The bitter cynic within me — located just left of the pancreas, if we’re being precise — would want nothing more than to rip into the manipulative emotional rollercoaster that is Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo, the kind of on-rails Hallmark drama where every ascent is followed by a predictable fall. Yet preventing such a scathing report is my inner romantic, a resident of the heart who shows up [...]
Chronicling the outbreak of a global pandemic, Contagion is a lot like the virus it depicts, surging through your bloodstream and into your brain, wracking you with fear, paranoia and moral indecision. Bolstered by a practically inconceivable cast, director Steven Soderbergh weaves multiple storylines — not dissimilar to his 2000 Oscar-winning drug drama Traffic — in order to show the effects of the disease on various levels of society. Succeeding [...]
Science fiction is a genre renowned for its futuristic visions and cerebral concepts, but at the heart of many famed sci-fi fables is a classic romance: Han Solo and Princess Leia (Star Wars), Neo and Trinity (The Matrix), Decard and Rachel (Blade Runner), and even WALL-E and EVE (WALL-E). With that in mind, it’s understandable why long-time writer, fist-time director George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum) decided to [...]
With their latest outing True Grit, Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man, Burn After Reading) appear to be taking a well-deserved break from being themselves. As a straight shootin’ Western, their 15th feature is largely without the wordy and wry dialogue, exaggerated characterisations, richly satirical scenarios, and graphic violence that characterises much of their impressive filmography. But who said [...]
Update: This competition has ended. Winners announced below!
To celebrate the release of the Coen Brother’s True Grit, a classically-told western starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, Paramount Pictures and Cut Print Review are giving you the chance to win one of ten in-season double passes to see the movie when it rides into Australian cinemas on January 26th 2011.
To be in the draw to win, simply fill [...]
Traditional Westerns have been a bit of a mixed bag in recent years, there haven’t been very many in the 2000s, and while some like 3:10 to Yuma, The Assassination of Jesse James and Appaloosa have done fairly respectably both critically and commercially, they have not really captured the kind of excitement and momentum that would put the Western back into big leagues of cinema, despite the involvement [...]
While George W. Bush was prematurely touting “Mission Accomplished” from the deck of the USS Lincoln back in May 2003, super soldier Roy Miller (Matt Damon) was going Rambo through the streets of Baghdad, determined to uncover the truth as to why US intelligence was so incredibly wrong about Iraq harbouring weapons of mass destruction.
Indian spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi got his own Hollywood biopic. So did legendary French heroine Joan of Arc, gay rights politician Harvey Milk, sporting great Muhammad Ali, Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara…heck, even gangster rapper 50 Cent got one.
So why is it that Nelson Mandela — a man who served a 27 year jail sentence in South Africa before being elected President of the nation that imprisoned him – gets his Hollywood biopic thrown in with a sports movie? Are you trying to tell me his story wasn’t quite inspirational enough?
Worst of all, Invictus isn’t even a good sports film. Like the pseudo biopic on Mandela, the rugby half is both shallow and generic, qualities echoed by the horrendously mawkish theme song ‘Colorblind’ that is enough to make this seem like a parody of an inspirational film. It’s hard to believe that the man responsible for this unmitigated disaster is none other than American film icon Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino).
So why is it that Nelson Mandela — a man who served a 27 year jail sentence in South Africa before being elected President of the nation that imprisoned him – gets his Hollywood biopic thrown in with a sports movie? Are you trying to tell me his story wasn’t quite inspirational enough?
Worst of all, Invictus isn’t even a good sports film. Like the pseudo biopic on Mandela, the rugby half is both shallow and generic, qualities echoed by the horrendously mawkish theme song ‘Colorblind’ that is enough to make this seem like a parody of the inspirational film. It’s hard to believe that the man responsible for this unmitigated disaster is none other than American film icon Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino).
So why is it that Nelson Mandela — a man who served a 27 year jail sentence in South Africa before being elected President of the nation that imprisoned him – gets his Hollywood biopic thrown in with a sports movie? You’re telling me his story wasn’t quite inspirational enough already?
Worst of all, Invictus isn’t even a good sports film. Like the pseudo biopic on Mandela, the rugby half is both shallow and generic, qualities echoed by the horrendously mawkish pop song ‘Colorblind’ that insisted on ruining the best part of the film; the credits. It’s hard to believe that the man responsible for this unmitigated disaster is none other than American film icon Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino).
