 |
About Schmidt 
An engaging film about a man who's wife of many years dies, and his attempt to understand his own life and of those around him now that he's alone. The reason it's so engaging is because the man is played by Jack Nicholson, who is on top form here. It's not a film where a lot happens, but it's never less than interesting observing old Jack try to make sense of the world in his own irrascible way. |
 |
The Bourne Identity 
I enjoyed this film, adapted from the book by Robert Ludlum. There has been a previous attempt to film this which starred Richard Chamberlain and sounded a bit dodgy to me, but this one is well done and Matt Damon is very good as the eponymous Jason Bourne on a mission to find out his true identity in a world of spies and counter-spies. The action sequences are understated and brief, and all the more effective because of it. If the two sequels are filmed and are as good as this one then I'll be happy enough. |
 |
Catch Me If You Can 
Finally! After a long string of dissapointing, or just downright bad films Steven Spielberg nails one. You could argue it's a slight tale, but it's a tale told with wit and verve. All the performances are top drawer - Leonardo DiCaprio is ideal as the central character Frank Abignail who assumes the identity of doctors, lawyers, even an airline pilot, to get ahead and live the life he feels he is due. Tom Hanks is excellent as the FBI agent tenaciously tracking him down, and Christopher Walken is equally good as Abignail's father who seems to know that his son's sudden fortunes are all just too good to be true. |
 |
Die Another Day 
The latest Bond film and it started off so well - it could have been the best Bond film. But then Q turns up with the gadgets after about half an hour and it all goes to hell in a handbasket. Bond get's an excellent Aston Martin car which is - wait for it - invisible! Oh dear. It doesn't do him much good when he takes it to Iceland though, leaving tyre-tracks everywhere in all that snow - duh. This level of dumbness is maintained for a while then, unbelievably, topped towards the climax when it all gets super-silly. What a shame. |
 |
Gangs of New York 
What gangs? Apart from the fight at the start of the film between Daniel Day Lewis's gang and Liam Neeson's I don't remember much in the way of gang warfare. It's more like a history of how New York came to be the place it is, and while it's attention to detail is admirable and the acting is uniformly good the real reason to watch this film is for Daniel Day Lewis. His performance, as the brutal Bill the Butcher is riveting, and worth the price of admission alone. |
 |
Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets
Well, it's the new Harry Potter film, and if those two words make you salivate with anticipation then that's all you need to know. If you liked the first one then you'll like this one. If not, then you won't. Simple. |
 |
Jackass : The Movie
I'm not really a Jackass fan so I was a bit dubious about this movie, but it's hard to resist such wanton madness and frivolity. The cumulative effect of such fearless buffoonary can't fail to rub off on the viewer after a while. The sheer recklessness of the (often inspired) pranks these guys get up to boggles the mind, and quails the heart - snorting wasabi, anyone? Nice one. |
 |
The Lord of The Rings - The Two Towers
As I suspected when I heard about Peter Jackson's plans to film the Lord of The Rings as a trilogy this is the weakest of the three. It's still very good, because the book is a good read and it is again faithful to the book. There are more problems than usual however: I don't think the Ents-to-the-rescue scene at the end of the movie really works too well, Merry and Pippin are still annoying, and the battle scene that finishes the film off is way way too long - it's about an hour of screen time. Still, I look at it this way; The Lord of The Rings is a 9 Hour movie, and you'd expect any 9 Hour movie to drag in the middle. |
 |
Minority Report 
Half way through watching this film it suddenly struck me: Stephen Spielberg hasn't made a decent film since Schindler's List and that, I realised, was nearly ten years ago. This film isn't as bad as Spielberg's last one, A.I, but it's pretty bad. Once again, all the ingredients are here. It should be a good film; Spielberg directing, Tom Cruise the star, from a great Philip K. Dick story with a fascinating premise - the police force employing people with second sight to report on crimes before they've been committed - but it just doesn't work. There's no tension or atmosphere, and the whole thing loses it's way, becoming muddled and lacking any credibility long before the final scene. |
 |
One Hour Photo
Pretty standard fare made better by a very measured, controlled performance by Robin Williams as a disturbed and lonely photo booth technician who insinuates himself into the lives of a family who get their photographs developed by him. Of course things get out of hand soon enough, and the film follows standard procedure, more or less. The director, Mark Romanek has a very precise cold style, reminiscent of the late Stanley Kubrick, which suits this type of film and it's subject matter nicely. |
 |
Panic Room
David Fincher's latest film, and a bit of a disappointment when you consider his last films - The Game, Seven, and Fight Club. It's very well executed, as you'd expect from Fincher, but is let down by some glaring holes in the plot, and a very silly ending. Jodie Foster is as intense as ever, and Forest Whittaker turns in another good performance. Good enough if you don't want to think too hard. |
 |
Punch Drunk Love 
When I heard that P.T. Anderson's new film was an intimate love story with a running time of about ninety minutes I was a bit crestfallen: This was a mere morsel compared to the sumptuous three hour banquet that was Magnolia. And it starred Adam Sandler!? But I gave it a try and I'm glad I did because Punch Drunk Love is a corker of a movie. Adam Sandler is excellent as the lovelorn businessman Barry Egan. There's a sub-plot featuring another excellent performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman as a sex-chat phone scam-artist Egan has to overcome before he can carry on with his quest to win the heart of Emily Watson. A breath of fresh air of a movie. |
 |
The Road To Perdition
Good old-fashioned storytelling from Sam Mendes with good performances from Tom Hanks and Jude Law, with a delicious cameo from Paul Newman. Tom Hanks plays a goodie gangster trying to save his son from baddie gangster Jude Law after Hanks' wife is killed by Newman's baddie gangsters. Anyway, it's all a bit involved but done with some style and at a more leisurely pace than most modern films which gives the viewer a chance to get to know the characters a little more and settle in with them. Nothing much original happens but the film doesn't suffer because of it. |
 |
Secretary
Excellent little off-the-wall film starring James Spader - so you know there's probably some kinky sex somewhere along the line. Sure enough, he hires a masochistic secretary who revels in his domineering role as her boss and endeavours to cater to his every whim and desire. By turns funny, bizarre and quirkily sexy. Maggie Gyllenhaal is particularly good as the secretary, and the film has a nice ending, I thought. |
 |
Signs
Another duffer from M. Night Shayamalan. This one concerns crop circles and aliens coming to hassle Mel Gibson the priest - yes priest - for what reason I couldn't begin to imagine or even care about. I found it very difficult to last to the end of this one because I was struck by a colossal wave of apathy about ten minutes into the film which I couldn't shake. Shayamalan should take a break from himself and stop thinking he's a master of storytelling and realise he's just another hack that got lucky. |
 |
Solaris
I'm a big fan of Steven Soderbergh but this one I just couldn't get into. It's very slow and ponderous. George Clooney is fine as is Natasha McElhone but it's all a bit pretentious-seeming. The original version, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky is not the most exciting film in the world, but I would rather watch that version than this. |
 |
Spider
New Cronenberg film. I'm a big fan of David Cronenberg, which you'll see if you scroll up a bit. I didn't care for this one though. It was just too bleak and dreary and depressing for me. The acting seemed a bit odd from everyone. Ralph Fiennes is good but a bit affected, Gabriel Byrne is okay, and Miranda Richardson struggles a little with material that seems unfamiliar to her. |
 |
Spiderman
A film that purports to be about a guy who, after being bitten by a radioctive spider, assumes superhuman powers and sets about righting wrongs. We all know the Spiderman story. However, once again the filmmakers have gone down the road of trying to appeal to the widest demographic and made it a love story. Far more screen time is devoted to the developing relationship between Peter Parker and his new girlfriend than to the Spidey battling supervillains side of things, which to me makes for a very dull film. |
 |
Star Trek: Nemesis 
This is instantly forgettable, and it features one of the lamest villains ever conceived. I couldn't even remember why this young boy was up to whatever he was up to and why anyone should be afraid of him doing whatever it was he was doing while I was watching it! Paramount should just call it a day if this is the best Star Trek they can come up with. |
 |
Star Wars Episode 2 - Attack of The Clones 
These Star Wars films are not getting much better. George Lucas has made a conscious decision to try to appeal to the new generation of youngsters instead of rewarding those who have stuck with him and have now grown up. Consequently, as with today's youth, it's all style over substance and quick thrills; the scripts are getting worse with each movie because kids these days (George thinks) have no time for such things. They just want to see the handsome young boy (Christian Hayden - who incidentally is extremely irritating and can't act) get off with the gorgeous princess, and some good fighting and spaceship chases. So that's what he gave them. I'm not even interested in seeing Episode 3 now. |
 |
The 25th Hour
I would say this is Spike Lee's best film. Ed Norton is outstanding as a man about to go to prison for a long time, and wanting to spend as much quality time with his friends and loved ones in the last few days before his conviction. Philip Seymour Hoffman, as one of his best friends is brilliant as always, but this is Ed Norton's film all the way. |
| |
|
| |
Top 5 Films of The Year
1. Punch Drunk Love
2. Secretary
3. The 25th Hour
4. The Bourne Identity
5. The Road To Perdition |
