Thursday, April 03, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film shorts

About Schmidt

5 stars (R, 125 min.) Jack Nicholson is getting better with age. As a newly retired insurance salesman unhappily looking back on his life, he loses most of his Jackisms to supply a frighteningly real character. Once more, Election director Alexander Payne proves he's a maestro of dark comedy, with a film both funny and scary. With Kathy Bates, Dermot Mulroney.--BG

Agent Cody Banks

2 stars (PG, 95 min.) Frankie Muniz (Big Fat Liar) again fails to achieve big-screen stardom as a miniature 007 trained by the CIA. Harald Zwart's sad Spy Kids/James Bond hybrid completely lacks humor and stylistic charm.--BG

Basic

3 stars (R, 95 min.) After Sgt. Samuel L. Jackson is killed during a Special Forces training exercise, John Travolta and Connie Nielsen investigate. With its many surprise twists, John McTiernan's attempt to recover from two disastrous Norman Jewison remakes (The Thomas Crown Affair, Rollerball) will have moviegoers struggling for a glimpse of its labyrinthine plot. But Travolta is a swaggering dream of hip-swinging narcissism and sexual charm. With Harry Connick Jr., Brian Van Holt, Giovanni Ribisi.--JC

Boat Trip

Not reviewed (R, 93 min.) Due to a travel agent's prank, bachelors Cuba Gooding Jr. and Horatio Sanz find themselves aboard a cruise ship reserved for gay men. Debut director Mort Nathan's "comedy" was panned by British critics as "puerile," "mirthless" and "offensive to gays and straights and everyone else with a brain." With Vivica A. Fox, Roger Moore.--AA

Bringing Down the House

1 1/2 stars (PG-13, 105 min.) Steve Martin and Queen Latifah can't save Adam Shankman's insulting mess about a tight-assed lawyer helping an ex-con clear her name. All sorts of warm and fuzzy racial slurs are thrown in our faces.--BG

Catch Me If You Can

5 stars (PG-13, 140 min.) Leonardo DiCaprio is charming and charismatic as scam artist Frank Abagnale Jr. With Christopher Walken as his loyal father and Tom Hanks as the FBI man pursuing him. Steven Spielberg's film is flamboyant without being hammy, expressive without the melodrama.--MP

Chicago

4 stars (PG-13, 113 min.) Rob Marshall brings the Bob Fosse/John Kander/Fred Ebb musical to the big screen with 14 brilliantly envisioned song-and-dance numbers. Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere might not be ready for the stage, but their capable voices shine within the constructs of a motion picture. Maybe too slick and tidy, but always entertaining. 6 Oscars: picture, supporting actress Zeta-Jones, art direction, costumes, editing, sound.--MP

The Core

Not reviewed (PG-13, 135 min.) Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank journey to the center of the Earth to avert doomsday. Vegas' own junketeering quote whore Jeff Howard claims Jon Amiel's disaster pic has "enough thrills to las moviegoers a lifetime!" Viewers with enough brain cells to take heed might like to stay away. With Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci.--AA

Cradle 2 the Grave

3 1/2 stars (R, 100 min.) Jet Li finally gets it right in an American movie, as a Taiwanese Intelligence man helping thief DMX rescue his kidnapped daughter. A sci-fi subplot almost wrecks it, but Andrzej Bartkowiak's film is a decent meathead of a movie. Top-notch action, admirable camerawork and a nice soundtrack. With Tom Arnold, Gabrielle Union.--BG

Daredevil

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 96 min.) Ben Affleck plays Matt Murdock, compassionate lawyer by day, vengeful vigilante in red leather by night. Managing to avoid sucking while staying true to the story of the blind Marvel comic superhero, Mark Steven Johnson's film can sit on the shelf beside Spider-Man without embarrassment. With Michael Clarke Duncan, Jennifer Garner.--FMC

Dreamcatcher

3 1/2 stars (R, 134 min.) Damian Lewis, Thomas Jane, Timothy Olyphant and Jason Lee face strange things in the snowy Maine woods. From Stephen King's novel, director Lawrence Kasdan and co-writer William Goldman have made half a good thriller. The discursive story revisits a gaggle of King obsessions (childhood friendship, bodysnatching aliens, telepathy and car crashes) but quickly degenerates into a bloody mess. With Morgan Freeman, Tom Sizemore.--AA

Frida

2 1/2 stars (R, 103 min.) Salma Hayek plays Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in Julie Taymor's eager-to-please biopic that rarely serves its audience, let alone Kahlo's legacy. While Hayek nails some moments of fire, agony and wit, her treatment of Kahlo's idealistic side is hamfisted. 2 Oscars: score, makeup.--MP

Gangs of New York

5 stars (R, 168 min.) Martin Scorsese proves he remains one of cinema's best directors with this sprawling epic about the clash of rival gangs in 19th century New York. Daniel Day-Lewis is a marvel as Bill the Butcher, a knife-wielding, anti-immigrant "Nativist." Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as a greasy hoodlum seeking revenge for the death of his father (Liam Neeson). With Cameron Diaz.--BG

Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets

2 stars (NR, 40 min.) Kieth Merrill's 1984 Imax movie mixes spectacular footage with a brief history lesson about early explorers John Wesley Powell and Garcia de Cardenas.--AA

Head of State

No stars (PG-13, 95 min.) Chris Rock is suffering delusions of grandeur. Instead of sticking with standup, he insists on inflicting unfunny films on us. Pootie Tang was abysmal. Rock's directorial debut, in which he plays an unlikely presidential candidate, is worse. With Tamala Jones, Bernie Mac, James Rebhorn.--AA

The Hours

5 stars (PG-13, 113 min.) Three compelling stories set in three different time periods comprise Stephen Daldry's staggeringly beautiful film, adapted by David Hare from Michael Cunningham's novel. Nicole Kidman is heartbreaking as author Virginia Woolf; Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep are equally brilliant as two women cosmically tied to her novel Mrs Dalloway. Great filmmaking. Oscar: actress Kidman.--BG

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

2 stars (PG-13, 116 min.) Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are a decent screen couple, but Donald Petrie's romantic comedy is confused and corny. The screenplay craps out and becomes your average stupid Meg Ryan romance. --BG

The Hunted

1 star (R, 94 min.) In William Friedkin's illogical chase flick, nature-loving misanthrope Tommy Lee Jones (an unlikely amalgam of Capt. Ahab and Johnny Appleseed) pursues former disciple-turned-killer Benicio Del Toro (who sounds like Ted Kaczynski brainwashed by PETA) in the Pacific Northwest. A muddled mess of pristine wilderness photography, B-movie histrionics and hackneyed themes of frontier survival. --RC

The Jungle Book 2

Not reviewed (G, 72 min.) After 36 years, Disney delivers a sequel to Wolfgang Reitherman's 1967 hit, based on Rudyard Kipling's stories. Voices include John Goodman and Haley Joel Osment.

The Lion King

4 stars (G, 88 min.) The Imax edition of Disney's beloved 1994 animated musical boasts stunningly sharp images and a remastered soundtrack beautifully highlighting the stentorian tones of James Earl Jones, Hans Zimmer's score and the Elton John/Tim Rice songs.--AA

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

5 stars (PG-13, 179 min.) While this reviewer has a few "geek" quibbles, this continuation of Tolkien's grand adventure still qualifies as the best film of 2002. Further proof that director Peter Jackson is the right man for the job. With Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and outstanding CGI effects. A terrific cinematic achievement. 2 Oscars: sound editing, visual effects.--GS

Old School

3 1/2 stars (R, 91 min.) Those in dire need of a Will Ferrell fix, this one's for you. Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Ferrell start a fraternity willing to accept anyone as a member. Director Todd Phillips (Road Trip) follows in the great tradition of Caddyshack and Animal House with a film that's vulgar yet good-natured.--BG

The Pianist

4 stars (R, 148 min.) Holocaust survivor Roman Polanski is a natural to film the story of concert pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman (brilliantly played by Adrien Brody). Instead of going into the death camps, the film focuses on Szpilman's survival in the Warsaw ghetto, his dedication to living and his muse. With Thomas Kretschmann. 3 Oscars: actor Brody, director Polanski, adapted screenplay Ronald Harwood.--MP

Piglet's Big Movie

Not reviewed (G, 75 min.) When Piglet runs away from home, his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore, set out to find him. John Fiedler, Jim Cummings and Peter Cullen provide the voices for Disney's animated follow-up to 2000's The Tigger Movie, featuring A.A. Milne's beloved characters and new songs by Carly Simon.--AA

The R.M.

1/2 star (PG, 100 min.) Mormon missionary Kirby Heyborne returns to civilization (Salt Lake City) from some godforsaken hellhole (Wyoming). Kurt Hale's unforgivably offensive follow-up to The Singles Ward purports to poke gentle fun at the Latter-Day Saints, but the antediluvian humor unwittingly reveals a skewed, sanctimonious world view.--AA

The Safety of Objects

4 stars (R, 120 min.) Rose Troche makes the pampered characters from A.M. Homes' short stories less pathological and more humane. The result is a beautiful, heartbreaking display of pain, humor and tears that ponders our modern concept of paradise (an afflient American suburb), spotlighting the messy idiosyncrasies that lurk beneath its shiny surface. Neither as hysterical as American Beauty nor as misanthropic as Happiness, this lovely film adopts a tone both scalding and compassionate. Troche orchestrates her cast (including Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney and Mary Kay Place) with marvelous precision.--RC

Shanghai Knights

1 1/2 stars (PG-13, 114 min.) In David Dobkin's irritating Shanghai Noon sequel, Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson head for England where they confront Queen Victoria and Jack the Ripper, and befriend a street urchin named Charlie Chaplin. Even Chan's fight scenes are lame.--BG

Space Station

2 stars (NR, 47 min.) Though the 3D footage in Toni Myers' Imax film is spectacular, Tom Cruise's anodyne narration studiously glosses over the fact that the $28 billion international space station is proving to be NASA's most expensive orbiting white elephant ever.--AA

Spirited Away

5 stars. (PG, 125 min.) Princess Mononoke master Hayao Miyazaki's animated adventure takes some time to find its groove and make you care about the characters. But when it does, this two-hour-plus ride whizzes by. Chihiro, the film's protagonist, is the most compelling animated character to grace the screen since Hogarth from The Iron Giant. Oscar: animated film.--MP

Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones

1 star (PG,119 min.) "What did I do to deserve this?" moans C-3PO. The Imax version of George Lucas' sci-fi monstrosity is shorter than the theatrical print, cropped to fit the screen and magnifies the digital imperfections (pixellation, fuzzy focus). Not an improvement. With Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman. 2 Razzies: Worst supporting actor Hayden Christensen, screenplay.--AA

Tears of the Sun

4 stars (R, 118 min.) In Antoine Fuqua's thriller, Navy SEAL commander Bruce Willis has a crisis of conscience while on a mission to rescue a doctor (Monica Bellucci) from war-torn Nigeria. Critics who say this is Willis' best action flick since Die Hard aren't far off.--FMC

Two Weeks Notice

2 stars (PG-13, 100 min.) Sandra Bullock needs to stop making the same movie over and over again. This time she stars as an attorney for spoiled rich land developer Hugh Grant, who eventually becomes a love interest in pure Bullock movie style. If you've seen other Bullock flicks like While You Were Sleeping and Miss Congeniality, you've already seen this one.--FMC

View from the Top

2 stars (PG-13, 87 min.) Gwyneth Paltrow, Mike Myers and Candice Bergen star in Bruno Barreto's mildly humorous yarn about a Nevada salesgirl who longs to be a flying waitress. Eric Wald's script feels like it was penned in the '60s: Stewardesses haven't looked this immaculate, sexy or thrilled with their jobs since Airplane! --JC

Reviews by: AA: Anthony Allison; BG: Bob Grimm; FMC: Full Metal Critic; GS: Geoff Schumacher; JC: Jeannette Catsoulis; MP: Mike Prevatt; RC: Robert Chancey