The Informant

The Informant! is a 2009 political dark comedy film directed by Stephen Soderbergh. It depicts Mark Whitacre's involvement as a whistle blower in the lysine price fixing conspiracy of the mid-1990s, as described in the 2000 non fiction book, The Informant, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald The script was written by Scott Z. Burns and the film stars Matt Damon, Richard Steven Horvitz, Scott Bakula, Joel Mchale and Melanie Lynskey.

I tried to enjoy this movie but just couldn't get into it. I guess it's just not my kind of humour. The monologues from Damon are well thought out and funny but I think the story itself wasn't funny enough. I think Damon acted really well and it was a good idea for a movie but, for me, it didn't work. I came away from the film without any stong feelings about the story. It was just something I watched when I was bored and probably because he was in it. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody looking for a real sidesplitter feel good movie. It's an acquired taste and not really for the masses.

By Gerry.

Battle Royale

Battle Royale is a 2000 Japanese film based on the novel of the same name and directed by Kinji Fukasaku, and stars Takeshi Kitanu and Tatsuya Fujuwara.

This film tells the story of a secondary school class that is being kidnapped and left on an island.
If that isn't horrible enough, they're also forced to fight each other to the death because there can only be one "winner" who will be allowed to get off the island and go home. Each student is given a survival pack along with a weapon (knives, guns, swords etc). To make sure they can't escape the island they have to wear electronic collars that can track them wherever they go. These collars are not removable!
We see the class mates fight for their lives, not sure who to trust and whether to team up with people or go alone. who will survive?

Vinny.

The Orphanage

Well this week I managed to watch many Films due to the flu one I happened to stumble across was The Orphanage (2007) Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Produced by Guillermo del Toro
This is a Spanish film starring Belen Rueda as Laura and Fernando Cayo as Carlos neither of these actors I have come across before.

Laura returns to an Orphanage she grew up in with her husband Carlos and adopted son Simon who is HIV positive. At the start there are some flashbacks of Laura in Orphanage playing a game. The Orphanage is being renovated into their home and also a retreat for special needs children.Simon has imaginary friend and Laura thinks having some real children will help him to get rid of the imaginary ones. Out playing on the beach Simon finds a new imaginary friend whom he brings home.A very sinister social worker also turns up at the house.Simon goes missing after he fights with Laura she cannot move on believing he is still alive. A very creepy boy in a sack bag mask haunts Laura which is nearly comical at times.

Laura begins to search for her son finding it hard to to believe what is in her imagination and what is real.A lot of the crawling camera work is similar to Del Toros Pans Labyrinth although unfortunately this film is not a patch on Pan's Labyrinth. As Laura unravels deep secrets in the house she regresses back into childhood pushing her husband further and further away.When a medium comes to the house more creepy and seat gripping moments occur but this is not long lived as the film drags out and I found myself nearly screaming at the TV to get to the point. Like Laura I found my my mind was beginning to play tricks on me. In 2008 this film was nominated for a foreign language Oscar.

Although the storey line was nothing new to all the other horrors it had the occasional scary moment thanks to the actors.The only slight letdown is a false ending, which proves to be much more in keeping with the rest of the action’s tension and tone than the one that actually wraps up the film. Where Laura finds out that she herself has killed her son by locking him accidentally in the basement ( explaining the banging noises).She then commits suicide placing here with her son again and all the other children that had died in the Orphanage. All in all if you like foreign films and have the patience to endure all the subtle spookiness I'd recommend it.
Til Next time Dawn :)

The Bucket List

"The Bucket List" is a 2007 film written by Justin Zackham, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It tells the story of 2 men with cancer who make friends with each other in hospital and head to an adventure in which they do the things they have wanted to do before they die, written down as "the bucket list".

This movie entertains the viewers as the men go to an around-the-world vacation. They ride motorcycles, go skidiving and get tattoos, among other things.

One of the men reunites with his daughter and meets his granddaughter for the first time, after things get more sad with the death of the other, as a result of the cancer getting worse.

I recommend this movie!

Mattias

Dan In Real Life

Drama/comedy film starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche. Steve Carell takes a step away from his usual comedy film acting and delivers a moving drama, with of course the occasional laughs.

In this film we follow the story of Dan, a newspaper journalist. Every year during the holiday season he visits his parents in the country, along with all the extended family that are invited there as well. After the death of his wife he his left with 3 young girls to raise and this takes its toll on Dan's social life and mental health and he is not too happy with himself. During the family get together he decides to take off and go down to the village to clear his head. In a random little bookstore he is approached by Marie (Juliette Binoche) who mistakes him as an employee. After making some small talk they agree to get some breakfast together. Marie tells Dan she has a boyfriend. Dan happily returns to the family home to announce that he has met someone new only to find Marie standing there with Dan's brother Mitch.

From here on we see the love between Dan and Marie develop and the situation gets tenser as Marie cannot leave Mitch for Dan because she is afraid of hurting Mitch. Can they work it out?

I recommend this film for anyone who'd like to see Steve Carell play one of his best roles to date. And just anyone who wants to see a good film :)

peace!

Vinny.

The Warriors

A 1979 movie about New York Gang warfare.
Well kinda.

-Dane

Night Train 2009

Night Train is a 2009 action/thriller film produced by Rifkin-Eberts Productions and stars LeeLee Sobieski, Steve Zahn, and Danny Glover.

Two Passengers and the conductor discover that a person has passed away on their Night Train cabin. They come across valuable diamonds on his person, that they wish to keep for themselves. So, to make it look like the man never boarded the train, they conspire to dump his body in a river that the train passes. Their scheme to get rid of the corpse escalates to the point where they have to chop up his body just to fit him into a small trunk. They then become paranoid, as they might turn on each other.

Surprisingly this was a very gripping film and quite enjoyable to watch. They actors are all very good and the story is well written. This is a much better film than the highly publicized 'The Box", which I didn't enjoy at all. I won't give away too much about the plot but basically there is a massive twist which I really didn't see coming about the diamonds.

This would be a great rental choice and there is something in this movie for everyone. It's clever and entertaining and a lot better than most things in cinemas at the moment.

Check it out!

by Gerry.

Love in the time of Cholera

Love in the time of Cholera (2007) is a film I watched over Valentines as it is just like Romeo & Juliet but with a third act!An adaptation of the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Directed by Mike Newall and led by two great actors Javier Bardem (Florentino) and Fermina (Giovanna Mezzogiorno).
Florentino sets his heart on Fermina and for five decades obsesses over her.Although with many advances through the years Fermina marries Dr. Juvenal Urbino (Benjamin Bratt).The doctor is a renowned Cholera curer and falls in love with Fermina as he constantly competes in the love triangle that is between himself , Fermina and the ever persistent Florentino. After the marriage between them Florentino fills his bed and diary with many women to try and forget his lost love even Shakira has a small acting role as one of his many conquests!After many years and many meetings Florentino and Fermina finally get together in there late 70's for this scene a lot of prosthetics were used on the actors to change them personally I did not like this as older actors should have been used instead of too much make up and prosthetics , it just didn't work!Having sat through Love in the time of Cholera without the benefit of having read the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel that inspired the film, I’m left feeling lost and a little empty.Because we’re shown a glimpse of the story’s final act in the films first few minutes, there’s nothing to look forward to and wonder about as the plot moves sluggishly forward. There's also a problem with continuity in that Fermina and the good doctor are shown as the proud parents of a newborn. Said child then disappears for the length of the film, only to reappear - along with a batch of siblings - toward the end of the movie.
All in all I found it more of a comedy and some of the scenes continuity was completely of.
But if your like me and an old romantic at heart it's an enjoyable few hours of faith bringing two people together , Florentino's stalker traits and the question 'How long would you wait for Love?'
Dawn :)

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring

"Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring" ("Fall" instead of "Autumn" in some countries) is a 2003 South Korean movie directed by Kim Ki-duk and starring Su Oh-yeong and Kim Young-min.

The settings of the movie make for a rather peaceful movie, and yet it has a serious theme.

The movie is about a young Buddhist apprentice, under the guidance of an old monk. They live a calm life full of prayer and meditation. However, one day the apprentice tortures an innocent fish, snake and frog, for fun and out of curiosity. His master wants to teach the boy a lesson and he ties the boy together with a rock, making it difficult for him to move. The boy seems to learn his lesson, but this does not remain the only time he does something terrible.

The boy becomes a man and marries. He kills his wife for having an affair and attemps suicide until the master sees his old apprentice again and convinces him that he cannot kill himself as easily as he did his wife.

The old apprentice becomes a master by the end.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It is rather unlike any movie I have seen.

Mattias.

 So last week I was roaming around HMV browsing the films in the world cinema section. So far I've reviewed an English and an American film so I thought It'd be interesting to go to a different part of the world this time. Tsotsi, an African film, caught my attention and so I bought it and watched it and got blown away. What a fantastic film. I had never heard of this film before but was definitely not surprised to find out in my research that it had won an academy award for best foreign film. 

Tsotsi takes us through 6 days in the life of a young african gangster named Tsotsi.  He spends his days roaming around the Soweto slum and at night he heads into the city with his gang to rob innocent people off their cash, sometimes at a heavy price for the victim. 

After getting into a fight with his alcoholic best friend he runs away for the night into the big city. This would change his life forever as on an impulse he steals a car with the engine still running and flees the scene. What he doesn't know is that there is a baby in the backseat and so when he eventually finds out, he freaks and crashes the car. He does not know what to do or where to go as he doesn't want to keep the baby but can't bring himself to leave it there, so he decides to bring him home.

From here on we see Tsotsi slowly changing from a cold blooded thug into a loving father-like figure to the young child. I wont give away the ending for those who haven't seen it but for a film that cost $5- million it will leave you very impressed.

enjoy!

Vinny.

Antichrist

The antichrist is about a couple who after the death of there child retreat to a cabin in the woods where their growing insanity becomes manifest in strange visions and increased vilence and sexual behaviour.

The film is supposed to be a horror film, but i didn't think so after I watched it!

the first hour has to be the most boring thing I have ever watched in my life and the last hour is hard to watch and made me feel a little bit sick.

Willem Dafoe (acted as the green goblen in spiderman) was 1 of the 2 only cast in the film, himself and Charlotte Gainsberg.

The film sort of made sense to me untill a random fox in the forest turns away from eating itself and says to Willem Dafoe 'Caos Rains'. Random I tought, but I guess there where both strange people so seeing a talking fox and weird sexual and vilent behaviour became normal.

I think the film was shocking bad and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Its a waste of 2 hours of your life. Well it was for me anyway.

Brian

Clerks. If Carlsberg did movies.. this would be Dutch Gold.

-Dane

EXILS

Exiles as it known in English is the impressive 2004 French film from Tony Gatlif starring Lubna Azabal and the excellent Roman Duris. After making love in their crampy Paris apartment Zano (Duris) and Naimi (Azabal) make a spontaneous decision to travel to Algeria where both their parents were once exiled from.

Join our characters in this gripping story of self discovery and culture awareness as they adventure through France, Spain and finally into Algeria. With its impeccable soundtrack Exiles succeeds in delivering emotians of intensity, joyfullness, moral ethic and. A rollercoaster steeped in culture this movie is not to be missed


By Billy

Das Experiment

"Das Experiment" is a 2001 German movie directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. It is based on the events of the Stanford prison experiment.

The movie tells the story of an experiment carried out in which 20 volunteers act as prisoners and prison guards while being observed by scientists. The point is to see how people act when they are given the opportunity to rule over others or to be ruled by others.

In this movie, we see the "prison guards" becoming increasingly obsessed with control as they break the boundaries of what can or should be done. They begin to humiliate the men who are acting as prisoners, making the scientists wonder about aborting the experiment. By the end, there are several injuries and even deaths, resulting from the violence carried out by the men pretending to be prison guards.

I recommend this movie as it is interesting, but it may be too much for the more sensitive viewers, especially those under 18. The fact that it is based on a true story adds to the movie and makes it very captivating.

So? How long would you last?


Mattias.

Fur : An imaginary portrait of Diana Arbus

This week I decided to tell every-one about the film
Fur: An imaginary portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) directed by Steven Shainberg who also directed The Secretary.An adaptation of the book by Patricia Bosworth.

Starring two great stars Nicole Kidman (Diane Arbus) and Robert Downey Jnr ( Lionel Sweeney-the furry one!). The movie is based on the legendary photographer Diane Arbus set in 1958. Diane is working as an assistant for her fashion photographer husband Alan. Diane is unhappy with her life as a house wife with two young daughters and also with living in the shadows of her husband and grows a lust for some-thing different leading her to an obsession with the mysterious masked man named Lionel that lives in the same apartment block as her.Diane decides she wants to meet Lionel and take his picture and so each night she goes up the stairs to his apartment but never takes a picture of him.Lionel is covered in hair but this does not frighten or amuse Diane and so they forge a great friendship.He introduces her to all his friends including a dwarf and a woman with no arms.The closer Diane gets to Lionel the further she moves away from her own family.This leads her husband to even go as far as growing a beard to compete with Lionel.The relationship between Lionel and Diane intensifies and she admits that she is in love with him , sadly Lionel is dying.In a very strange and sad scene Diane shaves Lionel completely revealing the man behind the fur and the passion between them takes over.He then begs her to take him to the sea which reluctantly he does bidding each other a tearful good bye Lionel leaves her with a fur coat made from his own hair and also an empty photo album. This was a brilliant film a great adaptation of the book and had a sort of beauty and the beast feel of it!There are a few scenes that will stay with you long after watching the film.Nicole Kidman is great as ever portraying a fragile house wife who evolves into a confident woman. The Gorgeous Robert Downey Jnr. is equally as good as Lionel. What else can I say? Well I will never look at my fur coat in the same way but like most things I enjoy it is definitely worth a second look or a third...................................

Dawn :)

Set in belfast in 1992 during the troubles, 5 Catolic friends go about stealing cars and joyriding and are shaped by the violence that surrounds them.
CAST
Marc O'Shea as Sean Bronagh Gallagher as Frances Michael Liebmann as Marley Michael Gregory as Hugh Emma Moylan as Mary Marie Jones as Sarah Catherine Brennan as Rosaleen Frank Grimes as Mr. Hagan Lorcan Cranitch as Father Tom James Greene as Father Peter Ian McElhinney as Reggie Devine

Run time : 84 mins

this film is an entertaining film about the 5 friends who rob and joyride cars especially sean and marley. when marley is caught by the vigilantes, his fingers are broken by a bassball bat by the ira commander. this was my favorite scene, it brought so much tension before he swings the bat and breaks his fingers. the after beating is worse when the beat everypart of his body. it has a great soundtrack like the original track 'injected with a poisin'
overall the film was farily good and i enjoyed it.

DIRECTOR: SPENCE, RICHARD

Brian

Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a quirky film that crosses many genres. Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, a tax auditor, who's life runs like clock work. Everyday is the same routine. He seems to have a slight touch of OCD or is just living a safe life and not taking any risks at all.

His life takes a drastic turn as one day he starts to hear a voice inside his head. Will Ferrell plays this out hilariously and you really do feel pity for Harold Crick. He checks everywhere in case he is being stalked even going as far as thinking there is someone in his toothbrush. Dustin Hoffman plays an excellent support role as a Literature professor who attempts to help Harold when he realizes the voice in his head is narrating his life.

Harold is led to believe that he is going to die and with the help of Anna Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal) he starts to live his life to the full, ignoring all of his previous OCD-like behaviour. This takes him to find the answer to his predicament.

This isn't one of Will Ferrell's more well known movies but in my opinion it is one of his best. Proving once again that he is a fantastic actor. If you haven't seen it, download it now! I mean... go to the shop and buy it.

Vinny.

Fifty Dead Men Walking

When you cross the line there's no going back.

A very good film depicting the struggle in Northern Ireland in the 1980's and what one had to do to survive.


-Dane

The Boondock Saints 1999

The Boondock Saints is a crime thriller written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Fanery and Norman Reedus as Catholic Irish American Fraternal Twins, Conner and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense. After a "message from God", the brothers, together with their friend David Della Rocco, set out to rid their home city of Boston Massachusetts of crime and evil; all the while being pursued by Special Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe).

I have to say from the off that this is one of my favourite films of all time. It has everything any cold blooded male would want and I'm sure could be enjoyed by our female readers also, if simply for the wealth of hilarious characters and situations throughout. Action, adventure, drama and a whole lot of laughs are thrown into the pot here.

Willem Defoe is his usual brilliant self and there is even a cameo from none other than the king of comedy, Billy Connolly. It's hard to fault the screenplay and apart from one or two slightly dodgy accents it's a joy to watch. It has become a cult hit stateside but is a bit unknown on this side of the water. They recently have brought out a follow up which I have yet to see but if it's anything like it's predecessor I'll be checking it out.

You won't find this in xtravision but if you can get yourself a copy off ebay or something then go for it, you won't regret it.

By Gerry.

Being John Malkovich

This wonderfully weird 1999 "dramedy" was written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. The movie tells the story of a puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor John Malkovich's (played by himself) head. He tells his wife (Cameron Diaz) about the portal who starts using it as well and gets to fulfill her curiosities about being a man. Eventually other people start using the portal also, making the movie rather messy in an interesting, amusing way.

The guy who first discovered the portal finds that he can control Malkovich's actions as he does with his puppets, making Malkovich paranoid. Malkovich finds a world where everyone looks like him and can say nothing but "Malkovich". He insists that the portal be closed, but it doesn't work.

This movie is quite complex and for me it took several viewings to grasp it more. It is full of surprises. I was about to write what happens in the end, but it would ruin the element of surprise. I can say though, that the ending is rather interesting.

Mattias

Trailer:

Perfume : The storey of murder

The Film I watched recently Perfume: the storey of murder.Directed by Tom Tykwer(2007) this adaptation of the book by Patrick Suskind. it is a visual feast to the eyes.Starring Ben Wishaw , Dustin Hoffman and one of my personal favourites actors Alan Rickman.Narrated by John Hurt.

The film starts in the 1800s in a dirty Parisian street.This is the first time our senses come alive to the fish market so beautifully visual and ugly enough to turn your stomach.A young woman (Jean-Baptiste Grenouille) mother gives birth to him on the filthy ground.She cuts the cord with same knife she uses for gutting fish, goes back to work and leaves him to die.But the baby does not die and begins to cry alerting all of the people in the market who then murder his mother for the abandonment of the child.Already you get a sense of what is to come that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is very different in turn this is a a taster of what is to come with his mother being his first victim.

Jean Baptise is then brought to a orphanage but is sold to tannery where he works hard and is treated cruelly.He can smell every thing around him from a rock under muddy water to the hyde on a beast.He finally escapes the cruel life of the tannery and stumbles upon an Italian perfumer called Baldini (Dustin Hoffman) who is not having much business as he has lost his skill as a perfumer.Jean Baptise works with him a through learning his skills to distill and make perfume , Baldini's perfume becomes a success again thanks to Jean Baptiste's amazing sense of smell.Things go well for a while but Baldini cannot give Jean Baptise what he desires most- to make the best perfume in the world. Leaving Baldini he goes to Grenouille.Here Jean Baptise works for a man and woman in the distillery with hundreds of flower petals.With all the equipment he needs Jean Baptise begins his killing spree.His best perfume in the world consists of the scents of women.We first see him kill a prostitute in a very gruesome manner.He covers the body in animal fat to preserve the smell then rolls it in cloth and removes all the hair,then scrapes the animal fat from the dead body and distills it placing it in little bottles ( no for the faint hearted) Dead bodies of women begin to appear in the Grenouille.Antoine ( Alan Rickman) appeals to the people of Grenouille to find the killer as he fears for his own daughter who has become the object of obsession with Jean Baptise. Antoine leaves the town to try and keep his daughter safe but it is all in vain as Jean Baptise finds her and murders her also.This part of the film I find heart breaking and a real hatred for the murderer as Antoine adores his daughter.To keep her save from harm he locks her in her bedroom, but Jean Baptise steals the key and gets in the room.After a bad dream it is morning Antoine goes to the bedroom to find his daughter lying naked and bald murdered on the bed. Jean Baptise has finished his masterpiece just as the guards come for him.Stowing his perfume in his pocket.Crowd gather to see him hung.The guards come to take him from the cell when Jean Baptise places a drop of the perfume on himself.The guards fall at his feet.He walks proudly out to the crowd places a drop of perfume on his handkerchief and waves it round the crowd bask in his amazing scent.The men and women fall at his feet in worship.This goes on for about ten minutes which I feel is a bit long winded and then the people begin removing their clothes and embracing one another!(A cringe worthy part if watching with parents) Jean Baptise is finally complete and returns to the Parisian street where his mother once gave birth to him.He sees some people huddled around a fire and drops all the perfume on himself.The people turn to see him , one woman exclaims 'An Angel It's an Angel' rushing towards him they knock him to the ground and eat him!A very Bizarre end. All in all a truly wonderful film.Beautifully portrayed and yet horrifying a lot of the time.The talent of Ben Whishaw(Jean Baptise) is brilliant and he carries the film all the way through and you can't help but feel some sort of emotion for him as he had a terrible life though no excuse to murder for perfection..Old familiar faces such as Rickman and Hoffman were also welcome in this beautiful yet bizarre film. I could almost smell the perfumes through the screen.John Hurts narration added to the story greatly.The message I think behind the movie is that some Jean Baptise goes through life leaving destruction where ever he goes to achieve what he most desires with no emotion I think we all know a character or will meet some-one like that a one stage or another in life! If you have not yet seen Perfume get watching now its a feast to the senses!

THE CASTLE

Made in 1997 by director Rob Stitch 'THE CASTLE' is an hilarious comedy from Australia that if you missed well i guess you're in for a treat. Starring Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Eric Bana and Charles Tingwel it tells the story of a loving yet bizarre family in suburban Australia and their pending misfortune of getting evicted from their family home.

The Kerrigan family home lays in an underdeveloped housing estate, above toxic landfill, beneath power lines and adjacent to Melbourne airport. Yet they believe they live in a lap of luxury but when they and their neighbors are threatened with eviction an hilarious sequence of events develop before our eyes.

The castle shares a different sense of homour not often witnessed in original movies. A complete satire in which the characters are so stupid you have to love them. Take the escapades of the Simpsons, the warmth of Sullivans, put them together into a swashbuckling storyline to that of mad max and you get the Kerrigans. Witness the madcap Daryll and his loving family take on the authorities to save their home and proud lifestyle.

Filmed in just 11 days and with a budget of just 19'000 australian dollars the Castle has captivated audiences worldwide. With its cult status this film is not to be missed. If you like your comedy served with a twist of lemon get down to your local video store and rent out this movie

Control

 Control is a 2007 film directed by the Dutch director Anton Corbijn based on the book Touching From a Distance by Deborah Curtis. The film takes us through the tragic but highly inspiring life  of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis.

 The first thing that'll strike you when you watch this film is the fact that it is shot in black and  white. This suits the mood of the film very well as we see Ian Curtis battling with a depression  while living the life so many of us would like to have.  The director has, in my opinion, done an  excellent job in showing the typical style of the 1970's UK punk scene and the rise of Joy  Division  without making it another band biography style film we so often see.

 Sam Riley, who plays the role of Ian Curtis, is one of the most talented new actors on the scene.  His ability to not only act as Ian but also sing like him takes the film to another level. So much in  fact, that it becomes hard to believe you're not looking at Ian in action. Not to mention  Samantha Morton's , who plays Ian's wife Deborah, performance. Absolutely fantastic and heart  wrenching as we see her side of the story.

 Control will take you on the journey of this young and troubled musician as he becomes the  singer of a band that'll be remembered forever, desperately tries to hold his marriage together    and his tragic death. It is one of the greatest films to come out of the last decade and a must  see for any film lover!

Vincent.