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Self/Less Review

OK

An intriguing premise keeps the audience gripped for about 20 minutes before the movie runs out of steam. Which is far too early. Despite the always-engaging presence of Ryan Reynolds, this fantastical thriller is slick enough to hold the attention, but fails because it's unable to generate any interest in the central characters. And instead of exploring the fascinating issues the story raises, the filmmakers instead fall back on irrelevant violence.

The story opens as billionaire Manhattan businessman Damien (Ben Kingsley) discovers he has six months to live. But he has heard about a new medical procedure called "shedding", in which his mind is implanted in a lab-grown body. At $250 million, it seems like a bargain, so he signs up with Dr Allbright (Matthew Goode) and prepares to abandon his old life for a new one. He wakes up in New Orleans as Edward (Reynolds), and begins to adjust to his fit new 35-year-old body. But after he misses his adjustment meds one day he has a series of bewildering flashbacks that make him wonder about the true nature of the shedding process. Maybe his new body wasn't so "new" after all. So he goes looking for answers, which involves teaming up with Madeline (Natalie Martinez) and seeking help from his business partner Martin (Victor Garber).

There are all kinds of intriguing themes swirling through this set-up, including issues of identity and mortality. But writers David and Alex Pastor seem uninterested in exploring any of this in lieu of a much more simplistic morality tale packed with continual shoot-out and chase scenes, plus far too much body-swapping. All of this is produced to a very high standard by director Tarsem Singh, who has a reputation for seriously stylish cinema (see The Fall or The Cell). He adds a strong edge to every scene, with intriguingly haunting editing choices and camerawork that add plenty of tension and uncertainty even if the plot itself is utterly predictable.

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Selfless Trailer


What would you do if you had one of the smartest minds and largest bank accounts on the planet, but were still faced with your own mortality? For Damian (Ben Kingsley), a man credited with single-handedly building a city. He is also, steadily deteriorating and dying from cancer. When a shadowy scientist named Albright (Matthew Goode) offers to save him with an experimental treatment, Damian believes he has no choice if he wants his mind to live on. With his mind implanted into the body of someone else (Ryan Reynolds), he begins to enjoy his revitalised body to enjoy his life. That is, until he starts to realise the sinister truth behind living out an immortal existence in, what is revealed to be, a stolen body. 

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Baggage Claim Trailer


Montana Moore is a thirty-something flight attendant who has achieved the inevitable and become the only unmarried/ unaffianced woman in her whole family after her younger sister announces her impending marriage in a month's time. She is determined that she will not attend the ceremony alone and will have, not only a boyfriend, but a long term partner by her side. With the help of her friends, the rest of the staff at the airport, she tracks down several ex-boyfriends on various international flights and manages to travel a massive 30,000 miles in her efforts to find the right man for her. There's Damon Diesel, who has hopeless dreams of becoming a superstar; Curtis, a pastor; Langston, a wealthy former lawyer; and a young millionaire named Quinton Jamison, but who will sweep her off her feet and fulfil her dreams of true romance and happiness?

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Sparkle Review


Good

An energetic cast and some terrific music make up for the rather hackneyed plot of this Dreamgirls-style drama. Remade from a 1976 film, the story is that familiar trajectory of musicians who achieve fame only to fall into a string of ugly problems. It's just about watchable, but what makes it notable is that it features Whitney Houston in her last film role.

It's set in 1968 Detroit, where Sister (Ejogo) is determined to become a star. Her singer-songwriter sister Sparkle (Sparks) is the one with real talent, but she's happy to stay in the background with their other sister Dee (Sumpter). As Sister and Her Sisters, they are managed by Stix (Luke), a fast-talking charmer who falls for Sparkle. But the girls' intensely religious mother (Houston) is under no illusions: she has been there, done that and continually warns her daughters that they shouldn't go the same way she did. But of course, they have to live their messy lives themselves.

Since it's such a familiar story, the film has a cheesy, soapy feel to it, playing on the sisters' rebellion against their religious upbringing. Of course, danger is represented in the men they fall for. While good-girl Sparkle tries to keep Stix at arms' length for awhile at least, Sister must choose between two men: the poor but nice Levi (Hardwick) and the flashy but drug-addled Satin (Epps). Since we know that she will choose the wrong guy, we know it's not going to be a happy journey for her. But this trawl through the dark side gives Ejogo a chance to steal the film with a much more emotionally charged performance.

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Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World Review


Excellent
There's a whiff of wilful quirkiness about this apocalyptic comedy-drama, but as the brittle humour quietly transforms into something remarkably emotional, the film gets under our skin in ways we never expect.

With an apocalyptic asteroid strike due in three weeks, Dodge (Carell) wonders why he's still going to work at his dull insurance firm. Then he runs into Penny (Knightley), distraught because she's broken up with her boyfriend (Brody). Dodge wants to revisit his childhood sweetheart, while Penny wants to see her parents in Britain. And Dodge knows someone with a plane, so they team up. Along the road, they get help from a trucker (Peterson) and Penny's survivalist ex (Luke). But with the world ending, their priorities begin to shift.

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Sparkle Trailer


Sparkle is our eponymous star, set to shine in this tale of rags to riches as she rises to achieve her ambition of becoming a musical force. A musical prodigy from an affluent area of Detroit, Sparkle must overcome issues that are tearing her family apart whilst following her own musical ambitions. One of three sisters to a single mother, Sparkle tries to balance a new romance with music manager Stix whilst dealing with the unexpected challenges her new life will inevitably bring as she and her two sisters, Sister and Dolores, strive to become a dynamic singing group during the Motown era.

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Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World Trailer


Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World

Continue: Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World Trailer

Captain America: The First Avenger Trailer


Steve Rogers is a sickly young man who has always been bullied in the streets of 1940's Brooklyn because of his weight. He applies for World War II military duty in an attempt to toughen up but is rejected as 'unfit for duty' because of his frailness. Steve isn't put off, however and attempts to enlist again, despite dissuasion from his friend, 'Bucky' Barnes.

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Derek Luke Tuesday 19th July 2011 Los Angeles Premiere of Captain America:The First Avenger at the El Capitan Theater - Arrivals Hollywood, California

Notorious (2009) Review


Bad
In hindsight, the thought that a film could have ever done justice to Christopher George Latore Wallace, the Brooklyn-born rapper who went by the names Biggie Smalls and The Notorious B.I.G. until his untimely, unsolved murder in March 1997 at the age of 24, was a foolish if exceedingly hopeful fantasy. Would any director possibly be as good at balancing blunt criticism -- of masculinity, poverty, the music industry, the black experience in America and, perhaps most importantly, himself -- and have as big an ego as the late MC? Maybe Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep) but his project never came to pass.

What we are presented instead is Notorious, a dutifully celebratory, profoundly inept retelling of the rise of Wallace from fatherless coke slinger on the corner of Fulton and St. James to the still-praised Shakespeare of hip-hop and best friend to that other don of hip-hop culture, Sean "Puffy" Combs. The film, which is directed by Soul Food helmer George Tillman Jr., opens on the infamous shooting of Wallace outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA. As the first bullet is fired, the screen pauses and the voice of the deceased rapper kicks in and rewinds us back to the beginning of the tale with a 12-year-old Wallace, played by Christopher Jordan Wallace, the son of Wallace and R&B singer Faith Evans, sitting outside Queen of All Saints Middle School in Bed-Stuy, waiting for his mother Voletta (Angela Bassett).

Continue reading: Notorious (2009) Review

Spartan Review


Extraordinary
What is the man behind such parlor-room films as The Winslow Boy and House of Games doing directing an explosive military thriller, complete with airdrops and sniper rifles? And starring Val Kilmer? Trust me: Give Spartan ten minutes, and you'll stop asking such stupid questions.

David Mamet's latest project is far from conventional fare, and ultimately that works in his favor. From the opening scene, where two soldiers pursue each other through a jungle, Mamet keeps us guessing. What kind of movie are we watching? Within about 10 minutes, the bones of the story are made clear: the president's daughter (Kristen Bell) has been kidnapped from her dorm room, and the Secret Service pulls out all the stops to get her back. That includes recruiting special operations soldier Robert Scott (Val Kilmer), an uncannily capable military man who's as intuitive with people and motives as he is skilled with weapons.

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Derek Luke Movies

Self/Less Movie Review

Self/Less Movie Review

An intriguing premise keeps the audience gripped for about 20 minutes before the movie runs...

Selfless Trailer

Selfless Trailer

What would you do if you had one of the smartest minds and largest bank...

Advertisement
Baggage Claim Trailer

Baggage Claim Trailer

Montana Moore is a thirty-something flight attendant who has achieved the inevitable and become the...

Sparkle Movie Review

Sparkle Movie Review

An energetic cast and some terrific music make up for the rather hackneyed plot of...

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Movie Review

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Movie Review

There's a whiff of wilful quirkiness about this apocalyptic comedy-drama, but as the brittle humour...

Sparkle Trailer

Sparkle Trailer

Sparkle is our eponymous star, set to shine in this tale of rags to riches...

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World Trailer

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World Trailer

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World One night, Dodge and his wife...

Captain America: The First Avenger Trailer

Captain America: The First Avenger Trailer

Steve Rogers is a sickly young man who has always been bullied in the streets...

Notorious (2009) Movie Review

Notorious (2009) Movie Review

In hindsight, the thought that a film could have ever done justice to Christopher George...

Spartan Movie Review

Spartan Movie Review

What is the man behind such parlor-room films as The Winslow Boy and House of...

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