Thursday, January 27, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film shorts

Are We There Yet?

1 star (PG, 92 min.) Ice Cube is back, wooing single mom Nia Long by agreeing to transport her two hell-raising kids from Oregon to British Columbia. But none of the film's four screenwriters seem capable of writing comedy, and whatever else the Cube might be, a romantic lead he's not. He's more convincing in a barbershop than in a beautiful woman's bed.--ADV

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

3 stars (R, 95 min.) Inspired by the true story of blue-collar worker Samuel Byck, who in 1974 tried to hijack a 747 and kill President Nixon by crashing it into the White House. We'd like to know why, but the filmmakers can only provide generic despair: estranged wife, ruthless boss, urban rage. Sean Penn gets under the skin of this tragic loser, but ultimately he's playing a type rather than a human being.--ADV

Assault on Precinct 13

2 1/2 stars (R, 109 min.) Adhering to the template (if not the artistic decisions) of John Carpenter's 1976 classic, this gritty remake is set in a near-abandoned police station under siege from a band of unknown snipers. Ethan Hawke is the traumatized Sarge and Drea de Matteo the nympho secretary with a thing for criminals. Jean-Franãois Richet directs for maximum shock and minimum survival.--JC

The Aviator

4 1/2 stars (PG-13; 169 mins.) Long, ambitious, and stunningly beautiful, Martin Scorsese's retelling of 20 years in the life of Howard Hughes is a soaring success. Leonardo DiCaprio tackles Hughes' passions--and creeping mental disorders--with ferocious energy and devastating charm. Not since The Age of Innocence has Scorsese conveyed such a sense of controlled chaos and inevitable tragedy.--JC

Bad Education (La Mala Educación)

3 stars (NC-17, 109 min.) Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar tries vainly to get confessional in this labyrinthine tale of boyhood love, shifting sexual identity, and evil clergy. Attempting film noir--a genre he loves but is constitutionally unsuited for--Almodóvar barricades his emotions behind narrative tricks and Gael García Bernal's slippery transsexual beauty.--JC

Beyond the Sea

2 1/2 stars (PG-13, 121 min.) This fanciful and misguided biopic of '60s pop legend Bobby Darin is the latest in a long line of career missteps for its star and director, Kevin Spacey. Stuffed with irritating fantasy sequences and inept dance numbers, the movie amounts to nothing more than a superficial dash through a brief and haunted life.--JC

Blade: Trinity

2 stars (R, 105 min.) Franchise fatigue strikes with a vengeance in this final installment of the Marvel Comics-based series about a hero poised between two worlds and tolerated by neither. Most bored of all is Wesley Snipes, reprising his role as the titular human/vamp hybrid dedicated to vanquishing the undead who move amongst us. Anxiously straining for present-day relevance, writer/director David S. Goyer gives us biological weapons, vampire "cells," and a battle-ready iPod--none of which cohere into an actual plot.--JC

Closer

2 1/2 stars (R, 100 min.) Patrick Marber's screenplay attempts to three-dimensonalize the two modern couples of his 1999 Broadway hit, and it winds up being a mistake. Dan (Jude Law) is a hopeful novelist who falls for a neurotic stripper (Natalie Portman), before he meets a photographer (Julia Roberts) who has a thing for this dermatologist (Clive Owens). They keep switching partners while remaining emotionally distant. These unlikable characters were amusing on the stage for their repartee. But in director Mike Nicholas' film we're asked to believe that the abruptness in their ever-changing romantic allegiances are real. The motivations aren't fleshed-out enough for us to do that. The words are splendid, but the people aren't there.--ADV

Coach Carter

1 star (PG-13, 130 min.) An inner-city high-school basketball team learns how to be model citizens and above-average scholars by doing push-ups for Samuel L. Jackson. Director Thomas Carter (no relation) may show little aptitude for shooting hoops but he certainly knows how to milk pathos. A true story dumbed down for formula-seeking audiences and cinematically-challenged critics.--ADV

Elektra

1 1/2 stars (PG-13, 97 min.) Director Rob Bomwan's take on the Marvel character is a spectacular failure. As the paid assassin alternately moping over her unhappy past and drop-kicking mystics and other assorted enemies, Jennifer Garner keeps her succulent body on view and her daddy issues in the background. Not even Terrence Stamp as a blind martial arts teacher can raise this above the level of a video game.--ADV

Everest

4 stars (NR, 44 min.) Co-director David Breashears' harrowing, 1998 Imax documentary chronicles the disastrous 1996 climbing season, when eight climbers perished in a freak storm on the world's highest peak. Featuring Jamling Tenzing Norgay, Ed Viesturs. Beck Weathers. Narrated by Liam Neeson.--AA

Faster

3 stars (NR, 103 min.) Mark Neale's documentary (narrated by Ewan McGregor) about the Motorcycle Grand Prix five-continent world championships during the 2001 and 2002 seasons isn't structured for maximum dramatic effect. Lots of people will be bored. But it throws you into the world of high-speed motorcross racing so thoroughly that it achieves its kick on its own terms. We get to know about a half-dozen competitors and come to understand why they're so willing to risk their life for a chance to feel fast.--ADV

Fat Albert

2 stars (PG, 93 min.) The characters from Bill Cosby's 1972-84 cartoon series come to life to help friendless high-schooler and track-star hopeful Kyla Pratt. More concerned with moral values than cinematic ones, Joel Zwick's movie preaches a false gospel: that belief in yourself is all it takes to win. Tell that to all the self-assured kids who lose competitions.--ADV

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag

Not reviewed (NR, 45 min.) The film follows Capt. John Stratton, an F-15 Eagle pilot, as he participates in Red Flag exercises, an intense training regimen for U.S. and allied forces.

Finding Neverland

2 1/2 stars (PG, 106 min.) Director Marc Forster's lusciously produced bio of James W. Barrie (Johnny Depp) allows us to understand the personal connection between the Victorian playwright/novelist and his writing of Peter Pan. But the film is infuriatingly ambiguous. You never understand what drives this Barrie to hang around four preadolescent boys all day (to the point of destroying his marriage), or what exactly the nature is of his relationship with the boys' mother (Kate Winslet). It's okay for a Victorian to suppress issues, but when a filmmaker does it, it's unforgivable. Julie Chrisite plays a stuffy, proper prig, and, considering her fame as a 1960s social rebel, it's a delicious Hollywood in-joke.--ADV

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.

Hotel Rwanda

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 121 min.) The horror of the 1994 Rwandan genocide is viewed through the actions of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), who single-handedly saved more than 1,000 people from certain slaughter. Though ignoring the larger political picture, Terry George's well-meaning film deserves to be seen, if only to remind us of the cost of looking away.--JC

House of Flying Daggers

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 119 min.) Zhang Yimou's affecting and artistically ambitious film combines a Romeo-and-Juliet story with his trademark technical and visual flair. Set in China at the end of the Tang dynasty, a rebel group battles corrupt officials who retaliate by kidnapping the visually impaired daughter of its leader. A complex and ambiguous work that manages to stir both the head and the heart.--MP

In Good Company

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 106 min.) Dennis Quaid plays a 51-year-old Manhattan ad man suddenly demoted to second banana when 26-year-old Topher Grace becomes his boss. A funny, touching comedy that tries to highlight both sides of the corporate equation: the heartlessness of youthful ambition and the dangerous rigidity of older employees. In the end, though, big business is more complicated than the filmmakers are willing to admit.--ADV

The Incredibles

5 stars (PG, 115 min.) A dynamic and immensely entertaining computer-animated adventure comedy from Pixar, as inspired as it is inspiring. The Parrs are a quintet living like any other household, except that each of them was born with powers they're supposed to keep suppressed. They don't. Pixar has outdone itself with visuals, excitement and human characterizations. With the voices of Craig. T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jason Lee.--MP

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

3 stars (PG, 108 mins.) For those who like their fairy tales on the creepy side, Jim Carrey's latest follows three orphans as they try to escape the nightmarish mansion of their villainous uncle. Despite repetitive comedy and a stagnant plot, the movie is redeemed by imaginative imagery and an uproarious Meryl Streep.--ADV

Meet the Fockers

2 stars (PG13, 114 min.) This lame sequel takes us to Miami where Ben Stiller's parents (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand) struggle to overcome the scriptwriters' fascination with the word "Focker." Streisand can still rattle off a line with the gusto of an urban yenta, but you'd think that after an eight-year screen absence she'd return with more self-respect.--ADV

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

National Treasure

3 stars (PG, 100 min.) Nicolas Cage plays an eccentric treasure hunter who can't convince the FBI that someone is about to steal the Declaration of Independence. So he steals it first. Winds up he was right. So now both the good guys and bad guys are after our star. There's not much suspense or chase or romance or good acting. (Remember when Cage used to be a real artist?) But the story's locations take us to historical halls, passageways, ventilation shafts and catacombs that played a major role in our nation's birth. It's a fun education trip disguised as a caper movie.--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 3D.

Ocean's Twelve

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 106 min.) A nasty entrepreneur (Andy Garcia) tracks down the crooks who swindled him in 2001's Ocean's Eleven, and they, plus one, must figure out a way to pay him back. I went into director Steven Soderbergh's sequel wanting enjoyable junk entertainment, and that's what I got. With Casey Afleck, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, Brad Pitt, Carl Reiner, Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones.--ADV

Saw

3 1/2 stars (R, 100 min.) Two men--a nervy twentysomething photographer (played co-writer Leigh Whannel) and an older cancer surgeon (Cary Elwes)--are imprisoned in a dank and filthy bathroom with no memory of how they came to be there. Between them is a corpse, a gun and a tape recorder. There are clues as to how they can escape. A clock is ticking, a psychopath is lurking. How badly does each of them want to live? Co-writer/director James Wan's film is more than a stunt yet less than its hype. Though at times muddled and incoherent, its gripping, grisly plot is one of the most ingenious set-ups the serial-killer genre has yet produced.--JC

Testosterone

1 star (R, 105 min.) When a sad-sack graphic artist follows his ex-lover to Buenos Aires, he's more interested in revenge than reunion. Director/co-writer David Moreton's profile of unmitigated homo bitterness can't decide if it's an obsession thriller, a black comedy or the gay equivalent of a Skin-a-max softcore flick.--MP

The Phantom of the Opera

3 stars (PG-13, 140 min.) Spoiled by poor casting and a superficial screen treatment, Joel Schumacher's film is all visual opulence and momentary pleasures. Emmy Rossum is a charismatic lead, but the love-triangle plot suffers from Gerard Butler's inability to convey emotional torment. Nevertheless, the movie's lavish production numbers sometimes capture the broad wink of musical comedy.--ADV

Ray

3 1/2 stars (PG-13, 152 min.) Jamie Foxx embodies Ray Charles so completely in look, mannerism and speaking voice that he magnetizes our gaze. Unfortunately, Taylor Hackford's film takes a trite, by-the-numbers approach that ticks off the major plot points of Charles' life with more thoroughness than imagination. Strong supporting performances by Kerry Washington as the long- suffering wife, and Regina King as his lover and back-up singer.--JC

Sideways

3 1/2 stars (R, 123 min.) Paul Giamatti, who has something of a lock on crumpled manhood, plays a sad, divorced middle school English teacher who joins his about-to-be married best friend (Thomas Haden Church) on a tour of California wineries. Their bonding agenda turns into a couple of serious hookups with two intelligent women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh). The acting is wonderful, the script, virtually seamless, and Alexander Payne's direction, full of insights into how people react to their environments and each other. But everything feels just a bit too carefully crafted and frustratingly obvious.--JC

Spanglish

2 1/2 stars (PG-13, 131 mins.) Supposedly concerned with immigrant fear and the compromises of assimilation, James L. Brooks' comedy is really a sour study in racial stereotyping. Adam Sandler is appealingly low-key as a husband trying to resist his earthy Mexican housekeeper; Téa Leonie is cruelly mocked as his neurotic, insecure wife. Cloris Leachman plays the most functional alcoholic ever filmed.--JC

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

3 stars (PG, 90 min.) An offspring of the highly successful 1999-2003 TV show "SpongeBob"--think "Pee Wee's Playhouse" meets "Ren & Stimpy" --retains the original's broad appeal by balancing butt jokes for the kids with witty one-liners for the adults. Here, our happy-go-lucky yellow sponge gets into trouble when he goes on an ice cream sundae bender after being overlooked for a promotion by his Krusty Krab burger joint boss. You'll laugh, even if you don't understand the context.--MP

White Noise

1 star (PG-13, 101 min.) I hear dead people. When architect Michael Keaton is contacted by his dead wife via the airwaves, it's only the beginning of his problems with beyond-the-grave--and before-the-grave--requests. What begins as a promising horror film soon devolves into a preposterous and funereal exercise in technical trickery.--ADV

The Woodsman

4 stars (R, 87 min.) Few things incite a lynch mob more than pedophilia, as recently-paroled Kevin Bacon soon discovers. Trying to rebuild his life and resist his demons, Bacon is helped by girlfriend Kyra Sedgwick and shadowed by police sergeant Mos Def. Though studded with glaring improbabilities, Nicole Kassell's debut feature is a grim and courageous attempt to shed light rather than scorn.--JC

Reviews by: AA: Anthony Allison; ADV: Anthony Del Valle; JC: Jeannette Catsoulis; MP: Mike Prevatt; RC: Robert Chancey