January 3rd, 2010 admin
2009
Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law
Director: Terry Gilliam
Runtime: 122 Minutes
Distributor: Sony Picture Classics
Rating: PG-13
The passing of Heath Ledger was a tragedy, and with it we mourn the loss of a great and gifted performer coming into his own and standing on the cusp of greatness. But if there is one tiny nugget of positive impact we can salvage from such tragic circumstance it is the effect his untimely death had on his dear friend and director Terry Gilliam. Midway through his dark hearted Faustian saga in which a thousand year-old carnival owner battles The Devil for souls in an unwise wager, Gilliam suddenly found himself without his leading actor.
With much of the real-world action wrapped already, Gilliam hit on a stroke of genius whereby he envisioned that each of the three times Ledger’s character, the enigmatic, amnesia-stricken George, would step through the mirror into the Imaginarium, a surrealist netherworld where temptation battles imagination for the right to consume you or set you free, he would be played by a different actor (first Johnny Depp, then Jude Law, and, finally Colin Farrell). At the time the idea seemed risky to say the least, but having now been realized the notion of a man with no conscious memory being different each time his subconscious is tapped into seems so natural and straightforward it is difficult to imagine how such scenes could have been more effective had Ledger played the parts himself. This unforeseen obstacle jolted Gilliam and sparked within him an explosion of ingenuity, channeled like a diamond bit to the purpose of salvaging his picture from disaster.
Click here to read the full review at Uinterview.com.
Posted in Drama, Fantasy, Feature Films, Reviews | No Comments »
January 1st, 2010 admin
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January 1st, 2010 admin
2009
Starring: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Mark Strong, Jim Broadbent, Thomas Kretschmann
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Runtime: 100 Minutes
Distributor: Momentum Pictures
Rating: PG
It’s a testament to the reserved and unobtrusive sense of the direction from helmer Jean-Marc Vallee that no reactionary lips were set a quivering by the realization that this intimate portrait of the eponymous monarch comes not from a Brit, but instead courtesy of (gasp) a French-Canadian. In fact, as evidenced by his poking a little fun at the overblown opulence of the coronation ceremony Vallee understands all too well that the monarchy of that time, tied as it was to Europe’s precarious political situation and various power struggles, was one gigantic circus act that needed little further embellishment from him. Before the pre-teen princess, set to inherit her uncles’ throne, has finished hop-scotching across a manner foyer we’ve already been to Belgium, Germany, and back to England to meet the various aristocracy desperately maneuvering to make a grab for the levers of power.
Chief amongst them is Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong), advisor to Victoria’s mother, The Duchess of Kent (an impressive Miranda Richardson), hoping to rule as regent in her stead. Scheming and purposeful, Conroy is the closest the film musters to an out-and-out antagonist, but his threat is never fully realized as the second Victoria comes of age he his banished from court and spends the rest of the story scuttling about the fringes in frustration. Such is the nature of the rigidly structured political system that the primary conflict is handled so much by proxy, with various players plotting away quietly and avoiding anything approaching a traditional confrontation.
Click here to read the full review at Uinterview.com.
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December 24th, 2009 admin
A long-running, picturesque television series centered on an all-female workforce who come together in fellowship to revive the fortunes of the flagging Drover’s Run cattle ranch, McLeod’s Daughters is considered something of a national treasure in it’s native Australia. After eight successful seasons culminated earlier this year with the show’s 224th and final episode (how many U.S. shows make it that far?), we are treated to this DVD re-release of the 1996 television movie where the journey first began.
A good old fashioned melodrama set against the gorgeous backdrop of big sky country, McLeod’s Daughters is a wildly uneven affair where some solid performances by the female leads are consistently undermined by poor scripting, an overblown soundtrack, and the sadly all too frequent intrusion by moments of appalling technical incompetence. The story begins with city-girl Tess (Kym Wilson) making the long journey into the heartland to deliver news to her estranged father, Jack McLeod (Jack Thompson) that his ex-wife, Tess’ mother, has died of cancer. Welcomed with open arms by her father, Tess is greeted with suspicion and resentment by her half sister Claire (Tammy MacIntosh) who blames Tess’ mother for driving Jack into the bottle when they left all those years ago. After Jack dies in a riding accident (quite possibly the single worst stunt sequence of all time) Tess and Claire must put aside their differences and work together to save the ranch from financial ruin.
Click here to read the full review at JustPressPlay.net.
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December 24th, 2009 admin
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December 20th, 2009 admin
2009
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Julian Lewis Jones, Langley Kirkwood, Tony Kgoroge
Director: Clint Eastwood
Runtime: 134 Minutes
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Rating: PG-13
These days Awards season just doesn’t seem complete without a Clint Eastwood period drama, and looking at the Oscar-baiters this year it seems clear that Apartheid is the new Holocaust. While we have learned to never underestimate the Old Master this ambitious portrait of the former South African leader Nelson Mandela might at a distance seem a step beyond even him. An adaptation of Jon Carlin’s book Playing the enemy Invictus shows how Mandela risked much of his political capitol in throwing his full support behind the South African rugby team, viewed by the newly empowered black majority as a fierce symbol of the Apartheid regime, in the hope that they could triumph at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Cooked up out of such unpalatable ingredients as foreign countries and funny accents, it’s a story that tackles such prickly issues as race (eww!) and politics (ugh!) and this funny sport with complicated rules that most Americans have never seen. Then there is the issue of Mandela himself. Arrested for anti-apartheid activities, imprisoned for twenty-seven years, released and finally elected President, Mandela is of such reverence and stature – considered saintly by some – that you wonder who in the world could ever effectively show us Mandela the man?
Click here to read the full review at Uinterview.com.
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December 18th, 2009 admin
Starring: Patrick McGoohan, Angelo Muscat, Peter Swanwick, Leo McKern
Created By: Patrick McGoohan & George Markstein
Network: ITV
Original Air Date: 09/29/1967 – 02/01/1968
Do you like Lost? If the answer is yes you might want to take a moment and write Patrick McGoohan a quick ‘Thank you.’ Because without the influence of this groundbreaking series telling of one man trapped in a seemingly idyllic yet sinister locale from which there appears to be no escape you might not have it. From the tranquil setting, the roaring, otherworldly security system, to the sprawling Machiavellian conspiracy to guard its secrets, the influence of The Prisoner on ABC’s flagship drama and shows like it is undeniable.
Modeled after McGoohan’s previous and successful spy drama Danger Man and co-created with former series script editor George Markstein, The Prisoner played like a trippy espionage thriller. Yet the self-contained format of a serialized episodic drama meant that it could diverge each week into some heady, cerebral territory, tackling themes of philosophy, metaphysics, and the nature of ideology. It’s a full on psychedelic Orwellian nightmare. Think 1984 on `shrooms and you’re in the ballpark.
Click here to read the full review at JustPressPlay.net.
Posted in British Television, Reviews | 1 Comment »
December 18th, 2009 admin
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December 18th, 2009 admin
Starring: Rebecca Romjin, Lindsay Price, Jamie Ray Newman, Paul Gross, Ashley Benson, Jack Huston, Veronica Cartwright, Sara Rue
Director: Maggie Friedman
Network: ABC
Desperate Housewives meets Charmed was most likely exec producer Maggie Friedman’s pitch to ABC for this latest effort to bring an adaptation of John Updike’s supernatural melodrama to the screen. Previous attempts were made as far back as 1992, and again in 2002 with neither of which were picked up by a network. Perhaps with that in mind Friedman sought out the very best and hired pilot specialist David Nutter, a man with no small hand in launching such hi-concept series as Supernatural, Smallville, and Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. A decent enough pilot it was too, offering up a playfully comic take on smalltown frustration and thirty-something female angst from the point of view of three deeply unfulfilled women.
Most people will likely know something of the story having caught the star-studded `80’s film adaptation that saw Jack Nicholson’s lothario demon outwitted and sent scurrying back to Hell courtesy of Michelle Pfiefer, Susan Sarandon, and Cher. While the players aren’t quite as eye-catching the characters remain much the same - three New England ladies wish upon a fountain together for the perfect man, get an inkling of magical power, and find themselves inexplicably drawn to a charming, enigmatic new arrival who may, or may not, be The Devil.
Click here to read the full review at Uinterview.com.
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December 12th, 2009 admin
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