Considering it's where most of us (bar the weird home-schooled kids) spend our crucial formative years, where we have our first fights, our first loves, our first tentative steps into adulthood, it's no surprise that high school has long been a popular setting for movies. A range of genres (though generally leaning towards comedy) have taken place in those hallways, particularly from the 1980s onwards, when John Hughes, among others, made an entire career out of the lives and loves of 15-18 year olds.
The latest film to head back to class is "21 Jump Street" (review here) the big-screen reboot of the '80s TV show, which stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as youthful-looking cops who are sent back to high school in order to bust a drug-running ring. While you might assume this to be another lazy remake, you'd be very wrong, as Tatum, Hill, co-writer Michael Bacall,...
The latest film to head back to class is "21 Jump Street" (review here) the big-screen reboot of the '80s TV show, which stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as youthful-looking cops who are sent back to high school in order to bust a drug-running ring. While you might assume this to be another lazy remake, you'd be very wrong, as Tatum, Hill, co-writer Michael Bacall,...
- 3/15/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Chicago – There are few things more queasy than a feel good comedy that fails to make you feel good. Every film strives to master the art of manipulation, with wildly varying degrees of success. When a film makes consistent failed attempts to manipulate the emotions of its audience, it may result in viewers feeling increasingly nauseous until they’re about ready to hurl.
The 2007 British comedy “Sparkle” certainly seems to have a lot going for it, including a strong cast under the direction of acclaimed filmmaking team Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter, perhaps best known for their 2001 effort, “Lawless Heart.” But “Sparkle” is missing many key ingredients that would’ve provided its secret to success, the most glaring of which is a likable lead character.
DVD Rating: 2.0/5.0
Enter our protagonist, Sam Sparkes, whose name sounds like that of a failed magician. He’s played by Shaun Evans, a perfectly capable...
The 2007 British comedy “Sparkle” certainly seems to have a lot going for it, including a strong cast under the direction of acclaimed filmmaking team Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter, perhaps best known for their 2001 effort, “Lawless Heart.” But “Sparkle” is missing many key ingredients that would’ve provided its secret to success, the most glaring of which is a likable lead character.
DVD Rating: 2.0/5.0
Enter our protagonist, Sam Sparkes, whose name sounds like that of a failed magician. He’s played by Shaun Evans, a perfectly capable...
- 9/21/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Despite an ill-conceived title that suggests a tween’s glitzy pastime, Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter’s Sparkle is a mature, well-acted affair about a tangled group of adults.
The decidedly British production emanates from Sam (Shaun Evans), an ambitious, twentysomething schemer with his sights set on London. An opportunity to make the leap arises when Vince (Bob Hoskins), an adorably shy bachelor, is instantly smitten with Sam’s mother, Jill (Lesley Manville), a starry-eyed lounge singer who insists on tagging along.
Sam’s lowly odd jobs around the capital city connects him with Sheila (Stockard Channing), a public relations magnate, and soon he is doubling as her personal assistant and privileged boy-toy. Complicating matters is Sam’s tantalizing attraction to a sexually forward political activist named Kate (Amanda Ryan).
Surrounding Sam’s meteoric success and romantic involvements is a shroud of secrets, each rounded character harboring one of their own.
The decidedly British production emanates from Sam (Shaun Evans), an ambitious, twentysomething schemer with his sights set on London. An opportunity to make the leap arises when Vince (Bob Hoskins), an adorably shy bachelor, is instantly smitten with Sam’s mother, Jill (Lesley Manville), a starry-eyed lounge singer who insists on tagging along.
Sam’s lowly odd jobs around the capital city connects him with Sheila (Stockard Channing), a public relations magnate, and soon he is doubling as her personal assistant and privileged boy-toy. Complicating matters is Sam’s tantalizing attraction to a sexually forward political activist named Kate (Amanda Ryan).
Surrounding Sam’s meteoric success and romantic involvements is a shroud of secrets, each rounded character harboring one of their own.
- 9/12/2010
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
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