revolutionary struggle. The strength of the source material ensures that Interest is maintained thr0ughout. even during the poorly executed action sequences. (Kaleem Aftab)
I Selected release from Fri 16 Jun.
HORROR THE OMEN (15) 109min coo
This robust remake of the enjoyable 1976 theological thriller updates the fire and brimstone Biblical prophecy hokum with references to contemporary natural and man-made disasters. including the Asian tsunami and 9/1 1. What these terrible events herald is nothing less than the rebirth of the devil on earth and. of course. the apocalypse. This time around. Liev Schreiber and Julia Styles take the places of Gregory Peck and Lee
Remick as the US ambassador to London and his wife. who gradually realise that their son Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) is the devil incarnate. Pete Postlethwaite as whistle-blowing fallen priest and David Thewlis as a conspiracy theorist paparazzo are among the victims of those gruesome 'accidental deaths' that made the original film such a Grand Guignol delight. while a canny piece of casting plays Mia Farrow against her Rosemary '3 Baby innocent.
Director John Moore and writer David Seltzer (also of the original) have finished the film for release on 6.6.06 (the sign of the devil). Nevertheless. timing is going to be tight if they want to follow The Omen trilogy (which culminated with Sam Neill's devil becoming the president of America) and complete two sequels before the end of Bush's reign of terror. (Miles Fielder)
I Out now on general release.
SATIRE/COMEDY THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (15) 92min coco
Based on a novel by Christopher Buckley. 777ank You for Smoking takes pot shots at spin-doctors. lobbyists and politicians with hilarious results. Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is a spokesperson for the Academy of Tobacco Studies. His job is to put a positive spin on negative tobacco stories. He loves his work and swaps tips and anecdotes at weekly breakfasts with other members of the MOD Squad: alcohol lobbyist Polly Bailly (Maria Bello) and firearms spokesman Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner). MOD stands for 'Merchants of Death' and Naylor's badge of honour is that tobacco kills
more people than alcohol and firearms combined.
Eckhart's career highlight was playing another amoral character in Neil Labute's In the Company of Men and here he produces a tour de force performance with a beaming smile and biting tongue. Naylor is more likeable than Company of Men's Chad. and it's to the credit of first time director Jason Reitman that this is achieved without Naylor having to compromise on his principles. Even when a cute investigative journalist (Katy Holmes) exposes him as a lying scoundrel. Naylor first instinct is to think of the positive angle. Naylor's primary foe is
Senator Finistirre (William H Macy) who
wants a skull and crossbones placed on every cigarette packet. The appearance of Robert Duvall as a legendary tobacco boss reinforces the point that this movie is supposed to be to lobbyists what Sidney Lumet's Network was to TV executives. It's a tall order. but Reitman almost pulls off. (Kaleem Aftab)
I General release from Fri 7 6 Jun. See interview. page 43.
NOIR QUO VADls, BABY? (15) 102min co
Coming after his terrific 2002 kidnap drama I'm Not Scared. Italian filmmaker Gabriele Salvatores' noirish whodunit is a real disappointment. Shot largely at night in the backstreets of Bologna. Salvatores is evidently more preoccupied with style than substance. Not only at pains to recreate the doom and gloom atmosphere of film noir. he pays somewhat pointless homage to celluloid classics including Last Tango in Paris and La Dolce Vita. Meanwhile. the initially intriguing plot of Ouo Vadis, Baby? (a title lifted from Bertolucci's film) is left meandering along. which is odd given Salavatores says he set out to make a puzzle movie for the audience to solve. By the time you've worked out who did what to whom. you won't have enough of a vested interest in stOry or character to care. For those still reading. however. the victim is an
aSpiring actress named Ada who committed suiCide 16 years ago — or did she? When a box of Videotapes containing hours of Ada's home mowes arrives mysteriously on the dOOrstep of the dead woman's sister. Giorgia (who happens to be a private detective) begins to suspect foul play. Italian rock chick Angela Baraladi's morose »- though apparently much- admired — performance as the sloverily detective resulted in a spin-off TV series. Why? (Miles Fielder) I GFT. Glasgow from Fri 76 Jun, F/Irnhouse. Edinburgh from Fri 5) Jun.
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RV (PG) 98min .0 The title stands for “Recreational Vehicle" and that's exactly what Bob Munro (Robin Williams) rents to take his dysfunctional family on a road trip to the Colorado Rockies. Bob has made prOViSions but hasn't counted on the demented behaviour of other campers. Williams' return to the family comedy is a likeable if fairly unsurprising affair. pitched somewhere between Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and National Lampoon '3 Vacation. Directed by the once much touted Barry Sonenteld (Get Shorty. Men in Black). General release from Fri 9 Jun.
Imagine Me and You (12A) 94min 0. Glutinously accessible Sapphic romantic comedy set in London. Imagine Kissrng Jessica Stein made by the Four Weddings and a Funeral learn. Dreadful. General release from Fri 76 Jun.
Stay Alive (15) 86min co Promising-sounding but ultimately totally underwhelming ‘teens in trouble' horror. This pop culture- laden frightfest takes the legend of Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary and relocates it to pre- Katrina New Orleans. The paCing and a lot of the acting from the young cast (including cinematic valium Frankie Muniz) is way off. General release from Fri 76 Jun. An Unfinished Life (12A) 107min o Lasse What's Eating Gilbert Grape HallstrOm produces another tediously whimsical character drama. set against the rugged ranchlands of Wyoming. Robert Redford plays a father who blames Jennifer Lopez for his son's death. Morgan Freeman narrates while Josh Lucas and Damien Lewis fight over Lopez. Dull. General release from Fri 76 Jun. See profile in index. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (12A) 99min
0. This wondroust dumb but occasionally enjoyable fast cars franchise takes the action to Japan in its third incarnation. Street racer Shaun Boswell (Lucas Black) is sent to the land of the rising sun to av0id prosecution in the US and all hell breaks loose. You know what to expect. General release from Fri 76 Jan.
Name Damian LeWis
Born 11 February 1971 Background Londoner LeWis graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993. He quickly started making waves at the Royal Shakespeare Company and on the TV shows Warriors and Hearts and Bones. His big break came when he landed a role playing Yank Major Richard D Winters in Spielberg's Band of Brothers. Offers from Hollywood soon came flooding in. and in 2003 Lewis appeared in Dreamcatcher alongside Morgan Freeman. He then starred in Lodge Kerrigan's excellent Keane. due out later this year.
What’s he up to now? Beating-up Jennifer Lopez! Alright. he only does this in Lasse Hallstr'Om's An Unfinished Life. He plays Gary. J-Lo‘s sinister ex- boyfriend. who refuses to accept that she has left him for good. He follows her to town where she has sought refuge with Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman. Off-screen, Lewis is expecting his first child with his actress partner Helen McCrory.
What he says about hogging the camera
‘I was in An Unfinished Life much more than I thought I would be. I thought that I would be at the beginning and the end. and forgot that they would trail me through the film. I want to be on the screen in front of the camera and not in the background. This could be seen as vanity. but on the other hand it might just be insecurity. Actors are either vain or insecure. aren't they?‘ Interesting Fact He turned down a role in Ridley Scott’s dire Black Hawk Down because he'd just spent eight months acting in Band of Brothers and didn't want to spend more time playing a soldier at war. Instead he did The Forsyte Saga for TV. Top man.
I An Unfinished Life is on selected release from Fri 16 June. See Also Released.
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8—22 Jun 200‘) THE LIST 45