a-j-zak

One of the worst films its been my misfortune to see - I saw it for free and still wanted my money back. Smug middle class trash and one of the most manipulative films it's been my misfortune to sit through. The opening 9/11 reference was unbelievably crass and offensive and it was downhill from there. The saving grace was Laura Linney but her character just seemed to be discarded when Richard Curtis couldn't seem to contrive a way to get her back into the plot. Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson have both shown how multiple storylines can be handled to amazing effect - evoking a genuine emotional response from the audience. Richard Curtis just strings together a few popular scenes from his other scripts, desperately trying to squeeze a laugh or tear from the audience. Depressingly this is one of the most successful UK films ever - despite having little or no resemblance to any London that actually exists. I think the audience's reaction will be different in hindsight when, on a second viewing, they realise they've been had.

One of those films that deserved to reach a huge audience but somehow slipped away, Joe Dante's affectionate homage to creature features and B-movie king William Castle is a joy from start to finish. This is due to both Dante's direction - and obvious love of the script - and John Goodman's delightful performance (what was he doing in crap like "Coyote Ugly?"). Even the movie-within-a-movie - "Mant!" ("half man, half ant - all terror!") is fun. The only downside is that this rarely turns up on TV and hasn't been released on DVD in the UK. A scratchy vhs is better than nothing I suppose...

the most annoyingly directed film I've ever seen - not a shot goes by without some pointless, flashy jump cut, tricky edit or "Matrix"-style "bullet time" shenanigans. He's aided by editing from the "what's this button do?" school. I guess disaster is only to be expected when a director is employed on the basis of a Sega ad shown on MTV. Its all the more terrible for employing the Bosnian crisis as its backdrop and shamelessly rewriting history. Its a shame to see two great actors - Hackman and Wilson - reduced to this kind of crap.