Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Stars: Michael Stuhlbarg, Fred Melamed, Richard Kind ***originally written 21st December 2009*** "What have I done?" "What's going on?" "Why is this happening?" These are big open questions, and exactly the sort of questions that Larry Gopnik is moved to ask in A Serious Man, the latest film from the …
Review: Avatar
Director: James Cameron Stars: Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington ***originally written 17th December 2009*** I have to admit it; I'm not fun at all. As much as I love to chew on movies of all kinds, the one variety that is going to get my back up from the beginning is the blockbuster groomed …
Review: Broken Embraces
Director: Pedro Almodóvar Stars: Penélope Cruz, Lluis Homar, José Luis Gómez ***originally written 1st September 2009*** Broken Embraces is the latest film by Pedro Almodóvar, but the first of his films (which include Volver and Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown) that I have seen. Through two narratives separated by 14 years, it …
Review: Inglourious Basterds
Director: Quentin Tarantino Stars: Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent, Eli Roth ***originally written 16 August 2009*** Quentin Tarantino's latest cartoon is a wicked and idiosyncratic romp through Nazi-occupied France. I say cartoon because that's the mindset of the piece. It's colourful, silly, frequently aiming for laughs, mocks realism (and history) at every turn, and - as …
Review: Antichrist
Director: Lars Von Trier Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, The Chaos Reigns Fox ***originally written 14 August 2009*** Antichrist is the latest film from Lars Von Trier, a horror piece that has courted no small amount of controversy for it's explicit content. It'll make you wince more than once. The basic outline is that a …