Cage is again on form following his Oscar nominated role (in Spike Jonze's Adaptation) as Roy- the head of a small company that swindles people out of money in telephone scams and confidence tricks.

Rockwell plays his partner in crime as the set up guy who does all the leg work in their web of tricks.

Sir Nicolas Of Cage is great in this movie as his troubled but loving character has so many issues that confuse his life; from obsessive cleaning disorder to his comical and sporadic funny ticks - you get the feeling this chap is bordering on the strange. But Cage manages to give this guy a big heart and as the film progresses you find yourself rooting for him as he establishes himself as the good guy, despite being a criminal.

Nitro favourite Sam Rockwell is as good as ever as the charming wild man who tends to steal the scene and turn it on whenever necessary.

But for me the star of this film is the new comer Alison Lohman, who plays the integral part of Cage's daughter Angela, she is a revelation! Ridley Scott has obviously taken a huge risk and probably fought against the studio to get her this part but boy, the gamble has paid off. She holds her own with the big boys and you can't help thinking about her ahead of her co-stars - wonderful!

Ridley Scott has made some fantastic films in all genres and this again establishes his position, living up to the likes of Gladiator and Hannibal, this can join them on his recently glorious cv.

Scott has given the look of Matchstick Men a 50's watercolour hue and the rat pack music on the soundtrack give it a feel of an early Levinson film in the same vein as Tin Men or Diner. As ever Ridley's eye is great and he has a knack of making the ordinary appear so cinematic - this proves his standing in Hollywood today!

Matchstick men could have been so formulaic in it's pace and delivery with predictability at every turn but the team involved have made a film that's memorable long after the credits have finished.

Is there nothing that this man can't do? Watch this if you can - you will not be disappointed, a cut above with the emphasis on character.

TERMINATOR 3 REVIEW BY TJ MACKAY...

Oooh...the anticipation. After the deluge of disappointments this summer, I was pinning my hopes on this one. Sure, we'd lost Cameron, Hamilton, Furlong and that daunting score but Arnie was back - and surely that's all that matters?? Well...almost.
To me, Terminator 3 is better than 1, but not T2, which still slams its ass back and forth against the wall.


This could have been awful, but fortunately those involved realised that there was no point in trying to top Judgement Day and, instead - decided to deliver some serious Terminator action.

It's funny that the film both suffers for the direction it takes but also benefits just as much. You see, it's a short film and packed with action but it does leave you wondering, could they have gone that extra mile and given T2 a run for its money? We'll never know.


It's another film that I'll have to skip around the plot points for obvious reasons, but we are ten years on from the aversion on Judgement Day and John Connor is a mystery - constantly changing his name and location for fear of being found - he's a dropout and junkie. Hey, he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The new Terminatrix (a woman now - how ingenious?), is sent back to knock him off and a bunch of his unknowing future lieutenants for the hell of it. Trouble is - Arnie's back and on full 'protect and serve' mode, which means we get some serious robot bashing.
T3 does have a very distinctive look from the first two movies with its yellow hues and grainy look. It's certainly one of the most exciting films of the summer but it almost feels like that is all they went for. When considering what a great premise the franchise is, the script could have done with a bit of a polish.

Here's the goods:
Arnie - no one else was born to play the role.


Nick Stahl - brings a darker edge to the Connor role and we don’t have to put up with Furlong’s whiny voice.


The Terminatrix - I was extremely sceptical of the casting here (the role should have always been Famke Jansenn's). But I was pleasantly surprised at the choice.
The action - Mostow goes hard with the action and two particular set pieces (an awesome car chase that kicks the CG matrix chase out the window, and a great bathroom fight between the Terminators).
The story - The actual storyline is faithful to common sense in most areas and some good twists are developed throughout. I was also very happy about the ending which, quite rightly, was dark.

And now for the bads...


The dialogue - some shocking lines in here, mostly from Claire Danes character (i.e. when needing a quick getaway from an aircraft hanger, her character - a vet - exclaims "Look, there's my brother's plane...I used to train in it!!)
The comedy - unfortunately the film is peppered too highly with bog standard Arnie one liners, which, let's face it - were never funny. It often lessens the serious tone of the film and sometimes is just plain cringe worthy. Arnie's introduction feels like a spoof of T2, and sits very awkwardly.
Claire Danes - Something wrong here - she's just plain bad.
The Terminatrix - as good as the new girl is, you just don't get the impression that this is a more superior Terminator to the T-1000. That muddyfunkster was unstopabble, and you never felt like he would wear down. There is no real improvement on that and you feel like Robert Patrick would have made whipped cream of her.

All in all, it's a satisfying 90 minutes and very enjoyable. But losing Cameron et al has damaged what could have been the best part in the series.

Just call me T.J. Mackey.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL REVIEW BY FLETCH...

Think Zorro, think Prince Of Thieves, add a dose of swash and a truck load of buckle and you're on your way to The Pirates Of the Caribbean.

This is a real treat from start to finish, great action set pieces, hilarious one-liners and a good script to boot. Johnny Depp plays the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow (pronounced Sparraahh) who is trying to find Captain Barbossa, (played by Geoffrey Rush), who wants to end an ancient curse held over him by stolen treasure. You can guess the rest, but this was never supposed to be 'The Usual Suspects'.

Johnny Depp out-rocks legendary space cadet Keith Richards in this homage to him, playing the over-the-top drunk who gets all the best lines and delivers them with such gall. He's hilarious as the highly skilled but highly flawed pirate that saves the day in such a unique way. (Think Keith Richards meets Dudley Moore's Arthur and you know where I'm going). The other main leads are all good with Knightley stepping into the big budget spotlight well, holding her own (Jerry obviously liked her in this as he took her onto his King Arthur project - she's kissed those mediocre Brit-flicks goodbye). Orlando Bloom loses the ears, and is dashing in the naive swordsman role.

The sets are great, and on a large scale with the money truly up on the screen. The special effects are good and out-Mummy 'The Mummy' - the half-dead pirates being particularly impressive as they charge in and out of the moonlight (changing as the light hits them), along with actual life-size pirate ships that get trashed throughout.

Director Verbinski has followed 'The Ring' with a completely different but equally accomplished Hollywood blockbuster as it is set to go toe to toe with the other studio fare. He's obviously got a great team around him because the cinematography is rich and classic with a heroic orchestral score - it gets your heart racing as the camera sweeps around the shoreline in an epic way.

A great summer blockbuster that truly surprises - if you want escapism and a good laugh queue up for this and get on the roller coaster!

Top stuff! GO AND SEE IT!

4/5

Fletch out.

CABIN FEVER REVIEW BY TYLER DURDEN...

I had the high honour of watching Cabin Fever with its director Eli Roth, and despite him being a thoroughly nice guy, I wanted to remain focused on the film and give it a fair review. So here goes...

On pitch level, Cabin Fever doesn't strike you as particularly original. A group of young, dumb teens go to a cabin in the middle of the woods, get drunk, have sex and do all the things that teens want to do if only there blasted parents weren't around. After the first night, where naturally the group argue and start dividing into their genre characters: surf boy/jock, slut, virginal pure girl, doofus/comedy element and of course, the normal guy.
What happens then? Well, naturally, one by one they start dying.

I haven't spoilt anything here for you; it's a template that's been used to great effect in the horror genre over the years, and one that director Eli Roth clearly embraces. What makes Cabin Fever different from your average (and below average) slasher type movie, is that he cares. He truly cares and loves the genre. It's obvious one of his favorite films of all time is The Evil Dead - Cabin Fever could be this generation's ultimate version of it.

Despite its apparent low budget, the film makers try to make everything count, whether it be the location, the 'killer' of the film, the make up/effects or the cast. It hasn’t got the gloss and high appeal of say Final Destination, and I think its box office might reflect that, but it will garner a following, and probably gain a certain cult status - much the same as Donnie Darko has. Heck, there’s even a bunny man in there...watch out for him...

Speaking of Donnie Darko, it's interesting to note that film's writer/director Richard Kelly has hitched up with Eli Roth to collaborate on a script called 'The Box' (something Kelly hasn't done before apparently). Two soul-mates finding each other and pouring their love of all things dark and sick onto the page - now that's gonna be a movie that people will want to watch! Roth has also joined forces with Scott Spiegel to start Rom Nerve Films, and we can expect three movies a year from these guys - all in the same vein as Evil Dead, The Thing and...Cabin Fever.

What raises Cabin Fever's stock above other similar budgeted type movies is the cast. No-one is a mega star - Rider Strong is in Boy Meets World, but he's not in the same bracket as Brad Pitt (yet). It would have been easy for the cast to have delivered their lines, waiting for their moment of glory (and death), but they don't. You can see them really trying hard, and that's fantastic to watch. Out of the main five, Strong holds the ensemble together, but it's James DeBello who people will remember - and he only got the part because he's a mate of the director, but its good fortune for all. There's absolutely no reason for this character to be with two couples, and he's one that causes friction from the first minute, but along with a few laughs, he's the most proactive character in the first act - almost everything that befalls the group is because of something he's done. The other guy in the pack is Joey Kern, he didn't quite nail it for me, and he kept freaking me out because he looked like Ted Lavine of Jame Gumb/Buffalo Bill fame (Silence of the Lambs). Maybe he could do a prequel to Lambs, and keep De Laurentiis in Meals on Wheels vouchers...

Outside of the main five, the supporting players make up the townsfolk where the woods back on to. The interaction with these characters is almost dream-like as they say and do things that seem totally off-centre, and many of their actions will leave your head reeling - but heck, if that's what they're like in the back woods of middle America, then I for one ain't going there...Deliverance is an obvious choice of film to tag the locals with, but there's something more (or less) to them than those bad, bad folks who like men to squeal like pigs. No, these guys have a simple mentality of protecting their own, and not liking outsiders. Only the wacked out local policeman 'Winston' has any fondness for the groups of teens that come "to party!" Even despite his 'innocence', he's certainly not someone you want to meet in the woods at night. All the scenes with these locals are well handled, a touch of humour, and a touch of menace. You're never quite sure whether the end of the scene will be a laugh or a scream. Because of this quality though, each time we return to the kids in the wood, you do start the scene fidgeting because of the familiarity of the set up from other movies, but on the whole, the film makers manage to drag you out of your slumber and shock you with something.

One more department should be noted for their hard work. The make-up/effects are back to basics - no CGI in this film! - But they're more than effective, and it's because of the way they are handled that makes them so accomplished. You'll have buckets of blood for those that demand it, but there's a nifty line in 'dissolved skin revealing lower jaw line' also, that had most people squirming.

All in all Cabin Fever is a nice little movie. It's not fantastic and a must see. It's not gonna get people in to see who don't normally watch this kind of movie. It's not gonna take the world by storm and become a cultural phenomenon...but it's a heck of a lot better than The Blair Witch Project and Jeepers Creepers.

If you like this kind of genre/movie, you'll be going to see it anyway, but if you're after a nice little scary movie made by someone with genuine and obvious passion for films, then this is certainly the one for you.

As a footnote, Eli Roth mentioned that Lion's Gate Films are really chuffed with the end result and will push for instant sequels. He's not gonna play ball though - "good sequels come four or five years after the original, like The Evil Dead and of course, Star Wars". He is willing to write one for them though...let's just hope it's better than every sequel of modern horror times.

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