SEPTEMBER 2006
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
With: Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni
Collette, Alan Arkin
AUGUST 2006
Lady In The Water (2006)
With: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard,
M. Night Shyamalan, Bob Balaban
JULY 2006
Superman Returns (2006)
With: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate
Bosworth, James Marsden
JUNE 2006
Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead
Man's Chest (2006)
With: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Bill
Nighy, Keira Knightley
MAY 2006
X-Men 3: The Last Stand
(2006)
With: Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick
Stewart, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammar, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Vinnie Jones
APRIL 2006
The Squid and the Whale
(2006)
With: Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney
MARCH 2006
The Big White (2006)
With: Robin Williams, Holly Hunter,
Woody Harrelson
FEBRUARY 2006
Capote (2006)
With: Phillip Seymour Hoffmann, Catherine
Keener
JANUARY 2006
Shopgirl (2005)
With: Steve Martin, Claire Danes, Jason
Schwartzman
DECEMBER 2005
The Producers (2005)
With: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick,
Will Ferrell, Uma Thurman
NOVEMBER 2005
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(2005)
With: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson,
Rupert Grint
OCTOBER 2005
The Corpse Bride
(2005)
With the voices of:
Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Joanna Lumley, Emily Watson, Richard E. Grant
SEPTEMBER 2005
Howl's Moving Castle (2005)
With the voices of: Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall
AUGUST 2005
Crash (2005)
With: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser
JULY 2005
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
(2005)
With: Johnny Depp, Freddie
Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee
June 2005
Sin City (2005)
With: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del
Toro, Elijah Wood, Rutger Hauer, Michael Madsen
May 2005
Star Wars: Episode III-The Revenge of the Sith (2005)
With: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid
April 2005
The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005)
With: Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Bill Nighy, John Malkovitch,
Zooey Deschanel
March 2005
Melinda and Melinda (2005)
With: Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet
February 2005
A Very Long Engagement (2004)
With: Audrey Tautou
January 2005
Ray (2005)
With: Jamie Foxx
STORY:
This Oscar-winning biopic
traces the life of troubled musical genius Ray Charles. We follow him from when he first went to play piano in a club until
he got off heroin and received a public apology from the government. We also see moments from his childhood in flashbacks:
the death of his young brother, how he lost his sights etc...
ACTING:
+ Jamie Foxx: Foxx received
a Best Actor Oscar for his often uncanny performance as the late Ray Charles, and deservedly so. His portrayal is not a mere
imitation and Foxx goes deeper than that to create a not always positive representation of a man with a troubled past. It’s
pretty clear that Charles was Foxx’s hero and his portrayal is a faithful one.
Overall:
****1/2 /5
DIRECTING/WRITING:
+ Director: This film
took years and years of research and the whole thing took like 15 years to make. But it was worth it. The film looks particularly
great (the opening sequence is really cool) and the direction is smooth. As for the script, even though it does have its conventional
moments, it’s surprisingly clever and not over-admiring, which is rare with biopics.
FILM:
Jamie Foxx is excellent,
the supporting cast does a terrific job and the film is visually impressive thanks to some slick directing and sharp writing.
The songs are obviously terrific and make this long film entertaining from start to finish. I wasn’t bored one second.
The very last scenes do feel a bit tacked-on but overall it’s a fine achievement and one of the best biopics ever.
Overall:
*****/5
December 2004
Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2004)
With: Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Jude Law, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Liam Aiken and
Emily Browning
STORY:
Based on the first 3 volumes of Lemony Snicket’s dark children’s books.
A Series Of Unfortunate Events has been compared with Harry Potter but for me Lemony Snicket’s dark and unfortunate
world is much more engaging than J.K. Rowling’s “magical” world and Lemony Snicket’s messages are
thoughtful and deal with real life.
The film’s opening sequence is inspired and sets the mood for the film: it refuses
to be a happy little story with a happy little ending. Instead, this is the dark, gothic and gruesomely funny story of the
3 Baudelaire orphans (Violet, Klaus and Sunny) who lost their parents in a suspicious fire that also burnt down their home
to a crisp. They are sent to live with their distant Count Olaf: a talentless actor who lives in a gloomy and spooky house.
From the moment the 3 children meet the Count it is very clear what he’s after: the fortune they’ve inherited
from their parents. The films sees the 3 poor children being sent to live with other relatives after Olaf’s 1st plan
fails: the friendly herpetologist Uncle Monty and the frightened Aunt Josephine. But they have not seen the last of Olaf who
will do anything to get his hands on the fortune, including wearing countless disguises and even committing murder.
ACTING:
After his great against-type
performance in Eternal Sunshine, Jim Carrey is back to his old rubber-face tricks to end the year with a bang. But even though
Jim Carrey’s Count Olaf is a much more likeable character than Lemony Snicket’s creation, he still manages to
be very creepy and pure evil whilst being hilarious all the way through. Jim Carrey assumes 3 different disguises during the
film: Olaf, Stefano (Uncle Monty’s assistant) and an old sailor who manages to “charm” Aunt Josephine.
+
Meryl Streep’s Aunt Josephine is a hilarious creation. She is scared of just about everything there is, even advocados!
Streep seems like she’s just having fun with her character and the result is excellent.
+The
kids all do a surprisingly good job, especially Emily Browning and Kara Hoffman (Sunny) who are exactly like
in the book. Liam Aiken, however, doesn’t look anything like Klaus and doesn’t smile once during the whole film.
What a nerd.
DIRECTING:
Brad Silberling’s direction is impressive, stylish and Tim Burton-esque. Think
Addams Family, Edward Scissorhands and Harry Potter. The sets are huge and give the film a surreal quality, as for the costumes: they’re all spot-on.
VERDICT:
Overall:
****/5
One of the most entertaining
and stylish films of 2004 and a must-see for all with a dark side.
