Latest News

07 / 12 / 2008
Fantasy Rally: The final Fantasy Rally results are in - we have a winner! See how your team fared or see the Rally GB results.

05 / 11 / 2008
Review: After the gruelling James Bond press junket tour, I bet Daniel Craig could use a Quantum of Solace.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Brad Pitt steals the latest from the Coen brothers: Burn After Reading.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Simon Pegg learns How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Ben Stiller directs stars aplenty in Tropic Thunder.

12 / 10 / 2008
Review: A few words on some recent movies: RocknRolla,
Death Race,
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,
Space Chimps,
Stuck,
The Babysitters,
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder,
Son of Rambow,
Jack and Jill vs the World,
Made of Honor,
Meet Dave,
Doomsday,
Pathology.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: You can mess with Adam Sandler, but You Don't Mess with the Zohan.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: Mike Myers tickles some chakras in The Love Guru.

14 / 08 / 2008
Review: Toot and come in, it's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

14 / 08 / 2008
Review: You can stop watching the skies now, it's The X Files: I Want to Believe.

31 / 07 / 2008
Review: Batman Began and now continues in The Dark Knight.

24 / 07 / 2008
Review: The Chronicles of Narnia continue with Prince Caspian.

23 / 07 / 2008
Review: Pixar goes Short Circuit with Wall-E.

22 / 07 / 2008
Review: Jules Verne never envisaged a 3D version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Jet Li and Jackie Chan team up in The Forbidden Kingdom.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Will Smith keeps the streets safe and smelling of booze in Hancock.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: M Night Shyamalan's latest, The Happening.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Spanish creepy-creepy The Orphanage.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: A quick catchup of movies that don't get the full treatment:
Be Kind Rewind,
Street Kings,
What Happens In Vegas,
Superhero Movie,
The Ruins and
Teeth.

08 / 07 / 2008
Review: Bend that bullet Angelina! Wanted.

01 / 07 / 2008
Review: Those cats were fast as lightning - Kung Fu Panda.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Don't make Ed Norton angry - The Incredible Hulk.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Carrie and Big's wedding, it can only be Sex and the City.

11 / 06 / 2008
Review: Everyone's favourite pot-addicts are back in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Harrison Ford returns in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Tube driver seeks suicidal man in Three and Out.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: CGI fantasy motor racing in Speed Racer.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: Your creases will fly away with Iron Man.

18 / 08 / 2005
Sudoku! Have a go at the online Sudoku game.

Plenty more
See the rest of the reviews here.

Alfie

Cast: Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, Omar Epps, Nia Long, Sienna Miller, Jane Krakowski.

Directed by Charles Shyer.

Story: A remake of the controversial 1966 Michael Caine movie.

Running Time: 1hr 43 minutes.

Certificate 15.

I can't stop humming that pigging tune now. "What's it all about, Alfeeeee?" Well, since you ask, it's about an hour and three quarters, ho ho. The remake bandwagon continues apace; this time round it's a London classic, but without London. Rather than blithely remake the original Alfie, which clearly wouldn't work in mainstream cinema in the 21st century, Charles Shyer and his team have wisely decided to keep the style and name of the lead character, but cook a very contrasting dish with the ingredients. It's a bizarre decision to have the cockney living in Manhattan, but after the initial surprise it doesn't matter. Jude Law's Alfie is a different fig roll to Michael Caine's, playing for cheeky rogueness rather than genuine nastiness. As before, Alfie talks directly into the camera whilst the rest of the cast pretend not to notice - a technique that works very well in this environment.

Jude Law usually seems overly intense to me, and so his past performances have left me cold. This time, however, he's toned it down and nailed the character, showing just the right amount of charm and nonchalance. All the supporting cast are memorable and we do get to see some flesh from Sienna Miller this time after the teasing of Layer Cake. Once the scene setting is out of the way though, it all gets a touch humdrum, relying too much on Jude Law's screen presence and not enough on plot. There is a twist here and there, but it lacks some weight and unpredictability. In recalling the film now, it's hard to remember the order of events, because they don't seem related, largely because the film seems to have nothing to say. Although attempts are made to understand Alfie's issues, they are pretty heavy-handed and a little too sanitised for my liking, though I guess that's a product of the four decades that have passed. As a result, through Alfie effectively conducting his own psychiatry sessions by talking into the camera discussing his innermost feelings, the character changes from the 60s anti-hero to a lost little boy in a man's body. This removes most of the substance that the original film had and leaves us with a lightweight date movie. Still worth the price of admission but not, as we were led to believe, what it's all about.

I enjoyed this film: 4/5

I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 3/5

Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 3/5 Sienna Miller appears topless, Alfie's pretty callous with his conquests.

To enjoy this film you should be: Aware that this is Alfie Lite.

To pre-order Alfie for its release on 21st February 2005, use the link below:

Alfie [2004] [DVD]

You may also be interested in:

Alfie [1965] [DVD]
Michael Caine Box Set: Alfie/The Italian Job/Zulu [DVD]