Bovie Movie

Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:30:01 +0000

Based on the phenomenally successful role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons 2 takes you deeper into the dark and fantastical world of this fantasy epic. When the evil sorcerer Damodar braves a perilous whirlwind vortex to steal the elemental black orb he declares a sinister plan of vengeance against the kingdom of Ismir. Berek, a decorated warrior, and Melora, an amateur sorceress join four heroes representing Intelligence, Wisdom, Honor and Strength to battle against Damodar’s growing army of gruesome creatures, flying harpies and an ice dragon to reach a vault room holding the orb. Together, they build their own army to retrieve the orb using elemental forces to defeat Damodar before he summons the sleeping black dragon whose omnipotent evil powers could lay waste to the entire kingdom.

See No Evil

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Blind Mia Farrow splashes mud on a young drifter’s cowboy boots while travelling to her uncle’s isolated mansion. In revenge, he slaughters her entire family and relentlessly pursues her around the old dark house. Written by Brian Clemens (The Avengers) on what must clearly have been an off-day, Richard Fleischer’s cumbersome chiller combines elements of Psycho and Wait until Dark for minimal shocks and suspense. Farrow tries her best to convince, but the half-baked premise is too full of ridiculous red herrings to be even remotely believable.

The One

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:30:00 +0000

Sci-fi action films don’t come any more simplistic than this offering from James Wong (writer and director of the highly entertaining Final Destination). Aware that the sole purpose of this sort of “high concept” crowd-pleaser is to provide maximum entertainment, Wong goes all out to deliver an exhilarating, nonstop adrenalin rush, unfettered by misplaced intellectual pretension. Once the preserve of Schwarzenegger and Stallone, the testosterone-charged lead role is here claimed by Hong Kong action star Jet Li. He gets to battle himself in his portrayal of two martial arts whirlwinds — one, a killer moving between parallel universes in order to murder his alter egos; the other, a Los Angeles police officer who’s the last intergalactic double and next intended victim. Wong is a celluloid magpie, mixing the style of Total Recall and Timecop with the fights and special effects of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix. While this means there’s no real innovation or surprise, it does ensure that jaw-droppingly extreme set pieces punctuate this wildly over-the-top but effective joy ride.

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:30:00 +0000

Even though Jim Carrey has as many detractors as supporters, there’s no denying his breakthrough hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective exuded a barmy charm, but this silly sequel is often just plain irritating. For this adventure, Ace is off to Africa where he gets mixed up with warring tribes and the hunt for a rare bat. The slim plot is just the flimsiest of excuses for Carrey’s wacky grimaces and elasticity, while the slapstick is relentlessly juvenile and director Steve Oedekerk’s direction lacks the surreal inspiration of the original. Visiting Britons Ian McNeice and Simon Callow struggle to bring a little dignity to the proceedings.

Auto Focus

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:30:01 +0000

As the writer of Taxi Driver and writer/director of American Gigolo, Paul Schrader has always been drawn to the dark side of sexuality — mostly in order to chart its corrosive effects on character — and this is his most sustained and successful treatment of the subject so far. Based on the experiences of actor Bob Crane (star of 1960s US sitcom Hogan’s Heroes), it charts his descent into a libidinous hell as he becomes addicted to casual sex, videotaping an endless succession of meaningless encounters (aided by Willem Dafoe’s noxious video technician). Greg Kinnear is excellent as the vacuous hedonist who can’t see his repellent behaviour as anything but “healthy”, and there’s also a standout performance from Ron Leibman as the tender-hearted agent who watches with horror as his client’s life implodes. The subject matter may be too raw for some — Schrader doesn’t spare us the numerous, often depressing sex acts — but in the end Auto Focus is an intensely moral and often unexpectedly funny tour de force.

The Sicilian

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:30:01 +0000

A plodding and sententious account of the postwar Sicilian rebel Salvatore Giuliano, whose mania for independence from Italy inspired him to a career of murder and pillage. Christopher Lambert stars as a remarkably uncharismatic Giuliano, who nonetheless charms his way into the hearts of the Sicilian people and even the Mafia (in the person of the sinister Joss Ackland). Director Michael Cimino, who will for ever be remembered for the magnificent failure of Heaven’s Gate, lets the action swing between huge messy gunfights and tedious moralising from Lambert. It’s not a total disaster: there’s a good supporting cast (including Terence Stamp and John Turturro) and moments of real excitement, hinting at what The Sicilian might have been. But botched editing (Cimino later sued the production company) and leaden acting win the day.

Femme Fatale

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:30:00 +0000

One of suspense stylist Brian De Palma’s best over-the-top doodles on the B-movie film noir form, this cool, erotically charged déjà-vu Euro-thriller is a sumptuously elegant treat from its wordless lesbian encounter beginning at the Cannes film festival to its cleverly twisted end. Can reclusive French Ambassador’s wife Rebecca Romijn-Stamos hide her former identity as a jewel thief when secret snaps taken by paparazzi photographer Antonio Banderas alert her former partners in crime into reclaiming stolen diamonds? Complete with a mind-bending last-act shift in reality that many will find a complete cheat, De Palma’s audaciously seductive deception is a bold and imaginative exercise in film-making craft and devious sleight-of-hand audience manipulation, laced with his usual tongue-in-chic trademarks. And Romijn-Stamos makes a perfect, icy, duplicitous blonde heroine in the best Hitchcock tradition.

Underworld

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:30:00 +0000

It’s quite a feat to have sucked the life out of an attractive comic book-style vampire versus werewolf premise, but debut director Len Wiseman has crafted the most stylistically derivative and monotonously plotted horror film possible. The casting is equally defective, with Kate Beckinsale unconvincing as sullen bloodsucker Selene, a sort of waif-like female version of Blade, and Michael Sheen lacking stature as her “Lycan” enemy. Set against a hackneyed melancholy gothic backdrop, the story piles on scene after scene of portentous, humourless exposition, only stopping occasionally for these centuries-old rival gangs to fire off rounds of ammo. Why such rich potential for teeth-baring conflict is abandoned in favour of sub-Matrix gunplay is one of many questions posed before the film’s faintly enjoyable final battle. Only Bill Nighy, as a fearsome ancient vampire, really makes any sort of fanged impression on this dreary disappointment.

Bandits

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:30:00 +0000

Scott McGinnis and Jeff Osterhage try valiantly to drum up some knockabout bonhomie here as Wild West outlaws enrolled in a British fighter squadron during the First World War, but everything from the stereotypical characters to the risible banter is against them. Bearing in mind the technical expertise of director Zoran Perisic (who worked on the special effects for Superman) and experienced cinematographer David Watkin, this adventure should at least have looked good. However, the aerial action is so inept that it only emphasises the shortcomings of a buddy movie that compounds its crimes by wasting such a promising premise.

War and Peace

admin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:30:01 +0000

At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon’s forces controlled much of Europe. In Russia, one of the few countries still unconquered, the army prepares to face Napoleon’s troops in Austria. Among the soldiers are Nicholas Rostov (Jeremy Brett) and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (Mel Ferrer). Pierre Bezukhov (Henry Fonda), a friend of Andrei’s and self-styled intellectual who “knows what’s right but still does wrong,” is not interested in fighting. Pierre’s life changes when his father dies, leaving him a vast inheritance. He is attracted to Natasha Rostov (Audrey Hepburn), Nicholas’s sister, but gives in to baser desires and marries the shallow, materialistic Princess Helene (Anita Ekberg). The marriage quickly ends when Pierre discovers his wife’s true nature. Andrei is captured and later released by the French, and returns home only to watch his wife die in childbirth. During a visit to the country months later, Pierre and Andrei meet again. Andrei sees Natasha and falls in love, but his father will only permit the marriage if they postpone it for one year. While Andrei is away in Poland on a military mission, Natasha is drawn to Anatole Kuragin (Vittorio Gassmann), a scoundrel and libertine. Pierre tells Natasha of Anatole’s past before she can elope with him. Napoleon (Herbert Lom) invades Russia. Pierre visits Andrei on the eve of the battle, and observes the battle that follows. Traumatized by the carnage, he vows to kill Napoleon himself.