Film Festivals 2004
Another great year for documentary fans with the gripping 'Capturing the Friedmans', political offerings 'Control Room', Robert McNamara in 'Fog of War', and the disturbing psyche of 'The Corporation'. For music lovers there was the fascinating 'End of the Century: The Sory of the Ramones', 'The Mayor of Sunset Strip', 'Metallica: Some Kind of Monster' and 'Festival Express'. Hector Babenco broke a long absence from directing with the powerhouse 'Carandiru' while Zhang Yimou's lush 'Hero' made it to New Zealand screens along with 'Motorcycle Diaries', gut-wrenching Korean flick 'Old Boy', heart-tugger 'Osama' and the delightful 'Triplets of Belleville' to name just a few.
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
7.1/10
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Roberto Benigni, Cate Blanchett, Steve Coogan, Alfred Molina, Bill Murray, Iggy...
As hard to resist as its title vices, Jim Jarmusch's deceptively simple film consists of 11, to be fair, hit and miss vignettes, filmed over the cours... Read more
Control Room (2003)
7.8/10
Director: Jehane Noujaim
This bristling documentary about Al Jazeera, the satellite news network, during the American invasion of Iraq is a seminal film that explores how trut... Read more
De-Lovely (2004)
6.6/10
Director: Irwin Winkler
Starring: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce
"De-Lovely" is an original musical portrait of American composer Cole Porter, filled with his unforgettable songs. In the film, Porter (Kevin Kline) i... Read more
Devdas (2002)
7.6/10
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai
Set in the early 1900s, this film follows a young man named Devdas (Shahrukh Khan) on his way home to India after having spent the past ten years in L... Read more
End of the Century: The Story of The Ramones (2003)
8/10
Director: Michael Gramaglia, Jim Fields
Starring: The Ramones, Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone
In 1974 the New York City music scene was shocked into consiousness by a band of misfits from Queens called the Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery bar... Read more
Father and Son (2003)
6.7/10
Director: Alexander Sokurov
Starring: Andrei Shchetinin, Aleksei Nejmyshev, Aleksandr Razbash
Alexander Sokurov, the visionary director of "Russian Ark", presents another powerful work of intense beauty and emotion. Following the critically acc... Read more
Festival Express (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Bob Smeaton
Starring: Janis Joplin, The Band, The Grateful Dead
In the summer of 1970, a group of rock music's biggest acts hopped aboard a customized train and traveled across Canada for a series of explosive conc... Read more
Go Further (2003)
6.7/10
Director: Ron Mann
Starring: Woody Harrelson
From award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, "Go Further" explores the idea that the single individual is the key to large-scale transformationa... Read more
Hero (2002)
7.9/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen
Director Zhang Yimou's highly stylized martial arts epic stars Jet Li as a nameless expert swordsman, who tells the ruler of one of ancient China's wa... Read more
Hero ( Blu-ray ) (2002)
7.9/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Zhang Ziyi, Daoming Ch...
Director Zhang Yimou's highly stylized martial arts epic stars Jet Li as a nameless expert swordsman, who tells the ruler of one of ancient China's wa... Read more