Short Subjectives June 26 2002

?Opening Friday
CQ (R) Roman Coppola — son of Francis Ford — writes and directs this tale of a 1960s filmmaker (Jeremy Davies) in Paris trying to complete his stylish sci-fi film. The cast includes Gerard Depardieu, Sofia Coppola and cousin Jason Schwatzman. At Lefont Plaza.

THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS *** (R) In a small Southern town in the 1970s, a pair of Catholic schoolboys (Kieran Culkin and Emile Hirsch) get hard lessons in sex and responsibility. Jodie Foster plays their tyrannical teacher, a one-legged nun who provides the villain for their elaborate comic book fantasies, rendered in fittingly over-the-top animation. But even as the “real world” story goes to extremes, we invest little emotion in the teen heroes, despite their refreshing lack of movie glamour. At Tara Cinema.--Curt Holman

DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS *** (PG-13) This visceral, slickly assembled documentary celebrates the vertically inclined ’70s founders of skateboarding’s second wave, which jettisoned skate culture into the extreme stratosphere it occupies today. With its relentless classic-rock soundtrack, breakneck pacing and revealing interviews, the film hones in on the short-lived Zephyr Skating Team, a hard-scrabble bunch assembled by three surf shop owners in a decaying California beach hamlet called Dogtown. At Tara Cinema.--Hobart Rowland

HEY ARNOLD! THE MOVIE (PG) The flat-headed hero of the Nickelodeon cartoon series takes the big screen to fight a real estate developer who wants to build a shopping mall on Arnold’s neighborhood. Sounds like a hard sell in Atlanta. Wide release.

MR. DEEDS (PG-13) Frank Capra’s 1936 classic Mr. Deeds Goes to Town gets remade (a more genteel term for “desecrated”) with Adam Sandler taking Gary Cooper role of a small-town poet who inherits a zillion dollars. But can he hang onto his money with the sticky-fingered Winona Ryder on hand? Wide release.

Duly Noted
ALI *** (PG-13) Director Michael Mann focuses on a single, tumultuous decade in the life of Muhammad Ali, from his championship bout against Sonny Liston to “the Rumble in the Jungle.” A bulked-up Will Smith captures Ali’s trash-talking and his moments of silent resolve, but neither Smith nor Mann can keep the film’s last hour from losing dramatic interest, meticulously re-creating a fight whose outcome we already know. Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival. July 1 at 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. $6.50.--CH

THE LADY EVE ***** (1941) (NR) Barbara Stanwyck’s sultry card-sharp targets Henry Fonda’s naive, snake-obsessed millionaire, then falls in love with him. Only a weak ending keeps this funny and surprisingly sexy Preston Sturges film from being one of the greatest screwball comedies. American Comedy Classics. June 28 at 8 p.m. Rich Auditorium, Woodruff Arts Center. $5.--CH

LO FI LANDSCAPES: FILMS BY BILL BROWN AND THOMAS COMERFORD **** (NR) There are indies, and then there are indies, and the Lo Fi guys are definitely the latter. Both instructors at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bill Brown and Thomas Comerford maximize the potential of film form to convey complex ideas and emotion. In their short films on the Lo Fi bill, both directors look at America with a nostalgic vision, mourning the deserted Midwestern towns and train yards of the past in fragile, poetic detail and mesmerizing visuals. June 28 at 9 p.m. at Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery, 290 MLK Drive. $3 donation requested. 404-522-0655.--Felicia Feaster

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) (R) The cult classic of cult classics, the musical 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 the Marietta Star Cinema, 1355 Roswell Road, Marietta.

VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964) (NR) Elvis Presley’s racing enthusiast meets his match with Ann-Margret’s dance instructor in this quintessential example of “The King’s” Hollywood output. Screen on the Green. July 2 at sundown. Piedmont Park ball fields at 12th and 14th streets. Free.

Continuing
ABOUT A BOY *** (PG-13) The adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel lacks the character insight and pop savvy of the film of Hornby’s High Fidelity, but still charms. The title refers to both thirtysomething Will (Hugh Grant) and 12 year-old Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), whose unlikely friendship gives both lessons in how to grow up. At times manipulative and overly jokey, it makes a few unconventional twists, including its pragmatic theme of the virtue of conformity. --CH

BAD COMPANY ** (PG-13) Taking an explosive comic actor like Chris Rock sticking him in an action film this dull is like buying a ridiculously expensive sports car and solely using it to drive to the grocery store down the block. This studio-generated claptrap features a street-smart small-timer (Rock) who poses as his own twin brother, a murdered CIA agent tracking (what else?) a nuclear weapon making the rounds on the international black market. Anthony Hopkins co-stars. — Matt Brunson

BARTLEBY (PG-13) This Dilbert-era updating of Herman Melville’s classic short story casts Crispin Glover as an office drudge whose mantra “I prefer not to” maddens his supervisor (David Paymer). Joe Piscopo and Glenne Headly co-stars.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ***** (G) The only animated feature ever to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award — and one of the best classic-style musicals of the past 20 years — Disney’s 1991 animated gem gets a polish to fit the scalle of a really, really big IMAX screen. Mall of Georgia IMAX Theater, I-85 at Buford Drive, Buford. — CH

THE BOURNE IDENTITY ** (PG-13) Go director Doug Liman’s spy thriller starts well, with amnesiac Matt Damon discovering learning that he’s got spy skills and hitmen on his trail. But the film forgets the best plot twists of Robert Ludlum’s original novel and falls into a repetitious cycle: Chris Cooper’s nasty CIA man yells at underlings, Damon hesitantly romances love interest Franka Potente, and action scenes unfold in a workmanlike manner.--CH

DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD *** (PG-13) Thelma & Louise screenwriter Callie Khouri makes her directorial debut with an equally zeitgeisty melodrama about the dark secret of motherhood in her adaptation of Rebecca Wells’ popular novel. The Ya-Yas (Fionnula Flanagan, Maggie Smith, Shirley Knight) are priceless as a trio of salty Southern broads who try to mend the damaged mother-daughter relationship acted out by a typically dull Sandra Bullock and a luminous Ellen Burstyn as her mother. --FF

ENIGMA *** (R) If the History Channel made feature films, they’d probably resemble this thriller about intrigue in England’s code-breaking center during WWII. Dougray Scott plays an ace cryptographer trying to unlock a mystery and Kate Winslet delights in a change-of-pace role as a wallflower turned sleuth. The film shows little interest in the mechanics of the plot but gets enthusiastic over showing how war-time cryptography works, and gets credit for not dumbing things down.--CH

ENOUGH * (PG-13) This sleazy exploitation flick is disguised as a serious message movie about a nutcase who beats his wife. Jennifer Lopez plays a waitress whose “perfect” husband (Billy Campbell) turns into a complete monster in about the time it takes to clip one half of one fingernail. Equally offensive to both men and women, this contains enough gaping plot holes to draw favorable comparison to the Grand Canyon. --MB

HOLLYWOOD ENDING *** (PG-13) Woody Allen plays a director on the skids who gets a second chance to helm a picture from his L.A.-based movie executive ex-wife (Tea Leoni). But chaos ensues when Allen is struck blind and must hide his condition. When Hollywood allows the full slapstick energy of this goofy scenario to flow, things tend to go well. But the long-winded exposition devoted to Allen’s relationship with ex-Leoni and his reconciliation with a long-lost son can make the film feel as suffocating as two hours in the smoker’s lounge at Hartsfield. --FF

IMAX Australia: Land Beyond Time (NR) Check out the kangaroos, koalas and other denizens of Down Under in this travelogue of the world’s biggest island. Through July 31. Fires of Kuwait (NR) This IMAX film captures truly infernal footage of Kuwaiti oil fires, as well as the heroic efforts to extinguish them. Fridays Through July 31. Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa (Not Rated) Everest director David Breashears’ latest IMAX documentary follows an expedition through five distinct climate zones to the top of Africa’s highest point. Through September 20. Fernbank Museum of Natural History IMAX Theater, 767 Clifton Road.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST * (PG-13) Actor/director Oliver Parker’s badly reheated Oscar Wilde substitutes slapstick physical comedy for the playwright’s droll wit and manages to make a mess of a brilliant comedy about Victorian-era hypocrisy amongst the English upper-crust.--FF

INSOMNIA **** (R) Memento director Christopher Nolan switches from memory loss to sleep deprivation in this smart police thriller about a celebrated detective (Al Pacino) becoming increasingly complicit with a dispassionate murderer (Robin Williams). Pacino and Williams each effectively turn down the volume for their cat-and-mouse games. While most noir films act under cover of darkness, Insomnia takes place in an Alaskan town where the sun literally never sets, providing a supple metaphor for the pangs of conscience.--CH

JUWANNA MANN (PG-13) Miguel A. Nunez plays a disgraced pro basketball star (imagine such a thing!) who passes as a female player in the WNBA. This cross-dressing comedy also features Vivica A. Fox and, no doubt for the height jokes, Lil’ Kim.

LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT ** (PG-13) This schizophrenic picture’s success begins and ends with Angelina Jolie, cast as a TV reporter who comes to reassess her values after a street prophet (Tony Shalhoub) informs her she has a week to live. Director Stephen Herek and writers John Scott Shepherd and Dana Stevens are too much the consummate hacks to provide the serious sections with the import they require. But with the appeal of Jolie and co-star Edward Burns, it represents a serviceable feature — or something like it.--MB

LILO & STITCH **** (PG) A fluffy but destructive alien mutation hides from his intergalactic pursuers by passing as the pet of a lonely Hawaiian girl. Imagine the Tasmanian Devil impersonating E.T. and you’ll have a sense of the Looney Tunes level of slapstick. The schmaltz gets high enough to surf on, but the characters are appealing and Disney replaces its usual atrocious pop songs with Elvis hits. --CH

MINORITY REPORT **** (PG-13) A half-century from now, high-tech police can arrest perpetrators before they commit their crimes, and officer Tom Cruise believes in the system until it sets its sights on him. Director Steven Spielberg offers a brilliant extrapolation of future law-enforcement and marketing techniques, which inform many of suspense sequences while inspiring ideas about privacy and guilt. Some jarring shifts in tone (an Indiana Jones-esque fight here, a gross-out sight gag there) hinder the narrative and thematic momentum, and the director’s emulation of 1940s film noir results in both highly mannered acting and superbly moody, filtered cinematography. --CH

MURDER BY NUMBERS ** (R) This fitfully entertaining thriller casts Michael Pitt and Ryan Gosling as two privileged high school seniors who elect to pull off the perfect murder. As long as the film places them front and center, it avoids the standard “cop flick” trappings. Much of the running time is frittered away on scenes involving the troubled detective on the case, shakily played by top-billed star (and executive producer) Sandra Bullock.--MB

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING *** (PG) While not as accomplished as Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding,- this is nevertheless a gratifying romantic comedy that gently tweaks stereotypes even as its characters wallow in them. Adapted by Nia Vardalos from her own one-woman show, the film centers on the plight of a 30-year-old lonelyheart (Vardalos) who risks the wrath of her family when she falls for a non-Greek (John Corbett) .--MB

THE NEW GUY (PG-13) A bullied high schooler (DJ Qualls) gets revenge on his peers after a wisecracking convict (Eddie Griffin) gives him pointers on being a badass. Also starring Eliza Dushku.

PANIC ROOM ** (R) Pop stylist and zeitgeist-surfer David Fincher goes gimpy in his latest dull, unimaginative pseudo-thriller about a recent divorcee (Jodie Foster) and her teenage daughter (Kristen Stewart) who wage a psychological battle with a trio of criminals (Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam) who have invaded their Manhattan mansion looking for a $3 million treasure. --FF

THE ROOKIE ** (G) This overly familiar formula film won’t move anyone who’s already seen their share of follow-your-dream flicks. What little juice this gets comes courtesy of its actors, especially Dennis Quaid as a high school baseball coach who takes one last shot at his dream of pitching in the major leagues. The leisurely direction, 129-minute running time and clichéd script provide little sense of joy.--MB

SCOOBY-DOO ** (PG) After a messy break-up, the reunited Mystery Inc. gang is summoned to Spooky Island resort and amusement park to figure out why its clientele keeps turning into zombies. Matthew Lillard (Shaggy) upstages his cast-mates and interacts nicely with the CGI-animated title canine. Unfortunately, in bringing the psychedelic Saturday morning cartoon to life, director Raja Gosnell (Home Alone 3) can’t decide between full-fledged camp or slapstick kiddie fare. --Tray Butler

THE SCORPION KING ** (PG-13) In the ripe-cheese tradition of those grade-Z sword-and-sorcery epics that play on late-night cable, we now get this prequel to The Mummy Returns which casts The Rock as a monolith of a leading man whose undeniable screen presence constantly wages war against his wooden line delivery. Thanks to its awareness of its own limitations, this is watchable enough, but you’ll be satisfied after an hour.--MB

SPIDER-MAN **** (PG-13) The long-awaited adaptation of the Marvel comic book works because director Sam Raimi and scripter David Koepp turn their movie into a successful tightrope act between soap opera and spectacle, retaining the personal elements that made the comic book so popular while also providing special effects that thankfully never overwhelm the story. As Peter Parker, the boy who becomes a superhero, Tobey Maguire is wonderfully appealing.--MB

SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON *** (G) The title character in this old-school animated feature may be a horse, but the movie automatically wins points for not anthropomorphizing it (the most we hear are its inner thoughts, provided by Matt Damon). The cuteness quotient is remarkably low in this engaging if not particularly distinguished tale about a magnificent stallion that befriends a Lakota lad in the Old West. The songs by Bryan Adams are the musical equivalent of live leeches being driven into the ear drums, but this is still worth a look.--MB

STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES *** (PG-13) The Force returns to George Lucas for the second installment of his Star Wars prequel trilogy. Though the star-crossed love story of Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman) and Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) falls flat, a mystery subplot connecting bounty hunters and clone armies plays like a delicious wedding of Star Wars and James Bond, building to a final half-hour so spectacular you’ll be reluctant to blink for fear of missing something. --CH

THE SUM OF ALL FEARS *** (PG-13) A well-crafted throwback to the thrillers of Cold War era, this Tom Clancy adaptation brings back our fears of potential nuclear conflict. At first Ben Affleck seems over his head as CIA analyst Jack Ryan (a role played by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford), but he ingratiates himself while trying to unravel a terrorist conspiracy against America. The transcontinental plotting can be murky, but the third act features spectacular disasters and the chilling sensation of events spinning out of control. --CH

THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING *** (R) Director Jill Sprecher follows in the seemingly random footsteps of Short Cuts and Magnolia exploring the meaning of life and luck through four intersecting New York stories. Alan Arkin’s subplot, about a claims adjuster aggravated by a subordinate’s optimism, reveals obsessive behavior and bureaucratic oppression with the acuity of a Russian novelist. But the lack of subtlety and natural-sounding dialogue undermine the narrative ambitions.--CH

ULTIMATE X (PG) See extreme sports on the Mall of Georgia’s extremely large IMAX screen in this documentary of ESPN’s Summer X games, which includes skateboarders, BMX riders, motocrossers, and street lugers. Rated PG “for daredevil sports action and mild language.” Mall of Georgia IMAX Theater, I-85 at Buford Drive, Buford.

UNDERCOVER BROTHER *** (PG-13) Can you dig it? Beating the Austin Powers films at their own game, this highly amusing blaxploitation spoof casts Eddie Griffin as the title character, “a Soul Train reject with a Robin Hood complex” who joins up with the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. to take down The Man. Even at a mere 88 minutes, this slight film tempts fate, but the big laughs are tumultuous enough to barrel right over the slow patches.--MB

UNFAITHFUL *** (R) For much of his career, director Adrian Lyne has had sex on the brain, turning out huff’n’puff features both good and bad. This one derives most of its power from Diane Lane’s standout performance as a content housewife who risks everything for a fling with a hunky Frenchman (Olivier Martinez). As the suspicious husband, Richard Gere does some of his best work, and this cautionary tale about the illusion of eternal bliss ends with a wonderfully ambiguous final shot.--MB

WINDTALKERS ** (R) Marked by surprisingly unspectacular battle scenes and little of that patented John Woo energy, this drama fictionalizes the case of the real life codetalkers — Native Americans who transmitted an unbreakable code based on the Navaho language during WWII. Nicolas Cage and Christian SSlater — each trying to out-butch the other — are two of the Marines who must keep two Native American codetalkers from falling into enemy hands. --FF

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN ***** (NR) A heartbroken woman takes off on a road trip with two randy teenage boys and the trio talk, laugh, bicker and have sex. How director Alfonso Cuaron turns this seemingly trite scenario into a metaphysical meditation on life, fate, death, the sublime and torturous aspects of sex, and the class divisions of modern Mexico is a thing of beauty. --FF u