Galway Advertiser 2002/2002_11_14/GA_14112002_E1_066.pdf 

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A WEEKLY GUIDE TO WHAT'S ON AT THE CINEMA COMPILED BY U N A S I N N O T T
Die Another Day: Bond is back with a bang. The latest instalment in the franchise features all the traits that make Bond movies great. DIE Another Day has North Korean supercriminals, outrageous stunts, miraculous escapes, incredible high-tech gadgets, lashings of cheesy innuendo, and Halle Berry in a bikini. What more could you ask for? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: The second film adaptation of JK Rowling's books has arrived in a whirlwind of hype. Though darker than THE Philosopher's Stone this film has plenty to offer in terms of humour and special effects. Harry and chums have to battle the forces of evil without getting into too much trouble themselves. Rabbit Proof Fence: Poignant tale based on the real life institutionalised racism of 1930s Australia. Three young girls must trek across the outback after escaping a life of servitude. Kenneth Branagh is brilliant as the well-meaning bigot who separates mixed race children from their Aboriginal families to preserve racial purity. This film highlights the horrors of racial prejudice without resorting to preachy parables. Orange County: Tom Hanks' son Colin headlines this tale of high jinks in higher education. A college applicant and his dysfunctional brother set out to convince Stanford University to accept him as a student, and end up causing mayhem. An enjoyable comedy, though the plethora of literary references appears clumsy rather than clever. Mr Deeds: Adam Sandler tones down his usual oafish persona somewhat for this re-make of the 1936 classic Mr Deeds Goes to TOWN. Sandler plays an ordinary Joe who inherits a $40 billion fortune from a long-lost relative. Winona Ryder is brilliant as an unprincipled journalist, and comic cameos from Steve Buscemi and John McEnroe help to detract from the slapstick nature of the film. 28 Days Later: Cillian Murphy and Brendan Gleeson feature in this British horror in which the world -- or at least London -- is subjected to a deadly virus which turns most of the population into marauding zombies. A small band of survivors battle the undead in a film which relies heavily on grainy images and eerie sound effects. Whirlwind action sequences help to compensate for the stilted dialogue and disappointing end. Changing Lanes: Moralistic tale of two men (Samuel L Jackson and Ben Affleck) who embark on a bitter feud when they are involved in a minor traffic accident which has major implications for both their lives. What begins as a tit-for-tat battle becomes an exploration of modern morality, crises of conscience, and the roots of happiness. The Magdalene Sisters: Peter Mullan's depiction of life in the Magdalene homes follows the fate of three young women who are despatched to the laundries by their families. While life inside the laundries was undoubtedly cruel, Mullan presents a particularly bleak picture in a film in which the nuns display an almost caricaturish level of violence. K-I9: Tense Russians-in-a-sub drama which follows the heroic attempts of a submarine crew to avert a nuclear disaster and possible war when their nuclear sub springs a leak in US waters. Superb direction from Kathryn Bigelow creates a claustrophobic thriller in which Hollywood giants Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson battle for control of the ship and the most convincing Slavic accent, with varying success with the latter.

The trouble with Harry
THE SECOND film of the Harry Potter franchise is somewhat darker than the first. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was our introduction to the liveaction world of the precocious wizard, his friends, and mentors, and their magical toys. Thus, it had some novelty value, while sticking strictly to its source text.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS is
equally faithful to its print counterpart, meaning we can expect this veracity from the forthcoming five movies still to come. However, it is somewhat darker in tone, with a more convoluted story. All the familiar faces are back, including the late and lamented Richard Harris as Dumbledore. Harry's sidekick Ron (Rupert Grint) is beginning to come into his own as a character, while Hermione (Emma Watson) is far less annoying than she was last time around. Harry himself, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is much the same, except for a slightly deeper voice. A new face pops up in the form of new vainglorious Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart, played with glee

The trouble for Harry. Daniel Radcliffe stars as the young wizard in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. by Kenneth Branagh. While it is always good to see such a formidable cast, which includes Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, and Robbie Coltrane, I suspect we'll get heartily sick of these characters by 2007, when the film franchise allegedly runs out. This sense of a Harry Potter film as part of an ongoing series, instead of an individually captivating movie in i t s own right, considerably distracted from my enjoyment of THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. is the usual close attention there's still no buildup of to visual detail in the scenes anticipation. Additionally, at Hogwarts and the film two hours and 40 minutes is overall looks great. But it a long time to sit in a for anyone, feels as if the same scenes cinema are being shown to us over especially small children. Ultimately the Harry Potter and over again: the annual school shopping trip, the series is directed at games of Quidditch, and children; possibly I wasn't solemnly magnificent impressed because I'm not a child. But don't children Hogwarts itself. If there's no expense deserve some variety and spared in the film's genuine excitement in their production values, there's movies, instead of the same following also very little actual characters suspense. While this story is slightly different storylines less predictable than THE over the next five years? Katie Moylan SORCEROR'S STONE, somehow There

Rabbit-Proof Fence
I T I S very rare for a film m a k e r t o give u s a n accurate taste of a real-life event. Normally such films end up as schmaltzy, saccharine-sweet affairs or else get relegated to "made for TV". However director Phillip Noyce has actually managed to avoid either. Noyce might be better known for his thrillers Patriot Games and The Bone Collector, but here he is telling the simple story of one Australian Aboriginal girl's determination to get herself and her sister and cousin back to the land where they belong. His method of story-telling is beautifully simple, sad, but not harrowing. The opening, and especially the ending, have a docudrama feel about them with the ancient voice of that determined girl (now an old woman) starting to tell her story in her native language. The horrifying truth about how the white settlers treated the native Aborigines in Australia has been coming out over a number of years. But screen-writer Christine Olsen has concentrated on one simple fact. In the 1930's Australian law stated that "half-caste" children were to be separated from their Aborigine families. They were taken to camps where they were to be trained into being "worthwhile members of society". Olsen hasn't simply created an imaginary story around real-life events, she is telling a true story of Molly, her sister Daisy and her cousin Grade. The youngsters (all making their film debuts) who play the three girls bring a delightful innocence to the story, you never feel that they are "acting" but they are their characters. Indeed the adult cast bring a similar feeling of reality to their roles. The surprise is seeing Kenneth Brannagh in there. He plays A O Neville the man responsible for removing the children from their families. But this is no cartoon villain. He honestly believes that what he is doing is the best he can do for the children - however misguided and bigoted it appears now. Three young girls are snatched from their mother: Molly (Everlyn Sampi), Daisy (Tianna Sansbury) and Gracie (Laura Monaghan). They are brought to Moon River Camp, 1,500 miles from their homeland, where they are to be trained as servants. Molly is determined that they should leave, but there is an expert Aborigine tracker that could spoil everything. However Molly is quite an expert tracker herself and knows some tricks to evade their pursuers. They find the rabbit-proof fence that divides up Australia and runs past their home. This is the guide that will bring them home, but will they get there before the authorities catch up with them? Watch for the moment when Neville is showing a ladies group how the Aborigine can be bred out. Michele Viney