DVD Reviews 11: January

Zoolander - Ben Stiller [+D], Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell
Comedy - Roxor the boxor. Funny ass satire. Countless cameos and Magnum ftw.
4 stars


Luther - Joseph Fiennes, Alfred Molina
Religious BioPic - Pretty average. Loosely scripted narrative and feeble direction does not make for compelling viewing. Fiennes is earnest but alone in his performance. Molina is satisfyingly zealous but like most charachters in the script, is underdeveloped and underutilised. 2.5 stars


Lolita - Stanley Kubrik [D], James Mason, Peter Sellers
Drama - Based on the book, focuses on obsessive love, not paedophilic love as most would suspect without viewing the film. Peter Sellers appears as the principle antagoniser of the jealous lover who is the films main subject, Mason. 3 stars


Mr and Mrs Smith - Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Doug Liman [D]
Action, Comedy - Director Liman continues to build on his impressive body of work Go and The Bourne Identity. "True Lies" on steroids and in Gucci glasses! Brilliant pacing, clean and varied camera work, fantastic production values and wardrobe, wardrobe, wardrobe! Pitt and Jolie are gorgeous and fill their roles easily and are obviously having fun. Some set design is a little over the top (ultra futuristic) and some might not like the constant barrage of tongue in cheek 'husband vs wife' jokes and allusions (I loved em!). It's a pity the whole Jolie/Pitt secret romance tabloid hype obscured a very fun movie. 3.5 Stars


Land of the Dead - Simon Baker, George A. Romero [D]
Horror - Titled George A. Romero's Land of the Dead... but who cares? Pretty awful. Based on awful script of the same culprit. Not scary, zombies that are stupid as door knobs taking over the world? I don't think so. Aussie Baker heads this talented but distinctly B grade cast including John Leguizamo and long forgotten Dennis Hopper as 'generic evil rich man'. 2 stars


Heat - Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Michael Mann [D]
Crime, Action, Drama - A fantastic film by a wonderful movie maker. A well written, superbly acted and directed heist film set in Mann's hometown Los Angeles (a set he returns to for equally gripping Collateral). All the actors are terrific and well cast including the supporting cast including Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, and a very young Natalie Portman. 4 Stars


The Nightmare Before Christmas - Tim Burton [W], Henry Selick [D]
Claymation, Family - A brilliantly imaginative modern fable from the mind of Tim Burton. Wonderful songs by Danny Elfman, and directed well by Selick with just the right combination of darkness in this creepy childrens romp (Selick went on to direct the god awful MonkeyBone, but I might give James and the Giant Peach a try anyway). 3.5 stars


Angela's Ashes - Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Alan Parker [D]
Drama - Based on the autobiography of Frank McCourt, traces his impoverished childhood in Ireland during the depression era. Wonderful performances from the children who play Frank in particular. Parker has an impressive body of work I will try to get through, his only movie since Angela's is The Life of David Gale. 3.5 Stars


Enduring Love - Daniel Craig, Rhys Ifans, Roger Michell [D]
Thirller - A creepy homosexual stalker becomes obsessed with a man who he meets in a chance freak accident that results in the death of man. A side narrative of the nature of love threads through film as the anxiety driven script progresses. Ifans is fkin creepy! 3 stars


The Skeleton Key - Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Iain Softley [D]
Horror, Thriller - Hudson and Sarsgaard are joined by veterens Gena Rowlands and John Hurt in a horror about Southern American Bayou voodoo magic. John Hurt has literally 1 line (of 'speach') in the whole film! Decent direction. 3 stars.


The Road to El Dorado - Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh
Childrens, Animation - The Lion King duo of Elton John and Tim Rice fail to recreate a memoral soundtrack in the mold of the former. In fact the songs sucked. However the tightly scripted dialogue, expertly delivered by Kline and Branagh was wonderfully funny and charismatic. With Branagh playing the live wire, and Kline the stickler in a cute and successful role reversal. Excellent animation too. 3 stars.


The Jungle Book - Disney
Disney - Old school disney, with the classic songs The Bear Neccessities and I Wanna Be Like You. The stuff that built Disney into the global brand it is today. Interesting to note that the primary animation has barely increased except for techincal quality, but back then the stories were more faithful to their original material (despite criticism then and now) and not everyone needed an American accent! 3 stars.


The Tiggr Movie - Disney
Disney - New school disney. Retains the faux handrawn, 'sketchy' animation of the tv series and water colour backgrounds. Loved the Tiggr song at the beginning, but the rest was pretty much 'Christmas Special' quality with a pretty generic storyline. 2.5 stars.



Beauty and the Beast Special Extended Edition - Disney
Disney - More Disney, and this is a classic if you haven't seen it. Wonderful songs, wonderful story, entertaining charachters and gorgeous animation. Features an additional song. Not sure if it was actually previously planned and then re-inserted or made specially for the DVD. Slightly changes the pacing and adds more focus to the plight of the servants who are suffering alongside the master in their transformed forms. 3.5 Stars


The End of the Affair - Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Neil Jordan [D]
Drama - Based on the book of the same name by Graham Greene, is a story of obsessive love intertwined with religious devotion. Very good, intense performances in a well produced and directed dramatic film. Pleasantly not what I expected, from the director of Interview with the Vampire. 3.5 stars