Jack Ryan returns for a third outing in Clear and Present Danger, reuniting Harrison Ford’s Ryan with director Phillip Noyce, who also directed Ford as Ryan in Patriot Games. Too bad that with plenty of raw material (notably Willem Dafoe as an American mercenary working in Columbia), Danger comes up awfully short. For starters, what […]
It is virtually impossible to separate Cleopatra the movie from Cleopatra the spectacle and that’s because they are truly and rarely intertwined. A legend of Hollywood, the 1963 production of Cleopatra has so much curiosity surrounding it I hardly know where to start. It was budgeted at $2 million and eventually cost (up to) $44
years ago, independent filmmaker Kevin Smith got his start with this little film that has since become one of indie cinema’s greatest inspirations. Made for the paltry sum of $28,000, Clerks is an incredible success that deserves its hype. Clerks is a spectacular joyride. Filmed in 16mm black and white, the film packs in non-stop
Kubrick was a beatnik poet. His work was plagued with metaphors, and the disease of hidden meaning was always turned to his advantage. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, he had almost a precognisance about the worry of the future that the millennium has exhibited so well for us. In The Shining, he taught us that,
I remember seeing a Helmut Newton photograph of Sigourney Weaver that seemed to sum up everything that was fascinating about the actress. In typical Newton style the pic was heavily stylised in its lighting and themes, but importantly it tapped into Weaver’s charged sexuality and natural charisma. In recent years she’s been on the verge
Without having read the novel written by Melania Mazzucco, I felt hesitant watching “A Perfect Day (Un giorno perfetto)”, as if I was surrounded by one hundred laughing jackals, sneering at my confusion. Who were these characters, and why did they watch glumly from the shadows? Director Ferzan Özpetek creates a labyrinth of storylines here,
My theory is that every generation needs their own version of the film The King and I. Namely a new king. My grandparents had Rex Harrison, my parents had Yul Brynner, and now my generation has Chow Yun-Fat. Hold the phone right there, mister. Chow Yun-Fat isn’t he that the guy from those crazy, violent,
In many ways “Dogs in Space” is the archetypal 1980s Australian film. It’s full of confidence and clever innovation, but is hampered by a lacklustre script and a style of production dissonant with the material it covers. Produced in 1986, it actually looks at Melbourne eight years earlier, when the city’s punk scene was at
The feature debut by brothers Dan and Bramwell Noah, Little Black Dress is a notable Melbourne production with an interesting take on the intermingling of love, fate and the ruthless proliferation of reality TV trends. When Ebony Mason’s (Sandy Greenwood) morning jog leads to an impulsive stroll into an apartment building advertising a vacancy, a
Set in 1952, this film begins in Argentina, with two great friends embarking upon a long journey, on a Norton 500 motorbike, of dubious mechanical condition. Their intention is to taste life before they settle down to finish their respective medical degrees. They intend to traverse the great continent of South America. We follow them
