| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stevie - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Pumpkin - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Nicholas Nickleby - PG | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Minority Report - PG-13 | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| L' Homme du Train (The Man on the Train) - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Magdalene Sisters - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Insomnia - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| In America - PG-13 | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Igby Goes Down - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Hours - PG-13 | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Frida - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Dirty Pretty Things - R |
Stephen Frears' dark, thought-provoking thriller is something akin to a neo-Hitchcockian melodrama with social issues at its core. Chiwetel Ejiofor is Okwe, an undocumented worker from Nigeria living in London who drives a cab by day and works as a porter at an upscale hotel by night, although his previous livelihood was supplied by a loftier position in his native country. He rents a spot on the couch from Senay (Audrey Tautou), a virginal Turkish immigrant who works at the hotel as a chambermaid. These two exist in a sort of shadowy underworld of legal and illegal immigrants, presided over by their lecherous and creepy boss Senor Juan, aka "Sneaky" (Sergi Lopez). One night, Okwe is called to one of the rooms to unclog a toilet and discovers something disturbing - a human heart. Unsettled, fascinated and concerned, Okwe wants to do the right thing - but is uncertain what that right thing may be. He consults his friend Guo Yi (Benedict Wong), a sharp-witted, chess-playing philosopher who works as a morgue attendant. As Okwe's curiosity increases, he discovers that everything may not be what it appears. The film, directed by Stephen Frears ("High Fidelity," "The Grifters") is noir-ish in its implications, involving a seemingly innocent and well-meaning man in a deep, dark plot that seems to involve vice, illegal organ sales and death. As a thriller, it is hypnotic in its effect. The original screenplay by Steven Knight seems to know this world so well - from Okwe and his past, to Senay and her present, and all the people who surround them, including a cheeky prostitute named Juliette (Sophie Okonedo) and a goofy Russian doorman named Ivan (Zlatko Buric). The results are beautiful, unsettling, intelligent and thought-provoking.
NOTE: Nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. |
December 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Cidade de Deus, (City of God) - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Chicago - PG-13 | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Changing Lanes - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Bloody Sunday - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Better Luck Tomorrow - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Auto Focus - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| All or Nothing - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Adventures of Pluto Nash - PG-13 | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| 28 Days Later - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| 25th Hour - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| 8 Women (8 Femmes) - R | December 14, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Bright Young Things - R | Stephen Fry's masterful adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's brilliant 1930 novel is a surprisingly (if appropriately) thoughtful take on the lives of gossipy, frollicking twentysomethings in London on the precipice of World War II. Stephen Campbell Moore is Adam Symes, an aspiring writer whose latest manuscript is confiscated by Customs ("gotta keep filth outta the country") upon his return to England. There, he and his circle of friends and associates: Miles, a homosexual; Agatha, a bird-brained "hottentott"; and Nina, his fiancee, spend all night every night indulging in excess at every single available party. Scandalous behavior rocks the local papers, owned by Adam's expectant publisher Lord Monomark (Dan Aykroyd); now that Adam's out a book, he owes for the advance. Their world is judged on-high by an Evangelical missionary named Melrose Ape (Stockard Channing), whose choir's rendition of "Ain't No Flies on the Lamb of God" has to be heard to be believed, and when they aren't dodging charges of moral indeceny, they're attempting to avoid the rabid nature of the paparazzi, represented by the semi-tragic Lord Simon Balcairn (James McAvoy). The heart of the story, if that's the word, is in the on-again/off-again romance and engagement of Adam and Nina, whose fortunes literally govern their ability to get married; it's hilarious seeing Adam attempt a cohesive conversation with Nina's senile colonel father (Peter O'Toole), as well as the shenanigans of a mysterious drunk Major (Jim Broadbent), with whom he has a shady financial dealing. As the clouds of war loom overhead, these "bright young things" (who share their moniker with the title of Adam's confiscated book) are completely oblivious, living in their bubblegum world of parties, alcohol and cocaine, spinning ever faster out of control. As a first-time writer-director, comedian and actor Stephen Fry wisely takes the "it's all fun and games till somebody gets hurt" approach to Waugh's prose; the film, as a result, is deeper and wiser than we at first expect, and the ending comes as something of a stunner, even if it's inevitable. In their boozy, would-be aristocratic ways, I was reminded of Whit Stillman's "yuppie trilogy" ("Metropolitan," "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco"). The cast is uniformly excellent, with Stephen Campbell Moore the perfect nebbish, Emily Mortimer as the belle of the ball who seeks love in all the wrong places, Michael Sheen as a shamelessly flaming queen whose mother is pummeled by the implications in the press, and Fenella Woolgar as the tragic Agatha, so funny, so blissfully clueless, and so heartbreakingly oblivious to the writings of doom on the wall. With cinematographer Henry Braham, Fry has found an astonishingly assured style for his first effort: stately and gorgeous in the dramatic scenes, hyperkinetic and wild in the early party days. The results are amusing, bittersweet and ultimately moving. One of 2004's very best films! | December 14, 2009 | N/A |
3147 ratings
87 reviews
