The Greatest Game Ever Played is a typical underdog story, similar in plot to the likes of Rocky. It’s about golf though, which is a sport that has only recently been tackled in films. This is possibly because it’s not seen as being as exciting as other sports, as it goes at a slow pace. As golf gets more and more popular though, it is steadily becoming an acceptable subject for film, with films like The Legend of Bagger Vance and Tin Cup appearing, to name but a few.

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I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a perfect example of a comedy that, despite its good intentions, fails to explore a controversial issue because it completely surrenders to idiotic jokes and stereotypes instead of approaching its subject matter with subtle wittiness. But what is there to expect from a flick that stars high-profile comedian Adam Sandler as a hardcore playboy pretending to be gay? Right, you got it.
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Recent horror spectacles such as Saw and Hostel grew into popular franchises because they succeeded in combining their excessive illustrations of torture with a halfway decent story. But such is not the case for Roland Joffé’s Captivity, a film that completely ignores the importance of plot and suspense and thus fails to provide anything that would keep its audience from fleeing the auditorium.
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I’m not sure what it is about Gwyneth Paltrow, but I’ve just never really been able to take her seriously before. I found her over-the-top in Shakespeare in Love, and extremely irritating in Emma, although admittedly there, that was part and parcel of the character of Emma Woodhouse. For me, she just doesn’t have that star quality that makes me want to go see her films. Proof however, has made me reconsider my viewpoint, as she excels in the role of grieving daughter Katherine, who is having trouble coming to terms with the possibility that she may have inherited some of her dead father’s madness, as well as some of his genius.

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With the prospect of the seventh and last Potter book to hit the shelves in less than ten days and the increasingly dark tone of the previous four films of the franchise, The Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling’s heftiest Potter instalment yet and fifth film in the series, promised something special. Many consider the 800 page book the weakest in the series, when it is, in fact, one that best showed off Rowling’s talent for character development and wit. It would not be fair claiming every Potter film has so many familiar faces no one is granted the opportunity to truly shine. The Order of the Phoenix can best be described as The Fellowship of the Potter series, since it officiates as part one of a three movie finale.
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When the Levees Broke is a – Spike Lee – documentary about the causes, devastation and aftermath of the New Orleans disaster. Set up as ‘a requiem in four acts’ which each cover more and less known issues, When the Levees Broke endorses the old saying that indeed humanity is only two meals (or one flood) away from civilisation.
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At first I wasn’t exactly sure why it took four screenwriters to nail down the inspiring story of Jim Ellis, who started an inner city swimming program in the early 1970’s. Based on a true story, a sports theme, and in general, a formula picture. After some checking, sure enough, one of major criticisms of this film is that, well, quoted from Ellis himself, “Some of the liberties is the way that they portrayed it (the swimming program’s start)”. In other words, the main conflicts and/or story points in the film never took place. Now that explains a lot. Let me explain this, however: so what?
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If you are really lucky and care enough, you may find, in the void known only as the Wal-Mart Discount DVD Bin, one famous Chuck Norris film from 1980 called The Octagon. It is noteworthy not because the late Lee Van Cleef is in it and is the best actor in the entire film, not because the film was the last Norris film under indie guerilla style studio American Cinema (which has a nice featurette on the DVD about the rise and fall of the studio), which could make an entertaining film all of itself, but rather, this is the only known film where Norris goes up against a terrorist camp run by ninjas.
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Without a doubt, Michael Bay’s latest film, Transformers will please many of the built-in fanbase, and it is really tough to hate a film which says it will deliver giant robots smashing into buildings and each other, and then proceeds to do as promised. I am not the biggest Bay fan. Aside from the first half of The Island, in fact, I believe I have despised every film this guy has directed. Yet given Bay’s ADD methods of filmmaking, he is the right director for this live action pile of mayhem.
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