Cold Mountain
Directed by Anthony Minghella
By James Keast

In Cold Mountain, director Anthony Minghella once again succeeds at adapting a difficult novel for the screen. Having previous tackled The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley, Minghella successfully brings Charles Frazier’s novel to the screen, at the same time echoing his own distant-love success with English Patient.

Like his adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s novel, with Cold Mountain, Minghella faces a serious challenge: the core of its romance, between a Civil War soldier (Jude Law) and a well-born noblewoman fallen on hard times (Nicole Kidman), takes place after only a few scenes together. The rest of the film then sustains itself on the momentum of that early spark, as Law’s war deserter journeys back home while Kidman’s prissy educated self learns self-sufficiency on her farm.

The too-beautiful pair of Law and Kidman could have been a serious distraction in a gritty period film like Mountain, but Minghella wisely stuffs his film with a remarkable supporting cast that provides the foundation for his two stars to rise above. Renee Zellweger is notably strong as a tough farmer who befriends Kidman; Zellweger’s father, played by Brendan Gleeson, Natalie Portman as an abandoned widow, and Philip Seymore Hoffman as a disgraced priest all provide important, human beats to this occasionally ponderous story.

The level of detail brought to the project is what really allows it to take off — although filmed in Romania, Minghella has a strong sense of the hardship, starvation and small-scale political squabbles that dominated this conflicted period in American life. And surprisingly, it’s all maintained through the film’s near-two-and-a-half hour running time without feeling like we’re just waiting for the film’s star-crossed lovers to reunite. (Alliance Atlantis)
Big Fish - Dir. by Tim Burton
At first, Big Fish seems like an odd choice for a Tim Burton movie. Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, it begins as a family drama about a man named Will (Billy Crudup) trying to deal with his estranged father, the larger-than-life Edward Bloom (Albert Finney). Edward has spent his life weaving tall tales for his son, creating a mythology surrounding himself that Will suspects is largely false and only serves to keep him at a distance. ...Read More
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed - Dir. by Brett Sullivan
Although not as clever and fresh as its forebear, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed does share enough of the original’s wit and style to make for a pretty fun teen horror flick. Picking up a short time after the end of the first film, the sequel begins with a very squirrelly Brigitte (Emily Perkins) mainlining monkshood in a cheap motel in order to stave of her inevitable transformation into a werewolf. ...Read More
21 Grams - Dir. by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu
Along Came Polly - Dir. by John Hamburg
American Splendor - Dir. by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Chasing Liberty - Dir. by Andy Cadiff
Cheaper by the Dozen - Dir. by Shawn Levy
Honey - Dir. by Bille Woodruff
House of Sand and Fog - Dir. by Vadim Perelman
In America [DS] - Dir. by Jim Sheridan
Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Dir. by Quentin Tarantino
One From the Heart - Dir. by Francis Ford Coppola
Peter Pan - Dir. by P.J. Hogan
Shattered Glass [DS] - Dir. by Billy Ray
Something's Gotta Give - Dir. by Nancy Meyers
Stuck On You - Dir. by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly
The Eye - Dir. by Danny and Oxide Pang
The Housekeeper - Dir. by Claude Berri
The Last Samurai - Dir. by Edward Zwick
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Dir. by Peter Jackson
The Missing [DS] - Dir. by Ron Howard
The Perfect Score - Dir. by Brian Robbins
Hostage Life - Centre Of The Universe
It's unfortunate the words "maturity" and "growth" are stigmas in the world of punk rock. They would be the perfect descriptors for Toronto, ON-based Hostage Life's tertiary release. Maintaining the adage that a band never realize their true potential until their third album, the quintet prove thems... Full Review
The Brütal Legend of Tim Schafer
Game designer Tim Schafer is not a well-known man, at least not to the mainstream. But like Buffy creator Joss Whedon, Schafer's a full-blown hero amongst the geek-pop set, his name synonymous with creative vision, critical acclaim, fervent fans and, alas, sub-par sales.... Read More
Örjan Sandred - Cracks and Corrosion
Cracks and Corrosion is an auspicious debut recording of diverse works by Swedish modern composer Örjan Sandred. Beginning with the riveting "Amanzule Voices," for cello and electronics, Sandred creates a piece of high drama, informed with an acute sense of passing time on the rhythmical and ... Full Review
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
• Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the December 2003 Issue: • Contents Page • News • Click Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Points  •  Blab  •  Comics  •  Year In Review  •  Point of View  •  Questionnaire  •  Timeline • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Frequencies  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews • Music School --> N/A • Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio • Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue • Browse Issues