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Etre Et Avoir

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OPENS JUNE 20, CERT U, 102 MINS Even the most hardened viewers might find themselves melting under the influence of this beautifully poised documentary about a primary school in rural France. Director Nicholas Philibert charts a year in the life at the village school in Puy-de-D...

OPENS JUNE 20, CERT U, 102 MINS

Even the most hardened viewers might find themselves melting under the influence of this beautifully poised documentary about a primary school in rural France. Director Nicholas Philibert charts a year in the life at the village school in Puy-de-D

Fulltime Killer

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OPENS JUNE 27, CERT 18, 100 MINS Asian movie god Andy Lau stars as Tok, a perma-grinning assassin-for-hire who blasts his way into the eastern underworld with one aim in mind: becoming Hong Kong's No 1 professional killer. Unfortunately, this position is already filled by the mysterious O (Takashi Sorimachi), a ruthlessly efficient death machine with an unfortunate habit of falling in love with his beautiful-but-consequently-shortlived housekeepers. The latest of these, Chin (Kelly Lin), soon finds herself being romanced by both men as they dodge Interpol agent Lee (Simon Tam) and engage in increasingly perilous rounds of gangland one-upmanship. All desperately reminiscent of The Killer, but what stops this movie from being just another low-rent Woo knock-off is Johnny To and Ka-Fai Wai's energetically atmospheric direction and fantastic performances from the leads. Formulaic but masterfully assembled, Fulltime Killer is the best Hong Kong flick to earn a UK cinema release in years.

OPENS JUNE 27, CERT 18, 100 MINS

Asian movie god Andy Lau stars as Tok, a perma-grinning assassin-for-hire who blasts his way into the eastern underworld with one aim in mind: becoming Hong Kong’s No 1 professional killer. Unfortunately, this position is already filled by the mysterious O (Takashi Sorimachi), a ruthlessly efficient death machine with an unfortunate habit of falling in love with his beautiful-but-consequently-shortlived housekeepers. The latest of these, Chin (Kelly Lin), soon finds herself being romanced by both men as they dodge Interpol agent Lee (Simon Tam) and engage in increasingly perilous rounds of gangland one-upmanship.

All desperately reminiscent of The Killer, but what stops this movie from being just another low-rent Woo knock-off is Johnny To and Ka-Fai Wai’s energetically atmospheric direction and fantastic performances from the leads.

Formulaic but masterfully assembled, Fulltime Killer is the best Hong Kong flick to earn a UK cinema release in years.

Mon-Rak Transistor

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OPENS JUNE 6, CERT 15, 115 MINS This slice of Thai kitsch comes from the same producer as Tears Of The Black Tiger and shares something of the same anarchic exuberance. It's a musical romance which makes much of the juxtaposition of tradition Thai culture with Western influences. The hero, Pan, is an amateur singer who strikes rock'n'roll poses while singing Thai folk music on a stage surrounded by chickens and goats. He falls in love with, and marries, beautiful local girl Sadaw. But their life is disrupted when Pan is drafted into the army, then goes AWOL to pursue his dream of becoming a professional singer. This is unashamed melodrama but without the element of pastiche that was present in Tears Of The Black Tiger, and as such it's rather harder for a Western audience to accept as anything other than a quaint novelty. Still, the Thailand we see is vividly drawn and probably not the Thailand that's familiar to tourists and travellers. It's fascinating as a piece of Thai popular culture rather than as a piece of great cinema.

OPENS JUNE 6, CERT 15, 115 MINS

This slice of Thai kitsch comes from the same producer as Tears Of The Black Tiger and shares something of the same anarchic exuberance. It’s a musical romance which makes much of the juxtaposition of tradition Thai culture with Western influences. The hero, Pan, is an amateur singer who strikes rock’n’roll poses while singing Thai folk music on a stage surrounded by chickens and goats. He falls in love with, and marries, beautiful local girl Sadaw. But their life is disrupted when Pan is drafted into the army, then goes AWOL to pursue his dream of becoming a professional singer.

This is unashamed melodrama but without the element of pastiche that was present in Tears Of The Black Tiger, and as such it’s rather harder for a Western audience to accept as anything other than a quaint novelty.

Still, the Thailand we see is vividly drawn and probably not the Thailand that’s familiar to tourists and travellers. It’s fascinating as a piece of Thai popular culture rather than as a piece of great cinema.

Biker Boyz

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OPENS 27 JUNE, CERT 12A, 111 MINS Put The Fast And The Furious on two wheels and you'll have this laughably po-faced tale of illegal street-racing among LA's biker fraternity. Derek Luke plays Kid, a young speed freak eager to dethrone "King of Cali" Smoke (Laurence Fishburne). To do so, he must set up his own club (the titular Biker Boyz), working his way up the racing hierarchy while keeping true to his late dad's mantra that you should "burn rubber, not your soul". Despite Reggie Rock Bythewood's flashy direction, this dopey yarn is more Vespa than Kawasaki. Mindful of the homoerotic implications of leather-clad males fetishising throbbing machines, By the wood assigns Luke a tattooist girlfriend to jump his bones and etch a silly symbol on his chest. Mercifully there are enough stunts, trick riding and 100mph wipe-outs to make up for the slack script. Even so, you may find yourself wondering where Fishburne found a bike big enough to handle his flab.

OPENS 27 JUNE, CERT 12A, 111 MINS

Put The Fast And The Furious on two wheels and you’ll have this laughably po-faced tale of illegal street-racing among LA’s biker fraternity. Derek Luke plays Kid, a young speed freak eager to dethrone “King of Cali” Smoke (Laurence Fishburne). To do so, he must set up his own club (the titular Biker Boyz), working his way up the racing hierarchy while keeping true to his late dad’s mantra that you should “burn rubber, not your soul”.

Despite Reggie Rock Bythewood’s flashy direction, this dopey yarn is more Vespa than Kawasaki. Mindful of the homoerotic implications of leather-clad males fetishising throbbing machines, By the wood assigns Luke a tattooist girlfriend to jump his bones and etch a silly symbol on his chest. Mercifully there are enough stunts, trick riding and 100mph wipe-outs to make up for the slack script. Even so, you may find yourself wondering where Fishburne found a bike big enough to handle his flab.

S1mOne

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Another self-regarding screenplay from Andrew (The Truman Show, Gattaca) Niccol, but Al Pacino is on hand to paper over the concept's cracks. A director whose prima donna (Winona Ryder) walks out, he simulates virtual actress S1mOne ("hmm, less Streep, more Bacall"), who becomes a global superstar. Could go further, but the comedy's smart and the acting, ironically, is great.

Another self-regarding screenplay from Andrew (The Truman Show, Gattaca) Niccol, but Al Pacino is on hand to paper over the concept’s cracks. A director whose prima donna (Winona Ryder) walks out, he simulates virtual actress S1mOne (“hmm, less Streep, more Bacall”), who becomes a global superstar. Could go further, but the comedy’s smart and the acting, ironically, is great.

The Bruck Stops Here

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With his late partner, sleaze legend Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer pioneered the high-concept blockbuster with its shiny machinery, big stunts, sexy laydeez and pounding rock soundtrack. Since Simpson imploded on the toilet in 1996, Bruckheimer has delighted in cherry-picking indie stars and turning them into his screen bitches, buying off their artistic principles like 10-dollar crack whores. Witness John Cusack, John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi sucking Hollywood cock in the fabulous airborne hijack thrill-ride Con Air. Or Christopher Eccleston, for fuck's sake, in the vacuously enjoyable Gone In 60 Seconds. Nicolas Cage stars in both, as well as the enjoyable Alcatraz shoot-'em-up The Rock. Tony Scott's grainy Enemy Of The State is also a great conspiracy yarn with echoes of Coppola classic The Conversation, although his earlier submarine drama Crimson Tide is more routine. The only real turkeys among this 10-disc set are the screamingly homoerotic Bruce Willis sci-fi romp Armageddon and the windy wartime romance Pearl Harbor, both directed by Michael Bay?a prize jerk famous for parking his Ferrari in disabled parking spaces?with all the subtlety of a turd sandwich.

With his late partner, sleaze legend Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer pioneered the high-concept blockbuster with its shiny machinery, big stunts, sexy laydeez and pounding rock soundtrack. Since Simpson imploded on the toilet in 1996, Bruckheimer has delighted in cherry-picking indie stars and turning them into his screen bitches, buying off their artistic principles like 10-dollar crack whores. Witness John Cusack, John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi sucking Hollywood cock in the fabulous airborne hijack thrill-ride Con Air. Or Christopher Eccleston, for fuck’s sake, in the vacuously enjoyable Gone In 60 Seconds. Nicolas Cage stars in both, as well as the enjoyable Alcatraz shoot-’em-up The Rock. Tony Scott’s grainy Enemy Of The State is also a great conspiracy yarn with echoes of Coppola classic The Conversation, although his earlier submarine drama Crimson Tide is more routine.

The only real turkeys among this 10-disc set are the screamingly homoerotic Bruce Willis sci-fi romp Armageddon and the windy wartime romance Pearl Harbor, both directed by Michael Bay?a prize jerk famous for parking his Ferrari in disabled parking spaces?with all the subtlety of a turd sandwich.

High Society

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Musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, with heiress Grace Kelly being romantically pursued on the eve of her wedding by ex-hubbie Bing Crosby and dashing reporter Frank Sinatra. If the casting somehow lacks the faultless pizzazz of the original, the score of dazzling Cole Porter tunes more than makes up for it.

Musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, with heiress Grace Kelly being romantically pursued on the eve of her wedding by ex-hubbie Bing Crosby and dashing reporter Frank Sinatra. If the casting somehow lacks the faultless pizzazz of the original, the score of dazzling Cole Porter tunes more than makes up for it.

Donnie Darko

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A recent landmark in US indie cinema, writer/director Richard Kelly's feature debut is a mind-warping rites-of-passage tale with a striking central performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the troubled teen trying to make sense of time travel conundrums in smalltown USA circa 1988. Exceptional.

A recent landmark in US indie cinema, writer/director Richard Kelly’s feature debut is a mind-warping rites-of-passage tale with a striking central performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the troubled teen trying to make sense of time travel conundrums in smalltown USA circa 1988. Exceptional.

L.I.E.

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Brian Cox delivers a towering performance as a paedophile ex-Marine in director Michael Cuesta's finely judged and exquisitely filmed drama from 2001. Co-starring screen novice Paul Franklin Dano as the teenager lured into Cox's orbit, L.I.E. refuses to make simplistic moral judgements in its exploration of this topical yet taboo subject.

Brian Cox delivers a towering performance as a paedophile ex-Marine in director Michael Cuesta’s finely judged and exquisitely filmed drama from 2001. Co-starring screen novice Paul Franklin Dano as the teenager lured into Cox’s orbit, L.I.E. refuses to make simplistic moral judgements in its exploration of this topical yet taboo subject.

Shinjuku Triad Society

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The first in Takashi Miike's career-making Triad Society Trilogy. Set in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, rogue cop Kippei Shiina puts himself between local yakuza and a gay Taiwanese mob; cue cocaine-fuelled blow jobs, anal rape and old ladies having their eyeballs plucked out. A Hollywood remake seems unlikely.

The first in Takashi Miike’s career-making Triad Society Trilogy. Set in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, rogue cop Kippei Shiina puts himself between local yakuza and a gay Taiwanese mob; cue cocaine-fuelled blow jobs, anal rape and old ladies having their eyeballs plucked out. A Hollywood remake seems unlikely.

Light Sleeper

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Paul Schrader's simmering 1991 study of a drug dealer's midlife crisis remains the script closest to his own heart. A maturer Travis Bickle, Willem Dafoe's loser is confused when "employer" Susan Sarandon goes legit, and panic-stricken when an ex-girlfriend dies and gunplay's required. Meditative rather than action-packed, it's grown over time.

Paul Schrader’s simmering 1991 study of a drug dealer’s midlife crisis remains the script closest to his own heart. A maturer Travis Bickle, Willem Dafoe’s loser is confused when “employer” Susan Sarandon goes legit, and panic-stricken when an ex-girlfriend dies and gunplay’s required. Meditative rather than action-packed, it’s grown over time.

Changing Lanes

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A punchy and intelligent tale, co-written by Michael Tolkin, about an unethical yuppie lawyer (Ben Affleck) locked in a battle of wills with a troubled divorcee (Samuel L Jackson). Toni Collette and Sydney Pollack lead the heavyweight supporting cast, and director Roger Michell delivers a bracing state-of-the-nation bulletin in the vein of Falling Down.

A punchy and intelligent tale, co-written by Michael Tolkin, about an unethical yuppie lawyer (Ben Affleck) locked in a battle of wills with a troubled divorcee (Samuel L Jackson). Toni Collette and Sydney Pollack lead the heavyweight supporting cast, and director Roger Michell delivers a bracing state-of-the-nation bulletin in the vein of Falling Down.

Guilty By Suspicion

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Veteran producer Irwin Winkler's 1990 directorial debut, recreating the paranoid climate that enveloped early-'50s Hollywood during the anti-communist witch-hunts. Robert De Niro is the fictitious RKO director watching lives, morals and ethics come apart under the strain. A clear-eyed and heartfelt history lesson, with a Martin Scorsese cameo that's a barely disguised portrait of blacklist exile Joseph Losey.

Veteran producer Irwin Winkler’s 1990 directorial debut, recreating the paranoid climate that enveloped early-’50s Hollywood during the anti-communist witch-hunts. Robert De Niro is the fictitious RKO director watching lives, morals and ethics come apart under the strain. A clear-eyed and heartfelt history lesson, with a Martin Scorsese cameo that’s a barely disguised portrait of blacklist exile Joseph Losey.

The American Friend

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Wim Wenders may be struggling to land a gig these days, but this 1977 noir thriller was his big-screen breakthrough. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel (and remade this month as Ripley's Game, see p145) it finds Dennis Hopper for once understated as art dealer Tom Ripley, who persuades dying Berliner Bruno Ganz to become a hitman.

Wim Wenders may be struggling to land a gig these days, but this 1977 noir thriller was his big-screen breakthrough. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel (and remade this month as Ripley’s Game, see p145) it finds Dennis Hopper for once understated as art dealer Tom Ripley, who persuades dying Berliner Bruno Ganz to become a hitman.

Cinema Paradiso—Collector’s Edition

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Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar-winning ode to cinema revolves around a famous film director returning to his native Sicilian village to attend the funeral of a local cinema projectionist who'd befriended him as a young boy and cultivated his love of film. Pure magic.

Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning ode to cinema revolves around a famous film director returning to his native Sicilian village to attend the funeral of a local cinema projectionist who’d befriended him as a young boy and cultivated his love of film. Pure magic.

Rush

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A pair of '70s cops, undercover, become miserably hooked on smack in this impressively unflinching '92 drama. Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh star, both grittily serving notice that they're prepared to sweat, shiver and sacrifice goody-goody mainstream careers. The despair's draining, but its influence was to prove widespread.

A pair of ’70s cops, undercover, become miserably hooked on smack in this impressively unflinching ’92 drama. Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh star, both grittily serving notice that they’re prepared to sweat, shiver and sacrifice goody-goody mainstream careers. The despair’s draining, but its influence was to prove widespread.

Lenny

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Bob Fosse surprised everyone in '74, showing there was more to his dark vision than nimble dance steps. He riffs permissively on Lenny Bruce's stand-up routines (which were never routine), and Dustin Hoffman's rarely been bolder. Somehow nominated for loads of Oscars while railing against the establishment's buffoonery.

Bob Fosse surprised everyone in ’74, showing there was more to his dark vision than nimble dance steps. He riffs permissively on Lenny Bruce’s stand-up routines (which were never routine), and Dustin Hoffman’s rarely been bolder. Somehow nominated for loads of Oscars while railing against the establishment’s buffoonery.

The Swordsman

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Ling (Samuel Hui) and his tomboy sister are charged with keeping a sacred scroll from the clutches of their self-serving Sifu and the scarier-than-they-sound Royal Eunuchs. With multiple directors and more characters than it can handle, the cracks show, but the swordplay and comedic touch proved popular enough to spawn two sequels.

Ling (Samuel Hui) and his tomboy sister are charged with keeping a sacred scroll from the clutches of their self-serving Sifu and the scarier-than-they-sound Royal Eunuchs. With multiple directors and more characters than it can handle, the cracks show, but the swordplay and comedic touch proved popular enough to spawn two sequels.

Tortilla Soup

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Maria Ripoll's handsome 2001 remake of Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman is anchored by the highly watchable Hector Elizondo as the widowed kitchen maestro with three wayward daughters and a frisky neighbour (Raquel Welch) who clearly wants to turn him into a naked chef. The plot has been sweetened a little, but the performances are fine and the photography sumptuous.

Maria Ripoll’s handsome 2001 remake of Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman is anchored by the highly watchable Hector Elizondo as the widowed kitchen maestro with three wayward daughters and a frisky neighbour (Raquel Welch) who clearly wants to turn him into a naked chef. The plot has been sweetened a little, but the performances are fine and the photography sumptuous.

Laissez-Passer

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Bertrand Tavernier's epic (almost three hours) looks back at France's period of Nazi occupation from a movie-lover's perspective. A young screenwriter tries to subvert the German-controlled studios while juggling three women, and a director doubles as a Resistance fighter. It's a beautifully detailed and honest piece.

Bertrand Tavernier’s epic (almost three hours) looks back at France’s period of Nazi occupation from a movie-lover’s perspective. A young screenwriter tries to subvert the German-controlled studios while juggling three women, and a director doubles as a Resistance fighter. It’s a beautifully detailed and honest piece.

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