SADE
LIVE The lady with the immaculate voice sounds great on record, but pulls
it off equally flawless in the live environment. This mid-90s show features some
of her best known and loved songs like The Sweetest Taboo, Love Is Stronger
Than Pride, Smooth Operator, No Ordinary Love and Paradise, not to mention
Your Love Is King, Red Eye, Haunt Me, Pearls, Cherry Pie and Cherish
The Day - 18 songs in all. Her graceful presence illuminates the stage as
her band hit every note. Sade's class separates her
from your average female solo artist. Special features include Sade's biography
and discography. 5 / B - PB
SADE
- Lovers Live This twin package contains Sade's
long awaited album Lovers Rock on CD as well as the Lovers Live
DVD. With 22 tracks, she performs Lovers Rock in its entirety, scattered
amoung many old favourites (Smooth Operator, Jezebel, Paradise, The Sweetest
Taboo, No Ordinary Love and Is It A Crime; plus Cherish The Day,
Kiss Of Life, Pearls and more). The show is a smooth, atmospheric experience,
Sade's voice carrying the entire evening. Additional material includes backstage
footage, King Of Sorrow music video and classy stills from the tour. Message
To Sade by The Polish Brothers is a collection of interviews with fans (sending
messages, some singing her songs, one guy even proposing). As a Pop-Jazz icon
Sade's
fans have been patient and loyal during her long absence, proving their support
with this release. A fine performance from both Sade
and her band captures the emotion of each song, spellbinding the audience completely.
5 / A - PB
SAHARA
With Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, Penelope Cruz, Lambert Wilson, Delroy
Lindo, William H. Macy Directed by Breck Eisner McConaughey (also executive
producer) stars in this action-adventure comedy romp in the desert as adventurer
Dirk Pitt (with a tan and facial hair that makes him look like a Spanish gigolo).
Pitt and his wisecracking buddy (Zahn) head out to West Africa to try and track
down a lost American Civil War battleship with a valuable cargo that was never
found. People are also dying inexplicably in the area, and together with the romantic
interest (a world health worker played by Cruz), they get to the bottom of some
serious underhanded dealings with life-threatening results, wild action set pieces
and ludicrous scenarios. Fun, but no Indiana
Jones.
Bonus features include multiple commentary tracks, deleted scenes and documentaries.
3 / C - PB
SANTANA
- Sacred Fire (Live In Mexico)
Shot in 1993, this impeccable live performance by one of the world's living guitar
legends offer up 1½ dozen songs predating the more commercial collaborative touches
of Santana's
last two albums. It's one of those watch & enjoy, no-frills live shows that needn't
rely on gimmicks as Carlos Santana and his lively band spread positive vibes from
start to finish with classic songs like Black Magic Woman, Gypsy Queen, Guajira
and more. 4 / B - PB
SANTANA
- Live By Request Since the late '60s Carlos
Santana had
a firm grip on his unique combination of Rock and Latin musical flavours, filled
with rhythm and fire. This recent performance sees (and hears) the cream of the
crop from Santana's
prolific career. The man's fingers are still more than nimble on the guitar's
fret board. Songs include Black Magic Woman, Oye Camo Va, Evil Ways, Foo Foo,
Soul Sacrifice, and Adouma, as well as Smooth and Dame Tu
Amor (with Rob
Thomas), The
Game Of Love (with Michelle
Branch), and
Maria Maria (with The
Product G&B).
Unfortunately no extra material is included. 5 / B - PB
The
SARAH BRIGHTMAN Special - HAREM a desert fantasy…
This one-hour journey takes you through the creation of Sarah
Brightman's
Harem album. The Arabic word for forbidden place, the Western association
is usually misconstrued as a brothel, which is not exactly the case. Contributors
to the sound of the record include Egyptian musicians lending a haunting North
African and Middle Eastern desert mood with traditional pipes & drums, like the
Lebanese percussion. From these location recordings they also zipped by Abbey
Road studios for some Nigel
Kennedy violin. There is the
orchestra and choirs, all supplementing Brightman's amazing voice. At the German
studios the vocals and modernized electronics are added to the organic, earthy
sounds, produced by Frank Peterson. Jaz Coleman (ex-Killing
Joke) created the orchestration.
Sarah's fantastic voice is obviously one of the highlights. A half hour behind-the-scenes
documentary takes you through the process and includes the Harem video
shot in Morocco and Egypt. The video can also be viewed in an alternate version
(depicting the recording process & locations). Tracks from the album are scattered
throughout the DVD and the music has a vast cinematic feel to it, sometimes tasting
like a 007 movie. Makes you think, isn't it time they use Sarah for a James Bond
theme song i.s.o. some mainstream pop choice? There's a location photo shoot &
Photo Gallery. Sarah is extremely photogenic, seeming like a bushy haired frumpy
lass, but styled & lighted she looks amazing. You've probably seen bits of this
on TV with the album's release, but the DVD contains the whole deal. You'll can
also access a detailed text Biography and Discography. With 15 million album sales
under her garter, Brightman has come a long way since the Phantom Of the Opera...
but I'm not so sure whether the album's release was good or bad timing (coming
out around the 2nd Gulf War). 4 / C - PB
SARAH
BRIGHTMAN - LA LUNA: Live In Concert
I had tickets to go see Sarah
Brightman
in concert when she swung by our Mother City, but didn't get to the show. So,
this DVD is the closest I'll get to it, for now. This package not only includes
26 live songs wonderfully performed across her repertoire for the La Luna
show with all of its beautiful stage extras, but also an added bunch of footage
to send shivers down Sarah fans' spines. Songs include La Lune, Scarbborough
Fair, Who Wants to Live Forever, Pie Jesu, Nessun Dorma, Phantom of the Opera
Suite and more. The special features include an interview, behind the scenes
of the show, recording of the album, photo shoots, after parties and rehearsals,
including some spectacularly effective stage gimmicks. A music video of A Whiter
Shade Of Pale is also included. This DVD is a full, well-packaged collectors'
item highlighting most of this gifted artists talents, but also showing a lighter
side to her and the effort that goes into such a show. 4 / B - PB
SAVAGE
GARDEN - Superstars And Cannonballs: Live On Tour In Australia
This lively show in their Australian hometown include 17
tracks incl. their three fine hit tracks To The Moon And Back, Truly Madly
Deeply and I Want You, as well as Affirmation, I Knew I
Loved You, The Best Thing, Two Beds And A Coffee Machine, Hold Me, The
Lover After Me and The Animal Song. They have a cool lighting set-up
by the people who did work for U2.
There are costume changes. The documentary Parallel Lives takes a look
at the two lads Darren
& Daniel
- one being the shy, quiet music guy, the other the show-off "Popstaa". Their
two clashing personality types working well together. Some of the tracks get commentary
as well as multi-angle tunes. You also get a not-too-vast discography, plus 3
bonus music videos. The bonus 12 track audio CD includes Affirmation, Crash
And Burn, You Can Still Be Free - all 12 tracks appearing on the live
show. They produce very good pop songs with a rock edge at times. The tackle serious
and relevant subject matter as opposed to frivolous words to match the beat to
get you dancing - Chained To You being the only blatant track treading
that ground. Their Animal Song's line of "live like animals" sounds like
"cannonballs" or "cannibals" - which they've also noticed! Love, emotion and pushing
through the bad times are projected creatively and with talented musical prowess.
4 / C - PB
SAVING
GRACE With Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes, Tchecky Karyo,
Leslie Phillips Directed by Nigel Cole When the widow of a sleepy fishing
town in England inherits her dead husband’s debt, she has to make serious plans
in order to keep the debtors at bay. It culminates in a partnership with her gardener
where they put her orchid breeding skills to use by growing marijuana in her greenhouse.
This light comedy is hardly a Cheech & Chong fest, but has many lovely, simple
human qualities and laughs which separates it from the blockbuster mayhem.
3 / C - PB
SAVING
PRIVATE RYAN With Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore
Directed by Steven Spielberg Mrs Ryan is one unlucky lady. Three of her sons
get killed during WWII. The government decides to get a group of soldiers together
to find her fourth son, somewhere in hostile territory, collect him and return
him home. Hanks is the squad leader with this dangerous but noble task, leading
a mixed bag of soldiers to do this job. The opening scene of this fine war film
is one of the most hectic, disorienting and amazingly shot in a very long time.
With the cinema sound in this scene being earblowingly fantastic, a home surround
sound system will be the only way to do it justice in your lounge. Obviously on
video it will also not be in widescreen, but don’t get me started on this. An
amazing film with ground shaking scenes of war and real compassion for the characters.
5 / A - PB SAVIOR With Dennis Quaid, Nastasja Kinski,
Stellan Skarsgard Directed by Peter Antonijevic Hardcore, bitter war
drama about a military man who loses his family in an Islamic bomb blast, resulting
in him going off the rails blowing away a group of men at a mosque. He becomes
a cold hearted mercenary and finds himself in Sarajevo sniping for the highest
bidder. At a hostage trading area a woman gets returned, pregnant with an enemy
child (the result of being raped). The local man with Quaid tries to kill her
on the way home, inducing the pregnancy - Quaid kills him before he can kill her
and delivers the baby. The two end up on the road - she wants nothing to do with
the child and he doesn’t need the baggage, but slowly his emotions return and
he starts looking after the baby. The three end up going through many trials in
the hostile land, redemption at the end of the tunnel. A surprisingly moving and
intense film that leaves one thinking. 4 / B - PB SAW
With Danny Glover, Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Monica
Potter Directed by James Wan Reports of this film as being a total gross
out shocker is a bit of an overstatement. Along the mood of films like Fincher's
Se7en,
this brutal thriller has two men waking up, both handcuffed at opposite sides
of a room, a body lying between them in a pool of blood. The methods and past
innovative murders of the serial killer responsible gets exposed in gruesome detail
to the viewer as our two helpless men get clues and instructions on how to go
free (the clock ticking). Then there is the cop that let the killer get away.
This is a cleverly written flick, with elaborate and creative deaths to go with
its moody atmosphere and suspense built around impending doom. Sadistic, cold
hearted and brutal in parts, if you've seen the ending to the first Mad
Max, you'll know
what inevitability involving a hacksaw will swing by at least one of the characters.
And if you know your actors' names (lead and below the top billing), this may
help you in figuring out who the killer is, due to his subtle presence and non-visibility
at the same time. PS. When I saw the names of Carey Elwes and Monica
Potter (respectively starring in the related Kiss
The Girls and
Along Came A
Spider), as a
result I got Glover mixed up with Morgan Freeman (who portrayed
the forensic psychologist in both those films), I thought it was interesting how
they're all in one movie together. When I realized my ID stuff-up and the fact
that the other two characters both died, I abandoned that silly train of thought,
so just forget about reading this last bit of rambling. 4 / B
- PB
SAW
II With Donny Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Glenn Plummer, Franky G, Emmanuaelle vaugier,
Beverly Mitchell Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman The chances of a horror
movie sequel matching (not to mention topping) its predecessor, is rare. In the
case of Saw II the filmmakers managed to construct a very cool follow-up with
some good twists. Our original distant terminally ill killer nicknamed Saw (because
of the jigsaw clues cut from his victims) again punishes people who don't appreciate
life. In a very bad state as his cancer eats away at him, Saw is trapped by a
cop and S.W.A.T. team. But, the cop's son is captive in house somewhere with a
group of other captives. A poisonous gas will snuff them out in a set period and
they have to play by the rules, decipher clues and get to the bottom of their
predicament. One of the captives is the only Saw survivor briefly in the first
film (escaping the jaw-trap). This entire scene is played out on screens hooked
up to the secret location. The cop has to play along to get his son back and save
the others (who slowly start turning on each other). Gruesome and convoluted,
this is great, grissly fun with a cool punch line. 4 / B - PB
SAY
IT ISN'T SO With Heather Graham, Sally Field Directed by J.B. Rogers
Publicized as being from the Farrelley Bros. (There’s
Something About Mary
and Me,
Myself & Irene),
they are in fact only part of the production credits. It does follow the line
of their bad taste comedy filmmaking, but lacks that edge which usually separates
their films from the likes of Adam Sandler. A young guy is looking for his birth
family. He meets a girl and they plan to marry - only to find out his mother-in-law-to-be
is his biological mom (thanks to an oily PI)! Thus the love of his life is his
sister! His life is ruined and he falls apart - she moves back to her ex across
the States - a wealthy tosser. Will he accept this? The stupid-ass jokes, slapstick
and bad taste flows freely as this fun little comedy pokes at everything from
strokes to amputees. No Comedy Hall Of Fame contender, but a time-passer
for a 90 minute getaway - unless you offend easily. 3 / C - PB
SCARED
ALIVE With Barry Dove, Rick Dean, Red McVay Directed by Bill Naud An
early '80s yawnfest of a low budget horror attempt that doesn't even try to compensate
for its lack of cash with well thought out plots or at least creative murders.
The cast and crew for a low budget film head out to an island where they get picked
off one by one to the tune of a song on a little tape player with their mode of
death always in the lyrics - a lame Ramones-styled song. While the whole
final punchline is actually not that bad, the poor acting, drudging pace and non-existent
scares and not very special FX make it more laborious than entertaining. Some
of the crap acting and bad lines are actually pretty amusing, but if you want
to laugh, get Young
Frankenstein.
The tag-line of "it's worse than dying" can easily be applied to the
watching experience, but at least these guys went out, shot and released their
effort. If you are fascinated by cheap obscurities like Horror
Farm,
this may be your cup of bile. PS. I picked this up in 2001 at a second hand
store for R9 (the equivalent of around $1 !) - and it was a waste of money! 1
/ C - PB
SCARFACE
With Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeifer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio,
Robert Loggia Directed by Brian DePalma With the help of Oliver Stones
screenplay, Brian DePalma recreated the classic Scarface
Chicago gangster tale of the '30s in an '80s Miami setting, making one of the
best organized crime movies of that decade. Tony Montana is a Cuban refugee who
enters America with big dreams. But for someone like him getting beyond washing
dishes to the big time via legal channels is very slim. Together with a friend
Tony rises up the gangster ranks, eventually usurping the top seat. In a haze
of cocaine he becomes the king of the world, but is as susceptible to a hostile
take-over like anyone. Running an empire with double crossing colleagues, over-protecting
a sister who wants to do her own thing, a coked out girlfriend, coke smugglers
who don't want to negotiate better wholesale prices and a business that can get
you locked up forever, Tony takes the reigns and goes all out. With so many memorable
scenes, this epic is one of DePalma and Pacino's coolest movies, clocking in at
almost 3 hours. 6 / A - PB SCARY
MOVIE 2 With Shawn & Marlon Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, James Woods,
Tim Curry Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans As if the first one wasn't
enough! With the enormous box office takings, what's the chance of the Wayans
family not cashing in again? The Naked
Gun-style movie rip-offs abound again (mostly Horror) flowing freely with the
bad taste and crude factor still well in tact. Most of the characters from the
first Scary Movie return to form with silly, crazy, dumb & nuts scenarios
flowing into one another. Cheap laughs never made so much money! 2 / B
- PB SCARY
MOVIE 3 With Charlie Sheen, Anna Faris, Anthony Anderson, Simon Rex, Leslie
Nielsen, Queen Latifah, Pamela Anderson Directed by David Zucker The
Zuckers will never be likely to shy away from the movie spoof genre. This time
round Scary Movie
has taken on a life of its own while still dependent on other popular flicks.
Here they take a stab at The
Ring, Signs,
even 8 Mile
and The Matrix,
blending them into a concoction of total stupidity and sometimes a laugh or two.
Silly physical jokes, a touch of vulgarity, direct movie reference rip-offs, boobs
and a whole lot of hamming up later at least makes you sit through the calamity,
since you can't help but find it funny (provided of course you've seen the bits
they rip off). There is a Michael Jackson bit in a scene stolen from The Others
that is just plain freaky and funny in a very sick way. Slapmeister Leslie Nielsen
pops in as the stupid president, Ja Rule his bodyguard. Sadly there are no Wyans
present. With slapstick flicks like Flying
High (aka Airplane),
Top Secret,
Hot Shots
and now this, the Zucker brothers are a far cry from the Coen brothers, that's
for damn sure! 2 / B - PB
SCHINDLER’S LIST With Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Embeth
Davidtz Directed by Steven Spielberg Oscar winning WWII drama dealing
with opportunistic capitalist who ends up looking past his greed to help over
a thousand Jewish workers escape the Nazi labour camps and gas chambers. Shot
in black & white, this vivid, shocking drama earned Spielberg his first director’s
Oscar. Eye opening and disturbing, it all lies in the uninhibited honesty of the
subject matter and fine performances. Absolutely heart-shredding. 6 /
B - PB SCHOOL
OF ROCK With Jack Black, Joan Cusack Directed by Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater (who gave us Slacker,
Dazed & Confused,
Before Sunrise & - Sunset)
surprises everyone who thought he would come out with another talky flick Philosophy
students and coffee shop arties would love. He teams up with comedic madman Jack
Black, who plays a guitarist in a rock band that gets kicked out of his own group,
replaced by a better looking poser. He's freaked out, especially since the battle
of the bands is round the corner. Totally into his rock & roll lifestyle he's
unemployed, sleeps late and mooches off his buddy, a school temp (his girlfriend
getting on his case about it). In order to get money, he fakes being a school
temp when he takes a call intended for his housemate. Impersonating his pal, with
the intention of loafing through class, collecting the pay cheque, he discovers
some of the kids in his class can play instruments. He springs into action to
put a rock band together, maybe even playing at the battle of the bands competition.
Sure, I also thought the kid element would be a sell-out drag, but they're quite
good, playing well off the manic Black. The soundtrack contains some great rock
tunes, old and new (some cool ones unfortunately not making it to the soundtrack
album). I also didn't notice any Tenacious
D (quite odd, being Jack's crazy two
man band). If Adam Sandler was cast it would be an entirely different movie, for
a start not as funny. Black takes it and rolls with it, wringing hilarity out
of the simplest scenario. School Of
Rock has the odd soppy moment, but as
a whole it's quite a blast. 4 / B - PB SCOOBY
DOO 2 With Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Sarah Michelle Geller, Seth
Green, Alicia Silverstone I missed the first live action version of this
much loved (but ultimately crap) cartoon series (if you didn't grow up with it).
Besides never being a great fan, the main reason was the annoying Matthew Lillard
in the role of Shaggy. Top this off with the 2-dimensional Freddie Prinze Jr.
and the all-American blondie Sarah Michelle Gellar, and you're in for a grating
ride. (This second installment adds the bothersome ingredient of Alicia Silverstone
and dull Seth Green). But with its colourful explosion of frivolity, spooks and
bad jokes (not to mention the crap digitally created Scooby dog), youngsters will
dig it. Not like a plot is necessary, but here the spook criminal investigators
of Mystery Inc. have to solve the dilemma of a masked mastermind stealing the
exhibited costumes of all the ghosts & goblins the team have caught, creating
a new range of baddies to terrorize the city. 2 / C - PB
THE
SCORE With Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Basset
Directed by Frank Oz Kermit
the Frog
has become quite the slick film director. While mostly going the Steve
Martin comedy route, this
way more serious heist-flick by Oz
does tend to follow many of the same old recipes. Like, for instance, the old
pro who wants to do one last big score so he can settle down with his lady (who
can't see the importance of this one last job & just not quit right away). Then
there's the young gun in on the multi-million dollar scam. The connection. The
inevitable betrayal… Nothing new. That's all fat, while the meat of the matter
is located in the setting up, planning and ultimate execution of the elaborate
scheme to steal a priceless scepter from the high security basement in the Montreal
customs office. Tension mounts in all of these areas, but you pretty much know
which way it'll swing. Fun entertainment, though. 3 / C - PB
SCREAM With Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, Rose McGowan, David
Arquette, Drew Barrymore Directed by Wes Craven The creator of that jackass
show Dawson's Creek started a whole new resurrection of the classic '80s slasher
flick genre. At least director Craven is a horror veteran with his Nightmare On
Elm Street flicks and by mocking the genre's recipe, has fun with it. 3
/ B
- PB SCREAM
2 With Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette Directed by Wes Craven
The usual suspects return, proving that (usually, and in this, definitely) the
sequel is usually the crappest installment - as Craven saw with the raping of
his initial Freddy idea with the puke inducing bad follow-up. They rip this fact
off in the movie while in fact they make themselves guilty of it. Puns like you'll
Scream to make he rubbish stop can be flung in any ol' direction, but it boild
down to - Dreadful. 1 / C - PB SCREAM
3 With Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Parker Posey, Patrick
Dempsey, Lance Henricksen Directed by Wes Craven After the slasher-flick
resurgence with the first Scream, buckets full of imitations of the imitation
spilled forth. With its success (financially, of course), a sequel was inevitable.
But this third installment should hopefully lay the whole thing to rest. More
running, stabbing and screaming as this time round Sidney (Campbell) is lured
out of her tranquil place of reclusive hiding, when a killer in the same garb
kill people in body count sequence of the 3rd Stab film in production (based on
the killings of the original Scream). Some laughs, cheap frights and many cop
outs turn this into another piece of fluff - although Campbell & Cox are mighty
fine. 2 / B - PB SCRUBBERS
With Chrissie Cotterill, Amanda York, Elizabeth Edmonds, Kate Ingram
Directed by Mai Zetterling Reform school girls in the showers always seem
like a titillating thought, but here we get to stare at the underbelly of hardcore,
under-aged offenders. This might scare away people who are considering a career
in social services, yet it also sheds light on the aspirations and feelings within
these outcasts who are never given a chance. Directed by Mai Zetterling with Chrissie
Cotterill and Amanda York. 4 / B - PB
SEABISCUIT
With Jeff Bridges, Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper Directed by Gary Ross
Besides some Oscar® nominated credibility, it takes a lot for a movie about
a racehorse to draw me to it. I eventually saw it and was pleasantly surprised
by this uplifting tale of triumph. It's the depression era and four down on their
luck lives converge. They are an automobile builder, a feisty young man who wants
to be a jockey but isn't small enough, a cowboy whose roaming nature is fenced
in by ranches and a horse he saves from being shot. Together they build a championship
team winning almost every championship they enter. Based on a true story, the
victory of the underdog plays out perfectly in this well-told tale with lovely
cinematography and believable characterization. Fans of Black Beauty, The Black
Stallion and National Velvet will be well pleased. 4 / C
- PB THE
SEA INSIDE With Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Duenas, Mabel Rivera Directed
by Alejandro Amenábar This Spanish Best Foreign Oscar winner is an emotional
ride with a quadriplegic, Ramon, who has been confined to his bed for 26 years
after an accident diving into an ocean pool. He is fighting the authorities to
allow euthanasia and keeps hitting dead ends. If he could do it himself, he would,
but he also doesn't want to implicate his family and friends (many of them respecting
his viewpoint, but don't want him to go through with it). He also befriends a
young single mother. His brother, sister in law and their son look after him,
and an agency fighting for his right to choose have become very close to him,
making his decision even harder to swallow. A specialist lawyer is called in.
She has a degenerative disease that will ultimately lead to her death, and the
two of them connect. Ramon's only escape is to fantasize about flying to his favourite
beach. But when reality strikes back, he is still helpless in his bed. The
Sea Inside
is a stirring drama based on a true story, dealing with both emotional and controversial
issues. The fact that Oscar winners are often connected to some affliction or
disability is again proven here. Bonus features include director's commentary,
deleted scenes, photo gallery and a documentary - A Trip To The Sea Inside.
4 / C - PB
SECOND
SKIN With Javier Bardem, Jordi Molla, Ariadna Gil, Cecilia Roth Directed
by Gerardo Vera Touching Spanish film dealing with love and infidelity. An
attractive wife and mother discovers her husband is having an affair… but unaware
that it is with another man. He still loves her, but feels the same about his
lover. The complex and painful situation meanders when he promises he’ll never
speak with his lover again. But he cannot stay away. Most of the time the sympathy
lies with the wife, her husband’s sometimes heartless idiocy leaving little room
for empathy. Then there is the lover who is instrumental and no faceless sidekick.
His feelings are also real and passionate. This intricate love story won’t be
everyone’s cup of tea as it is no flowery, fluffy mainstream slice of cinema.
The black & white Rorscach-style collage titles serve for a lovely opening, elements
from the film incorporated, without giving away anything. 4 / C -
PB
THE
SECRET ADVENTURES OF TOM THUMB With Nick Upton, Deborah Collard, Frank Passingham,
John Schofield Directed by Dave Borthwick A mindblower of an animated
film, with a difference. What sets this apart from other animated movies is the
fact that it's not cuddly and warm, but dark and tragic; but most of all it is
the technique of traditional stop animation that expands into live action, actors
animated together with the plasticine and latex characters. Bolex Brothers affiliate
Dave Borthwick took the classic Tom Thumb fairytale and gave it a fantastic
reworking, as our title character's diminutive stature does not prevent him from
becoming a hero in a cruel, depressing world of downtrodden people and abused
creatures. The revolutionary animation is sensational, the art- and creature design
great. Led
Zeppelin
bassist John Paul Jones wrote the Tom Thumb theme with The
Startled Insects
doing the rest of the eerie soundtrack. A powerful film that simply everyone has
to behold. 6 / A - PB
SEED
OF CHUCKY With Jennifer Tilly, Redman, John Waters, Hannah Spearritt, and
the voices of Brad Dourif and Billy Boyd Directed by Don Mancini Franchise
creator Don Mancini is taking the helm of this fifth instalment. The fact that
the Child's
Play movies
have become a parody of itself is no surprise, only now it has gone all the way,
with Tilly (who debuted as the voice of the Tiffany doll in Bride
Of Chucky)
playing herself and taking the piss all the way. Her career is on the fritz and
she needs a big hit. Rapper Redman has turned director and is doing a Jesus epic,
and she wants to play Mary. Chucky's kid (born at the end of Bride) has been used
by a scummy ventriloquist and escapes from the UK to look for his parents. He
accidentally resurrects the two dolls (used in a horror movie shoot). The hacking
couple is back and soon their killer instincts flare up. Chucky wants the (crotch-less)
plastic progeny to be a boy, following in his dad's murderous footsteps, while
mom wants a girl who doesn't kill. The B-movie king Ed Wood's transvestite film
Glen
Or Glenda
gets a homage with the battle between Chucky and Tiffany to call the kid either
one or the other. The jokes are slapstick, the lines cheesy, the entire plot as
hokey as it can get (as if a killing doll isn't enough already!). But, our new
parents still want live human bodies and decide to get channeled into Redman and
Tilly and be a new Hollywood power-couple to boot! But the kid also needs a body,
so Chucky has to whack off in a cup to artificially inseminate the hamming Meg.
This makes for an hilariously crude scene with cult director John Waters playing
a tabloid photographer who snaps this action. Crazy, silly, occasionally funny
and definitely entertaining, the film also features some cameos from actors like
local-guy-cracking-it Jason Flemyng. 3 / B - PB
SEINFELD
Seasons 1 & 2 With Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
Michael Richards Directed by Tom Cherones, Art Wolff Standup comedians
Larry David and Jerry Sienfeld created a sitcom that redefined the whole game.
No-one anticipated it. The expectations for the '90s were high after the shortcomings
of the Reagan-Thatcher-era '80s (which did however spawn some great music and
movies, but bad fashion and TV). The characters of Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer
in the New York City setting took the viewer into everyday settings, more often
than not focused on relationships, the pursuit thereof and the hilarious results
of the characters' hang-ups and general human fallibilities. But what made these
shows so great was the fact that the writers really got great moments out of the
most basic of day-to-day human activity, from laundry and jobs to phone messages.
This DVD series is a brilliantly packaged 4-disc foldout box-set affair with all
the remastered episodes plus a truckload of extra features. This batch contains
the first five episode (plus the pilot) of the first season, as well as the second
series' 13 episodes. It includes shows like The Stake-Out, The Robbery, The Ex-Girlfriend,
The Pony Remark, The Jacket, The Apartment, The Chinese Restaurant and The Deal.
The packed extras on all of the season releases include interviews with all the
key players, commentary tracks, deleted scenes, notes, inside looks, bloopers,
photo galleries and web links, plus additional stand-up bits from Jerry Seinfeld.
This first release also contains a Making-Of Documentary. At first many viewers
weren't prepared for the blend of clever writing, situation comedy, slapstick
and human quirks, but soon couldn't wait to turn on their TVs to let their favourite
bunch of nuts into their homes. 6 / A - PB SEINFELD
Season 3 With Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael
Richards Directed by Tom Cherones, David Steinberg, Joshua White If
you're unfamiliar with this TV series, you certainly missed out on a piece of
the '90s and TV history. But, now's your chance to catch up and get turned on
to this revolutionary comedy series which defied the format. Seinfeld pretty much
played himself, also a stand-up comic in the show, bits of club based routine
opening and closing each episode (plus bits in between), mostly relating to subjects
cropping up in the show. George is the neurotic incompetent, Elaine the girl in
the gang who's pretty much one of the guys and Kramer the mad neighbour (adding
physical comedy to the smart verbal quips). The 22 shows of Season 3 include The
Note, The Parking Garage, The Pez Dispenser, The Subway, The Keys and the two
part Boyfriend episodes. Never before has personal hang-ups, quirks, menial daily
activity and sitting around talking crap been so brilliantly utilized for comedic
effect. The substantial load of extras on all of the season releases include interviews
with all the key players, commentary tracks, deleted scenes, notes, inside looks,
outtakes, photo galleries and web links, plus additional stand-up bits from Jerry.
This 3rd season release also includes a piece on Kramer's origin. Some people
were aghast at the million-dollar payday Jerry Seinfeld eventually received per
episode, but with the global popularity of the show, why not? I have to add, I
do love good packaging. These compact 4-disc releases slide in & fold out with
images of our favourite New Yorkers Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George all over
the place. This is also my first encounter with a new space saving twin disc storing
technique, which has two discs overlapping. 6 / A - PB
SEPULTURA
With Sepultura Three of the band’s videos from the Roots album are represented
her, reason being they were never broadcast in their entirety on worldwide TV.
Roots Bloody Root, Hatamatata and Attitude can be seen as intended, the band’s
vision in tact. More so than other bands of the heavy metal genre, Sepultura have
delved into their Brazilian culture, incorporating it in their music, and the
same with these videos. The first with its traditions and percussion, the second
(a great piece of stop-animation) focussing on Brazilian folk heroes and the last
placing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ultimate world fighting champ Gracie ring center (literally).
They’re all fine videos for fans and the mere interested alike. It also includes
interview links relating to the ideas behind the videos, what it means to the
band and how it came about. It might not be as long as some hardcore fans would’ve
hoped, but it’s still a fine piece of Sepultura history you’re unlikely to find
anywhere else. 5 / A - PB SEPULTURA
- Under Siege (Live in Barcelona) With Sepultura Directed by Steve Payne
This powerful live show by the Brazilian metal monsters in Barcelona seemed
to come out of the blue and smack the scene upside the head (especially those
unaware of the band). From poverty and years of struggle in Sao Paulo, their alternative
attitude turned them to expressing their dissatisfaction with the dispensation
in brutal, fast music. The show is energetic, furious and invigourating, the band
playing as a tight unit intent on taking no prisoners. The in between interviews
don’t really retract from the flow of the show, but in stead provide those unprepared
for it just enough time to catch their breath. This was filmed as they started
to make a worldwide impact and even though vocalist Max Cavalera moved on to form
his new band Soulfly, it’s still a great video to watch (and hear), with some
of their coolest songs from that period in their career. 5 / A - PB
SERENDIPITY
With John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Molly Shannon, Jeremy Piven Directed
by Peter Chelsom Cusack is no stranger to romantic comedies. Here he pairs
up with Pearl Harbour lass Kate Beckinsale.
The two meet in a department store where the first spark strikes. They chat all
night and sit down at the Serendipity restaurant - a prophetic place where the
coincidences are ignited. They are both involved and decide not to swap numbers.
In stead she writes hers in the front of a book and promises to sell it to a second
hand dealer. If he finds it, it's meant to be. Years later when they are to marry
their respective partners, the two still can't get the other out of their minds.
Clues and hints start to pile up, making it obvious that they have to try once
more to find the other before they commit themselves to someone else for good.
With the film's title getting full mileage, the near hits and misses can get frustrating,
but takes some wonderful turns. From the outset it seems to be one of those passable
romantic movies, but becomes a pleasant, warm film of love and destiny. 4
/ C - PB
SERIAL
MOM With Kathleen Turner, Ricki Lake, Sam Waterston, Matthew Lilliard, Scott
Wesley Morgan, Mink Stole, Traci Lords Directed by John Waters Turner
still has it as she relishes this wacky role only John Waters could’ve thought
up. A lovely mother/housewife is actually a serial killer in a quiet suburb. All
hell breaks loose as she starts knocking off more people than usual, her oblivious
family getting entangled. Crazy and funny, the dark element not once touching
on the serious - as it ought to be. 5 / A - PB
SERIES
7: The Contenders With Brooke Smith, Mark Woodbury, Michael Kaycheck, Marylouise
Burke, Merritt Weaver, Richard Venture, Glenn Fitzgerald Directed by Daniel
Minahan Taking the "reality TV" and Blair
Witch
angle one step further, these low budget film-makers manage to pull a believable
and chilling portrayal of how far our voyeurism and fascination with reality shows
could go. For those unaware of Man
Bites Dog (a Belgian classic
about a documentary film crew following a killer around on his various "jobs"
- making the voyeuristic crew and viewers accomplices), Series
7 boils down to a similar
principle. Only difference is, where Man
Bites Dog is a "private"
and perverse documentation of murder & mayhem, Series
7 takes it a step further
by bringing the real killings into the homes of everyone with a TV set. Half a
dozen contestants are randomly picked, each armed with a weapon and a cameraman.
Eliminating the other contestants before they nail you is the main objective,
the method entirely open for improvisation. The hunter-killer theme had been used
quite of through literature and cinema. The
Prize Of Peril was a book
and film before Stephen King's Running
Man echoed its televised
runner chased by killers. Hard
Target and Surviving
The Game took the "hunting
humans" angle in a blood thirsty private capacity as opposed to this "beamed into
every home" approach of Series
7. The actors appear very
natural and convincing as they portray the varied contenders from a pregnant woman
(the reigning champ), a testicular cancer survivor, a teenage girl, an old man
and an elderly nurse. The TV show links and commentator is great. The blatant
social commentary is apparent and the cold blooded realism will shock and appall
many viewers while its inherent humour is undeniably choice. Some will laugh because
of its satirical lunacy while other will laugh because they're shocked. While
walkouts are highly likely, I would urge viewers to sit through it for great story
development and climax. (Brooke Smith, the excellent lead actress in this
compelling film, portrayed the hostage of Silence
Of The Lambs' serial killer).
5 / B - PB
SERVING
SARA With Matthew Perry, Elizabeth Hurley, Bruce Campbell, Cedric The Entertainer
Directed by Reginald Hudlin Seeing the cover to this comedy makes me
want to groan. But, this little film is not all that bad. Friends
star Perry plays a court order server. He has to lay divorce papers on our pretty
(but annoying) Liz, who is being dumped by her cheating rich Texan hubby (played
by the cool Bruce Campbell). Time become a factor when whoever serves the papers
first will have a head start in court. This means she can lose a huge settlement.
Perry is also about to lose his job for not performing - his colleague out to
thwart him. Long story short - he takes her side to nail the bastard husband and,
guess what, slowly falls for her (now that was a surprise wasn't it?). Enjoyable,
but forgettable. 3 / C - PB SESSION
9 With David Caruso, Peter Mullan, Brendan Sexton III, Josh Lucas, Stephen
Gevedon Directed by Brad Anderson Ah, an interesting psychological scare
flick for a change - no teenagers running around screaming. A team of guys get
contracted to do an asbestos removal job at an old dilapidated and deserted mental
hospital to be turned into a commercial facility. At a very steady pace things
start to turn strange. Each of the team have their personal problems to deal with
amid the rush to finish the job. The team foreman's marriage seems to be on the
rocks, his partner trying to hold things together while another of the guys is
having a thing with his ex-girlfriend. There's a young mullet idiot and an educated
man who nips out to listen to tapes he found in a storeroom of a patient with
multiple personalities. A very eerie atmosphere is created as things start to
unravel, fall apart and become deadly scary. This is a great thriller with some
frightening moments and well worth the 90 odd minutes. 5 / B - PB
SET
IT OFF (in Afrikaans) met Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Blair Underwood
Regisseur: F. Gary Gray Vier vriendinne in die South Central Los Angeles
area besluit dat hulle onbevoorregte situasie onverdraaglik begin word tot die
punt van desperasie. Hulle neem die gesamentlike besluit dat hulle enigste uitweg
sal wees om bankrowers te word. Alles verloop glad totdat hulle versteekte fortuin
verdwyn. Dan begin die poppe dans. Ek weet nie of ek die enigste een is wat so
voel nie, maar die cliche van die South Central tragedie wat deur John Singleton
se Boyz N' The Hood begin is, word nou 'n bietjie afgesaag. Die hip-hop kultuur
wat baie Suid Afrikaners as hulle eie aanneem word ook na ons gegooi op elke tweede
sitcom op die televisie. Daar is definitief 'n mark daarvoor, maar nes erotiese
rillers word sekere temas 'n bietjie oordoen. Tussen die geweld en kru taal kan
die prent wel 'n "boost" wees vir die vroulike geslag, deurdat die karakters opstaan,
reageer en vuurwapens hanteer nes enige man kan. 2 / C - PB
THE
70's SOUL JAM - Live From The Palace Theater These days you get many
young cocky singers trying to emulate the Soul power of the past legends. But
there's nothing like the real thing. These performances by a variety of classic
Soul artists from the 1970s ware recently recorded at the Palace Theatre in New
Haven. There are the Stylistics,
The Dramatics,
The Chi-Lites,
The Delfonics,
Harold Melvin
& The Blue
Notes, Major
Harris, and
Cuba Gooding
Sr. (Oscar
winning Jr.'s dad). They may be coming on in years, but they've still got it.
A great nostalgia breeder. 5 / B - PB
SEX
PISTOLS - The Filth And The Fury With Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Johnny Rotten,
Glen Matlock Directed by Julien Temple Made about three decades after
the swift rise and fall of the rule breaking Punk band the Sex
Pistols, Great
Rock 'N Roll Swindle director Julien Temple revisited the subject. Here he
delved deeper into the tumultuous post WWII times of idealism, which was a social
disaster (giving birth to widespread dissatisfaction), the band members' pasts
and the band's inception, plus more personal details. As a reaction against conservative
illusions and repression of anything going against the state controlled status
quo, the Sex
Pistols was
an avenue for young people who had enough of the old guard oppressing them. With
new Rotten, Cook, Jones and (original bassist) Matlock interviews, Temple get
the firsthand opinions, memories and accounts from the guys who lived it - the
joy and mostly bitterness and sadness it bred, due to more reasons than Malcolm
McLaren being a prick. With some shots re-used from the Great Rock 'N Roll
Swindle, it is hardly a mere rehash with some unseen band, news and BBC footage,
or extended pieces (which includes Siouxie
Sioux and
Billy Idol).
A fascinating and heartbreaking viewing, especially when Rotten breaks down about
the loss of Sid Vicious. This is a perfect companion-piece to the Swindle
movie. Includes a trailer and commentary track. 6 / B - PB
SEX
PISTOLS - THE GREAT ROCK 'N ROLL SWINDLE With Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Johnny
Rotten, Sid Vicious, Malcolm McLaren Directed by Julien Temple Today
kids think "Punk" is a bunch of fashionably styled baggy-denimmed, mushy-gelled
hair lads playing up-tempo radio friendly sing-along rock tunes. They're obviously
oblivious to the existence of socially charged groups like Exploited,
Dead Kennedys,
Discharge,
G.G. Allin
and of course, one of the original pioneers of the late '70s, the Sex
Pistols -
not to mention the social, political and economic motivations behind it all. This
movie surpasses all the cheesy band movies that came before from The
Beatles and
The Monkees
to Elvis
and The Spice
Girls. Here
you get the telling of the band's rise and fall via an energetic mix-match of
documentary and live footage, crazy animation, a fake PI thread and manager Malcolm
McLaren's 10 point lesson in swindling the record companies out of as much cash
from chaos as possible. Director Julian Temple undertook this triple headed mix
of documentary, rockumentary and mockumentary across several years while still
in film school, and ended up with one of the classic rock films of our time (regardless
of McLaren's egotistical interference). Obviously the soundtrack is wall-to-wall
Sex Pistols,
from Anarchy In The UK, Holidays In The Sun and God Save The Queen
to guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook's tunes with exiled great train
robber Ronnie Biggs in Brazil, and Sid Vicious' deliciously twisted version of
My Way and Eddie
Cochran tunes.
This highly entertaining romp takes you through the triumphs, tribulations, pain,
chaos, sorrow and tragedy that gave these young misfits (and a generation who
identified with their disenfranchised lot) something to believe in, but ultimately
also their demise - in particular the ultimate price in the death of Sid Vicious
and his nasty piece of work girlfriend Nancy. With language, nudity and profanity
that'll shock many viewers, this remains one of the best rock movies ever, and
a piece of history. 6 / A - PB SHALLOW
GRAVE With Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ken Scott, Keith
Allen Directed by Danny Boyle This admirable mid-90s debut effort by the
team who went on to give us Trainspotting
utilizes mystery, noir and suspense standards to great effect. A group of three
housemates get an extra lodger, but find him mysteriously dead in his room - and
with him an obscene stash of dosh. Utilizing great suspense & tension with innovative
photography, greed and mistrust soon has the three friends turning on each other
(on top of the fact that the money's owners are looking for it). This was also
McGregor's kick-start to stardom. 4 / B - PB SHALLOW
GRAVE With Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox Directed by
Danny Boyle Intriguing, tense low budget Scottish feature about a group of
housemates who turn against one another when a new boarder is found dead in his
room with a suitcase filled with cash. Inventively written and shot, the performances
are equally good. One of the best thrillers to come from this part of the UK.
5 / A - PP
SHALLOW
HAL With Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, Jason Alexander Directed by The
Farelley Bros. The Brothers F had brought us a wild array of comedic cinema,
usually wading around the bad taste end of the pool. But, taste so bad and human,
you cannot help but laugh at their exposing of the crude and funny sides of life
most people would never talk about - opening the sluices to these potentially
hilarious phenomena and making us laugh at ourselves via on-screen reflective
personalities. But, be it Dumb
& Dumber, King Pin, There's Something About Mary
or Me, Myself
& Irene, they
don't hold themselves back when it comes to leaning on the sentimentality (and
even romantic) taps. It usually involves an incompetent who might just get the
girl. With Shallow
Hal, Jack
Black depicts a guy who, all his life merely looked at women from the outside.
When he gets stuck in a lift with motivational guru Anthony Robbins, the guy whips
him around mentally to see beyond the aesthetic exterior and see the internal
beauty. That's when he falls for our Gwyneth, who is in fact one huge lady. But
to Hal, she is a slim beauty and he cannot believe his luck that she doesn't have
a boyfriend. Alexander (Seinfeld's
George) does his thing as the buddy with some funny results. While some of the
gags are predictable, this movie is more socially conscious than any of the previous
Farelley outings. While making fun of overweight situations, they also turn the
spotlight on how cruel the world can be towards people finding themselves to be
more than just a couple of pounds over. 4 / B - PB
SHADOW
OF THE VAMPIRE with John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Eddie Izzard
Directed by E. Elias Merhige Vampire genres have ventured in almost every
possible direction: Classic (Bela Lugosi's Dracula),
Teen (The Lost Boys),
Comedy (The Fearless Vampire Killers),
Blaxploitation (Blackula),
Epic (Bram Stoker's Dracula),
Cheezy (Andy Warhol's Dracula),
Realism (The Addiction),
Stoopid (Dracula - Dead And Loving It),
Stylish Action (Blade),
Erotic Exploitation (The Bare Breasted
Countess)… With limited access to one
of the best (and most overlooked) vampire classics, few are aware of F.W. Murnau's
amazing 1920's film, Nosferatu.
Stoker's wife wouldn't surrender the rights for the eccentric German director
to film her late husband's novel, Dracula. So, Murnau merely changed names
and minor details. Shadow Of The Vampire
is an incredibly rich film combining pseudo-fact, horror, comedy and art. We're
taken on a film-maker's journey as the determined Murnau leads the participants
through a nightmarish stint to commit this tale to celluloid. Where I am sure
that many of the struggles in making this slice of genius might well have occurred
(albeit sometimes presented in a more comedic fashion than would've been reality),
one serious bit of fact gets altered which is the film's main premise and focus.
This is the case of actor Max Schreck who played the vampire. Murnau told his
cast and crew that he is a serious method actor who will only appear in full make-up
and character. Slowly everyone starts to wonder about this weird "actor", if he
IS in fact one and exactly how Murnau intends on remunerating him for his "performance",
members of production getting freaked out and also dying. Shadow
Of The Vampire defies a clean-cut genre
definition like the above-mentioned films and aside from its great visualization
and intelligent writing (Steven Katz), is part of its genius. If you hadn't seen
the original Nosferatu,
this film will still be a great experience, but those viewers familiar with the
masterpiece (or even Werner Herzog's outstanding 70's remake with Klaus Kinski
and Isabelle Adjani) will get so much more from it. 5 / A - PB
SHAFT
With Samuel L. Jackson, Christian Bale, Vanessa Williams, Richard Roundtree
Directed by John Singleton This is not a re-make. This particular Mr
Shaft is the nephew of the real mean mutha (shut yo’ mouth) who dazzled audiences
in the 70’s in the form of Richard Roundtree, the ex-cop turned PI who gets way
in deep. As a black rolemodel, he still kicks ass. (Roundtree pops up a few times).
Jackson is a brilliant choice here as the cop who quits after a race killer constantly
gets off the hook. He tries to take him down any which way - the last resort being
a witness on the lam. The action, the attitude and humour is all pretty top notch
and even if you missed the original (which you’d better track down), this is still
a great film on many levels. 5 / B - PB SHAKIRA
- Live Off The Record The
bleached Colombian hip wiggler is quite a talented little girl (also playing guitar,
drums and harmonica), even if her throaty yodel gets a bit annoying. Her live
set is expertly executed, almost half in Spanish, the other in English. Being
a rock fan, she hair-bangs to an AC/DC
cover (Back In Black) and obviously finishes the set off with her hit Whenever,
Wherever, other favourites including Si Te Vas, Underneath Your Clothes
and The One. A great fan extra is the inclusion of a DVD containing
her live show with 15 tracks as opposed to the CD's 10. Some of the extra songs
include Rules, Ready For The Good Times, and Inevitable. Besides
frivolous pop and love songs, she also has a political view of peace as on Octavo
Dia (featuring a backdrop of Bush & Hussain playing chess, both controlled
by the Grim Reaper), the band wearing politician masks. It also contains an in
depth documentary and other extras. 4 / C - PB
SHALL
WE DANCE? With Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez Directed
by Peter Chelsom Like wedding movies, dance flicks always have a huge audience,
the viewers not necessarily dance fans. This one is a remake. Gere plays a successful
family man who feels that there's something missing in his life when his wife
can't think of what to get him for his birthday. On his way home by train from
work every evening he spots a young woman staring out of a window at a dance studio.
This drives him to go there and together with a few other oddly matched guys they
start taking ballroom dancing lesson. Obviously he checks the young instructor
out and his wife doesn't know about these nightly dance lessons. Will he cheat?
Will she find out? These questions become irrelevant as he finds a part of himself
he didn't know existed. Initially I was reluctant to bother watching this, but
it will be especially entertaining for middle-aged viewers. Extras include director's
commentary, deleted scenes, beginner's ballroom and music videos. PS.
Interesting to see the resurrection of Casablanca Records that was created
for the band Kiss in the '70s and also had some disco acts like Donna
Summer - the soundtrack's on this label and contains a lame cover version of
David Bowie's Let's Dance. The original would've been a better choice.
By the way, this is an American remake of a Japanese film. 3 / C
- PB
SHANGHAI
NOON With Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu Directed by Ted Bey
This time round master stuntman/choreographer/action superstar Chan hits the wild
west…with a smaller budget than Wild Wild West, but far more punch (and kick!).
The Chinese emperor’s daughter is kidnapped and taken to the US. She is held captive
by a traitor of her country who now found his refuge in the new world, exploiting
his own people who immigrated to build his railway lines. Chan is a subservient
Imperial Guard who ends up travelling to the US to save her. Here he meets a fumbling
but good hearted outlaw who teams up in his quest. Great action and fighting set-pieces
with a bit of a story behind it after all. Chan’s Hong Kong popularity is getting
more and more global each picture he makes. But the Hollywood glitz in his new
pictures do tend to lack that classic, bare knuckles, mad and reckless raw beauty
of his early HK films. 4 / B - PB
SHAOLIN
SOCCER With Stephen Chow, Vicki Zhao, Ng Man Tat, Patrick Tse Yin Directed
by Stephen Chow At first glance it seems as though the producers had a meeting
deciding that market research shows soccer fans to be big kung-fu movie watchers;
with the millions of soccer fans across the globe, this would logically result
in a financially sound return. Shaolin Soccer in fact ends up being an ass- and
ball kicking blast. Not being much of a sports fan, it had me in stitches and
will even entertain soccer haters as we're led through an action-packed tale of
an underdog soccer team assembled by a washed out coach (against his old rival
with an illegally enhanced super team) in a big contest. The underdogs consist
of Shaolin martial arts experts who use their skills in the sport - a motley bunch
of brothers, held together by our hero (and director). It sounds ludicrous, but
with crazy humour (and even a spontaneous musical number!), digital FX and intense
energy they pull it off to make one hell of an enjoyable movie defying both laws
of science and cinematic expectations. 5 / B - PB
SHATTERED
GLASS With Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgard, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Zahn,
Hank Azaria Directed by Billy Ray Fact often outstrips fiction when
laid bare. This true story looks at the fall of a promising young writer (in his
20s) whose stint at the prestigious New Republic magazine took a serious nosedive
when his fabrications started surfacing, snowballing into a serious disaster.
Steven Glass's flights of fantasy initially used to soup up stories eventually
became full-blown lies. Christensen (who played a young Darth Vader in the Attack
Of The Clones chapter
of Star
Wars)
could easily have had his career damaged by appearing in Lucas's film, but he
managed to get out of the fantasy loop and tackled this serious role with conviction.
The office dynamics, interpersonal relationships, sense of trust and professionalism
around this, the only in-flight mag of Airforce One grabs hold of the viewer as
we see this man careening into more and more shit as he lies to cover up lies.
Writers from Forbes on-line wanted to do a follow-up on a hacker article (and
even with his fake notes), Glass's house slowly came tumbling down as evidence
(or the lack thereof) got excavated. A fascinating film, which also features a
60 Minutes TV interview with the real Glass as well as a commentary track
by director Ray. 4 / B - PB The
adventures of SHARKBOY & LAVAGIRL in 3D With David Arquette, Cayden Boyd,
Taylor Dooley, Kristin Davis, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez Directed by Robert
Rodriguez There are a few things I love about Rodriguez: besides his great
cinematic instincts, all-round involvement, and wonderful utilization of High
Definition video, he can make a violent adult themed film one year, and follow
immediately with a light hearted kiddy flick. Here the creator of Spy
Kids
builds on the last installment of that trilogy by doing another 3D kids adventure.
Max is a boy who lives himself into his dream world. In his dreams he created
Sharkboy and Lavagirl, polar opposite superheroes that work together. Max notes
all of these escapes in his dream journal, but there seems to be evidence that
his two dream friends cross over into the real world. After the class bully steals
his journal, a raging storm has Sharkboy and Lavagirl enter his classroom to take
him to planet Drool, where all his dreams reside. It is being taken over by darkness
and they have to save it. With ample digital assistance the fun ride takes the
viewer through an amazing dream world of weirdness and peril, the evil one and
his electric henchman trying to catch our three heroes. The 3D effect works well
and takes up the bulk of the movie, adding to the high-energy fun, family values
and moral lessons. If this isn't for you, and you're looking for something with
a bit more kick, then rather try Rodriguez & Frank Miller's Sin
City.
PS. The 3D specs manufacturers should look into smoothing out the sharp edge
of the nose bridge area. 4 / B - PB
SHERYL
CROW - C'Mon America 2003 For several years Crow
has craved her own niche by giving her fans folk / country flavoured acoustic
rock with a pop appeal. Sheryl
is quite sexy in this no-frills show (albeit big screens behind her & the all-male
band). The 21 songs include Steve McQueen, Riverwide, My Favourite Mistake,
C'Mon C'Mon, The First Cut Is The Deepest, Strong Enough, If It Makes You Happy,
A Change Would Do You Good, Leaving Las Vegas, All I Wanna Do, Soak Up The Sun,
Safe And Sound and closes with an impressive cover of Led
Zeppelin's
Rock And Roll (in a pair of leather pants, bare footed on top of the grand
piano - hmmm). The disc contains no extras, just a little interlude with footage
from the stage set-up & behind the scenes with a bit of Sheryl
voice over. Playing guitar, bass & piano, this multi-talented lady has come a
long way from being a Michael
Jackson
back-up singer(!). 4 / A - PB
SHERYL
CROW - The Very Best Of The cool, swaggering style of Sheryl
Crow can be
found here in al its glory on a Best Of CD, a live CD and a DVD video collection.
The two CDs clock in 30 tracks. The Very Best Of disc includes All I
Wanna Do, Soak Up The Sun, My Favourite Mistake, The First Cut Is The Deepest,
Everyday Is A Winding Road, Leaving Las Vegas, Strong Enough, If It Makes You
Happy, Picture (Kid
Rock feat.
Sheryl Crow),
C'Mon C'Mon (feat. The
Corrs), A
Change Would Do You Good. The Live In Central Park CD includes many
of the abovementioned hits, plus My Favourite Mistake, Gold Dust Woman, It
Don't Hurt, White Room and Tombstone Blues. The Very Best Of
DVD assembles 14 clips - pretty much in the same order as the CD version, but
also include Steve McQueen and Anything But Now. Perfect for a Crow
fan. 5 / B - PB SHE’S
SO LOVELY With Sean Penn, Robin Wright, John Travolta Directed by Nick
Cassavetes Intriguing and often strange & heartbreaking tale of an unconventional
couple. After a traumatic experience Penn ends up in an institution, going off
the rails. After years he returns, the love of his life married with children.
Intense human drama with gritty edges, originally written for the screen by classic
indie film director John Cassavetes, here directed with finesse by his son.
4 / B - PB SHINE
(in Afrikaans) Met Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl Regisseur: Scott
Hicks Hierdie lieflike storie van 'n jong, talentvolle pianis se persoonlike
reis, is vir 7 Oscar toekennings genomineer. Geoffrey Rush se hartstogtelike,
sensitiewe en maniese vertolking het hom die beste akteur toekenning laat losslaan.
Met 'n domineerende, harde, streng pa, wat hom tot sy uiterste vermoe dryf, maar
aan die ander kant hom verhoed om die huis te verlaat om studie-beurse in ander
lande te benut, werp sy lewe taamlik omver. Dit lei tot 'n punt waar hy sy greep
op realiteit begin verloor. Hierdie hoe aangeskrewe rolprent sal net tot sy volle
potensiaal strek as die gehoor se stemming vir so 'n verhaal ingestel is.
4 / C - PB
SHIPPING
NEWS With Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett Directed
by Lasse Halström When you throw emotionally inflicted characters together
in a freezing environment (often blatantly used as metaphor), you usually get
a tough, trying cinematic journey. This is indeed one of them, but does have a
sliver of sunlight behind the dark clouds. Spacey is a quiet, insecure man who
inadvertently gets involved with a loose slag. They have a kid and she dumps him
(after numerous screw-arounds). On running away, she dies in a car crash and the
guy has to raise the kid. He moves to the cold harbour village of his ancestry
and finds a job at the small newspaper where his new life unfolds together with
flashbacks of the area's past. He meets a woman and things don't seem as bleak.
A touch taxing at times, but a wonderfully moving film nonetheless. (Great introductory
sequence of Spacey morphing into different scenes). 4 / B - PB
SHIVERS
With Paul Hampton, Lynn Lowry, Alan Migicovsky, Susan Petrie, Barbara Steele
Directed by David Cronenberg The tenants of an isolated modern apartment
block become victims of a spreading disease turning them into sex zombies. This
transfer occurs when Twinkie sized parasites are passed on. A doctor in the building
developed this as a substitute for failing organs, but it all goes horribly wrong
as these parasites invoke an extreme sense of uninhibited lust. Shows how much
can be done with great story and innovative utilization of low cost gore FX. Another
fabulous medically fuelled Cronenberg classic. 6 / A - PP …the
2nd opinion… SHIVERS
aka THEY CAME FROM WITHIN With Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry, Barbara
Steele Directed by David Cronenberg Shivers
is Canadian director Cronenberg's commercial debut that set the scene for his
ongoing theme of biological horror. Backed by Ivan Reitman (in pre-comedic success
mode), the film concentrates on an up-market self-efficient apartment community.
Within these walls, a researcher's experimental parasitic leech-like creatures
are infesting the tenants, turning them into sexually depraved semi-zombies with
venereal disease parallels. With two hot actresses and some visceral FX, Cronenberg
created an amazing shocker still enjoyable today, even with its budgetary shortcomings.
5 / A - PB
SHOWER
With Zhu Xu, Pu Cun Xing, Jiang Wu, He Zheng Directed by Zhang Yang
Intimate film about a successful businessman who returns to his hometown
where his father and retarded brother still runs a public bath house. Touching
and well made. 4 / C - PB
SHREK With
the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow Directed
by Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jensen Dreamworks
is becoming one hell of a competitor for Disney. This digitally animated
feature bursts at the seams with visual detail, action, great laughs and jaw-dropping
realistic animation design that simply has to be seen. Shrek
is an Ogre who simply wants to live his quiet life in his slimey swamp, going
about his daily Ogre business. When a vertically challenged megalomaniac banishes
all of the classic fairytale characters (from Pinocchio to the 3 little pigs)
to his swamp, Shrek goes to the castle to sort it out. But, together with his
new tag-along friend (a talking donkey) he gets roped into saving a princess from
a tower guarded by a dragon. Our mini-dictator-wannabe needs to marry a princess
in order to be king, but it goes without saying that Shrek may fall for her during
this amazing quest. Shrek contains so many stellar moments which includes the
gross & funny introductory sequence, loopy action, silly & cool humour
(including slapstick), a WWF simulated battle sequence, wild adventure
and yes, romance. Myers is splendid as the voice of our unlikely "regular"
Ogre with his best Scottish accent. Murphy shines as the yapping, silly donkey
while Diaz does her part as the princess. All the best known fairytale characters
and concepts get woven into the witty storyline & backdrop in a very clever
and humourous way. But the meticulous detail - man it's good. One of the most
amazing modern animated films to date. Like most DVDs have extras, the VHS release
has extra footage added at the end. A special DVD release includes an extra 3D
adventure with glasses included. Other extras include commentary tracks, featurettes
and documentaries, interactive games and technical info. 6
/ A - PB
SHREK
2 Voiced by Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Cleese, Rupert Everett,
Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Saunders Directed by Andrew Adamson,
Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon The first Shrek was a worldwide hit enjoyed by
the whole family. Besides the great digital animation, the character voices played
a great part in making this twisted fairytale world believable. Well, they're
all back. Shrek, princess Fiona and donkey. The happy new couple has to travel
to the land of Far Far Away to visit Fiona's parents (who obviously do not approve
- of Shrek the ogre or Fiona's matching cursed green complexion). The fairy godmother's
poncy son was meant to marry Fiona and she gets to work to wreck the relationship
so her boy can step in. New characters like the Puss in Boots liven it up further.
With some hilarious moments, some adult slants that'll go over most kids' heads
and a great imagination incorporating well know fairytale elements, I won't say
this is better than the original, but certainly a great companion. DVD extras
include
commentary, sing-alongs, music videos, Far Far Away Idol and more.
5 / B - PB
SIGNS
With Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Patricia Kalember, Cherry
Jones Directed by M. Knight Shyamalan What an amazing addition to the
Shyamalan trilogy (which will make an amazing DVD box-set). No, Unbreakable
wasn't a carbon copy of The Sixth Sense, and neither is Signs. What
this talented young director brings to the table is innovative, intense filmmaking
which relies greatly on the viewer's imagination to flesh out the intrigue. Signs
ventures into visiting intelligent alien life. Like his other films it is best
to keep the details to a minimum to avoid spoiling it. By slowly pulling us into
the film's characters and situation, Shyamalan succeeds in making us a part of
the experience (my girlfriend was shitting herself, even when visual information
was withheld). Even macho man Gibson can't spoil this crafty piece of work. He
plays an ex-preacher who lost his wife and lives on a farm with his two kids and
brother. One morning enormous crop circles appear in his cornfield. The phenomenon
is all over the planet and seems far too huge and widespread to be a hoax. From
here the tension and brooding exposition of the excellent filmmaking gift takes
a hold and sweeps you up with the interplay of clues, horror, tension, humour,
drama and suspense, refusing to let go of your attention as you're nailed to the
screen (or your hands over your eyes like my girlfriend's case! - Having had something
of a close encounter before, this was especially freaky for her). Individual incidents
(be it gravely significant or seemingly small) all roll into one another to build
up into one big consequential exposition. This is neither Independence Day
nor Mars Attacks, this is an angle you've rarely experienced and I urge
you all to get out there and see it before your friends blurt everything. Phoenix
and the kids are great while the director also features in an extensive cameo.
What makes Shyamalan a good director is the fact that he is a great cinematic
writer.
6 / B - PB
THE
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS With Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn
Directed by Jonathan Demme At the time of its release, this second film based
on a Thomas Harris book set the trend for countless flawed imitations in the serial
killer genre. (The first film having been Manhunter,
directed by Michael Mann, based on Harris's Red Dragon). In the multi-Oscar
winning Silence Of The Lambs, Jodie Foster portrays Agent Starling, a new
recruit used to milk info from a convicted psychiatrist turned cannibal killer,
Dr Hannibal Lecter, to track down a once patient of his turned serial killer.
What ensues is an intense relationship, bordering on a dark romance (further elaborated
in the follow-up, Hannibal). The tense scenes of the two conversing are
altered by moments of graphic realism as the killer drives towards his objective,
slowly moving the film forward to a double climax unravelled by Starling and brilliantly
constructed by the crafty Lecter. The film also displays a dark sense of humour
while the easily spooked & squeamish won't notice that. A decade later the film
still has great impact, Hopkins still marvelous and the atmosphere still as ominous.
While Foster is a fine actress, it just seems that the Oscar may have been handed
over a little too hastily, her performance sometimes too staged (her Taxi
Driver role for one outstripping her here). The ensemble brilliance of the
writing, direction & Hopkins' performance, as well as the new introduction of
a brutal yet intelligent villain into the mainstream world of likely horror, her
flaws may have been overlooked. But, regardless, after a decade passed, the film
is still chilling, gruesome and wonderfully entertaining. This special 10th
Anniversary Edition contains a number of fine features including great looking
animated menus, outtakes and documentaries. A commentary track by the elusive
Demme would've been splendid, though.
5 / A - PB
S1MONE
With Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Winona Ryder, Elias Koteas Directed
by Andrew Niccol Pacino plays a Hollywood director disillusioned by the whole
system, overpaid and overrated actors and money becoming more important than the
art of the craft. His star walks out on the film he's working on and the project
(which is close to his heart) gets canned. On cue he's approached by a freaky
scientist who has been working on a digital creation he calls Simone (an abbreviation
for Simulation One). Refusing to go along with his madcap banter (including a
mention of a tumour in his eye that will cost him his life), a computer hard drive
arrives in the mail several months later. The man died and left the director his
life's work - A beautiful virtual actress that doesn't talk back, demand millions
and act like a temperamental brat - doing exactly what is required. His cancelled
project gets completed with Simone inserted into the already shot scenes. She
becomes an instant sensation. The rise of this virtual star (unbeknownst to the
entire world) slowly starts to consume the industry and escalate beyond the director's
control. At times the whole thing goes a little far to the point of becoming farcical.
In between hoping he can patch things up with his estranged producer wife, he
tries to manage the monster he's created by keeping Simone an elusive, reclusive
mystery - but people are starting to fish, wanting a piece of this bright new
star. Some of the technical elements are a little over-simplified and some scenes
get a bit slapstick. It does get thought provoking and funny at times, yet dumb
and overstepping the margin at another. The film's commentary still shines through
amoung the downer moments, making it a fine addition to the range of filmmaking
movies like The
Player,
Swimming
With Sharks and
Living
In Oblivion.
3 / C - PB
SIMPLE
MINDS - Seen The Lights: Live In Verona Simple
Minds
never really had the boyish sex appeal of other bands from their '80s genesis
- in stead they offer good musicianship and a political conscience. Directed by
Andy Morahan, this DVD was compiled from shows recorded on 14 & 15 Sept 1989.
The show opens with the '90 Remix of Theme For Great Cities and rock through
songs like Street Fighting Years, Mandela Day, Waterfront, This Is Your Land,
Belfast Child, Alive And Kicking, Sanctify Yourself, and their hit that propelled
them into stardom via the Breakfast
Club movie,
Don't You (Forget About Me). Black & White film footage of the crowd and
city is mixed with colour, Verona life interspersed as well as comments. An extra
show is thrown in - shot at the Newcastle City Hall in 1982 (Broadcast in 1983),
the 16mm film giving it a documentary look in stead of glossy glam new wave, even
when the lads are young and rosy cheeked with New-Romantic / Mod haircuts & posturing.
Tracks like Glittering Prize, Someone, Somewhere (In Summertime), The American,
Big Sleep, and New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) are included. Another early
hit, Promised You A Miracle is not in there. Their '80s synth-pop with
a conscientious slant is more mature than most bands of their era. You can also
access the CD-Rom segment with wallpaper, screensavers, a web-link and discography.
4 / B - PB
A
SIMPLE PLAN With Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Gary Cole
Directed by Sam Raimi When two brothers find a plane in the snow covered
wooded area in their dead-end town, all kinds of dormant human evils crop up;
greed being only one of them, and possibly the deciding factor for all their fates.
With a very “Fargo” feel to it, the desolate white landscape instills a sense
of isolation and a false sense of purity. Raimi’s crossover to “normal” films
after his great Evil Dead movies has been a good one. His handling of actor and
environment is handled masterfully, while he brings the best of Paxton and Thornton.
The money is believed to be illegal, so no one will claim it - or so they thought.
Filled with suspense, intrigue and eventually murder, the simple plan turns out
to be far more complicated than they’d ever expected. 5 / C - PB
SIN
CITY With Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, Elijah
Wood, Michael Madsen, Brittany Murphy, Josh Hartnett Directed by Robert Rodriguez
& Frank Miller, with Quentin Tarantino What an incredible cinematic experience
- ass-fuckin'-kickin'! Innovative filmmaker Rodriguez (who gave us classics like
El
Mariachi
and From
Dusk Till Dawn)
took Frank Miller's moody Sin City noir
graphic novel tales and weaved it into the best-utilized High Definition video
shot picture ever (besides Sky
Captain).
The black & white noir tone of the stories (with its cops and hoods, working folk,
lowlifes and comic book villains), are brilliantly translated with the occasional
splashes of colour (mainly red), and top use of shadows. The dark tales meander
and meet up throughout, keeping you nailed to your seat through many incredible
set pieces, action sequences and moody atmospheric moments with the little flickering
flame of good, righteousness and justice scraping at the edge of Basin City's
brutal darkness where even the good guys have a mean streak. Never a sliver of
daylight, the pictures are perfect, the characters and the actors portraying them
splendid, the style lavish and visually striking, and the predominantly digital
surroundings working perfectly for a change as it replicates the two dimensional
look of the black & white pages from which they're brought to life. Sin
City
is sheer cinematic class and easily one of the coolest films of the year, even
though many viewers will find some scenes savagely intense. In stead of "special
guest stars", the film features Quentin Tarantino as special guest director. Conventional
this surely 'aint! 6 / A - PB
THE
SIN EATER With Heath Ledger, Shannon Sossamon, Peter Weller Directed
by n/a For some reason I had this one mixed up with the Exorcist
prequel. Anyhow it also deals with priests and a battle with faith and evil. Ledger
plays Father Alex Bernier, one of the last members of an ancient Christian Order.
His mentor is mysteriously murdered and he heads for Rome to investigate. Sossamon
is the woman he loves but cannot consummate. Weller is the next in line to be
Pope and puts Bernier and his colleague on the trail of the "sin eater", an ancient
man who imbibes the sins of those who had been excommunicated by the church before
they die. Throw in a dark sect, a plot of domination and more coinciding (seemingly
ritual) deaths, and you have another flick to add to the occasional religiously
based thriller that swings by every year or so. In this particular addition the
characters are bland and blasé, even after violence, death and supernatural happenings
- as if it's an everyday occurrence. This makes the whole deal that much harder
to swallow, slotting it in more with the likes of The Prophecy sequels
than The Omen or Exorcist. 3 / C - PB
THE
SIXTH SENSE With Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Tony Collette, Olivia Williams
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan Willis gets serious as a psychologist
who tries to help a young boy with what seems to be illusions of grandeur. He
believes he sees dead people and they’re tormenting him. In true psychologist
fashion, Willis tries to relay it to the boy’s grieving of his father having left
the family. With an intriguing story line, spine chilling scary scenes and an
amazing twist, Sixth Sense is a surprise hit that needn’t ride on any hype. Great
entertainment with a couple of Oscar nominations. 5 / B - PB
SKELETON
KEY With Kate Hudson, Gena Rowland, John Hurt Directed by Iain Softley
Black magic gets a bit of a resurrection in this moody flick set in a creepy
old house (almost always a winning location!). On top of this the eerie, swampy
New Orleans backwoods is the geographical setting. A young hospice worker takes
a job in the said house and area where an elderly man seemed to have suffered
a stroke whilst in the attic. His staunch wife is a bit apprehensive to employ
her, but does. Almost immediately the strange energy of the house starts making
itself known. The old man seems to want to communicate something to the girl,
but can't, so she starts to investigate, until dark secrets start to unfold as
she finds a hidden door in the attic… It's good to see Hudson in a role other
than a romantic comedy. The coolest part of this film is the uncompromised ending
and "oh, okay!" revelation as you backtrack events. 4 / C - PB
SKOUSPEL
2004 Huis Genoot, one of South Africa's biggest Afrikaans weekly rags,
has been around for decades, dealing with everything from gossip to real life
drama and entertainment. Sponsored by the magazine, this Skouspel show packs in
a bunch of commercially viable local acts with varied success. From the bonehead
popular "crooners" like Kurt
Darren and
Theuns Jordaan,
to guys with more substance like the operatic Jannie
Moolman and
Coenie DeVilliers,
blonde bimbos like Patricia
Lewis to cabaret
favourite Elsabe
Zietsman and
old school lady Rina
Hugo. Besides
Jordaan
and Lewis,
other big embarrassments include Pieter
Smith and
Juanita DuPlessis.
Dozi
and Steve
Hofmeyr cannot
be excluded, and DNA
Strings hightens
the standard somewhat, while the most alternative of the bunch constitutes Valiant
Swart and
Gian Groen.
Jennifer
Jones, the
Afrika Mamas
and the Anglo
Gold Choir
add some colour to proceedings. From originals to traditional covers, the show
had its crowd quite excited, but is definitely an acquired taste. 2 /
C - PB
THE
SKULLS With Joshua Jackson, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb, Paul Walker, Christopher
MacDonald, William L. Petersen, Craig T. Nelson Directed by Rob Cohen
Pudding faced Dawson’s Crack (sorry, Creek) star portrays a student
who gets elected as a member of one of the most powerful secret societies on an
American campus. This Freemason style group looks after its own, but with some
sacrifices necessary. When our hero’s best buddy dies and the Skulls seem to be
behind it, he gets disillusioned and try to get to the truth. An okay effort,
but a little too formulaic and teen to be truly great. 3 / C - PB
THE
SKULLS II With Robin Dunne, Nathan West, Ashley Lyn Cafagna, Lindy Booth
Directed by Joe Chappelle The first one left a lot to be desired. And
they actually put the money up for this smelly sequel? It's kind of like Carrie
and American Psycho getting its rip-off sequel for a quick cash in - not
exactly related, merely picking up a thread as basis to plod along with its story.
No, actually, merely using the name in the hope of scamming fans of the first
one. I can imagine American Psycho having fans, but I'm not sure about
the first Skulls. Here, the secret Skulls society on an American campus
still exists after the first film's "tragic" consequences. One of its new initiated
brothers witness what looks like a murder and in trying to find out if it really
was, he gets strong and dangerous opposition from the fellowship who like to keep
their actions private and its members safe. A boring, dumb, waste of time.
1 / C - PB
SKY
CAPTAIN & THE WORLD OF TOMORROW With Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Giovanni
Ribisi, Angelina Jolie Directed by n/a Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow
join up again (since The Talented Mr. Ripley) in this imaginative adventure.
In a blending range of eras, genres and moods, from noir thrillers to WWII pilot
hero- and 50's Sci-Fi flicks, our leads have to get to the bottom of the mystery
surrounding gigantic robots attacking major cities. Almost entirely shot against
blue & green screens, the digitally enhanced movie with its saturated hazy texture
and monotone shadows takes on a sense of fantasy and mystery amid the action,
thrills, dry humour and inevitable but restrained romance. It's always cool to
see someone take the digital era into an innovative new direction as opposed to
the obvious. With a great look and cliché but familiarly irresistible moments
(be it action or love), the makers created something new from something old by
using advanced tools at their disposal. A unique, stunning experience that is
not too inaccessible, but definitely not your average romp. 4 / B
- PB
SLEEPY
HOLLOW With Johnny
Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Christoper
Lee, Christopher Walken, Martin Landau, Michael Gough, Jeffrey Jones
Directed by Tim Burton Tim Burton masterfully captures this legendarytale
of a headless horseman terrorizing the town of Sleepy Hollow at the turn of the
previous century. Depp is Ichabod Crane, the rational pragmatic man of science
who has to investigate this carnage. He is faced with supernatural forces that
run against all his scientific beliefs. Marvelous tongue in cheek acting, amazing
sets & scenery, an eerie, dark gothic atmosphere, eye popping FX and decapitations,
fine wit and an overall exhilarating experience. A serious touch of class finally
returning to the gothic horror/thriller. Also features some classic Hammer Horror
actors. 5 / A - PB SLEEPY
HOLLOW With Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon,
Casper Van Dien, Christoper Lee, Christopher Walken, Martin Landau, Michael Gough
Directed by Tim Burton With the Burton-Depp partnership only reaching
momentum at this point, here they teamed up to bring the legendary tale of the
headless horseman to the screen in true dark fairytale fashion we've come to expect
of the director. As a quirky investigative expert, Depp visits the town of Sleepy
Hollow to solve the case of a headless horseman terrorizing and killing off the
population. Visually stunning. 5 / B - PP
THE
SLIM SHADY SHOW
More rude and obnoxious than the South Park gang, this Eminem
backed web cartoon comes at you in full force - guts, gore & profanity in tact
- as our jumbled gang misspend their youth in the worst possible ways, beating
up some celebrities in the process! Not even Christina
Aguilera,
Mase
or Leonardo
DiCaprio is
safe from these joyriding, warped trailer parkers. Slim Shady is the hip
one while Marshal is the insecure little brother who gets taught life lessons
(and more) as they rampage through their American landscape. Being a web based
toon, it's crude in more ways than one! 4 / B - PB
SLIPKNOT
- Disasterpieces
From the obscure American state of Iowa to one of the most explosive metal acts
of the new millennium, Slipknot
certainly ploughed their rewards back into one fucking phenomenal live show to
accompany their second album, named after their home state. In case you have no
idea who I'm talking about, this is the 18-legged grotesquely masked & matching
over-all wearing musical assassins who combine the fury of guitars, drums and
bass guitar with samples, turntables and additional extravagant percussion into
a wall of ferociously infectious sound. Even though they only have two albums
to their name thus far, there are plenty of incredible tunes packed into this
live show at the London Arena, each a gem in its own right. This totally killer
double DVD offers an eye-popping live performance from the tight 9-man metal machine
with all the energy, intensity, brutality and stage props to make this one of
the live shows of the year. Disasterpieces
also include music videos (like Spit It Out's The
Shining homage
and the rare animated video to Wait And Bleed) and extra bits like a bonus
unavailable audio track (Purity) to satisfy the maggots' insatiable hunger
for more of this sharp-as-a-knife outfit that put some spectacle back into live
music (hydraulics and spinning drum risers!). In between you get to see the band's
preparation, sound checks as well as first person view on stage - each of them
having a small camera mounted on their masks! The Menus are stylishly designed,
furthermore enhancing the mood and impact of this must-have package. 6
/ A - PB
SMALL
TIME CROOKS With
Woody Allen, Tracey Ullman, Hugh Grant, Jon Lovitz, Michael Rapaport, Elaine
May, Elaine Stritch Directed by Woody Allen Lovely Woody Allen comedy
about an aging failed criminal who wants go for his one big score. The plan is
to rent a shop, turning it into a cookie parlour as a front, then tunnel under
towards the bank. His team of co-conspirators, one as thick as the other, bumble
almost everything, while the only person with real sense is his wife running the
cookie production. But, the initial plan gets dumped once the cookies become a
total hit. Allen gives this delightful little film his trademark stamp of neurotic
humour and everyday logic as our characters (from a lower class New Jersey neighbourhood)
change very little once they become millionaires. Although his wife tries to become
more cultured (via an English fop), it's hard for her to shed her tacky taste
and style, leading to many social embarrassments and laughs. A fine Allen delivery.
4 / B - PB
THE
SMASHING PUMPKINS - 1991-2000
Greatest Hits Video Collection
I still find it amazing how this great band managed to alter their image from
psychedelic hippie-grungers to dark gothic hard rockers. This DVD is packed to
the brim with all of their videos and more. With their creative thoughts and that
of the directors, a wealth of interesting videos was produced. Their first video,
Siva, was a grainy performance effort with some psychedelic influences
while Rhinoceros had them filming themselves in a park when the initial
concept fell through. For Cherub Rock they found themselves bathed in floods
of coloured light in the woods. Today finds them on a silly ice cream van
trip whereas Bullet With Butterfly Wings has the band playing in what seems
like an excavation hole with a horde of extras clamouring around them in dirt
and mud. 1979 takes a ride with a group of American smalltown teens - capturing
that carefree feeling and houseparty thing so many bands have imitated since -
and still. This also marks Billy's shaven head look. Zero gets a lower
budget confined costume shoot while the super expensive and impressive single
shot video of Ava Adore takes the cake and introduced their more Gothic look.
Tonight, Tonight goes the classic pioneering French film route with a trip
to the moon ala Méliès (Voyage dans la Lune). The Everlasting Gaze
goes the instrument smashing route with D'Arcy gone and Melissa on bass. For their
last ever video Try, Try, Try they decided to go all out and produce a
hard hitting uncut piece of a junkie couple on the street. The DVD also contains
the expanded short film edited from this hardcore video. Geek USA from
1993 is presented in a live performance with clowns on stage while An Ode To
No One was filmed live at the last Metro performance. A previously unreleased
video, I Am One, is included while Rocket gets an alternative performance
cut. Disarm, Thirty-Three, Perfect and Stand Inside Your Love are
some of the other 20 videos to be enjoyed. Band and director commentary tracks
can be selected as well as behind the scenes footage revealing some interesting
facts and anecdotes. A fine memento for a band that will be missed by many.
5 / A - PB
SNATCH
With Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro,
Dennis Farina Directed by Guy Ritchie This tremendous piece of cinema
from (no, not “Madonna’s husband”, but) the man who brought us the equally amazing
Lock Stock & Two Smoking
Barrels, kicks ass in so many
ways. If you still hadn’t seen Lock, Stock then you’d better head down to the
video shop and rent these two for a fantastic double feature. Ritchie’s superb
style flows over to his second masterpiece with a host of colourful, dirty and
hilarious underground characters of both British and American extraction, centred
around a huge gem. 6 / A - PB
SNOW
DAY With Chevy Chase, Chris Elliott, Jean Smart, Pam Grier Directed
by Chris Koch Silly little Nickelodeon teenage flick with the kids of a weatherman
(Chase) hoping it’ll snow so that they can get off school and participate in all
the crazy snow activities conceivable. The wicked snow plough man however goes
out of his way to clear the roads of all its snow, spoiling the kids’ fun and
sending them back to school. The daughter in the family is intent on stopping
him while her older brother is more interested in snagging the girl of his dreams.
Their dad, the meteorologist whose show has dropped ratings due to a new charismatic
weatherman on a rival TV channel, wants to expose his clean cut nemesis as a fraud
and take his rightful place as weather king. Their over-worked mother ends up
staying home with the crazy toddler and the headmaster constantly gets pelted
with snowballs while these story lines meander across a white canvas. A few laughs
do pop up, but its style will mainly take note with teens. A pleasant surprise
has Iggy Pop in a cameo role of a DJ spinning crappy old easy listening records
at the ice rink. Throw-away, feel-good entertainment for summer or winter.
3 / B - PB
SNOW
WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS Directed by David Hand This groundbreaker
of a Walt Disney feature made over half a century ago, set the standard for almost
every animated film thereafter. This is the definitive version of the classic
Brothers Grimm fairy tale. A vain, narcissistic queen stepmother orders the death
of her stepdaughter because her magic mirror proclaims the child as more beautiful.
The killer cracks at the moment of truth and she escapes into the woods. There
she finds a home with seven dwarfs who work in a mine. But, the wicked queen won't
let her get away that easily! Beautifully drawn with some classic songs, the Deluxe
Two Disc Set of this fine film contains a magnitude of additional material,
everything from behind the scenes looks & commentary to deleted scenes and even
a game! A huge amount of supplementary viewing awaits you. 6 / A
- PB
SOFT
FRUIT With Jeanie Drynen, Linal Haft, Russell Dykstra, Genevieve Lemon
Directed by Christina Andreef Sometimes people find Australian films to be
a tad too realistic and gritty. For God’s sake, isn’t art meant to imitate life?
In this slice of borderline (and sometimes full blown) miserable life, three daughters
and a son come home to be with their mother before she dies of cancer. Their hard,
stubborn father has a heart but can’t always show it. The daughters are all over
weight. One comes from the States (married a Yank), the other is a single nurse
(who wants a kid), while the more liberated one is divorced with children. The
son is on parole and the father wants nothing to do with him. Laughter, violence,
tenderness and tears stain their time as joy does come from the strangest of places.
Not as depressing as it might sound. 4 / C - PB
SOLARIS
With George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur
Directed by Steven Soderbergh Based on a story by legendary sci-fi writer
Stanislav Lem, this outer space experience falls more in the 2001:
A Space Odyssey framework than, say, Aliens (though it was produced
by Aliens director and Terminator creator James Cameron). A
gigantic ball of energy has been discovered and an expert is sent to the observing
space station where something is going terribly wrong. The crew are encountering
vision of loved-ones who seem more real than fantasy. It has driven them to the
point of madness and suicide, its implications on mankind too vast to contemplate.
The slow, at times tiresome pace (with sparse music) was not designed to liven
up the action fan, but to project the experience of the participants, millions
of miles from earth, facing something seemingly basic and close to them, but totally
freaking their minds. Approach this film only when you're focussed and not prone
to distractions of any kind, ready to watch and be engrossed as opposed to laughing
your ass off or getting thrilled by a fast and furious ride of explosions and
spectacular scenes of Hollywood carnage. Director Soderbergh has carved his success
story out nicely from Sex, Lies & Videotape to Traffic and can now
make a film like this without worrying about its box office performance to ensure
future jobs. [Did you know, there has been a Russian version made in the
1972 by director Andrei Tarkovsky, a highly acclaimed one at that - well worth
fishing out, having been released on DVD internationally] 3 / C
- PB
SOLDIERS
OF THE ROCK With Vuyo Dabula, Michael Dlamini, Glen Gabela, Lebo Mathosa,
Sibusiso Mhlangu Directed by Norman Maake A young educated black man decides
to go and work in the mines where his father slogged away for years, eventually
losing his life underground. His work down the mines also enabled him to send
his son to school to better himself. As the new guy, the young man is met with
antagonism, but also accepted by others. One of the guys (an ex-hijacker) has
a plan to get the men together to rise above being mere labourers sent down into
ever more dangerous circumstances. A romantic interest is included while the stubborn,
close-minded idiot of the tale is bent on spoiling everything for everyone. A
fine effort by young SA moviemakers. 3 / C - PB
SOMEONE
LIKE YOU With Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear, Marissa Tomei, Ellen
Barkin Directed by Tony Goldwyn One can often feel when a film is directed
by a woman - Mr Golwyn must be in touch with his feminine side as those vibes
radiated off the screen. But, then, it was written by a lady. This film is all
about the hope that the right person is out there, somewhere, and not all men
are scum. Jane finds the perfect man - who predictably disappoints her, leaving
her in the lurch and in a quandary which results in her studying animal behaviour
and how it relates to her constant experience of being unlucky in love. It leads
to an anonymous column, which reaches super-popularity status - but it doesn’t
solve her problem. The fact that you can find love in the most unlikely places
and the film’s outcome is pretty much predictable from ¼ into this cute little
romantic comedy. The film is very New York, including the character types, fads
and locations, including the frequented Hogs & Heffers bar. One annoying part
is Judd’s constant eating. For the first dozen scenes there is hardly a shot without
her munching on something - and I can think of many comments, but I’m a gentleman…From
hotdogs & sandwiches, bagels & salads to restaurants, delis, even cucumber on
the eyes, left-over Chinese, coco-puffs…Crikey. I was looking out for it to ease
back once she starts to “get some”, but not really - and it’s not like she’s a
lard-ass or fitness type - fast metabolism I guess - like me! Judd is hot no matter
what. Kinnear does his nice guy act (who turns out an asshole). Tomei can look
like she’d just rolled out of bed with or without the make-up artists’ assistance
and does the love advice buddy thing. Jackman looks far less cool than he did
in his impressive role as Wolverine in X-Men, but he succeeds. A typical film
title for a movie like this, but it manages to pull through with a little extra.
The final smooch, however is one of the worst this year. 3 / C -
PB
SOMETHING'S
GOTTA GIVE With Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Amanda Peet, Keeanu Reeves
Directed by Nancy Meyers Mid-life romantic comedies aren't exactly first
on my entertainment list (until I reach that stage in my life, I'm sure), but
this has its moments. Jack is Jack. He plays an older guy who only dates young
girls. That's until he meets his current girlfriend's mom. This happens at the
mom's beach house. A medical complication strikes him and he has to go to the
nearby hospital. This forces him to stay as a guest at the beach house in order
to go back for observational tests. Slowly he starts to appreciate the female
maturity and sensuality that is a whole new experience for him. Contrasting his
lust for young girls is the doctor (played by Keeanu) falling for Keaton's older
character. Keaton got several nominations for her performance. Typical American
comedy, but with some warm human moments. 3 / C - PB
SOUL
FOOD (in Afrikaans) Met Venessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Brandon
Hammond. Regisseur/Skrywer: George Tillman Jr. Of hierdie familiegebonde
drama se sukses in die VSA ook hier weerspiee"l sal word, sal ons moet wag en
sien. Dit is verbasend dat mense nog verstom is wanneer daar 'n rolprent wat op
die psige van die swart gemeenskap fokus sukses behaal. Soul Food slaag daarin
om die gehoor op 'n wye spektrum te nader, aangesien die probleme wat gehanteer
word menslik is en nie etnies gebonde is nie. Elke Sondag vir 40 jaar het Mama
Joe die hele familie by haar huis vir 'n groot ete. Sy het hulle nog al die jare
bymekaar gehou en slaag altyd daarin om die vrede te bewaar. Alles begin egter
verbrokkel wanneer sy gedurende 'n operasie in 'n koma verval. Deur die oe" van
die jong Ahmad (Hammond van die Gregory Hines Show), sien ons hoe die onenigheid
begin toeneem. Teri (Williams) is die oudste suster. Sy's taamlik suur, 'n suksesvolle
advokaat en moet gewoonlik vir alles betaal. Sy laat almal dit ook weet. Haar
stryd met haar suster, Ahmed se ma, Maxine (wie haar ke^rel gesteel en met hom
getrou het) loop reeds taamlik diep. Dit raak al hoe erger. Lem wat voorheen in
die tronk was verloor sy werk en dinge raak ontstuimig tussen hom en Bird (die
derde suster). Boonop pleeg Teri se man overspel met haar niggie. Dit voel asof
dit nie erger kan word nie. Waar die Sondagete gedien het as oplossing vir watter
probleem ookal, het dit tot 'n einde gekom. Die familie verbrokkel. Ahmed neem
dit op homself om almal bymekaar te kry een Sondagmiddag en om soos te vore samesyn
te skep. Maar sonder Mama Joe is dit 'n moeilike taak. Tegnies is daar niks besonders
aan Soul Food nie terwyl Babyface aanhangers bly sal wees om baie van sy komposisies
te hoor. Hy is terloops ook die uitvoerende vervaardiger. Die onskuld en opregtheid
wat deur die selfsugtigheid en hardkoppigheid filtreer, om hopelik te oorwin,
het meer goeie bedoelinge daaragter as enigiets anders. Ek is seker die swart
gemeenskap is siek daarvan om hulself op die skerm te sien as "gangsta's" in 'n
rapper se droom we^reld. Soos Waiting To Exhale fokus Soul Food op menslike emosies
en nie eksploitiewe sensasie nie. Liefde is die fokuspunt al neem dit 'n aantal
onaangename ondervindinge om daar uit te kom. 3 / C - PB SOUR
GRAPES With Steven Weber Directed by Larry David Funny pic from
the co-creator of Seinfeld. Two cousins fall out after one wins close to half
a million $ in a jackpot during a light hearted spin in Atlantic City. The one
(a doctor) gave the other (a shoe sole designer) his last 2 coins, suggesting
he play with 3 in order to win big. And he does! He reckons he should give him
at least half, but it never crossed the guy’s mind! It results in some crazy,
funny scenarios with the humour very Seinfeld-ish in many respects, but at the
same token quite original. 4 / B - PB SOUTH
PARK - BIGGER, BETTER, UNCUT With Voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, George
Clooney Directed by Trey Parker The amazingly successful, rude and 2D
animation TV hit South Park, created by Matt Stone & Trey Parker, finally gets
the rude big screen makeover. Our four little buddies, Cartman, Kyle, Stan & Kenny
go to watch the new Terrance & Phillip movie (dodging the age restriction by being
accompanied by an adult - a homeless drunk they paid off). They walk out swearing
like sailors. The parents are up in arms and it blows up to the extent that they
declare war on Canada, the origins of Terrance & Phillip!! They want to execute
them, but if this happens, Satan and Saddam Hussein will rise from hell and rule
earth! Totally wacky, over the top, rude, politically incorrect and damn hilarious.
If you love the TV show, the movie will definitely be a more fulfilling experience
- if you can handle some serious cussing. The funny scenes just keep on rolling
with some great big musical style songs to boot. If you find potty humour offensive,
then this is probably not for you - it’s just that it’s so deliberately inflated,
you cannot help but laugh your ass off. 5 / A - PP …the
2nd opinion… SOUTH
PARK - Bigger, Longer & Uncut With voices by Trey Parker, Matt Stone
Directed by Trey Parker It was only a matter of time before the quartet of
third-graders from the little mountain town of Southpark (Kyle, Stan, Cartman
& Kenny) got their own big screen movie. Hardly a kid's cartoon, the
rude and over the top scenarios set up by creators Matt
Stone &
Trey Parker
has become a total phenomenon. While the TV episodes held back with the rude shit,
the characters let rip with the big screen debut. Our four little 2-D buddies
inadvertently start a war, between the States and Canada, when their outraged
parents overreact when they become foulmouthed brats after seeing the Terrance
& Philip movie Asses
Of Fire. To top it all, Satan
wants to take over with his boyfriend Saddam Hussein. It's a laugh riot
of the lowest common denominator. While you can see this as a crude animated adult
movie on the one hand, it's a meticulous musical on the other. Between Trey
Parker and Marc
Shaiman's songs & music, unless
you listened to the hilarious and rude lyrics, you'll think it's music from a
Disney film. Stan sings about his little mountain town, Terrance
& Philip farts through a killer track of base toilet humour and rudeness in
their movie, Kyle's mom flips out at Canada (nominarted for an Oscar and
shamefully not winning!), Big
Gay Al
does a super gay show tune,
school guidance counsellor Mr Mackey sings about alternate curse words
while the lads ponder what Brian
Boitano would do!
It's crazy, zany, hilarious and damn sharp underneath its base exterior. There
is even a track when Kenny goes to hell that features an un-credited James
Hetfield from Metallica.
Satan performs a soppy Disney rip tune while Parker's
band D.V.D.A.
does a hardcore version of the Brian Boitano song over the end credits.
The DVD release is double-sided, regular on the one and widescreen on the other.
We all know which one you should be watching in order to get the whole scope of
the picture, now don't we? The extras are limited to trailers and a music video.
But, who needs extras when the movie's this cool?! 5 / A - PB
SPACEBALLS
With Bill
Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten,
Michael Winslow Directed by Mel Brooks Brooks made such amazing
comedies like The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles
and The Silent Movie. Spaceballs is probably his last great film
(unless you thought Life Stinks, Robin Hood-Men In Tights and Dracula
Dead and Loving It were cinematic landmarks...). Spaceballs takes a
crack at almost every Sci-Fi movie that went before, in particular Star Wars.
Even Alien gets a nod. After such serious cult followings of the abovementioned
and even more so, Star Trek (conventions and other activities turning it
into a religion), many people needed to lighten up. Brooks did that by poking
fun at the genre and certain specific elements of these films. But, if those classics
didn't exist, Brooks wouldn't have a movie (as he wouldn't have if Robin Hood
and Dracula didn't exist - let's hope he gets his comic muse back in stead of
ripping off that created by others). 4 / A - PB …the 2nd opinion… SPACEBALLS
With Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks, Daphne Zuniga, Dick
Van Patten, Michael Winslow Directed by Mel Brooks One of the last Brooks
parodies worth its salt (Robin
Hood Men In Tights
an embarrassment). Here he takes a stab at the highly popular cultural phenomenon
most will be familiar with - Star
Wars.
With abounding slapstick there are no sacred cows, and even movies like Alien
gets a plug. Only funny if you're at least partly clued up on the Star
Wars
details, the entire movie one big in-joke. 4 / B - PB
SPACE
COWBOYS With Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner,
James Cromwell Directed by Clint Eastwood An astronaut team who never
made it up into space get another chance - 30 years later! The obsolete technology
on a Russian satellite can only be fixed by the man who designed it: Eastwood.
If not, it’ll hit earth with disastrous effects (obviously there’s an added bit
of cunning and underlying details surrounding the satellite). Clint rounds up
the old crew and they start training. There’s bad blood between Eastwood and the
man heading the space program who tries everything to prevent them from going
up. Many cliché and stupid moments are inevitable, but as a whole it’s one exciting
little slice of fiction with a nice little dose of humour, some drama and even
action. 4 / C - PB SPACE
TRUCKERS Met Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff Regisseur: Stuart Gordon
Dat hierdie fliek nie 'n kolosale begroting het nie is absoluut irrelevant. Vir
iemand wat nou verblindende spesiale effekte van groot ateljee produksies verlang
sal dit dalk 'n bietjie teleurstellend wees. Wat vir my van belang is en wat ek
geniet, is om te sien hoe hulle met 'n minimale bedrag 'n genotvolle prent maak.
Hopper speel 'n ruimte vervoerdrywer wat saam met twee passasiers aarde toe reis
met 'n geheime vrag. Wanneer hulle deur ruimterowers gekaap word en die vrag rusteloos
raak, is die aksie nou wel nie oorbodig nie, maar aanvaarbaar. Ons is gans te
kieskeurig wanneer dit kom by sulke tipe rolprente (ek weet, ek is een van hulle)
- maar as ons nie die kleiner rolprente 'n kans gee nie, sal die vervaardigers
en regisseurs nooit die kans kry om iets groter aan te pak nie. Hulle maak dit
vir ons, die gehoor en partykeer is ons 'n bietjie ondankbaar na al die tyd en
moeite wat aan sulke prente gespandeer is. 3 / B - PB SPAWN
- Director's Cut With John Leguizamo, Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen
Directed by Mark A.Z. Dippe' Many people feel the director's cut is a farce.
Aliens and Bladerunner's re-edits were fantastic while a version like The Abyss
could've remained. On the disc format the true vision is usually more of a possibility
than the studio's theatrically released versions. In the case of Spawn it is definitely
a plus. Not only are scenes, which were cut out (in order to get a lower age restriction)
re-instated, but also the original hilarious, lewd and crude dialogue by the movie's
highlight, the Violator (John Leguizamo). Far superior to the "safer" release,
another highlight is the added commentary track by director Dippe', FX man Spaz
and original comic creator McFarlane. It includes background commentary as well
as scene walk-throughs. The commentary is highly education and at times amusing.
Also unleashed on disc is Spawn 2, the second HBO animated feature. Slow, dark
and intriguing, this epic bit of animation oozes atmosphere from every cell. Don't
expect He-Man or She-Ra, kids, this is serious adult animation with heavy issues
and graphic scenes. 5 / B - PB THE
SPICE GIRLS - Girl Power, The Videos Well, Geri might be gone (why the hell
is she everyone's favourite anyhow - who elected her leader?!), but the leftovers
are adamant to make another couple of million. On this tape you can see the whole
bunch in the videos that shot them to stardom. It might be better not to hear
them speak, but unfortunately there's a host of interviews and behind the scenes
footage to sit through. Gather round and witness the male driven creation of Girl
Power. I guess it's better than nothing... 2 / C - PB SPIDER
With Ralph Fiennes, Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson Directed by David
Cronenberg Canada's
best director has given us some fantastic thrillers, chillers and grisly classics
with his unique obsession with the human body - physical, sexual and mental powers,
limits and evolution. Scanners, Shivers, Videodrome, The
Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Crash - all amazing cinematic
accomplishments morphing biology, psychic powers, inanimate objects and more.
M Butterfly still had sexual / biological significance (and based on fact)
had one of the least horror affiliations. Thing is with Cronenberg, his horror
is hardly unbelievable - it all seems so likely, its mental motivation the real
convincing factor. In Spider he goes straight into the mind of a mental
patient. Fiennes delivers a profound performance as the title character who is
placed in an intermediate home for the mentally unadjusted. Slowly he starts recalling
his life growing up as a child and how his perception of his parents becomes clear
in his murky mind. With flashbacks he finds himself back in his past the events
of his mental state slowly unfolding. Slow and intense, this is not for everyone.
But if you must compare, Cronberg's Fly makes lunch of Spider.
5 / B - PB
SPIDER-MAN
With Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James
Franco Directed by Sam Raimi After decades of fanticipation, the
super-hero relief finally struck the globe (after even more waiting to rectify
scenes involving the World Trade Center). Now the major comic-to-screen adaptations
have been done: Superman,
Batman
and now old Spidey.
Approach this film with the mere need to be entertained. Evil
Dead trilogy creator Sam Raimi
is now a fully-fledged big time director (after his horror exploits, he made the
Fargo-like
Simple Plan
and the looong Costner romantic baseball drama, For
Love Of The Game). Good for
him. He does the Stan Lee comic book character justice, albeit with the
help of major CGI FX. Did you expect anything less in this day & age? Peter Parker
(convincingly portrayed by the ever-totally-guy-next-door Maguire) is the nerd
whose had a lifelong crush on his next door neighbour's daughter - a major driving
force behind the narrative. After being bitten by a genetically spliced spider,
he gains several spider characteristics with its advantages and shortcomings.
The words of his uncle that "with great power come great responsibility"
echoes through his exploits. While moonlighting as a wall-climbing, web-shooting
& -swinging crime fighter, his biggest nemesis comes in the shape of his flatmate's
industrial science dad, whose experiment turns him into a deranged Jekyll &
Hyde character, The Green
Goblin. With enough humour
and romance to counteract the violence, action, and dizzying web-flying scenes,
Spider-Man
does exactly what it set out to - entertain. Sequels are already in pre-production
- especially with its box office shattering openings worldwide. I'm just really
glad it was Raimi who got the shot - just disappointed that he could only squeeze
his old buddy Bruce Campbell (Ash from the Evil Dead flicks) into a small role
as wrestle ringmaster. The double disc contains a wealth of extras. Commentary
tracks from director and stars as well as FX guys. Multi-angle web-i-sodes. Subtitled
factoids. 4 featurettes - making of's and profiles of director Raimi and composer
Danny Elfman. A documentary on the comic book character with creator Stan Lee
and artists interviews. Outtakes. Screen tests. TV spots & trailers. Sum
41 ans Chad
Kroeger (Nickelback)
music videos. Spider-Man
villain profiles. Easter Egg. Photo gallery. DVD-Rom features like Comic/Feature
comparison, weblinks, 3 Marvel dot.comics, PS2 game levels, Record Your Own Commentary…Pretty
damn impressive, or what. Is it safe to say video is dead or at least halfway
out the door? 4 / B - PB
SPIDER-MAN
2 With Tobey McGuire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco Directed
By Sam Raimi Peter Parker is still in love with Mary Jane but cannot fulfill
his dreams since his duty as Spider-Man will endanger her. His grades are slipping
and his crappy pizza delivery job that pays the rent to his crappy apartment is
lost due to his time consuming efforts as the (unpaid) crime fighting superhero.
His pal, the young Osbourne, (whose dad, the Green Goblin he popped in the first
film) is financing a fusion project of Dr. Otto Octavious. The trial run goes
horribly wrong, fusing Octavius' mechanical arms to his body. Obviously he goes
a bit nutty and wants to recreate his dangerous fusion device. I wonder who will
have to stop him? But, Peter decides that he has had enough of the great responsibility
his great power has laid upon him. While an enjoyable ride, this second Spider-Man
outing is less of a thrill than expected. Raimi fans will be glad to know that
Bruce Campbell gets another little cameo as well as his brother Ted. Expect a
bunch of bonus featres to get the die-hard fans salivating. 3 / B
- PB SPIKE With Spike Milligan Directed by Alan J.W. Bell
This hilarious look at the comedy genius of Spike Milligan with a historical
angle is not only for those inclined to laugh at British humour. Milligan is a
comedy genius, even if most of the time it is demented, ludicrous and childish.
Some of his best clips are strung together with crazy linking interview footage
of an aged Spike, still as crazy as he was on the Goon Show or his TV series Q
Milligan. Priceless comedy that gives Monty Python fans an idea where they borrowed
a lot of their style. 4 / A - PB
The
Work Of Director SPIKE JONZE Some
may only know Jonze by his incredible films Being
John Malkovich
and Adaptation.
His visual visions actually started when he moved from skate magazines and photography
to music videos. This double-sided disc contains 16 of his incredible music videos.
They include the single shot slow motion video for Wax
of a man on fire running for the bus, the Beastie
Boys'
70s cop show styled Sabotage and The
Pharcyde's
reversed clip. There's the all-kid video for Notorious
B.I.G.,
Daft
Punk's
dog in the big city clip, Weezer's
Happy Days integrated video and Björk's
crazy dance production number. Not to forget the Sofia Coppola starring gymnastic
rivalry video for Chemical
Brothers
and the two Fatboy
Slim
videos - the award winning amateur dance trip of Praise You and dancing-flying
Weapon Of Choice exclusively with Christopher Walken. There are artist
interviews, audio commentaries and a making of Pharcyde's
Drop. In addition the disc includes short films and documentaries, including
Amarillo
By Morning where
Jonze
documents a day in the life of a bunch of young kids who want to become rodeo
cowboys, What's Up Fatlip? (digging into the ex-Pharcyde
rapper's life) and Torrance Rises, the mockumentary on the Torrance community
dance troupe whose amateur dancing video for Fatboy Slim won several MTV music
awards, and peaking with a live performance at the awards. Each of these Palm
Pictures Directors releases contains a stylish, individual, info packed 52-page
book with pictures, interviews, drawings and other great stuff on each groundbreaking
director. Truly inspiring video makers. 6 / A - PB
This
Is SPINAL TAP With Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob
Reiner Directed by Rob Reiner Spinal Tap is a classic mockumentary about
a rock band’s rise and fall. With such an amazing cast making it seem so real,
I’m sure many people were fooled in thinking it’s real. Besides actually having
some cool songs, anyone who’s been in a band before will recognize a lot of the
hassles and hang-ups they’re faced with, from annoying girlfriends to pissed-off
managers and failed stage props. A hilarious cult movie that’s always worth watching
every now and then. 6 / A - PB
SPRINGBOK
NUDE GIRLS - OPTI MUM Finally the band that rewrote South African rock history
have compiled their own home video which is not as disappointing as that of Just
Jinger, but in no way as bizarre as that of Uncle Vinnie. This accompanying piece
to the Opti Mum CD which includes some singles and remixes (that might confuse
the unenlightened), is a mixture of videos, behind the scenes footage and general
"rondfokkery". Live clips from a number of tours (including their trip to the
UK) give those who haven't yet experienced their energy a good idea on what it's
all about. Four of the six full length music videos were especially created for
the video by Huyser of Battery 9,
so expect something NOT boring. The songs include Managing Mula (not my
favourite), Grrr (my very favourite), Enemy in Me, Supergirl (all
the ladies' favourite), Again and Blue Eyes (absolutely everyone's
favourite).While most of the personal footage are fairly "safe" and not too outrageous
(like some of us know them), I came to the conclusion that they do have younger
fans who may be shocked into becoming raving straight-jacket wearing droolers
if they see their icons' wilder side...okay, I may be exagerating a little, but
you get the gist of it. The basic purpose is for the public to get a little glimpse
into what they're all about; professional, yet not too seriuos to lose their sense
of humour; normal people having the time of their lives. The black and silver
cover is slick and stylish. Another great accomplishment for a great rock band.
4 / B - PB
SPIRIT
Stallion Of The Cimarron Directed by Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook This animated
feature included both modern and traditional animation techniques to tell the
story of America's pioneering days and freedom through the eyes of Spirit, a strong
wild horse encountering man (both native and foreign). It's not exactly one for
the very little ones, but aims the sights a bit higher to the older animation
fan, its subject often getting serious and tragic (no flying elephants here).
Danger, peril, adventure and triumph all add to this lovely movie which features
a soundtrack by Bryan Adams.
3 / B - PB
THE
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE With voices by Tom Kenny, Clancy brown, Roger
Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Scarlett Johansson, Alec Baldwin Directed by Stephen
Hillenburg The crazy Nickelodeon created characters from Bikini Bottom down
below the ocean splash into feature length territory with total lunacy. Our hero,
the one and only Spongebob Squarepants hopes to be elected manager of the new
Krusty Krab 2 restaurant, but gets snubbed. Meanwhile the evil Plankton hatches
Plan Z to rule the whole of Bikini Bottom by stealing Neptunes crown (framing
Mr. Krabbs and stealing his Krusty Krab burger recipe to serve at his Chum Bucket
restaurant). With a mind-control trick he subjects the entire town to his power.
It is up to Spongebob and his pal Patrick to save the day by traveling to the
edge of the city to retrieve the balding king's crown. Believing they're real
men up for the task, the two get into a whole lot of trouble and laughs. Even
David Hasselhoff throws a live cameo (in Baywatch mode). Loads of laughs
for the kids as well as their folks who will have to rent or buy this bag of nuts.
PS. Twisted Sister fans will love Spongebob's Goofy Goober take
on I Wanna Rock and Ween fans will dig their Ocean Man track
at the end credits. 3 / B - PB
SPY
KIDS With Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Robert Patrick
Directed by Robert Rodriguez Some people may think that the access to a stack
of cash dictates director Rodriguez’s
imagination. Those who’ve had the pleasure of seeing his previous works like the
shoestring El Mariachi (later reworked and continued in Desperado)
and the great vampire flick, From Dusk Till Dawn, will know that he has
a unique style and energy related to the film making process as a whole. The big
budget more than likely assists in fulfilling his rich imagination. His hands-on
involvement from writing and production to directing and editing gives a picture
his lasting identity. At first Spy Kids seems like a sell-out, I mean,
the name is already enough to put you off - but he manages to maintain his cinematic
integrity (which is more than can be said for his abysmal teen sci-fi horror pooper,
The Faculty). An ex-spy couple gets roped back into the game because of
the husband’s involvement in a top-secret project now unearthed by the bad guys.
An army of robot kids doubling the offspring of important people is developed
by a Pee-Wee Herman like children’s TV show host (very Tim Burton
flavoured). They need the secret, which our two kid heroes’ daddy spy developed,
in order to fulfill their process for a take-over. Our spies get captured and
it’s up to the kids to save the day. With great gadgetry, madcap situations and
crazy action sequences, a family film is created with many enjoyable aspects for
all age groups. Rodriguez favourite Danny Trejo adds gruff with
his small role. With the door left open for sequels, the bucks pulled in thus
far will no doubt make it a highly likely prospect - duck, here comes another
franchise - and then a TV show... 4 / B - PB
SPY
KIDS 3D - Game Over With Daryl Sabara, Alexa Vega, Sylvester Stallone, Ricardo
Montalban, Salma Hayek Directed by Robert Rodriguez The one-man movie-making
machine who started out making a guerilla style no-budget impact with El
Mariachi is
now the guy to resurrect the 3D cinema experience with cutting edge technology.
Having made the brave complete switch to digital video from film, Rodriguez now
has the freedom he needs. In this third Spy Kids installment (as with so many
sequels striking that number: Friday
The 13th, Amityville
Horror etc.), his utilization
of the new digital technology works perfectly, especially since the entire story
is also set in a digital realm. Juni, our young Spy Kid has retired. But, he gets
called back in when his sister is trapped in a popular video game designed by
a corrupt, slightly insane ex-agent The Toymaker (Stallone). Juni has to go in
and get her, as well as switch the game off before it goes on sale - its main
aim to put the kids under its spell. The three dimensional moments are enough
to amuse you, but not distracting enough to lose track of the movie in its entirety.
With all but the actors digitally created, the film is also aptly billed as a
"Robert Rodriguez Digital File" as opposed to "film". Stallone has fun with the
role and almost all of the previous characters pop up for a few minutes of screen
time - Antonio Banderas, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Alan Cumming, Carla Gugino,
Tony Shalhoub and even George Clooney makes a turn. This is an absolutely care-free
fun family flick, but if you're prone to optical headaches, enter with caution.
4 / B - PB
THE
SPY WHO LOVED ME With Roger Moore, Barbara Baxch, Curt Jurgens, Richard Kiel,
Caroline Munro Directed by Lewis Gilbert With vast locations like Egypt,
Sardinia, the Bahamas, Canada, Malta, Scotland, Okinawa and Switzerland (phew!),
Bond has to outwit the villainous Stromberg who wants to create an underwater
empire by starting WWIII with 3 stolen nuke subs. The bulk of the Roger Moore
007's really made good use of throwing in the gadgetry. Who could forget the white
Lotus Esprit turning into a sub-marine car - superb ! The baddie's underwater
fortress, Atlantis - boffo ! Side-car rockets - crikey ! And not to mention the
Introduction of giant henchman, the metal toothed Jaws ! What a blast. 5
/ A - PB
STACIE
ORRICO - Live In Japan Stacie Orrico has a great voice, but isn't
the little cliché blonde. Her darker Mediterranean looks and lack of over-exhibitionist
show-off style or scantily clad brat attitude makes her a bit more tolerable than
the usuals, who will not be named (as they already get more publicity than they
deserve). Orrico has made a worldwide impact, but she's pretty big in Japan, this
show recorded there in Spring of 2004. With dancers livening up the stage, the
15 live tracks include the obvious hits like Stuck and (There's Gotta
Be) More To Life. You also get Tight, Hesitation, I Promise, Strong Enough,
Security, Dear Friend and I Could Be The One. Her highly capable band
of dreadlocked guys also does a Jazz Interlude. You often get a certain idea of
an artist by means of the portrayal in music videos - Stacie grated me with the
high rotation of her best known videos, which are included here: Stuck
and the catchy (There's Gotta Be) More To Life. With very little documentary
footage, this is strictly for fans. 3 / C - PB
STANDER
With Thomas Jane, Deborah Kara Unger, David Patrick O'Hara, Dexter Fletcher,
Ashley Taylor, Marius Weyers Directed by Bronwen Hughes This superb
film zoning in on the life of one of South Africa's most notorious cops wins ¾
of the battle with its authentic depiction of 70s/80s SA - from the accents and
set dressing to the cars, wardrobe and ads of the era (the only flaw being a web-address
on a yacht). André Stander was a young successful detective who kicked in the
opposite direction of his profession by becoming the most wanted bank robber of
his time. His motivation is depicted in the film as his rebelling against the
system which placed him in the position to follow orders of the Apartheid government
which included riot and township patrols - one particular incident leading to
the death of a protester by Stander's gun. His bank-robbing rampage came to a
temporary end when his partner Cor van Deventer (played by our Outsurance man
Ashley Taylor) nailed him. It was in jail that he met up with Allan Heyl and Lee
McCall a breakout and reunion leading to their gang's spree of bank heists - until
it all fell apart, Stander eventually gunned down by a cop in Fort Lauderdale
on a minor offence. His wife Bekkie (played by the smoldering Unger) pulls off
a near-flawless SA accent. Stander is a blast, even though they glamourized quite
a bit and injected some exaggerations. 5 / B - PB
STARGATE
With James Spader, Kurt Russell, Jaye Davidson Directed by Roland Emmerich
Interesting time traveling Sci-Fi spectacular with scientists decoding an
amazing circular carved rock. The scientists pass through this time portal (accompanied
by military personel) and end up in an ancient Egypt where they discover seriously
hostile alien presence. With an equally hostile element in the military ranks,
things get hot and sparky. Broad appeal with fine utilization of newly instilled
digital FX breakthroughs. 4 / B - PB
STARK
RAVING MAD With Seann William Scott, Lou Diamond Phillips Directed by
Drew Daywalt & David Schneider At first glance this looks like just another
crap post-Pulp Fiction heist comedy.
It is, but with more merit than the usual tripe. A dude and his misfit team has
to steal a valuable statue for a crime lord by breaking through from the venue
they're having a huge rave into the bank safe next door. Everything has to go
according to plan. Obviously it doesn't, leading to some great situations and
funny moments as the rush to get this job done with their balls in tact spiral
out of control. A fun script with some cool lines, viewpoints and resolutions.
Much better than just another hip, flash camera move, twenty something slice of
modern action-comedy cinema. Slick and crazy. 4 / B - PB
STARSAILOR
- Love Is Here (Live)
The first thing that strikes you about Starsailor
is their deceptive air of simplicity. The songs are in fact brilliantly written
and performed intricate emotionally layered pieces of sound that can easily crawl
under your skin. A modest, quiet but focussed quartet, the young lads from Starsailor
deliver soul reflecting, moving and mature music matching some old and seasoned
veterans, in some cases surpassing many. This DVD (with its very classy menu)
contains the live show at The Forum in London with more than a dozen tracks,
including some one-man acoustic performances. Some covers include that of Leonard
Cohen and Elton
John. Like their live show, the four promo videos
included mostly comprise straightforward yet effective pieces of visual accompaniment
- but, like their music, are not as forthwith as at first glance. The clips include
Alcoholic, Lullaby, Good Souls and Poor Misguided Fool, a
remixed track with flashier video is included for those who may get a little restless
with the lack of modernized sounds and techniques. You'll also encounter four
documentaries including a general one on the band by Channel 4, a tour
documentary and two focussing on the recording of the songs Love Is Here
and Born Again. You'll also get to see Starsailor's
frontman park off near a field outside the studio to sing a few tunes accompanied
by his guitar - clean, raw, fresh and flawless - his Marc Bolan reminiscent voice
playing a great part in the band's sound. While the songs are great and the rear
projection at the show interesting enough, the pace and excitement value of the
actual show can dwindle, due to the overall tone of the music which has to grab
your attention - therefor it will help if you're a diehard fan or if you can get
into the music without the need for frills. Guitar, bass, drums, organ and voice
- Starsailor
takes these elements and thoroughly stamp their name on it. 5 / C
- PB
STARSHIP
TROOPERS With Kasper Van Dien, Michael Ironside, Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Man, if ever there was a comicbook put to celluloid, this sucker is it! After
such triumphs as RoboCop, Total Recall & Basic Instint as well as embarrassments
like Showgirls, Dutch born director Paul Verhoeven is back on form with this over
the top movie of total annihilation. Here the gung-ho factor is so cool, because
it's so damn tongue in cheek. Insect-like creatures attack earth and it's up to
the young to volunteer and go blow them to bits. Fabulous. The battle sequences
are phenomenal with thousands of aliens swarming all over the place. An amazing
bit of escapism that had a few people faffing about it's facsist attitude - hey,
it's a movie idiot! 5 / A - PB
STARSKY
& HUTCH With Ben Stiller,
Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell Directed by Todd Phillips
The Stiller-Wilson double team is a good choice for this comedic big screen
adaptation of the popular '70s cop TV series. Sure, they ham it up as Stiller
does the intense, overly serious Starsky and Owen the cool, laid back Hutch. Obviously
they get partnered against their wishes and become an effective team on the trail
of a coke dealer. Between the gags and humour you get shoot-outs, chases and a
ham-up of the buddy-cop TV show formula. Several highlights include a disco dance-off.
Snoop Dogg plays pimp street informant Huggy Bear to good effect. I was a big
fan of the show in the old days, especially because of the red Ford Gran Torino
with its snazzy white stripe - I still have an original Corgi miniature from the
series' era. 3 / B - PB
STAR
WARS TRILOGY With Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carey Fisher, Alec Guiness the
voice of James Earl Jones Directed by George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Richard
Marquand By today's standards some of the effects of this classic late '70s
/ early '80s space serial styled adventures may seem a little outdated - but,
a well executed model spaceship or prosthetic monster is still often way more
effective to me than digital CGI fakery. Comparable this original trilogy (which
takes up the second half of the series) is way better than the recently produced
multi-million dollar prequels that are so digitized it's pretty much an animated
movie! Sure, some of us grew up with it and have a special place in our hearts
for Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbaka, C-3PO, R2-D2 and of course,
villain supreme Darth Vader, so we may be biased. George Lucas and his selected
collaborators (including the specially created Industrial Light & Magic) had to
pioneer most of the effects and find ways to make something believable that hasn't
been done before. This set the wheels in motion and lay a template for many sci-fi
action-adventures to follow. The trilogy is a classic fight between good & evil
and consist of Star
Wars Episode IV - A New Hope, Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and Episode
VI - Return Of The Jedi.
Some of us prefer the movies in its original shape and not with the digital additions
that got added later - I personally feel that it detracts instead of enhances.
Besides the three films released for the first time on DVD, you also get a fourth
disc in this boxset with all the bonus footage and extras you want so badly. With
many Eastern references and Tolkien threads to be detected, Lucas created a lasting
cinematic legend that'll be remembered for a very long time. 6 / A
- PB
STAR
WARS EPISODE II - Attack Of The Clones With Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman,
Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson Directed by George Lucas It's
impossible to describe in words what this movie means to me, or the thousands
of others around the world who might consider themselves Star
Wars fans. But quite simply,
a fan of anything will have a hard time finding fault with the primary focus of
their fanatical behaviour. And with that said, I cannot find fault with this
movie. It is the essence of what great movie making ought to be on all levels:
Superbly filmed, accompanied by an incredible score and of course, storytelling
at its Lucasian best. The second prequel to the original trio of Star
Wars movies, which themselves
ushered in a paradigm shift in film-making in the 70's and 80's, takes us a little
further into the beginnings of the Star
Wars with the original "Clone
Wars", and expanding on the origins of some of the now iconoclastic characters.
The Star Wars
trademark elements of love and hate, obedience and honor, good and evil and just
plain thrilling action from start to finish are all here. And there are some dazzling
surprises which had the audience in my show applauding like out of control football
fans! Yeah, Star Wars
is not just a movie franchise, it's a way of life... more a culture than a cult.
For those fans who are very familiar with the chronoligical progression of the
tale, ATTACK OF THE CLONES
will feel like an intensely interesting history lesson and really begin to bring
a lot of the story's elements together. But more importantly, it will re-release
that kid in you who saw the originals as they were released over the past 25 years...
After standing in a line of 400 for 2 hours to get tickets on opening night (which
is really nothing if you're familiar with the kinds of things fans of this saga
are prepared to endure to secure a ticket), I remember walking out of the theater
totally exhilarated and thinking to myself: What a great time to be alive!
- Brett Reynolds (US Correspondent) ...the 2nd opinion... STAR
WARS EPISODE II - Attack Of The Clones With Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen,
Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Frank Oz Directed by
George Lucas The vast phenomenon created by George
Lucas several decades ago
does, to a certain extent, surpass us all. It is a culture within itself, surmounting
any Trekkie-fanaticism. Those of us who grew up with the original films
have an affinity newcomers may not feel as strongly. This, the second in the chronological
flow of Lucas's initial back story to Star
Wars (Episode 4), The
Empire Strikes Back (Ep. 5)
and Return Of The Jedi
(Ep. 6) start filling blanks of narrative detail and characters in the originally
filmed trilogy. (Have to mention the reviewer in the Tygerburger getting
it wrong in every way by calling this current episode the 3rd one! It's the 5th
one made but the second in the chronological series, genius). While my companion
loved the film and got engrossed in all of the characters, facts and line-ups
for consequential events we'd already experienced since the 70s, I found myself
in another place entirely. As I sat trying not to notice the overwhelming digital
barrage, she lapped up all of the jargon, references and details building out
this phenomenon. For starters, the casting of the young Skywalker (later to turn
to the dark side as Darth Vader in the next and concluding episode to the first
trilogy) in the shape of Hayden
Christensen is far too American
Teen for the Galactic good of the film's credibility. The old Harrison
Ford / Mark
Hamill / Carrie
Fisher films were hands-on
model building and FX innovation bar none. The newly developed digital techniques
are just so apparent, its believability zips straight out the window like an X-Wing
for me. Visions of the entire movie shot in a blue or green room of Lucas's
Industrial Light & Magic Skywalker Ranch and 100 fold the time spent in
post-production flooded my mind while I was supposed to pay attention to the story
and visual spectacle flashing on the screen. McGregor
hams it up while not-quite-bad-ass-Jackson
is pretty low-key and serene, as a Jedi should be. Portman's
sad-ass mouth can get to you, but thank goodness the floppy eared Jar-Jar Binks
(is that how you spell his dumb-ass name?) has little screen time. You get to
see Yoda in a totally different light that will either wow you or have those eyes
rolling way back. Lee
pulls off his dark side character well - not like in Lord
Of The Rings, but after all
as Dracula in the Hammer films he had ages of practice. The romance element
may be trite but is essential - where did Leia and Luke come from, after all?
While Attack Of The Clones
is essential viewing for anyone remotely interested in the Star
Wars cult, if you miss it,
you needn't shed a tear, as it's just another part of the assembly line you're
bound to bump into on video, DVD or TV. There's no way it'll fall away without
you getting a glimpse - in fact, it'll come find YOU. 3 / B
- PB
STAR
WARS Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith With Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen,
Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee Directed by George Lucas
And so it comes to an end - the last of George Lucas' creation that shaped
many generations and an entire culture. Everyone was hanging with bated breath
to see how the young Anakin Skywalker would turn to the Dark Side and become Darth
Vader. Where the first two chapters (Episode
I and Attack
Of the Clones) were
lacking in so many ways, even eclipsed by the pioneering but technologically more
primitive original New
Hope and Empire
Strikes Back, the
prequels were more often than not a digital disaster. But, to be fair, millions
of fans have grown so fond of the originals (instantly at its time of release
and over the decades), that hyper-critical reactions were expected - yet, there
was no excuse for Jar Jar Binks! This Episode
III is by far the
best of the more recent trilogy. Many tiny loose ends get tied up (while rabid
fans will find the odd loophole). While 95% digital, this time round it succeeds
with the technology further pushing the reality boundary, making it less obvious
and pulling the viewer into this exciting saga of good and evil, love, action,
betrayal and hope. Now I guess all that is left to be done is watch all 6 flicks
back to back - but do you start with Episode
I or IV…?
How a Jedi answer would? 5 / B - PB
THE STATION AGENT
With Peter Dinklage, Paul Benjamin, Jase Blankfort, Paula Garces, Josh Pais
Directed by Thomas McCarthy This low-key human drama hides a sense of
triumph and joy below the surface. Finbar is a 4 ft loner who inherits a dilapidated
station building from the old man with whom he worked in model train store. He
moves in and at this deserted new location hooks up with two other outsiders:
Joe, a guy looking after his dad's take-out stand, hungry for conversation and
a klutzy aspiring artist Olivia, whose child died and is separating from her husband.
While diminutive in stature and a private loner, Finbar becomes the centre to
which these lonely characters gravitate. The trio slowly develops a bond. With
the town a very uneventful place, the filmmakers manage to pull the humanity from
these characters to keep you intrigued without the need for any chaotic events
(although some moments step up the case). A moving and rewarding cinematic experience.
5 / B - PB
Classic
STATUS QUO Rocking and rolling in their very particular way since the 1960's,
Mr Rossi and his clan are still doing so today (2005). They are very much a live
geared act and it is illustrated in the ten videos selected here, mostly performance
based or actual live clips. It includes their still popular tunes Whatever
You Want (recently used as the basis of an SA shopping chain tune), Rockin'
All Over The World, Down Down, Rain, Rock 'n Roll, Caroline, Again & Again, Don't
Waste My Time, The Wanderer, and In The Army Now. If yo like your rock
& roll uncomplicated, this is certainly for you. 4 / B - PB
THE
STENDHAL SYNDROME With Asia Argento, Thomas Kretschmann, John Quentin Directed
by Dario Argento Stendhal Syndrome is supposed to be the condition suffered
when someone is overwhelmed by the beauty of a piece of art. Dario's daughter
Asia plays a detective who gets sucked into a convoluted storyline where she's
trailing a serial rapist-murdered who targets her. With Argento's '90s work fluctuating,
this 1998 flick captures a lot of his trademarks with many of the uneasy, unsavory
bits present. Some therapists would have a lot to say about him having his daughter
raped in his movies…whether it is necessary for added shock effect is another
debate. Fact remains he certainly has his own very distinct way of scaring his
audiences. 3 / B - PB
The
Work Of Director STÉPHANE SEDNAOUI Sednaoui's
specific style is one with a wide scope. It includes the annoying personalities
of Alanis
Morissette
in a single vehicle location (Ironic), both the black & white effective
simplicity and glowing neon colours of Björk
(a day and night version of Big Time Sensuality, plus Possibly Maybe),
the grittiness of the Black
Crowes (with
Sofia Coppola starring in Sometimes Salvation), the heavy post-production
& glowing special FX, double exposure dissolves & weird martial arts theme of
Mirwais
(Disco Science, and I Can't Wait), the bright flashy look and visual
distortion of U2
(Discotheque, and Mysterious Ways), a less inspiring clip for French
hip-hoppers NTM
(Le Monde De Demain), the silver glammy Red
Hot Chili Peppers
classic Give It Away (as well as Scar Tissue), and the point of
view angle of Garbage
(Queer). Others include Massive
Attack (Sly),
Youssou N'Dour
& Neneh Cherry
(Seven Seconds), R.E.M.
(Lotus),
and Tricky
(For Real, Hell Is Around The Corner, & Pumpkin). Besides interviews,
you also get short films and animation that'll give you further insight into the
man's art and process. 5 / A - PB
STEVIE
RAY VAUGHN & Double Trouble - Live From Austin, Texas
Another guitar genius no longer with us. This release contains a brilliant 14-track
live CD with Double
Trouble, recorded
at Carnegie Hall (with tracks like Testifyin', Love Struck Baby, Honey Bee,
Dirty Pool, C.O.D., Lenny and Rude Mood) plus a DVD of Stevie & Double
Trouble's historic Austin City Limits appearances in '83 and '89. He blew the
audience away with his 6-string flair, fusing Blues and Rock with a blast, including
songs like Texas Flood, Leave My Girl Alone, Tightrope, The House Is Rockin',
Crossfire, Tick Tock, Hendrix's
Voodoo Chile and a posthumous video of Little Wing. A guitar hero
to be missed. 5 / A - PB STING
- Bring On The Night Sting's
transition from frontman of The
Police to
solo artist was a gradual one as he adapted some Police
tunes and ones he wrote during his tenure with Stewart and Andy. His new band
members in this new frontier with a jazzy slant included the highly competent
crew of Omar Hakim (drums), Darryl Jones (bass), Kenny Kirkland (keyboards), Branford
Marsalis (sax) and some backup singers. The documentary was filmed during rehearsals
and their performance in France. Songs are dispersed throughout the intimate study
of this process of a band being created as the music is shaped. The promotional,
pre-production and press activities are also included, as well as personal intimate
moments like Sting's
wife giving birth on camera. DVD bonus material: music videos to Bring
On The Night, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, and Russians; trailer;
photo gallery, and radio spots. In addition you get 2 CDs in this set with
over a dozen tracks. They include Bring On The Night, Consider Me Gone, We
Work The Black Seam, The Dream Of the Blue Turtles, Demolition Man, One World
(Not Three), Love Is The Seventh Wave, I Burn For You, Down So Long, and Tea
In The Sahara. There are also notes by Sting
on the CD tracks, and from director Michael Apted for the DVD (Apted's other films
include Agatha,
Blink,
and the 007
movie The
World Is Not Enough).
Audio options include Stereo, DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1. 5 / B -
PB
STING
& THE POLICE - The Very Best of Most of the Police's classic songs are on
this tape as well as Sting's finest solo tracks (as the title suggests!). There's
the unforgettable Walking on the Moon, Roxanne, De Doo Doo Doo De Da Da Da and
fine chunk of Sting's mellow masterpieces like (one of my favourites) Englishman
in New York. The tacky lower budget of the old Police songs (which is brilliant
in its dated look) contrasts sharply with the more modernised slick of Sting's
cuts. With so many "Best of..." Police albums floating around, this video seems
to be the most definitive for the visual medium. Some old interview footage would've
been very welcome. 4 / B - PB STIR
OF ECHOES With Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Zachary David Cope Directed
by David Koepp Tom Witzky is a regular guy in a nice close-knit Chicago suburb.
Though he had many dreams before getting married, he hadn’t accomplished much.
His skeptic outlook leads to his sister in law hypnotizing him at a party and
suggesting he be more open minded. What she didn’t realise was that this newly
opened door also included the world we don’t see. Scary visions and an apparition
subsequently haunt Tom. His son has the ability to see her and speaks to her regularly.
At first he is completely freaked, not knowing what’s going on, until he learns
there is unfinished business she wants taken care of. Tom’s obsession starts to
consume him which obviously leads to tension with his wife. This fine super-natural
thriller has a few chilling scenes and some good scares. Comparison to The Sixth
Sense is obvious, but it is hardly the same thing. There is also no big twist
like the aforementioned film, as there are too many visual clues scattered throughout.
James Newton Howard’s haunting score also contributes to the film’s atmosphere
while some great FX scenes bind the narrative. Take someone you really like to
this film and they might just end up sitting in your lap. 4 / B -
PB THE
STORY OF US With Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rob Reiner, Tim Matheson,
Paul Riser Directd by Rob Reiner By now comedy should be second nature
to director Rob Reiner. This one is a little more serious though. It’s also not
exactly a “romantic” comedy as it starts off with a crumbling marriage. At first
the façade lasts, but there are kids involved and a resolution seems impossible.
Throughout this realistic (mis)adventure, we get to sympathize with both characters
as the escalation to the decision to get a divorce is peppered with flashbacks
from both their perspectives: the good and bad. For Reiner it might be a matter
of fact to get a film made nowadays after so many, but without the co-operation
of stars like Willis and (a still foundation-shaking stunning) Pfeiffer, it could
be much harder. This quite beautiful tale with which many can identify is hardly
a When Harry Met Sally. But similarly it leaves the opportunity for hope, once
again making us realise what a silly species we are. 5 / B - PB
STRAIGHT
OUTTA BENONI With Brendan Jack, Gavin Williams, Colin Moss, Louw Venter, Tanit
Phoenix, Kagiso Lediga, Danny K. Directed by Trevor Clarence The lads
who gave us those funny MTV Crazy Monkey clips (of guys doing totally dorky dares
thinking its extreme), unleash their first big screen effort. Finally there's
a light comedic flick for younger (and some older) cinemagoers that doesn't get
into the country's heavy political past. It is however very SA-bound, with suburban
cultural phenomena and South Africanism all over the place, from language and
behaviour to the landscape itself. Our two heroes (or losers) want to get famous
the day before their high school reunion so they can make an entrance as somebodies.
Benoni, the town where our Oscar gal Charlize grew up is the focal point of our
tale, as our buddies-for-life, naïve but determined, ready themselves to put on
a live show of their band, The Astronauts, to get noticed by Danny K's manager
and become instant stars. Along the way a cop pursues them, suspecting their involvement
in an American actor attacked while on a shoot in Benoni. The jokes are very indigenous
and some scenes are pretty funny, but several seem as though it just needed a
little extra push. Many a local cameo includes comedians, models and veteran actors.
As a Leon Schuster antidote, this is a very good start to create a new SA film
industry as opposed to merely being a location for foreign movies. 3 / B
- PB THE
STRAIGHT STORY With Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton,
Everett McGill Directed by David Lynch From the outset, seeing David
Lynch’s name preceded by a Disney logo is almost as surreal as most of his mind-blowingly
brilliant films. But, fear not hardcore fans, Lynch’s identity is imprinted all
over this little gem. Like the title, that’s pretty much what the film is, straight,
simple, modest - but that’s obvious. It mainly refers to the lead character, Alvin
Straight, whose estranged brother suffers a stroke a couple of hundred miles away.
Alvin’s health is also suffering in his 73rd year, but he decides to undertake
a journey to see his brother, swallow his pride, face the odds and do it. How?
With a small lawnmower truck, pulling a trailer - all at a snail’s pace. One of
the most pensive road-movies in the last few years (no high speed convertibles
or blood and gunfire). The scenery gets absorbed as Alvin edges along on his journey.
He has very little need for self-discovery (having lived life to the full from
fighting in the war to being a parent with a disadvantaged daughter), but he does.
More importantly is the wisdom (however simple, yet significant) that he leaves
behind with the people he meets along the way. As to be expected, it’s not all
smooth sailing, as dangers in various shapes are a very real threat, but without
turning it into an action fest. The simplicity of the film is what impacts the
most. This beautiful piece of cinema can turn one inward and reflect without struggle.
The Badalamenti score is wonderful, the photography lovely and the acting more
than convincing. Another fine film from one of my favourite directors. (Don’t
expect Wild At Heart or Eraserhead, folks, but don’t think it won’t have as much
impact). 5 / B - PB
STRAW
DOGS With Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, Peter Arne, David Warner
Directed by Sam Peckinpah The misogynistic traces in Peckinpah's films
are no mystery. He is also no stranger to violent material, and here the line
between rape, consent, self-righteous macho overpowering, the "asking for it"
factor and the emotional effect of such events collide into violence, bloodshed
and death. Hoffman is a nerdy American mathematician married to an English gal.
They move to her neck of the woods in the countryside outside of a small coastal
village, and soon an ex of hers and repairmen working at their home decide to
take more than just a few liberties. Their violations and lack of conscience drives
our mild mannered hubby to find his inner beast and execute his own justice. Quite
controversial at its time of release in 1971, over thirty years later it can still
shock many viewers, if not make them extremely uncomfortable. 4 / B -
PB
STRICTLY
SINATRA With Ian Hart, Kelly MacDonald, Brian Cox, Alun Armstrong Directed
by Peter Capaldi Ian Hart delivers a marvelous performance as the small time
English lounge singer whose allegiance to Sinatra seems obsessive. When he gets
unwillingly pulled into the underworld, his dreams seem to become a reality, but
at a price. He meets a girl and things seem great - but things start taking some
very dark turns and twists. When the mobsters start doing him favours (mostly
against his wishes), like checking up a producer of a TV talent show, he gets
sucked in deeper still. He soon becomes enamoured but his conscience rebels. While
watching you can anticipate how the whole thing will end - but you'll be pleasantly
surprised. A low key but intriguing film about the little guy who wants to be
bigtime, but seems to be doomed to remain trapped in obscurity. 4 / C
- PB
STUART
LITTLE 2 With, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipniki and the voices
of Michael J. Fox, James Woods, Nathan Lane and Melanie Griffith Directed
by Rob Minkoff The first movie was cute. Somehow, now that we know the characters
and lovely digitally created mouse FX (and loads of other snazzy, fluid tricks),
it simply seems like another episode in a TV series. Our tiny mouse hero, living
with his human family, is pretty well adjusted by now and even semi-buddies with
Snowball the cat. Only thing is, his brother and best pal has other interests
and friends, Stuart left out and a bit on the lonely side. As luck would have
it, a friend falls in his lap - well into his car's passenger seat on the way
from school. The female bird who was chased by a vulture, move into the Little
residence to recover, becoming Stuart's friend, and, perhaps, girlfriend? But
there are more sinister forces behind it all. Fun, silly, slapstick and all round
fuzzy family entertainment with lots of thrills, spills, adventure and life lessons.
3 / C - PB
STUCK ON YOU With Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear,
Cher Directed by The Farrelly Bros. In true Farrelly Brothers style,
they take physical and mental disadvantages and turn it into both comedic and
romantic popcorn fodder. Here Damon and Kinnear play conjoined twins, stuck at
the hip since birth. The one (Damon) is content working in their burger joint
in Martha's Vinyard, while the other (Kinnear) wants to become an actor, oblivious
to how the industry (and world) will see him with a guy attached to him. The naivety
and love of the two brothers overcome many obstacles. Coincidentally Damon's internet
girlfriend of 3 years happens to live in Hollywood. They head out into the big
world with loads of related jokes, gags and physical lunacy resulting. Our aspiring
actor lands a job on a TV show via Cher (who wants to get out of a contract).
And, yes, it does get a bit sentimental in parts. Some funny visual gags include
the crooked old talent manager's super-crap wig, huge glasses and battery-operated
senior citizen's cart, plus a jealous guy in a club with doll-head hair plugs.
The Farrellys are also putting more and more physically disabled and mentally
challenged people in bit parts. Fun, but if you miss it on the big screen, video
will do just fine. 3 / B - PB
THE
STUPIDS With Tom Arnold, Jessica Lundy Directed by John Landis
Disappointing turn for Landis whose Blues Brothers and American Werewolf in London
will saty with us forever. Here Arnold goes for cheap laughs as, well, the stuppid
head of the Stupid family. Dumbass jokes in a dumbass movie that may provoke a
chuckle or to, I hate to say… 1 / C - PB SUBWAY
With Isabelle Adjani, Cristopher Lambert, Richard Bohringer, Jean Reno
Directed by Luc Besson The film that made everyone sit up and notice Besson
as well as Lambert has a stylish, hip and mysterious feel to it, while at times
it does seem as though it might be meandering a bit too much. After eluding the
authorities, Lambert discovers an interesting subculture living in the Parisien
Metro system. Life underground is a strange but intriguing one while Adjani’s
beauty is staggering as always. 3 / B - PB
SUGAR
& SPICE With Marla Sokoloff, Marley Shelton, Mena Suvari, Sean Young, James
Marsden Directed by Francine McDougall It seems as if pretty much all
the angles have been explored when it comes to bank robbing/heist flicks. The
female writing, production, directing & acting team came up with one that hadn't
seen light of day (on a commercial level anyway). A quintet of varied buddies
make up the bulk of the cheerleading A-team. Their close knit bond looks past
their different characteristics as they're sisters who'd stick with one another
no matter what. Even when one falls pregnant? Gets married? Has to work a crappy
job to stay afloat? Rob a bank to overcome the financial restraints of going to
school, working and gearing up to pop a baby? Yep. The silly-assed jokes fly readily
as our gang face their problems & assert themselves in funny, dangerous and silly
ways. This teen flick is a must for anyone who loves a healthy high school body,
cute face and bad joke. The film's over the top sentiments and optimism is part
of its charm. 3 / C - PB
THE
SUM OF ALL FEARS With Ben Afleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Bridget
Moynahan Directed by Phil Alden Robinson A missing nuclear bomb is uncovered
in the Middle East and after changing hands on the black market, becomes the focus
of a resurrection of the Cold War between Russia and The USA. A battle of the
"Presidents with Fingers on the Red Buttons" ensues and our young hero,
Jack Ryan (played by Ben Afleck),
races against time to convince each nation not to start World War 3... using some
inside information and his training as a CIA agent. A standard action film made
up of classic Tom Clancy elements: espionage, nuclear warheads, terrorism
and politics. Budding love makes its token appearance as the sub-plot via Bridget
Moynahan, and the bad guys (as ever) are Nazi throwbacks and a white South
African black market arms dealer. (Say that fast three times!) The action is standard
and predictable, and so are the characters. The intensity of the DefCon 5
scene falls a little short and could have had me a lot closer to the edge of my
seat. The story as a whole is captivating enough to entertain you, but expect
nothing more. If you miss this one, something similar is bound to come along again
soon. Not vital viewing if you're not a diehard Clancy fan. - Brett
Reynolds (USA)
SUPERFLY
Terrible cover design aside, this collection of indigenous flavours contains
15 tracks from across the Kwaito, R&B, Hip-Hop flavoured board. Fallen star Brenda
Fassie appear twice, with TV's Popstars Jamali and everybody's favourite
Ringo doing their thing respectively. No new kid on the block Mdu
is there and the extravagant Lebo still flies comfortably solo. Mandoza
is obviously present, both solo and with Danny K. You also get the masked
nut Mzekezeke and SAMA winner Brown Dash. Ghetto Lingo, Doc Shebeleza,
Ntando and Solly Moholo round it out. If you are not an avid Ya Mampela
watcher, you would not have seen these clips hundreds of times. And even if you
are, and still can't get enough, there's no reason for you not to add this to
your collection. 3 / C - PB
SUPERGRASS
is 10 - The Best of '94-'04
A cool simultaneous release with their Best Of album, this double DVD packs in
17 of their videos as well as an in depth documentary covering many aspects of
this fun pop-rock act's success in the UK and abroad. Videos include the gritty
Caught By The Fuzz, the fun Mansize Rooster, carefree Alright,
Blur
Song 2-ish Richard III, hilarious extended puppet bodies of Pumping
On Your Stereo, Going Out's park performance clip, the flowing melodic Moving,
the horror infested Mary as well as Grace, Seen The Light, Kiss Of Life,
Lenny, Time, Sun Hits The Sky and more. A very cool experience, even for those
who never really caught onto the pop-rock-punk Brit vibes these three guys (and
their keyboard player) bashed out over the last decade. You also get some bonus
clips, commentaries and karaoke function. 5 / B - PB SUPERMAN
With Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando Directed by Richard
Donner This is the first double-sided DVD I've encountered - the movie and
all of its supplementary material on one disc. Super! When the advanced planet
Krypton is destroyed, a sole survivor is sent to earth. He grows up to become
Superman. Mild mannered reported Clark Kent by day,
but transforming into Superman when trouble looms, fighting for justice
in Metropolis. Criminal mastermind Lex Luthor has a few tricks up his sleeve,
though. Besides the amazingly executed first live action version of this timeless
comic book character, the DVD contains documentaries and interviews with director
& characters, shedding eye opening light on the effort put into the project. For
those truly interested in facts like that, Richard Donner (who went on to direct
the Lethal Weapon movies and also did The Omen) contributes an enlightening
commentary track. A varied casting audition tape as well as a look at the CGI-free,
but still fantastic FX, are included. The innovation and effort to create some
of the scenes are unbelievable. This is a superb package for a groundbreaking
movie. 5 / A - PB
SUPERSIZE
ME With Morgan Spurlock, Ronald McDonald Directed by Morgan Spurlock
This fascinating low budget odyssey into fast food hell makes for an enlightening
and entertaining documentary subject. With America becoming the fattest nation
in the universe, Spurlock set out to investigate this obese phenomenon by focusing
on the country's fast food epidemic. In the wake of McDonald's lawsuits (girls
blaming the company for their lard-ass dispositions) and the fact that there are
more McDonalds per square mile than any other fast food outlet, Spurlock picked
them as the focus of his study (not that KFC, Wendy's or any other favourite is
any better for you). In perfect health, he set out to eat nothing but McDonalds
for a whole month. Throughout the process a range of health consultants track
his progress (or rather degeneration), his weight gain and physical transformation
shocking! Halfway through his advisors suggest he quits or may face serious health
problems! With facts, numbers, stats and info along the way, Spurlock managed
to present both an informative, scary and hilarious piece of docutainment. Not
to be missed. DVD contains some cool extra material and scenes. 5
/ B - PB
THE
SUICIDE KINGS with Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery,
Henry Thomas Directed by Peter O'Fallon To say that Christopher Walken
is so fucking drop-dead cool that you ought to see every movie he's in, is stating
the obvious. In this case he is a "retired" mob man who gets kidnapped by a group
of young guys. The reason: to get him to use his muscle in order to ensure the
return of one of their kidnapped sisters. Tense and very funny, this original
idea serves as a reminder that explosions are not necessarily required to make
a fine, memorable film. 4 / B - PB SUMMER
OF SAM With John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Anthony LaPaglia,
Ben Gazzara Directed by Spike Lee Wonderful film about the Son Of Sam
.44 murderer who turned New York upside down in the summer of ’77. We’re taken
along the trail of several neighbourhood characters that care to a more or lesser
extent about the serial killer. Paranoia and general madness grips the whole place,
as the killer won’t stop ‘till he’s caught. Wonderful characterizations all round.
Together with Malcolm X, this is one of Lee’s best films, especially since it
doesn’t focus on how bad the white man is. You can feel the heat and fear in the
air as Lee shoots his favourite city with class. Great performances and 70’s soundtrack.
6 / A - PB SUPERCOP
With Jackie Chan, Michelle Khan Directed by Stanley Tong This Chan
offering was released in the East as Police Story 3 almost back to back with Rumble
in the Bronx. First Strike (also available on Disc) was originally released as
Police Story 4. Supercop is the USA release with a reworked soundtrack and American
refinements to make it more attractive to that market. Again Chan is that likeable,
laughable, rough & ready cop who this time needs to infiltrate a drug lords realm
in order to nail him from the inside. As to be expected, it's biggest draw card
is that of the fantastic stunts and choreographed fight sequences. The final scene
where Chan (amongst other things) hang from a ladder under a helicopter, swooping
over Hong Kong, is jaw dropping. Michelle Kahn (real name Michelle Yeao who made
her Western debut in Tomorrow Never Dies) takes no shit. She's the Chinese counterpart
Chan has to team up with and she pulls a few crazy stunts herself, like ramping
onto a moving train with a motorcycle! Some added bonuses on the laserdisc are
the elaborate wide screen format and 5 extra deleted scenes. These scenes range
from silly antics to some serious drug related ones including info on how criminals
smuggle drugs and a close-up injection and overdose. Chan is the man and everyone
should get to see each of his movies. Now go and get it. 4 / A - PB
SUPERNOVA With James Spader, Angela Basset, Lou Diamond Philips,
Robert Foster Directed by Thomas Lee A space rescue team answers a distress
call which needs to have them hyperspace over 30 light years. On reaching their
destination, their ship is damaged and need 17 hours to recharge the time jump
mechanism. The lone sender of the distress call comes on board and slowly all
hell breaks loose. He had with him a phenomenal object that can not only change
the world, but universes. 2 / C - PB
SURFIN'
SHORTS This Bruce Brown Golden Years Of Surfing Collection
looks at the '60s with classic, pioneering surfing footage taking you from America
to Japan. The reason this baby is looked
at in a musical sense is its genre relevance in music history. While this was
made in the 60s when surfing was still making its way towards becoming a recognized
and world renowned sport, the surfin' music was also still in development. No,
there are no Beach
Boys tracks,
but The Sandals
do feature with a twangy surf-flavour. The rest of the soundtrack is a Jazzy affair,
almost like industrial instruction movies! This surf (and early skateboarding
flashback) is great fun to watch and hear. 4 / B - PB
SWEET
& LOWDOW With Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman Directed by Woody
Allen Sean Penn portrays the arrogant, annoying guitarist Emmet Ray who definitely
had a screw loose - or who was merely so talented it affected him mentally. He
was a man who loved to watch trains go by and shoot rats in the dump (taking ladies
to both). He seemed to have been a kleptomaniac, but was one great guitar player,
and he was never shy to claim he was just that (except for Django Reinhart, his
idol in whose presence he’d passed out more than once). He was a womanizer but
had a long relationship with a mute, Hattie. His strange life plays off a little
like a mini-series for TV, while comments by anyone from music aficionados and
writers to Woody Allen pop up occasionally with comments, tales, rumours or facts.
Though many found this to be a great Penn performance, I don’t feel it’s his best
performance (unlike Oscar worthy roles like that in Carlito’s Way). It could also
be the fact that he plays Ray so authentically (a total asshole), that he grates
one as intended - still if there is any sympathy meant to filter through, it’s
more pity for Ray’s pathetic personality. The film is interesting and luckily
never boring none the less, and does add to a fine list of films on musicians,
only, anyone who has a keen musical ear and eye might be put off by Penn’s fumbled
fretwork at times. 2 / C - PB
THE
SWEETEST THING With Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Selma Blair, Thomas
Jane, Jason bateman, Parker Posey Directed by Roger Kumble From the
get-go you know what you're in for here. Twenty-something sex/romance comedy.
Three girlfriends live together in San Francisco. One still gets hurt when guys
dump her, but the other two are hardened, not letting their guard down or falling
head over heels - indirectly becoming exactly like the men they despise. One night
at a club Diaz's character accidentally meets a guy, all evidence showing that
she thinks he's a dick. But, inside of her it's a whole different story and result
in a road trip to try and get at him (without his knowledge). It's the same old
goddamn thing, man, with some slapstick and crude girl bits thrown in. Many people
may expect a Something About Mary,
but this film's annoying characters is a far cry from it. Strictly for Diaz fans.
1 / C - PB
SWEET
SIXTEEN With Martin Compston, William Ruane, Annmarie Fulton Directed
by Ken Loach Ever
seen a jolly Ken Loach movie? This is no different. The man's ability to bring
hard hitting real life tragedy to the screen seems to know no bounds. Set in Scotland,
we're introduced to Liam, a tough hardheaded little bastard on the brink of his
16th birthday. His mom is in jail and he plans to provide a nice place for her
when she gets out, away from her scumbag dealer boyfriend. Liam doesn't like drugs,
but turns to selling it in order to make his dream come true. Here
the adults are no role models whatsoever and children show more courage and strength
than those who are supposed to pretect them - in stead neglecting them and making
them part of the greater problem and its evils. With his buddy Liam encounter
both the good, the bad and the life threatening in this gray pursuit of happiness.
The terrible weather adds to the miserable atmosphere of this bleak but powerful
film which delivers some incredible performances (even from the toddler). Bittersweet
Sixteen is more like it. The accents are wickedly strong and if you've heard
a Scot or two, it'll make sense, but there are subtitles provided since Americans
will find this like a foreign language. 5 / C - PB SWIMFAN
With Jessie Bradford, Erika Christensen, Shiri Appleby, Jason Ritter
Directed by John Polson The Fatal
Attraction theme gets milked to nauseating lenghts in this atrocious teen-thriller
of a promising school swimmer whose one night stand with a new girl leads to the
ruining of his reputation as she goes psycho on him, injuries and death also resulting.
Each scene is as predictable as the next. A load of lame, lame and then some.
1 / C - PB
SWORDFISH
With John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Vinnie Jones
Directed by Dominic Sena When ol' Joel Silver is behind an action pic,
you can expect something spectacular. Jackman is an ex-hacker - one of the best
in fact. He gets approached by a wealthy "International Playboy" to pull a multi-billion
dollar on-line rip-off. If our likeable hacker gets close to a computer, he's
toasted by the government. But the persuasive fee and (crappy) plotline of then
being able to afford getting his daughter away from her druggypornstar mom, convinces
him to go with it - even though the people involved are pretty damn dangerous,
conniving and sly. Berry looks mightydamnfine and Travolta pulls the cool badass
act off pretty well. Jackman's convincing enough (with his ruggedly-handsome-accidental-hero
looks) albeit for a couple of eye-rolling cheezy bits (like the animated hacking
infront of the PC bit - hack indeed). The action sequences are vibrant and exciting
and the plot not too predictable, which adds to making Swordfish
an enjoyable take on the age-old heist theme, spruced up with technology and cold
blooded violence. 4 / B - PB
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