sucks. I dont know why she still gets movies, she's not really all that good looking and she certainly cant act. 

Love and Death - Some of Woody Allen's work is brilliant but this effort is one of the unfunniest and forced attempts at comedy I've seen since...well The 40 Yr Old Virgin. Hard to believe its from the same person who made Annie Hall, Manhattan and Crimes & Misdemeanors.

3/10


The Missing � surprised that this was a Ron Howard film, I counted exactly 3 instances of trademark howard sentimentality. That�s pretty good for a 130 min film. Not that this is well directed, an average directing job at best. But the performances are good, tommy lee jones and cate blanchett rising far above the material, and the script is reasonably decent even though its overlong and doesn�t really know how to end. Could have been better but not a bad attempt.

6/10


Pickpocket - I'm unable to pinpoint why exactly but I quite liked this. It goes against so many things that I think should be part of good films, yet it's very very easy to stay glued to the screen.

Voiceovers for information that acting should provide and completely neutral acting are the two prime examples of what I was referring to above. But used here, they work brilliantly. Having said all of that, I didnt quite find the end as moving as was intended.

Also, this would have to have been an influence on Taxi Driver to some extent.

7.5/10


Head in the Clouds - badly written, badly acted period drama. Stay well away.

3/10


Look Both Ways - very good debut from Sarah Watt with strong characterisations and a nicely woven screenplay, which although a little overscripted at times, is a welcome change from most australian scripts. I liked the nce use of animation throughout the film and the actors do a reasonably good job of bringing the story to the screen.

Steps into cliche territrory every now and then but on the whole, quite a quality film. Pity about the interlaced dvd transfer.

7.5/10


The Cooler - competently acted but awfully scripted movie that never quite knows what it wants to be and also runs through the cliche book, making sure none are left out. In the end I was quite underwhelmed despite the good performances by Macy, Baldwin and Bello.

5/10 

Sleeper - Slightly better than Love and Death, but still not that good and definitely far below Allen's best work. You can see glimpses of what he would go on to do but this is fairly pedestrain material.

4/10


Assassination of Richard Nixon - works on most levels mainly due to an exceptional performance by Penn. Comparisons to Taxi Driver are hard to avoid and whereas that was a perfect venture into the disturbed mind, this suffers from never really making a credible enough transition for its character from self pitying loser to deranged psychopath. Still worth a watch for some brilliant acting.

7/10


Bandits - Picks up a bit once Blanchett is introduced but the script is terrible. And Bruce Willis is extremely annoying.

3.5/10


Frenzy - minor Hitchcock, but above avergae with some brilliant sequences. Unfortunately the characters are very unlikeable, the pacing is quite off and the whole thing isnt as good as the abovementioned sequences.

6.5/10


The Producers (2005) - Without even comparing it to the original movie, it is a poor attempt at a comedy/musical. Broderick is way out of his league in both singing and comedy. Lane is passable, Ferell is reasonable (till you start comparing at which point even he is second rate) and Thurman is not bad.

If you make a comparison, its the same film but with all that made the first one work and unfunny musical numbers and new jokes put back in.

4/10


Pride and Prejudice - Apart from being exceptionally well shot, it's not very good. The acting is ok, it's definitely not an oscar worthy performance from Knightley who is fairly stiff along with MacFardyen. Overal plot which I presume is from the novel is decent, but how it's been adapted into a screenplay is a bit of a mess.

5.5/10


Intacto - Spanish film (with some exchanges in English) set in a (real) world where Luck is a commodity that can be lost and acquired. Basically certain people have the capability of acquiring other people's luck and using it for their own advantage while condemning their 'victims' to ill fortune of various degrees. Script is heavy on plot, bit short onc haracterisation but it's quite stylish and the overall plot is failry interesting. Impressively Shot too.

7/10 

keep up the nice reviews! 

How do you have so many time to watch all these movies ? Do you work in a cinema or what ? 

no. Just have lots of dvds :)

Plus given that my old computer could not play any new games, I could use some of that spare time.

Also, my current job lets me get home at a decent hour.

Plus I obviously have no life :) 

I was very impressed. Prior to this I'd thought of Jennifer Connelly just as an actress who was often in good movies (Dark City has been a favourite of mine since it came out). However, I didn't really see her do any really standout acting until this movie. Maybe I forgot how much bite Requiem for a Dream had, or just the crazy mother's acting performance in that film overshadowed all others. The script for this movie was quite good, making a tragedy is hard, I think they fucked up 1 character for the sake of the plot, but still, overall it is very good and given the characters involved, fairly convincing. Anyway, Connelly does an excellent job, Kingsley's performance as Colonel Behrani might be even better but as I'm a guy I think I prefer her. Plus the fact that she always plays a lonely, depressed, often drug-addicted, but still incredibly hot young woman, erm, tends to sucker a lot of sympathy out of, ahem, stable and successful individuals like me. 

yeah it is good, I thought the plotting was a little contrived but the actin more than made up for it. I like connelly in most the stuff she's done, but yes she dos eem to have one haracter down pat, although with usually sufficent subtle differences. 

Autumn Sonata - When in form, Ingmar Bergmn makes absolutely brilliant stuff, when not so in form, his films are competently made and acted but come off as self-important and heavy handed. I found this one to be a fairly middle of the road Bergman with some very unnatural dialogue for its chracters (well subtitles anyway).

Well acted and shot, but some of the techniques used break up the film rather than add to it.

6/10


The Twilight Samurai - Highly acclaimed recent Samurai film from Japan but I found it to be thoroughly uninvolving. It's a harsh comparison, but compared to Kurosawa's stuff, this is fairly middle of the road. I'm no expert on the Samurai times, but the dialogue (subtitles again) and particular actions of certain characters just did not seem to be in line with the time period portrayed in the movie. That distracted me enough to not really like the film.

4/10 

Wild Strawberries - A fairly decent self-reflection road movie by Ingmar Brgman punctuated with flashbacks and surreal dream sequences that seem to fuse with the current reality, as a professor looks back at his life on the day he is to receive an academic award. Some of it is quite heavy handed but there are also moments of precisely executed insight. As always, very well shot and acted.

7/10


Patton - Staggeringly brilliant military epic covering the second world war years in the life of George S Patton, the US war general who was a key figure in the allies' triumph. George C Scott puts in one of the finest performances ever (also a nice two hander to his turn in Dr Strangelove), the movie has at least half a dozen amazing sequences (eg the opening five minutes), and the script is a lesson in how to pace an epic movie without making it too bloated or too fleeting.

There are flaws, the script has issues despite being excelently paced as supporting players dont really get anything worthwhile to work with. Some of the supporting acting is also below par. But all of these flaws are minor in comparison to Scott's acting and the excellent direction by Schaffner.

9/10


Gallipoli - Hadnt seen it before, but this is undoubtedly THE australian film. It manages to encapsulate much of 'Australia' without ever appearing to try to do so. The performances are good and the direction is outstanding. The football scene at the base of the pyramids is one of many brilliant scenes. I dont think the section that dealt with the actual war was as good as what went before, it just didnt seem focused enough. Peter Weir made two big contributions to Australian film with this and Picnic at Hanging Rock.

8.5/10


Starship troopers - It's satire, and on more than one level, but its not a particularly clever one as it barely scratches the surface. But, on top of all that, it's also a pisstake on the american war film and is quite entertaining to watch because (a) it goes through every war movie cliche in glorious fashion and (b) the director probably didnt tell his C grade cast that this was satire and they play it (hammily) straight. It does go on a bit too long for what it is, I think Verheoven indulged himself a bit too much.

Also, managed to spot two references. A drill instructor doing joe pesci's "funny how" Goodfellas scene to one of his marines, and Kain's funeral scene from Alien.

7/10 

Hard Eight (Sydney) - The first film from Paul Thomas Anderson, before he did Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love.

Featuring outstanding direction, a script that ranges from quite good to mediocre, strong supporting performances from Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L Jackson, an unconvincing performance from John C Reilly, and an absolute knockout turn by Phillip Baker Hall.

It may not be as polished or as sprawling as his later work but Hall's acting and excellent direction make it quite a worthwhile watch.

7/10 

This is a movie I've wanted to see for a long time and have just kept forgetting about it. Thanks for reminding me :) 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Incoherently scripted, dull, probably the worst of the lot. I cant say I'm a huge fan of the movies, the first one was decent and the only other one that was worth a watch was the third because of its style (its script was another story).

This is a step backwards in the style department and the scripting is as poor as the last two films (the first had a marginally better script than the rest). As for the spectacle, barring one or two sequences, I thought it was fairly pedestrian. Some of the special effects were actually quite poor.

4.5/10


Being There - 1979 film by Hal Ashby about a man who has gardened all his life and never left the house of "the old man". When the old man dies, he is forced to leave the house by the attroneys.

The overall plot is fairly preposterous and would usually result in the kind of film that milks cheap laughs. However, although the script is failry contrived in parts, this is a far superior effort with moments of brilliantly understated humour and seriousness at the same time. Overall, it's definitely more a drama film rather than a comedy, but the tone is somewhere in between.

What really lifts it is an amazing turn by Peter Sellers. Sellers never once resorts to any slapstick or big mannerisms or raising his voice to deliver a line. Its a remarkably restrained performance that fits the character like a glove and produces some excrutiatingly funny moments every now and then.

In the end though, it's a bit too long and the contrived scripting mentioned before does drag it down a little bit.

7.5/10 

The Narrow Margin (1952) - fairly good film noir with some nice dialogue and atmosphere as usual. Some plot holes and unlikely character actions stop it from being great but a quality film nevertheless.

7.5/10


Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring - Korean film about the cycle of rebirth and its excellently shot throughout. The first 20 min is brilliantly executed but the rest varies from mediocre to good as it turns into a "coming of age" story, albeit one with buddhist allegories and symbolism.

7/10


Read My Lips - 2002 French drama-thriller about an ex con and a woman who is deaf, and their dangerous relationship. Its very well written, when a script can bring out a character's past without having to resort to exposition or a flashback, it has to be good.

Of course, it's helped by some fantastic acting. Vincent Cassel puts is a brooding, restrained performance (once again demonstrating that when he actually puts his mind to it, he can actually act) and Emanuelle Devos is brilliant with her character's every nuance and action. Deservedly won the Best actress at the french equivalent of the Oscars.

If anything, the last 20 min comes across as a bit rushed and there's one unnecessary subplot, but this is not enough to really distract from an otherwise quality movie.

7.5/10


Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - one of the best courtroom dramas I've seen, not because the plot is complex or because the legalities are debated properly but because the characters are so well defined and because it's not interested in the specific details of the trial, but rather lets the viewer be as much of a judge of what happened as the jury.

It does unrealistically overplay the theatrics in some scenes (which is a given in any courtroom drama really), but I think some of that was needed due to the length (160 min or so).

James Stewart is very very good and George C scott is great once again.

8/10


Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - one of the best courtroom dramas I've seen, not because the plot is complex or because the legalities are debated properly but because the characters are so well defined and because it's not interested in the specific details of the trial, but rather lets the viewer be as much of a judge of what happened as the jury.

It does unrealistically overplay the theatrics in some scenes (which is a given in any courtroom drama really), but I think some of that was needed due to the length (160 min or so).

James Stewart is very very good and George C scott is great once again.

8/10


Sabrina (1954) - its not bad, but it's a far cry from Billy Wilder's best work. To me, he's at his best when he dealt with acerbic, dark/black material.

This was a fairly straightforward formula romance fantasy, with the occasional good line for Bogart to chew on. I dont know, I guess if you can buy the fantasy aspect of it, you might like it better.

5.5/10 

A Love Song for Bobby Long - falters a bit in its last quarter, where it plays out very much as a self conscious indie film, but till then it's quite good. The characters are interesting and scarlett johansson puts in another strong performance. But, it's John Travolta as the cynical and bitter Bobby Long, that steals every scene.

7/10 

Anatomy of a Murder is so good you had to mention it twice? :D 

I still obviously havent worked out how to cut and paste :) 

This was on TV the other day. Talk about weird. It also might have been "modern" and "scifi" during it's day but it's outdated more than anything I've seen (even Batman the movie). All the props are horrible plastic and bright colors. I bet the whole camp style must be done on purpose. Poor Jane Fonda is humiliated somewhat in the lead role.

I recommend as a curiosity but I couldn't bother watching it focused all through. 

for Eternal sunshine of the spotloess mind that I hadn't seen until today and Mindgame that I saw last night! 

Dead Man - 1996 movie by Jim Jarmusch with Johnny Depp and a number of cameos. Depp plays William Blake, an accountant who moves to a far west town for a new job, gets involved in trouble, and goes on the run with a mixed indian who thinks he's a reincarnation of the poet William Blake.

It's overly long, 20 to 30 min too long, weird for the sake of being weird, employs an irritating fade out technique, but it also has a mood that fascinated me. The improvised score by Neil Young is also intriguing, but the way its used gets annoying after a while.

6/10, most of it for the mood/atmosphere and for some quite funny black humour.


Alice doesnt live here anymore - early Scorsese film which has dated a fair bit, but the acting and directing remain strong. The characterisations are interesting and the script is nicely written.

7/10


Almost Famous - it was better this second viewing, but I still dont really understand what all the fuss was about. Sure, it has a very good soundtrack and Kate Hudson, Jason Lee and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are perfect in their roles, but the script has a number of flow and pacing issues. Also, the whole thing has an air of self conscious preciousness about it, that tends to dominate. An above average movie, but I realise I'm in the minority with that opinion.

6.5/10


Nightmare Alley (1947) - first rate film noir, with the usually wooden Tyrone Power in a terrificly performed role, he really is quite good here.

The atmosphere is as dark and murky as you want a noir to be and the story is very interesting and moves along at a nice clip.

7.5/10


The Ice Harvest - Quite a decent little quirky, black comedy thriller with john cusack, billy bob thronton and connie nielsen. Nothing too fancy, but it moves briskly through it's 80 min runtime and is fairly entertaining. The last 15 min or so are in the wrong tone compared to the rest of the film. Dont know if changing the tone in that period would have made a huge difference, but the change in tone was certainy jarring.

Oliver platt's cameo is hilarious.

7/10


The Life and Death of Peter Sellers - poorly directed but well acted sort of biopic. Doesnt really cover a timespan, or a particular event or series of events, but is just an all over te place attempt at looking at Peter Sellers, the person.

Fails miserably in that regard because the script never really bothers looking beyond the actions of Sellers and is just really a series of vignettes. Hopkins tries his best to cover this up, using numerous tricks, changing film stocks regularly, but all to no avail in the end.

The one saving grace is Geoffrey Rush, who does remarkable imitations in numerous Sellers roles (predominantly Inspector Closeau, Dr Strangelove and Chancy Gardener). But unfortunately, due to the thin script, that's all he does, imitations. He is never allowed to make it more than that, which is a bit of a pity.

5/10


Amarcord (1973) - considered the last of Fellini's great films, but i just couldnt get into it.

It's shot beautifully and Nino Rota provides another brilliant score, but all the characters are caricatures and every situation and personality is exaggerated to cartoon strip level. Everyone deliberately yells and acts in a manic fashion, I just found it very distracting and annoying.

4/10


Where the Truth Lies - supposedly Atom Egoyan's most mainstream movie, which may well be the case, but this is hardly mainstream cinema.

Featuring a fabulous plot, that although is fairly convoluted, is smartly linked together. Unfortunately, Egoyan's script suffers in key moments where he doesnt quite know how to bring out the revelations (and that's not a spoiler, the movie's a mystery from the start). So, some of the punch is taken out, as characters need to go through some fairly heavy exposition.

Also, a lot of how much you like this movie will depend on Alison Lohman. I found her to be fairly reasonable, although admittedly it's obvious she's in way over her head. There's also some fairly gratituous nudity which wasn't all that necessary, the seedy atmosphere was already established and it ended up lessening rather than adding to the movie's tone.


6.5/10 

on Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing Lester Bangs, and Jason Lee as a Ronnie Van Zandt type were enjoyable rolls to watch and excellent casting in Almost Famous.

I was not crazy about Kate Hudson's role. It may not realy be her acting that was off putting to me as how her roll was framed as some kind of Queen of the Groupies. How her part was presented and used in the film was silly and for me that is where much of the distracting preciousness of the film comes in.

But, overall, I would give the movie a better rating than 6.5 just for the good vibe it generates. 

Wow. That was worse than I thought it would be. 

firm and reflective 

firm and reflective 

what