Film Focus to 31st August 2006
Published 31st Jul 2006 by Brad Brasier

At The Odeon & Cineworld

Ultra stylish director Michael Mann (?Heat?, ?Collateral?) finally brings the 80?s TV series that made his name to the big screen with ?Miami Vice?. Colin Farrell & Jamie Foxx star as Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, two under cover narcotic detectives investigating a drug smuggling ring in Florida?s seedy underworld. An intelligent script, awesome visuals and some slick action all add up to the coolest film of the year so far.

Also on the big screen this month is M Night Shyamalan?s ?Lady in the Water?. This grown up fairy tale focuses on a building supervisor who discovers a mysterious girl in the swimming pool and finds himself at the centre of some rather disturbing, otherworldly goings on. A slightly more family friendly approach for the director of ?The Sixth Sense? and ?Signs?, yet it should still provide enough mystery and scares to keep fans happy.

At The Duke of York?s

Re-teaming with ?Ong Bak? director Prachya Pinkaew, Thai martial arts superstar Tony Jaa shows us again why he is being hailed as the next Bruce Lee. The nonsensical plot involving stolen elephants smuggled to Sydney really is of little concern when you get to watch Jaa kick seven shades of sh*t out of countless bad guys in truly spectacular style.

Continuing his fascination with the human consciousness, ?Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? director Michel Gondry brings us ?The Science of Sleep? starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg. When Stephane falls for his beautiful new neighbour, he finds they share the same eccentric imagination and it appears he has found his perfect match. His happiness is threatened however when he finds it increasing harder to define his dreams from reality and his neighbour?s true feelings towards him become unclear.

On the Small Screen

Spike Lee gives the tired bank heist theme a welcome shot in the arm with the excellent ?Inside Man?. A mouth-watering cast finds Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodi Foster all on fine form when an apparent hostage situation at a bank proves to reveal some alternative motives and a darker secret.

Also worth checking out is Noah Baumbachs excellent comedy drama ?The Squid and the Whale?. A wonderfully observed and unbearably accurate look at the effects of a broken marriage on an American family in the Mid 80?s. Starring Jeff Daniels in perhaps his best role to date, the film effortlessly blends humour and heartache with terrific results.

Future Films

Martin Scorsese returns to the world of organised crime in ?The Departed? which will hit our screens in November. Marking his third collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio and his first with the legendary Jack Nicholson, Scorsese is back to what he does best ? gangsters, violence and double crossing (the film is loosely based on Hong Kong hit ?Infernal Affairs?)? could this be the next ?Goodfellas??

After proving he can turn his hand to pretty much any genre he chooses, Brit director Danny Boyle (?Trainspotting?, ?A Life Less Ordinary?, ?28 Days Later?) re-teams with screenwriter Alex Garland (?The Beach?) for Sci Fi thriller ?Sunshine?. When the Sun begins to fail, a team are sent to kick start it with a huge nuclear bomb but begin to feel the psychological effects as they near their destination. Expect scares and thrills in equal measures when it?s released next March.

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