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The
Amityville Horror
Cert: 15
Starring: Ryan
Reynolds, Melissa George, Jimmy Bennett,
Rachel Nichols, Philip Baker-Hall, Jesse
James, Jason Padgett
Director: Andrew
Douglas
Running Time: 119 minutes
Released:
15th April
|
 Encouraged
by the fact that last year’s Dawn Of The Dead remake was
just as good (if not better) than the original, studio executives
have decided that another infamous 1970s horror flick is due a
makeover, this time courtesy of a newcomer director, Andrew Douglas.
Keeping faithful to the 1979 original, it is based (albeit loosely)
on the story of a house in Amityville, Long Island, where, in 1974,
Ronald DeFeo murdered his parents and four siblings with a rifle.
He eventually confessed to the crimes, although claimed that 'voices'
in the house had driven him to commit the diabolical deeds.
A year later, an unsusp-ecting George Lutz (played here by Ryan
Reynolds) and his family moved into the murder house, and claimed
they also started hearing the voices, as well as experien-cing
all kinds of other unpleasant paranormal phe-nomena. Suffice to
say, they moved out after 28 days.
Although the story itself is fascinating, Stateside critics haven’t
been hugely impressed with this remake, with one reviewer comparing
it to a rehash of the frightfully bad ’13 Ghosts’.
Which, may I add, is an even more terrifying prospect that having
to actually live in the Amityville house yourself… |
The
Interpreter
Cert: 12A
Starring: Nicole
Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, Jesper
Christensen
Director: Sydney
Pollack
Running Time: 128
minutes
Released:
15th April
|
 Silvia
Broome (played by Nicole Kidman) is a southern African inter-preter
at the UN who overhears a conver-sation in the General Assembly
Hall. The conversation appar-ently reveals a plot to assassinate
an African president. Tobin Keller (Sean Penn, in his second
film previewed this month) is an FBI agent sent to protect
her, but he grows increasingly suspicious that she may not
be telling the whole truth.
The film’s UK release date is the same as that in the US,
so the only indication I have towards the quality of the film
is to go by the veteran director Sydney Pollack’s previous
works, such as the 1982 hit, Tootsie. I think it’s fair
to assume that cross-dressing may not play as significant a part
in this particular movie, mind… |
The
Assassination of Richard Nixon
Cert: 15
Starring: Sean
Penn, Don Cheadle, Naomi Watts, Jack Thompson
Director: Niels
Mueller
Running Time: 95
minutes
Released:
8th April
|
 Sam
Bicke (Sean Penn) is a man struggling to hold his marriage together,
and at the same time, desperately wants to start his own business
and escape from his dead-end job. He finds his hopes to be at
odds with the same disappointment felt by many of his fellow
Americans in 1974, with political corruption and the Vietnam
war playing a major part in what he believes to be the collapse
of opportunity in his beloved country.
His life starts to fall apart around the time of the Watergate
scandal, and as a result of such, Sam identifies the man at the
top, Richard Nixon, as being responsible for his sorry state
of affairs. Bicke decides that there is only one way for him
to rectify the scenario - by killing the president.
Early indications suggest that the film is an absolute with belter,
with Penn's performance in particular demanding strong appraisal.
Judging by the film’s reviews, and despite being set over
thirty years ago, the underlying message contained within the
film still holds significant relevance today. |
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