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 BLACK MASK. None of our reviewers had a chance to see this
Hong Kong action flick, so we pulled this review off an internet
fan site. It's by Ralf Herzel of Moormerland, Germany:
"Summary: One of the greatest HK-Action Movies! The story
deals about Jet Li who has to fight against his old friends. But
there is one problem, the friends are superfighters! The film
is filled with blood, super action and the best stunts forever.
And Lau Ching-Wan is a great Co-actor. Of course the movie has
the typical HK-Fun. But I love it! In Germany, Black Mask
is uncut!" --Thanks, Ralf!
CHILDREN OF HEAVEN. In spite of the fact that the U.S.
sponsored a bloody coup in their country in the 1960s, Iran still
sends us much better films than we deserve to watch. This latest
from director Majid Majidi is a quintessentially Iranian film,
focusing on the small tensions in daily life and giving them a
sense of urgency and universality. Young Ali loses his sister
Zahra's shoes, and must engage in a difficult series of trade-offs
that bring the siblings closer together. Sparse use of music,
unnaturally apt acting by the child-stars, and a strong sense
of rhythm make this a deeply engaging film. --DiGiovanna
COOKIE'S FORTUNE. Director Robert Altman comes back strong
in this quiet story about confused relations in a southern town.
Charles Dutton turns in a career performance as Willis Richland,
who is falsely accused of murder when Camille Orcutt (Glenn Close)
rearranges things at the scene of her aunt's suicide. Julianne
Moore gives even better than her usual turn as Camille's deranged,
thespian sister. Also featuring the ubiquitous Chris O'Donnel
(perhaps most tragically known for his role as Robin), the fetching
Liv Tyler, the under-appreciated Ned Beatty and the indescribable
Lyle Lovett.
--DiGiovanna
ELECTION. I've never really agreed with universal participatory
democracy, because so much of the electorate is ill-informed and
their votes are easily manipulated by demagogues and heartlessly
ambitious power-mongers. (That's why I just let Tucson Weekly
editor Jim Nintzel pick my votes for me...he's well informed and
has no ambition. I call it Nintzelocracy.) Commenting on this,
Election takes all the worst traits of American politics
and squeezes them into a high school full of immature teens, which
is pretty much what American politics looks like to the rest of
the world anyway. Director Alexander Payne's sharp eye for satire
makes Election the funniest, and one of the smartest, films
so far this year. --DiGiovanna
ENTRAPMENT. A rather lifeless crime spree, weighed down
by mediocre plotting and a plodding script. Sean Connery stars
as an aging art thief out for one last heist. Catherine Zeta-Jones
emphasizes her assets as a young criminal hoping to get a good
start by falling in love with Connery and stealing
$8 billion. Lots of prancing about in tight clothing, James Bond-type
gadgetry and unlikely sexual tension shove the story forward,
though you'll probably get a better crime drama by staying home
and watching Rockford Files reruns. --DiGiovanna
LIFE. The Shawshank Redemption meets Stir Crazy
in this decades-spanning prison comedy. Eddie Murphy and Martin
Lawrence play a couple of buffoons who get framed for murder in
the Deep South. Their incarceration carries them from the Prohibition
Era into modern times, and director Ted Demme takes the opportunity
to mix social observation (it'd be a stretch to call it "commentary")
into the story. This includes surprisingly well-shaded views of
racism. Mostly, though, Life provides Murphy and Lawrence
with scattered opportunities for comic riffing. Murphy does his
funniest, most free-spirited work in years, and Lawrence makes
a likable straight man. It's a shame the movie is so aimless,
but a sloppy Life is worth a dozen tight Dr. Dolittles.
--Woodruff
LOST AND FOUND. This David Spade comedy is a mixed bag.
On the plus side is David Spade, who delivers a series of cruel,
yet self-deprecating, one-liners that are almost always funny.
On the other is the over-worked story of the guy who engages in
stalker-like behavior in order to win a woman whose only appealing
characteristic is her extreme beauty. The role of Extreme Beauty
is played by Sophie Marceau, who's extremely good at looking beautiful.
She won the Cesar Award (the French Oscar) for "Most Looking-Beautiful
Woman-Type Creature" (that's a roughly literal translation).
She plays the romantic comedy version of the ideal girlfriend:
she's hot, she speaks French, and she's willing to date assholes.
If the movie was just Sophie Marceau being painfully fly and David
Spade being painfully funny it'd be a four-star knock-out, but
unfortunately there's also a plot about a missing diamond ring,
a pile of dog poop, a struggling businessman who's willing to
act zany to get a loan, and, of course, the romantic pleasures
of lying, stalking, and felony breaking and entering.
--DiGiovanna
THE LOVE LETTER. Releasing a film the same weekend as Star
Wars might at first seem insane, but the folks at DreamWorks
are smart enough to realize that older viewers and women are two
huge audiences not targeted by the Lucas blockbuster. Hence, The
Love Letter: a romance with 40-plus-aged characters and lots
of women. Kate Capshaw plays Helen, a bookstore owner whose faith
in love is restored when she receives an anonymous letter she
believes is meant for her. The letter is then found by several
other characters, who all interpret it according to their own
emotional needs. This premise gets tiring quickly, the main character
is unlikeable and the slow pace may make you wish you'd stopped
for coffee before hitting the theater. At the same time, there
are a number of elements that are just wacky or unexpected enough
to be enjoyable: Ellen DeGeneres, playing an overly determined
heterosexual, dispenses blunt sarcasm and practical one-liners;
there's the all-too-rare H-wood circumstance of a woman (Helen)
bedding someone half her age; a strange All-That-Heaven-Allows-inspired
feminist character (Jennifer, played by Julianne Nicholson) spouts
academic rhetoric; Tom Selleck tests his powers without his mustache;
and an older lesbian couple anchors much of the story. --Higgins
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Local punk rock star Greg Petix
told me that there's always one woman whom you cannot openly admire
without pissing off every other woman in the country. Currently,
that woman is Calista Flockhart, who I must say, turns in a fabulous
performance in A Midsummer Night's Dream. She has a clear
mastery of the language, and is the only actor in the production
who emphasizes the iambic pentameter without sounding artificial.
Kevin Kline is also outstanding, as are Stanley Tucci as Puck
and Rupert Evert as Oberon. Unfortunately, Michelle Pfeiffer as
Titania sounds like a non-native speaker attempting to phonetically
sound-out the script; but there are enough strong performances
here to make her insignificant. This is good stuff for Shakespeare
lovers, but the difficult dialogue may be off-putting to those
who prefer Shakespeare in Love to the real material.
--DiGiovanna
THE MUMMY. When the female lead spouts dialogue like "we've
lost everything...our tools, our horses, and all of my clothes!"
you know you're watching a classy film. The Mummy is the
story of Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian priest who gives his life
for love. Three thousand years later, he's accidentally resurrected
by capitalist/colonialist grave robbers Brendan Fraser and Rachel
Weisz. In spite of the fact that Imhotep is the only character
in the film who stands for anything besides plundering the treasures
of other cultures, he's supposed to be the villain. Me, I just
wanted him to kill Weisz, Fraser and their entire posse of white-ass
imperialist war criminals. Bonus: this movie contains the most
stupid and offensive stereotypes of Arabs that I've seen in a
Hollywood film in the last 25 years, which can be considered quite
an accomplishment given Tinsel Town's insensitivity on this subject.
I'd rather you threw your $7.50 in the sewer than spent it on
this racist and predictable pabulum.
--DiGiovanna
TRIPPIN'. This is without a doubt the most original film
I've ever encountered: see, there's this high-school boy, and
he's something of an "outsider." Oddly enough, he falls
in love with the most beautiful and popular girl in the school!
Of course, the viewer assumes that he'll never get with her...but
wait, he develops a plan, a scheme, a "plot," if you
will, which wins her heart! So okay, he has the girl, so the movie
is over, right? Wrong! It turns out that his "plot"
involved some deception...and in a completely unexpected "plot
twist," the girl finds out about this deception...right before
the prom!!! Thus, he must attend the prom alone. I won't tell
you if he makes a heartfelt speech about what a terrible mistake
he made, and if that speech (shockingly and most unexpectedly!)
wins back his beloved, but let's just say that that's just the
kind of storytelling that you can expect from the wildly titled
Trippin' ! --DiGiovanna
STAR WARS: EPISODE 1--THE PHANTOM MENACE. This movie is
just like real life for a museum tour guide: the dialogue sucks
and there's no plot, but it's full of pretty things to look at.
(See this week's Cinema feature for details.) --DiGiovanna
TREKKIES. Fans, especially those of the Star Trek
television and film series, are often portrayed as freaks. Director/editor
Roger Nygard, however, leaves any conclusion to individual viewers
by offering a variety of footage from interviews, conventions
and ST-based social gatherings. While stars such as Leonard
Nimoy and Denise Crosby talk about their interactions with trekkies,
we get a glimpse into the lives of fans such as a self-declared
Spiner Femme (follower of Brent Spiner, a.k.a. Data); a couple
that owns and operates Star Trek Dental (an office where
employees dress in official garb amidst numerous toys and murals);
and a high-school boy who writes scripts based on the characters,
and collects paraphernalia. The overall theme stresses the multifaceted
relationships that have developed around this phenomenon, as ST
conventions, club meetings and fan-generated literature become
unifying sites where people of all races, nationalities, ages
and sexual persuasions partake in a unique cultural exchange.
Since Paramount Pictures both owns the Star Trek franchise
and released this film, you might expect a biased portrayal. Instead,
this well-organized and often hilarious documentary offers substantial
evidence as to the marketing genius behind supporting a phenomenon
that not only reaches uncountable subcultures, but encourages
fans to approach their passion with open wallets. --Higgins
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