Angel Eyes (R) Jennifer Lopez is a convincing presence as the tough but vulnerable Chicago cop who finds herself falling in love with a mysterious stranger who saves her life (Jim Caviezel). Angel Eyes doesn't resolve things in a particularly interesting way, but the film is watchable chiefly on the merits of its atmosphere and Lo's and Caviezel's performances. Also stars Sonia Braga and Terrence Howard.
The Animal (PG-13) Rob Schneider stars as Marvin Mange, a wannabe cop who develops animal urges after an experimental operation. Don't ask for details on the switch; there are none. But then again, this isn't the kind of movie where you really need scientific explanations. What you would hope for, though, is some better jokes. The movie meanders through roughly 80 minutes of Shneider's slapstick animal impersonations, with a shoestring plot tied in loosely.
—Dustin Dwyer
The Anniversary Party (NR) The Anniversary Party takes place during the course of a single night during a gathering of friends at the home of Joe and Sally Therrian (Alan Cummming and Jennifer Jason Leigh), an L.A. power couple who've recently reunited after a lengthy separation. Their fellow partiers are a cross-section of Hollywood's best, brightest and most, uh, colorful: actors, artists, writers, directors, musicians and money men, as well as their various spouses, pets and offspring. A little bit of everything happens before dawn breaks and The Anniversary Party concludes, some of it played for laughs, some of it designed to touch and provoke. The movie gathers together a wonderful, sprawling cast and then allows them to play off one another in a variety of situations that, while almost certainly pre-structured, tend to project the sort of freshness and energy usually associated with improvised scenarios. The result is raw and intense enough to get us interested, and clever enough to keep us paying attention. Also stars Kevin Kline, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jane Adams. Held over at Tampa Theatre. Call theater to confirm.
Atlantis (PG) Disney's latest animated feature is a Jules Verne-ish looking adventure about a group of explorers who discover a civilization beneath the sea. Michael J. Fox, who seems to enjoy this sort of thing, supplies the hero's voice.
(Not Reviewed)
Baby Boy (R) Ten years after Boyz N the Hood, director John Singleton revisits his old South Central stomping grounds with less than satisfying results. Singleton's title character is Jody (Tyrese Gibson), a likable but aimless 20-year-old arrested adolescent with no job, commitment issues, two small children by different women, and who still lives at home sponging off his mama. Part drama and part comedy, though not fully successful at either, the core of Baby Boy focuses on the emotional dynamics between Jody and main girlfriend Yvette (Taraji P. Henson), an on-again-off-again relationship that never really seems to go anywhere and finally just becomes wearisome to watch. As always, Singleton gets some excellent performances from his cast (particularly Gibson and Henson), but the story this time out is basically just not very interesting. We never really get a sense of what Singleton's characters are up to (or not up to). The director's thesis — that his main character's infantile behavior is somehow representative of African-American males in America — simply isn't enough to carry the film. Also starring Ving Rhames, Omar Gooding, A.J. Johnson and Snoop Dogg. Opens June 27 at local theaters.
Bridget Jones's Diary (R) An English everywoman in the limbo between youth and middle age, Bridget Jones is single (although not by choice), slightly overweight, smokes and drinks too much, doesn't get on that well with her nagging mum, and finds herself constantly falling for the wrong sort of man (like her sexy scoundrel of a boss, impeccably played by Hugh Grant), while soundly rejecting the ones who might just turn out to be Mr. Right.
Chocolat (PG-13) Free-spirited Juliette Binoche opens a chocolate shop in a repressed village, setting up a didactic conflict of indulgence vs. denial. The French locales, food and faces are lovingly photographed (the disarming ensemble includes Judi Dench, Johnny Depp and Alfred Molina), but the film cannot equal the comparably themed but richer Babette's Feast. Chocolat melts in your hands, not in your heart.
—Curt Holman
Crazy/Beautiful (PG-13) A strong performance by Kirsten Dunst and a slightly above average script lift this project a notch or two above your typical after-school special. Romance blossoms between naughty rich white girl Dunst and a poor Hispanic classmate who's trying to better himself (Jay Fernandez). To no one's surprise, the movie is padded at regular intervals with cute musical interludes aimed at the film's target demographic (the joyriding in the car scene, the discovery of true love scene, the obligatory lovemaking and cavorting on the beach scene), but that's only a relatively minor distraction in what is otherwise a fairly watchable picture, as these things go. Disney apparently spent a lot of effort defanging the film to achieve a PG-13 rating, but the movie's language and sexual content still might be a touch tough for younger, more sensitive viewers (a group which in today's world probably only includes Amish pre-teens). Also stars Bruce Davison. Opens June 29 at local theaters.
Dr. Dolittle 2 (PG) Eddie Murphy reprises the role of the infamous animal love doctor, and this time he has a message. After being lured into the woods by a raccoon with Mafia connections, Dolittle hears from the Godbeaver himself that the forest is about to be destroyed. In order to save the pristine wilderness from evil loggers, Dr. Dolittle attempts to get two endangered and completely incompatible Pacific Western Bears to mate. If this sounds stupid to you, don't worry, you are not alone. On the other hand, kids will probably love it. With plenty of fecal jokes and semi-sexual references, this is the kind of movie that'll set young 'uns rolling on the floor. —Dustin Dwyer
Evolution (PG-13) Ivan Reitman's latest comedic opus is full of plot holes, mindless sidetracks and middle-of-the-road directing, but it's funny as hell. Julianne Moore and David Duchovny, two normally serious actors, ham it up alongside the shamelessly hokey Orlando Jones (7-Up commercials) and Seann William Scott (Dude Where's My Car). The quartet teams up to battle rapidly evolving alien creatures threatening to take over the world. What else do you need?
—Dustin Dwyer
Fantasia 2000 (G) A perfect choice for the new Channelside IMAX, Fantasia 2000 was designed for that format. The seven animated segments here are basically all over the stylistic map. Amid several attractive but somewhat disposable segments are the movie's two, unmitigated success stories: a depression-era fantasy set to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and peopled with wonderfully stylized Al Hirschfield drawings; and a reprise of the original Fantasia's Sorcerer's Apprentice segment.
The Fast and the Furious (R) A total video game of a movie, in the best sense, and everything Driven should have been: a racing flick that's one big, unabashed rush, sprinkled with larger-than-life characters who swagger between iconic stature and campy cartoonishness. Director Rob Cohen (Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story) re-imagines L.A. as a glossy no-man's land ruled by speed-crazed street racers. Stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. Opens June 22 at local theaters.
The Golden Bowl (PG) The main problem with The Golden Bowl, an impeccably crafted and solidly performed period piece based on a Henry James novel, is that the film lacks the sort of weight and complexity that have characterized (and redeemed) better Merchant-Ivory efforts, such as Howards End and Remains of the Day. Worse, The Golden Bowl lacks all but the smallest shred of narrative momentum or suspense. Stars Jeremy Northam, Kate Beckinsale, Uma Thurman, Nick Nolte. Held over at Channelside Cinemas. Call theater to confirm.
Kingdom Come (PG) Soul Food was just an appetizer for this African-American family comedy that brings a dysfunctional brood together to bury their patriarch. The actors and most of the script make up for technical shortcomings in the funniest funeral since Chuckles bit the dust. Stars Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine, LL Cool J, Vivica A. Fox and Jada Pinkett Smith.
—Steve Warren
A Knight's Tale (PG-13) Who needs historical accuracy when you've got rock ballads? Jousting participants probably never stomped out We Will Rock You before a match, and the crowd wouldn't really do the wave, but who really cares about stuff like that? Writer/director Brian Helgeland certainly doesn't. The Academy Award-winning screenwriter of L.A. Confidential put together this entertaining story about a Medieval peasant who tries to sneak into knighthood in the jousting arena.
—Dustin Dwyer
Lara Croft Tomb Raider (PG-13) Yet another reason why movies should not be based on video games. Angelina Jolie stars as Lara Croft, a busty, butt-kickin adventuress with a serious daddy complex. The plot here is almost invisible — something about LC facing off with a secret society called the Illuminati and some ill-defined mystical claptrap about a triangle that controls time — and the movie is essentially just an excuse to fetishize Jolie and showcase some exotic locations and annoying digital effects.
Memento (R) A haunting film about a man who can't trust his own memory. Our hero, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), has a bizarre condition that makes it impossible for him to remember anything more recent than the night of his wife's brutal murder. Consequently, he travels from place to place searching for her killer, tattooing upon his own body the clues that he uncovers, clues that he would instantly forget if not for the fact that they were indelibly imprinted on his skin. Memento actually tells its story in reverse, but the movie isn't so much a radical experiment as it is a crime thriller in the classic film noir vein — all brooding atmosphere, paranoia and treachery. Also stars Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano.
Moulin Rouge (PG-13) The nominal stars of Moulin Rouge are Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, playing a star-crossed pair who fall in love, experience sublime happiness and meet inevitably tragic ends while putting on a big show at the legendary old Montmartre cabaret. But the real star of Moulin Rouge is its sense of style: the astonishing sets, the costumes, the choreography, the how'd they do that? camera moves. It's all staged as a musical, with the wisp of a story told largely through song, and characters constantly breaking into pop tunes (mostly from the '70s and '80s).
The Mummy Returns (PG-13) More is more in this relentlessly bombastic sequel to the 1999 blockbuster. Returns basically recycles all the main selling points of the original, minus any vestigial attempts at humor or pacing. There's little for star Brendan Fraser to do but bounce from one spectacular (and spectacularly artificial) computer generated effect to the next, like an Indy Jones-lite in an all-consuming digital sea.
Pearl Harbor (PG-13) The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is the pivotal event looming over, and then descending upon, two ace fly boys and best pals (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) in love with the same beautiful nurse (Kate Beckinsale). Almost everything about Michael Bay's new movie is epic. Balancing human drama and unabashedly cornball romance with balls-to-the-wall action — and told in big, stirring, simple (occasionally simplistic) strokes — Pearl Harbor is nothing if not a clear attempt to out-Titanic Titanic; the film fairly begs the question: Why just sink one boat when you can sink a whole bunch?
Shrek (PG) Dreamworks' animated fantasy is a deliciously irreverent bit of make-believe, a classic bedtime story tinkered and toyed with in as tasty a manner as any fractured fairy tale we can recall. Mike Myers supplies the voice (and personality) for the titular lime-green ogre, who embarks upon a quest to rescue an enchanted princess from the castle of a fire-breathing dragon. The 3-D-like digital animation is also a treat, but the real star here, for once, is the writing. The kiddies will be in heaven, but it's possible that adults may like it even more. Also featuring the voices of Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow.
The Smell of Camphor, The Fragrance of Jasmine (NR) This latest import from Iran is a bit of a surprise, especially to viewers who already consider themselves familiar with the pleasures of Iranian movies. Director Bahman Farmanara eschews many of the signature elements of what we take for modern Iranian cinema — particularly the use of child actors and the spare but lyrical naturalism that defines so many of those films — and gives us something not so dissimilar to a contemporary Euro-art film (not so surprising after all, considering Farmanara has a long history as a distributor and producer of art product in the West). The Smell of Camphor… follows a rumpled, chain-smoking, world-weary filmmaker named Bahman Farjami (played by Farmanara himself) through the course of a very bad day. Through a series of minimally edited long takes, we journey along with our sad-eyed, overweight hero as he visits his wife's grave, discovers that someone else has been buried in his burial plot, and picks up a distressed hitchhiker who winds up leaving her dead baby in his car. That's only the beginning of a comically depressing chain of events that leads Farjami/Farmanara to start making not-so-secret plans to direct a documentary on his own funeral. The Smell of Camphor is Farmanara's first film in more than two decades, and it's a genuine curiosity that this project — which presents a fairly detailed and often unflattering portrait of Iranian society — passed by the censors when so many of this long-banned director's other projects were rejected. Whatever the reasons, be thankful for the appearance of this occasionally self-indulgent but more often that not witty, wistful and eloquently moving film. Opens June 27 at Channelside Cinemas. Call theater to confirm.
Spy Kids (PG-13) Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino (Nic Cage's gal-pal from Snake Eyes) play a couple of married-with-children ex-spies who come out of retirement and join forces with their adorable offspring to save the world from an army of multicolored mutants and pint-size androids. Robert Rodriguez's thoroughly kid-friendly project makes up for a fairly forgettable storyline by offering lots of crowd-pleasing eye-candy, some clever gags, a couple of highly watchable performances (Banderas is fine, although not on screen enough, and Alan Cumming, as the villainous Fegan Floop, is excellent) and sheer momentum.
Swordfish (R) Form blows away content in this extremely stylish, fast-paced but (although you'll hardly have a chance to notice) fairly ordinary thriller about a high-tech heist. John Travolta stars as master cyber-criminal Gabriel Shear. Hugh Jackman (Wolverine from X-Men) supplies the human interest as the hacker who reluctantly hooks up with Travolta's character, and Halle Berry shows plenty of skin as an enigmatic gang member who may or may not be what she seems.
The Tailor of Panama (R) Pierce Brosnan stars as a morally dubious secret agent stationed in Panama, who blackmails a transplanted English tailor (Geoffrey Rush) into helping him with a nasty little get-rich scheme — a master plan that plays on everyone's greed, paranoia and unblinking jingoism, culminating in a fiasco of monumental proportions. Brosnan's character is the dark and greasy side of James Bond, a 007 without the charm, mystery, class or basic common decency. He's also a wonderfully compelling anti-hero.
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (PG-13) A punch line waiting to happen. Danny DeVito is a rich target for bungling criminals Martin Lawrence and John Leguizamo.
(Not Reviewed)
—Reviewed entries by Lance Goldenberg unless otherwise noted
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2001.