
4 / B -
PB
THE
OTHERS With Nicole Kidman, Fionulla Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine
Cassidy, Eric Sykes Directed by Alejandro Amenabar The war is over and
a protective mother on an isolated estate in a large, old house lives alone with
her young son and daughter, her husband missing in action. The girl claims that
she sees a little boy in the house, as well as several other people. Strange sounds
and occurrences get creepier, especially after three new servants arrive. The
tension steadily builds as the religious mother starts to lose her grasp of the
situation. Produced by Kidman's now ex, Tom Cruise, the largely Spanish production
definitely has an effect by lending it a Hollywood-free atmosphere. This dark,
suspense filled spooky trip may be obvious to some from the outset, but it systematically
sucks you into its ghostly bosom with sparse but intense scares outdoing the crap
late 90's barrage of teen horror re-hashes. 4
/ C - PB THE
OUTLAW - JOSEY WALES With Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George
Directed by Clint Eastwood & Philip Kaufmann Again Clint plays a not quite
evil guy who ends up killing. This time it’s not greed, though, but the murder
of his friends and family that leads him to murder. This humble farmer becomes
a fugitive as a result as the law is on his tail. Set in the post-civil war South,
the film was co-directed by Philip Kaufmann and Eastwood. It also stars Sondra
Lock, Clint’s wife of many years (until their divorce a couple of year back).
4 / B -
PB |