Thursday, May 15, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film shorts

Anger Management

1/2 star (PG-13, 101 min.) Adam Sandler is sentenced to anger therapy with a patently certifiable Jack Nicholson. Cue sophomoric jokes. Director Peter Segal isn't mediocre; a mess of this magnitude requires total incompetence. With Heather Graham, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei.--JC

Bend It Like Beckham

1 star (PG-13, 112 min.) Call it "My big formulaic Sikh soccer romance." London teen Parminder Nagra ignores preparations for sister Archie Panjabi's wedding to join a women's soccer team coached by hunk Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. With it's "worthy" multicultural theme, Gurinda Chadha's feel-good mix of sports flick and culture-clash satire is the painful epitome of "crowd-pleaser." With Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson.--AA

Better Luck Tomorrow

3 1/2 stars (R, 98 min.) Writer-director Justin Lin triumphantly debunks Asian-American stereotypes with a cohesive, multilayered picture of SoCal youth cracking under pressure. Featuring a breakthrough performance by Parry Shen as an overachieving high schooler seeking to escape his exhausting routine with diversions including money, drugs, sex and violence, this entertaining, enlightening film provokes the kind of open-ended plot questions that Hollywood discourages. With John Cho.--MP

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

Bulletproof Monk

1 star (PG-13, 103 min.) Chow Yun-Fat presents protege Seann William Scott with an age-old philosophical conundrum: Why do hot dogs come in packs of 10, while buns come in packs of eight? Like the rest of Paul Hunter's cut-price martial arts adventure, the answer isn't worth waiting for.--AA

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. Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere might not be ready for the stage, but their 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

Confidence

2 stars (R, 97 min.) What's Dustin Hoffman doing in James Foley's plodding con trick drama? The mere Method twitch of his eyebrow is enough to overpower a film that remains watchable thanks to Ed Burns' affable presence as a grifter ripping off shady banker Robert Forster. Doug Jung's convoluted script is contrived, formulaic and over obvious. With Morris Chestnut, Andy Garcia, Luis Guzman, Rachel Weisz.--AA

Daddy Day Care

2 stars (PG, 93 min.) With its blend of Mr. Mom and Kindergarten Cop storylines, Steve Carr's comedy could've been a delight. But this formula piece wastes the talents of Eddie Murphy, Anjelica Huston and Steve Zahn and rookie screenwriter Geoff Rodkey relies on Child Magazine models with issues that are neatly, speedily resolved. Have a snack and a nap instead.--TM

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

Ghosts of the Abyss

2 stars (G, 59 min.) James Cameron coasts on past glory with a 3-D large-format documentary charting multiple 12,000-foot dives to "excavate" the Titanic's corpse, using high-tech aquatic cameras. Plenty of belief-defying shots, but the subject has become so uninteresting. Narrated by Bill Paxton.--MP

The Good Thief

4 stars (R, 109 min.) Neil Jordan's big bet (remaking Jean-Pierre Melville's revered casino heist classic Bob le flambeur) pays off handsomely, thanks to granite-faced, gravel-voiced Nick Nolte as a junkie who joins Gerard Darmon's scheme to rob a Monaco casino. Only marred by weird editing (distracting freeze frames) and zero chemistry between Nolte and love interest Nutsa Kukhianidze. A richly nuanced portrait of the French Riviera's melange of Mediterranean sparkle, fading glamour and seething underbelly of drugs, prostitution and illegal immigration. With Ralph Fiennes, Tcheky Karyo, Emir Kusturica.--AA

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

Haunted Castle

Not reviewed (PG, 38 min.) Aspiring rock star Jasper Steverlinck visits dead mom's spooky English mansion and learns that rock 'n' roll really is the devil's music, in this 2001 3-D Imax horror flick from Belgian director Ben Stassen (1999's Alien Adventure).--AA

Holes

3 1/2 stars (PG, 117 min.) Shia LeBeouf digs big holes at a Texas juvenile detention camp run by Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voight. Andrew Davis brings Louis Sachar's 1998 teen novel to the screen with its charm, teasing plot and sardonic humor miraculously intact. Satisfyingly weird. With Patricia Arquette, Eartha Kitt, Henry Winkler.--AA

House of 1000 Corpses

Not reviewed (R, 88 min.) After their car breaks down, two couples are stranded in a creepy old house. Murder, cannibalism and satanic rituals ensue. Shock rocker Rob Zombie makes his writing-directing debut with a schlock horror gorefest starring Karen Black, Sid Haig and Michael J. Pollard.--AA

Identity

1 1/2 stars (R, 90 min.) Don't John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet and seven other dimwits know you never check into a lonely Nevada motel during a thunderstorm? James Mangold's mangled attempt to mix Psycho with And Then There Were None goes horribly wrong because Michael Cooney's script undermines the suspense by revealing a big plot twist after an hour. With Rebecca DeMornay, Alfred Molina, Pruitt Taylor Vince.--AA

It Runs in the Family

Not reviewed (PG-13, 109 min.) Nepotism rules as Michael Douglas emulates Jane Fonda (who reconciled with Henry in On Golden Pond) by acting with dad Kirk on screen for the first time. Fred Schepisi's "comedy," also starring Mike's mom Diana, son Cameron and Bernadette Peters, follows the attempt by members of a dysfunctional New York family to reconcile their differences.--AA

The Lawless Heart

4 stars (R, 86 min.) Three men mourn the death of a restaurateur (David Coffey): deceptively composed lover Tom Hollander, ebullient boyhood friend Douglas Henshall and disgruntled brother-in-law Bill Nighy. With a Rashomon-like structure and reserved resonance, British filmmakers Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter have fashioned a story with three emotional arcs, that simultaneously adjusts our perceptions of the characters while increasing the complexity of their relationships.--JC

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

1 1/2 stars (PG, 94 min.) Gratingly perky Hilary Duff is mistaken for Italian pop star Yani Gellman's partner. Cue Roman Holiday travelogue footage and "embarrassing, awkward and downright humiliating moments." Only Alex Borstein rescues Jim Fall's condescending Disney Channel spinoff with her hissing contempt for the "mouth-breathing trailer trash" who'll doubtless form its audience. With Robert Carradine.--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 as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf and outstanding CGI effects. A terrific cinematic achievement. 2 Oscars: sound editing, visual effects.--GS

Malibu's Most Wanted

Not reviewed. (PG-13, 80 min.) Wannabe rapper Jamie Kennedy's hip-hop persona threatens dad Ryan O'Neal's bid for governor, so spin doctor Blair Underwood hires actors Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson to teach him a lesson. Bo Derek, Snoop Dogg and Regina Hall co-star in John Whitesell's "comedy."--AA

A Mighty Wind

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 91 min.) The latest mockumentary by Christopher Guest (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman) takes aim at a folk tribute concert. Each act scheduled to reunite--the Folksmen (Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer) and especially headliner duo Mitch & Mickey (Guest's co-writer Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara)--must contend with old issues and newfound obscurity. Nothing is truly ridiculous because nothing is being ridiculed, making both characters and film more believable than you'd expect.--MP

Phone Booth

3 stars (R, 81 min.) In a Manhattan phone booth, a voice informs Colin Farrell that if he hangs up, he's dead. Joel Schumacher's flimsy thriller whizzes along with surprising energy and focus. Farrell is believably terrified and as a cop, Forest Whitaker lends substance to a generic role. More fun than it deserves to be. With Katie Holmes, Radha Mitchell.--JC

Piglet's Big Movie

Not reviewed (G, 75 min.) Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore help to find Piglet, in Disney's animated follow-up to The Tigger Movie, featuring A.A. Milne's beloved characters.--AA

Russian Ark

4 1/2 stars (NR, 96 min.) Alexander Sokurov vaults filmgoers into a celluloid netherworld of uncommon splendor with his sweeping tour of St. Petersburg's Hermitage museum shot in one glorious extended take. Potentially soporific and abstract, the film's technical audacity is matched by its weighty theme (the history of the Russian state from Peter the Great to the present). Sokurov's melancholy philosophizing is juxtaposed with the haughtiness of black-clad stranger Sergei Dreiden, who's transfixed by the people he meets and the myriad masterworks that beckon through the immaculate rooms.--RC

Space Station

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

Spun

2 1/2 stars (NR, 96 min.) Speed freak Jason Schwartzman goes on a three-day crystal meth bender involving dealers John Leguizamo and Mickey Rourke, Rourke's gal Brittany Murphy, enraged lover Chloe Hunter, and feisty neighbor Debbie Harry. The profanity-laced script, Billy Corgan's eerie soundtrack, and music video director Jonas Akerlund's frenzied filmmaking style puts a quirky spin on the usual drug-addled suspects. But it doesn't achieve the vomit-inducing impact of Requiem for a Dream. With Patrick Fugit, Eric Roberts, Mena Suvari.--AA

What a Girl Wants

1 star (PG, 95 min.) New York teen Amanda Bynes disrupts English dad Colin Firth's stuffy social scene. Dennie Gordon's remake of The Reluctant Debutante makes a bad satire worse. Not even Firth's charisma can rescue this schmaltzfest. With Oliver James, Kelly Preston, Jonathan Pryce.--AA

X2: X-Men United

3 stars (PG-13, 135 min.) Director Bryan Singer's seesaw act in 2000's X-Men (blowing stuff up without dumbing down the film), works in the sequel whose narrative parallels our current international travails. After a White House attack by embittered mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) unite to stop hawkish Gen. Stryker's (Brian Cox) genocidal plans. Subplots involve mutant teens and an exploration of Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) past. A fairly smart adventure movie. With Halle Berry (Storm), Famke Janssen (Dr. Jean Grey), James Marsden (Cyclops), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique), Aaron Stanford (Pyro).--MP

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