Posted in REVIEWS
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Tagged animal behaviour, BBC, close ups, Colour-drenched, daniel craig, doco, dragon, earth animal, finesse, fish, hellip, incredible journey, ingenuity, kingdom, komodo dragon, ldquo, life, narration, planet, planet share, round, rsquo, share, Snow, snow monkeys, ups, water buffalo, water snow
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One of the more obscure corners of English history gets a cheerfully over-the-top treatment in this likeable-yet-flawed siege picture.
In the aftermath of Magna Carta, tyrannical King John sneaks to reclaim his lost powers with the aid of some very nasty Danes: only valiant Knight Templar James Purefoy and a motley crew of Brit thesps stand in his way.
Paul Giamatti, of all people, overdoes it as John, but director Jonathan English deserves credit for stretching a clearly limited budget, and for the gusto he gives the spectacularly bloody – if repetitive – fight scenes.
Posted in REVIEWS
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Tagged aftermath, aid, budget, Carta, crew, Danes, director, director jonathan, english history, fight, fight scenes, gusto, history, james purefoy, jonathan, King, knight templar, likeable, magna carta, motley, motley crew, ndash, obscure corners, paul giamatti, treatment, tyrannical king, valiant knight, way
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Woody Allen’s lat est Euro meander bests Cassandra’s Dream, but falls short of Vicky Cristina Barcelona with aimless plot arcs, patchy “Brit” dialogue and hot young women falling inexplicably for schlubby artistes.
In Allen’s postcard London, Gemma Jones sees a psychic after hubby Anthony Hopkins takes up with gold digger Lucy Punch, while daughter Naomi Watts fancies her boss more than spouse Josh Brolin, a blocked novelist eyeing up neighbour Freida Pinto.
Even below par Allen still promises unexpected turns and moments of loveliness.
Posted in REVIEWS
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Tagged anthony hopkins, arcs, bests, Brit, Dark, daughter, daughter naomi, dialogue, digger, est, Euro, freida, gemma jones, gold digger, josh brolin, ldquo, loveliness, meander, naomi watts, novelist, par, plot, rsquo, schlubby, spouse, Tall, tall dark stranger, unexpected turns, woody allen
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Ever been to see a backstreet dentist? Who’d run out of anaesthetic? And was in a rush? Well, that would be a blast compared to this.
Martin Lawrence wearily hauls on his fat suit once more for another piece of undercover-agent-in-drag balderdash, only this time with son Brandon T Jackson in tow.
There’s barely a gag in the thing, unless you’re amused by the sight of past-it and never-will-be-it guys falling over in the most disturbing make-up since White Chicks.
Fans of god-awful rap/dance sequences, though, will have the time of their lives.
Posted in REVIEWS
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Tagged anaesthetic, Big, blast, Chicks, dance sequences, dentist, father, gag, god, martin lawrence, Mommas, rap, rsquo, rush, sight, son brandon, suit, time, tow, undercover agent, White, white chicks
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You’d be forgiven for thinking that the real-life drama of Osama Bin Laden’s death might have stolen some thunder from Jerzy Skolimowski’s chase thriller about a Taliban fugitive.
But the War on Terror is nothing compared to the elemental hell this fighter faces once he’s escaped.
Vincent Gallo, in a haunted, wordless performance, shows Bear Grylls how it’s really done, reduced to a primal state of survival amid much physical hardship and an unenviable diet.
With Skolimowski’s commanding use of sub-zero settings bolstered with surreal imagery and a foreboding soundtrack, the result is a convincingly existential action thriller.
Posted in REVIEWS
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Tagged action thriller, Bear, bear grylls, chase, chase thriller, diet, drama, elemental, Essential, existential, fugitive, Gallo, hardship, imagery, life drama, Osama, osama bin laden, physical hardship, primal state, result, rsquo, skolimowski, state, surreal imagery, survival, taliban, terror, use, vincent gallo, war on terror
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