ScreenArchive

l

 

6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temperature
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A - Multiple Viewing Possibilities
B - Deserves Another Look
C - Once Should Suffice

 

LADDER 49
With Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Morris Chestnut, Robert Patrick, Balthazar Getty, Jacinda Barrett, Jay Hernandez
Directed by Jay Russell
It has been a while since Ron Howard's
Backdraft was the definitive firefighter movie. Time ticks by and after September 11th firemen have become the new heroes. This drama follows the life of a new rookie fireman joining a close-knit Baltimore station, falling in love, marries, has kids, and loses friends and colleagues as they fight fires. The fire sequences are well executed and filmed. The tear ducts get turned on as the film flashes back through Phoenix's character's time at the station while he's trapped in a building, his team trying to get to him. Action, tension, joy and sorrow - what more do you need from a Hollywood flick?
Extras include a Making Of, deleted scenes and Robbie Robertson music video.
3 / C
- PB


LA FEMME NIKITA
With Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hughes Anglade, Tcheky Karyo, Jeanne Moreau
Directed by Luc Besson
Nikita is a junky who ends up killing a cop. She is sentenced to death. That’s what the world is led to know. In stead she is taken up in a secretive governmental program, training assassins. She has little choice. Her renewed lease on life turns her around, but at the cost of killing others. Even her lover cannot know and her torment is deep and frustrating. Amazing action sequences and great photography is only a few of the elements making this a marvelous cinematic experience. The US remake, Point Of No Return and TV series doesn’t come close to the original. A decade later and this movie still kicks ass.
6 / A

- PB

LAIBACH - 2
These Slovenian audio dictators never pandered to anyone, fulfilling their militant slanted social / apolitical artistic expression freely since the '80s, often leading to accusations and misunderstandings. On this DVD you'll find a performance of their '94-'95 Occupied Europe NATO Tour. They've always been master cover version artists (like the dark recreation of the entire Beatles Let It Be album for instance), and here used popular songs to express their dissatisfaction with the state of the war obsessed intolerant world, especially in Eastern Europe and their surrounding countries. With their particular dramatic industrial rock style (definitely loaned by successors like Rammstein), they give a solid reworking to songs like The Final Countdown (Europe), Dogs Of War (Pink Floyd), Sympathy For The Devil (Rolling Stones), a German version of Queen's One Vision as well as tunes like War, In The Army Now, and 2525. Laibach originals include the N.A.T.O. arrangement of Gustav Holst, Alle Gegen Alle and Wirtschaft Ist Tot (most of their original material in German). A sometimes-cryptic documentary delves into this phenomenon known as Laibach, their worldview, attitude, driving force and the misconceptions of their totalitarian image. Several music videos are also included, like Vier Personen and another dramatic, slowed down, characteristically low voiced cover of Opus' Life Is Life. Whatever your view of them, they are are a group of striking power that even went so far as to create their own virtual NSK state as opposition to the military aggression of the world.
5 / B
- PB


LAKE PLACID
With Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, Betty White
Directed by Steve Miner
And just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water - or just when it seemed Steve Miner would never make another horror film (aside from Halloween H20), the creator of Ally McBeal sorts out all of that. Not exactly a horror film and not exactly a full-blown comedy, David E. Kelley managed to weave an entertaining combination of both. When a diver gets chomped in half, it isn’t taken lightly. Fonda is a dinosaur expert from a New York museum sent to the sleepy Maine town to check out the scene, as a dinosaur type tooth fragment was found in the victim. It happens to be a 30ft crocodile. Pullman is the wildlife marshal and Platt the wealthy crocodile freak who wants to find it for his own personal fulfillment. Tied together with a string of one-liners, wise cracks and sarcastic rips, what we have is a fun filled thriller not intent on chilling our blood as much as it could’ve. The thought of a freaky, murky lake with a gigantic lurking crocodile is enough to send shivers up my spine, but it is too light hearted to have us totally spooked. A few good scares are lined up, though, as we descend into the eerie depths, knowing the croc can strike at any moment. And when it does strike, the crocodile is not shy in leaving behind traces of gory tit-bits that’ll have the squeamish squirming. The tongue in cheek attitude and tone is so blatant that it leans more towards the comedic than horrific and does diminish the possibility of some heavy scares. Even though you happen to care for all the characters who are all equally full of shit in their own special ways, you don’t want them to get gobbled up and somehow feel they won’t. But you’ll have to see for yourself.
4 / A

- PB


LAND OF THE DEAD
With Asia Argento, Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo
Directed by George A. Romero
George A. Romero gave us the best zombie trilogy ever in
Night Of The Living Dead, Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead (see below). For decades his fans have been screaming for another and finally it has arrived. This movie was approached from Romero's zombie universe perspective, taking the logical plot of how the human race will deal with an epidemic of living dead. Survivors have organized themselves to contain the zombies by fencing off parts of the city with a defense force keeping the "stenches" (as they're called) out. It has however created another class structure where those with the means and breeding get to live it up in a luxury high rise called Fiddler's Green. The rest have to live in slums on the ground. Teams are sent out to secure supplies, at the same time thinning out the zombie population (ever so slightly). An armed panzer vehicle, Dead Reckoning (owned by the kingpin of Fiddler's Green) is instrumental in these operations. But the big man (played by Dennis Hopper) screws over Leguizamo's character (doing his dirty work), who wants in at the Green (but he's not the right "kind"). He tries to have him knocked off, but fails, resulting in the guy stealing Dead Reckoning and threatening to blow up Fiddler's Green. At the same time the zombies are becoming more conscious about their survival and led by a gas attendant mass together and head for the city, re-learning basic skills along the way (another evolutionary step further from the Bub character in Day Of The Dead). As a new species on its own, they make up the bottom of the ladder. Where Romero used a black protagonist in both Night and Dawn, here his black hero is the one leading the zombies - a nice twist. Besides Romero's consumers-run-rampant analogy of previous flicks, this script is the most social and political thus far and adds a very interesting dimension to the basic action and horror that can be delved from the subject. With the single location concentration of the early Living Dead movies, this film does lack that intense dramatic focus of the previous installments, but make a very cool addition to the series with enough gore for horror fans, action for those who like it and a bit of a message beneath it all. Tom Savini makes a cameo appearance as the leather jacket zombie from Dawn Of The Dead, and even if the movie were useless, this would be enough to get the fans cheering.
4 / B
- PB

LASERHAWK
With Jason James Richter, Melissa Galianos, Gordon Currie, Mark Hamill
Directed by Jean Pellerin
A teenager has visions of an alien invasion and events unfold making it evident that he has a link there and that an impending doom has to be prevented. A mental patient (yes, played by Luke Skywalker!) is his only hope.
2 / C
- PB

THE LAST CASTLE
With Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Roffalo, Delroy Lindo
Directed by Rod Lurie
Redford stars in this patriotic military prison film. Gandolfini is the warden with no combat experience but very dedicated to its tradition, history and theory. Inadvertently Redford becomes the prisoners' leader, especially when he discovers how the administration is not playing by the book. They decide to take matters into their own hands and take over the prison. Though it's one to add to the prison genre, the "Pwaah-Pwaah" military music driven annoyance and quasi-patriotism are not isolated grating points in this "defying authority to maintain honour" theme - will make many viewers groan with tedium.
2 / C
- PB

THE LAST OF THE BLONDE BOMBSHELLS
With Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Leslie Caron, Olympia Dukakis, Cleo Lane, Joan Sims, Billie Whitelaw, June Whitfield
Directed by Gillies MacKinnon
This delightful little reminiscent British comedy follows the last mission of an elderly woman who wants to make a final significant point. During the war she was a member of an all-girl big band (except for the lad who played drums in drag, getting into all the gal's pants but hers). When meeting up with him again in their autumn years, she remembers the good (& bad) times and decide to get the band back together to play at her granddaughter's school dance. The task is not an easy one as she tries to track them down (with the aid of several flashbacks), all of them changed in more & different ways than the obvious ones. Will they put past differences aside and have one final blast? A heartwarming English show reminding you that merely because someone's follicles are grey, it doesn't mean their sell by date is up.
3 / C
- PB


LAST MAN STANDING
With Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, Christopher Walken, Michael Imperioli, David Patrick Kelly
Directed by Walter Hill
Based on Yojimbo, the Kurosawa film which was also got a westen version in the shape of A Fist Full Of Dollars by Leone with Eastwood. A loner rolls into a dusty town during the Depression years. Two opposing mob gangs are located here and he soon starts playing them both. Glorious John Woo style action and a dusty, glowing orange texture. Moody and dark at times.
4 / B

- PB

THE LAST SAMURAI
With Tom Cruise, Jo Jo Spangler, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Directed by Edward Zwick
This sweeping big budget semi-epic deals with Nathan Algren, a washed-up alcoholic US Army hero who gets employed to train Japanese soldiers in the art of Western warfare during the 1870s. He is haunted by the atrocities perpetuated upon the Native Americans. A faction of custom-bound Samurai opposes the council who overpowers the decisions of the youthful emperor. In a skirmish with the sword-wielding traditionalists, the unprepared army is decimated and Algren is captured. With winter coming, they keep him in their village until he can be returned. Taken in by their leader's sister (whose husband was killed in the battle by his hands), he learns of their traditions and sense of honour. He learns their language, using a sword and obviously starts falling for the woman of the man he slain. On returning he is expected to lead the now well trained forces with modern weaponry to crush the resistant samurai. He turns sides however and fights against the westernized forces. Some busy fighting sequences and languid visual moments make this worth the watch, but did not stir me as much as the filmmakers would have liked me to (what with preemptive music and often obvious over-passionate acting turn from Cruise). Rather check out a real Akira Kurosawa samurai movie. (After this and
Kill Bill I'm sure the sales in samurai swords are soaring).

3 / C
- PB


THE LAST SUPPER (in Afrikaans)
Met Cameron Diaz, Courtney B. Vance, Annabeth Bish, Bill Paxton, Ron Perlman, Ron Eldard
Regisseur: Stacy Title
Hierdie donker komedie span 'n groep vriende saam wat per ongeluk tot die besluit kom dat dit hulle plig is om die wereld te verlos van potensiele "Hitlers" in alle vlakke van die samelewing. Hulle nooi hierdie mense vir aandete en probeer hulle oorreed om hul beleid te verander - so nie, die gif wyn ! Vanselfsprekend broei die onderlinge verskille tussen die groep vriende soos die grondhope in die agterplaas al hoe meer word. Heelwat bekende gesigte kan gesien word in die gedaante van die gaste wat hul laaste maal geniet.
4 / C
- PB

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
With Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie
Directed by Martin Scorsese
It is unbelievable that this brilliant film got so much flack at time of its release in 1988. People even tore down cinema screens in protest of this "blasphemy"! If they had gone through the trouble of actually watching the damn film and judging on that (as opposed to taking the word of high & mighty ignorant idiots branding the film as heresy), many of them would've gone "oh, I get it". Even South Africa banned it for a very long time, not even allowing a specially permitted screening at a festival(!). Sad. Pathetic and very sad. Even though it follows the Gospel of Jesus pretty accurately, the film starts with a note by its writer, Nikos Kazantzakis, stating that it is not in fact based on it, but an exploration of his struggle between life as a man and that of the spirit. Scorsese's writer/director buddy Paul Schrader (who also wrote the Scorsese directed
Taxi Driver) adapted the book and did a marvelous job, as did Scorsese in tackling the issue of Jesus, who was in fact a man. Questions of human feelings, -reasoning and -interpretation of situations becoming more focussed than just the good deeds performed by a blonde, blue eyed Hollywood Jesus acting all pious and ultimately getting killed. The not so pretty Dafoe does an amazing job as Jesus of Nazareth who is wracked with confusing and conflicting emotions and feelings, hearing voices, feeling driven towards some uncertain purpose. He wasn't just born an all knowing Messiah. Keitel makes a compelling Judas (in a Noo Yawk kind of way), a figure who gets a bit more credit here (as a friend of Jesus) in stead of the conniving sell-out. If he had not done that, Jesus' destiny would not have come to fruition (however painful), man's sins would not have been forgiven and there wouldn't be such a thing as Christianity... In this more realistic approach Jesus grew up as a carpenter and had to face this intense struggle alone before it all made sense. What freaks Bible bashers out the most with this (the best rendition of Jesus' life), is not just the analyses of God's intentions, the nudity or graphic crucifixion scene, but a "what if" scenario that makes absolute sense - He was a human being, not a floating spirit. Believers, atheists and agnostics alike can really appreciate this film for its brave, pragmatic and artistic approach, which is in no way blasphemous - the compelling imagery and interpretations fresh and exciting. The Peter Gabriel soundtrack is utterly spectacular, collaborating with an array of North African musicians, creating unforgettable themes. (I've had the double vinyl album for over a decade and finally got the CD before the grooves disappeared). Its various nominations aside, this epic 157-minute experience will in fact make non-believers look upon the Jesus figure with more respect while those already convinced will have their beliefs reinforced as opposed to shattered (like the prudes tried to have everyone believe). With the long running time, I guess there wasn't much space for any extras. You only get a cinematic trailer, 5 language options and 14 subtitle choices. The splendid digitally remastered sound and 1:1.85 anamorphic widescreen format makes my video copy (which I purchased in the UK while it was still forbidden here in South Africa) totally obsolete. Immerse yourself in this passionate visionary film and take the chance to see what greatness we'd been deprived of - like salvation, rather late than never…
6 / B
- PB


THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN
With Sean Connery, Stuart Townsend, Jason Flemyng, Shane West Directed by Stephen Norrington
This fun, vibrant adventure throws together a motley bunch of well-known fictional characters (headed by Alan Quatermain) to thwart a warmonger. The characters include Dr. Jekyll (of Mr. Hyde fame), Captain Nemo, the invisible man, Dorian Gray (the immortal guy with the aging painting) and a female vampire. While they club together with Nemo's fantastic machines at their disposal (great elaborately designed submarine and car visual a highlight), there is a deceiver in their midst. Lots of enjoyable action but a little drawn out in parts.
3 / B
- PB

LEAVING LAS VEGAS
With Nicolas Cage, Elizabeth Shue, Julian Sands
Directed by Mike Figgis
This painful masterpiece places Cage in his Oscar winning role of a man who decides to move to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. He meets a prostitute and their relationship grows, although he’s fading. Shot in 16mm, it adds to the more gritty realism of the situation, the neon seeming cheaper, the faces more real, less glamorous, more vulnerable. There might be a strong sense of twisted morals and a fucked-up sense of self-worth, but the harshness of the film’s emotional intensity doesn’t push the audience away - in stead it draws you in. The humour is not excluded, but don’t expect a laugh a minute. This is a serious drama that surpasses the general stereotype of what such a genre should entail in almost every way. Sure, we sympathize with the characters and hope they see the light. Love is represented here a very unconventional way and perhaps more pure than it seems.
6 / B
- PB

LEFT BEHIND - World At War
With Lou Gossett Jr., Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Jessica Steen, Gordon Currie
Directed by Craig R. Baxley
The cover does not explicitly state that this is in fact Left Behind Part 3, but it does mention it is a continuation of the best selling books Left Behind, and Tribulation Force. World peace and a looming 3rd World War is threatening to lead to the annihilation of millions of lives. The president played by Lou Gossett, Jr. is a hands-on guy who has to juggle between his common sense and spiritual strength. It would help if you've read the books or seen the first two movies to find the thread of this film with its strong religious overtones, especially with the Revelations element inherent in this Armageddon / Rapture tale which incorporates biological terrorism in the shape of poisoned Bibles. In this future state, there are three factions: the Christians, Militia and Global Community, with the Devil and God's followers on opposing ends. Besides having that TV movie mood, having Gossett and Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains) in the lead cast doesn't help either. While shot in Canada, the White House also gets destroyed as our heroes try to stop the main villain from destroying everything by relying on their faith. Where the final shot of a movie can leave a lasting impression, here it is a very poor one.
Special Features: Bloopers Reel; Deleted Scenes; Featurettes; Christian rock band music videos by Grand Prize and Pure; Photo Gallery; Trailers; Commentary track with co-writer / co-producer André Van Heerden whom I expected to have South African accent but has a Canadian one.

2 / C
- PB

LEGIONNAIRE
With Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Berkoff, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaji
Directed by Peter MacDonald
Van Damme is better known for his high kicking martial arts skills than his acting. Here he seems to try and break into the acting market with a tale about a boxer in 1925 France who refuses to take a dive and try to run off with his ex-girl (who now belongs to the villain who wants him to lose). After a chase and several deaths, he finds himself at the French Foreign Legion office. As a matter of life and death, he joins up and gets sent to Morocco. Here a mixed bag of nations make up a squad who are up against arid land, heat, miles to march and a native horseback army outnumbering them. Befriending an Italian, an African American and a Brit, they stick through internal struggles, their fascistic superiors and the country they find themselves in. With Van Damme assisting in the production and story side of things as well, it is an admirable attempt, but it very much plays off like a more violent version of the French Foreign Legion films of old. So, if you like that kind of thing, you might just love this. (Not just reserved for Van Damme fans).
2 / B
- PB

LE LIBERTIN
With Vincent Perez, Fanny Ardant
Directed by Gabriel Aghion
It is 18th century France. Monsieur Diderot is working hard at completing the Encyclopedia, which has the free thought-oppressing church and authorities freaking out. While it is already banned, copies are still making it to the people. This is because Diderot is running a secret printing press at the chateau of Baron D'Holbach. A Libertin and proud of it, Diderot's insatiable appetite for everything natural (especially sex) seems to know few bounds. His foundations get tested by two visitors who arrive at the chateau on the same day. The one (who can have him thrown in jail) is the Baron's Cardinal brother, but does very little to upset Diderot in his quest - in fact he revels in taunting the prude. The other visitor is a painter, Madame Therbouche who is commissioned to paint a portrait of Diderot. Her pursuit to capture him as nature intended is juxtaposed by his undeterred urge to "get natural" with her! With its naughty sense of humour the film is driven by the urgency for Diderot to get the next volume of the Encyclopedia completed in order to have it shipped off. But, his shifting ideas on Morality (illustrated in various ways, including conversations with Madame Therbouche) make it hard for him to decide on one definite concept, constantly returning to revise the whole thing. The result is a fast paced period comedy with the occasional serious undertone. One of the outstanding characters is the Baroness D'Holbach, with her introduction of new delicacies (from chocolate and caviar to popcorn), her consumption of magic mushrooms and numerous attempts to keep her priestly brother in law away from the chapel where the printing press is under way - confessing to the most ludicrous of offences. Her husband has a string of silly inventions like a pig organ while Diderot's wife is sick of being cheated on, his latest pursuit, Madame Therbouche holdin a few mysterious qualities he can't put his finger on. But in his pursuit of pleasure, he can't seem to care - although it does affect his way of looking at the Morality issue, constantly revising it. Separating thought and human need should seem hard for him, but he merely lives life to the full. With its tongue firmly in its cheek, this film makes a change from the far too often over-serious period pieces released on the Arthouse circuit.
4 / B
- PB

LENNON LEGEND - The Very Best Of John Lennon
If there is only one word to describe the most rebellious ex-
Beatle, "Legend" would certainly be one of the first choices. This 20 track DVD includes most of his best known videos like Imagine, Mother, Jealous Guy, Love, Mind Games, his rendition of Stand By Me, (Just Like) Starting Over, Power To The People, Woman, Borrowed Time and the glorious Give Peace A Chance. From love songs to protest songs, they're all here. Without over-glossy, big budget approaches, the more gritty, arty, docy look of the Lennon videos encapsulated his personality more than any over-stylized clip ever could, Yoko also an integral part of every facet. Some of the special features include a special video for Working Class Hero made for the Anthology series, created like a documentary of John's life, narrated by himself. There are separate live versions of Slippin' & Slidin' and Imagine, the latter his last ever performance; animated line drawings by Lennon and never before released footage. An incredible body of work from an amazing musician cut short in his prime.
5 / A
- PB

LEON aka The Professional
With Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman
Directed by Luc Besson
A professional killer gets saddled up with his teenaged neighbour when a crooked cop wipes out her family. Their relationship grows (into what prudes feel is a bit too risqué, bordering on near pedophilia). She has nothing left and asks the seemingly emotionally cold Leon to teach her his craft. Reno is amazing as the assassin with morals, while Portman’s debut is stunning. Oldman really lives himself into the bad cop role, rounding the ensemble off as one fine conflicting pool of intensity, class and visual grace. Thrilling, tense and, like every Besson film, classy. A Director’s Cut is said to expose far more than the original release.
6 / A

- PB


LEPRECHAUN
With Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Orlandt, Mark Holton
Directed by Mark Jones
Feeling very much like a TV movie, this silly little flick has a few laughs (very few). A man stole a
Leprechaun's pot of gold and he wants it back. The guy traps him in a box in the basement by putting a four-leafed clover on top of it. Years later a girl and her dad obtain the house to fix it up. The clover gets swiped off and the two-foot monster escapes, still after his gold. Only a few deaths result and the pace drags on. Two of the most significant bits is Willow star Warwick Davis as the diminutive Leprechaun in buckled shoes and hat, and a pre-stardom Jennifer Aniston, who also looks a bit pre-rhinoplasty! With about 5 sequels, somehow this nasty little bugger seems to have a substantial fan base.
2 / C
- PB


LESLEY GARRETT - The Singer
Talented singer
Lesley Garrett's BBC TV special includes ten tracks accompanied by languid, calm and serene British landscapes, hills, valleys, rivers and streams, aerial shots and country scenes. The visuals also include performance footage of Garrett shot in cozy, homely surroundings. The songs include originals like musical producer Tolga Kashief's A New Heaven, traditional arrangements like O Waly Waly, Lagan Love and Brezairola, and classic songs from Simon & Garfunkel's Scarborough Fair and Lennon & McCartney's Let It Be. Other lovely renditions include C. Hubert Parry's Jerusalem and Michael Head's The Singer. Interspersed between the songs there are poetry extracts from renowned poets like William Blake, W.B. Yeats, D.H. Lawrence, Robert Graves and James Joyce, adding an extra artistic air. At only around 50 minutes and no extras, you really have to be a big fan to dish out for this lovely production that feels very much like Sunday afternoon TV fair (directed by David Barnard).
4 / C
- PB

LETHAL PANTHER
With n/a
Directed by n/a
Cheap Hong Kong action flick with high kicking pretty girls, cliché bad guys and little else. Action sequences don’t convince although a few fight scenes are pretty impressive. A far cry from Jackie Chan.
2 / C
- PB

Classic LEVEL 42
The jazz flavour these talented musicians added to their pop music in the '80s distinguished them from the usual crowd. They were als not a pretty boy group. These 10 music videos include Something About You, To Be With You Again, Running In The Family, Hot Water, Tracie, Take A Look, Love Games, Leaving Me Now, Heaven In My Hands, and The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up). While the videos are far from mind-blowing, the music is quality stuff. No extra features.
4 / B
- PB


THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS
With Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, John Lithgow
Directed by Stephen Hopkins
This HBO-made film on the life of comedic actor Peter Sellers covers his personal highs and lows, emotional state and artistic accomplishments from the
Goon Show radio days to his break into cinema, through until his death. The filmmakers don't try to sugarcoat his nasty side that came out frequently together with his insecurities. The funny moments are there, but also the sad. Throughout Rush's amazing performance, he lapses into the roles of those close to him, from his mother and father to his wife and Pink Panther director (Blake Edwrads), altering his life's events to seem more rosy and justified to himself.
PS. What I find shocking is the fact that some idiot actually thought it was a good idea to remake the
Pink Panther with Steve Martin in the lead…!
5 / B
- PB


THE LIFE AQUATIC
With Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum
Directed by Wes Anderson
Amid the barrage of crap cinema, luckily we have off-centre greats like this one slipping through the prepackaged Hollywood system. Director Anderson's highly acclaimed Royal Tennebaum actors Huston and Luke's brother Owen Wilson deliver great characters together with Dafoe, Blanchett and Goldblum. But it is Murray who obviously steals the show as Steve Zissou, the charismatic, but greatly flawed oceanographer and leader of his mixed crew. Zissou's recent documentary receives a lukewarm response at a film festival. In it his friend got nabbed by a gigantic, mythical shark. He plans to shoot a sequel to this documentary as they head out to find and kill this shark. But, he has to contend with his over-funded rival, a journalist, his temperamental wife and a man who may possibly be he son. The humor is dry, nonchalant, wacky and sometimes over the top, yet all played totally straight, even when the cartoonish touches become surreal. Animation for fictitious sea and animal life was handled by Nightmare Before Christmas director
Henry Selick. Some fantastic cheesy soundtrack moments, a great ship set and a crew member singing David Bowie songs in Portuguese throughout the film are only a few of the many enjoyable aspects to this absolutely brilliant movie experience.
5 / B
- PB

A LIFE LESS ORDINARY
With Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter
Directed by Danny Boyle
Oddball comedy with a great sense of style and class. Rich brat daughter of McGregor’s boss gets kidnapped by him when protesting against his retrenchment as a cleaner in favour of robots. They’re on the lam and she ends up in control of the situation. They do fall in love (obviously) and decide to take her dad for a financial ride. It’s not that simple, though asa there are two angels who need to earn their wings by getting them to fall for each other (or kill them if they don’t). The film is pretty out of the ordinary.
4 / B

- PB

LIFE OF BRIAN
With Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
Directed by Terry Jones
The second Monty Python feature film was condemned for being blasphemous and in poor taste. In fact, it is a great study on human social behaviour, misunderstanding and our urge to mystify whatever we don't understand. One sidesplitting, quotable scene follows on the other as Brian, a poor nobody, is mistaken for the messiah. Directed by fellow Python, Terry Jones, this gem should be classed among the ranks of such Biblical epics as King of Kings and Ben Hur, even though it was made on a third of their catering budgets. It also scores 99% more laughs than Charlton Heston ever could...OK, make that 98%.
5 / A
- PB

THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE
With Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Gabriel Mann
Directed by Alan Parker
A renowned university lecturer fighting against the death penalty in Texas ends up on death row himself for the murder of a close friend and fellow protestor at death watch - which makes this more "The Subsequent Death Of David Gale", but through the narrative and flashbacks we get a reflection of his life leading up to this critical point. The last week before his execution he grants a young journalist three interviews where his personality, the background of his case and clues start to unfold. He maintains his innocence and believes someone has framed him.
Expect red herrings, blurry lines between truth and lies. David Gale is a far cry from the musical slant Alan Parker has had in a large part of his past work (Bugsy Malone, Fame, The Wall, Commitments, Evita), but ends up no less effective. Besides many of the underlying social and political motivations in these films, this one slots in more directly with his work like that of Mississippi Burning. Though he feels strongly about the subject, you don't get to feel that 'Parker mood' that you'd encounter in say, a film like Angel Heart or Birdy. While Kevin does his Spacey thing regardless, it just feels as though any one of a few dozen directors could've landed the same result. But then, the film is more content- & subject- that visually driven. Parker's sons supplied the soundtrack which drives the viewer along its tense denouement.
The film was co-produced by Parker and Nicholas Cage.
4 / C
- PB


LIKE MIKE
With Lil' Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Crispin Glover
Directed by John Schultz
In the spirit of classic live action Disney films, we have the big dreaming orphan, his buddies and the magical event that turns everything around, this time set amid the world of the NBA. In his big screen debut, pre-teen rapper
Lil Bow Wow is Calvin, the orphan in question, with dreams of becoming a basketball player, but is constantly bullied and trodden on. When he gets a pair of second hand sneakers at the orphanage initialed MJ (could it be Michael Jordan?), his life starts to turn around. After the local bully throws his shoes onto the power line, he fetches it at night in the rain. Zapped by lightning, the magic starts. At a basketball game Calvin wins the chance to play a halftime one-on-one against a member of the Knights. Unbelievably he wins and he is convinced his awesome leap was due to the magical shoes. All he and his friends want is to be adopted by a nice family, but the guardian at the orphanage is a bit of a bastard (played by the quirky Crispin Glover) and sees a money opportunity in Calvin, especially when he gets hired by the team as a novelty act - until he really has to play - but, he dare not attempt it without his tattered magic sneakers. The player he humiliated in the one-on-one (the smooth Morris Chestnut) has to be his room-mate when they're on the road. It is no surprise how the kid constantly annoys him, but being the kind of movie that it is we know it won't last forever. Like Mike is hardly an American Bend It Like Beckham, but a sweet family film that combines family hopes & values as well as sports and youngster comedy to varying effect - depending on your age.
3 / C
- PB

LILO & STITCH
With voices by Ving Rhames & others
Directed by Chris Sanders & Dean Deblois
True to Disney's multi-cultural tradition, this time round Hawaii and a genetically created alien get thrown in the mix. A 1ft tall disaster area known as Experiment 626 is the result of an illegal genetic experiment by Jumba, a scientist in another galaxy. Condemned he escapes in a space ship and hyperspaces it to earth, crash landing on Hawaii. Lilo is a restless little girl whose older sister (& guardian) has a hard time keeping her in line - the child services on the verge of taking her away (their parents killed in a car crash). Experiment 626 retracts his second set of arms and other protruding bits when he ends up in the dog kennels, with Jumba and an idiotic aide sent to catch him. When the two sisters pop in to get Lilo a dog to keep her busy and out of trouble, he gets picked (outsiders attracting one another). This is a good diversion for him as Jumba has to be very careful, not able to merely zap him around Lilo and other humans. Lilo names him Stitch and together they get up to a whole lot of mischief, accidentally and deliberately - Stitch/626's nature being a destructive one and Lilo being a frustrated child who longs to have a full family, lashing out in different ways.
Elvis features heavily in this fun filled animated film with everything from action, adventure and music to family lessons, love and friendship.
3 / B
- PB

THE LIMEY
With Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Joe Dallesandro
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Pretty interesting little film about an English ex-con travelling to the States to find out how his daughter died (echoing the theme of Get Carter). It puts him on the trail of a wealthy record producer of the 60’s who seems to be responsible for her death. Leaving a few bodies in his wake, the producer’s security guy puts a contract out on him. With forward- and back-flashes (some taken from an old Stamp film), The Limey has a fresh, daring, interesting and fluid style. Quite an unusual, brooding film with the violent undercurrents and graphic depiction just as blatant as the dark humour - a far cry from Soderbergh’s Oscar nominated & wining Erin Brockovich…
PS. Features an aging
Joe Dallesandro, the young hustler who appeared in many of the Andy Warhol / Paul Morrissey movies (as well as the little Joe in Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side song).
4 / B

- PB

LIMP BIZKIT - Greatest Videoz
The dozen music videos by one of Nu-Metals biggest exports were all directed by vocalist Fred Durst, except for their first video Counterfeit (by Roger Pisotle and Johnathan Craven) and Boiler was co-directed with Dave Meyers. Their cover of George Michael's Faith uses footage from the Family Values Tour. Nookie consists of a performance in city. Break Stuff features fans and star buddies like Jonathan Davis from Korn, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem and, er, Pauly Shore. Shore also features as a pizza delivery guy in the silly kung-fu rip clip N 2 Gether Now. My Generation gets a performance clip again. Rollin' has Durst taking Ben Stiller's car for a ride. My Way has a number of silly costumed studio set-ups. Boiler utilized digitally enhanced freaky scenarios as Durst is pursued by weirdness. Eat You Alive is a performance clip in in the swamp to an abducted girl. Behind Blue Eyes is Fred's excuse to snog an Oscar Winner (don't think he'd want to slip Clint Eastwood the tongue) - the song was used in the Gothika soundtrack and features Halle Berry. Their other movie song, Mission: Impossible 2's Take A Look Around isn't on here - probably a rights issue. Throughout the curse words are deleted and rude signs blocked out. Not very rebellious or rock & roll - but no age restriction means, more sales. There are no commentaries, behind the scenes footage or extras of any kind.
4 / A
- PB


LIONEL RICHIE - The Collection
After
The Commodores and the disco days, Lionel Richie successfully launched a solo career. This DVD contains 15 of his popular songs across his repertoire (mainly abundant during the '80s). True, the fashion and video style is sometimes quite dubious, but as a time capsule surely takes you back. The songs include My Destiny, All Night Long, You Are, Say You Say Me (from the Mikhail Baryshnikov & Gregory Hines starring White Nights soundtrack), Dancing On The Ceiling, Running With The Night, Hello, Ballerina Girl, Se La, Do It To Me, and Three Times A Lady (live performance). You can select the order in which you want to view the clips and there is a look at the making of Dancing On The Ceiling. Behind the scenes footage of the plotting, planning and building of the rotating room plus rehearsals and interviews with everyone from the director to choreographer gives the viewers who don't know how they used to do this kind of pre-digital effect some insight. Regardless of the video style, most of these songs are still very good.

4 / B
- PB


THE LION KING
With voices by James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Billy Crystal, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin
One of the most successful Disney offerings gets a video and DVD re-release. The tale of Simba, the young lion cub whose dad is murdered by his uncle and ousted only to return years later to restore the balance when he's a grown lion, contains many life aspects. There's the oft-referenced circle of life, death's purpose highlighted. Danger, deceit, guilt, love, joy and comedy all mix vibrantly as the artists' animation and music by Elton John a.o. bring life to the characters. The crazy duo of Timon and Pumbaa (teaching Simba the good life) got their own TV series shortly after the original release, but to les effect as they shine in this original incarnation. Like so many animated classics, this is one that will have an indefinite shelf life as each new generation of youngsters discover it.
This new version also features a brand new song, the DVD boasting many extra features.

5 / B
- PB

LITTLE BOY BLUE
With Ryan Phillippe, Nastasja Kinski, John Savage
Directed by
Intriguing little unknown film about a boy and his dysfunctional family. An ex-military man turned Southern pub owner holds a deep dark secret. The exterior gets peeled off slowly as the shocking truth is discovered by their oldest son who cares for his younger brothers more than their father - or is he their father? Cold and nasty at times with an underlying (and sometimes blatant) sexual tension and perversion that becomes central to the plot. Phillipe is compelling, Savage is wonderful and Kinski gets more beautiful the older she gets.
3 / C

- PB


LITTLE NICKY (in Afrikaans)
Met Adam Sandler, Harvey Keitel, Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans
Regisseur: Steven Brill
Adam Sandler was nog nooit baie snaaks nie, net bra laf. Hier speel hy een van die duiwel se drie seuns wat aarde toe moet kom om sy twee broers terug hel toe te neem, voor sy vader wegkwyn. Absolute simpel grappe kom van alle kante af, maar mens het nou en dan ‘n bietjie lawwigheid nodig. Harde Rock aanhangers sal mal wees oor die klankbaan en kyk uit vir regisseur Quentin Tarantino in 'n cameo rolletjie.
3 / B

- PB

LITTLE ODESSA
With Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Maximillian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave
Directed by James Gray
This cold, dark and depressing film deals with Roth returning home to his Russian-Jewish home suburb in the Coney Island area. His tarnished reputation is known to most but his younger brother, whom he hooks up with while he’s there to take care of some “business”. Slow and labouring, their mom is dying and their hard father won’t tolerate him in the house resulting in some disturbing family conflict. Though it has an unconventional but predictable ending, its redemption is nowhere to be found. Makes you wonder if the director is as miserable as the subject matter he takes on.
3 / C

- PB


THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
With Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, Tammy Windsor, Jack Nicholson
Directed by Roger Corman
Roger Corman, the king of economical filmmaking hammered this baby out in 1960 in about three days flat! This classic tells the tale of Seymour, a nerdy Skid Row florist assistant who discovers a rare Venus Flytrap-type plant specie, but gets more than he bargained for. This plant lives on human blood and Seymour only has so many fingers to prick. Eventually as the communicating plant grows bigger, it starts demanding human flesh! Things get out of control and Seymour succumbs to the plant's power (its exotic presence in the failing store also suddenly boosting business). The movie also features a pre-stardom Jack Nicholson in the small part of the masochistic dental patient. Shot in black & white,
Little Shop Of Horrors is actually pretty good and while often cheesy, elevates above your basic B-schlock. It has received stage play versions across the globe and got an extraordinary musical remake in the mid-'80s by Frank Oz.
PS. This DVD's terrible cover design simply lifted Nicholson's pic from The Shining !
5 / B
- PB

LIVE AND LET DIE
With Roger Moore, Jane Seymour, Yaphet Kotto
Directed by Guy Hamilton
1973...and in steps Roger Moore. Widely criticised as not having an ounce of acting talent, Roger will no less lull in my childhood memory as one of the coolest guys around. The cheesy, witty, tongue in cheek romp is what makes it so much fun. You just cheer James on as he pursues the Heroin trading Mr Big, beats up voodoo baddies and beds a bunch of buxom babes in Jamaica and the US. Bloody hell ! What a life ! The look of the films from this point onward also seemed to take on a more modern feel - the new order being rung in with Paul McCartney's new band (at the time, of course) Wings. Some of the classic scenes include the double decker bus and speed boat chases. A year later The Man With The Golden Gun had Britt Ekland thrill 007 in Hong Kong and Thailand. In stead of Christopher Lee having a huge henchman, Nick Nack, a midget, gives a new twist to this role.
4 / A
- PB

LIVE AID - 25 Years Ago Today
The four disc ultimate collection of Bob Geldof's original
Live Aid concert on 13 July 2005 packs in all of the magic of this day. If you can overlook the ample mullets, white trousers and surprisingly bad stage design, you'll be entertained for 10 hours by 63 groups and artists who got together to raise money for starving people in Africa, at Wembley Arena and simultaneously in the USA. They include everyone from Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Queen, Sting, Elton John, The Who, Bryan Ferry, Pretenders, George Michael, Style Council, Duran Duran Ultravox, Judas Priest, and David Bowie, to Madonna, U2, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams, Status Quo, Tom Petty, Sade, Simple Minds, Spandau Ballet, Patti Labelle, and Run DMC, plus a truckload more. With the situation hardly changed, the sad irony is that no matter how much money or food you send, if the leaders remain corrupt and pandemic's like AIDS cannot be curbed, should you give up, or still try whatever you can regardless?
5 / A
- PB


LIVE 8 July 2nd 2005
Sir Bob and his musician pals did it 20 years ago with Live Aid to try and make a difference to starving countries. Has it helped? This year they did it again with a thousand artists playing 9 simultaneously broadcasted concerts across the globe to two million spectators and 3 billion viewers. Here the plight is for the leaders of the big 8 counties to do something about the harrowing conditions on our very own continent. With so many troubles on top of the starvation like corrupt leaders and never-ending wars, it's even harder. But education is also needed to curb the exorbitant procreate amid famine and war. Bob and Bono took a briefcase to the G8 meeting at Gleneagles with millions of signatures, and they pledged to boost aid by a substantial amount. From legendary musos, favourites and newcomers across the Pop, Rock, Metal, Folk, R&B, Rap, Hip-Hop and Vocal spectrum, hours of performances were packed onto these 4 discs:
Disc 1: Paul McCartney, U2, Coldplay, Elton John, Dido, Yousou N'Dour, R.E.M., Keane, Black Eyed Peas, Duran Duran, Muse, Travis, UB40, Green Day, Snoop Dogg, Bon Jovi, Annie Lennox. This disc also contains the show's biggest disgrace - the little Doherty moron from Baby Shambles butchering Marc Bolan & T.Rex's legendary Children Of The Revolution with old fuddy-duddy Sir Elton who tries his best to rescue the catastrophe.
Disc 2: Destiny's Child, Bryan Adams, Kanye West, Madonna, Will Smith, The Killers, Dave Matthews Band, Daniel Powter, Linkin Park, Joss Stone, Alicia Keys, Velvet Revolver, Def Leppard, Jet, Sarah McLachlan, Josh Groban, Sting.
Disc 3: Mariah Carey, Vusi Mahlasela, Roxy Music, Maroon 5, Neil Young, Pet Shop Boys, Robbie Williams, Placebo, Rob Thomas, Faithless, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Paul McCartney & George Michael. This disc also features the historic and long awaited Pink Floyd reunion.
Disc 4: The Proclaimers, Wet Wet Wet, Bob Geldof, The Thrills, Texas, James Brown, Mohotela Queens, Maxi Jazz, Neneh Cherry & Will Young. Extras include McFly, Good Charlotte, Björk, Tim McGraw, Shakira, Audioslave, Ricky Gervais (from the Office), backstage footage and the Pink Floyd rehearsal. Additional footage includes Midge Ure doing Vienna with Eddie Izzard on the piano (!). A shocking film of starvation footage (to music by The Cars), has an inspiring ending where footage of a child near death back during the first Live Aid period two decades ago is punctuated by the girl coming on stage, healthy and attending university. Enough to make the tears flow, I guarantee you. The booklet contains a message from Bob and a piece by Paul Vallely, and the artwork of the G8 leaders having a banquet of cake in front of an emaciated kid is no subtle parody.
4 / B
- PB

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
With Timothy Dalton, Maryam D'Abo, Jeroen Krabbe
Directed by John Glen
When Moore departed, the race was on to get a new Bond that everyone would approve of - no chance. Pierce Brosnan couldn't get out of his Remington Steele TV show contract and the producers settled for acclaimed English stage actor Timothy Dalton. He gave it his best shot and the result was two entertaining films with a touch more realism to them. The seriousnous turned to more heavy sub texts like Bond being the target and personal revenge. The subject of druglords is a more visceral contemporary issue which hits a bit more closer to home than a wacko with an accent and elaborate Bond dispatching devices who wants world domination with stolen missiles - I mean really ! But, that is the Bond experience.
3 / B

- PB

THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY
With Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Eddie Constantine, Dave King
Directed by John Mackenzie
Bad Bob Hoskins again. This time the mob and the IRA get entangled with plenty of violence jumped on the audience unexpectedly. John Mackenzie explores this world with a fairly objective eye, but it's obvious where our sympathies might lie. Look out for a bit part by a young Pierce Brosnan who gets it, when in stead he was expecting to GET it, if you know what I mean. Also features Helen Mirren, before she went to advertise for Richard Branson's airline.
4 / B
- PB

LONG WAY ROUND
With Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman
This very entertaining BBC Prime TV series is packed onto two discs in its entirety. Ewan McGregor, The Scotish star of movies like
Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge and the recent Star Wars trilogy has a very strog passion for motorcycles together with his actor friend Charley Boorman. The two got the wild idea to travel around the world on bikes for a kick. It turned into an entire production and logistical operation. The 20 000 mile journey was documented with all of the thrills and sometimes life threatening dangers as they drove through Europe, Russia and North America from London to New York. They encounter fascinating people and places, some with no roads whatsoever. Their personalities come through undiluted and their sense of humour adds to the fun (unless they're struggling with bad weather, broken bikes or fatigue). We ended up watching the entire series on a single Sunday. The show also features music from many EMI / Virgin acts like Radiohead and Massive Attack.
Extras: Unseen Material, Photo Gallery, and (a not detailed enough) Exclusive Post-Trip Interview.
5 / B
- PB


LORD OF THE RINGS - The Fellowship Of The Ring
With Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian Holm, Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler
Directed by Peter Jackson
I keep kicking myself that I constantly postponed reading J.R.R. Tolkien's classic
Lord Of The Rings books. Now after seeing this incredible film, there would be little left for my imagination to create as this phenomenal cinematic accomplishment pays so much attention to detail that my brain will merely refer to the memory of it when encountering the situations in print. Be that as it may, those who miss out on seeing this masterpiece will be as poor as I who missed out on reading it. Tolkien's Middle Earth is a world inhabited by good, evil, human, goblin, hobbit, troll and elf. Magic is a reality and one particular piece of magic with a very dark lining was forged into a ring, which in the hand of its evil master will cover the world with darkness. It is up to a young hobbit and a band of assorted assistants, true of heart, to take this ring and destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom before its master's monstrous servants get to it. Their quest is a hard one with many obstacles, danger and perilous encounters that may cost any or all of their lives in the blink of an eye. It's one heck of a ride. The Tolkien trilogy was shot back to back over a period of two years, the consecutive sequels to be released annually. An extremely talented and technically brilliant production team integrated optical and digital effects with live action with a virtually seamless beauty, and for hardly a moment do you look at the amazing world created on screen as "fake". Those who feel the need to bring up Harry Potter comparisons other than the ginormous anticipation factor of both films, can forget about it, as it's two vastly different films with Lord overshadowing Potter in almost every aspect, the latter far more a kiddies movie than the more adult subject of discussion. To be able to own such an awe-inspiring cinematic work is quite something. This first DVD release comes in a digi-pak containing 2 discs with a nice little extras package, including a look at its creation and interviews with stars, director and technical staff on the enormous task to commit this enthralling tale to celluloid, from inception to the final product. Theres a look at the development of the computer game and more. True collectors will get this one anyway, but a special 4-disc edition will also be available towards the end of the year including the director's cut and loads more extras bits. But, even if there were no extras on this particular release, the fact that it is presented in widescreen format is rewarding enough - watching this film in any other cropped & chopped way borders on sacrilege. It's still quite a kick knowing that this, one of the most immense trilogies in film history was directed by Peter Jackson, the same New Zealand director who made the gory laugh riots Bad Taste and Braindead (aka DeadAlive)! Miss this and you truly miss out.
6 / A
- PB


THE LORD OF THE RINGS - The Two Towers
With Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellan, Sean Astin, Christopher Lee, Liv Tyler
Directed by Peter Jackson
With the yearly anticipation of these marvelous cinematic translations of Tolkien's magical three part tale mid stream, what are we to look forward to for year-end 2004? The producers said that if you thought the first one was something, wait for the second part! This is true in many senses. The story takes on a far more fragmented (yet unified) state.
Our multi-race fellowship assembled to take the ring for disposal in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor was split up at the end of part one. Our heroic Hobbit Frodo and his mate Sam push ahead and encounter the (incredibly detailed, digitally mapped) creature Golom (he won best digital character at the MTV movie awards). Human Aragorn and his elf- and dwarf companion make up the trio searching for the two klutzes Pippin & Merry who enter their own forest adventure. In their search they hook up with the humans who seek refuge at Helm's Deep where the huge and extreme battle between them and the evil army assembled to wipe man off the face of Middle Earth ensues. The film does take a darker tone and is far more aggressive due to the massively scaled battle sequences. Again there is so much narrative and visual detail to warrant several viewings - and here on DVD is your chance in full digital perfection. It does feel very much like an in-between chapter, fulfilling its purpose perfectly. But, like the first installment, after a few hours of mesmerizing visuals, genius storytelling and masterfully executed filmmaking, when it ends, your only disappointment is the year's wait for the next part. Let's just hope to god no TV series will get spawned from this. Even though the film has a computer game based on it, some things need to remain sacred - even some movies.
If you can't wait for the special 4 disc edition with extra stupendously detailed packaging (like the book and bookend statues from the first film), you'll have to settle for this double disc first release. The full 172 minute theatrical version of the film is presented on the first disc in the only logical format, glorious widescreen. Disc 2 contains many featurettes and in-depth programmes delving into the effort, sweat, creativity, skill and determination that was poured into the making of this incredible second episode in this milestone cinematic event. On set looks, explorations, explanations, interviews and more may take some of the magic away for viewers who don't want the fantasy spoiled by the mechanics of it all. But for those who love the technical details and exposing of the "how's & why's", the looks at the dark forces, sound design, creatures, arms & armour and the creation of Gollum will be well rewarded. In addition there is the music video to Gollum's Song by Emiliana Torrini, a look at the special extended version, the video game, a preview of
The Return Of the King and a short film and making of Sean Astin's (Sam), The Long And Short Of It. As usual a scintillating, probing and entertaining package (until you've saved up enough for the even more in depth collector's edition!).
6 / A
- PB


THE LORD OF THE RINGS - The Return Of The King
With Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Billy Boyd
Directed by Peter Jackson
Courage, friendship, deceit, conviction and the titanic battle between good and evil unfolds in this spectacular conclusion to Tolkien's trilogy. With Sauron defeated, the journey of Frodo is not over yet, as he and Sam push forward (with the cunning little shit Gollum) to cast the ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The ring is sapping Frodo's power, will and resistance, and the schizo Gollum is not as helpful as he pretends. Meanwhile the amassing Ork army advances on the remaining human warriors who are outnumbered in their fortress at Gondor. After the scale of the first two installments, I expected this last chapter to pale in its shadow - to my joy it was as extravagant, inspiring and even more huge. The characters, their motivations, strengths and weaknesses are by no means exhausted as this epic tale reaches its climax. Again the combination of incredible FX and above all an amazing story with true language utilization and emotional drive make this one satisfying celluloid accomplishment and an incredible wrap up of a monumental cinematic feat. And it's good to see that the film and Jackson finally got some recognition with awards, as opposed to kudos reserved for technical and FX accomplishments. It walked off with each of its nomnated Oscars, from best picture, director and adapted screenplay to FX and song.
6 / A
- PB

LOSER
With Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Zak Orth, Greg Kinnear
Directed by Amy Heckerling
Yep, you know what to expect here, don't you? Our man (and gal) from American Pie seem to be typecast in this sort of teenflick for the new millennium crap. Paul is a decent near-nerdy dude heading for college in the big city, NY, but doesn't fit in - he studies hard while his dorm mates party hard. They treat him like dirt and use him any chance they get. He doesn't fit in and all seems crappy - till he meets a cute, off center girl. Paul's dorm mates oust him and the only residence he can find is in an animal hospital where he helps out. His friendship with Dora grows after his "mates" drug her drink and he nurses her back to health. It seems like there's hope yet - but, she's involved with one of their lecturers, a total asshole! Rude, crude & silly jokes compound to the point where, yes, our underdog isn't such a loser after all. There are still good guys in this world, you know. Aaah, shaaame! Features that grating little loveable tune by Wheatus called Teenage Dirtbag.
Click here for a review of that Wheatus single
2 / B
- PB


LOST HIGHWAY
With Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Natasha Gregson, Gary Busey, Robert Loggia
Directed by David Lynch
Where does one begin? Do movies get any cooler than this? One of my favourite directors David Lynch took his strange (but irresistibly appealing) cinema craft to another level with this psychologically cosmic flip-out. The sanity of a saxophonist having some marriage trouble spins out of control in the most innovative and baffling of ways. When some videotapes of his house end up on his doorstep (shot both outside and inside!), coupled with the appearance of a strange man who seems to know a lot about him, he snaps, and is accused of murder. But, inside the prison cell, he disappears and is replaced by a young man. The puzzling journey of identity switching (or not) and psychogenic fugues carve open the possibilities of cinema by refusing to go the prescribed route.
Lost Highway is a brilliant film that is so cool, you don't need to know what the hell is going on! Together with the trademark ambient Lynch-hum enhancing the uneasy experience, he also selected a great soundtrack with Trent Reznor, tightly bound to the narrative (by artists like David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, not to forget score composer Angelo Badalamenti), this is yet another Lynch classic of visual and audio genius.
6 / A
- PB

…the 2nd opinion…
LOST HIGHWAY
With Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Robert Loggia
Directed by David Lynch
This one has to be seen and experienced. Taking regular narrative and throwing the rulebook out the window is what makes this film so unique while it is still very Lynch. Pullman is a jazz musician who seems to be losing his mind as his smooth life with his beautiful wife gets turned upside down and around.. Meeting a weird, scary man who seems to haunt him and finding he’d killed his wife, he ends up in jail. But…they find someone else in the cell…!? Lynch called this the psychogenic fuge. Check it out, it’ll blow your mind. And the soundtrack is killer.
5 / A
- PP


LOST IN TRANSLATION
With Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Faris, Giovanni Ribisi
Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola
Lost In Translation is an absolutely amazing little film by the daughter of Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola. Sofia's not too impressive acting turn in the third of her dad's mafia series was less than admirable. With this, her second film as director (and writer), she proves to have found her calling. In a vibrant crowded Tokyo, the story gets focused on two intersecting lives in a hotel. The one is a middle-aged actor shooting a whiskey commercial and the other the young wife a hip young photographer. Both are American and feel drowned within the cultural divide while embracing it at the same time. It's the internal sense of boredom and loneliness that draws them to one another. Old enough to be her father, the tension of sexual possibility is superbly subdued. Hanging around to appear on a talk show (hilarious when it happens), he finds the companionship of the girl invigorating. Mentally older than her husband (always away on shoots), she finds this new friend a breath of fresh air with his great sense of humour. When they go out into the neon night their little universe expands briefly with the sights and smells of Tokyo while not diverting from their connection. If this has to be classified as a romantic comedy, it certainly surpasses any others made this year. A well-deserved Golden Globe win for Bill Murray while Johansson's quiet performance is of equal merit. The sentimentality does not leave that artificial sweetener aftertaste as so many films do. On seeing this film you may run the risk of wanting to visit this very interesting city.
Sofia may not have lost the 2004 Best Director Oscar® to Peter Jackson (
Lord Of The Rings), but did walk off with the Best Writer statuette.
5 / B
- PB


THE LOST WORLD - JURASSIC PARK
With Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Richard Attenborough
Directed by Steven Spielberg
I expected the sequel to take place on mainland with Pterodactyls flying across the ocean, or something of the sort. What they ended up doing was simply reveal another island, Site B, where the same eco-system was created with genetically bred dinosaurs, as in the first film, and where the dinos were bred and shipped to the main island. And yes, our T-Rex does end up on mainland! Goldblum returns, heading out to this island to find his ex who was doing research. Spielberg managed to enter Michael Crichton's world again without merely rehashing the first film, again offering an enjoyable slice of escapism.
4 / B
- PB


A LOT LIKE LOVE
With Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet, Kathryn Hahn, Kal Penn
Directed by Nigel Cole
Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet irritate in this not very funny romantic comedy stretched over several years. The two meet on a flight, connecting to LA and New York respectively. After joining the mile high club in the loo, they go their separate ways, but keep meeting over the years. It has that Serendipity tone to it, but they try to go for a younger, more exuberant angle. The two characters keep crossing paths along their life journey, never hooking up - the only mystery for the viewer being the "when" as opposed to how. If the repeated bon Jovi song done by Kutcher didn't irritate you enough in the trailer, there's no way you'll enjoy it here, even in context.
2 / C
- PB


LOVE ACTUALLY
With Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Martine McKutcheon, Billy Bob Thornton
Directed by Mike Newell
With that
Four Weddings And A Funeral / Notting Hill whiff about it, it's no surprise that its director sticks to what he knows best (although Donnie Brasco was pretty good). The quirky English romantic comedy is often hard to ignore. This mammoth crisscross of love stories involves a range of related characters, be it as family, friends, couples, colleagues or neighbours, from the prime minister to an aging pop star, divorcees to the bereaved, pre-teen to middle-aged - Newell crams such a wide range of character types and situations into his film that it could be easy to get lost. Yet he holds it all together wonderfully, crafting a touching (and funny) film about that thing we just can't escape.
4 / C
- PB


LOVE'S A BITCH (Amores Perros)
With Emilio Echvarriá, Goya Toledo, Vanessa Bauche, Jorge Salinas
Directed by Alejándro Gonzalez Ifiárritu
This Best Foreign Film Oscar Nominee clocks in at 2 ½ hours and should in no way be a deterrent - unless you're a steadfast Van Damme fan in which case the subtitles to this dark and deep Mexican film will have you pass on by anyway. The filmmakers take us on a journey through 3 sets of characters spread across the economic continuum ranging from derelict to lower class and well off. From dirty and ugly to beautiful and classy, all converge in one life-changing impacting incident, their separate tales told up until then and from that point. The irrationality to which the overwhelming essence of love, lust, money (or the lack of these) and the various emotions stemming from them can drive individuals to, are reflected in a gritty, ultra-realistic way. If you're an extreme dog lover, this film will definitely drive you to tears. But rest assured that this is fiction and not a documentary. Many a reflection and correlation can be drawn between man, dog, film title and life in this case, so I'll leave it up to you once you've experienced this rich cinematic event. As dogs can turn on each other, so can brothers - and where a hitman can have little feelings for the human life he'd taken, his harmed dog can drive him to tears. Such is the flavour of this powerful, multi-layered film where the presence of love (even in twisted or distorted ways) can exist in a realm where life is cheap.
6 / A
- PB

LOVE SERENADE
With Miranda Otto, Rebecca Frith, George Shevtsov
Directed by Shirley Barrett
Fantastic Australian comedy. A big city radio DJ rolls a small town, moves in next door to two sisters, his cool, smooth guy persona starting to flow over their airwaves. The older of the sisters has her eye on him (and he’s no looker, believe me - hardly a deterrent, though). The hard-up elder gets fuming when he seems to have his eye on the younger sister who is quite a strange one. It seems like such a simple, boring story, but it is absolutely amazing; the great characters, acting, dialogue, loopy humour and super-weird surprises. On top of that, the tunes he plays are great just like Barry Whites theme song. A must-see.
5 / A

- PB

LUST IN THE DUST
With Divine, Tab Hunter, Lainie Kazan
Directed by Paul Bartel
Bartel takes the piss out of the cowboy genre by assembling a nutty bunch of characters, one as unsavoury as the next, turning the wild west into one smutty. Funny place. Divine is our “lusty” damsel, Hunter our Eastwood-style character, an assortment of bad guys spicing it up even more.
3 / B

- PB

LUTHER
With Joseph Fiennes, Peter Ustinov, Alfred Molina, Claire Cox
Directed by Eric Till
Martin Luther was the man who broke away from the Catholic Church's financially fuelled salvation system, opening the wave for Christian worship without restrictions or manipulation. As a German who also struggled with his faith, he saw the hardship of peasants and how the Rome based church exploited them nonetheless. By writing many papers ridiculing Rome for its ivory tower approach, ripping off peasants around the globe to fill its coffers, the Vatican lashed out and attempted to try him as a heretic. This biographical account of the man's revolutionary trials and tribulations within his own faith (which also included translating the New Testament into German so everyone can read it) is done so without frills or glamour. I knew very little of the details of this man and his work (aside from passing the church in Wittenberg where he nailed his outrage to the door when I was in Europe). This is an enlightening look at faith and religion, and the good it is supposed to hold, in a time where sectarian and belief differences only seem to intensify.

4 / C
- PB

LUTHER VAN DROSS - Live At Wembley
This old show from
Luther's Wembley performance shot on his 1988-89 tour packs in the old favourites like Never Too Much, Any Love, Come Back, Searching, Give Me The Reason, Superstar and Stop To Love. The unpretentious show does not rely on any gimmicks, just Luther and his back-up singers in glitter outfits, the stage in the center of the arena. Luther does his soulful, romantic R&B thing without as little as a hitch. Extra material includes a concise biog and an album discography.

4 / C
- PB

 

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