Zack and Miri make a Porno

ZACK and Miri are your typical, confused, platonic couple.
They are close housemates who rely on each other and feelings exist yet they have never been explored.
But when times get hard, they start looking at unusual ways to scrabble their way out of debt — and settle on the idea of making an amateur adult movie — as you do.
Cult director Kevin Smith once again merges the coarse with the sentimental...and somehow succeeds.
It would be difficult to think of any other filmmaker who could put you in the world of a rom-com one minute and then throw you into an altogether more sordid setting, the next.
But with his recurring characters Jay and Silent Bob now finally retired, Smith has had to take the helm without the comfort of his screen heroes.

That said, Zack and Miri does feel very much like one of the director’s New Jersey slacker films with the intro perhaps a homage to his debut Clerks, with Zack (Seth Rogen) stumbling around on a cold morning trying to get to his meaningless job.
A couple of old cast members get a look-in too, most notably Jason Mewes living up to all the innuendoes of his previous notorious character, Jay.
But this lacks some of the snappy dialogue that made Smith’s earlier films a joy and is a bit too cheesy.
Nevertheless, it’s certainly a refreshing take on the rom-com genre but only for those who can tolerate hundreds of swear words and a lot of bared flesh.

W

JUST how did a man like George W. Bush become the leader of the free world?
It’s been the question on people’s lips since the turn of the millennia as the world has slowly come to terms with a disastrous presidency.
With Bush’s eight-year reign due to come to a close in January, it is the perfect time for a film like ‘W’.
Not overtly political like Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, seasoned director Oliver Stone offers dramatised take on the life of the 43rd President of the USA, with Josh Brolin excellently portraying the bumbling leader.
Jutting between Bush’s early years and the post-9/11 meetings discussing going to war with Iraq, you get a good overall impression of the man’s life.

You see his transition from college cool guy to struggling worker to successful businessman to reluctant politician, with periods of him feeling hopelessly lost in between.
Fast forward to the presidential crisis talks and you see a leader who is on the periphery of his own meetings, easily influenced by his aides and more concerned with keeping egos in check, than the fallout of foreign policy decisions.
Despite Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) doing his utmost to persuade the President that the war is unjustified, Bush is adamant that he wants to ‘kick the ass’ of those who tried to kill his father.
In fact, Bush’s father (James Cromwell) is the overriding theme in both parts of the story. W is completely overshadowed by the former president and is stuck between his desire to be his own man and his obligation to continue the Bush legacy.
More sympathetic than critical, Stone’s ‘W’ offers a deep insight into a shallow man.

Quantom of Solace

BOND enjoys the international jet set life in his latest adventure on the big screen.
In the 22nd film in the 007 franchise, the British spy flits from continent to continent in hot pursuit of a phantom organisation called Quantom.
The result is a frenetic story that is as exciting as it is head spinning. It’s hard to keep up as 007 dashes from Austria to South America chasing leads and invariably killing villains along the way, to the disdain of his boss, M (Judy Dench on top form).
Starting just moments after the final sequence of Casino Royale, Quantom of Solace is the first Bond film to be a direct sequel.
And very much in keeping with its predecessor, Daniel Craig excellently portrays the same no nonsense, ruthless yet vulnerable agent that was critically acclaimed in 2006.
More Matt Damon than Sean Connery, Craig’s fantastic action sequences pay homage to the Bourne trilogy but look close enough and there are a few subtle nods to the cheesy Bond of old.
Following on from Casino Royale, you also get the continuity of the character’s struggle. Still vexed by the death of his former lover Vesper, 007 is motivated by anger and revenge — making his mission to hunt down Quantom leader Dominic Greene very personal.
An apt villain for our times, Greene is a faux-environmentalist with a hidden agenda. No cat on his lap, no super satellite or underground lair, just a cold hearted entrepeneur...and that sense of realism is the scariest part.