Juwanna Mann (PG-13) Dull-witted, low-brow comedy about a selfish, arrogant pro basketball star who gets suspended for his nasty ways, only to resurface in drag as a player in the women's league. Tootsie it ain't. Every move the film makes is telegraphed from a mile away, the plot holes are the size of Montana, the humor is mostly crude and stupid, and the obligatory love angle (our hero/heroine falls for a beautiful teammate) is as predictable and insipid as just about everything else about the movie. Only Tommy Davidson as a lovesick, silver-toothed rapper is worth watching. Also stars Miguel A. Nunez Jr, Vivica A. Fox, Kim Wayans and Kevin Pollak.
Lilo and Stitch (PG) Another hit from the Disney team, although not quite out of the ballpark. Lilo and Stitch is basically a brightened-up, kid-friendly reinvention of the Frankenstein story, in which a manmade monster (or, in this case, alien-created critter) comes to grips with his own, um, uniqueness and, in the process, finds something not unlike a soul. Disney's extraterrestrial Frankenstein is Stitch, a big-eyed, genetically altered experiment who crash lands on earth and hooks up with a lonely little Hawaiian girl named Lilo. Even though neither character ranks among the studio's most memorable, there's more than enough here to keep most viewers perfectly happy for the better part of 90 minutes.
Like Mike (PG) Hip hop mini-icon Lil' Bow Wow makes his, um, acting debut as a tiny teen who dons a pair of magical sneakers to become a great NBA star. Also stars old-timer Morris Chestnut and Jonathan Lipnicki.
(Not Reviewed)
Men in Black II (PG-13) Although it might just have well been titled Men in Black I, Slight Return, this briskly paced 80-some minute romp offers considerable fun, particularly for the undiscriminating summer viewer. There are no real surprises here to speak of, with the movie's main characters and wisp of a plot basically just reprising themselves. The chemistry between stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones still works, although it's a bit more labored and even more minimalist than in the original. The nasty little talking dog steals the show. Also stars Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson and Rip Torn.
Minority Report (PG-13) The best movie of the summer, and one of the best movies of recent years, Steven Spielberg's sci-fi noir boasts a fascinating premise beautifully expanded into a provocative and consistently gripping feature-length film. Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, Minority Report takes place in a not-so-distant future where crimes are predicted and criminals arrested before they actually commit their offense. Tom Cruise plays the top cop who becomes the glitch in a perfect system when he finds himself falsely accused and on the run. Minority Report is an exciting movie and, dare I say it, an important movie, made timelier than ever in the preemptive political environment of today. Although there's plenty of action, Minority Report is anything but an action movie; it's a smart, tough and tantalizing remapping of the familiar territory known as the crime thriller. The closest comparisons that come to mind are Blade Runner (also inspired by Philip K. Dick) and Chinatown — Spielberg's latest is right in that league. Also stars Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max Von Sydow.
Mr. Deeds (PG-13) Adam Sandler's latest is a remake of Frank Capra's classic populist comedy from 1936, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, in which a sweetly eccentric but basically ordinary guy suddenly comes into a huge amount of money, resulting in a close encounter with all the worldly garbage that comes with great wealth. In many ways, the remake is surprisingly faithful to Capra's original. What really separates the two versions, though, is the great divide between original star Gary Cooper and Adam Sandler. The 66-year slide from Cooper to Sandler is a little like confronting an evolutionary schematic charting the journey from amoebae to monkey to man, only in reverse. Also stars Winona Ryder, John Turturro, Peter Gallagher, Jared Harris and Steve Buscemi.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (PG) Nia Vardalos stars in this sweet-natured, sporadically amusing adaptation of her one-woman show about a plain Greek-American woman who transforms herself into a babe and hooks up with her Prince Charming — who, much to the chagrin of her loud and proud Greek family, turns out to be as WASP-y as they come. In all, Greek Wedding probably worked better on stage than on the big screen. Also stars John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan and Andrea Martin.