MOVIES RELEASED NOVEMBER
2002 AUSTRALIA
7 NOVEMBER
Crackerjack (M): National. 204 screens. Roadshow. Comedy. Australia. Mick Molloy, Samuel Johnson, Bill Hunter, Monica Maughan, Frank Wilson, John Clarke, Judith Lucy, Lois Ramsey, Tony Martin, Pete Smith. D: Paul Maloney (TV's Blue Heelers). When dwindling membership and increasing overheads makes a local bowling club and prime candidate for a takeover, it's all hands on deck to save the club, in what turns into an epic battle where young meets old, greed meets good and people rise to the occasion in extraordinary circumstances. With fart gags.
Double Vision (R): Selected, Syd/ Melb. Dec 5, Perth. Columbia. 113 mins. Subtitled- Mandrin. David Morse, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Rene Liu, Leon Dai, Kuei-Mei Yang, Wei-Han Huang. D: Kuo-fu Chen (The Personals). In Taipei, a coroner (Kuei-Mei Yang) discovers links in two recent bizarre & grizzly deaths. Tough detective Li Feng-bo (Leon Dai) realises he is dealing with Taiwan's first-ever serial killer. Soon Kevin Richter (David Morse), a top FBI serial killer profiler, is called in to help on the case. The two men must piece together the clues which, incredibly, point to a supernatural force at play.
K-19: The Widowmaker (M): National. 171 screens. UIP. Thriller. 138 mins. Harrison Ford, Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson, Liam Neeson, Joss Ackland. Director: Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days). The true story of Russia's first nuclear ballistic submarine, which suffered a malfunction in its nuclear reactor on its maiden voyage in the North Atlantic in 1961. The submarine's crew, led by the unyielding Captain Zateyev, races against time to prevent a Chernobyl-like nuclear explosion which threatens not only the lives of his crew, but has the potential to ignite a world war between the super powers.
Kissing Jessica Stein (M): Selected, Melb. 26 screens. Fox. Romantic comedy. 96 mins. Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen, Tovah Feldshuh, Scott Cohen, Jackie Hoffman. D: Charles Herman- Wurmfeld (Franci's Persuasion). Jessica Stein is a single, straight, sucessful, journalist, part of a bonded Jewish family living in New York City, who finds herself not as straight as she thought when Jessica meets and begins an intense friendship with career woman Helen Cooper which ultimately leads to romance.
Samsara (MA): Selected. 12 screens. Niche. 138 mins. Subtitled: Tibetian. Shawn Ku, Christy Chung. D: Nalin Pan (Kaal). A spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Set in the majestic landscape of the Himalayas and shot in glorious cinemascope, Samsara - which means "the world in which we live" - tells an epic tale of a spiritual quest. This film is almost indescribably beautiful. The sheer magnificence of the landscape itself is breathtaking and the film is shot and directed with exquisite attention not only to the panoramic vistas, but also to the softly shadowed details of the interiors.
Tears Of The Black Tiger (MA): Selected. Dendy Cinema. Drama. 110m. Thailand. Chartchai Ngamsan, Stella Malucchi, Supakorn Kitsuwons. D: Wisit Sartsanatieng (Nang-Nak). Tears of a black tiger takes a journey back to a lost past - the heroic years of Thai genre cinema, when influences from Hollywood and everywhere else were subsumed into rollicking Thai melodramas. The film centres on the handsome bandit Black Tiger (Chartchai Ngamsan), who's in love with a high-born lady - a union made more difficult because her father plans to marry her off to the police captain in charge of wiping out Tiger's forest-dwelling gang.
14 NOVEMBER
Bloodwork (M): National. 77 screens. Roadshow. Clint Eastwood, Wanda De Jesus, Jeff Daniels, Anjelica Huston, Tina Lifford, P.J. Byrne, Alix Koromzay, Beverly Leech, Mason Lucero, Paul Rodriguez. D: Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven). Retired FBI profiler Terry McCaleb (Eastwood), who has recently had a heart transplant, is hired by Graciela Rivers (De Jesus), to investigate the death of her sister, Gloria, who happens to have given McCaleb his heart. On the case, he soon deducts that the killer, who staged the murder to look like a random robbery, may actually be a serial killer Terry was trailing for years in the FBI.
The Guru (M): National. 169 screens. UIP. 92 mins. Comedy. UK. Jimi Mistry, Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei, Christine Baranski, Bobby Cannavale, Bill Massof, Rob Morrow, Amanda Hall Rogers. D: Daisy von Scherler Mayer (Madeline). Ramu Gupta (Mistry), a young dance instructor, arrives in New York from India looking for fame, fortune and foxy chicks. What he finds is Popadoms and Pakuras as he works as a waiter at an Indian restaurant. When his big break finally occurs it's as the lead native in a porno movie. A shy Ramu cannot 'perform' so, after he is fired from the shoot, he turns to co-star Sharonna (Graham) for some enlightenment.
Jim Roh (M): Selected, Sydney. Animation/ thriller. Dendy. 98 mins Japan. Subtitled: Japanese. V: Michael Dobson. D: Hiroyuki Okiura (debut). Ten years after the end of World War II; anti-terror policeman Fuse gets suspended from service after the suicide by self-detonation of a young terrorist girl during an operation, as he failed to shoot her in time. When he tries to gather some information about her, he meets her sister and befriends with her. Both get dragged into the rivalries between the administration of the police and the counterterrorism commando unit 'Jin Roh' (human wolves).
Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring (M): National. Re-release. Roadshow. November 14. Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Kevin Conway, Hugo Weaving. The Lord of the Rings trilogy collectively re-tells the story of Frodo Baggins, who battles against the Dark Lord, Sauron to save Middle-earth from the grip of evil. In the films, Frodo and The Fellowship embark on a desperate journey to rid the earth of the source of Sauron’s greatest strength, the One Ring, a ring of such power that it cannot be destroyed.
Lovely And Amazing (M): Selected. 12 screens. Dendy. 91 mins. Comedy. Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin, Dermot Mulroney, Jake Gyllenhaal. D: Nichole Hofocener (Walking and Talking). "If you're hoping for the perfect family don't hold your breath." An intimate family portrait -- mostly comical, sometimes bittersweet -- of four hapless but resilient women and the lessons they learn in keeping up with the hectic demands of their individual neuroses. Jane Marks (Blethyn) is the matriarch of a confused trio of daughters -- a heady brew of vanity, insecurity and humour -- that seem to have nothing in common.
The
Ring (MA): National. 185 screens. Horror. UIP. 107 mins. Naomi Watts,
Brian Cox, Rachael Bella, Daveigh Chase, David Dorfman, Martin Henderson,
Amber Tamblyn D: Gore Verbinski
Stealing Harvard (M): National. 37 screens. Columbia. Comedy. Jason Lee, Tom Green, Leslie Mann, Dennis Farina. D: Bruce McCullock (Dick). Elaine and John have vowed to marry once they save $30,000 for their dream house. After years of struggle, John and Elaine can finally afford to walk down the aisle and into their dream house until John's sister Patty (Megan Mullally) calls with the unbelievable news that his niece Noreen (Tammy Blanchard) has been accepted at Harvard University. Wedding bells are silenced as Patty reminds John of his promise to pay for his niece's college tuition, which costs $29,879 and is due in two weeks!
Tempted (MA): Selected, Melb. Becker/ REP. Australia/ France/ USA. 95 mins. Thriller. Burt Reynolds, Saffron Burrows, Peter Facinelli, Mike Starr, George DiCenzo, Eric Mabius. D: Bill Bennett (Kiss Or Kill). A deadly thriller set in New Orleans, about a wealthy businessman, Charlie Le Blanc (Reynolds), who discovers that he only has a short time to live. As he prepares to will his fortune to his beautiful, adoring young wife, Lilly (Burrows), he begins to wonder if she really deserves it. In order to test her loyalty, he befriends a handsome young man, Jimmy Mulate (Facinelli), and offers him $40,000 to tempt his wife.
21 NOVEMBER
11:09:01 (M): Selected, Syd. Nov 28 Brisbane. Dendy Cinema. Documentary about September 11, 2001. 11 shorts. UK/ France. 130 mins. D: 1.) Samira Makhmalbaf & Camera Ebrahim Ghafori. 2.) Claude Lelouch 3.) Youssef Chahine 4.) Danis Tanovic 5.) Idrissa Ouedraogo 6.) Ken Loach 7.) Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu 8.) Amos Gitai 9.) Mira Nair 10.) Sean Penn 11.) Shohei Imamura. Each director was given creative license to make their film. The result is 11 viewpoints on a host of angles regarding to the suicide aircraft attack on the World Trade Centre. The facts of atrocities committed in war should come as no surprise to anyone from any country.
Adventures of Pluto Nash (M): National. 86 screens. Roadshow. Action comedy. Eddie Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Randy Quaid, Peter Boyle, Pam Grier, Joe Pantoliano, Jay Mohr, Illeana Douglas, James Rebhorn, Victor Varnado. D: Ron Underwood (City Slickers). Welcome to the Moon 2087. With all the natural resources mined out years ago, the Moon has become the new Wild West. A place where money and the right contacts can get you anything you want and anything goes. Pluto (Murphy) finds himself in trouble when he refuses to sell his club to Mogan (Pantoliano), the lunar gangster that is helping the mysterious Rex Crater mastermind a plan to take over the entire moon.
The Banger Sisters (M): National. 183 screens. Comedy. Fox. Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, Geoffrey Rush, Erika Christensen, Eva Amurri, Matthew Carey, Robin Thomas, Justin Neil. D: Bob Dolman (debut). Susan Sarandon and Goldie Hawn play former rock 'n' roll groupies in the 1970s who reconnect in the present day only to find out that one (Hawn) has remained unchanged in her wild ways, while the other (Sarandon) has taken a more conservative path.
Best Man's Wedding (Jalla Jalla) (M): Selected, Syd/ Melb. Palace. Subtitled- Swedish/ Arabic. Fares Fares, Torkel Peterson, Tuva Novotny, Laleh Pourkarim. D: Josef Fares (debut). Måns (Torkel Petersson) and Roro (Fares Fares) are best friends and work as park attendants. They get to do all the boring stuff - clean the duck pond and pick up piles of dog shit. Nevertheless, they still think they are cool and awesome. The days calmly pass by until Måns all of a sudden can’t get his dick up anymore and Roro is faced with the fact that he has one week to avoid being married off.
Changing Lanes (M): National. 167 screens. UIP. Thriller. 99 mins. Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Amanda Peet, Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Dundas, Kim Staunton. D: Roger Michell (Notting Hill). An attorney (Ben Affleck) in a rush to make a court appointment to file legal papers involving a multi-million dollar trust accidentally collides with an alcoholic insurance salesman (Samuel Jackson), who also is a rush for a court appointment involving the custody of his children. The attorney leaves the scene of the accident and strands the salesman, causing him to miss his custody hearing. During the process of the post-crash discussion, the attorney accidentally drops the papers he needs to present in court.
Lucky Break (M): Selected. Buena Vista. Comedy. UK. 108 mins. James Nesbitt, Christopher Plummer, Timothy Spall, Olivia Williams, Ron Cook, Frank Harper, Lennie James, Bill Nighy, Raymond Waring. D: Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty). Smalltime crook Jimmy (Nesbitt) botches a bank robbery, lands in prison, and stages a musical that turns out to be Act One of the perfect escape plan. But it's Act Two that's stumped Jimmy. His leading lady (Williams) has captured his heart, and with one leg already over the wall, he's got to come up with a new ending... as the curtain falls fast on his freedom.
The Pact (M): Selected. Intertropic Films / Avalon Films. Australia. D: Strathford Hamilton (The Setup). Susan Tuttle, Wilga Roberts, Patricia Roberts and their pal Kenny are train surfers. Extreme to the core, their harrowing experiences on top of a train would scare the hell out of any 15 year old. Their ride comes to the end of the line, like so many real train surfers when one of them (Patricia) is impaled on a water pipe. The others make a pact to do something good for the planet in her name or come back and ride the train again in 15 years to their death. 15 years later Susan and Kenny have forgotten about the pact but not Wilga, he has spent his time in prisons and mental wards waiting for this moment, to honor his dead sister. Now 15 years later, he's come to collect on the Pact. Wila murders Susan's boyfriend and kidnaps her daughter to blackmail her into riding with him one last time to the end of the line.
Sex With Strangers (R): Selected, Sydney. Level Four. 111 mins. Documentary. D: Harry & Joe Gantz. The movie has been produced and directed by Joe and Harry Gantz, who do the "Taxicab Confessions" program for HBO. They follow two couples and a sad threesome through their adventures in the swinging lifestyle, in a documentary that strongly suggests the screwing they're getting isn't worth the screwing they're getting.
28 NOVEMBER
Afghan Alphabet (M): Selected. Doco. Topical, and its got alliteration. What more do you want, tits? Don't really know anything about the film to be honest, so who knows, it may have that too.
Brotherhood Of The Wolf (MA): Selected, Capitals. 20 screens. UIP. Adventure. 144 mins. Subtitled- French. Samuel Le Bihan, Makr Dacascos, Emilie Dequenne, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Jérémie Rénier, Jean Yanne, Jean-François Stévenin. D: Christophe Gans (Crying Freeman). Based on the true story of the Beast of the Gevaudan that terrorised France in the mid-XVIIIth century, the movie aims to tell first and explain afterwards. In the first part, a special envoy of the King of France, with a biologist, a explorer and a philosopher, arrive in the Gevaudan region, in the mountainous central part of France.
Disco Pigs (MA): Selected, Melbourne. Level Four Films. 94 mins. Ireland. D: Kirsten Sheridan.
Full Frontal (MA): Selected, Sydney/ Melbourne/ Brisb/ Adel/ Perth. Buena Vista. Drama. 101 mins. Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood, David Alan Basche, David Duchovny, Nicky Katt, Catherine Keener, Brad Pitt, David Fincher, Mary McCormack, Terence Stamp, Brad Rowe. Set in Los Angeles, it's the story of seven people with very little in common who are about to come together in a way they never expected. Like "Day For Night,'' this is a movie about movies for people who love movies.
Halloween: Resurrection (MA): National. 107 screens. Buena Vista. Horror. 89 mins. Jamie Lee Curtis, Tyra Banks, Bianca Kajlich, Luke Kirby, Brad Loree, Daisy McCrackin, Ryan Merriman, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Busta Rhymes, Katee Sackhoff, Sean Patrick Thomas. D: Rick Rosenthal (Halloween II), Whitney Ransick (debut). A bunch of teens hold an Internet chat from the actual Michael Myer's house of Haddonfield in hope of publicity. Till they start getting "offed" one by one. What's the matter with these studios? Problems- 1) its not being released on Halloween 2) its star, Mike Myers, was beheaded in the last one. Answers: who cares as long as the movie rocks.
Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets (PG): National. 488 screens. Roadshow (Warner). Fantasy. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Wayson, Kenneth Branagh, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith D: Chris Columbus (Home Alone). The next instalment in the Harry Potter series finds young wizard Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione facing new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as they try to discover a dark force terrorising the school.
Killing Me Softly (R): Selected, Capitals. 39 screens. UK. Becker/ REP. Thriller. 100 mins. Joseph Fiennes, Heather Graham, Naasha McElhone, Ian Hart, Jason Hughes, Helen Grace. D: Chen Kaige (The Emperor and the Assassin) making his English language debut. A London research scientist ops out of her comfortable but ordinary relationship with a nice boyfriend when she forms a dangerously obsessive bond with a handsome, mysterious mountaineer, who turns out to have some secrets. Featuring the theme tune by Beck.
Project Greenlight: Episodes 1-6 (M): Selected, Melbourne. Buena Vista. Doco. Theatrical season of TV Series. This film will be a spin-off of sorts from the new HBO series, Greenlight. The concept is aspiring filmmakers can submit their screenplays to projectgreenlight.com, and the winner will get $1 million and the opportunity to direct their first feature film. The 13-episode HBO series will follow the progress of the film, starting with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon picking the winner, and ending with the winner attending their world premiere.
Santa Vs The Snowman 3D (G) Syd. Imax. Comedy/ Short. USA. 32 mins. D: John A Davis (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius). The story of a lonely Snowman who finds Santa's workshop but is chased away when he sets off the perimeter alarm. Envious, he devises a plan to take over Santa's empire and thus be the most popular figure around Christmas time this year. Having enlisted "Snow Minions Made Easy", he pits his snow army against Santa's elves and captures Santa, setting off a hilarious, epic-scale polar war.
Swept Away (M): Selected. (Capitals:- Syd/Brisb/ Adel/ Melb/ Perth). Columbia. UK. Madonna, Adriano Giannini, Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Banks, Bruce Greenwood, Patrizio Rispo, Jeanne Tripplehorn. D: Guy Ritchie (The Hard Case). Ritchie writes and directs Madonna in this remake of the 1975 Italian comedy, where a slovenly sailor (Giannini) is cast adrift on an island with his employer, a rich self-cantered woman who is used to having her own way. Cut off from society, he reverses their roles, stripping her of pride and vanity and controlling her completely. Until, that is, she falls in love with him.
Swing (PG): Selected, Syd/ Melb. Potential. Oscar Copp, Lou Rech, Tchavolo Schmitt, Mandino Reinhardt, Abdellatif Chaarani. D: Tony Gatlif (Vengo). Musical. France/ Japan. Subtitled:- French. Tony Gatlif himself has gypsy-blood flowing through his veins. After staying in Andulacia in the world of flamenco (Vengo), Gatlif now pictures the 'manouche' in France. A little French boy (Max), staying with his grandmother during the summer holidays, is fascinated by the way 'manouche' guitar is played.
Waydowntown (M): Selected, Sydney. Level Four Films. Melbourne December 5. Comedy. Canada. 87 mins. Fabrizio Filippo, Gordon Currie, Marya Delver, Tobias Godson, Don McKellar, Nick Cleary. D: Gary Burns (Fuck Coke). Four young office workers have a bet going to see who can last the longest without going outside. In the maze that is the downtown core of a large city, glass skywalks connect apartment buildings, office towers and shopping malls. Its day 28 of the bet and over the lunch hour, as the office prepares for the company founder's retirement party, things start to seriously unravel. Don't know about this movie, but his sex with coke film sounds good.
The Wizard Of Oz (G) Blue Mountains