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Movie Train - FILM REVIEWS by Morgan Bell

Fresh critical film reviews by young Australian journalist Morgan Bell. A bight-sized opinionated analysis of popular movies and indie/art-house feature films. Explores plot, themes, characters, performances, soundtracks and film technique. Morgan Bell assesses movies in the context of what makes a successful cinema or DVD experience.

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Movie Train - April 2008

who has the best eyebrows in film?

April 28th 2008 17:31

I was recently watching Francis Ford Coppolas 1984 film "The Cotton Club", which is set in a 1930s Harlem jazz club . . . i wasnt hugely impressed with the film but i was completely captivated by Diane Lanes eyebrows . . . fabulous!

Diane Lane and Richard Gere in The Cotton Club

The all-star cast of The Cotton Club:

Richard Gere as Dixie Dwyer
Gregory Hines as Sandman Williams
Diane Lane as Vera Cicero
Lonette McKee as Lila Rose Oliver
Bob Hoskins as Owney Madden
James Remar as Dutch Schultz
Nicholas Cage as Vincent Dwyer
Laurence Fishburne as Bumpy Rhodes
Tom Waits as Irving Stock
Jennifer Grey as Patsy Dwyer

This rekindled my obsession with the eyebrows of 1930s actress Carole Lombard . . . she was the wife of Clark Gable . . . she had daring and bold eyebrows which i very much admire and envy!

Carole Lombard and her husband Clark Gable

so who do you think has the best eyebrows in film?

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REVIEW: The Queen

April 27th 2008 12:43

Directed: Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, Dangerous Liasons)

Written: Peter Morgan

Starring: Helen Mirren (Gosford Park, Teaching Mrs Tingle, The Mosquito Coast, Prime Suspect), Micheal Sheen (Blood Diamond, Kingdom of Heaven, Wilde, Othello), James Cromwell (The Longest Yard, Angels In America, The Green Mile, The Bachelor)

This film succeeds in providing the Queen of England with a real human face, someone you can relate to, respect, and want to know more about. The film is set in the period of time around Princess Dianas death showing how royal protocol caused the public to despise the Queen believing her reaction to be cold. We see the Queen prioritise the well-being of her grandchildren and learn to appreciate her conservative war-time upbringing as a factor in upholding tradition and treating Dianas funeral as a "private family matter" not to be publicized or turned into a media circus. This is an intimate portrait of a woman largely misrepresented for acting with dignity and decorum as she was taught. This film highlights the higher importance that the war-time generation put of honour and duty in much the same way as "Remains Of The Day" and the placement of the Queen largely in the natural outdoors environment of Balmoral is very effective in revealing her compassionate human side. Mirren is perfectly cast given the Queen a youthful vibrance and beauty we do not usually associate with the monarch, and Sheen as Tony Blair is earnest and adorable "smiling like a chesire cat"! I highly recommend it!

Michael Sheen playing Tony Blair in The Queen

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REVIEW: Cheaters

April 23rd 2008 17:19

No not the obnoxious american reality tv show about unfaithful defactos but the feature film from 2000 inspired by real events about a group of inner-city slum kids conspiring with their teacher to cheat in an academic competition.

Directed & Written: John Stockwell (Crazy Beautiful, Into The Blue, Rock Star, Breast Men)

Starring: Jeff Daniels (The Hours, Pleasantville, Dumb & Dumber). Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, Life As A House, Stepmom, Hitler: The Rise of Evil)

This is a well-written little social commentary film about winning, success, and competition. Based on a true story it examines how and why people on the bottom rung of life feel they have to cheat and bend their morals to get to the top of the heap . . . well not even the top, but just a couple of rungs up so they dont get walked all over by absolutely everyone . . . i enjoyed this film as much a other similar based-on-real-life tales of dubious ethics like Shattered Glass (Hayden Christensen as the fabricating journalist for New Republic) or Catch Me If You Can (Leonardo DiCaprio as the con artist and cheque fraud expert Abagnale) or Blow (Johnny Depp as major 70s cocaine dealer George Jung) . . . but this story looks at the ethics of highschool teacher Dr Plecki (Daniels) a poor son of an immigrant who as a middle-aged man still lives at home with mum, his dad was cheated out of health insurance, he felt cheated when his business fails, and as a teacher he feels cheated by all the "smart" public school kids being funnelled into a rival school (Whitney Young Magney High School) in the region through a selective process . . . Dr Plecki basically feels that only people who cheat in life get ahead, so when an opportunity arises to instill his students with some pride and boost the morale of the underclass in a twisted way it seems like the only fair thing to do . . . Jena Malone is a standout as the witty little nymph of a student egging Plecki and the rest of the class on . . . this is an interesting film with great characters and a consistant pace, you will be drawn in to see how the ragtag bunch of misfits from Steinmetz High School use their smarts to pull off the most finely executed fraud the United States Academic Decathlon has ever seen!

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REVIEW: Thank You For Smoking

April 19th 2008 08:58

Directed & Written: Jason Reitman; adapted from novel by Christopher Buckley

Starring: Aaron Eckhart (Erin Brokovich, No Reservations), Cameron Bright (Birth, Butterfly Effect), William H. Macy (Fargo, Pleasantville, Bobby), Katie Holmes (Batman Begins, Wonderboys), Rob Lowe (Waynes World, Austin Powers), Adam Brody (Mr & Mrs Smith, TV's The OC)

This film is a very clever satire following the life of Nick Naylor (Eckhart) who is a tobacco industry lobbyist. Naylor has a son Joey (Bright) who he is trying to be a good role model for while defending Big Tobacco. This is a black comedy that matches the wit of satirical classics like Election, Drop Dead Gorgeous or The Truman Show and Eckhart is truly charming as the man who can argue anything. Naylor introduces himself with the line "You know the guy who can pick up any girl? I'm him. On crack." Naylor basically justifies working as the poster boy for cigarette smoking in the same way that lawyers argue that every criminal is entitled to be represented by a fair defense, and that taking up smoking is about the right to choose, and that hes good at defending indefensible positions and enjoys the challenge, and when all else fails there the "Yuppie Nuremberg defense" that he has to do something to pay the mortgage. This film is set in the period of time just before cigarettes were legally proven to be addictive and before the landmark law suits affording victim of smoking related illnesses damages . . . the depiction of the ruthless tobacco industry execs peddling smokes to children is the blackest of humour, the deadpan delivery of razor sharp dialogue is nothing short of brilliant . . . sarcastic, ironic, and absolutely scathing . . . this is fantastic writing . . . and keep an eye out for Adam Brody, he has a small but fantastic role with an absurdly long and inappropriately placed private joke with a coworker that is a major highlight.

Rob Lowe and Adam Brody in Thank You For Smoking

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REVIEW: Death Proof

April 14th 2008 17:50

Directed & Written: Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Jackie Brown, Sin City)

Starring:

Stuntman Mike - Kurt Russell (Tombstone, Soldier, Overboard, Backdraft)
Jungle Julia - Sydney Poitier (daughter of Sidney Poitier)
Butterfly - Vanessa Ferlito (TVs CSI New York)
Shanna Banana - Jordan Ladd (daughter of Cheryl Ladd)
Marcy - Marcy Harriell (musical theatre actor)
Warren - Quentin Tarantino (From Dusk Til Dawn)
Lanna Frank - Monica Staggs (stuntwoman for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill)
Pam Greer - Rose McGowan (Jawbreaker, Scream, Encino Man, TVs Charmed)
Abernathy - Rosario Dawson (Kids, Sin City, Rent)
Kim - Tracie Thoms (Rent, The Devil Wears Prada, stage actor)
Zoë - Zoë Bell (stuntwoman for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill)
Lee - Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Factory Girl, Bobby, The Ring 2, Final Destination 3)

Death Proof is a cool movie with a cool cast, all the characters have cool unique names and say cool things - it is a homage to sleazy car-chase films from the 70s, a tribute to stunt people, and a continuous in-joke which references all of Tarantinos other work. The thing that makes Tarantino a genius (whether you like his films or not) is that for such a dweeby little guy he somehow knows the exact formula for movie cool, he knows what you need to make a cult flick and hes done it again! This is probably my favourite film of all that hes directed so far as it is really focussed on women and how they interact in groups, and essentially how they can have it over any man - especially in a pack!

Death Proof is alot of fun . . . Stuntman Mike as the villain is alot of fun with his redundant career, scar on his face, chip on his shoulder, and virtually indestructible stunt car named "Death Proof" . . . Stuntman Mike is an industry dinosaur who has taken to stalking young women . . . he catches one group unawares on a drunken night out and shows us how you are really no safer on the inside or the outside of his car . . . later with a different group of women (all from the film industry) we see he is a little out of his element when it turns out hes dealing with a female stuntwomen who could have him pleading for mercy like the cowardly lion!

Death Proof is set in modern day with mobile phones (keep an ear out for the kill bill ringtone), red bull, italian vogue, prada belts, and modern cars in the general traffic, but our first set of characters are all styled from the 70s in t-shirts and short-shorts . . . it is filmed with bad cutting, spots and lines on the film, and other devices to make it look like the reel of film was low budget and aged due to storage in the back shed . . . everyones smoking . . . our characters drive old 70s "muscle" cars . . . the dialogue is like a whole bunch of female Samuel L Jacksons wise-talking and making analogies . . . this film has real symmetry and many memorable elements . . . the women are tough and sassy and fun to listen to . . . the stunt work and driving is incredible and Tarantino has managed to create probably one of the best car chase scenes and one of the best car smash scenes all in one film . . . and i love the overall message that women arent the weaker sex, its all a matter of a man picking on someone his own size (or skill-set)

Rosario Dawson as Abernathy in Death Proof (dir: Tarantino)

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REVIEW: Eastern Promises

April 12th 2008 16:05

Directed: David Cronenberg (A History Of Violence, The Dead Zone, The Fly)

Written: Steven Knight (Amazing Grace, Dirty Pretty Things)

Starring: Viggo Mortenson (A History Of Violence, G.I. Jane, A Perfect Murder, Lord Of The Rings), Naomi Watts (King Kong, The Ring, Mulholland Drive), Vincent Cassel (Birthday Girl, Elizabeth, Derailed)

There are quite a few good reasons to watch this . . . Viggos russian gangster tattoos, they cover half his body and are very impressive . . . a nude fight scene, well actually Viggos the only one nude, everyone else is fully dressed, but Viggo is nude and clambering around a slippery communal bathroom, the violence is brutal but we get a closer look at those impressive tattoos and many full-frontal (and crouched, and horizontal, and from behind) shots of Viggos nude body . . . also this is Viggos critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated performance, and personally i think he deserves the praise! "Eastern Promises" is set in ~~America~~ England but most of the characters are relocated Russian mafia, the story is about the sex-slave trade of women (early teen girls) who flee the poverty of their homelands in the hope of better lives in ~~the USA~~ the West, only to be enslaved in prositution and drug-addiction at the hands of their fellow ex-pats. The story is basically a suspense thriller following the search for a babys family, the search begins in the opening scenes when a 14 year old girl bleeds to death giving birth to a baby in a public hospital . . . Naomi Watts is the midwife from the hospital who discovers a diary written in Russian with a business card for a Russian restaurant in the girls possessions . . . in her attempts to uncover the babys family the midwife becomes embroiled in a murderous and perverse web of organised crime . . . very young girls are systematically raped and forced to be injected with heroin, it is a disturbing underworld, and there are power struggles for the top position. This film uses voice-over of the babys young mother reading from her diary to describe the experience of coming to ~~America~~ England from the female sex-slaves point of view, it contrasts this with the point of view of Nikolai (Viggo) who is trying to manipulate his way up the mafia food chain by being affectionate buddies with the bosses son (Cassel), disposing of bodies, going through initiations, and being "the driver" . . . Viggo is cold and calculating, he seems quite dead inside, a man of little words, but with an intriguing sympathy and respect for women that none of the other Russians in the boys-club possess . . . this film is grim, the violence is bloody, the abuse is despicable, the expoitation is sad, the truth is hard . . .

* i had mistakenly presumed this was set in America as most films seem to be, but it is actually London, England, as postmoderncritic points out in the comments below . . . oops, sorry

Viggo Mortensen as Nikolai in Eastern Promises (body tattoos)

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Top Ten MOST FUN Film Villains

April 10th 2008 15:10

They are as outrageous as they are diabolical . . . they make being evil oh so fun . . . they are the film villains i wish i could be . . . because they just have so much fun!

1. Labyrinth (1986) with David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King
. . . hes so uncompromising sitting back in his goblin city taunting a teenage girl as she attempts to navigate an impossible maze to rescue her baby brother (whom Jareth stole so her could sing a few songs, throw the baby in the air and change him into a goblin). Jareth has cool boots at tights and the most elaborate hair and makeup ever seen on a man, the goblins worship him, he can fast-forward time, he can shape-shift into an owl, he can do magic and see things in crystal balls, he defies gravity . . . and when hes confronted he claims all his sadistic game-playing was actually love and generousity . . . i love how he can never remember hoggles name and threatens to throw people into the bog of eternal stench as punishment . . . he is all-powerful and the god of his own little world . . . he has ALOT of fun!

2. Charlies Angels (2000) with Sam Rockwell as Eric Knox
. . . he is so incredibly cool, he fakes his own kidnapping to fool the angels into working for him, seduces one of them, and then the moment it is revealed that he is really the bad guy he has a 180 degree personality change . . . suddenly hes wearing all black, slurping on a can of coca cola, smoking a ciggie, doing some smooth dance moves, and generally looking like the cat who got the cream . . . from adorable to sleazy in 12 stereotypical steps . . . he takes a little time out from his dancing to throw someone out a window and torment hostages . . . all while looking incredibly smug and slick . . . i thinking its really all about the evil dancing!

3. Dangerous Liaisons (1988) with Glenn Close as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
. . . long before Sarah Michelle Gellar modernised the character in Cruel Intentions with some drug abuse and a lesbian kiss, Glenn Close (a decidedly evil actress) played the most conniving and manipulative woman the world had ever seen . . . somewhat pissed off at being a second class citizen due to being a woman she shoots venom at any man she comes across . . . she is a french aristocrat using and abusing her friends and foes, ruining reputations, spreading lies, orchastrating tragedy and disaster, and breaking hearts . . . she is cold and devious in her plotting and mind-games . . . shes two-faced, charming, and should never be trusted . . . she is a boring rich woman with an axe to grind . . . is there anything scarier?

4. Kill Bill: Vol 1 (2003) & Vol 2 (2004) with Darryl Hannah as Elle Driver, AKA California Mountain Snake
. . . for me its all about the eye patch and the whistling of the creepy song down the corridor of the hospital . . . shes a deadly assassin, shes lost an eye, she has a problem with authority, and shes green with envy over her rival . . . a woman with the body of a supermodel and long flowing blond hair but a taste for blood . . . killing is a sport and shes both creative and ruthless . . . shes desperate for Bills approval and will destroy anything that gets in her way . . . a battle-hardened survivor with a really mean streak . . . she is the most sassy ruthless killer ive ever seen!

5. Little Nicky (2000) with Rhys Ifans as Adrian (son of Satan)
. . . sitting on top of a mailbox, his long extravagant coat drapes down to the ground, he sips on peppermint schapps and eats a pizza slice, he throws his head back and laughs his evil laugh . . . this has to be one of the most diabolical images ever filmed . . . blonde and slight of frame, he is very very naughty . . . but i guess considering who his dad was he was never going to play nice . . . he is all about trickery and excess and is obsessed with obtaining power in hell . . . he is very flamboyant, has many powers of the immortal, and basically is the most fashionable devil ive ever seen . . . he would be alot of fun at a party!

6. In Dreams (1999) with Robert Downey Jnr as Vivien Thompson
. . . gender bending, mentally unbalanced, and long glorious hair . . . this guy kidnaps children and has a psychic connection with one of the mothers, all he really wants in to create the perfect family that he never had, but he really has a screw loose . . . abused as a child by his mother and trapped in a house when his town was flooded to create a dam, he is locked up in a mental institute until he escapes by impersonating a girl in a nurses uniform . . . he is the psycho-killer who is all personality . . . the crazy girlie boy who you just want to hug . . . and maybe braid his hair!

7. Clay Pigeons (1998) with Vince Vaughn as Lester Long
. . . the smiling killer in the cowboy hat who only one man sees and only one mans knows he even exists, and that man is getting framed . . . Lester enjoys killing and he gets away with it by having a scapegoat and having an identity than doesnt really exist . . . hes confident with the ladies and a killer in the bedroom . . . he has an evil laugh and likes to taunt and issue threats and ultimatums . . . he will smile to your face while stabbing you in the back . . . hes having fun even if the victims arent!

8. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) with Alan Rickman as The Sheriff of Nottingham
. . . the frustrated bad guy trying to usurp the kings throne while hes away and being challenged at every turn by that pesky robin hood . . . hes vain, hes corrupt, hes power-hungry, and his plans are falling apart . . . his main interests are molesting young maidens, yelling at his incompetant grovelling servants, and trying to bully maid marion into marrying him . . . oh and ordering the destruction of local villages . . . hes doing so many bad things but cant quite figure out where its all going on . . . he has a gnarly old witch as a companion, threatens to cut robins heart out with a spoon, has the most absurd forced nuptuals and attempted non-consensual consumation, and he gets to make ridiculous statements like "Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas" . . . one of historys greatest villains being bad and loving it!

9. Zoolander (2001) with Will Ferell as Mugatu
. . . in the super fabulous parody of the fashion industry Mugatu is the all pwerful and intimidating ruler of the catwalks and magazines . . . but hes pure evil conspiring in a plot to kill the president of Malaysia so he can continue having his designs stitched by child labour in Malaysian sweatshops . . . Mugatu throws hot coffee on his assistant when there is too much froth, he screams at anorexic models for being too fat, he is unreasonable and eccentric and has a dodgy past in designing keyboard patterned ties . . . and he constantly wears a male corset . . . he recruits stupid male models to unknowingly perform his dirty work . . . he creates his own pro-child-labour brain-washing videos and runs his own hypnotising and mind conditioning clinic (beauty spa) . . . he is extremely highly strung and shreeks rather than speaking and is prone to unpredictable outbursts . . . hes a diva, a crazy fabulous diva who may be taking crazy pills!

10. Death Becomes Her (1992) with Meryl Streep as Madeline Ashton
. . . vain, pretentious, mean, spiteful and petty . . . she white-trash turned B-grade actor and her looks are fading as she ages so she seduces a plactic surgeon that was due to marry her best friend . . . shes a minx and a man-eater . . . ladies lock up your husbands . . . she is absolutely obsessed with youth and her looks . . . shes competitive and nasty, and a devil with a shotgun . . . the way she berrates her husband is demeaning and humiliating, but she gets all the killer lines . . . oh and her head twists all the way around . . . shes a classic A-grade bitch!

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REVIEW: The Final Cut

April 8th 2008 12:02

Directed & Written: Omar Naim

Starring: Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, The Birdcage), Mira Sorvino (Romy & Michelle, At First Sight, Quiz Show), Jim Caviezel (Frequency, Pay It Forward, Déjà Vu)

This is a very interesting sci-fi concept which made me think a great deal. In the near future there is a technology to implant a chip in a babies heads to record all the images it sees and sounds it hears during the span of its life, at death the company who implants the chip produces a movie of the persons life called a "rememberance" for all of his/her loved ones to watch and help them remember the person who has passed. It is the duty of The Cutter (Williams) to edit the raw footage with a computer program to create a touching tribute to highlight all the good things the person did with their life . . . but by the same token he is in a unique position to be privy to all the bad things a person did with their life including adultery, violence, corruption, child sexual abuse, or other crime . . . and it is his duty to ignore and delete all that he sees that could ruin the customers reputation. This film explores the issues of privacy and whether parents should have the right to impose technology on their children. The technology itself makes every person a potential security camera and it is at the parents discretion if and when they make the child aware that their every move is being recorded. Williams uncovers a clue to a childhood mystery in the memory chip of a very controversial man which leads to him uncovering secrets about himself. You will like The Final Cut if you enjoy a good ethical dilemma or films like Gattaga.

Mira Sorvino and Robin Williams in sci-fi thriller The Final Cut (2004)

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REVIEW: Balls of Fury

April 6th 2008 15:40

Directed: Robert Ben Garrant

Written: Robert Ben Garrant & Thomas Lennon (Night At The Museum, Herbie Fully Loaded)

Starring: Dan Fogler (Good Luck Chuck), Christopher Walken, Jason Scott Lee (Soldier, The Jungle Book, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), James Hong (Big Trouble In Little China, Red Corner, Blade Runner), Diedrich Bader (Napoleon Dynamite, The Beverly Hillbillies, Office Space, Miss Congeniality 2, TVs The Drew Cary Show), Maggie Q, Thomas Lennon

who would have guessed that fat annoying bastard that i despised from Good Luck Chuck would appear in a screwball comedy about ping pong as a washed up child star and i would actually find him likeable? i like absurd self-depricating comedy, i like absurd situational comedy, and i like absurd cameos . . . Balls of Fury is an unexpected funny little comedy and its main character Randy Daytona (Fogler), although fat, is in no way a bastard . . . Randy was a child ping pong star who is recruited by the government to infiltrate the home of an evil criminal Feng (Walken) who is hosting an invitation only ping pong championship, Randy has to get in shape by becoming the student of the blind Master Wong (Hong) . . . while at Fengs house Randy comes up against his old rival the weird german Karl Wolfschtagg (Lennon), who is a very fun crazy-eyed character . . . Christopher Walken is funny before he even says anything, he is a man with a funny face, it is absurdly funny that he is cast in the role of an asian and it is hilarious that he is dressed like a chinese elton john, he delivers alot of great one-liners, his assistant is a gorgeous model whos running around randomly spitting poison darts at game losers and foes, Walken declares "What part of 'sudden death' didn't you understand?" . . . this is a fabulous parody of sport and competition . . . James Hong is a gem with amazing comedic timing, droll stories relating ping pong to a well-aged prostitute, and some classic blind-man-noodle gags that are sure to make you smile . . . Diedrich Bader (Oswald from Drew Carey) provides one of the biggest laughs of the film as Gary the male courtesan when he randomly attempts to save a pet panda just as it is announced the building is about to explode . . . this is a nice little comedy with a great cast which doesnt need to resort to exploiting women to get a laugh, a good film to chill out with and have a laugh!

Christopher Walken as Feng in Balls of Fury

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REVIEW: Somethings Gotta Give

April 4th 2008 16:42

Directed & Written: Nancy Meyers (The Holiday, Father Of The Bride)

Starring: Diane Keaton (The Family Stone, First Wives Club, Father Of The Bride), Jack Nicholson (The Departed, The Pledge, A Few Good Men), Keanu Reeves (Constantine, The Matrix, The Devils Advocate), Amanda Peet (Identity, The Whole Nine Yards, Melinda & Melinda), Frances McDormand (Fargo, Friends With Money, Wonderboys)

I really hate this movie and i personally think Nancy Meyers is the devil when it comes to writing appalling female characters. How on earth did Diane Keaton win an Oscar for this? *sigh* Erica Barry (Keaton) is a divorcee approaching 60 who has an adult daughter (Peet) and is a successful and wealthy playwrite. Harry (Nicholson) is never married and just over 60 and is dating Ericas daughter and has a terrible reputation for only dating extremely young women . . . in a scene where he accidentally walks in on Erica while shes undressed (yes we see Keaton full frontal nude, breasts and all, perhaps thats why she won the Oscar: bravery) Harry declares hes never seen a woman that old naked . . . due to a heart-attack Harry is forced to spend time at Ericas house because he is not well enough to travel home to the city with his girlfriend . . . in true Nancy Meyers style any two people left in a room together are clearly soul mates and will immediately change their ways to pursue love . . . i just hate the whole concept, its a slap in the face to women everywhere, the implication that Ericas life was empty without a male partner, the presumption that the first man that shows an interest in her will be the perfect guy for her . . . even with the young handsome doctor that she meets after Harrys heart attack (Reeves) dotes on her for her intelligence she is still stuck on Harry and we as the audience must endure the most ridiculous movie montage ever filmed of a woman crying in a loud, irritating, entirely unconvincing fashion . . . its embarrassing . . . like seriously, what is the message here? that old people should date other old people only? why? because they both have bad eyesight? well clearly Keaton does if she chooses Nicholson over Keanu Reeves (not just for looks either, her was a far nicer character) . . . and does it seem wrong that a woman would lock lips with someone her daughter just finished kissing? sometimes i really have to think which movie is worse, this or The Holiday? i think Nancy Meyers is testing me . . .

Keanu Reeves and Jack Nicholson in Somethings Gotta Give

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REVIEW: Michael Clayton

April 3rd 2008 16:19

Directed & Written: Tony Gilroy (Proof Of Life, The Devils Advocate)

Starring: George Clooney (Syriana, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm), Tilda Swinton (Narnia, Constantine, The Beach), Tom Wilkinson (Stage Beauty, Girl With A Pearl Earring, The Excorcism of Emily Rose)

An otherwise boring and tedious film is worthwhile watching for the performance of Tilda Swinton in the role that won her an Oscar. Michael Clayton (Clooney) is a "fixer" at a law firm who represents a large chemical company. He uses his contacts in the police (as a former district attorney) to "fix" the problems of the firms wealthy clients. He is broke from gambling debts and a failed venture with his drug-addict brother and continues in a thankless job without promotion just to keep the debt collectors at bay. Swinton is Karen Crowder, a highly-strung executive at the chemical company. Wilkinson is a guilt-ridden senior partner at Claytons high priced firm who suffers from bi-polar disorder, when he burns out and comes off his meds he compromises the defense of the lawsuit against the chemical company client. Clooneys law firm is in the middle of a corporate merger and his job and reputation are on the line with this single case, there is pressure from all directions with his son, brother, colleagues and clients relying on him. This film is really slow and is basically a less interesting version of Erin Brokovich . . . the main difference being that we are not certain of Michael Claytons morals until the end . . . is he a no good opportunist who doesnt care for the facts? or will his sense of right and wrong eventually force him to acknowledge how critical his role is in the case? Swinton is fantastic as a woman determined to succeed at any cost, she is nervous and sweaty and anxious proving she knows her actions are wrong but her self-interest drives her to proceed with evil doings regardless. The settings are boring and gloomy office interiors, there are endless scenes establishing Claytons financial dire straights . . . they just seem unnecessarily long . . . there is an improbable polt device of trying to tie in a book Claytons son is reading with Wilkinsons nervous breakdown, crucial clues to the case, and the attempted murder of Clayton . . . the end is at the beginning and the epilogue is a little humdrum . . . it is dry and serious . . . it was barely holding my attention except for waiting for Tilda to come back on screen.

Tilda Swinton as Karen Crowder in Michael Clayton

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REVIEW: Last Days

April 1st 2008 14:40

Directed & Written: Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Good Will Hunting, Psycho)

Starring: Michael Pitt (Hedwig, Murder By Numbers), Asia Argento (xXx, Marie Antoinette), Lukas Haas (Witness, Leap Of Faith, Brick), Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth

It is rare that i am totally engrossed in a film to the point where i will rewind it and play it again and again, four or five times in a row, fawning over every detail, completely drawn into the story. "Last Days" is one of those films. It is the fictional account of the last days before Kurt Cobains suicide, and despite being almost completely void of dialogue, it is a stunning piece of art and mesmerising in every way. The Cobain-esque character, Blake, is played by Michael Pitt, and you have to shake yourself to remember that you're not watching the real Cobain. Blake has shaggy bleached blond shoulder length hair tucked behind his ears, three-day growth beard, grungy over-sized winter clothes and is rake thin and sinewy . . . it in uncanny how much the usually clean-cut Pitt looks the part of a mentally strung out heroin addict . . . i had the disturbing feeling he was actually wearing articles of clothing from Cobains 90s wardrobe . . . it was like watching a ghost, a pained genius in the devastating throws of his last days, the lead up to an inevitable unthinkable conclusion.

"Last Days" is an indie/art-house film which is layered with subtle symbolism. There are many long scenes but it is meditative not tedius. Van Sant uses the camera to follow Blake but then allows him to walk out of shot with the camera pausing on some bushes for a moments silence. It is frustrating, but suicide is frustrating, and this is an amazing moment of realisation where you are left to think and the penny drops . . . you understand that the media pursuit of Cobain as a celebrity was what pushed him to the edge, Blake is running away from us, the audience, as much as he is running from the other characters in the film . . . the demands that his committments have placed on him are weighing him down and he cant get any peace . . . maybe such a complex man is drowning in the media spotlight as he no longer has his moments silence to think?

Dialogue is used sparingly but every muffled awkward conversation Blake has shows the cumulative effect of him not being able to relate to the people around him anymore. The entire film is set at a large cold derelict house on a vast estate surrounded by woods and nature. We enter the film with Blake literally lost in the woods and we become voyeurs into his wanderings, mumblings, his writing in his journal, and his musical release. Blake represents an icon you wish you could reach into the screen and save.

This is one of Gus Vant Sants artier films and from what i have read it isnt always well received, but if you have patience and some time by yourself to appreciate it this is one of the most unique and beautiful film experiences you are likely to have. Features original Cobain-esque music written and performed by Pitt and a cameo by Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth. Blake/Cobain is a tormented soul that we will never fully understand but this film is about as close as you can get . . . being a fly on the wall to this tragedy is addictive as heroin yet watching the demise of a man is an agonising emotional journey . . . a beautiful treatment of a difficult story.