Magnolia is an astonishingly well-made film that is funny, moving and quite powerful. It uses a meticulously created tapestry of intertwining stories around the theme of coincidence. It also features an odd structure or rhythm; the film builds up to a climax after about two hours, fades back again, then swells to an gobsmacking finale (frogs - scary and funny?!, watch for yourself). The cast are superb, especially Tom Cruise as the evangelist style "preacher" of 'Seduce and Destroy' and John C Reilly as the lonely cop who tries to find love with a coke addict. The film uses an interesting mix of quirkiness and old-fashioned drama to create a very interesting film, which only slightly stumbles on its length (a little over 3 hours). If this was a little shorter it would definately get a ten, as this certainly is quality film-making of the highest order. 9/10
Being a big Coen Brothers fan, I always look forward to their new releases (I still haven't caught Oh Brother.. yet unfortunately). As usual I wasn't dissapointed. Boasting the usual quirkiness and great dialogue, this is a very well made film that is also very curious. I found it difficult to work out what points they were trying to make at times, but I think that confusing the viewer is something the Coens like to do. There are some fabulous scenes here driven by some superb acting, especially the excellent Billy Bob Thornton who's restrained performance is almost painfully so at times (in a good way). The cinematography is astounding too, showing just how beautiful black-and-white can be. It is quite a slow paced film, but never dull or boring, and compared to this years rotten batch of releases it certainly stands out, even if it's not quite my favourite Coen Brothers movie. It won't be everyones cup of tea, but if you're a fan of the Coens, you should certainly catch this, especially on the big-screen. 9/10
With Pirates of the Carribean and now this, Hollywood has finally come up with some decent seafaring movies after a long lull. This is nothing like the daft over the top Pirates.. though, Master and Commander has been planned right down to the most minute of details to create a wholly realistic portrayal of life at sea that draws the audience right into the thick of the action. The ocean battles in particular are fantastic with cannonballs shattering everything in their path and broken masts and splinters hurtling towards the screen. Story-wise its a simple tale of obsessed sea-captain, Jack (played by Russell Crowe) chasing down the mysterious ship the Archeron. What it lacks in content it makes up for in its total immersion though, through the details and realism and also through some strong performances that keep us drawn to the crew's mission and keep the long and claustrophobic film from ever getting boring. Its all grand, powerful stuff, with the dialogue even keeping as technical as possible to add to the authenticity. If you like your films simple, tough and exciting but never too flashy or flamboyant, then this is the film for you. 8/10
A strangely light departure for Ridley Scott, Matchstick Men is a fairly good film which suffers from just being too light. Its the sort of film you forget that you ever saw by the time it comes on TV. That's not to say its bad, but in lesser hands this con-artist-film come family-drama would fall flat on its face and would probably go straight to video. One of the major factors that keeps the film afloat is its cast. Nicholas Cage is a little over the top as an obsessive compulsive con-man, but he is nonetheless very likeable in his role. Sam Rockwell is great, as is newcomer Alison Lohman who plays Cage's estranged 14 year old daughter. The scenes between Cage and Lohman could have been terrible, but they actually work very well, which is a testament to their skills. I think the main problem simply comes from the film's whole concept and plot. 'Big-con' films have been done to death in my opinion - you always know that there's going to be a big twist at the end, and the clever cons just don't feel special any more after you've seen so many others in similar films. They do add the father daughter element to it, but that's not even original (see Paper Moon), although it is fairly well done. One last flaw that spoiled the film too was the tacked on ending - it felt quite unnecessary, and although it wasn't quite on the same level as AI's ending, the final shot adds a nasty layer of schmaltz that is totally unnecessary. 6/10
I loved the first Matrix film. It was a tad cheesy at times and way over the top, but it was something fresh and wildly enjoyable. This time round I think the Wachowski brothers have tried a little too hard to emulate the success of the first film, but this was never going to happen due to the low level of hype attached to the original. The main problem here is the way they have tried to make it an 'intelligent' action film. The first film was praised for this (although after repeated viewings it isn't really as clever as it thinks it is), and in this film to try and up the ante they have included a number of long, wordy monologues that don't settle well in the film and aren't well written enough to pull them above the level of cod philosophy. They are drawn out so long that you lose interest in what they are saying anyway. The opening quarter of the film when we are shown the underground city of Zion is very poor too, with some terrible performances and stupid cheap-looking costumes, not to mention an extended musical montage of dancing and softcore porn that is totally unnecessary and cringe-inducing. That said, when we are taken back inside the Matrix the film jumps back to life. The action scenes are stunning - I especially liked the ridiculous brawl with thousands of Agent Smiths and the exhilirating freeway chase scene. Some of the computer effects still don't seem totally real, but I didn't really care because it doesn't stop the effects scenes from looking stunning and being a hell of a lot of fun. Overall though, as good as the action scenes are, the film is a bit of a mess, mainly due to the poor opening and inclusion of the long monologues, but also due to many plot points being left unexplained. Some of these will be addressed in the next film of course, but a lot are supposedly only explained in the computer game and the Animatrix shorts which makes the film seem like too much of a marketing tool. The worst example of this is in the powerstation scene which is skipped over ridiculously quickly in the film due to it being the plot of the computer game. All in all, the second installment of the Matrix saga was a bit of a dissapointment to me. Don't get me wrong, for all the complaints listed here it still has some incredible moments and is worth seeing, but the whole thing is just too patchy to be as great as the first film. 6/10
After the relative dissapointment of the second installment of the Matrix Trilogy, Revolutions had a lot to patch up, but unfortunately, although I slightly prefered it to Reloaded, it still has far to go to match up to the original film. It was always going to be difficult to finish the series off in a suitable fashion, and to the films credit, some of the big set pieces are spectacular enough at times to fit the bill, but unfortunately a lot of the central ideas and plot elements of the first two films aren't tied up very effectively. The final conclusion to the film especially is a big let down, leaving you gobsmacked and saying to yourself, 'is that it?'. Without wanting to contradict what I said about the last film too, where Reloaded's cod philosophical ramblings annoyed, here so few 'intelligent' ideas are raised, that it just becomes a mindless sci-fi film. That said, for a mindless sci-fi film its pretty good. There are plenty of cheesy moments that grate, but there are also some genuinely surprising plot turns and plenty of extravagant special effects to keep you interested. The attack on Zion is the best example of both of these, as it contains some stunning moments, but keeps drifting back to war-movie cliches with hardened generals giving it their all and young whippersnappers proving their worth etc...... The acting, as in the previous films, is quite wooden, leaving the romantic elements between Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reaves very cold. Again, Hugo Weaving creates the strongest character, although he is fairly underused. The final showdown between his character and Neo is nicely over the top, although its finished off quite poorly with some more unexplained powers after an overlong speech or two. Overall, taken purely as a sci-fi action film this is pretty good, but as a climax to what was concieved in a genre classic, its a dissapoinment. 6/10
Meet the Parents is a very likeable film, with fine comic performances from Stiller and De Niro keeping you hooked throughout. A lot of the best scenes are shown on the trailer which is a bit annoying, but nonetheless there is plenty here to keep you happy. It's nicely paced without letting you ever get bored, and most of the gags are pretty decent. An over use of below the belt name based jokes spoils things a little, and nothing outstandingly good or fresh is on display here. However, this is good, solid entertainment that is certainly worth the price of admission. Apart from that there's not a lot to say. 7/10
Memento is a film that continuously screws with your head, but don't get me wrong, this is a good thing. The whole film plays backwards, which in the wrong hands could make this film just an interesting, but annoying concept film, but here the concept when first introduced makes you feel a bit worried, but gradually gets better and better as the film progresses. The whole experience is mind boggling, and provokes long conversations after watching it. This is a very well made film which keeps you gripped throughout with a decent performance from Guy Pierce and a plot knotted with twists, making you want to watch it again as soon as you leave the cinema just to try and work out exactly what happened. Definately one of the most interesting films I've seen for a long time, and easily the best I've seen for the past few months. 9/10
Theres a lot to like about Minorty report, but theres also a lot more you think they could have done with it. The concept of a film about a system of stopping crimes before they happen by seeing into the future is a very interesting one, and although it is looked into quite well, I just felt it wasn't handled quite as intelligently or philisophically as it could have been. Plus, they mixed this great idea with a pretty substandard thriller plotline (although this is quite well done up until the last twenty or thirty minutes). Visually it is very interesting, and at times it is very exciting, but as usual there is a bit of schmaltz pointlessly thrown in to annoy everyone, and although not as terrible as the ending of AI, this also has a cringe inducing final epilogue coated in sacharine. That said, there are some great set pieces in here which keep the film moving nicely through its reasonably bulky length, and with the teaming of Spielberg and Cruise there is some fine filmmaking on display, I just left feeling a little bit robbed. All in all its very good, but could have been a lot better. 7/10
Ethan Hunt returns, but this time the original film and the series' tense and convoluted spy formula is changed to a simple James Bond (80-90's) style action film. John Woo gives it a bit of sparkle, but mainly due to the want of a younger audience, his trademark over the top violence is toned down and saved until the last half hour, and instead we get annoying scenes of Tom Cruise standing around looking cool, and lots of totally unnecessary slow motion. Apart from the end, where the real fun begins, the rest of the film is very weak, with uninspired dialogue (strange, coming from the writer of the classic noir thriller, Chinatown) mixed with a basic throwaway plot and lazy, uncharismatic performances. Overall, the opening rock climbing sequence is quite good, and the last half hour, as mentioned earlier, is stylish and exhilarating, but the rest is very dissapointing. 5/10
Following up Toy Story 2 was always going to be difficult, but although its not quite up to those standards, Monsters Inc. is a worthy addition to Pixar's hall of fame (bar maybe the slightly dissapointing Bugs Life). The graphics and animation as ever are superb, and it is highly entertaining, with some great vocal talent and imagination behind it. It is aimed a little more towards the kids than the Toy Story films were though (I know they were aimed at kids too, but you know what I mean), and is a little more 'cute' where it could have been funnier. Its hard to pick at a film that I enjoyed so much though. Although, as I said it is very 'cute' and a little schmaltzy, it actually works quite well on these levels, mainly due to the mixture of superbly realistic animation and use of an actual toddler voice for 'boo', the human lead, which develop a character that is very hard not to like. I think the things that set this slightly behind Toy Story are that the humour isn't quite as strong, and it just never never feels 'classic' enough to stay in your mind as long as its predecessors. Well worth watching though, especially with your kids/younger siblings etc. 8/10
One of the most original (in style anyway) films of the past year, Moulin Rouge throws you in at the deep end, with a frantic, crazy opening half an hour that if you allow it to, blows you away. However, after that the film hits the brakes a bit, and although it still has its quirky bits, I felt the mid-section was a bit dissapointing after such a fresh start. The visuals throughout are amazing though, but especially in the opening sections and in any scenes involving the Moulin Rouge itself. The songs are quite well used, with many perfectly complementing the film, even though they were not originals (eg. The Show Must Go On and Roxanne). Ewen McGreggor (sp) and Nicole Kidman do a reasonable job with their singing too. I wasn't sure quite how involving their love story was though, and I thought the characters could have used a little more development. For by the end, even though people sitting by me were in tears, I didn't really feel anything - I could just be a miserable cynic though. All this aside, Moulin Rouge uses the medium of cinema beatifully and must be seen on the big screen, its certainly the most visually (and musically) exciting film of the year. 8/10
On one side, this is a terrible, terrible film. However, on the other, it was very entertaining. The dialogue is horrendous, the acting outstandingly hammed-up (but that didn't bother me too much), the special-effects aren't all that special, and almost all of the action scenes are directly stolen from other (mostly Speilberg) films. All this aside, the film is incredibly watchable, and never slows down for a second to let you get bored. You can't really ignore the problems the film has though, which makes this hard to review. I was laughing throughout the film, but usually at the expense of the dodginess of it all. If this is a good thing or not, I'll never know. I'm going to have to give it a mark though, so I'll go for a... 5/10
This has been the sleeper hit of the year this summer in America, goodness knows why though. This is an extraordinarily predictable, uninteresting and instantly forgetable film that a lot of TV programmes put to shame in terms of filmmaking quality. The whole thing reaks of sitcom, and although it is quite funny and mildly entertaining, its just been done to the ground. The two leads are very dull too, leaving all of the decent gags for the supporting cast, a few of whom are actually very good though. Its an easy going film that your mum and your gran will probably enjoy, but don't believe the hype. I think it was only this popular because there was no competition in the light romantic comedy genre this year. If you're in the mood for this sort of film I advise you just stay in and rent Four Weddings or When Harry Met Sally. Even though you've probably seen them time and time again, they'll still seem fresher than this, and much better too. 4/10
