‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’ - therapeutic laughter stuff.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008 09:01
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 OK, so a lot of critics seem to put a pile of rubbish on Adam Sandler’s films and yes, there have been a few less memorable offerings. But this latestYou ‘Don’t Mess with the Zohan’ is a belly-laugh from start to finish, littered with political incorrectness and excruciating accents but with a message of peace and brotherhood that could donly be bettered by Lisa Simpson. Don’t go there for an intellectual evening - just hang in there for the laughs and the visual effects that are sheer corn but so well executed that they work. The obligatory Palestine/Israel Romeo and Juliet sub-plot is there too, very predictable and it is a shame that there wasn’t some kind of kicker to spice that one up as there was no chemistry between the leads (Sandler and his hairdresser boss, played by Emanuelle Chriqui) but that really doesn’t matter as the sexual content in it takes the piss throughout, with special reference to Warren Beatty in ‘Shampoo’. The weird thing is that the central character is based on a real-life San diego based hairdresser. Lainie Kazan as the mother of Zohan’s American pal, Michael, is hilarious and plays a fine line between totally gross-out and a sweet, caring Jewish matriarch. You’ll know now from the trailers that this story is of a Mossad agent who smuggles himself into New York to fulfill his lifetime dream to become hairdresser but there is a lot more to entertain. For instance, the cameos are a-plenty making it a bit like a really big budget and well-written ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch. I guarantee that unless you are NOT into off-colour comedy, you will split your sides. The theatre was positively rocking last night apart from a few staid critics. It is also a rare chance to see the legendary comic, Shelley Berman, in a film. Given that the man is now 82 and a half years old, he is quite amazing and it is touching to see the warmth that he radiates as the hoummus addicted Dad of the Zohan.
On general release starting this week all round Australia and even if you don’t laugh much, you will find new ways of using hoummos
Last Updated ( Saturday, 15 November 2008 09:00 )
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The Secret of the Grain’ at French Film Festival.
Thursday, 28 February 2008 10:37
Thursday, February 28th, 2008 Aaah, I thought, when lining up to see this film. A story about Couscous, just what the world has been hanging out for. But I was blown away, for the most part, by this sincere, involving film set in the French port of Sète (beautifully shot by the
atmospheric cinematography of Lubomir Bakchev),where issues of migration, French nationality, employment, family and ageing are played out in a complex, entertaining way. The film is long, but the food scenes are terrific and this almost ranks with ‘Eat, Drink, Man, Woman’ as a great foodie film except that there is lots of eating with hands, slurping and other icky stuff adding to the realism of the story. Towards the end, there is a dangerously ‘Keystone Cops/Benny Hill’ chase sequence and some of the shots are annoyingly and aggravatingly long, but the splendid acting and beautiful faces, especially of the protagonist, Slimane, played by Habib Boufares, and Rym (played to great acclaim by the stunning newcomer Hafsia Herzi - just wait for her dancing scene) compensates well. Not only are we treated to the film being at the French Film Festival but it will open straight afterwards. Then dash home and buy your investment property in Sète. Do not miss this one! WR
‘Rambo’ lives up to expectations.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008 10:46
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 There is plenty to see in the latest Rambo film, none the least of which is the incredibly inept facial work that has been hacked into Sly’s face. See, that’s what you get for being ‘first’ with the new trend! Had he waited till today he could have looked way better. Sadly, that, and the wave after wave of exploding blood’n'guts, is about it. But that’s really what I expected. The film begins sullenly with Sly grunting his way through the ‘hero with a chip on his shoulder and a DARK PAST’ opening and that actually slows the action down. His muscles flex continually and one can only speculate that he reached ‘fast twitch’ stage many years ago. It’s all a bit distracting as also is his sheet of ebony dyed hair. Come on! Couldn’t they have left a bit of grey? After all, Cary Grant and George Clooney carried off that look extremely well. Here’s the story - John Rambo, now over the war, gets his jollies and income by simultaneously catching scary reptiles in Thailand for one of those dodgey Snake farms and hiring out his putt putt boat for trips up the river towards the Karen region. Missionaries beg him to take their party of do-gooders over the border. He is coerced into agreeing with this silly task. It all ends in tears, arrows, bullets, flamethrowers and marauding pigs all put to not good enough use in a narrative sense. It would have been so much better had we seen the team dining out on some fine pork rolls prior to discovering what the source of their meatiness actually was. The ending is so darn mawkish that there was a collective laugh in the theatre. And some of the lines … what the ..??? And there was a ‘Now let me get this straight’ in there just to prove that the script writer also does ‘Painting By Numbers’ in his spare time. But of course, ‘Rambo’ (previously subtitled ‘To Hell and Back’) was not made for me. It will find its own audience amongst obsessive power lifters, go-cart racers, mercenary soldiers on vacation and others who will enjoy the extravagant visual effects and layer upon layer of bone chips and blood splatter. From that point of view, it was competently done and there is some weird fascination about watching a man in his 60s on an athletic tear through the jungle. Opens around Australia on General Release tomorrow, 21st February. Save dinner for afterwards and then vegetarian would be advised.
‘I Served The King of England’ hilarious journey through early 20th Century Czechoslovakia
Thursday, 27 December 2007 01:49
Archive for December, 2007 Thursday, December 27th, 2007 I haven’t read the best-selling book by Bohumil Hrabal but am tempted to after seeing this very funny, and sometimes surreal, film, directed by Czech Jiri Menzel (previously directing ‘Closely Watched Trains’). The story captures perfectly that dilemma of falling into the side of the baddies during a conflict (take a look at Paul Verhoeven’s ‘Black Book’ for which it should be a companion piece.) Menzel outstrips Verhoeven’s nudity count by, give or take a few, umpteen nubile, blonde, bombshells and a heap of homo-erotic Aryan men as well thrown in for good measure. The tale is woven around an ambitious waiter, purveyor of hotdogs whose observations about humanity give him some clues on how to become rich. Choreographed to the max, the film is an hysterical laugh at a terribly tragic situation and there is a train scene in there that is of such poignancy that you will be stopped in your tracks from joining the cackling at the jokes and slapstick that roll along at a fast pace. In fact, ‘I Served the King of England’ ticks a lot of movie ’success register’ boxes as it has plenty of stunning food and drink, tasteful nudity, great eroticism not just in the sex scenes but in the wardrobe (ahhhh, chiffon!) and masses of women who are so beautiful that it makes you wonder why we have any dogs on our television screens at all!!! Surely SBS you could absorb a few of these lovely Cz Republic lovelies! Structurally, the film has its annoyances but just float past them and enjoy the balletic restaurant scenes rather than the cheesy voice over! Some people like that in a film. Rather than roll out the plot, let me say that there is some interesting and evocative use of CG not always effective but it adds to the otherworldliness possibly vital in avoiding this film becoming too much of a rehash of Nazi occupying evils. We’ve probably had enough of that. Menzel underlines the tragedy extremely well by his use of choreography and music choices are fabulous. Showing exclusively at the Elsternwick Classic and at the Cinema Nova in Carlton, it’s a great holiday flick! ENJOY it!! And Happy New Year to all.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 November 2008 02:59 )
Jason Schwartzman, co-writer and star of THE DARJEELING LIMITED,
Monday, 26 November 2007 01:52
Monday, November 26th, 2007 Cinema Nova, Twentieth Century Fox and The Age present
Jason Schwartzman, co-writer and star of THE DARJEELING LIMITED,
In a Q&A with Francis Leach WEDNESDAY 12 DECEMBER, 7.00 pm Tickets now on sale:
$25, $20 concession, $18 Age Subscribers
www.cinemanova.com.au
THE DARJEELING LIMITED (M)
Opens December 26
Director and Co-Writer: Wes Anderson In the quirky, comical and colourful vein of THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS and RUSHMORE comes THE DARJEELING LIMITED. Chosen as the opening night film at the New York Film Festival, THE DARJEELING LIMITED is a tale of three American brothers (Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody) who have not spoken to each other in a year when they set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other – to become brothers again like they used to be. Their “spiritual quest”, however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray), and they eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. At this moment, a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins. HOTEL CHEVALIER, Wes Anderson’s short film, is also included as a short prologue to THE DARJEELING LIMITED, telling of a heartbreaking history of love, starring Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman. JASON SCHWARTZMAN: Jason Schwartzman, who co-wrote THE DARJEELING LIMITED with Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola on a writing trip to India, made his motion picture acting debut as Max Fischer, an eccentric high school sophomore in Wes Anderson’s acclaimed comedy RUSHMORE opposite Bill Murray in 1999. That year, his performance garnered a nomination for ÅgMost Promising ActorÅh from the Chicago Film Critics Association. SchwartzmanÅfs recent credits include starring as King Louis XVI in Sofia CoppolaÅfs MARIE ANTOINETTE; SHOPGIRL starring in a love triangle with Claire Danes and Steve Martin; BEWITCHED with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell; and a starring role in David O. RussellÅfs existential comedy I Ü• HUCKABEES with Dustin Hoffman, Naomi Watts, Jude Law, and Lily Tomlin. Schwartzman made his television debut in the critically acclaimed comedy ÅgCracking UpÅh written by Mike White and co-starring Molly Shannon. Other film credits include Roman CoppolaÅfs directorial debut, C.Q., S1M0NE starring Al Pacino and Catharine Keener; and the ensemble comedy SLACKERS. THE DARJEELING LIMITED OPENS DECEMBER 26 AT CINEMA NOVA
RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes
RATING: M
DISTRIBUTOR: Twentieth Century Fox Films
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