Lost in Translation

YEAR 1988

DIRECTOR Sofia Coppola

STARRING Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and Giovanni Ribisi 

WRITER Sofia Coppola

OVERVIEW A movie star in Tokyo to do a whisky ad and a neglected newlywed meet up as strangers.

OPINION  Bill Murray is mesmorizing…. It’s like watching bubbles float through the air…you cannot take your eyes off them, wondering when they will pop and surprise you. Such a genus!! My own personal feeling is Johansson is propped up by some very big talents, in all her movies and that her bubble will eventually burst – but not in a good way. Beautiful, compelling direction by Coppola and wonderful writing.

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Broken Flowers

YEAR 1988

DIRECTOR Jim Jarmusch

STARRING Bill Murray, Jessica Lange and Sharon Stone

WRITER Jim Jarmusch, Bill Raden (inspired by an idea from),

OVERVIEW Murray embarks on a cross-country journey to track down four of his former lovers after receiving an anonymous letter stating that he has a son

OPINION  touching and Bill Murray is understated and realistic…good choice . we wait for a laugh and don’t get one, but it keeps us waiting the whole movie. I like the thinking; putting sharon Stone and Jessica Lange together in the same movie.

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What about Bob?

YEAR 1991

DIRECTOR Frank Oz

STARRING Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss and Julie Hagerty 

WRITER Alvin Sargent (story), Laura Ziskin (story),

OVERVIEW A psychiatrist’s most dependent patients, tracks him down during his family vacation.

OPINION  Bill Murray is a comic genius. The innocent face and the sweet demeanour hide his demonic side. I think this is one of the worst titles in the history of movie-making. Should have been ‘ Baby Steps’.

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The Way We Were

YEAR 1973

DIRECTOR Sydney Pollack

STARRING Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford

WRITER Arthur Laurents

OVERVIEW Two people form opposite worlds and political views and convictions find it hard to stay together.

OPINION  What to say. I watched this only a month ago. How marvelous the flow, the acting, the song-‘Memories’ made for the movie by Steisand, Barbara Streisand, Bob Redford, the dialogue, the angst, the tears. Just wonderful. a little dated but I was surprised not as much as I would have expected.  You really want them to make it.

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Little White Lies

YEAR 2010

DIRECTOR Guillaume Canet

STARRING François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard and Benoît Magimel

WRITER Guillaume Canet

OVERVIEW Every year, Max (Cluzet), a successful restaurant owner, and his wife invite a close group of friends to their beach house to celebrate a birthday and kick-start the holiday. But, this year, before they all leave Paris, their close friend Ludo (Jean Dujardin) is hurt in a serious accident. Friendships are tested.

OPINION  There are 2 of the most brilliant moments in this movie…one a shock and one a big laugh, but apart from that I have to say French comedy doesn’t often do a lot for me, with the exception of Jacque Tati. There are the predictable affairs of the heart…French-style. I felt no compassion for the friend who has the accident ; he is an arrogant arsehole. The restaurant owner is a prize prat. The slapstick is generally a little tired. All in all this heavy- handed comedy with typical French sophistication does not gel for me. Long too. Too long? ?You decide. I have to add Marion Cotillard is luminous and riveting as usual.(3 ½ because of her…otherwise a 3)

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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

YEAR 1988

DIRECTOR Frank Oz

STARRING Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenne Headly

WRITER Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro

OVERVIEW Lawrence (Caine) and Freddie (Martin) are con-men; big-time and small time, then they meet.

OPINION  We all needed a laugh after ’87 and the worst meltdown since the 20’s .What a brilliant pairing …whoever put these two together deserves an Oscar! Dry and elegant Caine, meets goofy and quirky Martin. Terrific plot, masterpiece of dialogue and slapstick equaled- but never bettered. This movie took the lead from ‘Being There’ and  remained my favourite comedy until ‘ Four Weddings and a Funeral’ came a long…a huge 6 years later….

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Old School

YEAR 2003

DIRECTOR Todd Phillips

STARRING Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell

WRITER Court Crandall (story), Todd Phillips (story),

OVERVIEW Three men are disenchanted with their lives, try to recapture their college days, by opening a fraternity .

OPINION  Ferrell is in his element running down the road naked and arms flapping. A great college movie!!!

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Being There

YEAR 1979

DIRECTOR Hal Ashby

STARRING Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine and Melvyn Douglas

WRITER Jerzy Kosinski (novel), Jerzy Kosinski (screenplay)

OVERVIEW Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies.  

OPINION  From a simple misunderstanding ‘Chance the Gardener’ becomes Chancy Gardiner and this marvelous Kosinski story unfolds . Profound and wonderful. This comedy remained my favourite until ‘ Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ‘ arrived in 1988. a huge 9 years on the top.

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Love Actually

YEAR 1994

DIRECTOR Richard Curtis

STARRING Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon and Liam Neeson

WRITER Richard Curtis

OVERVIEW Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

OPINION  Lovely, heart wrenching, entwined, poignant, romantic and wonderful, but mostly funny. I absolutely love the intelligent Curtis dialogue and have enormous gratitude for his lack of condescension. I love Nighy and Grant and McCutcheon,  Keira Knightley…and Neeson…and more than ever Emma Thompson, who can still bring me to tears after 12 viewings.. Again Richard Curtis is a genius!!! See also ‘Four weddings and a Funeral’. America copied’ Love Actually’ in a fairly good ‘Valentine’s Day’ with Ashton Krutcher

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Four Weddings and a Funeral

YEAR 1994

DIRECTOR Mike Newell

STARRING Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell , John Hannah and James Fleet

WRITER Richard Curtis

OVERVIEW During the course of five occasions, a committed bachelor (Grant) discovers love.

OPINION  1994 was a great year for movies…this and Pulp Fiction. Richard Curtis is a genius!!! The writing, the Hugh Grant toast, the dialogue!!! Andie MacDowell ‘s gorgeousness, the writing, the funeral eulogy. This is no more than British perfection.

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Pulp Fiction

YEAR 1994

DIRECTOR Quentin Tarantino

STARRING John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson

WRITER Quentin Tarantino (stories), Roger Avary (stories),

OVERVIEW The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

OPINION  Tarantino is a genius. Also great casting. Tarantino’s muse Thurman is cool casting and Travolta is a star as usual. My own personal favourite scene is Bruce Willis and Maria de Medeiros. The classic dialogue denotes Tarantino ; clever witty reparties…too clever for the people making them.

 

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50 First Dates

YEAR 2004

DIRECTOR Peter Segal

STARRING Sandler, Drew Barrymore and Rob Schneider

WRITER George Wing

OVERVIEW  Henry Roth thinks he's finally found the girl of his dreams, until he discovers she has short-term memory loss and forgets him the very next day.

OPINION  Sandler and Barrymore are a perfect match. they were great in ‘The Wedding Singer’ too. Profoundly sensitive movie yet hilariously funny. Sandler is a genius .

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Step Brothers

YEAR 2008

DIRECTOR Ron Howard

STARRING Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins

WRITER Will Ferrell (screenplay), Adam McKay (screenplay),

OVERVIEW Two middle-aged sons still living at home, are forced to become roommates, when their parents get married.

OPINION  Will Ferrell found a true peer in  John C. Reilly, who seems to love ‘playing’ as much as  Ferrell . Love the slapstick situations, beautifully balanced by the parents; Mary Steenburgen(Ferrell’s Mum) and Richard Jenkins (Reilly’s Dad).

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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

YEAR 2004

DIRECTOR Adam McKay

STARRING Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate and Steve Carell

WRITER Will Ferrell, Adam McKay

OVERVIEW Ron Burgundy is San Diego's top rated newsman in the male dominated broadcasting of the 1970's, then a new female employee arrives in his office.

OPINION  Will Ferrell is a genius. He captured the generation to a ‘T’. Applegate is adorable. The clothes, sets, dialogue, the timing could not be better. watchable up to 11 times!

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TheHangover 2

YEAR 2011

DIRECTOR Todd Phillips

STARRING Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms

WRITER Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong

OVERVIEW Two years after the bachelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu's wedding. Reliving the memory loss and the aftermath.

OPINION  I almost wish I never saw the first one so I could laugh as loudly. But that is the problem with a formula. We know what to expect. But still a laugh hard movie. Got this poster !

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The Hangover

YEAR 2009

DIRECTOR Todd Phillips

STARRING Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha

WRITER Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

OVERVIEW A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during the stag night, then must set about finding him.

OPINION So funny! LOVED it! want the poster on my wall! everything is good. Over the top. Not for the narrow minded.

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Bridesmaids

YEAR 2011

DIRECTOR Paul Feig

STARRING Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne

WRITER Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

OVERVIEW Picked as her best friend's maid of honor, lovelorn and broke Annie fights for her position as she joins an oddball group of bridesmaids.

OPINION  Annie (Kristen Wiig) is fantastic-brilliant-perfect. The dialogue is terrific. Rose Byrne is under-utilized. Coming from ‘Get him to the Greek’ where she steals half the movie, Byrne has to be given more scope. The script takes off like their jet plane, towards cruising speed and then decides to stop short of the perfect altitude, stay safe and land(?). The climax of the movie should have been at ‘Vegas but the girls don’t get there. It is all set up perfectly…they are drunk, drugged and experimenting with lesbianism. This movie couldn’t decide if it was ‘The Hangover for Girls’ or a chick flick. Sorry guys you cannot use the ‘C’ word and then choose to be a chick flick. Disappointing..in a good way. I wanted more .

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The Big Picture( L'Homme qui voulait vivre sa vie)

YEAR 2010

DIRECTOR Eric Lartigau

STARRING Catherine Deneuve, Branka Katic, Romain Duris, Marina Foïs, Rachel Berger

WRITER novel by Douglas Kennedy

OVERVIEW Paul Exben is a success story -- a great job, a beautiful wife and two wonderful sons, but in a moment of madness his life is changed, he is forced to assume a new identity.

OPINION  Very clever and intelligent. After so many Hollywood-style movies I found I am not as tolerant of a lengthy movie with so many twists and turns and I  came out of the theatre wondering what kind of job Hollywood would make of this great plot,(then I find it is an American author and has been moved to Paris and Montenegro).Hollywood would hack out at least 3 scenes , shorten the rest and cast Matt Damon in the lead and it would be fantastic. but hey- this movie is fantastique too!!

I came home to google Montenegro and wish I could go there! Reminds me of the movie Matt Damon was in, set in Goa and I googled that too. Fabulous travelogues for these beautiful countries.

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Holy Roller

YEAR 2011

DIRECTOR Patrick Gillies

STARRING Angus Benfield, Victoria Abbott and Jeremy Brennan

WRITER Angus Benfield

OVERVIEW Kiwi comedy-drama about a rural pastor who attempts to convert an inner-city nightclub into a church.

OPINION  Some nice touches. Pretty average overall though. Average directing, average editing, average lighting, average acting- with the exception of Pastor Luke who was loveable and the crazy evil -hunting blonde guy; quirky and has potential. Even the locations were a little strange and lacking in intrigue. Not good enough for such a great country. Although New Zealand is has out-of-this-world scenery this movie centred on very drab corners in a grey city (Christchurch pre the earthquake)

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A Beautiful Mind

YEAR 2001

DIRECTOR Ron Howard

STARRING Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly

WRITER Akiva Goldsman, Sylvia Nasar (book)

OVERVIEW After a brilliant mathematician accepts secret work in cryptography. Based on the life of Dr Nash.

OPINION  Russell Crowe is a star. Come back Russell. We need you!

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The Matrix

YEAR 1999

DIRECTOR Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

STARRING Keanu Reeves, Carrie0-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving

WRITER Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

OVERVIEW A computer hacker learns about the true nature of his reality and joins the rebels in the war against the controllers.

OPINION Why is this movie better than ‘Inception’? The Matrix has Mr Smith, those wrap around glasses, the closet to infinity, Carrie –Anne Moss and Keanu and it was NEW.

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Inception

YEAR 2010

DIRECTOR Christopher Nolan

STARRING Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon –Levitt, Ellen Page

WRITER Christopher Nolan

OVERVIEW DiCaprio and friends enter the human mind through dream invasion and see what trouble they can get into.

OPINION Confusing, stunning FX and great acting by all three of the above. a great match together. I have no idea what it all means but hey The Matrix was great too. I did come hiome and google ‘ what does Inception mean?’ and found no-one knew what it meant. So I’m happy.

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Friends with Benefits

YEAR 2011

DIRECTOR Will Gluck

STARRING Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake and Patricia Clarkson and Woody Harrelson

WRITER Keith Merriman,(screenplay), David A Newman, (screenplay)

OVERVIEW Dylan (Timberlake) and Jamie (Kunis) soon discover adding sex to their friendship does lead to complications.

OPINION Fun, moves along easily. Timberlake is slowly building up steam and this vehicle should take him further. Abs help….immensely. No doubt Mila’s bod does nothing to put any red blooded man off. But for me the star is Woody Harrelson…what wonderful timing. I wanted more…much more…of Harrelson. If Harrelson had had double the time I’s have given the movie a 3

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The Last Paradise

YEAR 2010

DIRECTOR Clive Neeson

STARRING A.J. Hackett, Jeff Campbell and Allan Byrne

WRITER Clive Neeson with help no doubt.

OVERVIEW A documentary by a group of smart kiwi surfies who became smart kiwi men. Footage in new Zealand (and Aussie and Asia)from the early 60s onwards showing the changes of the environment.

OPINION Genuine, heart-felt and convincing. The best documentary to come out of New Zealand in years. This is the kind of film that would benefit the young to see, in schools. Passionate about the environment and shows the process of ideas reaching fruition.

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The Big Easy

YEAR 1986

DIRECTOR Jim Mc Bride

STARRING Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin and Ned Beatty

WRITER Daniel Petrie Jr

OVERVIEW Set in New Orleans. Remy McSwain, Homicide has to solve a series of gang killings and Ann Osborne, a beautiful attorney from the D.A.'s task force is a thorn in his side. He begins a relationship with her only to have charges filed against him for accepting bribes as he stumbles on  police corruption.

OPINION One of the most realistic sex scenes in a movie . Ellen Barkin made her name in this movie and even today she is cast, because of it.

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In the Cut

YEAR 2003

DIRECTOR Jane Campion

STARRING Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Jason Leigh

WRITER Jane Campion (screenplay), Susanna Moore (screenplay),

OVERVIEW Meg Ryan plays Frannie , has an affair with Mark Ruffalo; a NY detective.  

OPINION Another piece of brilliant , seductive directing from Jane Campion, the New Zealand director who made ‘The Piano’. Colouring the frame  is her extreme talent. She wafts through the lights and shadow of a NY city landscape and we fall for Ruffalo as passionately as Ryan. One of the sexiest movies ever made. Right up there with ‘9 ½ weeks’

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In the Loop

YEAR 2009

DIRECTOR Armando Iannucci

STARRING Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi and James Gandolfini

WRITER Jesse Armstrong (screenplay), Simon Blackwell (screenplay),

OVERVIEW The unraveling career of an politically inept Simon Foster as the Americans and the British attempt to disengage from Foster’s verbal slip.

OPINION Probably the best English comedy of the last 10 years. Language not for the faint hearted- overused and well placed. I paid to see it twice, then watched the DVD and saw it 3 times on the telly. Fabulous, intelligent and just so funny.

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Barney’s Version

YEAR 2010

DIRECTOR Richard J. Lewis

STARRING Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike and Jake Hoffman

WRITER Mordecai Richler (novel), Michael Konyves (screenplay)

OVERVIEW The weaving life of Barney. Barney lives with the shadow of the death of his friend over him.

OPINION I love this story of the seedy , overweight producer who smokes cigars ,yet who stays staunchly committed to what he wants. All in all, Barney is the person who appears to be the wrong-doer, but by the end of the picture, proves to be the lest wrong.

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Get him to the Greek

YEAR 2010

DIRECTOR Nicholas Stoller

STARRING Jonah Hill, Russell Brand and Elisabeth Moss 

WRITER Nicholas Stoller, Jason Segel (characters)

OVERVIEW A music loving producer has to get the hedonistic rock star to a concert

OPINION My favourite comedy of the moment. Easily watchable for a 10 time. Russell Brand was a piece of casting genius. He is himself and as funny in interviews as he is here.

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Raging Bull

YEAR 1980

DIRECTOR Martin Scorsese

STARRING Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci 

WRITER Jake LaMotta (based on the book by), Joseph Carter

OVERVIEW The story of Jake La Motta the boxer

OPINION Timeless and sheer illuminated brilliance. Robert de Niro is a living legend and I believe is surpassed by  Cathy Moriarty playing his wife.
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Catfish

YEAR 2010

DIRECTOR Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman

STARRING Melody C. Roscher, Ariel Schulman and Yaniv Schulman

OVERVIEW Filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost document Nev, a 24-year-old New York-based photographer who wants to meet a young girl’s sister.

OPINION A loosely put together documentary, slowly turns into a real story of humanness and compassion. I liked it. A lot. Real and moving and cleverly modern. he abstractness appeals to me where the movie truly moves at its own pace and becomes something unplanned for by either director or participants
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