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Certificate: 
Director: Ki-duk Kim
Release Date: 14 May 2004
Main Cast:
Yeong-su Oh … Old Monk (as Young-soo Oh)
Ki-duk Kim … Adult Monk
Jae-kyeong Seo … Boy Monk
Yeo-jin Ha … The Girl
SSAW&S is a pure joy to watch. It’s perfect in its simplicity and is simply perfect! It’s a film of understated beauty both in the visuals and the story, and it’s very hard to put into words just how good it is. It tells the story of a monk from childhood to adulthood and is all about the cycles of life and the journeys we take through it.
It’s visually stunning and so calm and peaceful that it creates a kind of serenity in the viewer (rather like the surface of the lake). There is hardly any dialogue and this just adds to the film’s brilliance.
I can’t even come close to doing justice to the film in this review. It really is an experience and should not be missed.
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Director: James Mangold
Release Date: 3 February 2006
Tagline: Love is a burning thing.
Main Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix … John R. Cash
Reese Witherspoon … June Carter
Ginnifer Goodwin … Vivian Cash
I’m going to start by saying that I’m not a Johnny Cash fan. Sure, I can listen to his music and appreciate his very unique style and even hum along sometimes. However, I’d heard a lot of rave reviews about Walk the Line and as I am a fan of both Phoenix and Witherspoon I thought that was three very good reasons to watch it. And I’m sure glad I did!
The acting and vocals (both sang and did not lip-sync) are astounding, as is the chemistry between the two. Even if you are unfamiliar with the life of Johnny Cash, it’s still a great love story (best of all though, it’s not remotely schmaltzy – I don’t think Cash was capable of it!)
It really felt like you were watching Cash himself – Phoenix is that good. At the time of writing, he has declared that he is retiring from acting. I sincerely hope he reconsiders as it will be our loss.
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Director: Paul Haggis
Release Date: 12 August 2005
Tagline: You think you know who you are. You have no idea.
Main Cast:
Sandra Bullock … Jean Cabot
Don Cheadle … Detective Graham Waters
Matt Dillon … Officer John Ryan
The first thing that struck me about Crash (no pun intended!) was how strikingly similar it is to Magnolia. If you loved that then you’ll love this. Even if you didn’t care much for Magnolia then don’t be put off by it.
Crash follows a series of individuals who are seemingly unconnected. However, as the film goes on, their lives begin to become intertwined. The film is basically about how racism, no matter how overt or subtle it may be, affects not only society as a whole, but us as individuals too. It often makes for uncomfortable viewing, not only for the more reprehensible acts of racism, but also because it makes us think about and question our own prejudices whether they be racially motivated or otherwise.
Crash has a fantastic ensemble cast (just three are listed above) and each and every one is brilliant in their role. A worthy Oscar winning film, and should be regarded as a must see.
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Director: Billy Ray
Release Date: 14 May 2004
Tagline: Read between the lies.
Main Cast:
Hayden Christensen … Stephen Glass
Peter Saarsgaard … Charles ‘Chuck’ Lane
Chloë Sevigny … Caitlin Avey
Shattered Glass is the true story of Stephen Glass – a journalist who fell from grace when it was found he had fabricated over half of his articles. Hayden Christensen is brilliant as Glass. All those of you out there who think he can’t act should watch this and maybe have a little rethink.
Despite the fact that it doesn’t sound all that interesting (I’d never even heard of Stephen Glass before) it’s one of those films that draws you in and keeps your attention from start to finish.
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Director: John Hillcoat
Release Date: 10 March 2006
Tagline: This land will be civilized.
Main Cast:
Guy Pearce … Charles Burns
Ray Winstone … Captain Stanley
Richard Wilson … Mike Burns
I’m finding it hard to be articulate about The Proposition. It’s such a powerful and intense film on so many levels that it’s a tough one to do justice to. It’s brutal, gritty, bloody and beautifully acted.
What initially attracted me to this film was Guy Pearce. He’s one of my favourite actors and is on top form here. I’m not a fan of Ray Winstone, and I think that Captain Stanley could have been better played by a different actor. Having said that, he does a decent enough job and doesn’t really detract from the film.
The costumes, hair and make up are worth mentioning. The clothes look like the most grungy, sweaty and stinking clothes I’ve ever seen in a film and Pearce looks so revolting that it made my skin itch just to look at him! The filth of the fly ridden sweatbox of the Australian outback is heightened even further by the finely dressed wife of Captain Stanley. She’s like an oasis of cleanliness in a desert of grime.
The Proposition is not for the faint-hearted. Its stark brutality is not easy to watch but it’s not violence for violence’s sake.
Civilize the land? The authorities are as brutal as the outlaws.
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Director: Robert Altman
Release Date: 5 January 2007
Tagline: Radio like you’ve never seen it before.
Main Cast: (many more than mentioned below)
Meryl Streep … Yolanda Johnson
Kevin Kline … Guy Noir
Ah… If only they were all more like this. Sadly though, this kind of film just doesn’t get made all that often because the majority of cinema goers are happy to watch dross. APHC is movie making at its best. The ensemble cast are perfect. There are clearly no egos vying for the most lines, the scene stealing moments etc. Robert Altman’s brilliant direction combined with the brilliant acting makes it all look so effortless.
I’m not going to bother to give you a synopsis. If you love films like I do then all you need to know is that it’s fantastic and that you won’t be disappointed.
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Director: Mike Nichols
Release Date: 13 April 1984
Tagline: On November 13, 1974, Karen Silkwood, an employee of a nuclear facility, left to meet with a reporter from the New York Times. She never got there.
Main Cast:
Meryl Streep … Karen Silkwood
Kurt Russell … Drew Stephens
Cher … Dolly Pelliker
Silkwood is based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee nuclear power plant in Oklahoma, USA who was contaminated with plutonium and died in a car crash in mysterious circumstances.
The acting is very good all round and Meryl Streep is, as usual, brilliant. The film concentrates on just telling the story. It never degenerates into preachy moralising, and does not attempt to provide any answers.
Wikipedia has some very good information on Karen Silkwood, and can be found here:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood
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Director: Patty Jenkins
Release Date: 2 April 2004
Tagline: Based on a true story.
Main Cast:
Charlize Theron … Aileen Wuornos
Christina Ricci … Selby Wall
Charlize Theron deservedly won the Best Actress Oscar in 2004 for her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos – America’s first female serial killer. She’s absolutely superb and is so like Aileen that it’s eerie.
I’m going to be fairly controversial here, but I have a large degree of sympathy for serial killers. All are born from a combination of events and life experiences that, thankfully, the vast majority of us will never know. Almost all have had atrocious childhoods and have been failed by either the adults in their lives or by the authorities. And in many cases, both. Aileen Wuornos falls into this criteria.
The film is not your standard Hollywood overblown affair. It’s a hard film to watch, and I defy anyone to not feel even a shred of sympathy for her. Of course, I’m not condoning serial killing, but rather than judge these people out of hand and dismiss them as monsters is unduly harsh.
Do I think Aileen was a monster? No. I think that she’d gone over the edge after a lifetime of abuse and degradation. I also think that had she not been assaulted, raped and faced certain death she never would have killed anyone in the first place. It is widely accepted that the first kill was done in self defence. Yes, she then *chose* to go on a killing spree, but how many of us know what our own breaking point is – much less anyone else’s?
Monster does not demonise her. That’s what I love about this film.
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Director: Roland Emmerich
Release Date: 27 May 2004
Tagline: This year, a sweater won’t do.
Main Cast:
Dennis Quaid … Jack Hall
Jake Gyllenhaal … Sam Hall
Emmy Rossum … Laura Chapman
Roland Emmerich is responsible for some of the worst movies ever made yet somehow they seem to make money. If you ever needed proof that the average movie goer is happy to watch poorly scripted and utterly ridiculous tosh, then look at Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and, one suspects, 10,000 B.C. (at the time of writing, the latter has only just been released).
Out of the three films mentioned above, this one is the best. Not that it makes it good, mind you. It’s just not as dreadful as the others.
I know that this is a ‘disaster’ film, but the disaster should be the plot – not the film itself! Seriously though, I know that although you often have to suspend belief for such films, there is proof that they can be made with believable stories (The Towering Inferno is perhaps the best example).
The story is utterly ridiculous. Perhaps my favourite moment is where our heroes go into the ship to find medicine for the potentially fatally ill Laura. As if they weren’t in enough peril (in the middle of a climate catastrophe with a dying friend), there are some wolves (at least they look like wolves) that follow them into the ship and attack them.
Having said all that, as a ‘popcorn’ film, TDAT works reasonably well. However, it totally lacks any sense of danger and tension which are crucial elements of a good disaster film. Somehow you just know that all the main characters will live, and everything will be all right in the end. As is customary with Emmerich’s films it is riddled with clichés and is a fine example of a corny movie.
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Director: Danny Boyle
Release Date: 5 April 2007
Tagline: Dark days are coming.
Main Cast:
Cliff Curtis … Searle
Cillian Murphy … Capa
Michelle Yeoh … Corazon
I missed this film when it was on at the cinema and wish I hadn’t. Sunshine is perfect for the big screen. Most films set in space are, but this film has a certain feel to it that makes it especially true. There’s a real sense of isolation and vast expanse that is reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The plot is very simple and feels, for the most part, very plausible. I didn’t find myself having to suspend belief to get anything out of it. The acting is very good, and I liked the characters. Although there are traces of the usual stereotypes, it’s not overbearing and cheesy like so many others before it.
The pace of the film worked well. It’s not a typical space action adventure, so unless you like a slow and steady build up, then you may get a little bored. Again, it’s not unlike 2001 in that respect (although there are few films as painfully slow as that!).
It’s not faultless though. There is an inexplicable horror type twist that is totally out of place. There was a perfectly reasonable option open, but the writer/director chose to go down the crazy route. It ends up in a confusing mass of blurred shots and some rather incomprehensible cuts. The last few minutes are ruined as it is a struggle to understand what is going on. Which is a real shame.
I liked it though, and it’s well worth a look.
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