Reviews

I was the classic husband dragged to see this on Valentine's Day weekend as a goodwill gesture. It was every bit as bad as could be possibly imagined. Half of Hollywood's A List star as vacuous stereotypes, moronically obsessed with the holiday in question. This despite the fact they are all living millionaire lifestyles, with perfect tans and the whitest of teeth. It's Love Actually, without a sense of humour or any depth whatsoever. No- one and nothing is remotely realistic - every storyline has a trite and convenient resolution and none is convincing or interesting. There is a perfect and unlikely ratio of ethnicities and sexualities. The sex trade is entirely trivialised and sanitised. No-one stays upset about relationship breakdowns for more than one scene. People break into spontaneous dance sequences in which everyone knows the pre-rehearsed moves but the film doesn't have the conviction to show it for more than 3 seconds... Just utter pointless and patronising bilge...

This movie is just so good at what it does. It is streets above the likes of 'American Pie' or 'Road Trip' which, whilst very entertaining, have the boardroom touch all over them in their calculated, controlled (commercial) approach to 'gross-out' and nudity. 40-Year Old Virgin, on the other hand, seems to have grown unchecked from the rich material of a guys night out. This is boys talking like boys - and little-known actors having an absolute ball. The aim is not to shock the audience for the sake of it, but merely to give an honest account of male preoccupations. Neither is the tone cruel; you never feel that people here are scornful of the central character, but that they genuinely want to help a repressed and overlooked man discover his potential. This film, perhaps above any other, show that potty talk, machismo and alcohol can be the greatest means through which to communicate real affection between mankind (as opposed to womankind). Conservative America probably wouldn't be able to spot it, but this film is warmer than a thousand and more 'family' films... oh and it's damn funny too.

The trailer for this film pressed all the right buttons. The four central actors are established heavyweights, whilst the subject matter brought to mind the likes of 'The Ice Storm', 'Closer', 'Unfaithful' or even 'Your Friends and Neighbours': understated character pieces examining the implications of relationship dysfunction. It is sad to report, therefore, that the film falls well short of expectations. My rating (5/10) may be harsh, but it reflects a missed opportunity, given the promise of the concept and the cast. Above all, the film is dull - everyone is miserable, no-one is likable, and the writing lacks sparkle. It would be fair to respond to this by noting that neither can reality promise laughs, charisma or wisdom in the midst of marital crisis, but there has to be some reason to keep watching a film. I was hoping for this one to end for much of its duration.

This, considering some of the reviews, is a pretty good movie. It may be deemed unpalatable to see Steve Martin slobbering all over Claire Danes, but their relationship is presented in a realistic manner and in fact poses less of a problem than that between Danes and Jason Schwartzman. That coupling is unlikely at best, as the latter's character is uncultured to the point of mild retardation. As for the story itself, Shopgirl is diverting enough, and with an affecting underbelly of sadness, heightened by diversions such as Danes's battle against depression and the miserable tone of her parental home. For me however, it fails to answer the basic question asked by Danes towards the beginning of the movie as she is approached romantically by millionaire Martin - " why me?". Well indeed. In real life perhaps, but here the lead character appears as a gloomy semi-starved fashion tragedy, in a job that screams 'going nowhere'. The role is perfectly played, but contains little to entice jet-set love interest. The fate of the movie is, alas, unlikely to give a happy ending. This is far too pretentious for the brainless rom-com crowd and not quite profound enough for the indie set. For those who do discover it will be a nice if unmemorable surprise.

This film has gained a bit of stick from advance audiences, and the writers faced some hostile questioning following the screening I attended at the London Film Festival. I am frankly bemused as to why. I feel that, at worst, this is a solid and compelling indie flick and, at best, it has some important and lasting points to make about American identity, the nature of sin and the power of faith. My personal opinion is that many of those who see it are offended by either the film's refusal to judge the evil of it's main protagonist (played ever-perfectly by Gael Garcia Bernal), the portrayal of Latino as killer, the perceived failure to criticise the tee-total, creationist excesses of the Bible Belt, or a combination of the above. After all, southern-style Christianity is about as popular as Nazism right now among the arty set. I would prefer to view the film as what it is - an open-ended tragedy refusing to answer its own questions for the audience. I have thought of it frequently in the days since.

I managed to get myself invited to the 1st UK screening on Sunday morning and was surprised at my own excitement. After all, I thought the last 2 in the instalment were dire, and, of the first lot, I only really think that The Empire Strikes Back is truly great as a film.

Nevertheless, excited I was, and had I known what was coming I would have been more so. Never mind the best of the Star Wars movies, this is one of the best movies I have seen for a long time full stop. It is breathlessly exciting, profoundly moving, the special effects are finally seamless and, above all, it is entirely comfortable with the weight of its own legend.

For every question you may be asking, the answer is yes. Will evil Anakin be convincing? Will the fight with Obiwan live up to the hype? Will the acting be better? Will Chewbacca be in it? Yes yes yes YES! Will there be any more excruciating 'love' scenes between Anakin and Padme? Unfortunately yes, but only one quick one, and then things turn dark.

And that's how I'll end this little tribute - DARK. This film is really genuinely scary in places, perhaps too much so for kids. And that's what Lucas does best it would seem - celluloid evil and unhappy endings. If this is the last movie he ever makes, he will have ended up on a high of which I didn't know he was capable...

The Yards, through its magical use of music, powerhouse acting (even virtual bit-parts are filled by Faye Dunaway and Ellen Burstyn) and lingering, deliberate camera-work, particularly concerning characters' faces, is a triumph of mood over plot.

That is not to say that the script is a turkey; its just that the oft-told tale of corruption in big business (this time with the trains) is somewhat slight when compared to the tragic, near-Shakespearian mood of the end affect. It also throws a spanner in the works, in the form of a misconceived final scene which bears all the hallmarks of a tacked-on studio demand. It seems we are to consider Leo a paragon of morality; this despite the fact that he was earlier quite ready to cold-bloodedly shoot dead a hospitalised cop. In fact, elsewhere, moral ambiguity and multi-faceted characters are among the strengths of the film.

For full enjoyment then, The Yards should be appreciated in the moment, rather than too closely scutinised. If so, it offers moving snapshots of a mother's pain, a friends betrayal, a released convicts attempt to be a better person... and over it all, that beautiful music (including a much-repeated snippet of Holst's Planets suite), which could probably bring the illusion of meaning to a conversation about the latest Eastenders storyline. Special mention must also go to Joaquim Pheonix who, were there any courage to be found in the Academy, would have received his nomination for this, rather than Gladiator.

You have to feel sorry for everyone involved in 'Stir of Echoes'. After all, imagine the initial elation at some bright spark coming up with the following ideas... 'How about a kid sees dead people, and they want him to do stuff for them?', or, 'How about someone has a dream where something happens, he wakes up and exactly the same sequence of events begins happening in real life?'. However, as the movie has trundled through production, 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Final Destination' have got there first and, sadly, left 'Stir of Echoes' looking decidedly second best.

Even so, this is not to call '..Echoes' a dismissable movie. Taken on its own terms, it has moments (particularly the hypnotisation sequence) of quite admirable innovation and tension. It also has a towering performance at its core, courtesy of Kevin Bacon. Its just a shame that the ending seems to take the easy option; a seen-it-all-before climax devoid of any of the films prior brooding supernatural quality.

In conclusion then, 'Stir of Echoes' suffers from bad luck and bad ending syndrome, thus ensuring two things: First, that it will be reduced to £5.99 within 3 months of its video release. Second, that any discerning viewer should subsequently take advantage of the offer and snap up this flawed gem.

So, the title that stuck out like the proverbial battered thumb since pre-production has finally reached our screens. And the good news is... the title is probably the least inventive thing on display here.

Being John Malkovich is the bastard offspring of Monty Python; absurdist comedy, but with the bowler hat replaced by a witches cape. The darkness of this movie comes from many sources: the freaky puppetry, Cameron Diaz's wig but, above all, the utter immorality of virtually every single character. In fact, in a neat subversion of the old 'Hollywood is mad' assumption, the only one resembling anything near normality in the world of this picture, is old slaphead himself.

Nevertheless, this is an undeniable and unforgettable masterpiece from Hollywood's latest prodigy. You'll laugh like a drain, gape with shock and leave the cinema more than a little disturbed. Just make sure you leave your sense of reality at the door; after all, this is a world where absolutely no-one shows any disbelief whatsoever, not even for a moment, at there being a portal to John Malkovich's brain.

American History X is an undeniably breathtaking viewing experience. Nevertheless, it left me with certain reservations regarding the message presented. Each racist argument presented during the movie is delivered with considerable detail, feeling and conviction. The anti-racist argument, on the other hand, relies solely on the presence of a couple of sympathetic black characters, a whole load of despicable white ones, and no real equivalent intellectual basis. Whilst it is hopefully correct to assume that the viewer doesn't take much convincing to be repelled by Nazi ideology, this is surely not enough to justify Danny's inevitable and immediate transition from swastika-worshipper to peace-n-love merchant.

This movie is far from racist. Scenes such as the hard-to-watch humiliation of a black supermarket check-out girl or the shock ending ensure this. However, I wish the director had put as much energy and vitality into his portrayal of Derek the changed man as he does Derek the charismatic, MTV-style neo-Nazi.

A flawed masterpiece, perhaps...

When this was on TV the other night, I expected to stick out about two minutes of it. Being a follower of Tarantino, all I'd heard recently of Spike Lee was wholly negative. In addition, I know nothing of black culture and/or jazz. Imagine my surprise then when, two hours later, I found myself entirely intoxicated by the blend of atmosphere, empathy, humour and pure depth of character and relationship in this exceptional movie. Next up, I'm watching all his other movies... Quentin, make your peace!

There is little doubt that the Evil Dead movies have made a legend of Sam Raimi. However, in the case of 'Darkman', as with his later effort, 'The Quick and the Dead', he seems content to maintain this cult status through the use of trademark flashy visuals and direction, as opposed to any pleasing plot or scripting. Let's hope he proves otherwise with the upcoming 'A Simple Plan'

I really do try to avoid spending money on bad films and that is why I do read all available reviews. Therefore I feel very let down that I ended up eagerly anticipating this piece of throwaway nonsense. The acting is fine, or even impressive in some cases, but that can't possibly compensate for a ridiculous plot and some terrible music... The new 'Full Monty'? I think not.

Why oh why don't blockbuster movies simply stick to their selling point? Everyone in the cinema, young and old, was there to see talking animals make jokes, and whilst they did that we were all happy... And then, as with Lost In Space, came the two killer blows - plot and sentiment. Who really cared what happened to the tiger or whether Eddie Murphy made up with his daughter? Not me, that's for sure.

There is a point in The Hudsucker Proxy where I genuinely believed it was going to be the greatest movie ever made. All the auteurish Coen moments (the coffee-cup ring on the newspaper, Hudsucker's jump from the board room, the blue letter, etc, etc) had thus far combined seamlessly with the gigantic scope, the unforgettable music and the phenomenal storyline to produce an epic comedy blockbuster like no other. Then, for the first time in the movie, the action relocated outside the Hudsucker building, into the newspaper office and... to Jennifer Jason Leigh. Now don't get me wrong, her performance is quite some achievement and the film doesn't entirely lose it's way at this point - after all, we have the Hula Hoop set-piece; but it's just that on every occasion I watch this movie I begin to fall asleep during the middle section.

Perhaps it's my fault. Perhaps I am typical of a generation brought up on brainless visual stimulation and therefore I can't fully get into the slow-paced relationship development between Norville (Tim Robbins) and Amy. Whatever the reason, fast-forward me any day to the phenomenally inventive end sequence and the re-swelling of that music...

To conclude then, I may consider this a frustrating case of 'almost' but I would still be the happiest man around if all blockbusters included a 'Brazil' style landscape, a Bruce Campbell role and a random dream sequence.

Just who is this film aimed at?? Surely no horror fan could stomach the absolute lack of gore and the Enid Blyton style 'gang' qualities of the movie. On the other hand, kids are kept away by the 15 certificate and the nature of the subject matter. It is strangely watchable, granted, but that makes it only more frustrating when the final battle involves a giant immobile insect which they repeatedly kick in the leg... Bewildering.

There is surely no movie which benefits so much from repeated viewing as Jacob's Ladder. What at first can be interpreted as a mere feature length supernatural conspiracy thriller (sort of like a grown up X Files), eventually evolves into an afterlife allegory of astonishing scope and power. The hints are subtle and obscure: The woman Jacob lives with for much of the film may seem harmless, but her name, Jezebel, is laden with connotations, as are quotes like 'you sold your soul, remember' and her open hostility towards Jacob's son, through whom salvation lies. What is never in doubt is the central spiritual role played throughout by Danny Aiello ("did anyone ever tell you you look like an angel Louis?") or the vivid reality of the truly terrifying demons that appear round every corner.

Bearing in mind this translation of the movie,it has long since confused me what role the whole paranoid 'hallucinogenics in Vietnam' plot serves. I think perhaps it simply makes the whole experience a great deal more coherent and accessible to those who can't be bothered to watch for biblical references. There is of course one more suggestion, which is that the entire plot is rooted in Dante's Inferno, which I'm not even going to pretend to have read! So why is this my favourite movie? Well, it has the most beautiful ending I can think of (the only movie, along with ET, that makes me cry). It has some of the greatest scenes, particularly the party scene, wherein Jezzie appears to be mating with some demonic creature on the dance floor. Above all, it has unprecedented depth for a movie in the nineties and, as with The Shawshank Redemption, a Tim Robbins performance which elevates it still further. For your own sakes, BUY Jacob's Ladder...