Wednesday 28 November 2007

American Gangster

Cast
Denzel Washington
Russell Crowe
Josh Brolin
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Carla Gugino
Common
TI
RZA
Ted Levine
John Ortiz
Yul Vazquez
Roger Bart
Screenwriter
Steven Zaillian
Director
Ridley Scott
Running Time
156 minutes

The true story of Frank Lucas (Washington), a ’70s Harlem crime lord who took on the Mafia by importing uncut heroin directly from Thailand, then selling it cheaper. Enter Richie Roberts (Crowe), the one clean cop in a sea of filthy fuzz, assigned to stem the drug flow and put Lucas behind bars.

It has a great visual style to it which goes without saying with a Ridley Scott picture but it does and there's the real sense of a long stretch of time being covered. The two leads are excellent and it held my absolute attention throughout.

Wednesday 21 November 2007

Beowulf

Cast
Ray Winstone
Angelina Jolie
Brendan Gleeson
Anthony Hopkins
Robin Wright Penn
John Malkovich
Screenwriters
Roger Avary
Neil Gaiman
Director
Robert Zemeckis
Running Time
114 minutes

6th Century Denmark, and the domain of King Hrothgar (Hopkins) is under attack from a hideous demon named Grendel (Crispin Glover). The heroic Beowulf (Winstone), a Geat warrior, arrives and vows to defeat Grendel. But if he manages that, there’s Grendel’s angry and seductive mother (Jolie) to contend with…

I did not see this in 3D as there was nowhere nearby to do so and had I, I probably would have given it an extra star. It was good and the animation technique is interesting but still a work in progress. Characters who are shouting or very animated with the actor giving a big performance seem to work best at present, whereas say the Queen acted by Robin Wright Penn who presumably was giving the role a subtler playing seemed not to register with the computer because the face was an unmoving mask.

Wednesday 14 November 2007

Death At A Funeral

Cast
Matthew Macfadyen
Rupert Graves
Alan Tudyk
Daisy Donovan
Kris Marshall
Andy Nyman
Jane Asher
Keeley Hawes
Peter Vaughan
Ewen Bremner
Peter Dinklage
Thomas Wheatley
Peter Egan
Screenwriter
Dean Craig
Director
Frank Oz
Running Time
90 minutes

While an eccentric British family mourns over their father's death, a mystery man threatens to reveal secrets about their father unless he is compensated.

Some mildly funny parts.

Wednesday 7 November 2007

Dollhouse

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon is returning to television with "Dollhouse," a new sci-fi project starring "Buffy" alumna Eliza Dushku that has received a seven-episode commitment from Fox. Hollywood Reporter

Joss Whedon is heading back to TV-- along with his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" ingenue, Eliza Dushku. Variety

Joss Whedon's last experience with episodic TV left a bad taste in his mouth, but an old friend has coaxed him back. LA Times

Hear that? It's the sound of Joss Whedon fans around the world freaking the frak out. (And I am one of them!) E! Online

Joss Whedon, the creator of acclaimed cult favorites “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly,” is returning to Fox and reuniting with “Buffy” regular Eliza Dushku for a new action-drama called “Dollhouse.” TV Week

Cult TV fans, set your emotions to thrilled: Joss Whedon is finally returning to the tube. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer mastermind has just signed a deal with Fox to create a drama series called Dollhouse. Better yet, he's chosen a very familiar face to inhabit it: she of Faith fame, Eliza Dushku. EW

Praise the heavens, Joss Whedon is returning to television. The creator of cult favorite shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Angel has signed a new deal with Fox for a new action-drama series, reports TVWeek.com. TV.com

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cast
Cate Blanchett
Clive Owen
Geoffrey Rush
Abbie Cornish
Samantha Morton
Screenwriters
Michael Hirst
William Nicholson
Director
Shekhar Kapur
Runtime
114m 41s

While facing danger from overseas, in the form of the Spanish Armada, and from the Babbington Plot at home, Elizabeth I (Blanchett) finds her world thrown into further turmoil when the roguish Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen) arrives at court…

I checked on the running time just before leaving for the cinema expecting it to be close to 3 hours and was pleasantly surprised that it was less than two, however while watching it it seemed to drag and had I not known I would have sworn it was longer. It was good but the whole love triangle subplot between Elizabeth, Raleigh and Bess was uninvolving and [spoiler] the Spanish Armada didn't worry me since I knew from innumerable history documentaries I'd caught over the years that that amounted to nothing.