Reviews

You don't need to see this. It fails at every level: The plot is non-existent, the cinematography is clumsy, the acting is amateurish and the ending inconclusive.

The movie is shot in that fake amateur doco style of the Blair Witch Project. The first hour was just plain boring. Shot with a very limited set (inside the house) and nothing much happening. The audience in the cinema was literally squirming in their seats - I nearly walked out. The female lead is a pudgy, unattractive lady with limited acting skills. Her partner is more credible as an actor, but has nothing to do but react to the 'scary' happenings and the unconvincing hissy-fits thrown by his de-facto.

Shot on a minimal budget, with minimal results. A waste of space, time and (your) money.

Not a good movie. In the book, Fast Eddie gets Minnesota Fats to coach him in making his comeback. The Tom Cruise character did not exist (and was completely unnecessary). Jackie Gleason was still alive when they made this, but may have been too old to reprise his role as Fats.

The main problem is that Newman and Cruise do not connect. Cruise's acting is false and over-the-top and his character is just not credible. The pool sequences are well done but it is a lack-lustre movie overall.

While Paul Newman is good in the role, it is not an Oscar-worthy performance. The Academy must simply have decided that it was Newman's turn to get an Oscar.

So why did The Hustler work where this sequel does not? For a start, The Hustler had a much better screenplay, including some great quotable lines. But where The Hustler excelled was in the acting: The support cast of Myron McCormick, Piper Laurie, George C Scott and Jackie Gleason were first rate - with understated and totally believable performances...

Frank Sinatra that is. Listen to Frank deliver Lee Hazelwood's song "This Town" like nobody else could and enjoy - it's one of the few good bits.

And the movie? Flabby and self-indulgent. It is supposed to be a heist movie but the tension is never effectively developed. You get the impression that Clooney and his mates enjoyed the last one and decided to get together again in Vegas and knock out a movie while they were there. The cast seem to be enjoying themselves while forgetting the basics of movie making i.e. entertaining the audience. The pace sags in places and you never really get involved in the story. Elliot Gould and Ellen Barkin are good in their roles but that is not enough to carry the movie. Maybe Hollywood has forgotten how to make an effective comedy/thriller? The original Rat Packers were better than this - and they were singers, not actors...

Don't worry about comparisons with the original, supposedly weak story line, etc, etc - just suspend belief and enjoy it as a musical.

The key vocalists are absolutely first rate: Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson and William Warfield were at the tops of their games here. The superb, effortless vocals from Keel and Grayson are lessons on how to sing - you'll never hear 'Make Believe' sung better than this.

William Warfield's version of 'Old Man River' is just magic. People usually talk about Paul Robson in the same breath as 'Old Man River' but none of Robson's renditions can match this performance. Warfield is a true bass (Robson was a bass-baritone) and delivers this song with magnificent power and resonance. Warfield is The Man.

Sit back and enjoy the music...

You leave the cinema feeling diminished.

You realize you were tricked by the advertising into seeing a film that revels in pain: The anguish of a sodomy-rape victim, the hurt of the denizens of an S&M hell-club.

This is one of those vicious little movies that use shock effect to make up for the writer/director's lack of talent. Noe realized he did not have the creativity to make a film about time and vengeance which was fresh, novel and interesting - so he resorted to violence - always a sure seller.

It is a puerile film school-level effort with a supposedly philosophical statement about time. The workings of time are utterly obvious to anyone who breathes - we do not need this 'artistic' schlock to show us the self-evident.

Nasty, pretentious, time wasting garbage.

Don't...

Why? Well for starters there is the best chase sequence since The French Connection. Then there is Will Smith as an actor - not just a star, though later in the movie he is admittedly overshadowed by veteran Gene Hackman.

There are two layers to this movie: On the surface is a pacy thriller with edge-of-the-seat chases but underneath lies a telling commentary on government surveillance. It is one of those truth-in-fiction stories which makes its point about government intrusion into privacy dramatically and effectively.

There are references to the classic, The Conversation: The surveilled couple talking in the park, and the Hackman character's premises are an obvious recreation of his workshop in the earlier movie. If you haven't yet seen The Conversation - see it before you see this one - you will understand the Hackman character a lot better (besides, it is a superb movie in its own right).

Oh, and Jon Voight is terrific as the bad guy...

There is something intriguing about this film. It won't suit everybody, but if you are in a reflective mood you'll find yourself drawn into the story and becoming fascinated by it.

It is a journey through life and its experiences directed with a deftness and real respect for the material. The points are all made with a lightness which somehow makes them all the more effective. You watch the story unfold and are reminded of your own life's progression.

Malcolm McDowell contributed to the script and is just superb in the lead role. He uses exactly the right touch in a perfectly judged performance - it is difficult to imagine anybody else in this part.

A classic often overlooked by mainstream film critics.

A good performance by Theresa Randle carries the movie. Theresa is believable and charismatic in the lead role (not to mention good-looking n]).

There are a number of nice touches and funny bits. The way Theresa is gradually drawn into the phone-play and begins to half-believe the fantasy is well done. Halle Berry does a good cameo and the practice session where Naomi Campbell firmly puts down a sleazeball caller is hilarious.

Enjoyed the music too. Prince wrote some of the songs and in particular there is a really nice blues vocal in the scene where Girl 6 waits to meet 'Bob Regular'.

Complaint: I wish Spike Lee would stay out of his own movies - he can't act. His flat, emotionless performance spoils the credibility of his supposed friendship with the Theresa Randle character.