Bovie Movie

Leon meets Romeo Must Die in this furiously kinetic action thriller that combines the amazing fighting talents of Asian superstar Jet Li with the canny genre production and scripting know-how of French auteur Luc Besson. Outrageously violent, hard-edged and constantly exciting, the film has Li as a Chinese intelligence officer sent to Paris on an undercover assignment, who becomes embroiled in a drug cartel conspiracy. Helped by hooker Bridget Fonda and hindered by super-nasty corrupt cop Tcheky Karyo, Li must use his amazing skills to see justice done. Director Chris Nahon’s super-charged thrill-ride does nothing more than highlight a breathtaking array of dazzling martial arts sequences — but it’s more than enough. All choreographed by Li’s long-time collaborator Cory Yuen, the visceral kung fu and kickboxing on show here are the finest seen on screen since the classic glory days of Bruce Lee. 

This serviceable American remake of Luc Besson’s Nikita is a near scene-for-scene re-tread of the slick, sexy original. Bridget Fonda makes a far less convincing lead than Anne Parillaud, and her metamorphosis from psycho junkie to elegant assassin is much harder to swallow. The strong supporting cast (including Gabriel Byrne and Anne Bancroft) boosts credibility, but there’s an oddly cold, detached feeling about director John Badham’s re-creation of the original’s dynamic action scenes. Though well-shot and competently performed, it’s one of the laziest and most unnecessary Hollywood remakes for some time. 

Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the lodger from hell who makes nice Bridget Fonda’s life a misery in this ludicrous but hugely enjoyable thriller from director Barbet Schroeder. Based on John Lutz’s novel, it has Fonda as a chic Manhattanite looking for a roommate, and Leigh as the shy, frumpy “perfect” candidate. That is, until she starts dressing like Fonda and even tries to steal her boyfriend. You may be able to guess the end from the first five minutes, but that doesn’t make it any less enthralling, and it should certainly win a few plaudits for the most ingenious use of a stiletto heel in a movie. 

The Godfather was a masterpiece and so, too, was its sequel. Yet this third picture is merely a distant relative and was made for purely mercenary reasons (director Francis Ford Coppola reportedly needed the money for a personal project). Thanks to the badly bungled corkscrew plot — no one has a clue what’s going on, apart from some vague corruption in the Vatican — one is left with the basic theme of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), unable to renounce crime and being slowly transformed into a martyr. Pacino has some fine moments and Andy Garcia is frequently electrifying as Sonny Corleone’s bastard son, Vincent Mancini, the new don on the block. However, Coppola’s own daughter, Sofia, who took over at the last minute from Winona Ryder, is embarrassing as Michael’s daughter Mary, the film’s symbol of innocence. 

Shallow Grave meets Fargo in this thriller from director Sam Raimi about the corrupting influence of greed. In the snowy wastes of Minnesota, three men find a crashed plane that contains over $4 million and hesitantly decide to split the loot once they are sure they won’t be suspected. Of course, everything that could go wrong, or might point the finger at their pact, does so in Raimi’s grim fairy tale. Completely eschewing the frenetic approach of his Evil Dead work, Raimi comes up with a poetic and suspenseful thriller that delves unassumingly into the cryptic regions of human nature. The uneasy mood is underscored by marvellous performances from Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton (Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated for this role) as the two brothers in the pledge triangle.