The following list of films were all seen at the cinema during 1999.
Star Trek - Insurrection cert.PG (7/10)
As a bit of a fan of Star Trek in general, I was actually quite disappointed with this film. To my mind it was just a longer version of the episode Who Watches the Watchers from early in the third season of Star Trek TNG, though with a number of extra elements added for good measure, the main one being that the planet seems to have some sort of natural immortality field about it. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, who also plays Commander Riker, this was a light hearted and humorous film, though I was disappointed that Brent Spiner as the android Data was the only one apart from Patrick Stewart himself to get much screen time. All the other characters seemed to have been relegated to more junior roles. Picard got the captains ubiquitous love interest, played by Donna Murphy, and Riker and Troi's ex-romance appears to have been rekindled. A number of plot oversights though. If Geordi's eyes are going to be regenerated by the planets immortality field, why wasn't Picards artificial heart affected? If you're a real die hard Trek fan, this one will probably disappoint you, but most of the rest of us will enjoy it.
Enemy Of The State cert.15 (6½/10)
An action adventure film starring Will Smith in a serious role for once, and Gene Hackman. Smith is a labour lawyer, who accidentally and unknowingly ends up with a tape showing the death of a senior politician, believed by all to have been an accident, but known to a few to have in fact been murder. He is then chased around the city, hounded out of his job, and almost out of his marriage by some senior NSA bad guys with the intention of removing his credibility in case he manages to release the tape before he can be caught and stopped. Pretty standard fare up to this point, but enter Gene Hackman as an ex NSA employee who knows how to play the NSA at its own game, and soon there's some real fireworks going off. Entertaining and very watchable, but essentially silly, and in some ways reminiscent of Absolute Power and Shadow Conspiracy.
The Mask Of Zorro cert. 15 (8/10)
An entertaining swash buckler set in late 19th century California when it was still part of Mexico. Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas both play Zorro, but for different generations twenty years apart. When a young Alejandro saves the first Zorro, twenty years later, and recently escaped from prison, Zorro himself helps and trains a grown up Alejandro to become the new Zorro. When I started to watch the film, I was convinced that there was going to be a 'Twenty years previously' or something like that, but in fact it's the other way around, and the film skips twenty years. Catherine Zeta Jones plays the daughter stolen from the elder Zorro when she was a few months old, and brought up believing someone else to be her father. Very watchable, very enjoyable, if a little silly in places, and actually quite good. As a rattling good swashbuckling yarn, I recommend this one.
Rush Hour cert.15 (8/10)
An excellent and very funny film. With Jackie Chan as a Hong Kong detective in America to help his old friend Han, Tzi Ma, who has had his daughter kidnapped. Motormouth Chris Tucker is the american detective with whom he is partnered. The only way to treat this film is as an action/comedy film, it's just not sensible enough for a serious film. Both Chan and Tucker (last seen, by me at least, in The fifth Element where his character was also very much a motormouth) worked very well together and the on screen chemistry was just right. With Veteran British actor Tom Wilkinson as the ex Hong Kong Police chief. Strongly recommended.
The Seige cert.15 (8/10)
A clever combination of action adventure with political thriller overtones. New York city is rocked by a number of terrorist explosions, and it is the job of the FBI led by Denzel Washington to find out who and why. Annette Benning plays a CIA agent snooping around, who initially hinders then later helps the FBI with their task. When the FBI headquarters themselves are destroyed by the terrorists, the senior politicians want to bring in the army. Although the army general, Bruce Willis, appears to side with the FBI in opposing this idea, all too soon the army is there, and then there is a three sided conflict between the FBI, the army and the terrorists. Having the army on the streets of a city that is not used to martial law quickly makes the army the enemy of everyone, including the innocent citizens. Politicians ought to take note, but of course they won't.
Little Voice cert.12 (8½/10)
Jane Horrocks is Little Voice, or LV, the little voice of the title, so called because she is softly spoken
. Mother, Brenda Blethyn, talks enough for both of them, and doesn't notice that her daughter actually has an extremely clever singing voice. When she brings home local agent Ray Say (Michael Caine), he hears her singing, and promptly tries to persuade her that she has a unique talent, and should go on the stage. Initially reluctant, she is finally persuaded to do a show. Initial disaster turns to triumph in a second attempt, but LV is actually singing to the shade of her late father, and when, in her imagination, he leaves, she can't, and indeed won't, sing any more. Ewan MacGregor is the shy pigeon fancier who seems to be the only one who cares about LV rather than what her singing may be able to do for them. Jane Horrocks sang all her own songs, and did all the various voice impressions herself. If this doesn't garner her at very least a nomination for best actress, then there's no justice. Highly recommended.
There's no justice! Though Brenda Blethyn did get nominated for best supporting actress.
Practical Magic cert.12 (5/10)
Easy and simple to watch, if all you go to see is a gentle romance film, or to see Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman be their usual attractive selves. But if you went to see it because of the accidental murder, resurrection - they are after all genuine witches, and re-murder, followed by the high junks that go with hiding a murder, I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed. The curse on the Owens females is that whoever they love will die soon after they are married, and with that in mind, Sally (Bullock) casts a spell whilst she is still a young girl to ensure that the person she falls in love with couldn't possible exist. Enter a policeman trying to track down Gillian's (Kidman) ex (late!) boyfriend currently buried under the rose bushes. With Stockard Channing and Dianne West as the aunts of Sally and Gillian, and who provide all the laughs in the film, the only parts that make it watchable.
Very Bad Things cert.18 (4/10)
This was a surprisingly dull and uninteresting film. It had a lot of potential, and with Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater and Jeanna Tripplehorn, aught to have been much better than it was. Diaz' fiance, along with three of his best friends, including Slater, goes off to Las Vegas for a stag night. Unfortunately, due to a bit of carelessness, the stripper dies. Slater takes over, and as a direct result, five more people, including himself and Tripplehorn die before the end of the movie. This was an attempt at a psychological thriller, unfortunately it just ended up looking cack handed and amaterish. Avoid.
Shakespeare In Love cert.15 (8½/10)
If you go and see this film to learn anything about the life and times of the Bard, you will be sadly disappointed. This is a simple comedy based very loosely on a sort of combination of Twelfth Night, and Romeo and Juliet, but using Will Shakespeare and his writing of Romeo and Ethel the pirates daughter which eventually became Romeo and Juliet as the basis. There were a lot of factual inaccuracies, and a lot of modern day humour, both visual and spoken, but if you ignore the Shakespeare element, you'll love it. Will Shakespeare is having trouble writing the aforementioned play, and it his falling in love with Lady Viola De Lessops that eventually becomes his inspiration. When Thomas Kent, who is to play Romeo, is forced to pull out just before the play is to be presented for the first time, Will has to step in and play the part himself. But when the voice of the actor who has to play Juliette breaks, then disaster looks certain. But of course everything turns out, nearly, fine in the end. How? It's a mystery! (sic) Joseph Fiennes plays a wonderful Will Shakespeare, and Gwyneth Paltrow makes a fine Viola De Lessops, who of course becomes the heroine in Twefth Night. With Dame Judy Dench as Queen Elizabeth, Geoffrey Rush, Simon Callow, Tom Wilkinson, Martin Clunes, Colin Firth and Ben Affleck. Brilliant, well worth seeing.
About a dozen oscar nominations, and about half a dozen wins including Best Film, Best Actress for Gwyneth Paltrow and Best Supporting Actress for Dame Judy Dench.
About the same number of Brit awards, including best picture, though not best actress.
A Bugs Life cert.U (6/10)
An amusing, and in places very funny, but simple story. The grasshoppers have a good thing going by getting the ants to collect their food for them. Unfortunately a well meaning but very clumsy ant manages to screw up the collection one year, and is evicted from the nest. He goes in search of other bugs to come and help him, and even gets that wrong when he persuades a group of down on their luck circus performers to come and help. Naturally, despite all the disasters and cock ups, they manage to sort it all out in the end. Simple, funny, but otherwise not particularly special.
You've Got Mail cert.PG (5/10)
Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull! Sorry, but I had to make the point. This is an unsatisfying, even turgid, romantic comedy. Meg Ryan owns a small childrens bookshop. Tom Hanks is the son of the owner of a large chain of book superstores. Naturally she dislikes him as soon as she finds out who he is. Unfortunately, they have also met, anonymously, on the internet, and are falling in love with each others email personas. When Joe Fox, (Hanks), drives the 'shop around the corner' owned by (Ryan), out of business for some strange reason she falls in love with him. Hmmm! The ending is too simple, not enough is made of the fact that she is now out of business, or that he drove her out, or even that his ex-girlfriend has offered her a job. Very little comedy, and the romance was stilted, unusual coming from such otherwise fine actors. Very disappointing, in fact avoid altogether.
Thin Red Line cert.15 (6/10)
Another film trying to show the futility, and brutality, of war. Set at the start of the US invasion of Guadalcanal during the second world war, the film is about Charlie company, and with particular emphasis on the colonel played by Nick Nolte and the master seargant played by Sean Penn. A huge cast with cameo appearances from John Travolta, John Cusack, George Clooney, and Ben Chaplin. Even Bill Pullman and Lukas Haas had scenes, but these were deleted in the version I saw. Well made, but not as good as Saving Private Ryan, a very, very different film as well, so don't go thinking you'll see SPR set in the pacific rather than Normandy. I found it too disjointed, with too many flash backs that seemed to be in only to show just how clever the directors like to think they are. Ultimately quite disappointing as the film has no real structure, though the visuals, the photography, is stunning, both in its beauty and in it's simplicity. There's a lot of waiting around, amply reflecting the typical army mentality of 'hurry up and wait'. This film is hard work, but if you're prepared to concentrate, there's actually a very good film hidden in there.
Waking Ned cert.PG (8/10)
The national lottery can make people do some strange things, so when two old friends discover that there is a big winner in their own tiny village out in the wilds of Ireland, they set out to hunt him down, and persuade him to share the winnings. With only fifty seven people in the village, and only eighteen regular lottery players, they soon narrow it down to Ned Devine. When they realise they haven't seen him for a couple of days, they go up to his house and discover him dead of a heart attack. The film has you rolling in the aisles right from the opening sequence, with both verbal and visual humour. Jackie tearing up a lottery slip whilst screaming 'Yes, yes' or Michael in a mad dash, nude, motor bike ride - don't ask! Humour, pathos, excitement and action, in a small way, and the scenery of the Isle Of Man, where it was filmed, was absolutely stunning. Very strongly recomended.
Arlington Road cert.15 (8/10)
Word of warning. The opening credits of this film gave me quite a serious headache. Whoever came up with them shouldn't be allowed near a film again. That said, this was an excellent, if strange film. Geoff Bridges is a modern history professor, teaching about terrorism. When he picks up the neighbours child off the road with very bad burns, and takes him to hospital, he soon becomes involved with them. At first he doesn't think much of it, but lots of little things start adding up to something strange, and he starts to get suspicious about his neighbours, played to perfection by Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack. A quasi political thriller, about the FBI - Bridges wife was a junior FBI agent killed on duty - and about american extremist political groups. The ending is not what you would expect, and that makes for a better, and more thought provoking, film.
Plunkett & Macleane cert.15 (6/10)
Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Liv Tyler star in an entertaining though lightweight film about two highwaymen who Rob the rich ... and that's it
. Macleane (Miller) and Plunkett (Carlyle) meet up under strange circumstances involving a dead body and a bit of grave robbery. From this unlikely beginning, the two, never the best of friends, become the Gentlemen Highwaymen, robbing the rich to try and pay their passage to america. Liv Tyler is Rebecca, their first victim, and the ward of the Lord Chief Justice, who very quickly catches Macleanes eye, and a sort of romance ensues. It was predictable, funny in a disgusting sort of way, but overall not a very accurate repesentation of eighteenth century London. Too much twentieth century language and music for that, but in a way that actually made it better, not worse. See it for pure entertainment, not for historical accuracy.
Payback cert.18 (7/10)
This is not a typical Mel Gibson film, but by the end he's trying to make it one, and it doesn't work. An interesting plot idea, though not as well implimented as perhaps it could have been. Gibson has just recovered from major surgery in which he almost died, and in fact in which he was supposed to die. He's now out for revenge, and he doesn't care who gets in his way, he just wants his money back. He manages to fit two bent cops up, destroy a chinese gang, and a large chunk of what I guess is supposed to be the mafia, led with gusto by Donald Sutherland, before finally getting away with the girl, not the one he started off with, and his money. Amusing enough in places, but a bit slow in others.
The Faculty cert.15 (7/10)
Surprisingly good for the type of film, I was actually quite impressed. Since I hadn't expected very much at all, this was a nice surprise as there was more than expected. The teaching staff, the faculty, of a small school in middle america are being taken over by 'something'. Something that quite obviously needs water, and lots of it. It's only when a couple of students see the nurse being taken over, that anybody realises that anything is wrong, and only then do they notice, that just maybe, other students, and people outside the school, starting with the police, are being taken over as well. Trying to persuade other students is almost impossible at first, but then six students, which slowly becomes, five then four, three, two until just the one nerdy student is left. Fairly formulaic and predictable, but with enough small twists to make it entertaining even so.
Existenz cert.15 (6/10)
This has to be one of the strangest films I've ever seen. While it was interesting, it never gripped the imagination. This was entirely to do with the fact that the whole film, apart from the last two minutes, was set inside a game. While this made for some very dark humour, and even fascination in places, it also meant that at no point was it exciting. The ending was disappointing, and I felt completely bemused by the film when it finished. Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh played their roles competantly given what was happening, but on the whole I would suggest that this is another film not to bother with.
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer cert.18 (4/10)
Another sequel. Not as good as the original. I Know What You Did Last Summer was not brilliant, but this was diabolical. No humour, no personality to any of the characters, and a lot of wooden acting. Jennifer Love Hewitt reprises her role, but is not as good as she was, and appears to be relying solely on her very evident good looks. The story is pointless, the plot holes too obvious for words, and it's predictable, even down to the jock that she's being set up with being one of the bad guys. As soon as they get the quiz question wrong, but are told it's correct, ten minutes into the film, you know it can't get any better. Avoid.
Best Laid Plans cert.15 (7½/10)
A complicated, but clever, film set in an out of the way town in back of beyond America. Nick is just an ordinary bloke, working at the local recycling depot, when quite by accident he finds himself in trouble. Worse than that, no matter what he seems to do, he just keeps on getting deeper and deeper. Reese Witherspoon plays Lissa, his recently acquired girl friend, who puts herself in grave danger to try and help him out. Some extremely clever twists and turns make this both a frustrating film, as well as a fascinating one. Shot partly in flashback, this was well written and well acted. Strongly reccomended.
Notting Hill cert.15 (7/10)
This film has had a lot of hype in the press, as being the 'funniest film since ...'. Sadly, it's not that good. It is easily funnier, and better, than Four Weddings And A Funeral, but as I've said before, that's not difficult. However it's not as funny as either The Full Monty or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Nor is it as truly romantic as Shakespeare in Love. An entertaining film, that certainly makes you laugh, but never makes you want to cry, and certainly does not provoke empathy for the leading characters. The foppish one, Hugh Grant, is the owner of a travel bookshop in Notting Hill, who accidentally tips orange squash all over Anna Grant, the most famous actress in the world, played by Julia Roberts. If she's really that famous, how has she managed to get into Notting Hill on her own without being recognised? One of Hugh Grant's better roles I think, and Julia Roberts certainly played her part well, but it was the supporting cast who were by far and away the most entertaining.
Forces Of Nature cert.12 (6/10)
Ben Affleck, already afraid of flying, is about to fly to his own wedding, when the plane he is on crashes on takeoff. He rescues the person in the seat next to him, Sandra Bullock, who manages to persuade him to share a car hire to their destination. From there the film descends into a kind of Plains, Trains & Automobiles, just not as cringingly funny. The ending was probably the correct ending, not the expected ending, though for me it didn't work. Sandra Bullock has done much better work than this, and I never felt that she suited the role particularly well. An almost romantic almost comedy that I found frankly boring for the most part. It was occasionally thought provoking, and even more occasionally actually funny, but apart from those brief moments, and a couple of actually very clever and effective special effects, effects that really did work and were right for the moment, this film doesn't actually have a lot to commend it.
Cruel Intentions cert.15 (7/10)
A very strange remake of Dangerous Liasons, itself quite a strange film, but this time set in modern day New York, in a high school. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe play the roles originally played by Glenn Close and John Malkovich, but this time as step brother and sister. The Michelle Pfieffer role goes to Reese Witherspoon, who was probably the best of the central roles. Gellar and Phillippe have worked together before, but in I Know What You Did Last Summer they seemed to work well together, here it seemed to me to be a little more strained. Gellar was wonderfully cruel, and easily stepped out of her Buffy The Vampire Slayer character, but Phillippe, although on the surface seemed to work okay, never looked particularly comfortable. The supporting cast generally seemed to make for more interesting and entertaining viewing. On the whole, is was okay, and generally entertaining, even amusing in places, Selma Blair a good example of this, but nothing really to write home about.
The Matrix cert.15 (8/10)
A very clever sci-fi film with a fascinating plot idea, and special effects that didn't detract from the film by overuse. Occasionally a bit strange and confusing, particularly early on, but these confusions were soon explained away. Keanu (The Plank) Reeves is a computer programmer by day, and a hacker by night, but he soon realises that something is not quite right. He is contacted by some mysterious person known only as Morpheus, played to perfection by Laurence Fishburne, who gently tells him that nothing that he has ever known in life bares any relationship to the truth. Reeves is a very wooden actor, but in this film his character was permanently a little confused and disoriented, a quite natural thing for someone who has just discovered that nothing is as it seems, and his woodenness worked to his advantage. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano were their two main allies against agents Smith Brown and Jones who were quite deliciously evil, and yet quite logical and correct from their point of view. Well worth watching, particularly on the big screen.
The Mummy cert.12 (7½/10)
A film so far tongue in cheek that the bulge is visible from the moon! An excellent comic horror film that had me, and the entire cinema audience, rolling in laughter quite regularly. When Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian priest is discovered having a one night stand with the Pharaoh's mistress, the pharaoh is mudered. Imhotep is sentenced to quite a horrible death, and a curse placed on him and whoever should disturb his resting place. Naturally enough, many thousands of years later, a couple of English and American adventurers and 'archeologists' discover the priests tomb, and the curse starts to come about. The few special effects were quite stunning. John Hannah and Rachel Weisz as layabout brother and intense librarian sister, hire Rick O'Connell, the Americal adventurer who found it originally, to help them find the place again, but acting honours, for me at least, have to go to Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep. Very well worth watching, and much better than I had expected, but do remember that it is a bit of a spoof, and that nothing in this film should be taken seriously at all.
Entrapment Cert.15 (7/10)
Catherine Zeta Jones and Sean Connery lead a rather strange film about a thief and someone trying to catch a thief. Exactly who is trying to catch whom though doesn't become obvious until the final few minutes. The whole ending, on the railway station, is very disappointing, but apart from that, and a few other quite glaring continuity errors, this is actually quite a decent film. It's not brilliant, but Connery can still put in a decent action film, and Zeta-Jones manages a creditable performance, and raises more than a few temperatures with her glamorous ways. The first few minutes of the film were visually and emotionally very exciting, but the next 40 minutes or so were very slow and disappointing, until they get to Thailand, when the action, and the adrenalin, slowly start to pick up. Fairly formulaic, but actually quite a good watch.
Star Wars - The Phantom Menace Cert.PG (8/10)
Okay, so I'm a Starwars fan, but I think this film really did deserve an 8 out of 10. In places it was funny, occasionally moving, occasionally irritating as well. Jar Jar Binks was a completely computer created character, and whilst he was funny at first, within only a few minutes he became extremely irritating, though younger children will love him. Ewan McGregor's accent didn't quite work out, though I realise he's trying to make it sound as much like Alec Guiness as possible, but both he and Liam Neeson as the two main Jedi in the film were pretty spectacular. The story line was fairly simple and formulaic, so even the youngest will be able to follow it, and in almost all respects it works very well as a stand alone film, though not quite as well as the very first one. The special effects were stunning, as usual, and the pod racing really did take your breath away with the sheer (apparent) speed. Strongly recommended.
Austin Powers - The Spy who Shagged Me Cert.12 (3/10)
Dire. Avoid. There's one joke in the entire film, and while I'll certainly grant that it was very funny, it was the only funny moment in an extremely dull film. Heather Graham cannot act. She's pretty, even sexy, but she cannot act. Mike Myers desperately trys to hold the film together, but even he can't hold this turkey. Given that it is a spoof, you can just about accept the blatant inaccuracies and obvious messing around with history - Graham and Myers on apollo 11 for example, but the time travel scenes were a bit too far fetched even so. This is one film that should never have been made, and is so bad it deserves to lose money, heavily.
Wild Wild West Cert.12 (7½/10)
Will Smith, Kevin Kline and Kevin Kline! Kline, as seems to be not unusual for him, plays two roles. President Ulysees S. Grant, and a US Marshal with a bent for disguises and inventions. Smith is a cavalry captain, and unknown to anybody but the president, both men have been chasing the same General 'Bloodbath' McGrath for a long time. This is a spoof western, set in about 1880 ish, that actually manages to work, and very well, without looking stupid, and without treading on the toes of other great spoof westerns - Blazing Saddles for example. With Salma Hayek to add the necessary bit of glamour, and Kenneth Branagh as a deliciously excellent evil mad man. Definitely worth watching.
South Park - Bigger, longer and uncut Cert.15 (4/10)
The only good thing about this movie was seeing bill gates getting taken out and shot for his apalling windows 98. Aside from that, there is absolutely no good reason why this film should be watched. It was crass, rarely more than mildly amusing and that infrequently, and a complete waste of time and money. It was, just, funnier than the television series, but that's not a good reason for making this film in the first place. Avoid like the plague.
The Thomas Crown Affair Cert.15 (7½/10)
This has a lot of similarity with Entrapment but this is a lot better. It is also a remake of a 1968 film starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, which I haven't seen so can't comment on. Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo lead. Brosnan, Thomas Crown, is a very successful businessman who also pulls off robberies, not because he needs the money, but simply for the buzz. Russo is Catherine Bannering, the insurance investigator sent to try and track down the painting which is Crown's last robbery, and who ends up getting far more than she expects. Well worth seeing, especially as Faye Dunaway has a small part as a psychiatrist.
10 Things I Hate About You Cert.12 (8½/10)
Loosely based on William Shakespeares The Taming Of The Shrew Kat(erina) Stratford, Julia Stiles, is a hardnosed, contrary, and obviously highly intelligent, 17 year old in a Seattle high school. When her father refuses to let her younger sister Bianca, Larisa Oleynik, date simply because Kat won't date, various people around her, including Bianca and two of Bianca's admirers Joey and Cameron, conspire to get her to go out with a Patrick Verona, Heath Ledger, who is almost her equal in bloody mindedness, persistence, and contraryness. Except of course that, as in everything Shakespeare writes, nothing turns out quite as you would expect. Very funny in places, just watch the soccer practice sequence, and surprisingly quite moving in a few places, and certainly very painful in another. There are also a lot of very direct Shakespeare references which are quite amusing. It's also very important that you watch right to the very end of the credits! Recommended.
Eyes Wide Shut Cert.18 (6/10)
I had heard some strange stories about this film, and now that I've watched it, I can understand why. This is a very peculiar film, but then, it is a Stanly Kubrick film, finished very shortly before his death. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, husband and wife in real life, also play husband and wife here. Cruise plays a doctor, whilst Kidman is an art curator. A very long film, with a quite convoluted plot that is quite impossible to explain. It starts off slowly with the pair of them off to a ball, except that they know only the host. Cruise is called up to help a young woman who has taken an overdose, obviously a prostitute for she, and the host, are both naked. At that same party Cruise meets up with an old college friend now playing piano for a living. When his wife admits she nearly cheated on him, the two incidents, although apparently unrelated, eventually lead him into gate crashing a very exclusive party a few days later, and then having his wits scared out of him. When that same prostitute turns up dead just hours later, and his friend goes missing, Cruise begins to fear for his life. Watchable, but this film is hard work, and you do need to concentrate.
A Midsummer Night Dream Cert.PG (7/10)
Another Shakespeare play. Although set in Italy at the end of the 19th century, when bicycles are starting to become popular, this is completely true to the original play. Only the use of the aforementioned bicycle, and the 19th century clothing, make this a non shakespearean setting. Anna Friel, Callista Flockhart, Sophie Marceau and Michelle Pfeiffer as Titania are the female leads, with Kevin Kline as Bottom, Rupert Everett as Oberon and Stanley Tucci as Puck. An excellent film and very well made, the few special effects add to a thoroughly enjoyable and highly amusing watch. With Bernard Hill and John Sessions. Recommended.
Bowfinger Cert.12 (8/10)
How do you make a film if the person you want to play the lead won't, and you coudn't afford to pay him anyway. Bobby Bowfinger, Steve Martin, has this dilemma when he tries to cast Kit Ramsay, Eddie Murphy, as his lead character. What bowfingers eventualy decides to do is to follow Kit around with his cast, including Heather Graham and Christine Baranski, and camera crew, of which only the cameraman knows whats going on. He's trying to make a science fiction film, so when Kit finds strange things happening around him, and people coming up to him and talking about aliens, he starts to get a bit spooked. What nobody realises is that Kit has psychological problems, and really does believe there are aliens trying to abduct him. His shrink, obviously a bit of a charlatan himself, doesn't really help, but is unwittingly the key to the final release of the film. Very funny, with Eddie Murphy playing two roles, that of Kit, and his younger dweeb of a brother Jiff. Recommended.
The Blair Witch Project Cert.15 (8½/10)
An unusual film in that it is all told from the perspective of the person holding the camera, who also happens to be part of the story. Three film students go into the woods to make a documentary on The Blair Witch, and some strange happenings where a number of young children disappeard in 1940, and their murdered bodies found a few days later. The footage they make is found a year later, and in effect this film is their footage, and nothing else. Heather, leading the expedition, can be quite didactic, and is the least seen, as she has a video camera to her face the most often. Mike, who quite obviously cannot read a map, gets quite irritated with her when she seems to get them, and does not believe she can read a map either, so conspires to lose it. Naturally this gets all three extremely lost, and strange noises in the woods around them, and strange things happening around their tent each time they have to camp for the night, slowly breaks them. When Josh goes missing one night, Heather and Mike almost break down, then, a couple of nights later they think they hear him calling, and take the cameras, and go looking, eventually finding a ruined house. The entire film appears to have been shot on a hand held video camera and on a black and white 16mm film camera. This adds to the atmosphere of the film, but does make it quite hard to watch sometimes. Highly recommended.
The World Is Not Enough Cert.12 (7/10)
A typical James Bond romp. That is to say, gadgets, girls, unbelievable situation, even more unbelievable escapes, and some cracking good stunts. Pierce Brosnan in his third outing as James Bond, this time trying to prevent a takeover of the worlds oil supply. With Denise Richards as Christmas Jones - the name is only there to make an awful joke right at the end of the film about Christmas only coming once a year - Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle and Robbie Coltrane. Carlyle's Renard is easily the nastiest Bond villain for some time, and his acting brings out the best in some of the others, Brosnan in particular. Okay, it's not the worst Bond film, bit it's not the best either. Sadly Desmond Llewelyn, Q, died shortly after this film was released, and it's my hope that the Q character is now written out altogether. It looked from the film as if he was going to be replaced by John Cleese in any case, but I don't think that Cleese is truly up to it. Worth watching if there's nothing else on.
Sixth Sense Cert.15 (8/10)
A psychological drama about a child psychologist who gets shot by someone whom he failed to help many years earlier. His guilt at suddenly discovering this failure causes him to fasten onto another child, Cole, who exhibits exactly the same problems. He is so engrossed in trying to help Cole, that he doesn't notice that his marriage is rapidly dying. Bruce Willis is marvelous as the desperate psychologist, and it is only at the end that you realise that whilst he has been helping Cole, Cole has also been helping him. An extremely clever ending, with a very clever twist at the end. Recomended.
East Is East Cert.12 (8½/10)
A very funny film, that is in places quite dark and moving. George Khan is a Pakistani chip shop owner living in Salford in the 1970's, with his English wife Ella, their six sons and one daughter. The film opens just as the eldest son is about to do a runner right in the middle of his own wedding, bringing depair upon his father. Although George is desperately trying to bring his children up in strict Pakistani moslem ways, with a white English mother the children have a much more western outlook on life than he would like, and this regularly causes friction and mayhem. Well worth going to see. Strongly recomended.
© Dave Stratford 1999