Russell crowe

Russell Crowe comes out swinging with his directorial debut, the ambitious wartime melodrama, The Water Diviner. While there’s no denying the clarity of his artistic vision, the unwieldy story eventually overwhelms him. The stunning visuals and strong performances can’t overcome the film’s mismatched halves, which ping between brooding character study and simplistic actioner. Ultimately, there’s much to like about this promising debut, but it lacks the emotional wallop that Crowe intended.

Winter’s Tale Written and directed by Akiva Goldsman USA, 2014 It’s interesting to consider how readily we accept the notion of true love at first sight in animated films instead of live-action ones. We more easily appreciate the Disney princess stories of our collective youth where a handsome prince stumbles upon a fair maiden and, …

One of the better elements of Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Watchmen, and widely considered its best sequence, was that film’s opening credits montage, which forcefully played with pop culture iconography to impressive degrees. In a way, that sequence was an effective hint of what was to come with Snyder’s reboot of the Superman property; a cultural icon lavishly portrayed in a titanic fashion.

The other night, on the recommendation of my husband, I went to see a film. ‘You’ll love it,’ he said, ‘it’s by Tarantino.’ Now the words ‘love’ and ‘Tarantino’ are two words I rarely use in conjunction, but Mr Murphy and I have been married for a while and, as we all know, the longer …

Les Misérables Directed by Tom Hooper Written by William Nicholson, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Herbert Kretzmer United Kingdom, 2012 At some point in cinema history, it became bad form to make movie musicals without being self-aware or self-referential. The concern must spring from the perceived stumbling block people have when they watch musicals, …

Les Misérables Written by William Nicholson Directed by Tom Hooper UK, 2012 Verisimilitude can be a terrible trap. Film is an inherently contrived medium, one nevertheless capable of insinuating itself into realms real, imaginary and psychic through cunning, trickery, and time-honored craft. But, for better and (usually) worse, the existence of the medium’s hidden powers …

The Man with the Iron Fists Directed by RZA Written by RZA and Eli Roth U.S.A., 2012 The RZA’s directorial debut, The Man with the Iron Fists, is not a Shaw Brothers picture. It was released by Universal Studios, although its inclusion in the column feels right for reasons that shall be discussed in the …

While RZA is known to many as one of the members of legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan, he has also been steadily building up a career for himself in the film community over time. Having been composing songs for various soundtracks since 1995, and having made his acting debut in director Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: …

L.A. Confidential Directed by Curtis Hanson Written by Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland U.S.A., 1997 There can be such a thing as a fantastic ensemble piece in hindsight. Granted, the idea comes across as a little unorthodox since any film, provide the casting is right and the subsequent careers of the actors flourish, can look …

Gary Oldman as Jackie Flannery in State Of Grace (Phil Joanou, 1990, USA): Long considered one of the most talented actors in cinema, it’s very strange that his outstanding acting as the younger brother of Ed Harris’ local crime boss in this underrated film doesn’t get talked about nearly enough when discussing Oldman’s body of …

File this under strong contender for now. According to Variety, the cast of Zach Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel is close to being rounded out. The latest name attached is Aussie Russell Crowe who is apparently in final negotiations to join the film as Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian bio-daddy (reportedly beating out Sean Penn and …

Robin Hood Directed by Ridley Scott The story of director Ridley Scott’s attempt to bring the Robin Hood legend to a contemporary audience isn’t exactly the stuff of myths, but it is a telling indicator of the compromises even the most bankable directors and stars apparently need to make to get a major project off …