Results tagged “Al Pacino” from Birmingham Mail - Mega Movies

GREAT to see Meryl Streep on such top form again in Julie & Julia (12A) which I'll be reviewing in Friday's Birmingham Mail.

Having turned 60 in June she's putting the likes of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to shame as they seemed to have almost given up the ghost by this point.

Watching this film about learning to cook earlier this week set me thinking... about other related movies.

Adapted from Julie Powell's own book and efficiently directed by Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle / You've Got M@il / Bewitched), Julie & Julia is one of the great films about the joy of food and first we've had for some time if you overlook Ratatouille (2007).

If Julie & Julia puts you in the mood for other movies featuring food, try gangster thriller Dinner Rush or Gurinder Chadha's What's Cooking? from 2000 or German classic Bella Martha (aka Mostly Martha) from 2001.

But do avoid indigestion with lumpy puddings like Sarah Michelle Gellar's Simply Irresistible (1999) and Penelope Cruz's Woman on Top (2000).

Watching either of these two 'turkeys' struggling pitifully for life could put you off your dinner for a week.

PS. I'm hoping to meet John Lasseter tomorrow. The creator of Toy Story and the soon-to-be-seen 3D movie UP is the nearest thing to a 21st Century Walt Disney. And he always comes over in the most amazing Hawaiian shirts. Watch this space for more.

NEW serial killer thriller Righteous Kill is currently out in Midlands' cinemas.

It is notable for being only the second time that screen legends Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have been on screen together.

The first film which saw them sharing scenes was Heat, released in the UK in February 1996.

Click on the extended link below to read my January 1996 interview with director Michael Mann who told me how he'd persuaded them to work together.

And what it was like to be the man charged with trying to get the best out of them...

THE cinema industry has always worked on a series of peaks and troughs.
But, just like there are times when we all need the fix of a big blockbuster like The Dark Knight, there are other weeks when film fans must wish the butter could be spread around a bit more.
This weekend, for example, features the release of Liam Neeson in the violent action thriller Taken.
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino play grizzled detectives in Righteous Kill.
Ed Harris, Jeremy Irons and Viggo Mortensen star in a rare western, Appaloosa.
Kevin Costner, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci are all in political comedy Swing Vote.
And, if you still want more, there's David Mamet directing Chiwetel Ejiofor in Redbelt and even veteran producer Roger Corman is back, with Jason Statham starring in the Death Race remake.
That's six movies which many people would have a wide interest in.
But how many will be able to find the time to see all of them?
Several times a year I'll see half a dozen movies in a day at special events so it can be done - but those are organised without ads.
If you've never spent a day in a cinema seeing three movies back to back though, now's the weekend to give your 'mince pies' a treat just for fun.
It would certainly soon make a Cineworld Unlimited Card pay for itself.