Film Screening 4th March, 2005

Poster for Blade: Trinity

Blade: Trinity 

8:00 PM, 4th March, 2005

  • MA
  • 106 mins
  • 2004
  • David S. Goyer
  • David S. Goyer
  • Wesley Snipes, Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds, Dominic Purcell, Kris Kristofferson

For those who missed the first two movies - Blade (Snipes) is the Daywalker - a half-vampire, halfhuman hybrid with all the strengths of vampires but none of their weaknesses. Thus far, he's spent the better part of two films reducing the vampire population with sword, stake, and all variety of other weapons designed by his grizzly offsider, Whistler (Kristofferson).

Now, in what's presumably the final film of the series, the vampires decide to take definitive action - resurrecting Drake (Purcell), the original vampire, and framing Blade for the murder of a human, thus making him a target for the FBI. To counter these threats, Blade needs help, and fortunately, there's a bunch of human vampire hunters to assist - the Nightstalkers, led by Abigail (Biel), Whistler's daughter, and Hannibal King (Reynolds), a former vampire.

Very much your standard high-class vampire-slay-a-thon, Trinity is picked up by some nice kinks in the story, some kick-ass action sequences and a couple of the performances. Purcell has the "I've just woken up after a couple-of-hundred-years nap and now I feel like hitting people a lot" look down pat. And Biel and Reynolds are suitably competitive as the next generation of vampire killers - Biel being a dab hand at the serious-hunter-killer type, while Reynolds attempts to break the land-speed record for quips during his time on screen. All in all, a worthy cap to the series.

Simon Tolhurst

Poster for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 

10:00 PM, 4th March, 2005

  • M
  • 120 mins
  • 2000
  • Ang Lee
  • Hui-Ling Wang, James Schamus, Kuo Jung Tsai
  • Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung

Ang Lee (Ice Storm, Hulk) has created a marvellous film in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a martial-arts tragic romantic action fairy tale that makes the most of special effects to enhance not just physical motion but also a sense of magic.

Renowned swordsman Li Mu Bai (Yun-Fat) has hung up his jade sword the Green Destiny, giving it to a dear friend, from whom it is promptly stolen. At the same time, Li's father has been assassinated, forcing on Li a worthy but evil opponent, the mysterious Jade Fox (Cheung). Li must recover the sword with the help of the requited love of his life, Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh), herself no slouch at martial arts.

The subplots interplay beautifully in what is above all a love story timeless in its storytelling and cinematic grandeur. The settings are lush; characterisation is subtle; and the tale itself will haunt you for days or weeks afterward. Nine stars. One tissue.

John Harvey