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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
So many gangsters… so little time.
Filmmaker(s): Stephen Chow

It's the 1940s, and the notorious Axe Gang terrorizes Shanghai. Small-time criminals Sing and Bone hope to join, but they only manage to make lots of very dangerous enemies. Fortunately for them, kung fu masters and hidden strength can be found in unlikely places. Now they just have to take on the entire Axe Gang.

Comedic Self-reference You can read from others about the basic nature of this, and how widely it is admired and enjoyed. I myself admire and enjoy it. It is a movie about movies. Its something between a “Scary Movie” style parody and a “Charlie’s Angel’s” ...


Published August 6, 2023
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Beyond the Sea (2004)
In the era of cool, Bobby Darin was the soundtrack.
Filmmaker(s): Kevin Spacey

Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the tale of his life.

Keyser’s Desire Like it or not, watching film is an accretive process: each film provides a context and more for the next. One of those threads of continuity is the unfortunate fact that we see the same faces in many presumably different roles, as if there...


Published July 27, 2023
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Being Julia (2004)
Passion. Obsession. Revenge. Prepare for the performance of a lifetime.
Filmmaker(s): István Szabó

Julia Lambert is a true diva: beautiful, talented, weathly and famous. She has it all - including a devoted husband who has mastermined her brilliant career - but after years of shining in the spotlight she begins to suffer from a severe case of boredom and longs for something new and exciting to put the twinkle back in her eye. Julia finds exactly what she's looking for in a handsome young American fan, but it isn't long before the novelty fling adds a few more sparks than she was hoping for. Fortuately for her, this surprise twist in the plot will thrust her back into the greatest role of her life.

Unaware This is a well made movie. Such things are rare, and when they come around, we celebrate them. Many extend this celebration to Bening, who is similarly competent. But something is ajar. The project is based on a familiar device: we see a film (really a...


Published July 6, 2023
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Before Sunset (2004)
What if you had a second chance with the one that got away?
Filmmaker(s): Richard Linklater

Nine years later, Jesse travels across Europe giving readings from a book he wrote about the night he spent in Vienna with Celine. After his reading in Paris, Celine finds him, and they spend part of the day together before Jesse has to again leave for a flight. They are both in relationships now, and Jesse has a son, but as their strong feelings for each other start to return, both confess a longing for more.

Reluctance Finally, Linklater does something with his talent. His strength in the past has been to shape the form of his films to match the subject. At least that’s been true when the subject is the tentativeness of existence. He’s done well enough in the past, but...


Published June 29, 2023
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The Aviator (2004)
Some men dream the future. He built it.
Filmmaker(s): Martin Scorsese

A biopic depicting the life of filmmaker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate, while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Three Characters We all live in our own movies, and particularly like movies of people who do so more literally. Here are three in one film: Martin Scorsese: My regular readers know that I have been very critical of his films. Sure, they are crafted well enough,...


Published May 17, 2023
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Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)

Nap Time I’m pretty sensitive to the social implications of black films. Some of us worked pretty hard to provide means for black voices to speak to their own (and other) issues and audiences. Gone are the days where a white establishment could exploit bug-eyed, stupid,...


Published May 16, 2023
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Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Let your imagination soar.
Filmmaker(s): Frank Coraci

A bet pits a British inventor, a Chinese thief and a French artist on a worldwide adventure that they can circle the globe in 80 days.

Production Design They took an absolutely ordinary film — even dreary in places — and wrapped it in two things that are lovely. The first is a lovely production design. Pastel watercolours that are evocative of Verne’s abstract nature. I have idea who to credit for...


Published May 1, 2023
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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
They bring you the news so you don't have to get it yourself.
Filmmaker(s): Adam McKay

It's the 1970s and San Diego anchorman Ron Burgundy is the top dog in local TV, but that's all about to change when ambitious reporter Veronica Corningstone arrives as a new employee at his station.

Unanchored This is a simple exercise in humour by going out of bounds. Well, this has energy at least. It does have what I call folding, being a show about a show and show business. But that element is mundane , of the “Zoolander” variety. I’ve been studying...


Published April 2, 2023
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Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
The hunters will become the hunted.
Filmmaker(s): Dwight H. Little

The blood orchid - a rare flower that could hold the secret of eternal life and be worth a fortune to the company that finds it first. Led by a pharmaceutical research team, a scientific expedition sets out to go and explore deep into the jungles of Borneo to locate and bring back samples of the legendary plant. Battling through rainstorms to make their way upriver, the group encounters poisonous insects and a ferocious crocodile, only to discover they're being stalked by an even greater danger: a gathering of giant anacondas. Heat-sensing, fifty-foot-long flesh eaters that will go after anyone that crosses in their path.

Balled Up You know, you just can’t have it two ways. Either you make a movie deliberately campy, or you make one straight-on creepy. Either way, it is a hard thing to do and seemingly impossible for studios to handle, That’s because they want as many...


Published April 2, 2023
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Along Came Polly (2004)
For the most cautious man on Earth, life is about to get interesting.
Filmmaker(s): John Hamburg

Reuben Feffer is a guy who's spent his entire life playing it safe. Polly Prince is irresistible as a free-spirit who lives for the thrill of the moment. When these two comically mismatched souls collide, Reuben's world is turned upside down, as he makes an uproarious attempt to change his life from middle-of-the-road to totally-out-there.

Safe The story in this movie revolves around the choice between safety and richness. Because it assumes we are stupid, it has two story lines to hammer the point home, the point that safety is the wrong choice. And then in the highest of ironies, the picture...


Published March 12, 2023
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