ScreenArchive

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6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temperature
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A - Multiple Viewing Possibilities
B - Deserves Another Look
C - Once Should Suffice

 

THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS
With Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Tilly
Written & Directed by Steve Kloves
Kloves' finely assembled film about a brother piano lounge double-act has held up over the years (except for some hair and fashion styles). Their career is slowly slipping as the demand for their retro ivory tickling starts to wane. The idea to soup it up by getting a female singer on board not only sends their career in a whole new direction, but also threatens to drive a wedge between the brothers. Pfeifer is the girl in question, constantly winding up the more uptight & responsible one of the brothers (Beau), the cool, womanizing one (Jeff) heading into troubled water when business and pleasure starts mixed. A bittersweet human tale with some cool music and good performances - everyone remembering the scene where the hot Pfeiffer crawls on the piano as she sings Making Whoopie.
4 / B
- PB


THE FACULTY
With Elijah Wood, Usher Raymond
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Oh, dear. Kevin Williamson and his cliché “spooky” screenplays. Sigh(!). Here we have an alien life form taking over an American high school with a few students learising this and not sure who to trust. Ooooh! Why Rodriguez took this job after the totally Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn I have no idea. Overly cool teens, asshole jock and other stereotypes make this a painful farce. No award winner, but it seems to at least move forward (to an almost obvious conclusion). Williamson, return to Dawson’s Creek or stop the “scary” re-hash business. Cheap thrills and cool FX, little more.
2 / C
- PB


FAITHLESS - Live At Alexandra Palace
This group succeeded in maintaining their unique style and integrity in a music-world where it can so easily slip into mediocre, cheap Pop territory. This show was recorded at their career pinnacle accompanying their
Forever Faithless hits collection. The 18 moody, scorching, and catchy tunes encapsulate both a dance- and deeper atmospheric quality, and includes God Is A DJ, Insomnia, Mass Destruction, I Want More, Postcards, We Come 1, and Machines R Us. This is their first DVD release and with the full live band set-up, these guys (and lady) are more than just another pop group.
5 / A
- PB


FAMILY MAN
With Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni
Directed by Bret Ratner
At first the whole (stale, boring, done-to-death) premise of a man who made a crucial life decision but getting the chance to see how it could've been had he chosen otherwise, really put me off this one. It took some convincing to drag myself there. And as so often happens, I was pleasantly surprised (yet, not won over by the what-if genre). Cage chose to leave the love of his life to pursue a career super big-buckeroos. One night he performs an act of goodness which throws him into a state where he wakes up next to his wife (had he not flown to the UK), kids, house in Jersey - total chaos and no wealth. Of course he has to get to realise what he's doing there, how to get back to his penthouse & Ferrari - that's if he wants to - wow, big surprises pounce constantly (yawn!). But, it's a nice, cuddle-wuddly warm & fuzzy sort of pic that does, I must admit, make you wonder about your possibilities had you chosen another path.
3 / C
- PB

FAMILY VALUES
If you don't have the Family Values CD yet, what the hell is wrong with you?! This video is a fine companion piece, bringing the hard music to life in full colour. In case you've been snoozing, the Family Values Tour brought together a great ensemble of hard-hitting new-style no-bullshit music in the shape of
Limp Bizkit, Rammstein, Orgy, Ice Cube and Korn. (This was in August/October 1998). During the tour (conceived by Korn and The Firm), Ice Cube (yes, that badass Nigga from N.W.A) had to leave the family for other commitments and was replaced by Incubus, who feature on the CD, but not the video (pitty). This amazing show combine the best of new-school metal, hardcore and hip-hop elements to give anyone with a pulse the urge to jump four feet high. The video boasts 19 tracks and some backstage footage, mostly goofing off clips like Korn getting make-up put on by Orgy, all the members' kids toddling about, having birthday parties, ladies showing off their pierced nipples (getting it licked by her tongue pierced girlfriend) and more. At one stage Korn and Limp Bizkit played together on stage, some of them dressed up like '80's glam rockers causing shit, having a ball. The whole stage and venue have a circus feel, but each band has their own set-up (one hell of a rigging and roadie challenge). Limp Bizkit, who render fine tracks like Cambodia, a cover of George Michael's Faith (Bizkit-style) and House of Pain's Jump Around. Their stage sport a crash landed UFO with two members in freaky contact lenses and face paint. They crunch out one hell of a set with superb subtleties injected. Orgy (the least macho of the acts) have a more modest set-up, bathed in neon light. They also deliver a fine version of Blue Monday. Rammstein takes the cake, not only with their separate style (electronic/metal/near-goth/post-apocalyptic feel), but also with the stage act. The vocalist grabs the keyboardist mid-song and has him kneel on a flight case. He whips out a prosthetic phallus and goes on to spank the guy with it - that's not all though - with a cunning compressor linked up, this thing starts squirting all over the place for the remainder of the song! Marilyn Manson eat your heart out. Absolutely cool and hilarious if you're not easily shocked while others will choke. A rocket bow squirting sparks light up the joint while burning keyboards also get the crowd excited. A magnificent visual extravaganza layered with pulsating, powerful sounds. Ice Cube's stage has an enormous top hatted bust of the man with outstretched arms, while a live Grim Reaper parks at the back of the stage, the DJ housed on the tophat and Cube and his co-vocaling homie inciting the crowd with everything from Fuck the Police to Fuck Dying. Korn, the headliners and main instigators deliver a powerful set with traditional metal-style cage stage-dressing, fans raging inside it. The intensity, energy and entertainment value of this show is more than enough to prove that hard music is by no means dead.
5 / A
- PB

FANTASIA 2000
With James Levine, Steve Martin, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, Penn & Teller, James Earl Jones
Directed by Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Paul Brizzi, Eric Goldberg, James Algar, Pixote Hunt, Paul & Don & Gaetan Brizzi
It’s unbelievable that the original Fantasia was made a whole 60 years ago! Walt Disney’s ambition to make the Concert Film an ever evolving phenomenon has only been realised now. Fabulous new animated shorts set to classical music also get an old familiar re-visitor of Mickey mouse and the Scorcerer's Apprentice. A timeless, awe-inspiring work of art.
5 / A
- PB

FARENHEIT 9/11
With George W. Bush, Michael Moore
Directed by Michael Moore
Whether you're anti-Bush or a fan, this documentary is a fantastic, often jaw-dropping look at how questionably George W. Bush came into power and how debatably the 2nd Iraqi war came about in the wake of September 11th. While biased, Moore conveys facts that we may have missed the first time round (like Bin Laden family members flown out of the US after the World Trade Centre had the rest of the country grounded / politician's ties with big industries, often war related), economic interests, shady deals, big money, factual distortion and everything else you'd expect from politicians with fingers in a lot of pies. The business of war is a good one and Moore adds his brand of humour to proceedings, which would otherwise have been too damn depressing. Interviews with big wigs, regular people touched by sons dying in Iraq, news footage they wouldn't show on TV and a string of bits and pieces that'll either have you shake your head in disbelief or feel Moore is merely manipulating with editing. Whichever way you look at it, this may not have swung the vote away from Bush doing a second term, but it surely opened up some eyes not to accept everything they're fed in the media and via propaganda machines, in whichever sector.
5 / B
- PB

FARGO
With Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy, Harve Presnell
Directed by Joel Coen
A stupid car salesman needs money and arranges to have his wife kidnapped. Things don’t go according to plan and the freezing snow covered setting becomes one of murder and subdued mayhem. Excellent thriller with the Coen Bros. great brand of humour ever present. Nominated for 7 Oscars.
6 / A
- PB


THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
With Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Directed by Rob Cohen
When a young gun enters the world of illegal souped-up street racing in LA, he gets more than he bargains for. For one, he's met with opposition and he falls for one of the leading guys' sister. Thing is, he's an undercover cop investigating a rampant hijacking ring, the main suspect his new pal. Loyalty comes into play and through all of the exciting race sequences with some fabulous cars, the fluctuating suspects of the hijackings get thrown in all over the place, hardly of any consequence, as the stars here are metal, fuel and speed. Fun, but a bit too "cool" in that artificial Hollywood way most people love for some reason or another. Slamming soundtrack, though (but the CD contains mainly Hip-Hop & Rap artists).

Click here for The Fast & The Furious soundtrack review
3 / B
- PB


FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL…KILL!
With Tura Satana
Directed by Russ Meyer
Bosom-king Meyer throws his favourite subjects together - buxom ladies with attitude and unbridled violence. A gang of go-go dancers (Varla, Rosie and Billie) head by an ill-tempered leader cause havoc, carving a path of destruction as they take vengeance on men. With true under-funded flair, hammed performances and gratuitous images, Meyer and his ladies created another classic that'll live on far beyond the drive-in B-movie most wanted it to be. A hoot.
3 / B
- PB


FAUST
With Andrew Divoff, Jeffrey Combs
Directed by Brian Yuzna

Two classic modern horror figures, director Yuzna (Society, Return of the Living Dead Part 3) & actor Combs (Re-Animator, Pit & the Pendulum) team up again with this little bit of FX & thrills that doesn't exactly stay true to the original text to the classic Faust tale. The soundtrack (if you can find it in stores) has a stack of great metal bands from Fear Factory to Cradle Of Filth & Brujeria.
3 / B
- PB


FELIX THE CAT - THE TWISTED TALES OF FELIX THE CAT: ORDER OF THE BLACK CATS and other stories
In Order of the Black Cats Felix gets drawn into a secret Black Cat society during Halloween while in Now Boarding he and his buddy get zipped into a board game and have to abide its crazy rules. When Felix Breaks the Bank, he does so by trying to break his piggy bank in order to buy a birthday gift for his friend - the piggy bank has other ideas, though ! Felix in Psychedelic Land speaks for itself and is one tripped out experience, man ! Accompanied with his trusty firend, Felix hits the Middle Ages when they travel back in time on discovering a book of old spells.
FELIX THE CAT - THE TWISTED TALES OF FELIX THE CAT: SPACE-TIME TWISTER
When Felix tries to escape the Meat Man, his guardian angel just seems to make things worse while everything gets twisted in Space-Time Twister when Felix runs off with the Time Master's time machine. In true, logic-free Felix style, he finds a string while cleaning house and unravels a weird new world. Felix's renowned Bag of Tricks assists him in saving Rosco from the icky & nasty Sludge King (part I&II). Taking spaced-out and far-out to the next level, Felix is kidnapped and taken to Mars.
5 / A
- PB

FEMALE TROUBLE
With Divine, Edith Massey, Mink Stole, David Lochary
Directed by John Waters
Divine falls for a hairdresser - his husband & wife team salon owner bosses spot Divine, wanting her to be their model of vulgarity, performing criminal acts, shooting up on liquid eyeliner and more ludicrous and deliciously tacky depravity. She marries the hairdresser but his aunt can’t stand her - throwing acid in her face. The scars arouse the two vulgar-glamour freaks even more. But Divine rises to become a megalomaniac celebrity loon who puts up a classic finale show. Stole is the mad daughter who becomes a Hare Krishna and was conceived when Divine was raped by the guy who gave her a lift (played by Divine himself!). Only a few of the ingredients that make this one of Waters’ best stews of bad taste.
6 / A
- PB

FEMME FATALE
With Rebecca Romijn Stamos, Antonio Banderas
Directed by Brian DePalma
Since the 70s
DePalma has given his audience a great variety of films from various genres like Phantom Of the Paradise (musical thriller), Dressed To Kill (killer thriller), The Untouchables, Carlito's Way, Scarface (gangsters), Casualties Of War (war), Carrie (horror). With this one his noir obsession (which has resulted in many Hitchcock takes) has DePalma take his audience on another visually meticulous journey. The basic idea of a heist at the Cannes film festival takes on a convoluted and sexy life of its own. The lead characters involve the hot key thief and a photographer who inadvertently gets mixed up in the whole debacle. Without worrying about any who-dunnit elements or unlikely / farfetched moments, just let him trap you with his visual sense and marvelous scene construction, framing and set-ups, giving the camera life with the relationship with its subject.
3 / B
- PB

THE FIFTH ELEMENT
With Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Ian Holm
Directed by Luc Besson
It took a Frenchman with an international team of actors crew and FX specialists to breath new life into the Sci-Fi genre. Based on a tale Besson had been carrying with him for decades, we find a future filled with extravagance congestion and wildly manic good guys and villains. Willis is a cab driver who gets embroiled in a plot of universal proportions when a disoriented girl literally falls into his cab. She holds the key to prevent an evil force in cahoots with the fabulously bad Oldman to erase mankind. With a great plot, fantastic photography, splendid humour, amazing Gaultier costumes, a fine Serra soundtrack and a unique style, class & innovative original futuristic vision, this film is a stimulation for all senses. Not to be missed.
6 / A
- PB


15 MINUTES
With Robert DeNiro, Edward Burn, Kelsey Grammer, Charlize Theron
Directed by N/A
When a Russian and Czech criminal duo enter the US to track down their Houdini partner in a robbery, a trail of death and mayhem ensues. A decorated well-loved NY cop and young fire department investigator latch onto their trail. Media vultures are not far behind. The criminals' idea is to claim insanity and once the law played into their hands, sell the story of their murderous spree for millions - all documented on video! A well-paced dose of action and suspense with a fair chunk of brutality takes the viewer along what seems like a conventional cop & perp narrative ride, until it swerves into a bit of a different direction. The older DeNiro gets the more his nose seems to flatten & his mouth pulls down & sideways…But that's neither here nor there. He is the cop & Burns the fireman. Theron is only in one solitary scene, but what makes it the gem of the film is the fact that she speaks to her buddy in perfect Afrikaans! Fantastic!
4 / C
- PB

50 FIRST DATES
With Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider
Directed by Peter Segal
Sandler and Barrymore reunite after the enjoyable Wedding Singer with this Hawaii set romantic comedy. Henry Roth is a vet at an aquarium with a dream to travel on his yacht to study his favourite sea animal, the walrus. He's a bit of a womanizer but when he meets a girl in a diner one morning he's struck - and she really likes him as well. Unlucky for him Lucy is afflicted with short-term memory loss after a car crash with her dad. She starts each day out having forgotten the previous. Intent on not giving up, Henry meets her every day for the first time and tries to get her to fall in love with him before she goes to sleep - only to come up with a creative way to do the same the next day. The result is some funny situations with admirable supporting roles helping it along, Sandler's sidekick Schneider taking the biggest chunk as his Hawaiian surfing moron pal. Slapstick and saccharine romantic moments play side-by-side in a surprisingly enjoyable little flick that feels a lot like a Farrelly brothers premise. Not exactly Memento, but what did you expect from a Sandler vehicle?
PS. I didn't notice Schneider saying "You can do it!" - that joke tired the first time it came around
3 / C
- PB

51st STATE
With Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Rhys Ifans, Meatloaf, Ricky Tomlinson
Directed by Ronny Yu
Jackson is as smooth, cool and badass as usual - this time in a kilt & braids! He is a chemical expert who leaves his life behind in the States, relocating to the UK in order to sell a formula to the most potent drug ever created. He does this after getting a few undesirable elements off his back - or so he thinks. This element (played by Meatloaf) is the Lizard, a vile bastard who puts a hit out on him. The hitwoman happens to be the ex-girlfriend of the man who meets him at the airport and has to take him to his connection in Liverpool (Carlyle). When plans switch and the deal falls through with several corpses, Jackson & Carlyle are on the lam, looking for a new buyer.
The comedy element was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. The action is hot, the pace cracking and the vibe electrifying. With a few surprises thrown in, 51st State gives the viewer a fun ride through a multitude of underworld characters (from skinheads to corrupt cops and rave organizers), each scene a great chapter leading to another. An exciting, unexpected blast of a flick that feels like a cross between an American and Hong Kong action comedy and an English gangster flick.
5 / B
- PB

FIGHT CLUB
With Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf Aday
Directed by David Fincher
After the great Se7en, David Fincher had a bit of an accident and made The Game. Many loved it, but it was just a little too far fetched for a scenario placed in a rational non-fantasy world. The word “ludicrous” comes to mind. But, he’s redeemed himself with this marvelous bit of extreme art. Norton plays an everyman whose life is consumed by, well, consumerism. He meets a guy who represents everything he doesn’t. Together they embark on an intense, sometimes surreal journey to alleviate their anger, look within themselves and exorcise demons they have within. Therapy if you will. Prior to their meeting, Norton’s insomnia was alleviated by attending terminal support groups, pretending to be one of them in order to cry and hug the frustration away. Here he meets another “impostor”, Helena Bonham Carter, who, I might add, has perfected her American act wonderfully. His support groups get substituted by the two new best pals’ creation, Fight Club, where men pound each other, re-establishing themselves, and finding a new sense of empowerment. These festivities don’t go without rules, though. From underground punch-ups and the ever-growing interest, the club evolves into organized mayhem. The fresh cinematic approach, fantastic cinematography and texture with a great twist to boot, adds to the film’s pondering and memorable value in stead of mere testosterone with a bunch of men beating the shit out of each other. Well structured, well acted and some fine Rob Bottin make-up puts the cherry on this exciting and intriguing flick that stands out head above shoulders from other releases around the time of this one.
6 / A
- PB

...2nd opinion...
FIGHT CLUB
With Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meatloaf Aday, Jared Leto
Directed by David Fincher
How overjoyed I was when this film came out (one of my favourite films of its release year teetering at the edge of the century), not displaying the crap story element of director Fincher's appalling film
The Game. Alien3 and Se7en were awesome, and the ludicrous Game made me worry that Fincher might not be as good as he appeared. How very wrong that would've been! This anarchic psychologically twisted masterpiece about an insurance claims investigator whose dreary life and insomnia drives him to extreme measures not only pokes fun at society and humanity, but also makes you think about our blind consumerist ad-driven lives. When meeting soap salesman Tyler on one of many job related plane trips and his flat explodes, the life of our nameless narrator is changed forever. The two embark on a journey of self-discovery via good friendly violence. They create Fight Club, where strict rules are bound and men get together to beat the shit out of each other. From merely coming to grips with your own capabilities and destroying the daily norm, it escalates into a virtual army of disciples with powerful capabilities. There is also the hate-love relationship with a woman (Marla) who would make any Goth proud. Obsessed with death, she seems like the one thing that could come between the new blood brothers. Amazingly shot, meticulously directed, fabulously acted and with such a gritty sense of cool, you gotta love this film on every level (the unforgettable scenes too many to even get started on - almost every sequence containing a stark, hilarious, shocking or aesthetically admirable portion, sometimes all at once!). The 2 disc DVD release contains the film in the only format worth subscribing to: widescreen, with crystal clear surround sound. Artist biographies include that of actors, director as well as soundtrack creators, The Dust Brothers. Public Announcement trailers from Pitt & Norton (hilarious), publicity material, storyboards, internet spots & trailers as well as a stills gallery can be checked out. There is an Edward Norton Yale interview while This Is Your Life is a great music video clip of The Dust Brothers track, featuring Brad Pitt vocal samples. Deleted scenes and their alternates can both be viewed as it was cut into the film or as it could've been. All in all one splendid package, not only in content, but also in its animated menus and gatefold packaging, complete with booklet. An incredible film presented in the most satisfying of ways.
6 / A
- PB

THE FINAL CUT
With Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, Jim Caviezel, Stephanie Romanov, Mimi Kuzyk, Thom Bishops
Directed by Omar Naïm
This futuristic film is an interesting study of human perception and its altering via our memory and own readjustment - but also physically, translated into the technology of an organic in utero optical implant recording your entire life. This created the job of "cutters", editors who get a person's entire life footage after their death in order to edit it down to all the good parts to be screened at their memorial service. One such cutter, seen as one of the best in his field, is faced with a moral dilemma when he has to compile footage of an influential man with some dark skeletons in his closet. Opposition groups protest the technology and its personal freedom infringement. One such an activist (an ex-cutter) offers him a lot of money for the footage, but seem to be willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Our somber lead, well played by Williams, tries to lead a normal life, but has memories of the past haunting him, as well as all of the private and often hideous things he's seen through the eyes of the dead as he scans through their life movie. The look of the film is not spacey or flash, but rather retro with old car models and the editing machines wood paneled and polished as opposed to metal and plastic. The muted, drab and organic colours of the décor and wardrobe add to sidestepping the need for a sci-fi look, which would remove a lot of the humanity factor. A very interesting movie that fits well with a flick like
Gattaca.
4 / B
- PB


FINAL DESCENT
With Robert Urich, Annette O’Toole, John De Lancie
Directed by Mike Robe
Air disaster made for TV film with Urich the pilot who gets to fly with his girlfriend co-pilot. But a light aircraft slams into them, damaging the tail, making landing impossible. Various dangers are afoot with many solutions, some ver-very unconventional. Not too bad, but essentially a forgotten Airport sequel.
2 / C
- PB

FINAL DESTINATION
With Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke, Seann William Scott, Tony Todd
Directed by James Wong
A young man has a premonition that the plane he’s about to board en route to France with fellow class mates will burst into a ball of flame. He flips and gets off, a few other s with him, inadvertently and on purpose: his best pal, the jock-like arrogant prick and his Barbie girlfriend, a teacher, a klutzy dork-like guy and the lovely, loner girl. It ends up that they were meant to die on the flight with the others, thus cheating death. But the Grim Reaper hates to have his design meddled with and slowly comes for them. But, our young hero is determined to prevent it, having figured out part of this design. Innovative deaths are only part of the fun while a cool visual style is maintained through most of the film. Initially this is a very cool premise to a chilling teen flick that is kick started with style, and accelerates wonderfully… until about halfway through where the final up & down bends of the roller coaster ride end up a mere routine, the build-up and expected climax routine more than anything. In the light of Scream and all the other new wave horror movies, this one does however stand out a little more. (Cool double layered promo posters as well).
- PB
3 / B

FINAL DESTINATION 2
With Ali Larter, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes
Directed by David R. Ellis
The first installment of this teen shocker had its moments - a bunch of kids miss out on death by not boarding a doomed plane, so death comes after them one by one, dispatching them in all sorts of innovative ways. This time round? A girl has a vision of a car pile-up and holds up traffic, preventing a bunch of people from dying in the crash. The result? Yes, they all get stalked by death in, guess what, all sorts of innovative (and hilariously gory) ways! Rope in the sole survivor from the first to assist our doomed folk and you have a regurgitated throw-away movie experience with only as much substance as the FX crew put into it. The cheap shots and lame scares throughout the film are only outweighed by the pretty spectacular car smash highlight in the first 10 minutes.
2 / C
- PB


FINAL FANTASY - The Spirits Within
With the voices of Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, James Woods, Ving Rhames
Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi
If you thought that the mind-blowing cinema version offered the speecheless audience was a phenomenal one, check out the double disc DVD.
The sheer brilliance of this feast for the eyes (& ears) flow both from its intensely wonderful narrative as well as the mind-blowing technical artistry. This digitally animated masterpiece gets so close to replicating reality, it almost surpasses it! You know the great pre-rendered animation you get in PlayStation or PC games that act as cinematic links? This has the same feel, but is just so damn slick, realistic, detail-ridden and dare I say it…perfect. With the original PlayStation series as its inspiration (currently at Part X on PS2!), one needn't have any knowledge of this engrossing gaming phenomenon to get completely caught up in this brilliant film. The creator of the game series decided to take it one step further and use the technology to its utmost degree, incorporating it into the world of film. It is the future and an army of threatening phantom-like alien life forms had infested earth when a meteorite struck the planet. While
Aki Ross, a lovely young scientist and her mentor Dr. Sid attempt to analyze and understand this phenomenon to try and destroy it without harming the planet itself, a warmongering militant bastard want total control from the senate to blow the meteorite to pieces with a newly developed weapon. The weapon can also destroy the earth's spirit, an (unproven) place called Gaia where all spiritual energy return once they pass on - from plants to human beings. Our scientists are in the process of collecting a range of spirits to fulfil their task. A quartet of special military personnel joins them in the exciting and dark quest to save humanity. Everything about
Final Fantasy is simply phenomenal. The music, the intensely serious and dramatically human & spiritual story, even the voice-overs are great…and then, the animation…Man, it's totally staggering. Skin texture, wrinkles, moles & blemishes, bone & veins under the skin, expressions, hair, movement and mannerisms, fabric, high tech machinery, lighting and the post apocalyptic, fantasy and futuristic surroundings - it has to be witnessed. It pisses me off when a masterpiece like this doesn't generate as much interest as it ought to when hitting the big screen - at least now with this pristine high definition DVD conversion it can be savoured and re-experienced. Final Fantasy is not just a work of art, but also a piece of history, even though it loses a bit of impact on the non-widescreen video rental, the DVD alternative offeres you the full widescreen spectrum, appreciating its full expanse.
The extras are stupendous on this double DVD set. Besides getting the
interesting and enlightening documentary including interviews with the experts, related sub-pods pop up during the revealing of the work that went into this masterpiece and you have a limited time to click these in order to garner additional info & clips, returning automatically to where you left off. The film has 3 commentary options from co-director & crew, animation director, editor & staging director plus an isolated musical score track with commentary by composer Elliot Goldenthal. Trailers, production notes, subtitled factoids, alternate scenes, character files, artwork, sets, props, vehicles, "outtakes" and a load of additional material makes this one worthwhile package with ages of mileage. There's even a clip where the characters do the
Michael Jackson Thriller dance routine! Incredible! Not to mention the multi angled scene you can edit yourself. A DVD-ROM extra also contains the complete screenplay, screensavers, weblinks and even a virtual tour of Square Pictures to be accessed via your PC.
With the wealth of enthralling audio-visual material in this DVD set, leave it up to a games developing company to revolutionize film-making and offer me with one of the most enriching DVD experiences to date, making full use of its capabilities whereas other releases merely offer a trailer or language option...
The future is here, lets hope more people will take advantage of it.
6 / A
- PB


FINDING NEMO
With voices by Willem Dafoe, Ellen Degeneres
Directed by Andrew Stanton
The Pixar-Disney partnership is really making the most of new digital technology, sending the animation genre into new heights. Furthermore they also make the best of the DVD format on its home release, packing it with a variety of great stuff. Nemo is a young clownfish whose father (Marlon) is paranoid for his safety (after his wife and the entire egg spawn was eaten by a barracuda - Nemo the only survivor). Nemo has to go to school, but his dad fears for his safety (especially since Nemo has a small deformed fin on one side). Marlon's paranoia is realized when Nemo is caught by a diver for a fish tank in his dental surgery! With the help of a fish with short-term memory loss, Marlon sets out to save his boy. A great adventure unfolds for both Marlon and Nemo, and all the crazy characters they encounter along the way. Great family fun. The first disc contains the movie and extras like virtual aquariums, commentary tracks and a making of documentary. Disc 2 includes Jean-Michel Cousteau's exploration of the reef, the classic Pixar short Knick Knack, you can play "Fisharades", check out Mr. Ray's Encyclopedia and view a behind the scenes studio tour, plus more.
5 / B
- PB

FIRST STRIKE (in Afrikaans)
Met Jackie Chan
Regisseur: Stanley Tong
Die Hong Kong aksie koning se energie raak nooit op nie. In hierdie wilde, komiese aksie spektakel is Chan agter kern missiel diewe aan. Dis nou wel 'n afgesaagde 007 tema, maar met Chan se akrobatiese, fissieke vernuf is dit onvergeetlik en so opwindend as kan kom. Die balans tussen komedie en relatief bloedlose aksie is glad hanteer. Nes Chan se vorige flieks is First Strike eerste klas vermaak, selfs al is jy nie 'n Kung-Fu aanhanger nie.
4 / B
- PB

A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
With Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonte, Marianne Koch, Mario Brega
Dircted by Sergio Leone
This 1964 classic set the tone for almost every Western to follow. Forget the boring, macho bullshit of the John Wayne flicks. Here director Sergio Leone embarked on a revolutionary re-newed style, look, atmosphere and darker themed realism. The man to embody this new breed of western - yep, good ol’ Clint. As “the man with no name”, this was the first in Leone’s western trilogy with Eastwood playing the good guy-anti-hero who doesn’t hesitate to shoot…and does he shoot!?! Hardly ever missing, this man of little words lets his revolvers do the talking. Money and wealth is always the theme and most sought after ideal in all of these classics. This film also led in greater part to the well-worn “Spaghetti Western” genre. Set in America but shot in Europe by Italians with a Yankee star! Other actors featured in this cinematic breakthrough include Gian Maria Volonte, Marianne Koch and Munio Brega.
5 / A
- PB

FLAWLESS
With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Barry Miller, Rory Cochrane, Wilson Jermaine
Directed by Joel Schumacher
The freckled genius outdoes himself (as with almost every role he tackles e.g. Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Happiness, The Talented Mr. Ripley). It might seem insulting to refer to him as such, but it is meant with all sincerity, as he does ten fold with his marvelous acting what others try and accomplish with their looks. He can evoke true feelings of belief when your eyes are nailed on his craft flickering on the screen. In Flawless, Hoffman portrays Rusty, a drag queen (who hates the term and prefers being called “an artist who does female impressions”). He is beyond believable. Rusty’s neighbour, Walt (a bigoted hero cop), has a stroke and reluctantly turns to him for singing lessons in order to assist the development of his speech. The two are at loggerheads from the get-go. But deep compassion, humanity, understanding and acceptance slowly get them communicating, turning each other’s “flaws” into humour. They both know what suffering is. A parallel story line has an underground boss looking for the money a tenant in their apartment block stole from him (resulting in a few deaths and escalating dread). The colourful support characters are all amazing (without it turning into Priscilla). Flawless is a compassionate, emotional film with humour and even a sturdy touch of suspense. Hoffman deserves an Oscar and steals the show from DeNiro who sometimes seems to labour the stroke act a little - perhaps Dustin Hoffman would’ve been more appropriate - “Hoffman & Hoffman!” Finally Schumacher redeems himself (together with 8mm) after the mess that was Batman & Robin.
5 / A
- PB


FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX
With Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, Tyrese Gibson, Miranda Otto, Hugh Laurie, Tony Curran
Directed by John Moore
Based on Elleston Trevor's novel and Lukas Heller's screenplay (for director Robert Aldrich's 1966 movie), this soupe-up modern version is limited to adding some colour (literally), while losing a lot of the original's impact (especially at the end). A plane crash-lands in the desert with a shut down oil operation's employees onboard (from working crew to office suits). They are doomed, with low supplies, scorching sun, and no civilization within walking distance. After a stretch of internal fighting, disagreements and general animosity, they get grouped by the idea of a strange little blonde guy (Ribisi) who believes they can rebuild the parts of the plane and fly out of there. As a TV movie it is watchable. As a huge cinematic event its cardboard routine just tastes too stale to swallow. The original was enthralling, and even with some desert bandits to juice up the danger levels (the audience only caring about low water supplies and bickering for so long), you don't really get to connect with the characters. A re-release of the original, instead of a remake would've enticed me more.
2 / C
- PB


FLIGHT PLAN
With Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sean Bean, Erika Christensen, Kate Beahan, Marlene Lawston
Directed by Robert Schwentke
Multi-Oscar winning actress turned director Jodie Foster has been keeping her acting jobs selective the last couple of years (with a nice surprise popping up in the lovely French movie
A Very Long Engagement). Here she goes back to the Panic Room style thriller, but instead of a safe room, she's stuck in an airborne plane. She's an aircraft technician in Germany who's husband recently died. She travels by air with her daughter (in a new aircraft she helped design) to take his body back home. They fall asleep and on waking her daughter's missing. She looks all over but she's nowhere to be found. Slowly her sanity is being questioned as nobody on the packed plane seemed to have noticed the kid. She flips. The suspense escalates, although the two big punch lines will easily be considered by the audience. In the post September 11 climate, more movies like these involving planes are beginning to surface (including Wes Craven's Red Eye).
3 / C
- PB


THE FLY (1958)
With Vincent Price, Al Hedison, Patricia Owens, Herbert Marshall Dir: Kurt Neumann An ambitious scientist accidentally gets his molecules mixed up with a fly when he performs a scientific teleportation experiment. A true horror classic.
4 / B
- PB

THE FLY
With Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Directed by David Cronenberg
Stunning 1986 re-make with Goldblum’s trademark style at an all time high coupled with the smoldering sensuality of Davis. Seth Brundle is a genius developing a teleportation device. When testing it on himself, a fly is trapped in the sending pod - arriving in the receive pod, their DNA got spliced and he slowly turns into a fly. Davis falls for him (in his pre-fly state) and struggles with him through his shocking ordeal. A classic remake of a classic film.
5 / A
- PB

THE FLYER
With Marcel Van Heerden, Ian Van Der Heyden, Craig Palm, Kim Engelbrecht, Kurt Schoonraad
Directed by Revel Fox
Shot in and around Cape Town, this whimsical tale avoids the usual (often tired) political angle, frequently necessary to ensure funding for your project - but inadvertently stifling artistic growth. The social aspects of the country do come into play, with the protagonist Kieran growing up as a street kid. He inadvertently gets "rescued" from street life by a driven trapeze trainer, who incorporates him into the show after years of hard work and determination to become a flyer. As kids, his brother Spies got locked up for stabbing a policeman. As an adult he is released and again becomes a negative pull on Kieran's realm. With a few obvious outcomes and a romantic element, the authentic feel of the characters, the language and good performances make this one of the more enjoyable recent local offerings.
PS. It is always great seeing your hometown, neighbourhood and even a stone's throw from your home on screen, a touch of patriotism naturally flooding in.
4 / C
- PB

FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE
With Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Klaus Kinski, Rosemary Dexter
Directed by Sergio Leone
Only a year after A Fistful Of Dollars, the team returned. More money, more bad guys, more gunslinging and more celluloid glory. What also makes these films such beuties are the liberal utilisation of the glorious widescreen format. The shot compositions and scene constructions are so goddamned brilliant in this trilogy, it makes any cinematographer’s toes curl. Draw sequences get a whole new meaning in this widescreen treatment, the vast expanses of dry, arid land becoming so much more real to the viewer with one small figure at the left of your screen, another at the right. But…here comes the BIG but…The greatest evil to infiltrate the world of movies is the Pan & Scan system. Aspect ratios of cinematic films does not correspond with that of our TV screens. That means the actual filmed picture is wider and flatter than that of our TVs. So, what did some Hollywood “genius” decide? Crop the picture to eliminate black bars at the top and bottom of your TV screen! Idiot! That means up to a third of the picture gets cuts off , since it’s basically zoomed in to eliminate these bars! All that hard work chopped off, just like that. What makes this worse, is when a scene is constructed in such a way that one character is far left, another far right, both don’t fit on the screen! Or if there’s a conversation with lots of space in between, the picture is panned from one to the other, when it’s meanrt to be a static shot. Sickening! Yes, folks, I’m on my soap box here, and I’m not done yet. These films are not seen as intended. What they do nowadays, as I’ve noticed, is the squashing of the picturefrom either side to fit the subjects in. Why? I’ll tell you why…because some idiots are under the impression that the black bars actually cover up bits of the picture at the top and bottom! Dear God! Some also complain, because apparently the picture is now not big enough…well, move your Lay-Z-Boy a metre closer, jerk-off! Would you like it if the Mona-goddamn-Lisa had chunks sliced off the sides, eliminating her shoulders? I think not. This is filmed art, people! In this second installment, Clint faces off against a ruthless gang. He is teamed up with Lee Van Cleef and other stars include Klaus Kinski, Rosemarie Dexter, Jose Egger and a recurrence of Gian Maria Volonte.
5 / B
- PB

FOR BETTER OR WORSE
With Jason Alexander, Lolita Davidovich, James Woods, Joe Mantegna, Bea Arthur, Jay Mohr
Directed by N/A
Not so funny comedy with a romantic slant. Features Jason Alexander, beter known as George from the
Seinfeld show.
2 / C
- PB

FOR LOVE OF THE GAME
With Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle
Directed by Sam Raimi
Going from the great Evil Dead Trilogy to A Simple Plan to this, is quite a stretch. Whether Raimi is taking the piss out of these kind of soppy romances, spliced with America’s favourite past time of baseball, only he knows. Whichever way, he does it well. Overly lengthy, we’re taken through the possible final game of a pitching veteran. Sprinkled in between the game where he debates his career and relationship in a series of flashbacks depicting the rise and fall of his five year relationship with a beauty journalist, as well as his game. Basil Polidouris’s usual great soundtracks (Conan the Barbarian, RoboCop) makes way for sentimental Hollywood shite. Each stroke of the string pre-empting the viewer’s every emotion, prescribing a bit too forcefully what we ought to or shouldn’t feel. But it is a rather touching love story where drawn out baseball commentary will only strike the real fan’s fancy.
4 / C
- PB

FORREST GUMP
With Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Another Oscar turn for Hanks in this marvellous tale of a simple minded man who affects history in many ways. Soppy in many parts, but a large scale all round feel good movie complete with laughter, tears, FX and triumph.
5 / B
- PB

THE FORSAKEN
With Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, Izabella Miko, Jonathon Schaech, Simon Rex
Directed by J.S. Cardone
If
The Lost Boys was never made, this film could've been forgiven. With a slight biological infection angle thrown in, our gang of "bad-ass" vampires are on the trail of an innocent guy who has to deliver a car cross country, but the hitchhiker he picked up happens to be an ex-vamp on the lam from the blood suckers. He self-medicates an antidote and is bent on killing the head vampire to break the chain and cure all under his wicked spell. They pick up another girl almost totally infected and try to help her as they schizophrenically attempt to get away from the nuts, as well as destroy them. With too much emphasis placed on the "hip" & "sexy" elements, those failed attempts become its downfall. As a desolate road movie it can maybe get away with it, but as yet another boring modern vampire flick it's just too damn stale.
2 / C
- PB


40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS
With Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, Vinessa Shaw, Paulo Costanzo, Griffin Dunne
Directed by Michael Lehmann
As far as late-teen / early-adult sex comedies go, this one doesn't reinvent the genre too much. A young guy gets dumped by his hot girl and it spoils his sex life, unable to get her out of his mind. After seeing his priest brother, he decides to follow the lent path and go celibate for 40 days - but happens to meet a girl who might be "the one", obviously! When word catches on about his celibacy attempt it becomes an internet betting circus. With this and the ex starting to muscle in again, you can be prepared for the "you lied to me" or "how could you" scenario before the final make-up. While it is quite watchable, it still feels very much like a Freddie Prinz Jr. plot, even though it has a few more adult moments (and not too tasty jizz scene).
2 / C
- PB


The Life & Times of FOSTER & ALLEN
This DVD collection of
Foster & Allen songs total 20 tracks. The music videos are that kind of 1970s/1980s Sunday afternoon clips, usually out in the Irish countryside, with lovely green hills, fields, lakes & streams (and often kids or milkmaids). The songs include Everything Is Beautiful, Sweet Forget Me Not, A Mother's Way, Galway Bay, Lonely But Only For You, You Stand Alone, Cottage In The Country, Still, One Hundred Children, Partners In Rhyme, and of course Danny Boy. Lord Of The Dance is an instrumental with three generations of lasses doing traditional Riverdance style footwork. Strangely none of the girl name tracks like Maggie are included. I must say I prefer Allen's voice (he's the bearded one) to that of the accordion strapped Foster, but together they work well.
3 / C
- PB


FOUR BROTHERS
With Mark Wahlberg, André Benjamin, Tyrese Gibson
Directed by John Singleton
Singleton seems to be back on form with this action packed urban drama with trajectories of humour flowing in and out. The four brothers of the title are related by adoption. They were all troubled kids who would've ended up dead. Years later after their mother is killed in a botched store robbery, they all reunite for the funeral. Slowly they start to realize there's more to it than a mere wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time situation. Their investigation leads them to some underground dealings and they start to take the law into their own hands, the cops one step behind. Well played all round and with one particularly intense shoot-out,
Four Brothers make for some exciting entertainment.
PS. Ironically one of the four plays a member of a rock band, while each of the others are or were in music related projects like Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch (Wahlberg), Outkast (André Benjamin aka André 3000) and of course, Tyrese.
4 / B
- PB

FOUR ROOMS (in Afrikaans)
met Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Madonna
Regisseurs: Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Die eerste stukkie werk na sy suksesvolle Pulp Fiction, het Tarantino in 'n minder bloeddorstige stemming gevind. Hierdie vier deel rolprent is behartig deur 4 van die VSA se nuwe jong regisseurs talente. Hierdie komiese situasies speel af in 'n hotel met Roth as die "Bellhop" wat in hierdie versameling vreemde gaste se doen en late betrokke raak op oujaars aand. Rodriguez (van Desperado faam) en Tarantino se bydraes is definitief die beste van die spul. Roth oordoen dit deeglik, maar slaan remme aan net voordat hy homself heeltemal verspot maak. Wat lekker is hieraan, nes heelwat ander rolprente ook al gedoen het, is die feit dat jy so te sê 4 flieks vir die prys van een kry !
4 / B
- PB

FOUR ROOMS
met Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Madonna
Regisseurs: Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Roth speel 'n "bellboy" wat op oujaarsaand vir die eerste keer by 'n historiese hotel werk. Dit raak egter die wildste aand van sy lewe soos hy deur vier tonele gesleep word met 'n aantal disfunksionele en vreemde gaste wat hom by hulle mal lewens betrek. Vier van Amerika se nuwe jong regisseurs span hier saam om vier onafhanklike stories te skep wat saamgebind word deur die Roth karakter (wat amper 'n mengsel van Chaplin & Mr Bean is!). Robert Rodriguez (Desperado) en Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) se bydras is definitief die beste van die lot. Gelukkig draai Tim Roth se karakter net voor die irriterende deur om, andersins kon hy die hele fliek laat platval het. Wat lekker is hieraan is dat dit basies vier flieks vir die prys van een is !
4 / B
- PB

FRAILTY
With Matthew McConnaughy, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe
Directed by Bill Paxton
When a man walks into the office of an FBI agent investigating the God's Hand serial murders, an incredible and gruesome tale unfolds. He says he knows who the killer is and tells of his childhood and how his father received visions from God to kill demons with the help of his two boys. The one is completely devoted to his father's twisted wisdom while the other is shocked and horrified, not wanting to be a part of it. The script digs into the religious issue of belief conviction in the face of horror and right & wrong. When God calls, do you answer? And is it in fact Him or are you merely insane? I think this is actor Bill Paxton's directorial debut (if not, this is his most prominent film, then). The dark laced religious theme and off screen axe-horror coupled with finely tuned tension and good performances make
Frailty an intriguing thriller that is refreshing and does not go the teen schlock route - thank God! Ignore the "it'll keep you guessing till the end" taglines and just enjoy this very interesting film of murder, faith and insanity.
4 / B
- PB


FRANKENSTEIN
With Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Dwight Frye
Directed by James Whale
This definitive 1931
Frankenstein version sees Karloff in his star-making role as the monster - a corpse resurrected by a crazed doctor (Frankenstein), who put him together from various body parts. But, his assistant obtained the wrong brain! Mary Shelley's tale of playing God is brought to life with class, side-stepping the B-movie ground it so easily could've trodden into. Karloff is great as the monster whose inherent aggression is drawn out by ignorant humans to overshadow his compassionate instincts. Dozens of sequels and retakes on the story came after, including Mel Brooks' comedy Young Frankenstein, Kenneth Brannagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Frank Henenlotter's schlocky Frankenhooker.
5 / B
- PB


FREDDIE MERCURY - The Video Collection
The flamboyant
Queen frontman wasn't just partying all the time. Besides keeping busy with his band, he also busied his tights with solo work. On this collection of all his solo videos (remixed for digital surround), 11 flashy, cheesy, funny and extravagant videos will please Freddie fans without even trying. The live (or is that mimed) version of Barcelona with Montserat has become an anthem. Golden Boy is also taken from this pre-Olympics show. The Barcelona video version cannot be excluded. His memorable cover of The Great Pretender appears in a single as well as extended version (where old Queen videos were recreated to insert Freddie back into those time frames). His party video, Living On My Own, flashes in all of its Drag Queen glory. I Was Born To Love You, Time, How Can I Go On and a 2000 re-edit of In My Defence prove just how much he left behind, but also how much more he could've given his fans had he not succumbed to the disease the SA minister of health equates to asthma… The videos all include interviews from its various directors Rudi Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher, Gavin Taylor and David Mallet.
5 / A
- PB


FREDDY vs JASON
With Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Jason Ritter, Monica Keena, Kelly Rowland
Directed by Ronny Yu
For those of us who grew up in the '80s with classic slasher anti-heroes like Freddy Krueger (Nightmare On Elm Street), Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th) and Michael Myers (Halloween), this film will bring back some great grisly memories that we'd relive in the blood drenched pages of Fangoria Magazine. Fans have been screaming for this match-up for ages. Freddy is the thinking psycho and plots a plan to get back into the physical world by resurrecting Jason with a cunning trick (impersonating his nuts mama, Mrs Voorhees). Jason has to instill fear into the kids of Elm Street who has no recollection of Freddy's reign of terror - their parents drugging them with a chemical to prevent dreams (the world of nightmare's being Freddy's playground). The ultimate villain match-up, maybe, but when their prey is annoying stereotype teens, it's hard to feel sympathy when they get nailed in a variety of creative ways. But, the kids are just fodder - we want the final big bout between the two maniacs to see who is the baddest of them all! Those who grew up in the '90s and got exposed to the likes of Scream (and loved it), will be happy with this hoot, while the rest of us will only enjoy the idea of these two bad-asses sharing some gory screen-time, the final product ultimately quite disappointing. Director Yu apparently claimed not having seen any of the Elm Street or Friday films - perhaps he ought to have head down to his video store for an all weekend session of cramming to see what to retain and where to improve. At least it is produced by Friday The 13th originator Sean S. Cunningham.
DVD includes filmmakers' commentary.
2 / C
- PB

FREQUENCY
With Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Elizabeth Mitchell, Andre' Braugher
Directed by Gregory Hoblit
Lovely idea of a man in his thirties who, thisty years after the death of his father (coinciding with the recurrence of the aurora borealis visible in New York suburbs as it was three decades ago). This leads to the time bending miracle of the now gown man speaking with his dad via his short wave CB radio (which he happened to discover in storage at the right time). Their disbelief at first turns to joy especially when information leads to his dad (a fireman) not dying in a blaze… But each reaction as an equal and opposite reaction as this alters other parts of history pertaining to their lives, in particular leading to a serial killer who also doesn’t die, but continued his killing spree of nurses who include his dad’s wife, his mother. (Being a cop and knowing all the case details) he gets his dad to try and prevent these murders. It’s not that easy. An interesting time bending exerise with some semi-touching son/dad moments with joy in the fact of a once in a lifetime chance to alter the past and rectify wrongs. Many people will find holes in the whole time twisting theory - the mere idea is still a dream, so hey, don’t worry about it, like Back to the Future, it’s a work of fiction made for entertainment, so don’t take it all that seriously.
4 / B
- PB

FRIDA
With Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, Ashley Judd, Edward Norton, Antonio Banderas
Directed by Julie Taymor
The life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was a passionate but hard one. In the 1920s a bus accident damaged her back, the repercussions of which plagued her life till the end of her days. The other catastrophe was marrying famed mural painter Diego Rivera. While they felt they were made for one another, he could not deny or surrender his womanising ways. Known for her mono-brow, her paintings reflected her innermost emotions sometimes displayed to extreme and even shocking effect. Her colouful life is affectionately brought to the screen by director Taymor who tries not to sanitize anything, although creative license was not removed from the equation. Apparently Madonna was also interested in the role, but Hayek does a fine job (although the limping and back pains could have been a little more consistent). Rush and especially Judd, Banderas and Norton make good turns in their very small roles. If you've seen Cradle Will Rock you'll know who Rivera was - the guy who was commissioned to paint the Rockefeller Plaza foyer wall but got canned because of the communist imagery he incorporated. Some splendid animation, digital overlaying and make-up gets incorporated in scenes where reality and painting integrate or moments of daydreaming or unconscious hallucination. I knew nothing of Kahlo until seeing this film - whether you love, hate, condone or act indifferent towards their lifestyles and work, the fact remains that these people were real and left an impression not only on other lives, but also the world- and art history. Artists are by nature more extravagant and vibrant than your average Joe and what point would there be in depicting the life of a drab, boring artist in any case?
4 / C
- PB


FRIDAY THE 13TH
With Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Kevin Bacon
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Here begins the Camp Crystal Lake legend - and many corpses in its wake. While
Halloween did precede it by two years (1978), these two movies started the slasher genre and countless imitations. What is pretty much a who-dunnit, this first in the elongated Friday The 13th series jacks up the basic killer-thriller genre by showing the audience graphic murders (mostly of libido driven summer camp councilors), courtesy of the special make-up effects master Tom Savini. While it all seems senseless, the reasoning for the brutal slayings become clear in the last few minutes, with a classic shock punctuation mark to boot. A youthful Kevin Bacon is one of the horny hapless teens who gets it.
4 / B
- PB

THE FRIGHTENERS
With Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Jeffrey Combs, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace, R. Lee Ermey, Jake Busey
Directed by Peter Jackson
After his hilariously gory
Bad Taste and Braindead (aka Dead Alive), New Zealand director Peter Jackson made a more accessible movie called Heavenly Creatures. The Frighteners is his first Hollywood effort and was produced by Robert Zemeckis. This was one of Michael J. Fox's last big roles before he retired due to his illness. Here we see him as a guy who gains the power to communicate with the dead after a car crash. He capitalizes on this by using some of his dead "buddies" in haunting scams, exorcising these ghosts from homes for a fee. But he becomes the only hope of his town terrorized by the ghost of a killer who has punched through the boundary of the living and the dead, continuing his murderous rampage in the real world. A very well made trip of humour and horror.
PS. Of course we all know what Jackson went on to direct - a little series called
The Lord Of the Rings.
5 / B
- PB

THE FRIGHTENERS (in Afrikaans)
met Michael J. Fox, Dee Wallace Stone, Jake Busey
Regisseur: Peter Jackson
Fox maak geld deur sy dooie spook vriende te gebruik om mense bang te maak. Hy tel die tjek op deur op te tree as "gees uitdrywer" ! Sy gemaklike inkomste en lewe word omvergewerp wanneer 'n onaantasbare reeks-moordenaar vanuit die graf op die lewendes teer. Fox en sy "vriende" moet hom keer. Nieu Seelandse regisseur, Jackson (wat binnekort dalk 'n nuwe King Kong fliek gaan maak), het sy loopbaan begin deur uiters grafiese (en komiese) rillers te maak. Heavenly Creatures het hom in die "mainstream" geplaas. Met The Frighteners het hy 'n groot Hollywood begroting gehad met digitale effekte tot sy beskiking. Hy het dit goed benut. Die uiteinde is 'n uiters vermaaklike prent wat visueel opwindend is. Michael J. Fox se spel is heel oortuigend in wat so half en half sy terugkeer is na 'n plekkie in die wye doek kollig.
5 / B
- PB


FROM HELL
With Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane
Directed by The Hughues Bros.
The brothers who brought us ghetto flicks like
Menace II Society and Dead Presidents invade the gothic London setting of Jack The Ripper. But, as they've stated, it's little change for them, as it deals with urban violence. Amazingly shot and constructed, the Bros. put together their most ambitious and visually intense film to date. Depp is the controversial detective Abberline whose visions of murders aid him in his cases, albeit after the fact. When a group of prostitutes get murdered one by one (with ritual and clinical precision, by someone who refers to himself as "Jack The Ripper"), the case pulls tightly like a noose. The film reflects many comic book moods (part of its inspiration coming from Alan Moore's graphic novel). Dark, ominous, atmospheric, visceral, gritty and very closely linked to the facts of the actual case, this impressive motion picture will scare some, but intrigue most, especially those who know the name Jack The Ripper, but very little of the case itself.
PS. I heard somewhere that
Marilyn Manson appears in this film - the only character I thought he could be was under prosthetics as the Elephant Man - unless he was lined up for something but didn't do it - or the source had it quite wrong.
5 / B
- PB


FULL FRONTAL
With Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood, David Hyde-Pierce, Catherine Keener, David Duchovny
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Traffic, sex, lies & videotape, Erin Brockovich and the remake of Ocean's Eleven made Soderbergh a very comfortable man in Hollywood. To the extent that he could experiment with a slow sci-fi tale in Solaris and now hit the digital video revolution with Full Frontal. Several character storylines intertwine through a pretentious Hollywood day, all heading towards the birthday of a mutual producer friend. Each have their own problems, emotional instability and neuroticism - like most people, but theirs just seem to be magnified due to the crazy environment in which they function. Coleman Hough mapped out some fine characters in his writing, the good cast making the most of it. The performances are great all round, the naturalistic delivery and documentary feel of the video and handheld camera adding to the believability, where it could so easily have been pretentious. Also feature some heavyweight cameos by the likes of Brad Pitt. Don't let the bad cover design put you off from a good film, though.
5 / B
- PB

FULL IMPACT
With Gary Daniels, Dennis Reese, Ron Hull
Directed by David Hue
Goodness me. Crapper it does not get (I hope…). Super cheesy kickboxing “action” movie with an ex-cop on the trail of the bad guys, at the same time trying to clear his name during a shooting incident in which he got blamed. A serial killer is knocking off prostitutes, which gives the director Hue a good excuse for some extended gratuitous violent sex & nudity to add to the pathetic fighting sequences. Avoid unless you want to have a good laugh.
1 / C
- PB

FUTURECOP
With Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt
Directed by Richard Band
Trooper Deth is back after singing Trancers. Another low budget future flick from the Full Moon clan. Funny, relatively innovative with cliché’s, but watchable nonetheless. Deth has to return back to the ‘80’s from the future to find the bad guy. He hooks up with a young Helen Hunt (with whom he happens to fall in love). She teams up with him and they run to and from danger quite a bit. Some cool bits like a watch that turns one second into ten. Cheap, but a good laugh, especially with a bunch of friends expecting just that. (I take my hat off to Hunt as she doesn’t look down on her past efforts by acknowledging those who helped her career in its infancy - she makes a cameo appearance in one of the sequels).
3 / B
- PB

 

© 2006 Flamedrop Productions