3 Feb 2000 Many women often dismiss action films for their appalling violence, and really don’t understand what men see in the average Arnie or Stallone film. While they might have a point, I find the bitchiness between women in so-called “chick flicks” to be even more shocking than the average shoot-’em-up bloodbaths that usually [...]
27 Jan 2000 Human Traffic tells the pointless but entertaining story of five Cardiff youths, whose lives revolve around sex, drugs and… um, that’s about it. Writer-director Justin Kerrigan portrays the British youth scene in a chaotic style, accompanied by a constant hip-hop beat. The publicity describes this as “Trainspotting meets Go“, and it obviously [...]
A few weeks into 2000 and the fuss is over. Whether the 20th century ended last year or this one (and if you could care less, you really must get out more), we are free of all those lists of the greatest, best — whatever — of the past decade, century or millennium. Finally, we can live our lives without thinking of 10 ways to go about it.
Deuce Bigalow (Rob Schneider) is a fish-tank cleaner, who can drone on about fish and aquariums in the same tiresome way that others babble about cars or computers. He is hired by the fearsome Antoine LeConte (Oded Fehr), a celebrity hustler, to look after his tropical fish while he goes on a business trip. Many [...]
Recently I was telling a colleague about The Truman Show, that intriguing movie about a man living a good life, in a happy town, blissfully unaware that it’s all make-believe.
“Have you seen that yet?” I asked.
“No, I don’t watch movies,” she said. “I haven’t seen a movie since nineteen eighty… three, I think.”
11 Dec 1998 Atlantis uncovers a problem with the star rating system. How can this exquisite film, comprised of fly-on-the-wall scenes from the ocean world, possibly be assessed in the same way as everything else? There is no narrative, no beginning or ending, nor any need for such things. We are reminded that film is [...]
Humour is a very personal thing, as I was reminded when I enjoyed such despised comedies as Mr Magoo and A Little Bit of Soul. Bad jokes? Maybe, but even Chaplin and the Marx Brothers had their critics. Dags, the latest feature from independent producer-writer-director Murray Fahey, received so little support in its development that [...]
18 Sep 1998 When Kurt Cobain died in 1994, at age 27, he joined the long parade of rock stars who departed at their peak, leaving history with a distorted view of their talent. Maverick British documentary maker Nick Broomfield admits that he considers Cobain “a great artist”. He is not alone. Nevermind, by Cobain’s [...]
Deep Impact was inevitable this year. It’s about the end of the world, a big event like no other. Hollywood is going through another cycle of “big” movies, mainly about disasters. Moreover, 1999 (a historically favoured year for Armageddon) is just a few months away. Therefore, the making of Deep Impact was as unstoppable as [...]
16 June 1998 Were it not for the more serious moments, vague spiritual allusions and occasional flashes of wit, Going All the Way would be little more than a stylised version of the teenage sex comedies of the eighties. Our heroes, on a constant pursuit of sex, tend to meet women who are both alarmingly [...]
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