Film index
Scooby-Doo (l’( ii 0. (Raia (iosnell. l7S. 2003i l-reddie l’rin/e Jr. Sarah Michelle (iellar. Matthevv Lillard 87min Sum/iv the movie starts vvell. pitching itself somevv here betvs eeii tribute and send-up of the llanna- Barbera cartoon, The casting is astute. best (if all. Mallhevv l.tllard as stoned slacker Shaggy. lzven the computer- generated Scooby himself isn't lacking in charm But .S‘i'uu/iv-Ihm sadly fails to live tip to the promise of its opening reel. Admittedly. the film's bold playpen colours are fun and there are some clever gags that vvill score vvith the shovv 's pothead follovvmg. But the iokes soon vvear (fun. ('(i(' I’urklu'uil. (i/uvemi (C- ('(I'(' Rr’It/l‘i'n Sll‘l't'l. (I/(lvg'lm. Secretary ( no 00.. Shainberg. IS. 300‘) Maggie (iyllenhaal. Kams Spader. Lesley Ann Warren. lil-lmm. What happens vvhen a sadist and a inasochist come together'.’ In this S&: M black comedy. it's the beginning of a beautiful relationship. When (iyllenhaal's secretary vsith a self— mutilation problem is employed by Spader’s stunningly uptight lavvyer. the pair embark on an S& M love try st vvhicli is mutually beneficial to both parties. as emotional vvounds are healed through the office affair. A smartly made. superbly acted comic drama. the dark undercurrents of vvhich give way to something really very svveet. The film's transgressive message says lust and love in whatever form can be beautiful thing. .s.('l('(‘!('(l I't'l('ll.\(’. Shrek H") 0.... (Andrevv Adamson. Vicky Jenson, l'S. 2()()l i Voices of Mike Myers. (‘ameron [)ia/. liddie Murphy. 00min. .S'lirek vvill have Walt Disney turning in his cryogenic free/e tank. This truly subversive animated film takes pot shots at fairytale mythology. vvhile singling out l'ncle Walt's beloved Snow White. ('imlcre/lu. I’inm'r‘lim. et al. l'nder the guise of a quest to rescue a princess from a dragon undertaken by the eponymous green ogre (vvhich kids vvill love). .S'lirek also ruthlessly pillages corporate Disney. satirisirig its theme parks and executives. And vvlio's behind all this'.’ Producer Jeffrey Kat/eriberg of Disney rival studio [)reamWorks. also formerly head of. yep. Disney. ('('I. Ifdinburglr; (Tl. (‘lwlelmnk Solarls ( l3:\) 0... (Steven Soderbergh. (KS. 300.1) (ieorge (‘looney'. Natascha Mclilhone. 09min. This truncated. but still very effective nevv version of the novel by Stanislavv l.em demonstrates the enormous versatility of Steven Soderbergh. llis screenplay compresses the first hour of 'l‘arkovsky's W72 film into ten minutes. sending psychologist Kelvin ((ieorge (‘looney in tremendous form) off to the troubled space station orbiting the planet of the title early on. Here. he is affected by a debilitating neurosis. as his vv ife Rhey'a (Natascha Mclilhonei - vvho committed suicide years before - appears. and is as real as Kelvin himself. it amounts to one of the most thought-provoking and moving films of the year. I-‘i/nihnuvc. Izililihure/i. The Son ot the Bride ( IS) 0.. (Juan Jose ('ampanella. .-\rgentina/Spain. 2003) Ricardo Darin. Hector Alterio. lidtiardo Blanco. lllmin. The economy is kaput. Workaholic Rafael Belvedere (Darin) is trying to keep the vvolves from the door of the family restaurant. .‘vleanvvhile. he finds it hard to communicate vvith anyone around him. not least his mother vv ho is suffering from Alzheimer's. When his
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father decides he vv ants to re-marry her in a church. an old friend. Juan (‘arlos. appears out of the blue and Rafael begins to feel his life is spinning out of control. (‘ampanella knovvs the ace card of this svveet little movie lies in the skill of his performers they don't disappoint. Sec revievv. Xi'lr'i'li'tl I‘i'li'uvc'.
Le Souffle (Deep Breath) ( l5; 0... (Damien ()doul. l’rance. Still] i Pierre-Lotus Bonnetblanc. l)oiiiinique ('hevalier. Masimc l)albrut. 77min. Boldly svvitchmg frorii rev cue to nightmare. ()doul's debut follovvs a turbulent day in the life of 15 year-old l)av id (Bonnetblanci vvho is staying at his uncles‘ sheep farm in the sun—blasted l.iinousin region. ()doul doesn't attempt to rationalise the behav mm of his volatile. lustful protagonist. or to engineer any conventional catharsis: instead he immerses U\ in the youngster's aniinalistic fantasies and fr'en/ied perspective. l‘illed vvith images of sacrifice. and povv erfully acted by an entirely nonprofessional cast. 14’ Sou/He ovs cs a considerable debt to Robert Bresson. yet its visceral vision of adolescent turmoil and ravv masculinity suggests a distinctive directorial talent. (il’l: (i/uveoii; I'ilmlmuve. I-jtliIi/iure/i. Space Station (30) it'i ('I‘om Myers. (‘anada/l'S. 2003) 47mm.
.-\vv esome big screen presentation, I.il.'l.\'. (iluvemi:
Spirit: Stallion ot Cimarron it‘i .0. IS. 2002) Matt Damon. James ('romvsell. Daniel Studi. H-lmin. Spirit is an animal fable in vvhicli none of the non-human characters speak. We do. hovv ever. get inside the heart and head of the mov ie's eponymous equine hero thanks to narration by Matt Damon (conveying Spirit's thoughtsi and songs by Bryan Adams (his feelingsi. .-\bov e all. Spirit. a vvild mustang living in the Old West. yearns to run free until a lasso lands him in the hands of the ['S
(Kelly .-\sbury and Lorna (‘ook.
cavalry. While some vievvcis vvill be roused by Spirit‘s questioning of the [S myth of Manifest Destiny. others vvill be stirred by the quality of the animation. vvliich seamlessly integrates traditional hand—dravvn animation vvith computer generated Images. (I‘ll/i (i/uveuiv. Sympathy tor Mr Vengeance ( 1M 0... (Park (‘han-Wook. South Korea. 3mm Illinm Wheii a deaf mute is laid off vvor'k. he struggles to find the money for his dy mg sister‘s kidney transplant. After some bad espericnces in the black medical market the siblings decide to t‘csot‘l lo the kidnap til (I clttltl to raise funds for the operation. but things do not run smoothly. l.ee Jae-sun and Ice Mu-yeong's beautifully structured script is the key to this coinplcs. ultraviolcnt vision of love loss and revenge ('lian-vvoo shifts and tvsists the action till you don't really have a clue vvliat is going on but you can't tear yourself avvay. See rev tcvv, ('(i( I (i/uveuii A" lat/in/mre/i.
Talk to Herc ISi .0... (Pedro :‘vlmodovar. Spam 2(i()2i Jav icr ('amara. Dario (irandinetti. Rosario l‘lot‘es. l.eonor Watliiig. I 12min. llciiigno ((‘ainarai and Marco ((ir'andmettii are in love vvith tvvo vvomen both of vvhoin are hospitalised in comatose states. lleiiigiio became a nurse so that he could care full time for his beloved once aspiring ballerina .-\|icia (Watlitigi. In the hospital room nest door Marco visits Lydia (l‘lor'esi. a female bullfighter vv ho vv as butchered in the ring. (hit of these tragic circumstances a friendship forms betvv een the tvvo men. Iii/A In Her is mature .-\lmod('ivar; Spain's most famous filmmaker on top form. describing complcs characters and complicated emotional states iii espert storytelling fashion. l‘rom the gorgeous photography. design and music to the script and remarkable performances. Iii/A In Her is a flavv less film and a treat for cinema lovers. (ium'u. lidmlmreli.
‘7’»- .'.
Food, faith and fragility: Son of the Bride
To Kill a King i l3.-\i .0 (Mike Barker. l'ls'. ZlKHi Rupert laverett. l)ougray Scott. ‘l'iin Roth. ()Iivia Williams. Min tbc. Set in lb-tS. this historical buddy movie focuses on the increasingly strained friendship betvveen the dashing commander of the .\'evv Model Army l.ord l'airfas (Scotti .itid his puritanical deputy and leader of Parliament ()livei (‘r'omvvell (Rothi. vv ho plans to execute King ('hailes (laveretti Aiming for a political thriller on the lines of Ii/rxulurrli. Barker canters through this turbulent period of British history. yet the film's blend of the personal and the political rarely compels. Sch-i In] I'¢'/¢‘(l\(’ T-Flex 3D (l'i (l'S. Itifi’si 47mm IMAX presentation /.1le.\’. (iluveoii. The Truth About Charlie ( (2m
0 (Jonathan l)emme. l'S. Zilllil Marky Mark. 'l'handie Nevston Itislmm. Who vvould you cast as a latter-day (‘ary (ir'ant ’ (ieorge ('looncy " ('ertamly Pierce Brosnan ’ At a pinch Mark Walilber‘g ’ You mtist be ioking Well. Jonathan l)emme is the humorist vv ho has lined up one-time rapper Marky Mark opposite 'l'handie Nevvton in a remake of Stanley l)onen's classic l‘Ni‘ romantic thriller ('liunu/c. Sela In! I‘('/('(l\('
25th Hour ( 15) 0... (Spike Lee. [8. Ziliiii ltd Norton. Rosario Davy sort. l’hillip Seymour Hoffman li5min Reckoned to be l.ee's requiem for Nevv York. 351/1 Hour is the bleakest yarn he's spun for a vvhile. but is as tnuch about acknovvledging the preciousness of life as the mourning of loss_ We spend 2-1 hours vvith Montgomery Brogan. a heroin dealer. expertly underplayed by Norton. coming to terms vvith leaving the follovving day to start a seven-year prison sentence. Lee has never shied avvay from vseighty subiect matter. so it seems appropriate that he should be among the first to present Nevs York in an patently post-WI 1 environment. (.'(i(' Rl’lljl'l'if' Street. (i/uvemv; ('(i(', [film/Hugh.