Thursday, November 27, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film shorts

The Big Empty

2 stars (R, 94 min.) Average guy Jon Favreau agrees to deliver a mysterious suitcase to trucker Sean Bean in Baker, Calif. From there, everything gets bizarre, with a local Lolita (Rachael Leigh Cook), her psychotic boyfriend (Adam Beach) and a town consumed with UFO theories. Steve Anderson's formulaic film isn't a mix of David Lynch, Carl Sagan and Elmore Leonard. It has neither complexity nor depth, just weirdness for the sake of weirdness. With Bud Cort, Daryl Hannah.--NB

Brother Bear

1 1/2 stars (G, 85 min.) Disney's witless hokum about an Inuit boy (voiced by Joaquin Phoenix) who becomes a man by becoming a bear (huh?) is another nail in the coffin of traditional animation. Phil Collins' songs are banal and the switch from standard format to widescreen looks odd. With Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas.--AA

The Cat in the Hat

Not reviewed (PG, 138 min.) Mike Myers is the mischievous, 6-foot feline in the stovepipe hat in this live-action film of the beloved 1957 children's book by Dr. Seuss (a.k.a. Theodor S. Geisel). Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer scripted Men in Black production designer Bo Welch's directorial debut. Co-starring Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston, Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin.--AA

Elf

3 stars (PG, 97 min.) Thanks to rookie screenwriter David Berenbaum's droll script, Jon Favreau's comedy, with Will Ferrell as a human raised at the North Pole who seeks his dad (James Caan) in Manhattan, is a Christmas flick both adults and kids can enjoy. Zooey Deschanel reveals an angelic singing voice and Bob Newhart adopts the perfect deadpan tone. With Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner, Peter Dinklage.--AA

Everest

3 1/2 stars (NR, 44 min.) Co-directed by David Breashears, this superb 1998 Imax film chronicles the disastrous 1996 climbing season when eight climbers perished in a freak storm on the world's highest peak. Narrated by Liam Neeson.--AA

Gothika

1/2 star (R, 100 min.) What Halle Berry and French arthouse director Mathieu Kassovitz are doing with a murky, women-in-prison movie is anyone's guess, but this melodramatic trash is unintentionally funny. Berry is unconvincing as a criminal psychologist in an asylum who's accused of killing husband Charles Dutton. With Penélope Cruz, Robert Downey, Jr.--JC

The Human Stain

1 1/2 stars (R, 106 min.) Earnestly adapted by Nicholas Meyer from Philip Roth's seething novel, Robert Benton's inert movie is so ill-conceived it's laughable. Accepting Anthony Hopkins as an African American passing as a white, Jewish professor and Nicole Kidman as an illiterate milkmaid-cum-janitor are obstacles a great script, imaginative director and ingenious makeup artist could have overcome. But Benton has managed to silence Roth's incendiary voice completely. With Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Wentworth Miller, Jacinda Barrett.--JC

Intolerable Cruelty

3 stars (PG-13, 109 min.) George Clooney is in top comic form as a divorce lawyer who falls for Catherine Zeta-Jones' gorgeous gold digger. But despite the stars' sizzling chemistry, Joel and Ethan Coen's breezy sex comedy is just a mildly entertaining social satire. With Billy Bob Thornton.--AA

Love Actually

2 1/2 stars (R, 135 min.) Emma Thompson thinks husband Alan Rickman is having an affair. Thomas Sangster tells grieving stepdad Liam Neeson he's infatuated with a classmate. Aging rock star Bill Nighy calls his latest single a "festering turd." Notting Hill writer Richard Curtis' directorial debut isn't a total turd. But its nuggets of emotional gold drown in a sea of schmaltz. The epitome of a Christmas crowdpleaser. With Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Laura Linney.--AA

Kill Bill Vol. 1

3 1/2 stars (R, 110 min.) Quentin Tarantino's over-hyped homage to spaghetti Westerns and martial arts revenge movies is stunning but superficial. Attacked on her wedding day, the Bride (Uma Thurman) seeks vengeance from killers Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah and their leader (David Carradine). The Bride is no more than an athletic killing machine. Hip, harrowing vision of mindless violence on female terms, from the ultimate film geek guy.--TM

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

2 stars (PG, 90 min.) Joe Dante's comedy, with Daffy Duck insisting he's sick of playing second banana to Bugs Bunny, is an initially unappealing live action/animated flick that learns to love itself midway through. Jenna Elfman and Steve Martin remain dreadfully unfunny, but Brendan Fraser and Joan Cusack hit the appropriate loopy note. With Timothy Dalton.--TM

Lost in Translation

4 1/2 stars (R, 105 min.) Sofia Coppola's Tokyo drama observes the chance connection of two dislocated souls reaching out from opposite ends of shaky marriages: fiftysomething actor Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, wife of workaholic photographer Giovanni Ribisi. A film about how traveling alone encourages introspection and how temporariness heightens experience.--JC

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 138 min.) Russell Crowe aims for Oscar booty again in Peter Weir's splendid maritime adventure, set in 1805, that beautifully depicts what life was like on an English man-of-war. But not even his formidable presence can turn a shallow sea story, based on Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels, into an epic of depth. Englishman Paul Bettany is miscast as Crowe's Irish physician sidekick. But the visual and sound effects are superb.--AA

The Matrix Revolutions

3 stars (R, 129 min.) Neo's (Keanu Reeves) mind lies in limbo. Zion`s huddled masses prepare to battle the Machines while Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) give each other The Look and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) just looks lonely. Elsewhere, Agent Smith continues his infestation and The Oracle (Mary Alice) bakes cookies. The Wachowski brothers deliver all the expected elements: stylized costumes, fifth-grade dialogue and the final Neo/Smith bout. But the film feels designed for foreign markets where fewer words means money saved on subtitles. [Also in cut, cropped Imax version.]--JC

Mystic River

4 stars (R, 137 min.) In South Boston, a brutal murder forces a reunion between boyhood buddies Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins, a severely damaged adult whose wife (riveting Marcia Gay Harden) is losing her grip. Clint Eastwood's dark film of Dennis Lehane's novel is a police procedural that illuminates a close-knit community poisoned by its own bitter history. With Laura Linney.--JC

Ocean Wonderland 3D

Not reviewed (NR, 44 min.) Filmed in the Bahamas and on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the latest IMAX documentary features rays, sharks, dolphins and other marine life in glorious 3D.--AA

Pieces of April

3 stars (PG-13, 81 min.) In Peter Hedges' acerbic, endearing film, Katie Holmes drives cancer-stricken mom Patricia Clarkson from Pennsylvania to New York for Thanksgiving dinner with her boyfriend Derek Luke. Though the supporting cast outperforms Holmes, the back-and-forth between her crises and mom's insufferable car trip keep things moving, and the movie breezes by.--MP

Radio

1/2 star (PG, 109 min.) Mike Tollin's well-meaning but offensively insulting film tells the true story of the friendship between a South Carolina high school football coach (Ed Harris) and the mentally challenged man (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) he "adopted" as head cheerleader and assistant coach. With Debra Winger, Alfre Woodard.--AA

Runaway Jury

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 127 min.) In the New Orleans trial of a gun manufacturer, consultant Gene Hackman battles prosecutor Dustin Hoffman to win over the jury--one of whom (John Cusack) has his own agenda. Gary Fleder's film of John Grisham's novel is above-average mainstream entertainment. With Rachel Weisz.--JC

Scary Movie 3

Not reviewed (PG-13, 90 min.) David Zucker (Airplane!) directs the third episode of Dimension's horror spoof franchise, lampooning The Ring, The Matrix Reloaded, Signs and The Others. With Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Leslie Nielsen.--AA

The School of Rock

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 108 min.) Masquerading as a substitute teacher, bombastic Jack Black uses his kids' passion for music to create a band. Balancing pop celebration and antiestablishment fervor, Richard Linklater's comedy, written by co-star Mike White, will attract both mainstreamer and indie snob. With Joan Cusack.--MP

Shattered Glass

4 stars (PG-13, 103 min.) In recounting the true story of hotshot journalist Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen, who has no equal in the braying whiner department) writer-director Billy Ray doesn't alienate the non-journalist viewer. His compelling film, based on Buzz Bissinger's Vanity Fair article revealing how the New Republic staffer made up facts in 21 articles, meticulously shows the dynamics of the newsroom and the psyche of the journalist as the personal, professional and public demands pile up. With Hank Azaria, Peter Sarsgaard.--MP

The Singing Detective

2 stars (R, 109 min.) As he lies dying, pulp fiction writer Dan Dark (Robert Downey, Jr.) hallucinates and maps out a screenplay. Though working faithfully from a script by Dennis Potter, Keith Gordon's remake of the late dramatist's 1986 TV series crams six hours of rich narrative and psychological subtext into 109 minutes. Though Downey is magnificent and Robin Wright Penn gives a lovely performance, the lacerated storyline struggles to make sense. A movie gasping for air. Cameos by Mel Gibson and Katie Holmes.--JC [Ends Thur., Nov. 27.]

The Station Agent

3 stars (R, 88 min.) The rapturous reception for Thomas McCarthy's crowdpleaser overlooks its insane degree of contrivance. There's a dwarf who likes trains (Peter Dinklage), a voluble Cuban (Bobby Cannavale) taking care of his sick father's hot dog cart and a distracted artist (Patricia Clarkson) grieving for her dead son and broken marriage. What follows is mildly entertaining; a slight leisurely film about the risks and rewards of human connection.--JC

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

1 1/2 stars (R, 98 min.) Marcus Nispel's flat remake of Tobe Hooper's 1974 horror hit has a van full of young adults waylaid by cannibalistic retards. Nispel uses music-video tricks, to dehumanizing, alienating effect. With Jessica Biel, R. Lee Ermey.--JC

Tupac: Resurrection

Not reviewed (R, 109 min.) Lauren Lazin's portrait of Tupac Shakur uses interviews, family photographs and home movie footage to chronicle, "in his own words," the life of the controversial rapper/movie star who was killed, aged 25, in a Sept. 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.--AA

Under the Tuscan Sun

3 stars (PG-13, 113 min.) Whip-smart and fragile Diane Lane overcomes post-divorce blues by buying a villa in central Italy. With a cutesy Romeo and Juliet subplot, Audrey Wells' film of Frances Mayes' bestseller isn't flawless. But it occasionally unfolds in refreshingly real, unexpected ways. With Sandra Oh, Vincent Riotta. (Part-subtitled.)--TM

Reviews by: AA: Anthony Allison; JC: Jeannette Catsoulis; MP: Mike Prevatt; NB: Newt Briggs; TM: Tammy McMahan
"But your quarterly report still doesn't explain who stole my Hot Pocket from the fridge in the employee lounge."