Short Subjectives July 18 2001

Capsule reviews of films by CL critics

Opening Wednesday
?JURASSIC PARK III (PG-13) Anxious to fund research for his new theory of velociraptor intelligence, paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is persuaded by a wealthy couple (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) to accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. This island has become a primordial breeding ground for John Hammond’s magnificent creations. When the party is marooned, Grant is forced to learn the dreadful implications of his raptor intelligence theory firsthand. Directed by Joe Johnston.

Opening Friday
?AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS (PG-13) A married movie star couple (John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones) is obligated to promote the movie they made together even though they now detest each other and have broken up. When the print of their film doesn’t show up, the film’s publicist (Billy Crystal) tries to divert attention by concocting a story of the couple’s reunion when, in fact, Cusack is actually in love with his wife’s formerly fat assistant (Julia Roberts). Directed by Joe Roth.

MADE (R) Two aspiring mobsters (Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn) from Los Angeles travel to New York to become “made men,” getting involved with a money-laundering scheme and thusly, possibly inducted into a low-level crime syndicate. Sean “P-Diddy” Combs plays their “guide” once they get to New York. Directed by Jon Favreau.

THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR (R) Tom Tykwer, the director of Run Lola Run, presents a film about love. The angry Bodo (Benno Furmann), a small-time criminal who is always running from the law, and Sissi (Franka Potente), a shy, quiet nurse who works in a psychiatric clinic, meet for the first time after a horrible accident. Bodo saves Sissi’s life, then disappears without a trace. Obsessed by the incident, Sissi sets out on a mission to find the mysterious stranger. German with English subtitles.

Duly Noted
?ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT Set in the outback of Australia, this Academy Award-winning movie is a comedy about Bernadette, Felicia and Mitzi, who bring their drag show to a desert casino via their lavender bus. Sponsored by the 14th annual Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, July 22 at dusk at the Starlight Drive-In, 2000 Moreland Ave.

AMERICAN ROULETTE Directed by New York filmmaker Seyi, this film casts an unflinching eye at the victims of police brutality and the families left devastated in the aftermath of meaningless loss. Sponsored by IMAGE Film & Video Center, July 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site screening room, 450 Auburn Ave.

AMORES PERROS Image Image Image 1/2 (2000) (R) A trio of stories set in a dystopian Mexico City revolve around a life-altering car crash in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s gripping first feature more indebted to the indie free-styling of Tarantino than the art film legacy of Bunuel. Through July 19 at GSU’s cinéfest. --FELICIA FEASTER

BREAD AND CHOCOLATE Image Image Image 1/2 (NR) In this absurdity-touched tale, a hapless Italian immigrant, Nino (Nino Manfredi), is desperate to find work in Switzerland despite the endemic racism of his adopted country. The film begins with a pratfalling sense of humor, as Nino negotiates the intricacies of the ordered, polite Swiss culture, but quickly moves into darkness as Nino’s eyes are opened to his true second-class status. Presented as part of the Italian Summer Festival at the High July 20 at 8 p.m. at the High’s Rich Auditorium --FF

BILLY ELLIOT (R) Image Image Image The film depicts an 11-year-old coal miner’s son (Jamie Bell) who develops an improbable passion for ballet. Some of the self-conscious flourishes (like the soundtrack prominent with T-Rex) can be strange, but it’s an endearingly idiosyncratic film that puts some new moves on its “feel-good” premise. Showing at the Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival at the Fox Theater July 19 at 8 p.m. --CURT HOLMAN

DEAR DIARY (1994) Winner of the Best Director award at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, Nanni Moretti is one of Italy’s finest comedian-directors, comparable to America’s Woody Allen. Moretti appears as himself in this comedy tinged with anxiety. Italian Summer Festival at the High July 13 at 8 p.m. in the Woodruff Arts Center, Rich Auditorium.

THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE (G) Image Image Image David Spade plays the spoiled emperor who’s turned into a llama; John Goodman is the kindly peasant who turns the other cheek to help him. The drawing style is simpler than in most of Disney’s classics, but the picture’s packed with fun, action and comedy that appeals to all ages. Showing at the Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival at the Fox Theater July 22 at 3 p.m. --STEVE WARREN

THE MUMMY RETURNS (PG-13) Image 1/2 With a pure adrenaline overkill, a nonstop barrage of movement and noise, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz return as the good guys, and Arnold Vosloo is the title terror; the murky story line has something to do with the resurrected Imhotep (Vosloo) fighting a resurrected warrior known as the Scorpion King (pro wrestler The Rock) for global domination. Showing at the Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival at the Fox Theater July 22 at 7 p.m. respectively. --MATT BRUNSON

NICO AND DANI (NR) (2000) Image Image Image 1/2 A portrait of adolescent experience set against the blazing sun and azure sea of a small seaside town near Barcelona. During 10 days of freedom, two best friends discover love, sex, jealousy and disenchantment and cross the border separating adolescence from manhood. Through July 19 at cinéfest. --FF

THE RESTLESS CONSCIENCE Directed by Hava Kohav Beller, this film commemorates the 57th anniversary of Col. Stauffenberg’s bomb attempt to kill Hitler during World War II. This video is a comprehensive and intense documentary on the German Resistance against the Nazi’s from 1933-1945 and was nominated for an Academy Award. July 20 at 7 p.m. at the Goethe Institute, limited seating, RSVP 404-892-2388.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (R) The cult classic of cult classics, the 1975 horror spoof follows an all-American couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) to the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a drag-queen/mad scientist from another galaxy. It’s all fun and games until Meatloaf gets killed. Dress as your favorite character and participate in this musical on acid. Fridays at midnight, Lefont Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave, and Saturday at midnight at Blackwell Star Cinema, 3378 Canton Road, Marietta.

SOLAS (PG) Image Image Image Spain’s first-time writer-director Benito Zambrano offers a moving, neorealistic look at estranged families and the dispiriting effects of urban poverty. Most impressive are Maria Galiana as a kind, unappreciated mother and Ana Fernandez as the embittered, alcoholic daughter whose desperation grounds the film. The resolution feels a bit neat and sentimental, but otherwise Solas is a subtle and powerful work. Presented by the Peachtree Film Society July 22 at 6 p.m. at General Cinema Parkway Pointe, 3101 Cobb Parkway --CH

Continuing
?A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Image Image Image (PG-13). Steven Spielberg brings to light a long-developed Stanley Kubrick project about an android boy (Haley Joel Osment) who aspires to be human. Spielberg gives the first act a poetic precision evocative of the late filmmaker’s cerebral style, but subsequent sections uncomfortably blend elements of Pinocchio and Blade Runner, losing some of its pristine storytelling control. --CH

THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY Image Image Image 1/2 (R) Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming wrote, directed and star in this zeitgeisty psychodrama of a hip Hollywood couple and their high-powered friends. Their evening of celebration turning into an ecstasy-fueled meltdown where clothes come off, truths get told and everyone undoubtedly wakes up with an ugly “what did I say?” hangover. Though there is plenty of emoting on display, the film often feels like a keyhole glimpse into the reality of life in a Hollywood fishbowl, as well as the more universal anxieties about faithfulness, aging, children and career. — FF

ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE Image Image (PG) Disney’s change-of-pace animated adventure includes such cool stuff as flying machines designed like sea creatures and gizmos and plot points inspired by the work of Jules Verne. But the character — make that caricature — animation turns on ethnic stereotypes and uncomfortable exaggerations that heighten the script’s lack of inspiration. --CH

BABY BOY Image Image (R) Boyz N the Hood director John Singleton returns to his old stomping ground with the story of a 20-year-old African-American (Tyrese Gibson) who refuses to grow up despite being a father of two. Boasting a pertinent theme and the imposing presence of Ving Rhames, Baby Boy suffers from Singleton’s naggingly repetitive script, unpolished performances and contrived violence at the end. --CH

CATS & DOGS Image Image (PG) Cats rule — or at least that’s the intent of the purring pets on parade in this lackluster family film in which our canine companions seek to stop their feline foes from achieving world domination. “Cat people” probably will boycott this movie - their preferred pets are clearly the villains — but it’s safe to say that many die-hard “dog people” won’t be enamored of this film, either. --SW

THE CLOSET Image Image Image (PG) A meek accountant (Daniel Auteuil) passes himself as gay to keep his job in this conventional but satisfying French comedy. It’s clever in its satire of political correctness and “gaydar,” although it’s very much like the kind of sitcom that voices support of homosexuality without actually dealing with gay people as individuals. Gerard Depardieu’s rugby-obsessed he-man goes to hilarious extremes to prove he’s not a homophobe. --CH

CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL Image Image Image (PG-13) Blending typical teen fare of Romeo-and-Juliet-style star-crossed lovers with real insight into crumbling family values and an ennui-adrift middle-class, this teen love story of an ambitious Mexican-American kid (Jay Hernandez) and a self-destructive rich girl (Kirsten Dunst) is more thematically complicated and respectful of its players than the usual bubble-headed teen chow.--FF

EVOLUTION Image 1/2 (PG-13) Alien life forms crash-land in Arizona and begin to take over, and while several of the otherworldly critters are fun to watch, the human players (including David Duchovny and Julianne Moore) are burdened with nondescript roles. This comedy’s greatest problem is the that the screenplay simply isn’t funny. Everyone tries hard but the end result is like a bad TV sitcom with a lot of bathroom humor added to lure teens. -- MB

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS Image Image 1/2 (PG-13). This loud, overblown B-movie about illegal street racing goes nowhere but gets there fast. Director Rob Cohen offers a handful of nail-biting set pieces, particularly the opening race and a climactic truck chase a la The Road Warrior. But though Vin Diesel makes a magnetic lead, Furious is bumper-to-bumper with bad dialogue, poor logic and clichéd characters. — CH

FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN: Image Image Image (PG-13) Unbelievable imagery and kick-ass action sequences trump trippy-dippy dialogue and arbitrary plotting in this all-CGI adaptation of the popular video role-playing game, the first such film to be brought to the big screen by the game’s creator (in this case, Hironobu Sakaguchi). The eerily convincing digital actors are voiced by the likes of Steve Buscemi, Ming Na, James Woods and Alec Baldwin, who is ironically much more life-like as a computerized cartoon.--EDDY VON MUELLER

KISS OF THE DRAGON (R) Image Image 1/2 Romeo Must Die’s ass-kicker Jet Li plays a Chinese intelligence officer chased all over Paris by corrupt French cops. The propulsive action scenes reflect the signature style of producer Luc Besson (director of La Femme Nikita), but the brutal treatment of Bridget Fonda’s junkie-ho character can make the film too ugly to be fun. --CH

LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER Image Image (PG-13) This picture has its strong points, including a perfectly cast protagonist and a couple of set pieces that deliver the goods. Viewers expecting wall-to-wall action will be surprised that a great chunk of the running time is filled with dull chitchat. --MB

LEGALLY BLONDE (PG-13) Based upon the unreleased novel of the same title by Amanda Brown, a young, blond woman (Reese Witherspoon) enrolls at Harvard law school, eventually taking on a big murder case in Beverly Hills. Also starring Selma Blair and Ali Larter. Directed by Robert Luketic.

MOULIN ROUGE Image Image 1/2 (PG-13) Romeo + Juliet director Baz Luhrman whips into a fabulous frenzy this stylishly spastic post-modern musical about an impoverished writer (Ewan McGregor) in love with a consumptive courtesan (Nicole Kidman) in a bizarre rock ‘n’ roll version of late 19th-century Paris. Dazzling design and dizzying technique more or less compensate for an unsatisfying story and far too many smugly hip in-jokes. And feel free to sing along; 95 percent of the lyrics are lifted from songs you already know.-- EVM

PANIC Image Image Image (R) William H. Macy plays a hit man seeking therapy and escape from the family business in Henry Bromell’s quiet character study that’s not really a thriller nor a black comedy. Macy’s indelible portrait of mid-life crisis gets fine support from Donald Sutherland, Neve Campbell and especially Tracey Ullman and child actor David Dorfman. --CH

POOTIE TANG (PG-13) Adapted from HBO’s “The Chris Rock Show,” Pootie Tang (Lance Crouther) is a crime fighter, recording artist and hero to children. He must battle the evil Dick Lecter, CEO of a huge corporation that tries to get kids to smoke, drink and eat fast food. Starring Andy Richter as a sleazy record executive, David Cross as a Pootie imitator and Chris Rock. Directed by Louis C.K.

THE SCORE Image Image 1/2 (R) An often ho-hum heist picture that happens to have some of the greatest actors of three generations. Director Frank Oz constructs some tense set-pieces and Edward Norton offers a technically proficient rendition of a mentally disabled man, but for Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando to meet on-screen in a cliched caper movie is an enormous waste of potential. --CH