DVD Reviews3: July

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zizzou - Bill Murray, Wes Anderson, Ensemble
Comedy - A gem from Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums) about a fictional eccentric oceanographer documentary filmmaker and the many colourful charachters he is surrounded by. Fantastic! 5 stars!

Wimbledon - Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst
Romance - This film has nothing to do with tennis. It is a chick flick with little going for it. Paul Bettany is handsome? But nothing terrible against it apart from the above. 2 stars

Million Dollar Baby - Hillary Swank, Clint Eastwood
Drama - Clint Eastwood is a master filmmaker. He also composed the (primitive) score, but it suits this subtle though powerful story. Hillary Swank is deserving of Best Actress and Morgan Freeman is the rock the 2 mains play off. 4 stars

Friday Night Lights - Billy Bob Thornton
Sports Drama - A tale of under class strugle in the same vein as 8 Mile. Stirring performances in an uncommon tale of effort and achievement. A perfect complement to the professional gridiron story in Any Given Sunday. 4 stars

Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz
Drama, Romance, War- A touching story but let down by some poor performances. Christian Bale is not at his best, and Cage's accent is appaling and distracting. Cruz performs well in one of her first western films alongside an impressive austere John Hurt. Not as powerful or ultimately as satisfying as John Madden's best film Shakespeare in Love. 2.5 stars

Zatoichi - Beat/Takeshi Kitano
Samurai - Based on the japanese legend of the blind swordsman (there are legions of zatoichi films), this incarnation by Takeshi brings with it his distinct flavour of direction - quiet with bursts of sudden and extreme violence. Computerised blood and sword effects are not up to hollywood standard, and take away from the usual dark stmosphere he normally creates so well. 2.5 stars

Around The World in 80 Days - Jacky Chan
Action Comedy - A chinese french butler (Chan) accompanies Phileas Fogg around the world. Preposterous, but by the end picks up speed and becomes enjoyable. By no means a classic. 2 stars

Punch Drunk Love - Adam Sandler, Emily Watson
Drama Romance - Adam Sandler again shows what he can do when he doesn't resort to idiot screaming. A very odd romance that follows neurotic sociopath (sandler) as he embarks on the relationship with a sinister extortion subplot. Does not tie up all its loose ends, which is a style of realistic relationship tale that I am fond of. Excellent direction, esp with clever bold stage play lighting, won P.T. Anderson Best Director at Canne. 3.5 stars

The Punisher - nobody, John Travolta
Action Comicbook - This movie sucks. A nobody as the punisher, replete with crappy one liners, massive plot holes and unrealistic reactions drive the main charachters. Rebecca Romjin Stamos plays the hot neighbour well enoguh, but this movie blew. 1 star

Constantine - Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz
Action Comicbook - Significantly altered from the original comic book (Hellraser?) but in my opinion, modernisation and 'real-isation' of stolid charachters for translation to film is what has made so many of the recent plethora of comic book translations great successes'. Good performances from the mains, excellent production, and a story that stays tight and narrow without taking it self over seriously nor so light hearted that the plot becomes a farce. Oh and wings are fkin cool. I often draw angelic winged figures. 3.5 stars

Beyond Borders - Angelina Jolie, Clive Owen
Drama - I expected more from veteran director Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Mask of Zorro), but to be fair those movies do not require the poignant and precise touch that this film was ultimately going to rely on. Jolie (a UN ambassador) clearly put heart into this role, and Owen was adequate as the blunt doctor (truly Clive Owen has all the subtle graces of a sledge hammer). Showing a sometimes grisly realism of world humanitarian crises, the subject is dealt with too strightforward and fails to raise the emotional tempo of the audience for what could have been a very powerful climactic ending. An out of place score did not help matters. 2.5 stars