Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 24th, 2007
Children are the future. They're why we strive to make the world a better place, or at least to maintain the world we've got. But what happens when there are no more children, when there is no future?
That's the context for Children of Men, the latest film from director phenom Alfonso Cuarén (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Based on the novel by P.D. James, Children of Men is set in 2027, our near future. There are no flying cars, or space-suit clothes. In fact, the world appears pretty rundown, and the reason for its shabby state is the most striking difference between our present and the film's - humankind is infertile.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 24th, 2007
He's one of the most compelling villains of modern fiction. Disturbing, disgusting and absolutely captivating at the same time, Hannibal Lecter can really get inside your head.
You may not have read the novels by Thomas Harris, or even seen all of the films, but I'm willing to bet you're familiar with The Silence of the Lambs. One of the greatest thrillers in film history, the film in which Sir Anthony Hopkins became Dr. Lecter is the cornerstone of this three-movie set.
Posted in: Brain Blasters, News and Opinions by David Annandale on March 23rd, 2007
A tale of three films. One is original. One is its remake. One is a cash-in. And the latter is the one that became a classic.
In 1975, a big-budget SF effort by Norman Jewison hit the theatres with much publicity. This was Rollerball. In a future world with no wars, and everything is controlled by corporations, human aggression is channeled through the titular, extremely violent game. The game has been designed to be such that becoming good at it is impossible, and thus there are no heroes, and the f...tility of human endeavour is underlined. But then James Caan, as Jonathan E., becomes that impossible thing: a champion, and thus a hero. He refuses to retire, and so the powers that be keep changing the rules, making the game more and more lethal, in an effort to bring him down.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 23rd, 2007
By the time of the fifth James Bond film, producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli decided to shake things up a bit creatively. Star Sean Connery was probably getting a little antsy inhabiting the suits and drinking the martinis and feared getting pigeonholed (sorry Sean) and announced he was stepping away from the role. However, he still had one more in him, and with You Only Live Twice there was a definite change in style. It may have been based on Ian Fleming's novel, but it was adapted for the screen by Roald Dahl, of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame. Lewis Gilbert began the first of his three Bond adventures as director of the Bond films, and in a surprise, Freddie Young took the cinematographer reins, quite a change of pace for the collaborator of such David Lean classics as Lawrence of Arabia.
Moreover, I think You Only Live Twice is probably one o the first Bond films I can recall seeing, growing up back in the day. It's probably because the pre-opening sequence where the spacewalking astronaut gets swallowed by the satellite always stuck with me, who knew? However, the bigger surprise should probably be that there was a pretty good story along with that stunt. In this installment of the film (out of order from the original intent of the producers, who wanted to shoot On Her Majesty's Secret Service), James goes to Japan to continue to thwart the attempts of SPECTRE and Blofeld (Donald Pleasance, Halloween). And because James is in Japan and is as obvious as any tall Englishman can be in Japan, there are some subtle things to make him blend more with the people and the culture.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 22nd, 2007
Zac is the fourth of five sons in a Montreal family, growing up in the 60s and 70s. He’s sensitive, and rather more in touch with his feminine qualities than his father (very macho, though a huge fan of Patsy Cline) would like. The film then tracks Zac’s struggle to accept the direction his sexuality takes, to accept himself, and to once again find his father’s acceptance.
Lord knows that rock music is more than the soundtrack of our teenage years; it’s the narration. And so it is here for Zac, with the Rolling Stones (“Sympathy for the Devil”), David Bowie (“Space Oddity”) and Pink Floyd (“Shine On You Crazy Diamond”) taking pride of place, setting up a dialogue with Zac’s father’s own life soundtrack (Patsy Cline and Charles Aznavour). By turns moving and funny, but always ringing true, this is a quietly remarkable film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 22nd, 2007
The Last King of Scotland generated quite a bit of buzz at this year�s Oscars, most notably the performance by Forest Whitaker. Based upon the book of the same name, which was in turn based upon the Ugandan dictator between 1970 and 1979; Idi Amin. Although the movie involves a completely fictional protagonist it apparently shadows the life of Idi Amin quite well, which offers a nice mix of fiction and reality.
Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) recently graduated from medical school and decides to lead his expertise to a small countryside hospital in Uganda. Just upon arriving, a new dictator has stepped into office by force, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) who is greatly admired by the people. One day while in the area, Amin is involved in a small car accident and Garrigan begins treating him. A nearby cow injured from the accident is suffering and his noises begin distracting Garrigan who very boldly grabs Amin�s pistol and kills the cow. Amin appears to be offended, but when he hears that Garrigan is from Scotland, a country he respects and Amin begins to admire Garrigan. Initially Amin seems like a great guy out to improve his country; Garrigan even becomes his personal physician and his most trusted advisor. But as the story proceeds we learn more and more of Amin�s corruption and brutal ways, causing alarm for even the always-loyal Garrigan.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 22nd, 2007
Opening
A single console rarely gets five different releases in its library. The Playstation 2 has been fortunate (or not so fortunate according to Jack Thompson) to get five Grand Theft Autos. III, Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City Stories and now Vice City Stories have provided essentially the same game engine with new features and missions along the way. The Stories line was games that started on the PSP and then ported over. Liberty City Stories was a good port and a fun game to play. However,...it came with its faults; mainly in the graphics and gameplay that can plague a game that is coming from a slightly inferior system. Would Vice City Stories come with those faults or some how work itself out?
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 21st, 2007
Take Two for Sale?, Cooking Your Mama and An Extremely Long Name - Welcome to the column that brings you in the F & M in family but in reverse known as Dare to Play the Game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 21st, 2007
Eragon is based upon the best selling book, which was written by then nineteen-year-old Christopher Paolini. This film was met with much hype, but initially to me seemed to be another generic Lord of the Rings type rip-off, with the addition of a dragon. Not usually my type of movie, but The Lord of the Rings trilogy did more that just amaze me maybe Eragon has a trick or two up its sleeve.
Right from the beginning Eragon starts off shaky, a storyline that seems too have been done a hundred times before; a mesh of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. Eragon is a seventeen-year-old farm boy living in the village of Carvahall in the fictional world of Alagaesia. One night, while out hunting, he stumbles upon a dragon�s egg. At first unsure of what�s really going on, Eragon becomes enlightened that he is the chosen one to save his kingdom. It turns out that before the dark ages of Alagaesia�s dark ruler the land was ruled by Dragon Riders, who are just as they�re called, people who ride dragons. The evil king Galbatroix (John Malkovich) sends his evil minion and sorcerer Durza (Robert Carlyle) to kill Eragon and his dragon as they pose a threat to his dark rule of the kingdom. While trying to unite with the remaining rebels, Eragon is trained by Brom (Jeremy Irons) in the arts of magic, combat, and dragon riding.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 20th, 2007
Ben Affleck is a good actor. So why does he make so many bad choices? I can understand how mistakes like Pearl Harbor could happen on the front end, but how do you explain the fact that he did wonderful work in Hollywoodland and he shows up in a low-budget film like this one all in the same year? He was wonderful in Good Will Hunting and ate up every scene he was in in Boiler Room. Then he did Gigli. This guy is all over the place.
What's frustrating is that he's pretty good...even here, in a film that is overwhelmingly bland. Our man plays a talent agent who is having a crisis of personality. He has lost his confidence, his marriage is falling apart, and there's some unfortunate business with a personal journal. In fact, it's the journal that is the crux of the film. Journal, journal, journal. Practically the entire film is told in voice over. The only thing that I can imagine that is more bland than reading the journal of a no-talent Hollywood agent is hearing the guy read it to you himself.
On The Web
Sponsors
