ICE
AGE With voices by John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Denis Leary Directed
by Chris Wedge I'm really glad that digitally animated features are still
not a dime a dozen. Subject matter and original characters still have an identity
all their own with far more pros than cons in both its entertainment value and
memorable categories. Set
in the (duh!) ice age, a sloth and mammoth hook up (obviously the former is annoying
& the latter annoyed). Both head in the opposite migration direction for their
own reasons, but on the way they get stuck with a human baby who was hunted by
a pack of saber tooth tigers. One of these tigers have to retrieve the kid (as
vengeance for its people killing sabers for clothing etc. - a valid bit of retribution
which makes the tigers uncomfortable villains - is it their right to do so if
humans can kill them off?) The cunning saber who's job it is to get the
child back to his pack leader convinces our unlikely sloth-mammoth duo to have
him track their way to where the humans have moved camp. Obviously he has plans
up his sleeve. As usual the animation is great, but the individual characterization
is wonderful, from mannerisms and tiny bits of detail you may or may not notice
to character bound gags. The laughs are also mostly pretty damn good in stead
of mere snicker-producers, Leguizamo's vivacious, idiotic sloth stealing most
of the credit. The makers also didn't hold back when it comes to the cute and
sad bits, telling a story of individuality within a group, the joy of being different,
the loss of loved ones & gaining of new family as well as the coldness of hatred
and death. That fantastic, jittery squirrel from the trailer pops up at just the
right moments in his quest to either retrieve or bury his acorn - hilarious. Oh,
yeah, and if you ever wanted to know what happened to the Dodo, the answer's in
Ice Age. 5 / A
- PB
IDENTITY
With John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Jake Busey, Rebecca DeMornay,
Alfred Molina Directed by James Mangold A
set of suspiciously contrived circumstances force a varied bunch of individuals
into a single isolated motel on a stormy night, trapped with a killer on the loose.
The individuals include a limo driver and his washed up Hollywood actress passenger,
a corrections officer and a transferred murderer, the guy running the motel, a
young couple, a man, his wife and her son as well as a hooker. One by one they
get knocked off in a variety of ways, some gory, some less so. The suspense
factor can get fairly tense, and if you want to figure out who the elusive killer
is, you've got a good few to pick from, not to mention figure out the actual plot.
Secrets start to unfold and things even seem to become a little supernatural
- something that unfolds at the end, and which could be derived from the film's
intro, if you really wanted to. On the outer-rim lies the real story of which
the entire film is the root, but check it out for yourself as too much exposition
will spoil the point of the entire film. 3 / B - PB
IGGY
POP - Live At The Avenue B Iggy
seems like an immortal madman whose stage presence, unique identity and diligent
fans will co-exist for eternity. Having survived one hell of an excessive life,
it seems like he's indestructible. We all dread the day the news headlines will
announce the passing of a legend, but we believe that day won't come. This amped
show at the Avenue B in Brussels was recorded on 2 December 1999. Iggy's
21 track set blazes from slow burning acoustic numbers like his No Shit
intro and Nazi Girlfriend to all time favourites like I Wanna Be Your
Dog, Lust For Life, The Passenger, TV Eye, No Fun, and Sixteen, as
well as Raw Power, Corruption, Cold Metal and Real Wild Child. Unfortunately
there are no extra features - probably for the best as to avoids demystifying
the living, breathing myth that is Iggy
Pop. 5
/ A - PB
IMPOSTOR
With Gary Sinese, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D'nofrio, Anthony Shalhoub
Directed by Gary Fleder Based on a 1953 story by renowned Sci-Fi writer Philip
K. Dick, this future vision is quite an original one. Alpha Centauri wages war
on earth. During this long war a man loses his father to these aliens and his
fascination with rockets turn to his dedicated development of an intense weapon
to defeat the enemy. Earth's cities are covered by domes to deflect constant alien
attacks. When our hero is accused of in fact being an alien clone set out to assassinate
key earth personnel, his race for survival begins. With the focus more on the
human side of the tale, the design is still quite impressive. Though it 'aint
no Bladerunner,
Impostor
contains enough serial cliffhanger tension and futuristic action to satisfy popcorn
munchers, while its deeper philosophical layers and guesswork add to its effectiveness.
3 / C - PB
THE
IMPOSTORS With Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt, Isabella Rossellini Directed
by Stanley Tucci Wonderful comedy (also written by Tucci) with two washed
out actors on the run, stowing away on a cruise ship with a host of mad passengers
each with their own secrets and intentions. Loads of character impersonation,
crazy laughs and several zany scenes. 5 / B - PB
THE
INCREDIBLES Another Pixar / Disney super-hit. This time the digital animation
wizards take on the world of superheroes (and loaned a few ideas from the Fantastic
4 - which is also finally getting its live action screen outing). The government
decides to decommission all superheroes as it is costing them too much in insurance
claims (collateral damage incurred during superhero activity and ungrateful saved
citizens laying suits). After many years of being out of action, one such hero,
Mr. Incredible, is living incognito in the suburbs, married to Elastic Girl, ironically
working as an insurance salesman and spawning two kids (also with superpowers).
He craves the excitement of thwarting criminals and super-villains. His opportunity
comes when a character from the past resurfaces, endangering all. The whole family
gets thrown into this highly entertaining and explosive adventure that will have
the kids re-viewing it constantly. Cool old-school soundtrack & extras. 5
/ B - PB INDEPENDENCE
DAY With Bill Pullman, Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Randy Quaid Directed
by Roland Emmerich Patriotic let’s-get-gung-ho-&-kick-alien-butt film as
planet earth gets invaded by aliens, almost blowing up each major city’s capitol.
A motley crew of civilians and experts combine to save the human race. Sometimes
amusing, more times annoying, just like Armageddon, it still didn’t discourage
audiences to turn away (although Mars Attacks! should’ve been first on the list,
being far superior in almost every way). In the end it’s only a popcorn muncher
and no life changing experience. 3 / A - PB ...2nd opinion...
INDEPENDENCE DAY After Universal Soldier and Stargate, the makers embarked
on one hell of a project: let's blow up the world! Aliens attack earth and a motley
crew of patriots take them on in as much of a gung-ho way as they possibly can.
In my opinion, Tim Burton's Mars Attacks, that was produced around the same time,
kicks its ass bigtime. But, if you are of the multitude viewers who actually thought
that Armageddon was a good movie, you'll love this slice of cinematic "history"
and would love to watch it over and over again. True, the FX are great and the
sequences meticulously planned, thing is, just how much of Will Smith's annoyance
and Jeff Goldblum's typecast muttering can you handle? 3 / A - PB
The
Adventures of INDIANA JONES With Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Karen Allen,
Denholm Elliott, John Rhys-Davies, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, River Phoenix
Directed by Steven Spielberg For those of us who grew up on Star Wars,
Indiana Jones, E.T. and Jaws will have nothing but fond memories
when looking back at these cinematic landmarks. Whether we knew it or not, George
Lucas and Steven Spielberg had a lot to do with our growing up. Like with Star
Wars, Lucas wanted to recreate the Saturday matinee serials and expanded it
into cinema history. This box set of four discs contains Raiders Of The Lost
Ark, Temple Of Doom, The Last Crusade and a disc of extras. Where we could
only relive it on VHS long after its big screen release without the luxury of
widescreen and digital sound, here is the opportunity to get thrilled again. BOX
SET RATING: 5 / A - PB
Raiders
Of The Lost Ark is the undisputed king as Indy (our archeologist adventurer)
pursues the biblical lost Ark of the Covenant with the Nazis wanting it for their
own sinister plot. Action packed, original in its homage to adventure films of
old and totally entertaining, all the elements were in place for this splendid
opener to a great trilogy. 6 / A - PB
Like
most second installments of trilogies, Temple Of Doom gets a darker tinge
as Indy (this time with a kid and female side-kick) get sucked into the exploits
of a sacrificial cult. Unforgettable moments like the goldmine rail chase almost
divert the attention from the annoying, constantly screaming Kate Capshaw (the
film's downfall). 3 / B - PB
The
third installment sees Connery arriving as Indiana's father, playing up the dad-son
relationship. They team up to find the Holy Grail of the King Arthur myth, the
Nazis again a part of the fray. River Phoenix plays the young Indy. 5
/ B - PB
An
extra disc contains an overall- and individual documentaries with interviews and
behind the scenes footage on each of the films. Great anecdotes and how'd-they-do-that
moments expand the experience even more. Like Lucas' original three Star Wars
films, this is an essential set. A great collection of truly memorable movies.
Hardcore fans will be glad to know that the speculation of another Indiana
Jones chapter is no longer myth. 5 / B - PB
IN
MY COUNTRY With Juliette Binoche, Samuel L. Jackson, Brendan Gleason
Directed by John Boorman Based on Antjie Krog's South African tale around
the post-Apartheid Truth & Reconciliation hearings, it is a story that needed
to be told. A Freestate born woman reporting on these hearings befriends a black
American journalist. As she comes to terms with her country's past, he gets to
face his own preconceptions and idea of what the country was, and is all about.
Good performances and some heartbreaking moments invoke a feeling of hope rather
than one of desperate anger in the face of forgiveness. Features many local actors
in bit parts and smaller roles, including Trix Pienaar. PS. Red
Dust, another
locally shot film (featuring Hilary Swank) dealing with similar subject matter,
has now exhausted this as a movie theme for quite a while, even though there are
hundreds of stories that can be told. 4 / C - PB
THE
INSIDER With Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Gina Gershon
Directed by Michael Mann Mann’s slick direction and images blend well
with this true life story based on a 60 Minutes episode, the hassles to get it
to air (including multi-million dollar law suits, death threats and cowardly corporate
hypocrisy). What made this such a controversial issue was that the subject dealt
with serious tobacco allegations that were denied be all the large companies,
even though they were aware of the health risks and evidence. Pacino plays the
determined producer who felt that the truth should always prevail. But, when faced
with a tobacco company determined to avoid a scandal, that doesn’t want to lose
any money and with ways and means to cover up any stain, things get hotter. Going
out of his way to protect his source and bring out the truth, he also gets opposition
from within NBC, involving threats of litigation that can possibly sink the company.
Tense, frustrating and deeply insightful, the unraveling of the truth and pursuit
of it makes it entertaining without any monsters, shoot-outs or explosions. A
human drama about doing the right thing, trusting and being honest. We can all
do with a bit of that. 4 / C - PB
INSOMNIA
With Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, Robin Williams Directed by Christopher
Nolan A legendary city detective gets called to a murder case in Alaska with
his partner. Internal affairs happen to be investigating them for possible misconduct.
As they swoop in on the killer, an irreversible mistake creates a bond between
cop & killer, making for an investigative thriller with a less predictable touch
than the same old formulae that get re-used time and again. The title comes from
the fact that in this part of the Northern Hemisphere (and this particular part
of the year) the sun doesn't set, this and other mental troubles keeping our detective
up. This remake by director Nolan (who directed the striking Memento)
creates a great atmosphere in this cold, surreal time zone. The performances are
great - guess you can't go wrong with three Oscar nominees & winners, eh?
Two of the executive producers are George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. In a
sense Insomnia
is a bit like Twin Peaks
sans the weirdness and freaked out characters. 4 / B - PB
THE
INTERPRETER With Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Katherine Keener, Sydney Pollack
Directed by Sydney Pollack Pollack made an interesting bunch of varied
films especially across the '70s and '80s, Robert Redford starring in many. This
suspense thriller ventures into the United Nations (apparently the first ever
production allowed inside). An interpreter who grew up in Africa (Kidman) accidentally
overhears an assassination plot on a controversial African leader who is set to
deliver a speech at the UN soon. She believes the conspirators know who she is,
but instead of protection, they assign agents to check her out. The depressed
male agent (Penn) recently lost his wife and while not trying to get personally
involved, he believes she may be in danger as the date of the speech/assassination
draws near. But, as with politics, things are never always as they seem, and many
undercover plots, plans, scams and conspiracies unfold as the climax builds. If
the film were made in Pollack's heyday with Redford and maybe Jessica Lange, it
would've been an entirely different movie, and perhaps much better. PS.
Director Pollack took up many small acting cameos over the last decade, the most
notable in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. 3 / C - PB
IN
THE BEDROOM With Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei
Directed by Todd Field This best film Oscar® nominated film is an incredibly
moving look at family, loss and its consequences. A couple's son is involved with
a young mother separated from her husband. Tragedy strikes and the family has
to deal with the aftermath, their relationship crumbling as a result and certain
decisions having to be made or ignored. In The Bedroom is a striking drama that
keeps your attention nailed, especially after the first third of the film - the
cover art a little misleading. 5 / C - PB
INTOLLERABLE CRUELTY With George Clooney, Catherine Zeta Jones, Jeffery
Rush Directed by Joel Coen By far not the Coen brothers' best. In fact,
it's right at the back of the row. Since this was apparently only going to be
a writing project for another director, then taking it on as a full-on production,
it kind of explains it. A successful but bored divorce attorney falls for a woman
whom he knows is as conniving as he is. But, it's love that has him by the prenuptial
and he pursues her to get married. While it does have a dose of those little Coen
Bros. double crosses, lust for money and moral sacrifice because of it, it lacks
their quirky trademarks and as a whole merely feels like a light comedy that could
just as well have been directed by Garry Marshall. While Clooney packs in a fun
performance, Zeta-Jones-(Douglas) is pretty bland and not-as-sexy-as-everyone-assumes.
3 / C - PB IN TOO DEEP With Omar Epps, LL
Cool J, Stanley Tucci, Nia Long, Pam Grier Directed by Michael Rymer
It takes a lot to turn an undercover-cop-infiltrating-criminal-ranks-movie into
something watchable. Here Rymer succeeds, greatly due to the charismatic performances
by Epps as the cop and Cool J as the drug lord whose confidence he wins over amidst
violence and death. It also takes many realistic turns as his superior pulls him
from the job when a shooting goes down - fearful for his psychological wellbeing
and life. His break also gives the viewer a breather as he does a photography
course, gets involved with a fine woman. .But duty calls and he goes in again.
Hectic scenes are juxtaposed by more mild, lighter ones (but the more harrowing,
tense scenes are in the majority). With a serious social conscience and realism
(based on a true case), In Too Deep reflects what is going on out there as well
as that some cops are determined to do something about it, no matter what the
cost. Well paced drama and action with some fine performances. 5 / B -
PB
I,
ROBOT With Will Smith, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell Directed by Alex
Proyas
Director Alex Proyas wowed us with such dark fare as the original Crow
and Dark City.
Now he escalates his repertoire another hefty notch with this take on Isaac Asimov's
acclaimed story of a robot accused of murder. In the future these machines are
human assistants, like appliances, making life a little easier. There are three
laws governing their processing which is supposed to ensure them never harming
a human being. Smith is a skeptic cop with a past who heads up the investigation
of a robotics professor seemingly killed by one of his creations. The biggest
robotics company in the market is on the verge of releasing its new model. If
there is a defect, they're in for some serious trouble. Our cop delves deeper
and starts to unravel the mystery with a whole lot of digital action along the
way. With Lost In Space
co-writer Akiva Goldsman on the team, some elements are a bit cheesy, but the
overall blockbusting excitement factor is enough to entertain even the most jaded.
Springtime fun with a new age restriction in South Africa which requires adult
supervision for minors. 4 / B - PB
IRON
MAIDEN - Death On The Road Someone who has no understanding of this kind of
music always looks down on a band like Iron
Maiden as
old-school dinosaurs from an age of kitsch hair-metal, but they couldn't be more
wrong. These guys still write great song, put on a brilliant show and have a growing
fan base in their early teens and not just grey old headbangers. This live show
was recorded in Dortmund Germany 24 November 2004 on the band's Death On The
Road Tour. The triple disc DVD set includes two of the show: one in stereo
and the other in a 5.1 mix. Iron Maiden perform 17 songs across their expansive
career, from the debut self-titled album across Killers
and 7th
Son,
through Brave
New World
to the most recent Dance Of Death. The last album gets most coverage with
the title track Dance Of Death, Wildest Dreams, Rainmaker, No More Lies, Paschedale
and Journeyman. Unfortunately the great Powerslave and the albums
before and after it (Piece Of Mind, and Somewhere In Time) get a
little neglected. Favourite songs like The Trooper, Number Of The Beast, Wrathchild,
Iron Maiden, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Run To the Hills are not omitted and
pack a wallop. Extra features on the third disc include two documentaries, Death
On The Road, and Life On The Road, taking a look at the making of the
Dance Of Death album, and the mammoth task of putting the tour together.
Features interviews with all of the band members, South African expatriate producer
Kevin Shirley, as well as the crew and technicians. The 200 minutes of extra footage
also throws in a half hour of fan interviews, an EPK, two promo videos, photo-
and artwork galleries. The picture format is enhanced for 16:9 screens. Far from
over the hill, Iron
Maiden is
still a band to be reckoned with. One downside is Harris' editing which is
sometimes a bit all over the place with cuts too rapid, not matching the music. 5
/ A - PB
The
History Of IRON MAIDEN Part 1: The Early Years Love them or hate them, you
cannot deny the stature and influence of Britain's biggest Heavy Metal band, having
rocked for around a quarter century! This fascinating DVD takes you deep into
the origins of this phenomenal act. Presented on two discs, it offers a bunch
of great digs into the vault. A feature length documentary includes interviews
with many of the past members as you're taken through the ups and downs of bassist
Steve Harris's mission to get the band he envisioned off the ground, rising from
pub gigs to stadiums across the globe. There's a cool 1981 black & white TV documentary
of the band as they released their first album (pretty much kick-starting the
New Wave Of British Heavy Metal of which Lars Ulrich from Metallica
was highly influenced). You get never before seen footage, old archive video and
three live shows from '81-'83, seeing the meteoric climb to one of the top rock
acts out of the UK, and subsequently the world. The shows include their first
concert video, Live At The Rainbow (with their vocalist from the 1st two
albums, Paul Di'Anno), Beast Over Hammersmith (a previously unseen show
with Di'Anno's brilliant replacement Bruce Dickinson), plus a huge breakthrough
headlining show, Live In Dortmund. Interviews with record company staff,
mile-long line-up changes, the birth of their cover mascot Eddie, reminiscence,
problems, old stills, live TV appearances and 5 promo videos are included: Women
In Uniform, Run To The Hills, The Number Of The Beast, The Trooper, Flight Of
Icarus. Other extras include photo galleries, artwork, tour programmes, Steve's
diary and more. I can't help being facetious, but I smiled at the subtitle option
for the 'hard of hearing' - for fans who attended too many shows getting blasted
by decibels? After watching this, you're itching for the release of Part 2
to the story behind this colossal band (who are still cool, mild-mannered guys
who play the kind of music they choose). 6 / B - PB
IRON
MAIDEN - Visions Of The Beast
Too often too many people scoff at Iron
Maiden as
over the hill rockers who want to cling onto their youth. On the contrary, while
they are no longer kids, these guys still have so many great songs left in them
and can put many young acts to shame on stage. With over 50 million albums sold,
do you want to argue? As probably the most successful British Heavy Metal
band, the
Iron Maiden
phenomenon has been both a fun and intriguing one for several decades. Collecting
all the Eddie posters at school still feels like yesterday. Having gone through
three vocalists (the original Paul Diano, the ultimate Bruce Dickenson and filler
Blaize Bailey), they haven't lost momentum, especially with Bruce back in the
saddle and better than ever. This double DVD offers the fan every single Maiden
promo clip from 1980 through to their headlining Rock In Rio performance
of 2001. Expect the vintage numbers like Women In Uniform and Wrathchild
as well as the essential Run To The Hills and Number Of The Beast. The
Trooper, Aces High, Wasted Years, Stranger In A Strange Land, The Clairvoyant
and Tailgunner include some of the tracks on disc one. Disc two gives you
everything from Be Quick Or Be Dead and Fear Of the Dark to Man
On The Edge, Virus, The Wicker Man and Brave New World. With varying
production values, live footage and professionally shot promo clips, it doesn't
get more concise than this. Together with the Rock In Rio live double DVD
set, you're pretty much Iron Maidened for a while. One thing you can't
hold against the band is the fact that they really give the fans their all. This
DVD set includes over 30 of their unforgettable songs (every video ever shot),
clocking in at a whopping 180 minutes. 40 minutes of hidden and extra footage
won't leave the Maiden
fan dissatisfied. It also features Camp Chaos animated versions of 6 Iron
Maiden classics.
Nifty packaging makes it that much more attractive, even though some grannies
might still think that the band's Eddie mascot is the incarnation of evil. It's
only rock & roll, gran! 6 / A - PB
I
SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE With Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony
Nichols, Gunter Kleeman Directed by Meir Zarchi In the video nasty days
of the '80s, this was a title that had everyone searching for its controversy.
Not a horror by any means, it does involve the brutality of violent gang rape
and resulting deadly retribution. A female writer rents a summerhouse way out
of the city in a boring, small riverside town. She is menaced, beaten and raped
by four idle scumbags. Then she plots to get them back. While we can easily dismiss
it as mere exploitation that has the audience look at the harrowing assault on
a defenceless woman with perversion, the payback violent and deadly, it leaves
you with the dichotomy of violation and justified vengeance and whether we're
shocked or titillated at both cases, or one of the two. But for the censors to
decide that for us is unacceptable. This movie was banned in South Africa for
years, and recently released with only a 16 age restriction. Go figure. Depending
on who you are, the moral dichotomy will have you think about it on more than
a cinematic level. We know rape is wrong, as with murder, and if this film is
a deterrent for future rapists, fantastic - but I always fear that even one nut
gets aroused by something like this and doesn't pay heed to the final "message".
The violent woman's revenge movie was always an underground genre and never really
got the big budget make-over, until Tarantino resurrected it with his Kill
Bill
flicks. Stylistically the film is quite poorly made, from bad jumps cuts and continuity
to poor sound and voice dubbing. But, then we must remember that a producer would
struggle to get financing for a film like this, at a time like that. The special
FX are not very blatant or gory, but the dick chopped in the bath sequence is
a classic of inference, not having to show anything as the implication has the
viewer picture worse than they could've managed with a piece of rubber latex.
A nice surprise was the widescreen presentation on this VHS release. 4
/ C - PB
I-SPY
With Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen, Gary Cole, Malcolm McDowell
Directed by Betty Thomas Alex Scott is a young special agent sent to
Budapest to track down a sophisticated stolen invisible plane prototype ready
to be sold to the highest bidder. In order to slip into the high security party
held at the palace of pun-named weapons dealer Mr. Gundars, his infiltration cover
is supplied by loud mouth, wise-ass & arrogant boxing champion, Kelly Robinson.
Wilson is the usual soft spoken, reasonable and meticulous straight nice guy and
Murphy is, well, Axel Foley with boxing gloves (and a money obsessed boxer's attitude
thrown in). Janssen is still hot after we thought she'd disappear into Bond girl
limbo, while the great McDowell reprises his B-bad guy typecast. It's no surprise
that the unlikely pair of bumbling agent and box star will start of rocky - but
do you think it will stay that way? What
you get is a spy-comedy with enough gadgets to qualify for the former but hardly
any to fulfill the latter category. The explosions are expected and the double
cross is hardly a surprise. Lame jokes prevail in between action sequences and
are not enough to elevate this beyond mainstream modern secret agent fluff. The
originality even stops at the film title's font! Perhaps the time has come for
Murphy to sink his teeth into some more serious roles like fellow comedians Robin
Williams (One Hour Photo)
and Steve Martin (Novocaine)
has done of late. But, even though financiers want Murphy to be Murphy for as
long as the investment has adequate returns, it will be interesting if he moved
more towards upping his range and career satisfaction as opposed to making a payday.
Yet, just as not all serious actors are side-splitting comedians (see Robert DeNiro,
for instance), not all comedians can make that transition. It would just be an
interesting exercise nonetheless. 2 / C - PB
THE
ITALIAN JOB With Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Donald Sutherland,
Seth Green, Mos Def Directed by Antoine Fuqua As if we need another
Hollywood remake. It's the "one last big job" scenario and our group of likeable
thieves get double crossed by one of them, resulting in the death of the old seasoned
pro. His daughter gets roped in when the culprit is tracked down in L.A. They
get to work plotting a scheme to steal back the gold they originally nabbed in
Venice. Throw in technology, training, the new as opposed to old mini Coopers
from the original film, red herrings and action, and there you have it - another
big budget so-what flick. Wahlberg pulls his boring soft-spoken nice-guy act and
Seth Green is the annoying young computer buff twat again. Edward Norton merely
breezes through his contractual obligation. From this fluff to the acting driven,
award-winning Monster, Theron made the right move.
2 / C - PB
ITZHAK
PERLMAN - Beethoven / Brahms Violin Concertos It just goes to show
- brilliant musicians like Perlman (who is so much more talented than tabloid
darlings), hardly get the same exposure those far less capable do. For instance,
I knew Perlman was a great violinist, but was never aware of the fact that he
walked with crutches. This live show from 1992 was recorded live at the Schauspielhaus
in Berlin. Daniel Barenboim conducted the Berlin Philharmoniker. Perlman plays
till the sweat runs down his forehead, passionately invoking the spirits of Beethoven
and Brahms (their Concertos for Violin and Orchestra in D Op.61 and D Op. 77 respectively).
It is a flawless performance and presented in PCM Stereo, DTS 5.0 as well as Dolby
Digital 5.0, placing you right there in the concert hall. There aren't many extra
features, except for a showreel of EMI Classics like Nigel Kennedy and Angela
Gheorghiu. 5 / B - PB
ITZHAK
PERLMAN - Perlman In Russia Itzhak Perlman should sit next to pop-
and rock stars - not because he stirs controversy with bad public behaviour or
another scandalous affair, but because the man is a total artist and musical genius.
This violin virtuoso's disability didn't stop him from becomes one of the best.
He is one with his instrument, making the beautiful sounds flow from the bow and
strings. While he makes it seem effortless, the intensity he projects further
enhances the performance. This double disc contains both a film of Perlman's Russian
Tour in 1990, as well as the amazing live concert recording. It includes works
from Giuseppe Tartini, Fritz Kreisler, Ernest Bloch, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
and Antonia Bazzini. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Zubin Mehta
with Janet Goodman Guggenheim on piano. 6 / B - PB INVISIBLE
CIRCUS With
Jordana Brewster, Christopher Eccleston, Cameron Diaz Directed by Adam Brooks Ever
since ex-model Cameron Diaz wow'd audiences with her cute debut in The
Mask, she'd racked up quite
a high profile biog, reaching its high in the big screen adaptation of the TV
series Charlie's Angels.
But, every now and then Diaz picks a low key project that doesn't glamourise her,
but rather depends on her acting skills, like the amazing Being
John Malkovich for instance.
This is another one of them - not as deep or off the wall as the aforementioned,
but just as far away from major cineplex box office hit-status equalling the $80
million actioner in the cinema next door to it. Phoebe has just finished school.
In the late '60s her father died of a blood disease and her close older sister,
Faith (played by Diaz) took it hard. Her rebellious streak took a turn for the
worst as she slowly became more of an activist with Wolf, her British boyfriend,
wrapped up in the Hippy daze. All the Diaz segments are seen in flashback as Phoebe
tracks Faith's life across the year that she left San Francisco, throughout Europe
to her apparent suicide in Portugal. Phoebe's coming of age trip takes her to
all the places her sister visited in Europe, also resulting in an upsetting and
near-enlightening acid trip in Amsterdam, discovering her sexuality and meeting
up with Faith's old boyfriend - filling her in on all the blanks and dark secrets
none of the family knew about back home. Invisible
Circus is also essentially
a chickflick with possible arthouse potential, while the suspense and underground
anarchic action add to the film's very wide categorization possibilities. Slow
in its unfolding and very sparing with its bursts of excitement, this film can
however be enjoyed by a cross section of the population - but not easily over-joyed. 3
/ C - PB
I
WITNESS With Jeff Daniels, James Spader, Portia de Rossi Directed by
Rowdy Herrington Herrington's action films have slipped into a more mature
gear with this politically laden story of murder and betrayal. Daniels is a human
rights investigator who finds himself in the middle of a strike situation and
the call for a union with a large US company in Mexico, providing many jobs. When
27 bodies are found and the authorities seem less than pleased to co-operate,
he has to do his own investigation resulting in the unraveling of corruption,
greed and stupidity. While it does feel a bit like a TV movie at first (not necessarily
because of Ally McBeal star De Rossi), it picks up steam and leads to an unexpected,
yet obvious place. 3 / C - PB |