Thursday, April 22, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film shorts

Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk

Not reviewed (NR, 38 min.) Marc Fafard's 2002 Imax movie examines the risks of skydiving and BASE jumping, and includes footage of an experimental jump using a pyramid-shaped parachute based on a 1485 design by Leonardo da Vinci. Filmed in the Mojave Desert, the Florida Keys and the fjords of Norway.--AA

The Alamo

3 stars (PG-13, 136 min.) John Lee Hancock's well-crafted but one-sided war picture reverently reminds us why we world-dominating imperialists should recall how, in 1836, 200 idealists battled thousands of Mexicans who simply wanted their land back. Billy Bob Thornton is magnificently conflicted as Davy Crockett, Jason Patric's Jim Bowie locks horns with Patrick Wilson's William Travis, and Dennis Quaid is a grim-visaged Sam Houston. Loaded with portentous resonance.--AA

Connie and Carla

1 1/2 stars (PG-13, 97 min.) After witnessing a mob hit, talentless dinner theater performers Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette flee Chicago and headline as L.A. drag queens. Despite her Big Fat Greek success, Vardalos is still not over the industry's preference for younger/thinner/prettier. A gauche attempt to plagiarize a subculture for mainstream consumption, exultant in its crassness. With David Duchovny, Debbie Reynolds.--JC

Dawn of the Dead

3 1/2 stars (R, 100 min.) Forget George Romero's 1978 horror original. Zach Snyder's remake works on its own terms. James Gunn's script is one big chase. The idyllic suburban life of nurse Sarah Polley is shattered when she wakes up to witness a child zombie biting the neck of her husband. Graphic violence, but slam-bam pop entertainment. Don't be late; the first 10 minutes are very exciting.--ADV

Ella Enchanted

2 stars (PG, 94 min.) Anne Hathaway enlists Minnie Driver to find fairy godmother Vivica A. Fox and falls for Prince Hugh Dancy. When it comes to fresh, fractured fairy tales, Tommy O'Haver's Cinderella spoof, based on Gail Carson Levine's novel, is a wannabe. A weak attempt to recycle superior cinematic fables (Shrek, The Princess Bride). With Cary Elwes, Eric Idle, Joanna Lumley.--TM

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

4 1/2 stars (R, 107 min.) Jim Carrey learns he's been erased from ex-lover Kate Winslet's memory. From this simple idea, which director Michel Gondry credits to artist Pierre Bismuth, Being John Malkovich screenwriter Charlie Kaufman forged a characteristically complex mix of romance, black humor and existential philosophizing. Given the scarcity of films this good, Jim's advice to Kate, as they face the existential angst of knowing how their romance will end before it begins, seems apt: "Enjoy it." With Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood.--AA

50 First Dates

1/2 star (PG-13, 96 min.) The problem is all inside Drew's (Barrymore) head, you see; Her short-term memory is screwy, can't take it logically; (Adam) Sandler's motto: it's lucrative to be crude, his non-character misconstrued; There must be 50 ways to leave this loser. Just avoid (Dan) Aykroyd; Make a new plan, (Sean) Astin; Don't need to be a slob, Rob (Schneider), just listen to me; Hop on the bus, (Lusia) Strus; Don't need to discuss much; Just channel E.T., and get yourself free.--TM

The Girl Next Door

1 1/2 stars (R, 110 min.) Class dork Emile Hirsch falls for hot 19-year-old neighbor Elisha Cuthbert, an adult film star. There's not much sin in the latest post-American Pie teen movie. When Luke Greenfield's film gets raunchy, its context (three high school boys at a Vegas porn convention) feels forced, and the audience is duped, though there's an exceptional soundtrack (the Who, Marvin Gaye, the Verve).--MP

Good Bye Lenin!

4 stars (R, 116 min.) Where were you, Nov. 9, 1989? What if you slept through the fall of the Berlin Wall? When idealistic East German Katrin Sass wakes from a coma months later, son Daniel BrŸhl keeps the shocking news from her by restoring the apartment to its drab Cold War state. Complications ensue. Wolfgang Becker's delightful gem weaves drama, farce, social satire and wistful nostalgia into a thoughtful riff on German reunification. (Subtitled.)--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.--AA

Hellboy

2 1/2 stars (PG-13, 122 min.) As Mike Mignola's comic hero, Ron Perlman doesn't take his role seriously, fighting Rasputin's (Karel Roden) computer-generated monsters with telepathic amphibian Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and pyromaniac love interest Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). The moral is simplistic: HB's "father" (John Hurt, adding welcome gravitas) gave him the choice between good and evil, and it drowns in derivative imagery. But Guillermo Del Toro's supernatural actioner is diverting eye candy.--AA

Hidalgo

1 1/2 stars (PG-13, 136 min.) Joe Johnston's plodding, Middle Eastern horse race saga, ostensibly based on the "true" story of dispatch rider Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen), is jingoistic twaddle. Johnston uses cheesy accelerated footage, an unreal digital sandstorm and locusts, and dragged Omar Sharif out of retirement. Why are we surprised that Muslim fanatics want to destroy Western civilization?--AA

Home on the Range

2 1/2 stars (PG, 76 min.) In Disney's latest animated feature, three cows (voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench and Jennifer Tilly) join naive buck Cuba Gooding Jr. to save a dairy farm from foreclosure and outsmart mean, rustlin' varmint Randy Quaid. William Finn and John Sanford's picture glides along dutifully, like a reliable old station wagon. Competent but rarely inspired.--ADV

Jersey Girl

2 1/2 stars (PG-13, 103 min.) Manhattan publicist/widower Ben Affleck dumps his baby on Dad (George Carlin) in New Jersey. Clerks' Kevin Smith, who made underachieving cool, has grown up. But watching his corny film is like being kidnapped by Hallmark. Bland, boring Affleck's ongoing ability to find work is one of cinema's great mysteries, though Liv Tyler's relaxed performance is a great surprise. With Raquel Castro.--JC

Johnson Family Vacation

1/2 star (PG-13, 97 min.) Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams and kids (Bow Wow, Solange Knowles, Gabby Soleil) drive across country. Director Christopher Erskin and screenwriters Todd and Earl Jones' inexperience shows. A flimsy pretext for a bunch of unfunny setpieces that no self-respecting viewer should endure.--AA

Kill Bill Vol. 2

4 stars (R, 136 min.) Quentin Tarantino triumphantly returns. Vol. 1's blood-soaked homage to samurai epics and spaghetti Westerns was the perfect ferocious prologue for this quiet study of love (man/woman, mother/child, warriors/leader). Amid the waxing philosophical, the Bride (Uma Thurman) continues her quest to kill the murderers of her wedding party (Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah) and mastermind (mesmerizing, malevolent David Carradine). With her fever-pitched physicality toned down, Thurman unveils the Bride's emotional underpinnings.--TM

The Ladykillers

2 stars (R, 104 min.) Tom Hanks' gang tunnels into a Mississippi casino count room from widow Irma P. Hall's basement. Hanks' performance is courageously out-there, cinematographer Roger Deakins provides atmosphere and there's foot-tapping music from the Abbot Kinney gospel choir. But Joel and Ethan Coen's remake of the moldy old English comedy is an unhappy hybrid: a heist spoof with Southern-fried Gothic flavoring. With Tzi Ma, J.K. Simmons, Marlon Wayans.--AA

NASCAR: The Imax Experience

2 1/2 stars (PG, 48 min.) Simon Wincer's flagrant promo flick for "America's largest spectator sport" is expensive entertainment that requires those tiresome 3D glasses to watch. But it includes superb footage delivering some of the visceral, ear-shattering excitement of race day and Kiefer Sutherland's narration, written by Mark Bechtel, packs in a wealth of detail.--AA

Ocean Wonderland 3D

Not reviewed (NR, 44 min.) Filmed in the Bahamas and Australia, this Imax doc features rays, sharks, dolphins and other marine life in glorious 3D.--AA

The Passion of the Christ

2 1/2 stars (R, 127 min.) Mel Gibson's exceedingly gory crucifixion drama, with blood-spattered Jim Caviezel, isn't apt to inspire; it must merely be endured. With the inevitable accusations of anti-Semitism, Mel must have known he was asking for trouble, and priceless publicity, and his pedestrian style only exacerbates the agony. With Mattia Sbraglia (Caiaphas), Hristo Naumov Shopov (Pilate), Maia Morgenstern (Mary), Monica Bellucci (Magdalene). (Aramaic and Latin dialogue, with subtitles.)--AA

The Prince & Me

1 star (PG, 111 min.) In the fairy-tale tradition, Martha Coolidge's romance ranks down in the dregs. Incognito in Wisconsin, bored Danish prince Luke Mably woos premed student Julia Stiles. Only contemptuous factotum Ben Miller provides deadpan relief. Miranda Richardson attempts a Danish accent; James Fox looks sick for selling out. Sheer inanity with a cop-out ending.--AA

The Punisher

1 star (R, 123 min.) Buffed-up vigilante Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) unleashes vicious vengeance against Florida gangster Howard Saint (John Travolta) for killing his family. Don't be duped by the Marvel logo. Jonathan Hensleigh's violent revenge drama is not wholesome family entertainment. Apart from slick stunts, this remake has zero redeeming merit. With Laura Harring, Will Patton, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Roy Scheider.--AA

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

2 stars (PG, 85 min.) Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby (voiced by Neil Fanning) chase a mastermind monster maker. Raja Gosnell's sequel to his 2002 spinoff from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series is mostly mediocre. But its endearing goofiness makes some of the imperfections bearable. With Peter Boyle, Seth Green, Alicia Silverstone.--TM

Secret Window

2 stars (PG-13, 96 min.) Stung by a charge of plagiarism, depressed writer Johnny Depp plays a cat-and-mouse game with his accuser (John Turturro) that involves Mort's estranged wife Maria Bello, her lover Timothy Hutton and detective Charles S. Dutton. Depp gives a beautifully nuanced turn as the increasingly unhinged wordsmith. But David Koepp's thriller, based on Stephen King's 1990 novella Secret Window, Secret Garden, fails to thrill, mainly because the plot twist is painfully predictable.--AA

Starsky & Hutch

2 1/2 stars (R, 100 min.) Uptight cop Ben Stiller and rule-bending slacker Owen Wilson get in their Coke can on wheels (Starsky's beloved Ford Gran Torino) to go after Bay City cocaine kingpin Vince Vaughn. Todd Phillips' spoof isn't exactly your daddy's "Starsky & Hutch." But this imperfect take on that beloved 1970s show provides pure escapist entertainment. With Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell.--TM

Taking Lives

1 1/2 stars (R, 103 min.) FBI profiler Angelina Jolie alienates Quebecois cops Olivier Martinez and Jean-Hugues Anglade while hunting a murderous identity thief. The comparison with Jodie Foster is invidious: Jolie's Special Agent Scott is no Clarice Starling. Though director D.J. Caruso includes one really scary moment, Jon Bokenkamp's adaptation of Michael Pye's novel is preposterous. With Ethan Hawke, Gena Rowlands.--AA

Tequila Express

(NR, 90 min.) See New This Week.

Touching the Void

4 stars (NR, 106 min.) See New This Week.

The Triplets of Belleville

4 stars (PG-13, 80 min.) French-Canadian animator Sylvain Chomet's enchanting 2002 debut follows the adventures of a racing cyclist, his feisty Portuguese grandmother and their faithful dog. Imagine an anarchic mix of Amélie and Wallace & Gromit that blends traditional animation and digital effects as seamlessly as Beno”t Charest's eclectic score mixes "hot" jazz with bits of Bach and Mozart. Deliriously daffy, darkly humorous.--AA

Walking Tall

1 star (PG-13, 85 min.) The Rock (wrestler Dwayne Johnson) again pretends to act in Kevin Bray's remake of the 1973 revenge fantasy about Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser. Now named Chris Vaughn, our hero returns sets out to Clean Things Up in his rural Washington hometown. Fabulously inept filmmaking. So little talent, so many clichés.--JC

The Whole Ten Yards

1 star (PG-13, 99 min.) One day, director Howard Deutch and screenwriter George Gallo will testify before an independent commission: "Warner Bros. failed you, and those entrusted to entertain you failed you (with the Whole Nine Yards sequel)." Plodding, ill-conceived dreck about schizophrenic gangster Bruce Willis, paranoid dentist Matthew Perry and femme fatale Natasha Henstridge. With Amanda Peet, Kevin Pollak.--TM

Reviews by: AA: Anthony Allison; ADV: Anthony Del Valle; JC: Jeannette Catsoulis; MP: Mike Prevatt; TM: Tammy McMahan