Short Subjectives August 03 2005

Opening Friday

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· BAILEY’S BILLION$ (G) A billionaire widow’s fortune goes to the dogs — literally — when she bequeaths her money to her favorite canine (voiced by Jon Lovitz), outraging her conniving relatives (including Tim Curry and Jennifer Tilly).

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· THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY (R) This U.S./Norwegian co-production explores the consequences of the Vietnam War from the perspective of a young Amerasian man (Damien Nguyen) trying to track down his American father. Featuring Nick Nolte, Tim Roth and Bai Ling.

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· THE BEST OF YOUTH (R) See review.

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· BROKEN FLOWERS HH (R) See review.

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· THE DUKES OF HAZZARD H (PG-13) See review.

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Duly Noted

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· BATMAN BEGINS (PG-13) Memento director Christopher Nolan and American Psycho actor Christian Bale prove a perfectly matched dynamic duo as they explore the psychological trauma that turned millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne into a masked vigilante. Nolan and Bale bring undeniably gritty intensity to the film’s first half, but as it works to its conclusion, it’s hard to overlook the silliness of the villains’ evil scheme or the miscasting of too-cute Katie Holmes as a tough district attorney. It’s still the best Batman movie ever made, and the only one in which the Caped Crusader, instead of his villains, is the star. Area theaters, and Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival, Mon., Aug. 8, 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. $7. 404-817-8700. www.foxtheatre.org. 3 stars. — Curt Holman

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· THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) (R) An aging slacker (Jeff Bridges) and his bowling buddies (John Goodman, Steve Buscemi) become embroiled in a kidnapping plot among Los Angeles’ rich and artsy. For their follow-up to the Oscar-winning Fargo, the Coen Brothers seem to have emptied their notebooks of amusing one-liners and weird images for a finished product that’s well-polished but utterly inconsequential. Drive Insanity, Sun., Aug. 7, dusk. Starlight Drive-In Theatre, 2000 Moreland Ave. $6. 404-627-5786. www.starlightdrivein.com. 3 stars. — Holman

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· DISCO DOLLS IN HOT SATIN IN 3D (X) Also known as Blonde Emanuelle, this skin-flick about a nightclub owner and his old flame stars John Holmes and Serena. If you always thought Casablanca would have be better as a 3-D porno film from the 1970s, look no further. Glasses provided. Fri.-Sat., Aug. 5-6, midnight. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive. 678-495-1424.

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· GREASE (1978) (PG) If you missed hearing “Summer Nights” under a summer night’s sky at Screen on the Green, here’s another chance to catch an open-air viewing of the John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John musical. The adaptation of the silly Broadway show celebrates the 1950s so cheerfully, it makes “Happy Days” look like The Warriors. Cinema on the Square. Sat., Aug. 6, sundown. Decatur Square. Free. www.dekalbmedicalcenter.org.

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· MOTOR HOME MASSACRE (NR) This Atlanta-based production offers a tongue-in-cheek perspective on the venerable genre of slashers stalking horny teenagers. The soundtrack features local musicians the Truckadelics, Acres and Tapestry. Thurs., Aug. 4, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Lefont Plaza Theater, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. $6-$8. motorhomemassacre.com.

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· 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.

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· STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (PG-13) George Lucas gets his Sith together for the fast-paced, thematically dark and politically pointed final chapter of his space-opera saga. As Darth Vader-to-be, Hayden Christensen still comes across as a Hitler Youth Mark Hamill, but his adolescent-sized angst doesn’t diminish the film’s increasingly apocalyptic tone. Though the nonstop battle scenes (Droids! Wookies! Duplicitous heads of state!) make the film feel like an intense video game, the dark subject matter gives weight to the sci-fi swashbuckling. Area theaters, and Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival, Mon.-Tues., Aug. 8-9, 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. $7. 404-817-8700. www.foxtheatre.org. 4 stars.-- Holman

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· TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (R) “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone jerk the chain of every possible viewer in this overblown action flick and political satire entirely populated by wooden-headed marionettes. A globe-trotting, flag-waving U.S. anti-terrorist team provides an outrageous parody of American intervensionism, while outspoken left-wingers like Alec Baldwin receive equally savage treatment. Parker and Stone achieve their funniest jokes with dead-on lampoons of Hollywood shoot-em-ups, but Team America also serves as the ideal joke to defuse the bitterness of the current political climate. Drive Insanity, Sun., Aug. 7, dusk. Starlight Drive-In Theatre, 2000 Moreland Ave. $6. 404-627-5786. www.starlightdrivein.com. 4 stars. — Holman

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Continuing

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· APRES VOUS (R) In this goofy, escapist French black comedy Antoine (a delightful Daniel Auteuil) is a self-assured, respected waiter in an upscale French brassiere who rescues a despondent stranger Louis (Jose Garcia) from a suicide attempt and ends up thoroughly enmeshed in the man’s life. The well-intentioned Antoine eventually secures the bumbling depressive a job as the sommelier at his restaurant and even, disastrously, tries to reunite him with his former girlfriend. In the usual screwball comedy fashion, every good deed is rewarded with a domino effect of ensuing chaos, enough to drive even patient, decent Antoine to despair. 3 stars. — Felicia Feaster

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· BAD NEWS BEARS Hollywood’s penchant for recycling continues with this update of the 1976 film about a beer-guzzling guy (Walter Matthau) who turns a team of Little League misfits into contenders. Alas, the underdog angle has since suffered from overexposure, and in today’s anything-goes society, the sight of 12-year-olds cussing like sailors no longer carries any novelty — if anything, the incessant scatological humor in this new take grows tiresome. Billy Bob Thornton (in Bad Santa mode) is funny as the uncouth coach, though his character — harsher than Matthau’s — seems out of place in a movie that’s being positioned as a family film. 2 stars. — Matt Brunson

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· THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED (NR) The charismatic Romain Duris stars in this loose remake of the 1978 James Toback drama Fingers, as a thug who has dreams of escaping the dastardly criminal life to become a concert pianist. If it sounds like other classic Cinderella stories of lowbrow punks yearning for a piece of the high life, a la Flashdance, it’s for good reason. But in the case of Jacques Audiard’s film, besides a preposterous story, viewers are going to have to swallow some over-stylized artfulness and the film’s unappealing tendency to take itself far too seriously. 2 stars. — Feaster

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· BEWITCHED (PG-13) As a fading movie star, Will Ferrell insists on casting an unthreatening amateur actress (a likably girlish Nicole Kidman) to play supernatural Samantha to his befuddled Darrin in an updated “Bewitched” sitcom — not realizing that she really is a witch trying to pass as human. Co-writer/director Nora Ephron makes the most of a talented cast (including many hip supporting players from “The Daily Show”) and some fitfully funny showbiz satire. But rather than push the film’s post-modern possibilities in exciting directions, Ephron falls back on the chick-flick courtship cliches she helped set in stone with films like Sleepless in Seattle. 2 stars.-- Holman

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· CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (PG) Tim Burton’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s hallucinatory children’s story makes a vast improvement on the clunky 1971 version with Gene Wilder as the kid-sadist Willy Wonka. Managing scathing commentary on contemporary permissive parenting, this Charlie follows four brats and one near-cherub (Freddie Highmore) on a tour through the phantasmagorical factory of Johnny Depp’s chocolatier. Burton’s film is a mad-capped riff on the cornpone head shop comedy of Willy Wonka, but goes much further in its hilarious send-up of the equally psychedelic, excessive qualities of film history, from Busby Berkeley musicals to film noir and Stanley Kubrick. 4 stars.-- Feaster

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· CINDERELLA MAN (PG-13) Like Seabiscuit with Russell Crowe playing the inspirational racehorse, only in this case he’s Jimmy Braddock, a Depression-era boxer who endures economic deprivation to achieve one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. The first 45 or so minutes amount to little more than pious sludge, with Renee Zellweger scrunching her face up cutely as Braddock’s loving, concerned wife. Once Braddock’s comeback starts, though, Cinderella Man finds both a sense of humor and a terrific screen villain in strutting heavyweight champ Max Baer (Craig Bierko). The story and Crowe’s performance both find snap and swagger in its high-impact boxing scenes. 3 stars. — Holman

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· CRASH (R) Writer/director Paul Haggis (whose Million Dollar Baby script won an Oscar) presents one of those sprawling multi-character films set in Southern California, only it emphasizes racism as the unifying element. Both thought-provokingly relevant and shamelessly manipulative, Crash presents a simmering melting pot of frustrated Los Angelenos waiting to take out their rage on the first person of a different color who crosses their path. The engrossing scenes and dedicated actors (including Don Cheadle in the central role as an honest LAPD detective) make up for Crash’s heavy-handed storytelling. 3 stars.-- Holman

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· DARK WATER (PG-13) An emotionally fragile divorcee (Jennifer Connelly) and her young daughter (Ariel Gade) move into a decrepit New York apartment that just might be haunted. As far as American remakes of Japanese horror flicks go, this one’s better than either The Ring or The Grudge, trading in cheap thrills for psychological brooding. Ironically, the horror angle isn’t nearly as compelling as the other topics explored by director Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) and scripter Rafael Yglesias (Fearless), among them parental anxiety, urban decay and the indifference of strangers. Connelly anchors this with a strong performance, though the film is stolen by supporting players Pete Postlethwaite, Tim Roth and especially John C. Reilly. 3 stars. — Brunson

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· THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (R) The wait is over: Musician Rob Zombie has written and directed another movie, taking up where House of 1000 Corpses left off. I guess House of 1001 Corpses wasn’t as good a title.

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· FANTASTIC FOUR (PG-13) Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis star in a tale of four “imaginauts” who survive an accident in outer space, only to be granted super powers. Although director Tim Story, of Barbershop fame, tweaked Marvel Comics’ original, Cold War-tinged comic book, the film stays surprisingly faithful. And while it serves up loads of CGI-laden action sequences, the hilarious performances by Chris Evans and tender moments provided by Chiklis really make this movie fantastic. 3 stars.-- Carlton Hargro

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· HAPPY ENDINGS (R) The latest entry in the booming genre of sprawling, interlocking tales of disparate Los Angelenos focuses on, in humorist Dave Barry’s phrase, “Babies and other hazards of sex.” The cast includes Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan and Tom Arnold as smart, unsatisfied people wrestling with parental instincts and sexual attraction. Maggie Gyllenhaal nearly rescues the film as a coquettish film fatale, but writer-director Don Roos’ arch narrative keeps the audience firmly at a distance from the characters’ feelings. 2 stars. — Holman

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· HEIGHTS (R) Not bad for a freshman effort, former Ismail Merchant apprentice Chris Terrio follows a group of neurotic New Yorkers as their lives intertwine like angel hair pasta. The performances are strong and the film captures the grass-is-always-greener aphrodisiac character of metropolitan life, where every unhappiness seems easily answered by the infatuation around the corner. 3 stars. — Feaster

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· HERBIE: FULLY LOADED (PG) This automotive comedy harks back to the era when “The Love Bug” made us think of sentient Volkswagen beetles, not sexually transmitted diseases. Lindsay Lohan plays a spunky girl whose smart car becomes an unlikely NASCAR contender.

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· HUSTLE & FLOW Writer-director Craig Brewer mixes a heady cocktail of pimp life and crunk hip-hop in one of the best films of 2005 — and arguably the most honest, eye-opening screen portrayal of rap music ever made. Terrence Howard gives a sensitive, complex performance as Djay, a two-bit Memphis pimp and pusher who sees hip-hop as his last chance to escape criminal life. We don’t sympathize with him, exactly, but Hustle & Flow doesn’t do justice to Djay’s contradictions: talented artist, exploiter of women, melancholy soul. Brewer captures the infectious thrill of musical creation in Djay’s makeshift recording sessions (you’ll find yourself singing along to his song “Whoop That Trick”) and even generates nail-biting suspense when he tries to win the favor of rap star Skinny Black (played with appropriate arrogance by Atlanta’s Ludacris). 4 stars. — Holman

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· IMAX THEATER: The Living Sea (NR) Humpback whales, golden jellyfish and giant clams star in this documentary about the diversity of undersea life, with music by Sting and narrated by Meryl Streep. Mystery of the Nile (NR) this IMAX adventure follows a small group of reporters and filmmakers as they travel 3,000 miles up the Nile river. Fernbank Museum of Natural History IMAX Theater, 767 Clifton Road. 404-929-6300. www.fernbank.edu.

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· THE ISLAND (PG-13) Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson play the childlike citizens of a futuristic community who become fugitives when they discover their sinister origins. The style-over-substance instincts of director Michael Bay (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) prove highly effective in the paranoia-inducing first half set in a chillingly controlled, sterile society. But the second half trades the script’s moodiness and provocative ideas for the thud and blunder of standard-issue action flicks, as if the heroes escaped onto the set of Bad Boys 2. 3 stars.-- Holman

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· LADIES IN LAVENDER (PG-13) Two elderly sisters find a handsome Polish man (Daniel Brühl) washed up on the shoreline near their bungalow on the remote Cornish seaside in the 1930s and nurse him back to health. This low-key, gentle character study, the directorial debut from actor Charles Dance, has a tendency to periodically peter out, losing focus and momentum, but the performances by Maggie Smith and Judi Dench as the two lonely, bickering sisters bring a degree of psychological urgency to this tender, understated film. 3 stars. — Feaster

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· LILA SAYS (R) A blonde teen (Vahina Giocante) with an angelic body and a dirty mouth throws a young, restless Muslim man (Mohammed Khouas) for a loop in Marseilles. This sumptuously photographed film (directed by Quentin Tarantino’s cinematographer Ziad Doueiri) alternates between dreamy sexual attraction and uneasy post-9/11 cultural tension, and may offer a metaphor for the kind of social frustrations that lead to unjustifiable brutality, whether terrorism or something closer to home. 4 stars.-- Holman

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· MADAGASCAR (PG) Four pampered Central Park Zoo animals become fish out of water when a series of mishaps maroon them on the jungle isle of Madagascar. When Ben Stiller’s Alex the Lion finds himself increasingly ravenous and views best pal Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock) as prey, the computer-animated comedy briefly finds a premise to sink its teeth into. Mostly, though, Madagascar follows Dreamworks’ habit of emphasizing big-name voice actors and predictable pop references instead of strong plots and characters. 2 stars.-- Holman

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· MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (G) This French documentary, a kind of inferior, non-flying version of Winged Migration, concerns the annual migration of Antarctica’s Emperor penguins from their bachelor digs across inhospitable climes to their mating grounds. The doc features adorable birds, cloying, hard-to-take narration from Morgan Freeman and the not exactly original assessment that nature is cruel. 2 stars. — Feaster

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· ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (R) Performance artist and filmmaker Miranda July’s debut film has garnered awards at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals, though its mixture of saccharine sweetness and sordid sexual provocation makes for a very overspiced brew. In this quirky, deadpan love story, geeky video artist Christine (July) falls for recently separated geeky shoe salesman Richard (John Hawkes). Like a feel-good Todd Solondz, July interweaves into that spazzy romance countless poetic moments that range from the keenly observed to the self-consicously precious. 2 stars. — Feaster

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· MR. & MRS. SMITH (PG-13) Tabloid-fueling hottie movie stars (and supposedly just friends) Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play bored spouses who turn out to be assassins unaware of each other’s true occupation. True Lies and The Incredibles beat this film to the punch by using secret identities as metaphors for marital tension. Like those recordings in Mission Impossible, the movie erases itself from your memory, but both actors prove in good form, and thanks to some smart, supple filmmaking from Go director Doug Liman, it’s fun to keep up with the Smiths. 3 stars.-- Holman

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· MURDERBALL (R) Eschewing the usual pity party of films about disability, this award winning Sundance documentary about Team USA quadriplegic rugby players preparing for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece conveys the sport’s violent, rough -and-tumble nature. The testosterone feeding frenzy of the rugby matches where Team USA and their bitter rivals Team Canada duke it out is rendered with a ripping, stylish fury. But it’s when directors Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro probe deeper into these men’s lives that you see how much of their fighting spirit and determination occurs far beyond the extreme sports battleground. Though it ropes you in with the sports, Murderball tends to buck the feel-good and good guy-bad guy arc of that genre. Everyone, after all, goes home with his own cross to bear, victory or no victory. 4 stars. — Feaster

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· MUST LOVE DOGS Many of the elements that have made the contemporary romantic comedy such a grueling, formulaic experience are present in Must Love Dogs, and yet the movie nonetheless will work for those willing to surrender to its dreamy passion. Diane Lane, so beautiful that it almost hurts to look at her, plays a recent divorcee who takes a chance on meeting single men who contact her through an Internet dating service. John Cusack, so adorable that even heterosexual men might feel inclined to give him a big bear hug, portrays Jake Anderson, one of her prospective suitors. You either buy into this fantasy or you don’t — me, I happily wallowed in it. 3 stars. — Brunson

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· SKY HIGH Better than Fantastic Four but falling far short of The Incredibles, Sky High is yet another feature film that centers on a family of superheroes. Here, teen Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano), tries to live up to the expectations of his parents, superhero legends The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston), by excelling in school. As long as Sky High tweaks the superhero genre, it remains on solid ground, thanks to savvy dialogue and smart casting (Former Wonder Woman Lynda Carter appears as the school principal). But whenever the movie gets distracted by the conventions of the typical teen flick, it becomes a pale imitation of Mean Girls, Clueless and half the John Hughes oeuvre. 3 stars. — Brunson

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· STEALTH (PG-13) Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx, joined by Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel, slums it in this clumsy Top Gun-meets-the-Terminator tale of military technology gone awry. Awkwardly mixing cute actors with a gaggle of badly rendered CGI, Stealth seems like the bastard child of a formula-centric marketing department. 1 star.-- Hargro

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· THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (PG-13) A deadbeat dad (Tom Cruise) learns to be an attentive, protective father when alien war machines attack the American heartland. Director Steven Spielberg uses a sci-fi action premise comparable to Jurassic Park or Close Encounters of the Third Kind to air some serious themes about how a catastrophe brings out the best and worst in Americans. Imagery reminiscent of 9/11 abounds, and Spielberg’s command of terrifying set pieces remains unequaled, yet the script feels thinner than it should be and the “easy” resolutions make the end of the world feel oddly inconsequential. 3 stars. — Holman

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· WEDDING CRASHERS (R) Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) and John (Owen Wilson) spend their weekends crashing weddings in a search for Ms. Right Now, but trouble strikes when the duo ends up falling for their prey. Although Wilson and Vaughn provide loads of snappy banter, Crashers just can’t seem to consistently sustain the laughs. Ultimately, the film comes across as a great setup without a satisfying punch line. 2 stars. — Hargro