HUGH JACKMAN FILM FESTIVAL, PARTY OF ONE
Inadvertently, it has been Hugh Jackman Month at my house. The man is everywhere. Earlier this month I saw The Prestige, last week it was The Fountain, and this week I rented Scoop. Admittedly, Swordfish is a guilty pleasure and my favorite among all of his films. I can’t turn the channel if it happens to be on. Regardless, here are a few brief reviews of Jackman’s more recent work:
The Fountain
I am still haunted by Requiem for a Dream, so Darren Aronofsky’s directorial style is fresh in my mind; I appreciate his flair for unflinching close-ups and eye candy aesthetics. That being said, The Fountain is…strange and beautiful. It is a historical fantasy disguised as a love story; two characters overlap and intertwine in three very different centuries. This film is not for the impatient, and it may require more than one viewing to fully comprehend.
Scoop
After being very disappointed by Match Point, I was skeptical about both renting Scoop and watching Scarlett Johansson in her second Woody Allen film in a row. But I think this is Allen’s best movie since the late 90’s, and he is back on track after the dark, disjointed disaster that was Match Point. Johansson and Jackman may not have the best onscreen chemistry, but they did seem to enjoy and make the most of their scenes together. The overall tone of the movie was lighter than Allen’s last few, and the comedic caper made a welcome return. It was quite fun to watch Ian McShane (Deadwood) on the big screen, but I found it peculiar that he went with an American accent though the movie set in his native