Films
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
by Richard Brecker in London
Hats off to the superb STEVEN SPIELBERG who‘s done it once again - this time directing a genuine gem all about a master faker.
Wonder boy LEONARDO DICAPRIO and TOM HANKS lead a convincing cast in the true story of Frank W. Abagnale (DiCaprio) who conned his way into jobs as a co-pilot for a major US airline, doctor and lawyer all by the time he had turned 21 !
Using his remarkable skills as a forger, baby-faced Abagnale charmed and duped women and employers alike. He scooped millions of dollars cashing fraudulent cheques and had the time of his life - until FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (played with his usual excellence by Hanks) made it his mission to capture him. I loved the film‘s attention to detail and the way the movie captured the style and upbeat mood of the Sixties.
It‘s classic ‘clever clogs conman versus honest Jo cop stuff‘ with Hanratty relentlessly pursuing Abagnale round the world after the teen rogue runs rings round the authorities. So you think you know what happens ? Mmm, well I won‘t spoil it but there‘s a nice twist of irony at the end.
Watch out for great performances too from the nicely ageing ex-Deer Hunter CHRISTOPER WALKEN and MARTIN SHEEN now doing such a fine job as the US President in the hit TV series "The West Wing". Walken shines as Leo‘s romantic doting dad, heart-broken by his his French wife (NATHALIE BAYE) running off with his best friend and the US taxman leaving him penniless. Sheen, meanwhile, plays the father of Leo‘s naïve fiancé.
A thoroughly enjoyable caper.
Verdict: Catch this movie if you can !
UK release: 31st January 2003
CWW rating 8 out of 10
TWO WEEKS NOTICE
by Jodie White in London
An enjoyable light-hearted, romantic comedy with good performances from HUGH GRANT and SANDRA BULLOCK.
Grant and Sandra Bullock in the lead roles and a sound supporting cast. A funny film which had me laughing out loud both at the dialogue and performances, despite a ‘traditional‘ and somewhat predictable plot. Great locations and photography with some fab costumes for Ms Bullock.
Basically a good film, a definite 30-something ‘chick flick‘ - not something that you walk out raving about, but leaves you with a warm, snugly feeling inside. Not a ‘Bridget Jones‘ or ‘4 Weddings‘ - more like ‘The Bachelor‘ or ‘Nine Months‘.
UK Release: 7th Febuary 2003
CWW Rating: 7 out 10
THE RING
by Richard Brecker in London
Possibly not for those of a superstitous or nervous disposition or for watching just before bedtime. But for scary movie fans, students and a large percentage of the teen to 30 something audience, it will undoubtedly win the thumbs up and possibly even the word of mouth buzz that turned the Blair Witch project into such a box-office smash.
And if we are all still around to rave about the film in seven days (after which time anyone who has seen the dreaded Ring must surely die) so much the better ! This is a much more sophisticated, spooky and intriguing piece of work than Blair Witch for my money led with a powerful and convincing performance by NAOMI WATTS who, as journalist Rachel Keller, continues to impress after her widely acclaimed role in David Lynch‘s "Mullholland Drive".
DAVID DORFMAN also shines for me as Rachel‘s softly spoken young son Aidan with a performance reminicsent of Haley Joel Osment in the classic 1999 movie "The Sixth Sense" who, you will recall, had the ability to see dead people.
In all honesty, I found "THE RING" more disturbing than scary as there were not quite as many shriek/jump-straight out-of-my seat moments as I had perhaps anticipated. But overall an absorbing mind-trip which younger horror fans than this wizened old hack should roll up to see.
UK Release: 21st Febuary 2003
CWW rating 6.5 to 7 out of 10
by Peter Morris in Los Angeles
Could the musical be making a comeback? Following on from the success of Moulin Rouge last year this film version of the smash hit stage musical "Chicago" certainly makes a good case in favour of that theory.
Director Rob Marshalls debut has already garnered Golden Globe awards for Richard Gere ( Best actor in a Musical or Comedy) and Rene Zellwegger ( Best Actress) and Best Picture (musical or comedy) as well as nominations for supporting actors Catherine Zeta -Jones, Queen Latifah and John C.Reilly, Best Screenplay - Bill Condon and Best Director - and you can put money on the fact that those names will appear in several other nomination lists between now and the Oscars in March.
Although the story is set in Chicago in the 20s the subject matter - the press and public‘s obsession with celebrity , what constitutes fame and how fleeting it can be - is more than relevant today. Richard Gere as the Windy City‘s, tap dancing, celebrity lawyer could happily sit beside his modern day counterparts who represented OJ Simpson. And when you throw in quality supporting actors like Lucy Liu ("Charlies Angels", "Ally McBeal"), Taye Diggs ("How Stella Got Her Groove Back") and Broadway veteran Christine Baranski ( The Guru, "Bulworth", "The Birdcage") in the minor roles you know the level of performance is top notch.
At the screening I saw the audience applauded the songs during the film as if it was a live performance and it has made its way onto more than fifty American Top ten movies of the Year lists- in my opinion justifiably!
UK Release: 17th January 2003
CWW rating 8 out of 10
FRIDA
by Peter Morris in Los Angeles
Like with any film, a lot of people were involved in the making of "Frida", but, ask any one of them and they will happily tell you that it‘s Salma Hayek‘s movie and not just because she plays the title role remarkably well!
To say this was a labour of love is something of an understatement- she‘d been trying to get the project going for nine years despite the distractions of alleged showbiz infighting with Madonna and Jennifer Lopez over who would get to play the role!
For the record, both of the aforementioned had at some stage expressed an interest in doing a film about artist Frida and Madonna actually owns a few of her paintings but there were no catfights at dawn or any other time. As Hayek says, having stories in the press about those two wanting to play Frida actually helped raise the profile of her project and contributed to getting it done!
So who is Frida Kahlo and why should they make a film about her? - well the short answer is she was a Mexican artist whose paintings are now among the most expensive ever done by a female artist - but she was also much more than that!
She was a feminst in a right wing Catholic country way ahead of her time; involved in a bizarre open relationship with her womanising husband Diego Rivera another famous Mexican painter (played brilliantly by Alfred Molina- "Chocolat" : "Boogie Nights"): she was almost killed in a trolley bus accident in her teens and lived most of her life in agony but that didn‘t prevent her from becoming a prolific painter and living life to the full having lovers of both sexes and including Russian Communist exile Leon Trotsky among them - played in the film by Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush ( "Shine", "Quills", "Lantana").
In addition to bringing all these qualities to the screen in a convincing and captivating manner- Hayek also persuaded showbiz pals Antonio Banderas, Ashley Judd and Saffron Burrows to play the smallest roles of their careers as favours to help get the film made. Oh and her current boyfriend Ed Norton ( "Primal Fear", "Red Dragon", "Fight Club") as well as appearing as Nelson Rockerfeller also re-wrote the entire script for no money and no credit just to help out!
Add to that the stunning visual effects captured by director Julie Taymor ( "The Lion King" - on stage) and her team and this is film which deserves it‘s appearances on many nominations lists.
I have to say I wasn‘t thrilled to bits at the prospect of seeing a film about a crippled female Mexican artist that I‘d never heard of but I really enjoyed this on a number of levels: I learned some things, I laughed , the visuals are innovative. Oh and Salma Hayek is as sexy onscreen as anyone you‘ll see !
If this one doesn‘t make it out of the art houses - make this your art house visit for the year. It‘s worth it!
UK release: 28th February 2003
CWW rating :8 out of 10
by Peter Morris in Los Angeles
If , like me , you think that anything with SUSAN SARANDON in it has to be worth checking out- then you won‘t be disappointed by her performance in this unusual story which is probably best summed up as a date movie with a difference.
One of Hollywood‘s best up and coming actors JAKE GYLLENHALL ( pronouced Jill-en- hall) is staying at the home of his fiancee‘s parents ( Sarandon and DUSTIN HOFFMAN) when she is accidentally shot and killed in an incident in a local coffee shop!
The plot then develops around his relationship with his would be in-laws in the period leading up to the funeral and the trial of her killer and , of course, his battle with his conscience. This has its fair share of emotional scenes but also a surprising amount of humour too and film buffs should look for a couple of nods of recognition in homage to "The Graduate" the film which launched Hoffman on his career 35 years ago.
The film was written and directed by BRAD SILBERLING ("Casper" "City of Angels") and inspired by ( although not based on) his own relationship with the parents of his ex-girlfriend, actress REBECCA SCHAEFFER who was murdered by a delusional fan in Hollywood in 1989.
There are the usual excellent performances from Sarandon and Hoffman and Gylenhall and newcomer ELLEN POMPEO also prove they are names to watch out for in the future. Pretty good soundtrack too.
UK Release: 21st February 2003
CWW rating: 7 out of 10
by Peter Morris in Los Angeles
Director STEPHEN DALDRY enjoyed great critical and commercial success with his feature debut "Billy Elliott" and looks set to repeat that success with his second outing "The Hours" adapted by DAVID HARE from Michael Cunninghams Pullitzer prize winning novel .
It‘s worth noting however that this is not the sort of enjoyable heart warming film that the whole family would enjoy - in fact, on the face of it, three stories about three women in three different eras one of whom commits suicide, one who contemplates suicide and the third whose best friend and former lover is about to die- is hardly the stuff of a good night out unless you‘re a masochist! Having said that however it is a film which is well worth seeing for the outstanding cast and the fact that it‘s not your run of the mill formulaic Hollywood tale.
The first story features an almost unrecognisable NICOLE KIDMAN playing writer Virginia Woolf ( who finally drowned herself) at the period where she wrote her classic novel "Mrs Dalloway" - the role has already won her a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Drama and could well bring her the BAFTA and/or Oscar many of us thought she deserved last year for "Moulin Rouge" and "The Others". She is ably supported by the excellent STEPHEN DILLANE as Leonard Woolf and MIRANDA RICHARDSON as her sister.
In the fifties segment JULIANNE MOORE plays a housewife metaphorically drowning in her own life whose only escape is to lose herself in Virginia Woolfs novel "Mrs Dalloway". The excellent JOHN C. REILLY ( "Chicago", "Gangs of New York", "Boogie Nights") plays her husband and TONI COLLETTE ( "About a Boy" , "The Sixth Sense") plays her best friend.
In the modern day segment MERYL STREEP plays a New York book editor whose best friend and former lover has nicknamed her "Mrs Dalloway" and she‘s busy trying to organise a party for him against his wishes as he‘s dying of AIDS . The ex lover is played by ED HARRIS ( "Pollock", "Apollo 13") , her current lover is played by ALISON JANNEY ( "American Beauty" and Tv‘s "The West Wing"), her daughter is played by CLARE DANES ("The Rainmaker", "Igby Goes Down", "Terminator 3").
Ok it‘s not a barrel of laughs but it does feature some of the finest actors and actresses working today and they get to strut their stuff in a manner that is sure to land at least a couple of them major silverware during this year‘s round of awards.- Nicole being my tip for Best Actress.
Not the biggest crowd pleaser we‘ll see this year but a serious contender in most award categories in front of and behind the cameras and for those reasons
UK Release: 14th February 2003
CWW rating: 7.5 out of 10
by Peter Morris in Los Angeles on 13th February 2003
OK this is not an easy sell despite having the always interesting STEVEN SODERBERGH behind the camera and the always watchable GEORGE CLOONEY in front of it! Confused now? Well I suspect many of you will be after watching the film too.
This is a remake of a 1960s Russian sci fi classic- according to sci fi fans. I like a bit of sci fi but I‘m not expert and I have to admit I‘d never heard of it before so didn‘t know what to expect.
So what did I get? Well I got GEORGE CLOONEY doing some serious acting and some serious introspection. He plays a psychiatrist whose wife has killed herself, he‘s then asked by a friend to travel to a distant space station to try and help understand some of the strange things that have been happening to the crew. When he gets there only two of them are left but he and they are quickly joined by what appears to be his dead wife played by NATASCHA MCELHONE ( "The Truman Show", "Ronin").
As the plot continues CLOONEY has to revisit his feelings about his wife and her death and figure out whether he wants to grasp a second chance.
I‘ll be honest with you although this film is very thought-provoking and beautifully shot (SODERBERGH acted as Cinematographer, Director, producer and editor!) it will be slow for an awful lot of people - there are sections of the film with no dialogue for up to ten minutes! I was fortunate enough to interview STEVEN SODERBERGH about the film after a screening and felt much better about it after having done so- you, unfortunately, won‘t have that pleasure and will have to make up your own minds.
The few words of wisdom that I have time and space to pass on here from him are. There are no right answers .. only choices. I hope that helps.
The marketeers in America weren‘t sure how to sell this one and much to the chagrin of Messrs CLOONEY and SODERBERGH dwelt heavily on the fact that George‘s naked bum appears in shot twice which led to the American censors giving it an "R" rating- which was later changed on appeal to a "PG-13" which was far more appropriate.
Oh and by the way in case anybody was still in doubt CLOONEY can act.
UK Release: 28th February 2003
CWW rating : 7 out of 10 (For sci fi and film buffs)
CWW rating: 5.5 out of 10 (for everyone else)
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
