Volume 39, Number 06

Movies

Movie News
By Bill Hersey

For the fantasy film The Golden Compass, Gaga Communications brought in the director Chris Weitz, actress Nicole Kidman and 13-year-old actress Dakota Blue Richards. Talk about a small world. I used to do PR for Chris’ fashion designer father John Weitz who was married to actress Susan Kohner (Imitation of Life). Not only that, Dakota, who was chosen from 10,000, young girls to play the lead role in the film, has an uncle who’s a friend of mine, neuro-linguistic programmer Alistair Prentice, living here in Tokyo.

The press conference was held in the grand ballroom of the Peninsula Hotel. Nicole, who’s five months pregnant, looked absolutely gorgeous in a black Prada dress. She is a fashion icon—and gorgeous. All three of the special guests share a passion for the film. Nicole said you have to have passion for what you do. This really is the driving force in acting. For the director, the tense emotional scene between Nicole and Dakota was his favourite.

“There were no special effects—just good acting in that one” he said.

The Golden Compass is a trilogy and I heard that the making of the sequels pretty much depends on the success of the first film here.

20th Century Fox brought in actor Hayden Christensen (Star Wars) to promote the sci-fi film Jumper. There wasn’t a press conference, but from what I saw in the trailers the film, which was released March 7, looks fun.

Top producer, Hong Kong based Bill Kong, was in town to promote ‘one of the most expensive Chinese films ever made’, Curse of the Golden Flower for Warner Brothers.

I was happy to see one of China’s top directors Yimou Zhang (Hero and Lovers) again and enjoyed meeting young actor Jay Chou. The only downer was one of my favourite actresses Gong Li just started shooting another film in Hong Kong (she does keep busy) and had to cancel her promo visit here. Warner Brothers will release the historical epic film April 12.

Movie Reviews - The Jane Austen Book Club / Next / Sleuth
by William Casper

The Jane Austen Book Club

I cannot say that I was looking forward to The Jane Austen Book Club (TJABC). The prospect of 106 minutes in the company of a group of contemporary American women sitting around talking about Jane Austen’s books did not make my heart swoon or soar (or any other Austenesque verb). I was wrong. While still a little short of the swoon factor, TJABC is a charming film, well written and well acted; funny and moving; and I feel were she alive today, Jane (as one character refers to her), would approve.

Set in California, TJABC starts at a funeral held (thrown?) by uptight singleton dog breeder, Jocelyn (Maria Bello), for one of her favourite dogs. Also in attendance is her closest friend Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) with husband Daniel (Jimmy Smits) and six times married and divorced (not sure Jane would have approved) group matriarch Bernadette (Kathy Baker).

Soon after the funeral Daniel announces he’s leaving Sylvia, Bernadette meets distraught Prudie (Emily Blunt)—a rather pretentious French teacher married to Dean (Marc Blucas), a totally unpretentious sports fan, and Jocelyn meets computer geek Grigg (Hugh Dancy—never better) thinking he’ll be perfect for now single Sylvia. These five are joined by Allegra, Sylvia’s daughter and decide to form a Jane Austen reading group. They meet once a month, each member responsible for one novel.

What could have been trite and twee turns out to be an inventive piece of grown-up entertainment as themes and situations in the novels are reflected in the lives of the group members. The lack of star names (and therefore baggage) gives the characters a chance to develop nicely. You don’t have to be familiar with Austen’s novels or even the film adaptations to enjoy TJABC though if you haven’t read them this may persuade you to give them a go.

Nicolas Cage’s latest mediocre movie, Next, has a decent enough premise—a man can see two minutes into the future—but gets wasted by an awful screenplay and some staggeringly inept storytelling.

Based very loosely (about as loose as a thing can be without becoming detached) on the Phillip K. Dick story The Golden Man, Next tells of Frank Cadillac (Cage) hiding in Vegas and working as a magician to disguise his ‘gift’ (the two minute thing). European terrorists steal a nuclear bomb and threaten to blow up L.A. Their motives are never explained. Could it be they want to save the world from movies like Next? How very post-modern.

Sadly, it seems their lack of motive is more about a plot containing more holes than Blackburn, Lancashire than anything quite so avant-garde.

A clearly deluded FBI agent (Julianne Moore—barely breaking sweat) is convinced Frank Cadillac is the man to save the day. Quite why she jumps to this conclusion is anyone’s guess. Somewhere along the way Frank gets a love interest, Jessica Biel, chiefly it seems to have someone the terrorists can strap a bomb to.

The whole project reeks of complacency and unfortunately, unlike Showgirls for example, its ‘taking-itself-so-seriously’ tone keeps it from the ‘so bad it’s good’ category.

Sleuth

Anthony Shaffer’s play Sleuth was first filmed in 1972, starring Lawrence Oliver as novelist Andrew Wyke, and Michael Caine as working class Milo Tindle. One of those quirky late sixties/early seventies experiments just about distracting and original enough to be worth watching but very much of its time.

In this latest version, Caine takes the Olivier role with Jude Law as Tindle. But was it worth remaking? Pluses include an adapted screenplay by Harold (long pause) Pinter and a shorter running time. Minuses? Audience expectations have changed since 1972 and 90 minutes of verbal jousting taking place in essentially the same location, even with Michael Caine, is tough going.

Further minuses include some new, ill-fitting, plot developments and Jude Law proving, as viewers of the Alfie remake already know, he’s no Michael Caine. No disgrace in that and Law isn’t bad in the right film, but here he doesn’t convince as the penniless actor, seducer of the novelist’s wife, and now demanding that Milo divorce her. The youthful, over-cockiness that Shaffer wrote into the script was supposed to be a mask hiding his insecurities, but yet Law as Milo appears the least insecure human being on the planet.

For Kenneth Branagh, who always seems to have greatness in his grasp but never quite the right vehicle, directing Sleuth presumably represented a challenge. Choosing to film in a sprawling, converted castle packed with hi-tec surveillance junk and boasting an open plan design that had me worrying about Wyke’s heating bills, loses some of the earlier film’s intimacy but overall he does a decent job.

It’s understandable why Michael Caine wanted to do this film. There’s a nice symmetry in Caine playing both roles and despite Olivier’s reputation, Caine is the better film actor. He does his usual fine job. Stage acting, of course, is something else altogether, had this director and cast attempted this on Broadway, where it belongs, that really could have been something special.

On DVD

The Rogue Assassin—Jet li and Jason Statham star in this nasty, over violent, tale of warring Asian gangs. Could barely understand a word Statham whispered.

Butterfly Effect 2—Makes the original look like Citizen Kane and Ashton Kutcher look like a young Marlon Brando. Awful.

Stardust—Enjoyable adult fairy tale. Great cast including Robert De Niro who is absolutely fabulous.

King Of California—Unpretentious modern day fable. Crazy, rebel Dad hunts for gold; sensible daughter just wants to be with him. Starring Michael Douglas on good form.