Thursday, June 03, 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

Breakin' All the Rules

1 1/2 stars (PG-13, 85 min.) In Daniel Taplitz's flimsy romantic comedy, self-help guru Jamie Foxx inadvertently hooks up with cousin Morris Chestnut's gal (Gabrielle Union). The actors are blissfully indifferent, the film instantly forgettable. With Peter MacNicol.--AA

The Company

2 stars (PG-13, 112 min.) Why Robert Altman made this promotional video for a Chicago's Joffrey Ballet troupe is a mystery. Mesmerizing snippets of beautifully staged dance action are interspersed with trite backstage scenes. With Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell.--AA

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. 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.--ADV

The Day After Tomorrow

2 1/2 stars (PG-13, 123 min.) Brief moments of levity (gringos flee south, Vice President Kenneth Welsh eats humble pie) almost make Roland Emmerich's Art Bell-inspired disaster pic watchable. Preposterous plot (global warming sparks ice age overnight), awful acting (Dennis Quaid emotes, trudging across Arctic wastes to rescue son Jake Gyllenhaal from New York Public Library) and an onslaught of special effects. With Ian Holm.--AA

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. With Cary Elwes.--TM

Envy

2 1/2 stars (PG-13, 99 min.) When Jack Black invents a spray that vaporizes dog poop and gets rich, best friend/neighbor Ben Stiller seethes with jealousy. Despite its stars' genial chemistry, Barry Levinson's film never rises to the level of great comedy. With Christopher Walken, Rachel Weisz.--JC

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, director Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman forged a characteristically complex mix of romance, black humor and existential philosophizing. As Jim says to Kate, "Enjoy it." With Kirsten Dunst, 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. Hop on the bus, (Lusia) Strus; Don't need to discuss much; Just channel E.T., and get yourself free.--TM

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 computer-generated monsters with telepathic amphibian Doug Jones and pyromaniac Selma Blair. The moral is simplistic: HB's "father" (John Hurt) gave him the choice between good and evil. 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 is jingoistic twaddle. Why are we surprised that Muslim fanatics want to destroy Western civilization? With Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif.--AA

Home on the Range

2 1/2 stars (PG, 76 min.) Three cows (voiced by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly) join naive buck Cuba Gooding Jr. to outsmart rustlin' varmint Randy Quaid. Disney's latest animated feature is competent but rarely inspired.--ADV

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. Christopher Erskin's debut is a flimsy pretext for a bunch of unfunny setpieces.--AA

Kill Bill Vol. 2

4 stars (R, 136 min.) Quentin Tarantino triumphantly returns. Vol. 1 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 David Carradine).--TM

Man on Fire

1 1/2 stars (R, 146 min.) Dakota Fanning's bodyguard Denzel Washington unleashes bloody vengeance when she's abducted. Tony Scott's directorial affectations (slow-mo, handheld camerawork, elliptical editing) render his Mexican kidnapping drama unwatchable, overwhelming everything in this dismal remake. With Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken.--AA

Mean Girls

3 stars (PG-13, 97 min.) In Mark Waters' high school satire, Lindsay Lohan attacks glam girl clique, the Plastics (Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried). Tina Fey's adaptation of Rosalind Wiseman's book Queen Bees and Wannabes is entertaining, though formulaic.--AA

Monsieur Ibrahim

3 stars [Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran] (R, 95 min.) Omar Sharif relaxes as a Turkish shopkeeper in 1960s Paris who befriends Jewish boy Pierre Boulanger. Essentially a fable on tolerance, Franãois Dupeyron's sweet-natured film is too fragile to carry its philosophical baggage, but there's much to enjoy. (Subtitled.)--JC

NASCAR: The Imax Experience

2 1/2 stars (PG, 48 min.) Simon Wincer's flagrant promo flick is expensive entertainment that requires tiresome 3D glasses to watch. But it delivers some of the visceral, ear-shattering excitement of race day. Narrated by Kiefer Sutherland.--AA

New York Minute

2 stars (PG, 91 min.) While Ashley Olsen delivers a speech, twin sister Mary-Kate tangles with truant officer Eugene Levy. Then the twins get kidnapped. Junk filmmaking, but the storyline charms.--ADV

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 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. His pedestrian style only exacerbates the agony. (Aramaic and Latin dialogue, with subtitles.)--AA

The Punisher

1 star (R, 123 min.) Vigilante Thomas Jane unleashes vengeance against gangster John Travolta for killing his family. Apart from slick stunts, Jonathan Hensleigh's remake has zero merit. With Laura Harring, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Roy Scheider.--AA

Raising Helen

1 star (PG-13, 117 min.) Hotshot Manhattan agent Kate Hudson inherits three children (Hayden Panettiere, Spencer and Abigail Breslin) and is fired by bitch boss Helen Mirren. But in Garry Marshall's world, where serious issues are reduced to a situation-comedyland mentality, she immediately finds another great-paying job, plus heartthrob John Corbett. With Joan Cusack.--ADV

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 (Neil Fanning) chase a mastermind monster maker. Raja Gosnell's sequel to his 2002 cartoon spinoff is endearingly goofy.--TM

The Seagull's Laughter

3 1/2 stars (NR, 102 min.) [Mávahlátur] 1953, Iceland. When ex-war bride Freya (luminous Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir) returns home and marries engineer Heino Ferch, downtrodden women begin asserting themselves and abusive husbands get their comeuppance. Agúst Gudmundsson's drama adds an exotic Nordic twist to the usual "women's picture" issues. (Icelandic dialogue, English subtitles.)--AA

Shrek 2

3 1/2 stars (PG, 105 min.) The sequel barrels along, with Shrek and Fiona (Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz) companionably passing gas on honeymoon, before returning home to Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and an invitation to visit Fiona's parents (John Cleese, Julie Andrews). A maniacal stew of pop culture, mythology and fairytale characters that's lively, entertaining and occasionally quite funny. With inspired Fairy Godmother Jennifer Saunders and show-stealer Antonio Banderas as Puss-in-Boots.--JC

Soul Plane

1/2 star (R, 86 min.) Jessy Terrero's debut, about the maiden flight of Kevin Hart's all-black airline, is grounded in mean, misogynist and downright racist stereotypes. Stoner captain Snoop Dogg directs offensive epithets at African copilot Godfrey C. Danchimah. Another gag targets a character with beard and turban. Humorless trash. With Tom Arnold, Method Man, Mo'Nique.--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 is pure escapist entertainment. With Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell.--TM

Super Size Me

3 1/2 stars (NR, 96 min.) For his exposé, Morgan Spurlock decided to eat nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. He also investigates childhood brainwashing (Happy Meals, Ronald McDonald, in-house playrooms) and school lunch programs packed with empty calories, but fails to address the underlying issues of race and poverty, and the fact that affordability is a consideration.--JC

13 Going on 30

1 1/2 stars (PG-13, 98 min.) Teen Christa B. Allen wakes in the body of her older, magazine editor self (Jennifer Garner). Gary Winick's predictable, retro romance has an insidious moral: a woman's place is firmly in the home. With Kathy Baker, Mark Ruffalo.--AA

Troy

3 stars (R, 163 min.) Cowardly seducer Paris (Orlando Bloom) abducts Helen (Diane Kruger) from husband Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) and hides behind big brother Hector (Eric Bana). Brad Pitt buffed himself to play warrior Achilles, but isn't enough to support Wolfgang Peterson's production, drowning in $200 million worth of stone, metal and poorly integrated digital sequences. Valiant but ultimately doomed, as hollow as the Trojan horse itself. With Brian Cox, Peter O'Toole.--JC

Van Helsing

1/2 star (PG-13, 131 min.) Stephen Sommers' witless attempt to blend Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man with unconvincing CGI effects is a pop-culture stew of brain-numbing blandness. Vampire hunter Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale fight Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) and Kate's lupine brother (Will Kemp). Incoherent.--AA

Walking Tall

1 star (PG-13, 85 min.) The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) again pretends to act in Kevin Bray's remake of the 1973 revenge fantasy. Fabulously inept filmmaking. So little talent, so many clichés.--JC

Young Adam

4 stars (NC-17, 93 min.) Sex and death are inextricably linked in David Mackenzie's Scottish noir, in which sociopathic drifter Ewan McGregor seduces Tilda Swinton, wife of coal barge operator Peter Mullan. Murder, mystery, and courtroom drama ensue. There's no joy, except the pleasure of watching.--JC

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