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Creation Movie Review: Time's Hairline |
 Charles Darwin, an English naturalist in the 1800s published his theory of evolution in On the Origin of the Species, a book which sold out immediately, providing compelling evidence for evolution and now regarded as a fundamental life sciences principle in explaining the diversity of life. Creation details Darwin's evolution of thought as he gets to grips with actually writing and completing On the Origin of the Species. The film also suggests that Darwin was so passionate and dedicated to his field of work that he neglected his family, his health and his reputation within the community. Creation filters a series of memoirs into a narrative, going back-and-forth in time to show Darwin's progression of thought as he combats writer's block, illness, the narrow-minded and ghosts from the past. The cinematography is breathtaking, weaving a series of artworks together with some wonderful visual effects making Creation quite poetic with Jon Amiel at the helm. The narrative is just as poetic, maintaining form but breaking chronological sequences with only Darwin's hairline as a substitute for a timeline. Perhaps this was a conscious editing decision to alleviate a dull A-to-B series of events? The continuity factor is the man himself, a portrait so lovingly depicted by Paul Bettany, whose make-up has made Darwin look a little like Jane the Ape, an orangutan at the London Zoo. The real Darwin's photographic demeanor is explained away by a photo of Annie his daughter - making a rather stern looking man with very little hair open to interpretation...continued. |
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Please Give Movie Review: Smart & Prickly |
 Please Give starts with a series of boobs... breasts, jugs, "chesticles" etc. It's quite an introduction for a coming-of-age comedy drama with Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet. Now this isn't a flattering set of shots, but more of a flattening one as ordinary breasts are compressed for mammograms. Is it justified exposure... the jury is still out and this intro ranks alongside A Touch of Spice, that spicy Greek film that starts with a baby breastfeeding on a full-screen nipple dusted with a little spice. Now the title makes Please Give sound like the tagline for a half-baked charity scam with an 0-800 number. The truth of the matter is that it's a slice-of-life dramedy, which deals with charity, ethics and love with an insightful take on modern society and a strong dose of bittersweet comedy. Will you fall out of your seat laughing? Probably not... it's got life's unpredictable, messy and strange flow - making it dark, happy, sad and prickly in places. The story centres on Kate (Keener) and Alex (Platt) in a typical New York apartment drama setting. They're wanting to renovate and decide to purchase their elderly neighbour's apartment on condition that she's able to live there until she passes on. It sounds like the setup for a commercial comedy like Duplex, but there's more complexity to Please Give, making it more comparable with The Savages. The story opens itself up to dark comedy and churns around in life's ethical...continued. |
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Now Showing This Week (13/08/10) |
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New cinema releases this week... Please Give, Step Up 3 [3D], Shirley Adams and King of Fighters.
 PLEASE GIVE (2010)
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Starring: Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Age Restriction: 13LNS
Please Give isn't a movie about donating blood. It's an insightful slice-of-life New York comedy drama, which creates a compelling story from social issues and solid character-driven performances. The comedy is bittersweet to prickly and the film maintains an everyday life feel to the situational drama, which does venture into the realm of dark comedy. While the film carries a similar scenario to Duplex, the comedy is much more subtle. This is an intelligent art house dramedy for movie goers, who enjoyed The Savages, Away We Go and The Good Girl. Full Review...
 SHIRLEY ADAMS (2010)
Director: Oliver Hermanus
Starring: Denise Newman, Keenan Arrison
Genre: Drama
Age Restriction: 10M
Shirley Adams is the story of a single parent, whose son is left paraplegic after a shooting, and the aftermath of living in a poor community in Cape Town, South Africa. Veteran actress, Denise Newman, delivers a first-rate performance as the title character, while photographer-turn-director Oliver Hermanus creates a taut, claustrophobic drama that expresses melancholy without tipping into melodrama. A mother's hopeful and optimistic emotional struggle against the most desperate of circumstances.
 STEP UP 3 [3D] (2010)
Director: Jon Chu
Starring: Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Alyson Stoner
Genre: Drama, Music, Romance
Age Restriction: 10ML
Breathtaking visual effects and amazing dance choreography set the screen alight in the dance segments of this music dance spectacular. However, all the hard work in the dance studio and a focus on characters who can actually dance, doesn't leave much room for any real acting. The story is as formulaic, predictable and fluffy as parts 1 and 2 and the characters are one-dimensional, making Step Up 3 all about showing off what they do best... dancing. So if you don't mind putting up with corny drama for 75% of the film... the other 25% may just be worth it.
 KING OF FIGHTERS (2010)
Director: Gordon Chan
Starring: Sean Faris, Maggie Q, Will Yun Lee
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Age Restriction: 13V
Anime/Manga live-action features have been found wanting if you take a look at recent examples like Dragonball: Evolution and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Unfortunately, the King of Fighters video game adaptation also fails to deliver, falling prey to the high expectations of its fan base and lacking the true grit of an action classic. The characters are flat, the story is formulaic, the casting is far from impressive and all the decent action seems to have been saved for the grand finale.
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Laugh-Lines: Make It Funny and Win! |
 In one of Mankind's greatest FAILS, Star Fleet Command forgot to add toilets when they designed their Starships, resulting in urgent bathroom queues at every interplanetary filling station between Earth and Andromeda, as well as giving rise to multiple one-liners about the size of Vulcan bladders. | |  Buy DVDs Online in South Africa |
Provide a funny comment (caption, one-liner, dialogue) for this movie photo at SPL!NG on Facebook. The funniest (with most 'Likes') Laugh-Lines comment wins a R100 WantItAll e-voucher and will be published under this Star Trek photo when the competition is over! Thought of something funny to add? Want to read what others are saying? Join in the fun...
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New Rental Releases This Week (09/08/10) |
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 New DVD rental releases at DVBee this week:
Date Night!
 DATE NIGHT (2010)
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Romance
Age Restriction: 13PG L
The one night a week married couples get to do something special will never be the same again... that is of course if you choose to make your date night staying in and watching Date Night. This hilarious comedy crime caper is brought to you by Night at the Museum director, Shawn Levy starring two of Hollywood's most talented comedians, that unashamedly funny Steve Carell and 30 Rock's Tina Fey. Date Night's all about the chemistry, comedy and catastrophe as these suburban marrieds take a trip into the city to "spice" things up. A light, funny and charming comedy caper comparable with The Out-of-Towners and The Hangover. Full Review...
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Celeb ID #33: Tag this Celebrity! |
Be first to identify this celeb at SPL!NG on Facebook and win a R100 WantItAll voucher!
Trivia: This actress is named after her great-grandmother and has adopted a son. (IMDB) |
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