All articles by John Hazelton – Page 27
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Reviews
Original Sin
Dir: Michael Cristofer. US. 2001. 116 mins. Angelina Jolie's second big release of the summer is a very different kettle of pescado from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Written and directed by Michael Cristofer, who previously steered Jolie's breakthrough performance in Gia, Original Sin wraps a plot from the world of ...
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Reviews
Scary Movie 2
Dir: Keenan Ivory Wayans. US. 2001. 88 mins. It's taken the Wayans brothers just twelve months to follow up on the astounding success of their slasher spoof Scary Movie (which last summer grossed $157m in the US and $103m internationally) with a sequel that rips into the supernatural thriller genre ...
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Reviews
Cats & Dogs
Dir: Lawrence Guterman. US. 2001. 87 mins. A comedy featuring realistic-looking, talking versions of humankind's favourite domestic pets sounds like a good way to reach the sometimes elusive family audience. But Cats & Dogs proves - if it still needs proving - that in this genre at least all the ...
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Reviews
The Animal
Dir: Luke Greenfield. US. 2001. 83 mins. After the surprise winter 1999 success of his first starring vehicle, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, former Saturday Night Live funny man Rob Schneider gets the chance to carry a high-profile summer movie with The Animal, a resolutely dumb but occasionally endearing comedy. Backed ...
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Reviews
crazy/beautiful
Dir: John Stockwell. US. 2001. 88mins. Despite its perky-sounding title, prominent soundtrack and sexy costumes, crazy/beautiful appears to have ambitions that are considerably bigger than those of the average teen romance. With an interracial love story at its core, the film also delves into relatively dark family drama and tries ...
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Reviews
Dr Dolittle 2
Dir: Steve Carr. US. 2001. 85 mins. It's been three years since Eddie Murphy and co successfully reinvented Dr Dolittle - the man who talks to the animals - for a modern film audience by using computer effects to allow the animals to talk, cheekily, back. Dr Dolittle 2 efficiently ...
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Reviews
Spy Kids
Dir: Robert Rodriguez. US. 2001. 90 mins.Best known for indie action flicks like El Mariachi and From Dusk Til Dawn, Robert Rodriguez turns his hand to family adventure with Spy Kids, aiming to mix the effects and thrills of James Bond with the warmth and colour of more traditional children's ...
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Reviews
Exit Wounds
Dir: Andrzej Bartkowiak. US. 2001. 100 mins. Looking to make a comeback after a run of commercial disappointments, Steven Seagal teams up on Exit Wounds with action king producer Joel Silver and hot rapper DMX. It's a canny move which should bring in both older white males and younger black ...
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News
Irish singer makes acting debut in Time Machine
Dublin-born singer-songwriter Samantha Mumba will make her feature film debut starring opposite Guy Pearce in the DreamWorks/Warner Bros sci-fi project The Time Machine, which is currently shooting in New York and Los Angeles. Mumba, best known for her hit Gotta Tell You, joins a cast that also includes Jeremy Irons, ...
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News
Artisan drops IPO plans in favour of sale
Four months after the disappointing performance of its Blair Witch Project sequel, once high-flying US independent Artisan Entertainment has withdrawn plans for its initial public offering (IPO) and brought in investment bankers to explore merger and sale options. In a statement, Artisan CEO Amir Malin said the company has "received ...
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News
Lions Gate, Arrow target MOXIE
Urban drama Borough of Kings, Jury Prize winner at last month's MOXIE!/Santa Monica International Film Festival, has been acquired in an all-rights deal by Lions Gate Entertainment. Directed by Elyse Lewin, the film stars Philip Bosco, Jim Stanek, Joseph Lyle Taylor and Patrick Newall and features Olympia Dukakis. Another project ...
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News
LA film festival offers 21 world premieres
Thirty-six films, including 21 world premieres, have been announced for the line-up of this year's Los Angeles Film Festival, run by non-profit indie filmmaker organisation IFP/West. The festival's opening night selection has yet to be revealed, but the West Coast premiere of Allison Anders' Things Behind The Sun has been ...
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News
Eastwood gets Mystic River rights
Warner Bros and Malpaso Productions have bought movie rights to best-selling psychological suspense thriller Mystic River for Clint Eastwood to produce and direct. Eastwood is currently talking to writers about adapting the novel by Dennis Lehane but, according to a statement "has no immediate plans" to put the project into ...
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News
Platnick to leave Mandalay
Adam Platnick, president of motion pictures at Peter Guber's Mandalay Pictures, is to leave the company when his contract expires this summer. In a press release, Platnick did not specify his future plans but said he is "looking forward to new opportunities." Until his contract expires, Platnick will continue work ...
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Reviews
See Spot Run
Dir: John Whitesell. US. 2001. 94 mins.Aimed squarely at an audience of families with younger children, See Spot Run does not waste much effort on subtleties. The comedy is a mix of basic slapstick and potty humour, while the plot spins a sugary romance around a perky blonde, an orphaned ...
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Reviews
Monkeybone
Dir: Henry Selick. US. 2000. 92mins.For all its manic energy and elaborately-designed fantasy elements, Monkeybone, director Henry Selick's live-action follow-up to his acclaimed animated outings The Nightmare Before Christmas and James And The Giant Peach, feels disappointingly flat. The film (based on the graphic novel Dark Town) appears to be ...
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Reviews
Head Over Heels
Dir: Mark Waters. US. 2000. 110 mins. There's more than a little of There's Something About Mary (and a self-conscious touch of Alfred Hitchcock) in Head Over Heels, a bouncy but messy romantic comedy/thriller that pools the off-screen talents of Adam Sandler's regular producer Robert Simmonds, House Of Yes director ...
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Reviews
Valentine
Dir: Jamie Blanks. US. 2000. 96mins. Compared to most of today's amped up teen slasher flicks, Valentine stands out in its restraint and subtlety. The approach takes a while to pay off and may, together with the relative dearth of sex'n'gore, test the patience of some members of the target ...
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Reviews
Miss Congeniality
Dir: Donald Petrie. US. 2000. 104min. Prod co: Castle Rock Entertainment in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment. Dist: Warner Bros/Village Roadshow (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Cyprus and Greece). Exec prods: Marc Lawrence, Ginger Sledge, Bruce Berman. Prod: Sandra Bullock. Co-prod: Katie Ford. Scr: Lawrence, Ford, Caryn Lucas. ...
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Reviews
Red Planet
Dir: Antony Hoffman. US. 2000. 106 mins.Prod cos: Warner Bros in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment. Dist: Warner (US and rest of world)/Village Roadshow (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Cyprus). Prods: Mark Canton, Bruce Berman, Jorge Saralegui. Exec prods: Charles J D Schlissel, Andrew Mason. Scr: Chuck Pfarrer, ...