11/23/2005
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (JOHNNY DEPP) and Charlie Bucket (FREDDIE HIGHMORE), a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory.
Most nights in the Bucket home, dinner is a watered-down bowl of cabbage soup, which young Charlie gladly shares with his mother (HELENA BONHAM CARTER) and father (NOAH TAYLOR) and both pairs of grandparents. Theirs is a tiny, tumbledown, drafty old house but it is filled with love. Every night, the last thing Charlie sees from his window is the great factory, and he drifts off to sleep dreaming about what might be inside.
One day something wonderful happens. Charlie finds some money on the snowy street and takes it to the nearest store for a Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight, thinking only of how hungry he is and how good it will taste. There, under the wrapper is a flash of gold. It's the last ticket. Charlie is going to the factory!
Once inside, Charlie is dazzled by one amazing sight after another. Wondrous gleaming contraptions of Wonka's own invention churn, pop and whistle, producing ever new and different edible delights. Crews of merry Oompa-Loompas mine mountains of fudge beside a frothy chocolate waterfall or ride a translucent, spun-sugar, dragon-headed boat down a chocolate river past crops of twisted candy cane trees and edible mint-sugar grass.
Almost as intriguing as his fanciful inventions is Willy Wonka himself (Jonny Depp), a gracious but most unconventional host. He thinks about almost nothing but candy - except, every once in a while, when he suddenly seems to be thinking about something that happened long ago, that he can't quite talk about.
This modern version of the child’s classic is a mesmerizing magical tale from start to finish that is a must for any movie lovers list.
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11/19/2005
Kung Fu Hustle
Set in China in the 1940s, the story revolves around a hapless wannabe gangster who aspires to become a member of the notorious "Axe Gang."
From Asia’s top comedy star Stephen Chow comes “Kung Fu Hustle”, the much anticipated follow-up to his smash 2001 hit “Shaolin Soccer”, which broke box office records across the region, becoming the highest grossing action comedy in Hong Kong history. A Sony Pictures Classics title directed by and starring Stephen Chow, who plays a wannabe thug and failed extortionist.
Set amid the chaos of pre-revolutionary China, small time thief, Sing, aspires to be one of the sophisticated and ruthless Axe Gang whose underworld activities overshadow the city. Stumbling across a crowded apartment complex aptly known as “Pig Sty Alley ,” Sing attempts to extort money from one of the ordinary locals, but the neighbours are not what they appear. Sing’s comical attempts at intimidation inadvertently attract the Axe Gang into the fray, setting off a chain of events that brings the two disparate worlds face-to-face. As the inhabitants of the Pig Sty fight for their lives, the ensuing clash of kung fu titans unearths some legendary martial arts Masters. Sing, despite his futile attempts, lacks the soul of a killer, and must face his own mortality in order to discover the true nature of the kung fu master.
A potent blend of hysterical slapstick comedy, dazzling action choreography and superb special effects this action/comedy is a striking film that benefits from the incredible imagination of Stephen Chow, director and Asian superstar.
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11/17/2005
Cinderella 2
A new sequel to the classic fairy tale, the lives of Cinderella and her friends Gus and Jaq have changed forever. And this story tells of the magical adventures that they went on...
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11/14/2005
Hollywood Flies
Italian brother and sister Luca (Antonio Cupo) and Martina (Bianca Guaccero) are on vacation in America when they decide to drive cross-country from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The desert landscapes of Death Valley take on an even more menacing air when the siblings pick up hitchhikers Sean (Vinnie Jones) and Jamie (Brad Renfro), who, unbeknownst to them, have just killed a police officer during a casino robbery. Meanwhile, Las Vegas showgirl Cherie (supermodel Caprice) has hit the road to escape her controlling boyfriend Zach (Casper Van Dien), who immediately sends out his brutal henchman Ray (Conrad Coates) to track her down. The parallel stories soon collide in a roadside motel for a neo-noirish joy ride of double crosses, kidnapping, murder, and mayhem.
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11/08/2005
Dominion
Hollywood is littered with stories of aborted attempts at moviemaking, with many directors finding themselves unceremoniously ousted from a project when a studio gets cold feet and rejects their work. Writer-director Paul Schrader (AUTO FOCUS) found himself in this position when he completed filming on a prequel to 1973's THE EXORCIST in 2004. With Renny Harlin replacing Schrader in the director's chair, then re-shooting the movie in its entirety, it seemed Schrader's vision would be forever shelved alongside countless other terminated projects. However, 2005 saw a remarkable turn of events, as Warner Bros allowed Schrader's version of the film to be released under the name DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST. Like Harlin's film, Stellan Skarsgard plays a young Father Lankester Merrin. Travelling to East Africa, Merrin hopes to forget the horrific events of World War II, and repair his tattered beliefs, which have significantly lapsed following the gruesome battles he unfortunately witnessed. Once there, the dejected priest runs into a team of archaeologists, who are unearthing a buried church which appears to have been concealed under the African landscape for several centuries. As Merrin helps the team with their discoveries, some brutal and bloody events break out, leading to his first encounter with the powerful demon who would return to haunt him in the original EXORCIST movie. While the plot is essentially the same as Harlin's film, Schrader's movie eschews Grand Guignol-esque gore, choosing to build up a dark, creepy atmosphere instead. Fans looking for gross-out delights will find themselves better-served by Harlin's version of events, but for anyone looking for a subtle counterpoint to the brutal butchery and violent profanity of the other films in the series, look no further than DOMINION.
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11/06/2005
Eye 2, The
Thai horror maestros Oxide and Danny Pang follow up their hit 2002 film with a sequel that equals the chills and creepy mise-en-scene of the first. Qi Shu (MILLENIUM MAMBO) stars as Joey Cheng, a troubled young woman who is pregnant with the child of the boyfriend who just dumped her. On holiday in Bangkok, she makes a suicide attempt in her hotel room, but is foiled by her wake-up call. Something was altered in her close contact with death, however, and returning home to Hong Kong, the realisation slowly dawns on Joey that the wraith-like people she now sees everywhere are actually deceased. This knowledge does not sit well with Joey, and as she descends further and further into her own torment, she attempts to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend Sam (Jesdaporn Pholdee), who seems to be hiding some kind of secret. The Pang Brothers' characteristically excellent cinematography infuses THE EYE 2 with atmospheric foreboding, and Qi Shu hands in an outstanding performance as the haunted expectant mother.
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The Amityville Horror
On November 13, 1974, Suffolk County Police receive a frantic phone call that led them to 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville. Inside they discover a horrific crime scene: an entire family slaughtered in their beds. Ronald DeFeo, Jr., confessed to shooting his parents and four siblings while they slept, claiming “voices” in the house forced him to commit the murders.
One year later, George and Kathy Lutz and their children moved into the house. But shortly after settling in, bizarre and unexplainable events began to occur – nightmarish visions and haunting voices from an evil presence still lurking within the house.
Confused and frightened by her daughter Chelsea’s interaction with an imaginary friend named Jodie, Kathy struggles to hold her family together as George’s increasingly strange behavior finds him spending days and nights in the basement. With lucid visions and evil voices swirling through George’s head, the house comes alive in a spine-chilling climax.
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Sin City
Dark and deadly, Sin City hits you right between the eyes with a striking blend of old school film noir and newfangled comicbook visuals.
Cinema's first literal adaptation of a comic book, this ferocious tale of thugs, prostitutes, murder and revenge is like nothing you've ever seen before.
Set in the fictional metropolis of Basin City and featuring a powerhouse cast including Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba and Clive Owen, Sin City intertwines three stories from Frank Miller's notorious novels.
There's The Hard Goodbye, in which thug Marv (Rourke) seeks revenge for the death of a prostitute; The Big Fat Kill which sees private eye Dwight (Owen) help a gang of warrior prostitutes; and That Yellow Bastard, the tale of a cop's (Willis) battle against a child-killer.
Director Robert Rodriguez rewrites all the rules with a movie that is shot almost entirely against a green screen, with the backgrounds added during post production, and reproduced in glossy monochrome with poignant splashes of colour.
Sticking close to the noirish comic book mood, this movie is packed with hard-boiled dialogue, and barely a moment passes in this ultra violent movie when someone isn't being killed in some innovative and ghoulish fashion. The men are tough-talking monosyllabic types with high thresholds for pain, and the women wear very little.
Rodriguez has certainly come a long way since his no-budget debut triumph of El Mariachi in 1992, the first in the acclaimed trilogy, and what he did for the western he has more than achieved in this modern noir.
"I was a big fan of noir, I almost re-made Kiss Me Deadly back in 1997... but I was afraid to be too nostalgic," explains Rodriguez.
What I liked about Frank's material was that although it is in that tradition of noir, it was so updated, so savage and new that it wouldn't feel like a nostalgia trip. That's why I was really excited about this."
There's a little of Pulp Fiction in Sin City, both in the hipness and the jolt it gives audiences, and that's no surprise seeing as Quentin Tarantino shot a scene in the movie.
Rodriguez recalls: "I told him last year, it took him a while to make Kill Bill which he thought was going to be a very fast shoot but I told him if he'd shot it on digital, it would have been much faster. So I said the next time I was shooting something on digital, he should come and direct a sequence.
"We shot the scene with Clive and Benicio in the rain, on the road in a car - and there was no rain, no road and no car. He got to see how all that stuff went away and he could concentrate on getting a great performance from the actors".
Sin City is a rich and scintellating homage to Miller's work - but is there more to come?
Rodriguez says: "I know we're going to do the second one, that's based on A Dame To Kill For which takes place before these stories. So that would probably be the most interesting one to help complete this story".
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11/05/2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
The galaxy is weary after three long years of war, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have become legendary heroes in their campaigns against the droid forces of the evil General Grievous.
Anakin and his secret wife, Padme Amidala, have been separated for months, and he finally reunites with her to learn that she is pregnant. He is plagued by visions of her dying in childbirth, haunting images of a possible future. Anakin is determined to stop her from dying, no matter the cost. This leads Anakin down a dark path to commit terrible deeds.
Obi-Wan Kenobi must face his former apprentice in a ferocious lightsaber duel on the driery world of Mustafar.
Whether you love the new Star Wars films or prefer the old school originals this film has elements of both and will definately not disappoint!
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Batman Begins
As a young boy, Bruce Wayne watched in horror as his millionaire parents were slain in front of him--a trauma that leads him to become obsessed with revenge. But the opportunity to avenge his parent's deaths is cruelly taken away from him by fate. Fleeing to the East, where he seeks counsel with the dangerous but honorable ninja cult leader known as Ra's Al-Ghul, Bruce returns to his now decaying Gotham City, which is overrun by organized crime and other dangerous individuals manipulating the system.
Meanwhile, Bruce is slowly being swindled out of Wayne Industries, the company he inherited. The discovery of a cave under his mansion, along with a prototype armored suit, leads him to assume a new persona, one which will strike fear into the hearts of men who do wrong; he becomes Batman!!! In the new guise, and with the help of rising cop Jim Gordon, Batman sets out to take down the various nefarious schemes in motion by individuals such as mafia don Falcone, the twisted doctor/drug dealer Jonathan 'The Scarecrow' Crane, and a mysterious third party that is quite familiar with Wayne and waiting to strike when the time is right.
Cast List
Christian Bale ...Bruce Wayne/Batman
Michael Caine ...Alfred
Liam Neeson ...Henri Ducard
Katie Holmes ...Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman ...Jim Gordon
Cillian Murphy ...Dr. Jonathan Crane
Tom Wilkinson ...Carmine Falcone
Rutger Hauer ...Earle
Ken Watanabe ...Ra's Al Ghul
Mark Boone Junior ...Flass
Linus Roache ...Thomas Wayne
Morgan Freeman ...Lucius Fox
Larry Holden ...Finch
Gerard Murphy ...Judge Faden
Colin McFarlane ...Loeb
Sara Stewart ...Martha Wayne
Gus Lewis ...Bruce Wayne - age 8
Richard Brake ...Joe Chill
Rade Serbedzija ...Homeless Man
Emma Lockhart ...Rachel Dawes - age 8
Christine Adams ...Jessica
Catherine Porter ...Blonde Female Reporter/Assassin
John Nolan ...Fredericks
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