Source : LondonNet Film Review
Spider-Man 3
"The greatest battle lies within..." proudly declares the tagline for the third and potentially final part of the web-slinging blockbuster series, once again directed by Sam Raimi. How very true...
The greatest battle for Spider-Man 3 lies within Alvin Sargent's screenplay, based on a story by Raimi and brother Ivan, which faces the seemingly impossible task of tying together all of the loose narrative threads from the first two films, whilst delivering the gravity-defying thrills we have come to expect from comic book hero.
Not only that, the third installment introduces two new villains whilst keeping the emphasis firmly on the emotional journeys of the characters rather than a blitzkrieg of action set pieces. And all within 139 minutes - the longest adventure of the trilogy. Sargent's script isn't quite up to the gargantuan task - bold ambition exceeds the film's considerable grasp and one of the villains, Venom, is so peripheral to the unfolding action that he could have been cut entirely.
Crucially, too much time is wasted trudging over old ground and - believe it or not - indulging in a pointless comedy-dance sequence that references Saturday Night Fever and the musical Chicago. The parting words of Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) to her beau Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) - "Go get 'em tiger!" - at the conclusion of Spider-Man 2 set the scene nicely for this next chapter, in which the geeky photographer prepares to propose to his sweetheart.
Relations with best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), however, are strained as ever. "I need to explain things," Peter pleads, after the one-time pals meet outside the theatre where Mary Jane is making her Broadway debut. "Tell my father! Raise him from the dead!" seethes Harry, referring to his scientist pater Norman (Willem Dafoe), aka The Green Goblin, who perished in the first picture.
Meanwhile, escaped convict Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) wanders into a particle physics test site and is morphed into the shape-shifting Sandman, and begins to terrorise the good people of New York. Adding to Peter's woes, a black substance from a crashed meteorite fuses with his Spider-Man suit, turning the spandex black and unleashing the dark, vengeful side of his personality.
Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) tries to warn Peter. "Uncle Ben wouldn't want us living with revenge in our hearts," she advises. "It's like a poison. It can take you over and turn us into something ugly." When Peter tries to escape from the black goo's intoxicating power, he unwittingly infects rival Daily Bugle photographer Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), and snarling adversary Venom is born...
Spider-Man 3 is the weakest instalment of the series but still boasts a number of entertaining set pieces, including a spectacular aerial sequence involving Spider-Man and Goblin, and plenty of tears as Peter and Mary Jane decide whether they future lies as a couple or apart.
The final showdown between Spider-Man and the two villains is a crushing disappointment, laced with unintentional comedy thanks to the running commentary from a plummy British television newscaster, and some shameless flag-waving from Raimi, juxtaposing his hero against a fluttering Stars And Stripes.
Franco's powerful performance of a prodigal son eaten up with rage puts both Maguire and Dunst in the shade, with some much needed comic relief from J.K. Simmons as Peter's maniacal editor, J Jonah Jameson. Closing scenes bring the trilogy to a sombre close, suggesting that while Spider-Man 4 is a possibility, the man in the natty red and blue web-suit may have spun his final web.
- Sam Cannon
Sunday, May 13, 2007
'Spider-Man 3' still rules boxoffice with $60 mil
By Brian Fuson
With four new wide releases entering the marketplace this weekend, for the most part moviegoers in North America only had eyes for Sony's "Spider-Man 3" as everyone's favorite webslinger left theaters with an estimated $60 million on its sophomore frame, off a relatively modest 60% from its staggering record breaking debut of $151.1 million. The third installment based on the Marvel Comics character has racked up a riveting estimate of $242.1 million in 10 days.
On the international stage, the Tobey Maguire starrer pulled in an estimated $85.5 million during the weekend, advancing the cume to $380 million, and combined with domestic for a worldwide boxoffice tally of an amazing $622.1 million for the Sam Raimi-helmed feature.
Of the weekend's new arrivals, 20th Century Fox's "28 Weeks Later," from Fox Atomic, had the best showing. The sci-fi thriller is an apocalyptic sequel to "28 Days Later," a story about a deadly virus that infects London, and easily captured the second spot with a somewhat disappointing estimate of $10 million from 2,303 theaters. The R-rated "28 Weeks," from director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and starring Robert Carlyle, opened near the first film's $10.1 million debut, but "Days" accomplished that feat with just 1,260 theaters.
In a counterprogramming move Universal's "Georgia Rule" put in its bid for female moviegoers this weekend, but the R-rated drama failed to generate much interest at the boxoffice with a third-place finish and an estimate of a weak $5.9 million from 2,523 sites. Lindsay Lohan, Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman star in the Morgan Creek production, which was directed by industry veteran Garry Marshall. As projected, the audience was largely older females.
Holding up nicely in the fourth slot -- thanks to positive word of mouth -- was Paramount's "Disturbia," which slipped a meager 18% in its fifth weekend to scare up an estimated $4.8 million. Produced by DreamWorks and Montecito Pictures, the PG-13 film has collected an estimated $66.3 million so far.
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Lionsgate's "Delta Farce" didn't provide much firepower at the boxoffice on its debut this weekend as the comedy marched into the fifth spot with an estimated $3.5 million from 1,931 theaters. Not surprisingly, the PG-13 picture, starring Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and DJ Qualls and helmed by C.B. Harding, skewed young and male, but not in the numbers hoped for.
The only other film debuting in wide release this weekend was MGM's "The Ex," from Mark Cuban's 2929 Prods. The PG-13 romantic comedy, starring Zach Braff and Amanda Peet, arrived in the 12th slot with a bleak estimate of $1.4 million from 1,009 locations. Jesse Peretz helmed the comedy about two newlyweds who face challenges from a previous relationship that intrudes into the present.
But back to the weekend's top film: "Spider-Man 3" blasted past the $200 million mark on Saturday, or in just nine days of release, and tied with the first "Spider-Man" picture with the second-fastest time to reach that level at the boxoffice. Buena Vista's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Spider-Man 2," and Fox's "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" each reached that same milestone in eight days.
But executives at Sony were more than pleased with performance of the third film in the Spider-Man franchise. "To be at this place and time with 'Spider-Man 3' -- in comparison (with the first two films) -- we are extremely happy with the results," said an upbeat Rory Bruer, president of Sony Pictures Releasing. After 10 days in release, "Spider-Man" had garnered $223 million and "Spider-Man 2" had $225 million in the coffers. Bruer went on to add, "And $60 million is an incredible opening weekend for a film, let alone for a holding weekend."
But while besting the first two "Spider-Man" films at the 10-day mark, "Dead Man's Chest" is running ahead of "Spider-Man 3" at that point of its release. The mid-week grosses for the Buena Vista film -- which opened in July during the primetime of summer when 95%-plus of schools are out -- were higher than Spidey's, and the pirate film had collected $258.4 million in its first 10 days.
Imax contributed $2.8 million from 84 engagements to "Spider-Man 3" this session, a second-weekend high for the large screen format. The 10-day total from Imax screens is $9.8 million, the quickest a film has reached that level in Imax history.
Looking ahead to the openings of Paramount's "Shrek the Third" from DreamWorks and "Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End" and other tentpoles coming down the pipeline, Bruer said, "I think you're going to see the boxoffice explode like we've never seen before, which will enhance every film in the marketplace."
Commenting on the debut of "28 Weeks," Bert Livingston, senior vp distribution for 20th Century Fox, said, "It's a good opening number, and with the strong reviews I think it bodes well for the weeks ahead. This is not a traditional horror film but more of a sophisticated thriller, and I don't think it will fall off like a traditional horror film."
All in all, and thanks largely to the tremendous hold of "Spider-Man 3," the weekend boxoffice was up nearly 14% from the comparable frame last year when Paramount's "Mission: Impossible III" was in the top spot with $25 million. The estimated total for this weekend's top 12 films was $96.9 million. The Hollywood Reporter projects the total for all films to be in the low-to-mid $110 million area.
In the world of limited releases, not many people saw IDP/Samuel Goldwyn's "Blind Dating," as the film was in 74 theaters and pulled in an estimated $64,010. The romantic comedy averaged a austere $865 per theater.
ThinkFilm's "The Hip Hop Project" did only slightly better as it was in 42 locales and grossed approximately $40,150. The documentary averaged just $956 per theater.
Fox Searchlight's "Waitress" added 61 locations on its sophomore weekend, bringing the total to 65, and grossed an estimated $636,221. The comedy averaged a respectable $9,788 per theater and has gleaned $788,165 to date. Sheila Deloach, general sales manager for Searchlight, said the distributor did some old-fashioned movie marketing on Mother's Day by giving away a gift bag and pies in some 100 theaters, in anticipation of the film's expansion on Friday to 57 more theaters.
For the week ending May 10, the national boxoffice was up a stunning 67% from the comparable seven-day period a year ago ($243.2 million vs. $145.5 million) and marked the largest first week of May in boxoffice history. That hefty tally moved the year-to-date total to a 6% increase compared with 2006 ($3.00 billion vs. $2.82 billion) -- doubling the 3% advantage from a week earlier. Estimated ticket sales for the year-to-date are up 3% from last year's comparable period.
With four new wide releases entering the marketplace this weekend, for the most part moviegoers in North America only had eyes for Sony's "Spider-Man 3" as everyone's favorite webslinger left theaters with an estimated $60 million on its sophomore frame, off a relatively modest 60% from its staggering record breaking debut of $151.1 million. The third installment based on the Marvel Comics character has racked up a riveting estimate of $242.1 million in 10 days.
On the international stage, the Tobey Maguire starrer pulled in an estimated $85.5 million during the weekend, advancing the cume to $380 million, and combined with domestic for a worldwide boxoffice tally of an amazing $622.1 million for the Sam Raimi-helmed feature.
Of the weekend's new arrivals, 20th Century Fox's "28 Weeks Later," from Fox Atomic, had the best showing. The sci-fi thriller is an apocalyptic sequel to "28 Days Later," a story about a deadly virus that infects London, and easily captured the second spot with a somewhat disappointing estimate of $10 million from 2,303 theaters. The R-rated "28 Weeks," from director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and starring Robert Carlyle, opened near the first film's $10.1 million debut, but "Days" accomplished that feat with just 1,260 theaters.
In a counterprogramming move Universal's "Georgia Rule" put in its bid for female moviegoers this weekend, but the R-rated drama failed to generate much interest at the boxoffice with a third-place finish and an estimate of a weak $5.9 million from 2,523 sites. Lindsay Lohan, Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman star in the Morgan Creek production, which was directed by industry veteran Garry Marshall. As projected, the audience was largely older females.
Holding up nicely in the fourth slot -- thanks to positive word of mouth -- was Paramount's "Disturbia," which slipped a meager 18% in its fifth weekend to scare up an estimated $4.8 million. Produced by DreamWorks and Montecito Pictures, the PG-13 film has collected an estimated $66.3 million so far.
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Lionsgate's "Delta Farce" didn't provide much firepower at the boxoffice on its debut this weekend as the comedy marched into the fifth spot with an estimated $3.5 million from 1,931 theaters. Not surprisingly, the PG-13 picture, starring Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and DJ Qualls and helmed by C.B. Harding, skewed young and male, but not in the numbers hoped for.
The only other film debuting in wide release this weekend was MGM's "The Ex," from Mark Cuban's 2929 Prods. The PG-13 romantic comedy, starring Zach Braff and Amanda Peet, arrived in the 12th slot with a bleak estimate of $1.4 million from 1,009 locations. Jesse Peretz helmed the comedy about two newlyweds who face challenges from a previous relationship that intrudes into the present.
But back to the weekend's top film: "Spider-Man 3" blasted past the $200 million mark on Saturday, or in just nine days of release, and tied with the first "Spider-Man" picture with the second-fastest time to reach that level at the boxoffice. Buena Vista's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Spider-Man 2," and Fox's "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" each reached that same milestone in eight days.
But executives at Sony were more than pleased with performance of the third film in the Spider-Man franchise. "To be at this place and time with 'Spider-Man 3' -- in comparison (with the first two films) -- we are extremely happy with the results," said an upbeat Rory Bruer, president of Sony Pictures Releasing. After 10 days in release, "Spider-Man" had garnered $223 million and "Spider-Man 2" had $225 million in the coffers. Bruer went on to add, "And $60 million is an incredible opening weekend for a film, let alone for a holding weekend."
But while besting the first two "Spider-Man" films at the 10-day mark, "Dead Man's Chest" is running ahead of "Spider-Man 3" at that point of its release. The mid-week grosses for the Buena Vista film -- which opened in July during the primetime of summer when 95%-plus of schools are out -- were higher than Spidey's, and the pirate film had collected $258.4 million in its first 10 days.
Imax contributed $2.8 million from 84 engagements to "Spider-Man 3" this session, a second-weekend high for the large screen format. The 10-day total from Imax screens is $9.8 million, the quickest a film has reached that level in Imax history.
Looking ahead to the openings of Paramount's "Shrek the Third" from DreamWorks and "Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End" and other tentpoles coming down the pipeline, Bruer said, "I think you're going to see the boxoffice explode like we've never seen before, which will enhance every film in the marketplace."
Commenting on the debut of "28 Weeks," Bert Livingston, senior vp distribution for 20th Century Fox, said, "It's a good opening number, and with the strong reviews I think it bodes well for the weeks ahead. This is not a traditional horror film but more of a sophisticated thriller, and I don't think it will fall off like a traditional horror film."
All in all, and thanks largely to the tremendous hold of "Spider-Man 3," the weekend boxoffice was up nearly 14% from the comparable frame last year when Paramount's "Mission: Impossible III" was in the top spot with $25 million. The estimated total for this weekend's top 12 films was $96.9 million. The Hollywood Reporter projects the total for all films to be in the low-to-mid $110 million area.
In the world of limited releases, not many people saw IDP/Samuel Goldwyn's "Blind Dating," as the film was in 74 theaters and pulled in an estimated $64,010. The romantic comedy averaged a austere $865 per theater.
ThinkFilm's "The Hip Hop Project" did only slightly better as it was in 42 locales and grossed approximately $40,150. The documentary averaged just $956 per theater.
Fox Searchlight's "Waitress" added 61 locations on its sophomore weekend, bringing the total to 65, and grossed an estimated $636,221. The comedy averaged a respectable $9,788 per theater and has gleaned $788,165 to date. Sheila Deloach, general sales manager for Searchlight, said the distributor did some old-fashioned movie marketing on Mother's Day by giving away a gift bag and pies in some 100 theaters, in anticipation of the film's expansion on Friday to 57 more theaters.
For the week ending May 10, the national boxoffice was up a stunning 67% from the comparable seven-day period a year ago ($243.2 million vs. $145.5 million) and marked the largest first week of May in boxoffice history. That hefty tally moved the year-to-date total to a 6% increase compared with 2006 ($3.00 billion vs. $2.82 billion) -- doubling the 3% advantage from a week earlier. Estimated ticket sales for the year-to-date are up 3% from last year's comparable period.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Alpha Dog
LondonNet Film Review by Kevin Garnett
Alpha Dog is based on the true story of a Californian drug kingpin named Jesse James Hollywood. After building up a sizeable empire in the San Fernando Valley, Jesse's luck took a turn for the worse. He and his gang had the bright idea to kidnap the little brother of a deadbeat client, held him for a few days, and then killed him. Jesse went on to be the youngest member of the FBI's ten most wanted list at the tender age of 20 before Interpol caught up with him in Brazil...
Somehow the film takes that compelling story and makes it difficult to enjoy. Not impossible, as I certainly liked the film, but director Nick Cassavetes never really finds his tone. Jonny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) is the name of Jesse's character, and he is alternately calculating, terrified, menacing, weak, and outright dumb. This is not the result of a natural character arc, though. His character will completely jump from one adjective to another with no justification. More bewildering, we are left wondering how on Earth he ever managed to build an empire considering how childish he tends to act.
The even more frustrating choice by Cassavetes is his decision to occasionally cut to documentary-style interviews conducted in the aftermath of the story's events. These are universally examples of the laziest of story telling, as each interview exists solely to fill in gaps of information or explain the meaning of the film. Their presence, especially towards the end, completely removes the viewer from any sort of dramatic tension.
However, enough of my take on Cassavetes. Based on the promotional material people only care about one person here: Justin Timberlake. He's made a couple of appearances in film before, but this is his real attempt at a star turn. A bit surprisingly, he is one of the best things about this film. As Frankie Ballenbacher, Timberlake is possibly the only clearly drawn character in the film. While much of that came from some choice writing, Timberlake clearly has been able to translate his success on the Mickey Mouse Club television show to the big screen.
Other notable performances include Anton Yelchin as the victim of the kidnapping, Nick Mazursky, and Ben Foster as his cracked out older brother. Foster very nearly plays Jake Mazursky as too over the top, but he reigns it in enough to be a compelling force any time he is on screen. Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis phone in performances here. Stone in particular has one scene wherein she wears one of the absolute worst fat suits of all time.
In the end, the good outweighs the bad in Alpha Dog. It is fortunate that Cassavetes did such an excellent job casting (for the most part), as with slightly weaker performances there's no way this film could've saved itself from his baffling direction. Someone stop this man before he shoots another sequence in split screen!
- Kevin Garnett
The even more frustrating choice by Cassavetes is his decision to occasionally cut to documentary-style interviews conducted in the aftermath of the story's events. These are universally examples of the laziest of story telling, as each interview exists solely to fill in gaps of information or explain the meaning of the film. Their presence, especially towards the end, completely removes the viewer from any sort of dramatic tension.
However, enough of my take on Cassavetes. Based on the promotional material people only care about one person here: Justin Timberlake. He's made a couple of appearances in film before, but this is his real attempt at a star turn. A bit surprisingly, he is one of the best things about this film. As Frankie Ballenbacher, Timberlake is possibly the only clearly drawn character in the film. While much of that came from some choice writing, Timberlake clearly has been able to translate his success on the Mickey Mouse Club television show to the big screen.
Other notable performances include Anton Yelchin as the victim of the kidnapping, Nick Mazursky, and Ben Foster as his cracked out older brother. Foster very nearly plays Jake Mazursky as too over the top, but he reigns it in enough to be a compelling force any time he is on screen. Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis phone in performances here. Stone in particular has one scene wherein she wears one of the absolute worst fat suits of all time.
In the end, the good outweighs the bad in Alpha Dog. It is fortunate that Cassavetes did such an excellent job casting (for the most part), as with slightly weaker performances there's no way this film could've saved itself from his baffling direction. Someone stop this man before he shoots another sequence in split screen!
- Kevin Garnett
LondonNet Film Review by Jo Planter [Curse Of The Golden Flower]
Following hot on the heels of Hero and House Of Flying Daggers, director Zhang Yimou's latest martial arts epic is another opulent affair, dripping in fine silks and breathtaking colour, with equally astounding fight sequences...
Gold shimmers in every frame: in the vast palaces of the flamboyant Tang dynasty in 928 A.D., and their lavish handmade costumes, studded with intricate detail and fine embroidery.
Curse Of The Golden Flower is nothing if not a spectacle and director of photography Zhao Xiaoding ensures that all of the hard work of production designer Huo Tingxiao and costume designer Yee Chung Man radiates from the big screen.
Action director Ching Siu-Tong, who choreographed the skirmishes in the previous two films, excels himself here, with some bloody and brutal aerial assaults and a climactic showdown that witnesses the clash of thousands of soldiers in a sea of golden chrysanthemums.
Sword fights are similarly dramatic, sparks flying off clashing blades, with plentiful spurts of blood, bathing the land in a dark red hue.
The seeds of the conflict are planted when The Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) and his middle son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou), return from war to the Imperial Palace to honour their ancestors as part of the Chong Yang Festival. The Emperor is unaware that his wife, The Empress (Gong Li), who is gravely ill, has for the past three years taken her stepson, Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), as her lover.
The eldest son and heir-to-be has a secret of his own: he is secretly in love with Chan (Li Man), daughter of the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong), and Wan plans to leave the palace to live in the provincial capital. The Empress forbids him to leave and begins her devious scheming.
She is not the only person with self-interest in her heart. Jai has his eye on the throne and is keen to impress his talents as a ruler on his father. "There are many things in Heaven and Earth but you can only take what I choose to give to you," warns The Emperor.
The various plots and deceptions unfold at dizzying speed and it seems that The Empress' audacious plan may come to naught. "I refuse to give up without a fight!" she declares and so the war of attrition begins.
Curse Of The Golden Flower will appeal greatly to devotees of Yimou's work and to fans of gorgeously framed epics such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which strike a delicate balance between thrills and emotion.
The cast acquit themselves beautifully to the task at hand, with some delicious verbal sparring between Yun Fat and Li. If looks could kill, their characters would unleash a bloodbath without raising a sword. The tightly wound plot unravels chaotically towards the end, descending into the realms of soap opera with more twists than credibility allows.
Curse Of The Golden Flower is nothing if not a spectacle and director of photography Zhao Xiaoding ensures that all of the hard work of production designer Huo Tingxiao and costume designer Yee Chung Man radiates from the big screen.
Action director Ching Siu-Tong, who choreographed the skirmishes in the previous two films, excels himself here, with some bloody and brutal aerial assaults and a climactic showdown that witnesses the clash of thousands of soldiers in a sea of golden chrysanthemums.
Sword fights are similarly dramatic, sparks flying off clashing blades, with plentiful spurts of blood, bathing the land in a dark red hue.
The seeds of the conflict are planted when The Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) and his middle son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou), return from war to the Imperial Palace to honour their ancestors as part of the Chong Yang Festival. The Emperor is unaware that his wife, The Empress (Gong Li), who is gravely ill, has for the past three years taken her stepson, Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), as her lover.
The eldest son and heir-to-be has a secret of his own: he is secretly in love with Chan (Li Man), daughter of the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong), and Wan plans to leave the palace to live in the provincial capital. The Empress forbids him to leave and begins her devious scheming.
She is not the only person with self-interest in her heart. Jai has his eye on the throne and is keen to impress his talents as a ruler on his father. "There are many things in Heaven and Earth but you can only take what I choose to give to you," warns The Emperor.
The various plots and deceptions unfold at dizzying speed and it seems that The Empress' audacious plan may come to naught. "I refuse to give up without a fight!" she declares and so the war of attrition begins.
Curse Of The Golden Flower will appeal greatly to devotees of Yimou's work and to fans of gorgeously framed epics such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which strike a delicate balance between thrills and emotion.
The cast acquit themselves beautifully to the task at hand, with some delicious verbal sparring between Yun Fat and Li. If looks could kill, their characters would unleash a bloodbath without raising a sword. The tightly wound plot unravels chaotically towards the end, descending into the realms of soap opera with more twists than credibility allows.
LondonNet Film Review by Jill Hilbrenner [Curse Of The Golden Flower]
Gold and jade on the outside, rot and decay on the inside," or so goes an old Chinese saying. Nothing could more accurately summarise the twisted lives of the imperial family in power during the Later Tang dynasty, one of the most ostentatious periods in the country's history...
Just mapping out the lines of betrayal in this regally scandalous 10th-century bunch takes a bit of concentration. The Empress (Gong Li) isn't so fond of her power-glutton Emperor husband (Chow Yun Fat), but she makes up for some of her distress by sleeping with her stepson, the Crown Prince (Liu Ye). And her failing health is a problem, one that's aggravated by the poisonous black fungus her loving husband has requested that the Imperial Doctor slip in the concoction she takes for her "anaemia" every two hours.
Life isn't so simple for the Crown Prince, whose cavorting with one of the palace's pretty servants and ambitions of relocation to a provincial capital have the Empress fuming. As her not-so-magical mushroom concoction eases her further toward convulsion-riddled madness, clouds of deception and distrust overshadow the lavish preparations for the upcoming Chong Yang Festival, supposedly a time of familial good fortune.
Loyal to his mother but obligated to respect his father's authority, middle son Prince Jai (Jay Chou) is left with a difficult decision as the Empress mounts a vindicating coup against her icy authoritarian spouse.
Director-cowriter Zhang Yimou places all this drama against an elaborate technicolour backdrop. The palace is awash with golds, reds and greens, and the imperial courtyard becomes a sea of yellow as servants cover the ground with thousands of blooming chrysanthemums for the celebration.
But diehard action film lovers might argue that for all its showiness, Curse of the Golden Flower lacks the punch of a typical fight-saturated flick. Black-clad assassins who seemingly fly out of nowhere spark a rush of adrenaline, however, and the film's major battle scene is nothing to be taken lightly, as swarms of silver- and golden-armoured fighters trample the Chong Yang chrysanthemums in a bloody showdown.
Some of Yimou's apparent life lessons (such as that too much power can be dangerous) border on melodramatic, but watching a family that should have everything rip itself apart is entertaining enough. Curse of the Golden Flower is no House of Flying Daggers, although with top-class performances from Li and Chou and sets that emulate opulence, it's a spectacle worth seeing.
- Jill Hilbrenner
Life isn't so simple for the Crown Prince, whose cavorting with one of the palace's pretty servants and ambitions of relocation to a provincial capital have the Empress fuming. As her not-so-magical mushroom concoction eases her further toward convulsion-riddled madness, clouds of deception and distrust overshadow the lavish preparations for the upcoming Chong Yang Festival, supposedly a time of familial good fortune.
Loyal to his mother but obligated to respect his father's authority, middle son Prince Jai (Jay Chou) is left with a difficult decision as the Empress mounts a vindicating coup against her icy authoritarian spouse.
Director-cowriter Zhang Yimou places all this drama against an elaborate technicolour backdrop. The palace is awash with golds, reds and greens, and the imperial courtyard becomes a sea of yellow as servants cover the ground with thousands of blooming chrysanthemums for the celebration.
But diehard action film lovers might argue that for all its showiness, Curse of the Golden Flower lacks the punch of a typical fight-saturated flick. Black-clad assassins who seemingly fly out of nowhere spark a rush of adrenaline, however, and the film's major battle scene is nothing to be taken lightly, as swarms of silver- and golden-armoured fighters trample the Chong Yang chrysanthemums in a bloody showdown.
Some of Yimou's apparent life lessons (such as that too much power can be dangerous) border on melodramatic, but watching a family that should have everything rip itself apart is entertaining enough. Curse of the Golden Flower is no House of Flying Daggers, although with top-class performances from Li and Chou and sets that emulate opulence, it's a spectacle worth seeing.
- Jill Hilbrenner
LondonNet Film Review Spider-Man 3
"The greatest battle lies within..." proudly declares the tagline for the third and potentially final part of the web-slinging blockbuster series, once again directed by Sam Raimi. How very true...
The greatest battle for Spider-Man 3 lies within Alvin Sargent's screenplay, based on a story by Raimi and brother Ivan, which faces the seemingly impossible task of tying together all of the loose narrative threads from the first two films, whilst delivering the gravity-defying thrills we have come to expect from comic book hero.
Not only that, the third installment introduces two new villains whilst keeping the emphasis firmly on the emotional journeys of the characters rather than a blitzkrieg of action set pieces. And all within 139 minutes - the longest adventure of the trilogy. Sargent's script isn't quite up to the gargantuan task - bold ambition exceeds the film's considerable grasp and one of the villains, Venom, is so peripheral to the unfolding action that he could have been cut entirely.
Crucially, too much time is wasted trudging over old ground and - believe it or not - indulging in a pointless comedy-dance sequence that references Saturday Night Fever and the musical Chicago. The parting words of Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) to her beau Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) - "Go get 'em tiger!" - at the conclusion of Spider-Man 2 set the scene nicely for this next chapter, in which the geeky photographer prepares to propose to his sweetheart.
Relations with best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), however, are strained as ever. "I need to explain things," Peter pleads, after the one-time pals meet outside the theatre where Mary Jane is making her Broadway debut. "Tell my father! Raise him from the dead!" seethes Harry, referring to his scientist pater Norman (Willem Dafoe), aka The Green Goblin, who perished in the first picture.
Meanwhile, escaped convict Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) wanders into a particle physics test site and is morphed into the shape-shifting Sandman, and begins to terrorise the good people of New York. Adding to Peter's woes, a black substance from a crashed meteorite fuses with his Spider-Man suit, turning the spandex black and unleashing the dark, vengeful side of his personality.
Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) tries to warn Peter. "Uncle Ben wouldn't want us living with revenge in our hearts," she advises. "It's like a poison. It can take you over and turn us into something ugly." When Peter tries to escape from the black goo's intoxicating power, he unwittingly infects rival Daily Bugle photographer Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), and snarling adversary Venom is born...
Spider-Man 3 is the weakest instalment of the series but still boasts a number of entertaining set pieces, including a spectacular aerial sequence involving Spider-Man and Goblin, and plenty of tears as Peter and Mary Jane decide whether they future lies as a couple or apart.
The final showdown between Spider-Man and the two villains is a crushing disappointment, laced with unintentional comedy thanks to the running commentary from a plummy British television newscaster, and some shameless flag-waving from Raimi, juxtaposing his hero against a fluttering Stars And Stripes.
Franco's powerful performance of a prodigal son eaten up with rage puts both Maguire and Dunst in the shade, with some much needed comic relief from J.K. Simmons as Peter's maniacal editor, J Jonah Jameson. Closing scenes bring the trilogy to a sombre close, suggesting that while Spider-Man 4 is a possibility, the man in the natty red and blue web-suit may have spun his final web.
- Sam Cannon
Not only that, the third installment introduces two new villains whilst keeping the emphasis firmly on the emotional journeys of the characters rather than a blitzkrieg of action set pieces. And all within 139 minutes - the longest adventure of the trilogy. Sargent's script isn't quite up to the gargantuan task - bold ambition exceeds the film's considerable grasp and one of the villains, Venom, is so peripheral to the unfolding action that he could have been cut entirely.
Crucially, too much time is wasted trudging over old ground and - believe it or not - indulging in a pointless comedy-dance sequence that references Saturday Night Fever and the musical Chicago. The parting words of Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) to her beau Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) - "Go get 'em tiger!" - at the conclusion of Spider-Man 2 set the scene nicely for this next chapter, in which the geeky photographer prepares to propose to his sweetheart.
Relations with best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), however, are strained as ever. "I need to explain things," Peter pleads, after the one-time pals meet outside the theatre where Mary Jane is making her Broadway debut. "Tell my father! Raise him from the dead!" seethes Harry, referring to his scientist pater Norman (Willem Dafoe), aka The Green Goblin, who perished in the first picture.
Meanwhile, escaped convict Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) wanders into a particle physics test site and is morphed into the shape-shifting Sandman, and begins to terrorise the good people of New York. Adding to Peter's woes, a black substance from a crashed meteorite fuses with his Spider-Man suit, turning the spandex black and unleashing the dark, vengeful side of his personality.
Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) tries to warn Peter. "Uncle Ben wouldn't want us living with revenge in our hearts," she advises. "It's like a poison. It can take you over and turn us into something ugly." When Peter tries to escape from the black goo's intoxicating power, he unwittingly infects rival Daily Bugle photographer Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), and snarling adversary Venom is born...
Spider-Man 3 is the weakest instalment of the series but still boasts a number of entertaining set pieces, including a spectacular aerial sequence involving Spider-Man and Goblin, and plenty of tears as Peter and Mary Jane decide whether they future lies as a couple or apart.
The final showdown between Spider-Man and the two villains is a crushing disappointment, laced with unintentional comedy thanks to the running commentary from a plummy British television newscaster, and some shameless flag-waving from Raimi, juxtaposing his hero against a fluttering Stars And Stripes.
Franco's powerful performance of a prodigal son eaten up with rage puts both Maguire and Dunst in the shade, with some much needed comic relief from J.K. Simmons as Peter's maniacal editor, J Jonah Jameson. Closing scenes bring the trilogy to a sombre close, suggesting that while Spider-Man 4 is a possibility, the man in the natty red and blue web-suit may have spun his final web.
- Sam Cannon
LondonNet’s Cinema and Film Guide
The Lives of OthersFlorian Henckel’s Oscar winning directorial debut is a taut thriller detailing the trauma of the watcher and the watched during the twilight days of communist East Germany (Deutsche Demokratik Republik - D.D.R.) in the mid-Eighties...
Captain Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), a secret police officer of the Stasi (D.D.R. intelligence service), is seconded by his boss, Minister of Culture Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme), to spy on writer Georg Dreyman (Sebastien Koch), ostensibly due to his links to dissidents. In reality the snooping owes more to Hempf’s relationship with Dreyman’s actress lover Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Sieland) than the interests of the socialist state. Wiesler’s characteristically professional surveillance unravels as the observer becomes seduced by the beauty and truth of the observed.
What follows is the portrayal of the struggle between ‘free-thinking’ writers such as Dreyman and his cohorts – seeking to sneak out to the west an article concerning unreported suicides in the D.D.R – and the power of the centralised state apparatus personified by Wiesler and Hempf.
As a thriller this film is a huge success and an absolute-must-watch. Unfortunately for a project that seeks to get under the skin of the D.D.R., it fails on several levels.
Following on from the success of the hilarious and well-observed Goodbye Lenin by Wolfgang Becker, Henckel says he was determined to depict a more serious side of the pains of the East German administration. A worthwhile mission you might think, but in taking such a polarised starting point Henckel falls into the trap of the very truth distortion he so patently despises. As a resident of Berlin during the time depicted in this film, I can assure you that life in the East was not so grim as writer and director Henckel portrays.
One example of this manipulation of events is Henckel’s decision to film during the ‘dull and dreary months of October to December’. He told me that he deliberately wanted to avoid the romance of the snow strewn streets of January through February, the hope laden times of spring and the natural beauty of a Berlin summer. Well, it’s his film and it’s his call, but showing the city in its least flattering moments is hardly a fair portrayal of a divided city where life’s everyday happiness lived in equal measure with state orchestrated control.
Hencke seems to revel in the downfall of the ‘other Germany’. And well he might. As an aristocrat – full name Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck – he would have seen much to fear, even as an eleven year old at the time, living adjacent to the ‘worker’s paradise’. Indeed he trades off his aristocratic heritage, freely using the lordy-like ‘von Donnersmarck’ in film publicity. No self-respecting Berliner I knew with the ‘von’ nomenclature would have deigned to use it for financial or social gain – particularly in the arts.
That said, Muhe – himself successfully sued by his ex-wife for comments he made of her Stasi involvement following the film’s release - is sensational as the troubled intelligence officer Wiesler. The rest of the cast perform admirably in their roles too, while the plot weaves some cunning turns into its over-length two-and-a-half hour run. But as a purportedly well-observed portrayal of life in the Soviet sector this film falls far short of any measure of historical accuracy.
Instead it crystallises the sense of West German (Wessie) triumphalism that followed the fall of the Wall. While this may be nectar to the bees of the American liberals and neo-cons in equal measure – hence the Oscar – to many Berliners and sympathetic guests such as myself it smacks of little more than rank privileged self-interest, which is a tragedy considering the otherwise strong cinematic quality that is so almost achieved.
- Peter D. Clee
Captain Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), a secret police officer of the Stasi (D.D.R. intelligence service), is seconded by his boss, Minister of Culture Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme), to spy on writer Georg Dreyman (Sebastien Koch), ostensibly due to his links to dissidents. In reality the snooping owes more to Hempf’s relationship with Dreyman’s actress lover Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Sieland) than the interests of the socialist state. Wiesler’s characteristically professional surveillance unravels as the observer becomes seduced by the beauty and truth of the observed.
What follows is the portrayal of the struggle between ‘free-thinking’ writers such as Dreyman and his cohorts – seeking to sneak out to the west an article concerning unreported suicides in the D.D.R – and the power of the centralised state apparatus personified by Wiesler and Hempf.
As a thriller this film is a huge success and an absolute-must-watch. Unfortunately for a project that seeks to get under the skin of the D.D.R., it fails on several levels.
Following on from the success of the hilarious and well-observed Goodbye Lenin by Wolfgang Becker, Henckel says he was determined to depict a more serious side of the pains of the East German administration. A worthwhile mission you might think, but in taking such a polarised starting point Henckel falls into the trap of the very truth distortion he so patently despises. As a resident of Berlin during the time depicted in this film, I can assure you that life in the East was not so grim as writer and director Henckel portrays.
One example of this manipulation of events is Henckel’s decision to film during the ‘dull and dreary months of October to December’. He told me that he deliberately wanted to avoid the romance of the snow strewn streets of January through February, the hope laden times of spring and the natural beauty of a Berlin summer. Well, it’s his film and it’s his call, but showing the city in its least flattering moments is hardly a fair portrayal of a divided city where life’s everyday happiness lived in equal measure with state orchestrated control.
Hencke seems to revel in the downfall of the ‘other Germany’. And well he might. As an aristocrat – full name Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck – he would have seen much to fear, even as an eleven year old at the time, living adjacent to the ‘worker’s paradise’. Indeed he trades off his aristocratic heritage, freely using the lordy-like ‘von Donnersmarck’ in film publicity. No self-respecting Berliner I knew with the ‘von’ nomenclature would have deigned to use it for financial or social gain – particularly in the arts.
That said, Muhe – himself successfully sued by his ex-wife for comments he made of her Stasi involvement following the film’s release - is sensational as the troubled intelligence officer Wiesler. The rest of the cast perform admirably in their roles too, while the plot weaves some cunning turns into its over-length two-and-a-half hour run. But as a purportedly well-observed portrayal of life in the Soviet sector this film falls far short of any measure of historical accuracy.
Instead it crystallises the sense of West German (Wessie) triumphalism that followed the fall of the Wall. While this may be nectar to the bees of the American liberals and neo-cons in equal measure – hence the Oscar – to many Berliners and sympathetic guests such as myself it smacks of little more than rank privileged self-interest, which is a tragedy considering the otherwise strong cinematic quality that is so almost achieved.
- Peter D. Clee
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