Garden State & 2046

Zach Braff, best known as J.D. from the hilarious TV show 'Scrubs', makes his directorial debut with this enjoyable, touching and well-intentioned romantic comedy. Somehow, Braff has managed to assemble one of the best ensembles of the year for his first feature: Saarsgard and Portman are both terrific, as always, inhabitating their characters perfectly. Holm is underused, but still makes an impact. Braff himself is only adequate, but manages to deliver his annoying 'this is the moral of my film' narratives without any cringe factor, and for that he deserves a lot of praise. His use of music is also very effective, especially the final song, Frou Frou's 'Let Go'. Overall, a fantastic debut. ****1/2 out of 5.


Easily one of the most beautiful movies of all time, Wong Kai Wai's long-in-development '2046' was recently given a limited UK release. There's no denying the movie takes some patience and a long attention span - it may be only two hours and nine minutes long, but it feels much longer. But its slow paced style is the only way the film could have been shot, in my opinion, and the final product is one of masterful artistic vision and proves minimal use of visual effects can be just as effective as using it in every frame. It's somewhat pointless to try and summarise the plot of a Wong Kar Wai movie, but it basically follows Chow (Tony Leung) through his life, his writings (especially his novel 2046), and his various relationships, none of which last long. The film covers a variety of themes with some speed, before slowing down in the final third. You're encouraged to makes your own opinion of what the film is supposed to represent, and what exactly it is about. However, I was happy to just marvel at its beauty, and enjoy the fabulous performances from Leung, a scene-stealing Ziyi Zhang, and Maggie Cheung, who has little more than cameo, but completely takes control of the movie during her brief screen-time. ***** out of 5.