MOVIE REVIEWS 2006
by Andrew Watson
REVIEWED FILMS
2006
The Matador Just Friends Running Scared Match Point Jarhead Brokeback Mountain
EXCLUSIVES: Waiting Junebug
COMING SOON
Munich Walk The Line Zathura Good Night, and Good Luck The Moguls Syriana V For Vendetta Slither Hostel
Please Note:
Films which have been awarded more than four stars are in bold
All Photos taken from Internet Movie Database and Rotten Tomatoes
All Plot Summaries taken from Empire Online and Internet Movie Database
The Rating System:
10 = Sinsational
8 = Sinless
6 = Sinful
4 = Sinner
2 = Sin
Brokeback Mountain
Cert: 15 Released: 6th January Date I Saw It: 14th January
Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, Randy Quaid
Director: Ang Lee
The Empire Plot Summary: The year is 1963 and two jobbing farmhands (Gyllenhaal and Ledger) take a gig tending sheep on a remote mountain. During their months alone, they form a bond that extends to a sexual relationship, but once the job is finished they return to their daily lives. However, the attraction remains, and will haunt them over the next two decades.
My Verdict: Justifiably praised and already being labelled as one of the greatest love stories ever told, "Brokeback Mountain" is a truly stunning piece of work and Ang Lee's finest film in years. He directs the pic with a superlative style and grace, overlaying beautiful image with beautiful image, all to the tune of Gustavo Santaolalla's stunningly simplistic score and two mesmerising central performances. If there's a better acted film out there this year, I'll eat my hat. Both Gyllenhaal and Ledger are astonishing, fully deserving of all the plaudits that are being hurled their way. Jake (brother-of-Maggie) Gyllenhaal is developing into an extraordinary actor and after seeing him give his all in both this and "Jarhead", I can't wait to see what he does next (N.B. I just checked. David Fincher's new flick "Zodiac" with Robert Downey Jnr. This sounds so cool!). His playful charm contrasts superbly well with the torturous soul that is growing inside him. Ledger is even better, hardly moving a muscle and yet managing to express so much through so little (a technique that De Niro seems to have mastered). Both, I feel, if there's any justice in the world, will be rewarded come Oscar time. Indeed, if there was a best cast award at the Oscars (which there probably should be) then "Brokeback" would have it's name written all over it. The note-perfect cast: Hathaway, Cardellini, (and especially) Williams, they're all great. Touching, tender, poignant, heartbreaking and almost overwhelmingly sad, this is as fine a piece of American cinema as you're likely to see all year.
9 out of 10
Jarhead
Cert: 15 Released: 13th January Date I Saw It: 20th January
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper
Director: Sam Mendes
The Empire Plot Summary: It's 1990. Twenty year-old US Marine Anthony Swofford (Gyllenhaal) is sent to the Saudi Arabian desert as Saddam has invaded Kuwait and Uncle Sam has promised to do something about it. 'Swoff' is part of the 'elite' STA (Surveillance and Target Acquisition) platoon: one-shot, one-kill sniping experts. He wants to see action. But all he can see is sand…
My Verdict: Patchy "experimental" war movie from the director of "American Beauty". I know that the point of it is that the film is meant to be pointless but ultimately, this is what proves to be the picture's downfall. The concept just isn't compelling enough or depicted in a interesting enough way to sustain itself for the 2 hour running time. The cast are similarly patchy. Jamie Foxx shouts a lot, Sarsgaard smugly blends into the background and Chris Cooper barely figures. Only Jake Gyllenhaal (excellent again here) rises above them, choosing to give an understated (and unshowy) performance where other actors might have gone over the top. There are a few moments of beauty (some of the cinematography is stunning) that raise the movie above the average and Gyllenhaal is compelling throughout but apart from that, this is an extremely frustrating film to watch.
6 out of 10
Junebug (EXCLUSIVE UK REVIEW)
Cert: 15 tbc Released: 1st March Date I Saw It: 11th January
Starring: Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, Benjamin McKenzie, Alessandro Nivola, Celia Weston, Scott Wilson
Director: Phil Morrison
The IMDB Plot Summary: Madeline (Davidtz) is a go-getting art gallery owner from Chicago, recently married to George (Nivola), a near-perfect Southern beau. When Madeline needs to close a deal with a reclusive North Carolina artist, George introduces her to his family: prickly mother Peg (Weston), taciturn father Eugene (Wilson), cranky brother Johnny (McKenzie), and Johnny's pregnant, childlike wife Ashley (Adams), who is awe-struck by her glamorous sister-in-law. Madeline's presence exposes the fragile family dynamics as hidden resentments and anxieties surface.
My Verdict: Looking for something that'll put you in a good mood. Well, I guarantee this lovely little indie charmer will brighten up your day, a film that's as easy on the eye as it is on the ear. Blessed with a warm, heartfelt screenplay, lively direction and an impressive ensemble cast, "Junebug" subverts formula and takes you into a textured world that is at once extremely funny and extremely sad. The performances are all top-notch (even Ben McKenzie's, aka mopey Ryan Atwood on "The O.C."), the best of which, by Amy Adams, is already being tipped for the Best Supporting Actress gong. I really don't wanna jinx anything by saying this but her performance here is a magnetic portrayal of shiny optimism. Shockingly humane and fresh, "Junebug" is a sharp, sensitive, sleeper hit of a film that really gets under your skin. Superb.
9 out of 10
Waiting (EXCLUSIVE UK REVIEW)
Cert: 15 tbc Released: 2006 tbc Date I Saw It: 10th January
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Justin Long, Anna Faris, David Koechner, Luis Guzman, Chi McBride, John Francis Daley
Director: Rob McKittrick
Synopsis: A waiter for four years since high school, Dean (Long) has never questioned his job at Shenanigan's. But when he learns that Chett, a high school classmate, now has a lucrative career in electrical engineering, he's thrown into turmoil about his dead-end life. Dean's friend Monty (Reynolds) is in exactly the same boat, but he couldn't care less. More concerned with partying, Monty is put in charge of training Mitch (Francis Daley), a shy new employee. Over the course of one chaotic shift, Mitch gets to know the rest of Shenanigan's quirky staff: Monty's tough-talking ex-girlfriend, Serena (Faris), Shenanigan's over-zealous manager, Dan (Koechner), and head cook Raddimus (Guzman), who's obsessed with a senseless staff-wide competition known only as "The Game"...
My Verdict: Yes it's that man Ryan Reynolds again. Neither particularly witty nor especially funny, "Waiting" is a film that works almost entirely on the strengths of its cast. Justin Long ("Dodgeball") plays the straight man caught up in the chaos and does it well, Ryan Reynolds lets loose on his dependably funny Chevy Chase style schtick, Anna Faris cools down a bit after her hysterical showing in "Just Friends"; David Koechner is just as funny here as he was in "Anchorman", John Francis Daley (yes, it's Sam Weir from "Freaks & Geeks"!) damn near steals the entire movie as a young trainee who nobody notices and as usual, I've got nothing but respect for character actor extraordinaire Luis Guzman. If you're a fan of any of these actors then "Waiting" is worth a look. Or if you've worked in a restaurant. This should definitely plant a smile on your face.
7 out of 10
Match Point
Cert: 12A Released: 6th January Date I Saw It: 10th January
Starring: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Brian Cox, Matthew Goode, Rose Keegan, Penelope Wilton, James Nesbitt, Ewan Bremner
Director: Woody Allen
The Empire Plot Summary: One-time tennis pro Chris (Rhys-Meyers) is working as a coach when he meets wealthy posh bird Chloe (Mortimer). After they marry he embarks on an affair with his brother-in-law's fiancée, Nola (Johansson), forming a love triangle that has violent consequences.
My Verdict: So is "Match Point" the big Woody Allen comeback it's being hyped up as (and has been steadily since it premiered at Cannes last May)? I'm afraid not. Unfortunately, this is yet another disappointing entry in Woody Allen's CV; a once great New York auteur who hasn't made a great film for at least ten years. Part of the problem is that, at no point in the film, do you feel like you're watching a Woody Allen film. Could it be the change of location (to London) that proves to be the problem. Perhaps its the absence of a Woody Allen-style protagonist (Rhys-Meyers' British accent washes over whatever dialogue may have come across as Allen-esque). Whatever it is, it just doesn't feel quite right. It's also almost completely devoid of the trademark humour that Allen's pictures (even the serious ones) usually rely on. The cast are mainly solid, with Rhys-Meyers notably effective. Unfortunately, Johansson struggles to keep it similarly low-key and ends up overacting badly as the film reaches its (admittedly pretty neat) climax. Competently directed and plotted; its a shame that the finished product is so dull.
5 out of 10
Running Scared
Cert: 18 Released: 6th January Date I Saw It: 7th January
Starring: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, Chazz Palminteri
Director: Wayne Kramer
The Empire Plot Summary: Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low level mob flunkie whose role is to dispose of "hot" guns from mob killings. Unfortunately, Joey has been hiding these guns in the drywall of his basement, instead of tossing them in the river...
My Verdict: Don't get me wrong, "Running Scared" is a bad film... but it goes somewhat deeper (and darker) than that. There's something slightly dirty and distasteful about the film, which makes you dislike it that little bit more. I'm not usually one to get uptight about an over-abundance of strong language but when half the script is made up of motherf***ers and c***suckers, it just makes you question the integrity of the writer(s). Often incredibly unpleasant (why the uneasy - and unnecessary - subplot about paedophilia is in there we'll never know) and crafted almost solely to shock (including, among other things, torture by hockey puck), Kramer's gritty, grimy fairytale f***s you up from start to finish, plus Paul Walker is (quite unbelievably) even worse here than he was in "Into The Blue", which is something. A ridiculously violent, sexist, swear-fest of a f***ing film. In case you were wondering. That's not a good thing.
4 out of 10
Just Friends
Cert: 12A Released: 6th January Date I Saw It: 4th January
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein, Julie Hagerty
Director: Roger Kumble
The Empire Plot Summary: Chris (Reynolds) and Jamie (Smart) were best friends in high school, but the fat and nerdy Chris' crush on Jamie went unrequited. Ten years on, he's a buff music executive, back in town at Christmas with a spoiled star (Faris) in tow — but can he get out of the friend zone and into Jamie's heart?
My Verdict: "Just Friends" is a lot funnier than you might expect given the material and the director (who last fronted Cameron Diaz's awful "The Sweetest Thing"). The hugely likeable Ryan Reynolds is his usual charismatic self, while Anna Faris ("Scary Movie", "Lost in Translation") hijacks the proceedings as a scarily psychotic Britney Spears-type. In addition, the script is laced with a surprising amount of honesty and so the material is slightly more believable than most other teen rom-coms-of type. If you're looking for a bit of amiable, undemanding fluff, this could do just the trick.
7 out of 10
The Matador
Cert: 15 Released: 20th January Date I Saw It: 28th December
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall, Adam Scott, Dylan Baker
Director: Richard Shepard
The IMDB Plot Summary: A globetrotting hitman (Brosnan) and a crestfallen businessman (Kinnear) meet in a hotel bar in Mexico City in an encounter that draws them together in a way neither expected.
My Verdict: Pierce Brosnan has always been an under-achiever for me. Although well suited enough to his career-card-calling Bond role, he's never really impressed me that much as an actor. That is until now. His starring role in "The Matador" is so far beyond a career-best for him that its not even funny. In a way his character in this is kind of the anti-Bond. As a sinfully insecure hitman with a heart, Brosnan turns in one of the finest, most perfectly-judged performances of the year. And despite his many (many) flaws, you'll really find yourself rooting for him as the movie slides into it's unexpectedly poignant final act. The ridiculously underrated Greg Kinnear is almost his equal with yet another excellent showing (despite having the less showy of the two roles), while you've gotta love Philip Baker Hall. A surprisingly sweet buddy-movie charmer with a side-helping of pathos and an unusually fantastic performance by the man we used to call Bond.
8 out of 10