Short Subjectives October 14 2004

Capsule reviews of films by CL critics



?Opening Friday
AROUND THE BEND (R) Michael Caine, Christopher Walken and Josh Lucas star in this indie dramedy about the men of four generations who uncover their family secrets.

END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES Image Image Image Image (NR) See review.

THE FINAL CUT Image Image (PG-13) The basic premise raises interesting questions but there are no interesting answers in this latest memory-erase movie, written and directed by Jordan-born Omar Naim. Future technology allows computer chips to be implanted in unborn children that will record everything that person sees. When they die, an editor fashions the survivors’ favorite parts into a glossy memoir. An expert cutter, the appropriately named Hakman (Robin Williams) fights both his own demons and anti-implant activists, but there’s no real payoff to reward your attention. — Steve Warren

I HEART HUCKABEES Image Image Image Image (R) See review.

THE LAST SHOT (R) Matthew Broderick plays a first-time filmmaker who doesn’t realize his movie is a front for an FBI sting operation, lead by Alec Baldwin’s undercover agent. A funny premise and a talented cast (including Tony Shalhoub as a mobster and Toni Collette as a sexpot actress) give this one promise.

RECONSTRUCTION Image Image Image (NR) For those who like their straight-ahead storytelling filled with detours, this Danish puzzle extends the idea that love can change your life. Alex (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) spends one night with Aimee (Maria Bonnevie) and the next morning he can’t get into his flat and no one knows him. Nothing has changed for Aimee, whose husband still neglects her for his work. Christoffer Boe directs and co-writes a film that turns not making sense into an advantage. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.SW

SHALL WE DANCE Image Image Image (PG-13) Only subtlety is lost in the translation of the 1997 Japanese film about a contented married man (Richard Gere) who becomes happy when he takes ballroom dancing lessons from Jennifer Lopez. This remake, directed by Englishman Peter Chelsom, seems so thoroughly American it’s surprising how little was actually changed. The lack of communication between Gere and wife Susan Sarandon doesn’t ring true, while Audrey Wells’ screenplay manages to be both deeper and more frivolous than the original. We’ll show the Japanese they can’t beat us at either end of the emotional spectrum! — SW

STEPHEN KING’S RIDING THE BULLET (PG-13) Stephen King’s short story of the same name riffs on the old urban legend of the ghostly hitchhiker. The film version stars Jonathan Jackson and David Arquette.

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (R) Trey Parker and Matt Stone, “South Park’s” creators and our hungriest butchers of sacred cows, lampoons the war on terror and Hollywood’s liberal activists in this raunchy, violent action comedy starring a cast of puppets. Yes, puppets.

THE YES MEN Image Image Image (R) See review.


br>?Duly Noted
BEST OF THE ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL (NR) The Atlanta Film Festival presents an evening of audience faves and award-winning short films from the 28th annual event, including the documentary “LSD a Go-Go” and the Oscar-winning animated short “Harvie Krumpet,” narrated by Geoffrey Rush. Oct. 14-15, 7 p.m. Cinefest, GSU University Center, Suite 211, 66 Courtland St. $5. 404-352-4225. www.imagefv.org.

BUSH’S BRAIN (2003) (NR) Joseph Mealey and Michael Paradies Shoob profile Karl Rove, White House political director and longtime Dubya puppeteer/attack dog. Shoob will be in attendance. Oct. 21, 9:30 p.m. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive. $8. 404-352-4225. www.imagefv.org.

CLERKS (1994) Image Image (R) Film fanatic Kevin Smith launched his indie directorial career (and even a short-lived animated series) with this no-budget comedy about horny, bitter, pop-obsessed cashiers. Smith’s dialogue shows a flair for geek-speak, but it’s hard to look past the crap acting and cruddy black-and-white film stock. Oct. 14-16, midnight. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive.Curt Holman

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 Image Image Image Image (R) Michael Moore’s fiery polemic about post-9/11 politics sheds more heat than light, but deserves attention for the questions it raises about some of the major issues of modern American history. Moore levels his trademark sarcasm at George W. Bush, but spends most of the film despairing over the economic forces that send young people into military service at the time of an unjustified war with Iraq. Despite its fuzzy reasoning and incomplete arguments (Moore never acknowledges Saddam Hussein’s blood-drenched human rights record, for instance), it remains one of the most urgent and explosive documentaries ever made. Oct. 15-21. Cinefest, GSU University Center, Suite 211, 66 Courtland St. 404-651-3565. www.cinefest.org.CH

THE GIRL OF THE MOORS (1958) (NR) This adaptation of a novel by Sweden’s Selma Lagerloeff tells the story of impoverished Helga (Maria Emo), whose faith in life suffers great tests until she finds true love. The German Heimatfilm of the ’50s. Oct. 20, 7 p.m. Goethe Institut Inter Nationes, 1197 Peachtree St., Colony Square. $4. 404-892-2388.

HIJACKING CATASTROPHE: 9/11, FEAR AND THE SELLING OF AMERICAN EMPIRE (NR) The Media Education Foundation produced this polemic about many of the same Bush administration critiques found in Fahrenheit 9/11, only with a straighter face. Oct. 15-21. Cinefest, GSU University Center, Suite 211, 66 Courtland St. 404-651-3565. www.cinefest.org.CH

KNOCK OFF: REVENGE OF THE LOGO (NR) This documentary explores the underground economy of counterfeit designer knock-offs, from immigrants trying to make a buck off ersatz merchandise to anti-sweatshop activists mobilizing against global branding. Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. Georgia State University Speaker’s Auditorium, 44 Courtland St. Free. 404-352-4225. www.imagefv.org.

NICOTINA Image (2004) (NR) Mediocre foreign productions used to be content to just regurgitate Hollywood product, but now they have designs on indie cinema as well. This depressingly unoriginal Mexican heist film aspires to the Tarantino-ian and, sadly, misses even Guy Ritchie’s low bar. Diego Luna plays computer hacker who teams up with a couple of crooks to sell some Swiss bank access codes to Russian gangsters in exchange for a bag of diamonds. With its hollow characters and emphasis on flashy, lame-brain action, Nicotina has the superficial quality of a video game. Latin American Film Festival. Oct. 16, 8 p.m. Woodruff Arts Center, Rich Auditorium, 1280 Peachtree St. $5. 404-733-4570. www.high.org.Felicia Feaster

PAPER DOVE (2003) (NR) In this Peruvian film a boy living in an Andean village experiences terrorism first-hand when Shining Path guerillas draft him into their ranks. Latin American Film Festival. Oct. 15, 8 p.m. Woodruff Arts Center, Rich Auditorium, 1280 Peachtree St., and Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive. $5. 404-733-4570. www.high.org.

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 Meat Loaf gets killed. Dress as your favorite character and participate in this musical on acid. Midnight Fri. at Lefont Plaza Theatre and Sat. at Peachtree Cinema & Games, Norcross.

SEEING OTHER PEOPLE (R) A bride-to-be (Julianne Nicholson) worried about her sexual inexperience suggests to her prospective husband (Jay Mohr) that they “see” other people in the weeks before the big day. This comedy from “The Simpsons” writer Wallace Wolodarsky features such popular TV actors as Lauren Graham, Bryan Cranston and Andy Richter. Oct. 14. Cinefest, GSU University Center, Suite 211, 66 Courtland St. 404-651-3565. www.cinefest.org.


br>?Continuing
BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS Image Image Image Image (R) In this satiric social x-ray of London’s Jazz Age glitterati, comic obstacles impede a too-cool pair of socialites (Stephen Campbell Moore, Emily Mortimer) en route to matrimony. Writer-director Stephen Fry (best known from the BBC’s “Jeeves & Wooster”) adapts Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies with a snappy pace and splashy look that evoke our modern-day, “Access Hollywood” obsession with celebrity. The young actors expertly assay the period’s lost generation, while screen vets like Peter O’Toole steal scenes as upper class twits. — CH

CELLULAR Image Image Image (PG-13) Maybe I’m too easily entertained, but here’s another good-bad movie that’s suspenseful, often funny and never believable for an instant. Kidnapped by Jason Staham, Kim Basinger invents the telephone and finds it easier to dial a random ten-digit number (Chris Evans’ cell phone) than 911. If you can swallow the premise, the race to save her is clichéd but fun. — SW

CRIMINAL Image Image Image Image (R) First-time writer-director Gregory Jacobs scores with a faithful, if not quite as fresh, remake of the Argentine con-man drama Nine Queens. When a seasoned swindler (John C. Reilly) takes an amateur con artist (Diego Luna) under his wing, a high-stakes con falls directly into their laps. Reilly’s precise performance deepens the twisty, fast-paced film into a character study of a grasping operator forced to face up to his past misdeeds. — CH

A DIRTY SHAME Image Image (NC-17) It’s the squares against the libertines once again in John Waters’ ribald tale of a repressed middle-aged Baltimore mother Sylvia (Tracey Ullman) who suffers a concussion and finds her libido kicked into overdrive. Blue collar Baltimore is inflamed by Sylvia and her oversexed clan (led by sexual messiah Johnny Knoxville) as Waters’ film unravels into a shock-o-rama melée of dumb potty and booby humor. Waters’ overage, carnivalesque hijinks are as juvenile as ever, but his nods to the vintage exploitation films that trafficked in such delirious sexual content can be inspired. — FF

THE FORGOTTEN Image Image Image (PG-13) Is someone trying to make Julianne Moore think her dead nine-year-old son never existed? Or is she really delusional, as therapist Gary Sinise says? This interesting puzzle is solved too quickly (presumably to lock in our sympathy), leaving us with less interesting “Who” and “Why” questions as The Forgotten becomes a standard thriller with X-Files overtones. Moore keeps it watchable and underrated director Joseph Ruben (The Stepfather) pulls off some good shock moments. — SW

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (PG-13) Billy Bob Thornton plays a high school football coach who leads a team in Odessa, Texas, to the state championship. Based on the bestselling book of the same name.

GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE (PG-13) Director Mamoru Oshii presents the long-awaited follow-up to the stylish anime cult fave. This high-tech murder mystery takes place in mankind’s future, when the line separating humans, cyborgs and robots blurs to the point of disappearing altogether.

GOING UPRIVER: THE LONG WAR OF JOHN KERRY Image Image Image Image (NR) George Butler’s documentary recounts the extremes of the U.S. experiences in Vietnam through presidential candidate John Kerry’s military service and subsequent anti-war activism. While Going Upriver presents Kerry in a positive light, it resists being pigeonholed as a “campaign video” by stirring up the raw, difficult emotions associated with the Vietnam war, including an engrossing, day-by-day recap of the vets’ famed week-long Washington D.C. protest. Preceded by “Soldier’s Pay” from Three Kings director David O. Russell. — CH

HEAD IN THE CLOUDS Image Image Image (R) This 1950s-style, Hollywood-glossy romantic epic is as shallow as the characters it tries belatedly to make us care about. Don’t expect art and you may enjoy it. Guy (Stuart Townsend) falls for free-spirited Gilda (Charlize Theron) when she bursts into his Cambridge dorm room in 1933 and never gets over her, despite her lack of political consciousness. Penelope Cruz plays Gilda’s “protégée” (nudge nudge, wink wink), who shares Guy’s ideals. Head in the Clouds runs too long on too little momentum but may be perfect for a generation that wants their romance heavy on sex and light on emotional involvement. — SW

LADDER 49 Image Image (PG-13) It’s Backdraft for post-9/11 America. Firefighter Joaquin Phoenix recalls his years of hijinks and heroism in the Baltimore Fire Department while waiting for Chief John Travolta’s men to rescue him from a burning building — or not. It couldn’t be more formulaic. You’ll recognize several clichés from old war movies, but here the enemy is fire. Without a fraction of the edge of Denis Leary’s Rescue Me series on FX, Ladder 49 unfolds like a Lifetime movie for men. Our brave firefighters deserve a better tribute. — SW

MARIA FULL OF GRACE Image Image Image Image (R) A clear-eyed, almost documentarian account of a 17-year-old Colombian (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who decides to smuggle a bellyful of heroin into the United States as a mule. First-time NYU-schooled filmmaker Joshua Marston avoids sensationalism in his remarkably sober and engrossing story of Moreno’s white-knuckle progress from Colombia to Jamaica Hills, Queens. — FF

MR. 3000 Image Image Image (PG-13) The king of The Original Kings of Comedy, Bernie Mac proves himself a capable, charismatic leading man in this feel-good movie that, despite an original premise, seems overly familiar. Returning to baseball at 47 to make up three discounted hits, Stan Ross (Mac) finally becomes a team player. If Big Mac can make a movie like this work in spite of its flaws, when a good script comes his way, he should hit it out of the park. — SW

THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES Image Image Image (R) The man who would grow up to be a violent revolutionary and the star of every counterculture’s T-shirt, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, receives some emotional backstory in Brazilian director Walter Salles’s earnest but lightweight film. Before he took up firearms, Che traveled with best friend through South America, and discovered the kind of poverty and injustice his bourgeois Argentinean upbringing denied. Bernal and the scenery are beautiful but this bio-picture lacks the fire in the belly its radical subject deserves. — FF

RAISE YOUR VOICE Image Image (PG) I tried getting in touch with my inner teenage girl but even she has too much taste to like this Hilary Duff vehicle about an Arizona girl bringing her homespun values to wicked Los Angeles for a summer music program. Her father (David Keith), who out-ogres Shrek, won’t let her go, but the movie’s message is that teenagers should follow their hearts, even if they have to disobey their parents. Apart from Duff’s mediocre pop bleating the music mix proves interesting and diverse. — SW

RED LIGHTS Image Image Image Image (NR) A good, old-fashioned taut thriller in the Hitchcock mode, Cedric Kahn’s nimble little story of a bickering husband and wife driving from Paris to Bordeaux takes confidence from the director’s assured hand and the pathetic, little-man rage of Jean-Pierre Darroussin playing a nobody married to a goddess (Carole Bouquet) who discovers his manhood on the road. — FF

SHARK TALE Image Image Image (PG) A too-obvious message movie about keepin’ it real and accepting “different” children, this computer-animated undersea comedy has its share of laughs but is no Shrek or Finding Nemo. It lands all the fish puns Nemo threw back, some in the name of product placement. (Kelpy Kreme Doughnuts, anyone?). Amid such fine voice actors as Will Smith, Renee Zellweger and Jack Black, Martin Scorsese, of all people, turns out to be the breakout talent. — SW

SHAUN OF THE DEAD Image Image Image Image (R) A put-upon English bloke (co-writer Simon Pegg) gets so caught up in his girlfriend and roommate problems that he scarcely notices the apocalyptic zombie crises happening around him. Writer-director Edgar Wright rises above the undead genre’s schlocky traditions with a first act of comic genius. The intensity of the zombie-siege sequences runs contrary to the film’s deadpan comedy, but its rapid pace, hilarious ensemble and inventive action scenes make it a splatter classic. — CH

SILVER CITY Image Image (R) A law firm investigator (Danny Huston) tries to link a deceased John Doe to the Colorado gubernatorial campaign of a dim-witted politician (Chris Cooper). Director John Sayles’ sprawling story provides a step-by-step primer on corrupt American politics, but so seriously pursues his serious themes that he looses his sense of humor. Cooper and Daryl Hannah provide sharp supporting roles, but Sayles brought more punch to Lone Star’s suspiciously similar story. — CH

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW Image Image (PG) When giant flying robots attack cities around the world, Gwyneth Paltrow’s sassy reporter teams with Jude Law’s heroic mercenary to find the suspected evil-doer. Filmmakers shot actors in front of blue screens and digitally filled in all of the stunningly detailed backgrounds. But Sky Captain falls into the trap of the Star Wars prequels by paying more attention to the digital effects than the slow-moving story and underdeveloped characters. — Heather Kuldell

TAXI (PG-13) See review.

TAE GUK GI: THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR (NR) South Korea’s most expensive and highest-grossing film of all time depicts the relationship of two brothers as they face the horrors of the Korean War.

TYING THE KNOT Image Image (NR) First time filmmaker Jim de Sève offers an at times heartrending, but more often routine, examination of gay marriage. This highly traditional documentary is unlikely to change opponents’ minds, or offer fresh angles on the issue for gay marriage supporters. The film does present powerful examples of the cruel outcome of anti-gay marriage laws for two individuals — a Tampa police officer and an Oklahoma farmer — devastated by the deaths of their partners and then viciously denied their inheritance by the state. — FF

VANITY FAIR Image Image Image (PG-13) Director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) weaves some crafty insights about the soul-killing effects of class in 19th century England into her skillful, witty adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s beloved novel. But Thackeray’s heroine, Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon), who uses guile and charm to rise from poverty to the heights of English society, seems most inspired by the sunny, all-American ambition of Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods. Nair updates post-feminist Becky to make her palatable to a modern audience, and in the process, her heroine loses some of her bite. — FF

WHAT THE #$Image ! DO WE KNOW? Image Image (NR) This head-scratching hybrid of philosophical documentary and narrative feature proves to be about everything and nothing. As a framing device follows a divorced photographer (Marlee Matlin) on her daily routine, intercut with talking-head interviews with physicists and other heavy thinkers about quantum science, human perception and positive thinking. Grating, silly animation accompanies the persuasive section about how people can get addicted to negative emotions, while much of the film’s deep thoughts embody New Age spirituality at its most squishy. — CH

WOMAN, THOU ART LOOSED Image Image (R) Bishop T.D. Jakes plays himself in this inevitably preachy adaptation of his bestselling inspirational book. The Manchurian Candidate’s Kimberly Elise stars as an oft-jailed former drug addict on death row who recalls the pressures to succumb to a life of crime. Elise’s watchful, cagy performance provides a center to a film that goes in too many directions — including flashbacks-within-flashbacks and characters who “testify’ to the camera - to integrate its spiritual message with its heavy-handed plot. — CH