mixmix Reviews

Two Weeks Notice (2002)

Whitty Little Skit & 'Feel Fluffy' Movie

[8/10 · 8 February 2003]

Hugh Grant plays a slightly less bumbling than normal, but still overly rich, English man. Sandra Bullock is great as a slightly clumsy, awkward but intelligent leading lady lawyer. Both come to together and well..."He was a boy, she was a girl...isn't it obvious?" David Haig (many UK TV rolls + Four Weddings and a funeral) is great as Hugh's older brother who, while nothing to look at is the brains & balls of the family business. The competition between Sandra Bullock's character (Lucy: the hired on-spec lawyer who is more used to opposing big-business than working for it) and the younger Red-haired replacement is neither overstated or too bitter as both women struggle for attention from Hugh Grant's character (George). I think I shall have to buy my 5ft9 Red Haired, 26-year-old super intelligent friend a Top Hat for her birthday. Whether I live to mine when I explain _why_ I did this is a little debatable though...(see the movie to find the significance of this...I shall never play chess again with out smiling at least once _however_ I loose).

Forget the scenery: well, almost (some things are notable by their sad absence). This is a movie that works because of the witty and lively script, with a few good quips in there that even us Brits get (the one about crying and the Bush(s) being elected presidents is great for example). There is not really enough material for the cast to really show off their acting skills, but all the leading characters do pretty well considering this is ultimately a 'Feel Fluffy' movie. There is some real awareness of the world though: that people need communities and places to people and that, yes, big businesses do fall to pieces in the current economic climate. There is some quite original humour: that occasionally what you really need _right now_ (- no, it can't wait, gawd dang!) is an RV (Recreational Vehicle) on the slip road otherwise there...well, go see the movie for the rest of the gag. If you want a nice uplifting no-brainer or to dig a little deeper into some of the issues, then this movie will entertain you.

Space Station 3D (2002)

A great documentary in a unique location, with excellent visuals

[10/10 · 23 September 2002]

This film is billed as the closest most of us will ever come to being in space. Given the IMAX 3D technology (which works near perfectly 80% of the time) you do come pretty close.

The cinematography is brilliant and the 40 years experience of the IMAX film production really show - expect most of the filming is done by astronauts, which make it even more amazing. Filmed on location quite literally 'all over the world' (though identifiable parts are the Kennedy Space Center in the US, 'Star City' in the CIS and *somewhere* over West Africa), this is about an international film as you are going to get.

There are many totally unique sequences in this film: the opening one is a very good computer simulation of a space-walk mishap in which an astronaut becomes unattached from the Space Station. Later on they do this for real to test the emergency back-pack unit.

The sound is, as one would expect from IMAX, excellent. The sub-base adds amazing realism to the launch sequences and docking maneuvers - you can really feel the 'thumps.'

The scenery, especially of earth is breath-taking and very well framed. Also, there are some more human moments: such as the watering of onions that spouted in storage, the birthday party (was it? Or a crew change-over?) and the 'other' scene of stowing provisions (I'll not spoil the humor on this one) that could have probably only been filmed in free-fall by people actually living there.

This film exposes the contrast between the CIS & USA space programs: in the former, the equipment is chunky, reliable and functions at minus 20 C; in the later neat, tidy and delicate (the Shuttles seem to need a near perfect day to launch by comparison). Yet the two do indeed work very well together in orbit, as do the truly international crews: USA, Canadian, Russian, Italian and Japanese all work alongside each other on the missions and the filming. This 'one-ness' is stressed by both the editing and voice-overs given by the astronauts. It is perhaps un-surprising then that the odd environmental point is made about looking after the planet. As a film, this is short: under an hour. This is probably long enough: you can hold your breath only so many times before passing out. The minor detractor is Tom Cruise's narration: at times it is just a little too intense and grates after a while (though this is highly personal: I ignored it and looked at the pictures).

This film is great publicity for NASA and goes someway to silencing the neigh-sayers of the ISS / space exploration projects.