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| Hormonal Harry all fired up |
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE Directed by Mike Newell
Certificate 12A
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Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Daniel Radcliffe as
Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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DANIEL Radcliffe returns as Harry Potter and he’s really
growing up. That’s the stage director Mike Newell (Four Weddings)
has chosen for his participation in the fourth of the Harry Potter
franchise.
It is our hero’s fourth year at Hogwarts, a year which features
the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tourney where would-be
wizards from all schools come together to test their considerable
skills.
The Death Eaters are not far off, however, and it seems as if The
Dark Lord is ready to appear at exactly the wrong time in Harry’s
life.
A parallel to the speaking hat, there is a goblet of fire which
selects the participants for the tournament and, of course, Harry
is one of an unusual two.
In what is yet another high quality Harry Potter cinematic experience,
this most recent addition is half an hour too long: you can feel
the energy slipping away towards the middle.
Thank heavens for the appearance of Ralph Fiennes who, as Lord Voldermort,
makes up for this dip and adds some genuine exhilaration. In fact,
for younger viewers, the climax could be a little too scary.
But it is all worth it in the film’s most exciting, edge-of-your-seat
sequence with Harry combatting a fire-breathing dragon for possession
of an extremely powerful magic egg.
Beyond all the mermaids, the spells and the enchanted maze lies
a film which perfectly captures teenage awkwardness around members
of the opposite sex. And when Ron blushes bright red after being
asked to dance, that alone is worth the ticket price.
This is Harry Potter with all the grumpiness, hormones, stroppiness
that real teens have.
Funny beat goes on in must-see movie
FACTOTUM Directed by Bent Hamer
Certificate 15
APPARENTLY everyone has had their spell reading the works of
fabled drunk beat author Charles Bukowski. Even if you haven’t
savoured his hilarious, lyrical prose, Factotum, the first English-language
film by Norwegian director and writer Bent Hamer is a memorable
comedy that will make you feel fresh and smarter than before.
Matt Dillon, himself fresh from a performance in Paul Haggis’s
Crash that many felt was his best, betters himself and proves that
he is not just a pretty face with a dazzlingly funny turn as Hank
Chinaski – a drunkard writer who pursues women and booze with
as much verve as his writing.
Paid work, on the other hand, can hang. Hence the film’s title
– Factotum, which means a person who has had many kinds of
employment.
Taking Bukowski’s prose style to the big screen is a challenge
but one well met by Hamer and he doesn’t shy away from bringing
us the best that the stories have to offer.
You can almost hear the stories tumbling from Bukowski’s own
lips, “Did you hear the one about the French millionaire? Did
you hear about the pickle factory?”
Here, there is a huge element of deadpan humour but the pace, the
movement and the sparsity of action oddly keeps the pace tight.
This is a comedy which never bores, never preaches. Instead, it
offers us a swig on its hip flask, if we dare, to see what it is
like to be a Bukowski.
Lili Taylor and Marisa Tomei are penetratingly good as lovers of
the man, both too good for him and yet bad in themselves at the
same time.
We hate him and feel sorry for him; we hate them and feel sorry
for them. In the end, however, we love all the characters because
we understand them fully – and maybe, not to make huge comparisons,
we loved ourselves more too.
An amazing comedy with brilliant performances and an indelible vision.
A downright must-see.
Also showing
William Eggleston: In The Real World
AN exciting documentary look at Technicolour pioneer Eggleston by
director Michael Almereyda at the ICA. An influence on Gus Van Sant,
as well as David Lynch and Sofia Coppola, the man won’t allow
himself to be put on a pedestal – a riveting piece of real
life and a refreshing look at a man who refuses to intellectualise
his work.
The Libertine
A maddeningly wonderful performance by Johnny Depp as the rakish
Earl of Rochester.
Visual, arresting and disturbing, this is Stage Beauty only dirtier.
Separate Lies
Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Rupert Everett star in the subtle
domestic machinations of a country couple coming apart in the rather
good directorial debut of ‘Gosford Park’ writer Julian
Fellowes.
Stoned
Debut director Stephen Woolley takes on a psychedelic trip redolent
of the 1960s about the legendary Brian Jones, one of the original
Rolling Stones and a man who drowned in his own pool at the age
of 27.
Pick of the indies
Paths of Glory
France may have outlawed this film for almost 20 years since its
1957 release but Stanley Kubrick’s first major studio film
has lost none of its brilliance with time or a heap of other wars
films piled on top of it.
Soundly on the side of if not peace then non-war, Kirk Douglas plays
Dax, a World War I French colonel who finds himself between his
men and his superiors in a clearly wrong battle of wills and situations.
Although ostensibly a story of French and German fighters, the real
conflict is between rank and privilege, between danger and safety
and, in the end, quite clearly between right and wrong.
Stunningly shot in crisp black and white, the camera’s movements
are near balletic as they careen around actors, track down trenches
and play tricks with perspective.
Although beginning subtly as a standard war movie, the emotional
toll of watching Paths Of Glory is high: where else would the lines,
“There is no such thing as shell shock!” be repeated and
come to virtually represent the stupidity of the military hierarchy.
The performances are immaculate, every shot a worthy composition
and the complexity and sentiment are at the ready – many believe
Paths of Glory is what allowed Dr Strangelove to be the masterpiece
it is.
• Cineworld Haymarket. Call 0871 200 2000. |
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