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After starting out his career in Mexican television, Alfonso Cuarón tackled his first feature, the romantic comedy “Love in the Time of Hysteria.” His first English language, U.S. release was this adaptation of the beloved children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Cuarón embraced the imagination and magical storytelling of the main character, Sarah, allowing for his signature otherworldly style to grow. The fantastical elements Cuarón used in “A Little Princess” would go on to inform 2004’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (which is considered by many to be the best of the franchise), 2006’s “Children of Men” and last year’s hit 3D blockbuster “Gravity.” (Casey Cipriani)
Anticipation was high on Walter Salles English-language debut “Dark Water” when it opened in 2005. This marked the Brazilian filmmaker’s big Hollywood gamble following his much beloved foreign hit “Central Station” (nominated for two Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nomination for Fernanda Montenegro) and his well-received Academy Award winning Che Guevara biopic “The Motorcycle Diaries.” Salles was admittedly an odd choice to helm “Dark Water,” a remake of the 2002 Japanese horror film of the same name, back when remaking Japanese horror was all the rage (“The Ring,” “The Grudge,” etc.). Turns out he was the wrong choice. He got a great performance out of Jennifer Connelly as a woman tormented by a ghost. That was expected ; he’s always had a way with actors. What he couldn’t pull off was eliciting solid scares out of the material. The flimsy storyline and lame twists didn’t help matters. (Nigel M. Smith)
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Wim Wenders’ first English language film has all the elements to be truly great. It’s a homage to pulp fiction and film noir; a fictionalized story about writer Dashiell Hammett (“The Maltese Falcon,” “The Thin Man”) trying to put his ‘detective days’ behind him, only to be pulled right back in. Francis Ford Coppola, who was executive producer on the project, also assisted the production, re-shooting scenes and (forcibly) sharing his expert opinion. Tragically, none of these things really mattered in the end. Maybe it was too many cooks in the kitchen. Who knows? The film just didn’t work plain and simple. Though stylish, it’s an unmitigated bore and will put most to sleep. One can understand that the film is intentionally unoriginal but that doesn’t mean it should so uninspired. It completely lacks the panache of his similarly themed works, “The American Friend” (1977) and “The State of Things,” (1982) which detailed Wender’s undying love and fascination with Hollywood and its classic works in a memorable manner. Simply put, the film lacks edge and suffers the price. (Oliver MacMahon)
Korean master Park Chan-wook is responsible for two of favorite revenge thrillers of all time: “Oldboy” and “Lady Vengeance.” Profane, profound, moving and totally ludicrous, they are films (part of his Vengeance Trilogy) that grab you by the throat and don’t let go. His English-language stars an A-list ensemble that includes Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode and looks absolutely phenomenal (it was lensed by his frequent collaborator Chung Chung-hoon), like all of his work. Where it goes wrong is in the screenplay department. The script, written by “Prison Break” star Wentworth Miller, thinks it’s our generation’s answer to Hithcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt,” but doesn’t even come close to matching that screenplay’s deft handling of suspense. The “twists” can be seen from a mile away and every character is undercooked. With “Stoker,” Chan-wook did the unthinkable. He made a dull film. (Nigel M. Smith)
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