June 21, 2005
National Treasure
An undemanding romp through all that Americans consider part of their heritage (as seen by Disney). Not as bad as I expected but not good either. Very, very cheesy for most of the film. The basic plot is a rich man's treasure hunt, taking in a myriad of US East Coast tourist haunts. One improbable clue leads to the next improbable clue. Sean Bean plays the obligatory English baddy in an understated kind of way, Diane Kruger provides the eye candy, Jon Voight & Harvey Kietel take the money in minor supporting roles and Nicholas Cage just hams it up all the way through. Not at all believable as a treasure hunter. All the best lines are had by his sidekick, Riley, played by Justin Bartha.
One for the kids on a wet Saturday morning - 4/10
Posted by weaver at 10:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 17, 2005
'Broadsword calling Danny Boy'
I missed it the other night but Channel 4 ran a Top 100 war films of all times, as voted for by you.
I was surprised to note that I had seen (and could remember) about 75 of them, an unhealthily large number. Although no list is ever perfect (Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and 12 O'clock High are missing) I think the poll got it just about right especially with the top 15, although The Great Escape ranks as my personal number 1.
Posted by weaver at 10:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 15, 2005
Amelie
Amelie. Watched this one on DVD this weekend. Its a beautiful, poetic French language movie about a timid young woman, wonderfully played by Audrey Tatou. She tries to improve the lives of the people around her and in doing so finds meaning in her own life.
Full of quirky humour, its an enchanting film with a timeless quality, that draws you in and keeps you spellbound until the end. 9/10
Posted by weaver at 09:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 15, 2005
Last Orders
A beautiful film about enduring friendship played to the hilt by an all star British ensemble cast. Its from a novel I read a few years ago by Graham Swift and the film adaptation has captured the sense & spirit of the novel wonderfully. From the flashbacks spanning from the 2nd World War to the death of one the group and the 'epic' journey to scatter his ashes at Margate, every scene is evocatively portrayed. The film draws you in slowly at the start as the characters are developed but soon has you engrossed. Thanks to the Sunday Telegraph for supplying the DVD.
Well worth watching - 7.5/10
Posted by weaver at 07:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 26, 2005
Collateral
A cab driver and a contract killer, one night in LA. An excellent performance from James Foxx lifts this otherwise average thriller. Tom Cruise plays bad guy Tom Cruise with minimal effort in this film. Highly overrated on its cinema release, director, Michael Mann, nevertheless keeps the pace moving sharply along with lots of stylised violence until the final reel where the wheels finally come off.
Overall - OK thriller - 5/10
Posted by weaver at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack