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Film Clips
Reviews by James DiGiovanna, Linsay Hernon, Mari Wadsworth and Zachary Woodruff.
102 DALMATIANS. Disney unleashes Cruella DeVil again in this sequel to the 1996 live-action remake of the 1961 animated classic. Glenn Close stars as an obsessed Dalmatian dognapper in London who has become the ultimate dog lover after undergoing years of Dr. Pavlov's sadistic brainwashing. However, with every chime of the mighty Big Ben, the changed woman regresses back to her old villainous ways. So with the help of a maniacal fashion guru (Gerard Depardieu), she ravenously searches the town for 102 spotted pups in a dog-eat-dog world. This movie includes all the basic elements of a kids' flick, like the cuddly creatures and Close's outlandish persona, yet someone still needs to throw it a bone and give this film some imagination. --Hernon
ALMOST FAMOUS. Cameron Crowe (Singles, Jerry Maguire) is an extremely talented filmmaker, and here he displays his prowess in story about a young boy who gets a job writing for Rolling Stone magazine in the early '70s. With the death of rock looming over his head like the sword of some long-haired, pot-addled Damocles, young William (Patrick Fugit) hits the road with heavy metal second-stringers Stillwater. Immersed in their world of rock, sex with under-aged girls, drugs, sex with even younger girls, and blatantly illegal sex, William falls in love with über-groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). In spite of the kinderporn and kinderpot themes, this is an incredibly conservative film about family values. In the magical world of Cameron Crowe, suburban moms have the power to change the values of rock gods, and an innocent young boy can undo the evils of sex and fun. Fine performances by Billy Crudup and Jason Lee as Stillwater's dueling guitarist and vocalist bolster a story that drags a bit (the film is slightly over two hours long), but nothing prevents this from being another Cameron Crowe film. Just as Singles should have been called Couples and Jerry Maguire went full circle from questioning the status quo to reaffirming its wholesomeness, Almost Famous promises rock and roll decadence and delivers a lecture on the power of abstinence and uprightness. --DiGiovanna and Woodruff
BEST IN SHOW. Funnier than watching Strom Thurmond deny his racist past, Best in Show is the long-awaited follow-up to the most hilarious film of the '90s, Waiting For Guffman. The Guffman cast and crew reassemble here to present a mockumentary about a dog show (Best in Show's working title was Dogumentary). Director Christopher Guest, perhaps best known for playing mentally deficient guitarist (or is that redundant?) Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap, puts together one of the tightest comedies ever made. Every scene has laughs, and no scene is merely a setup for a later gag. Guest also stars as Harlan Pepper, Southern dog fancier and fishing shop owner. His dead-on performance is matched by Eugene Levy as nerdy suburbanite Gerry Fleck; Catherine O'Hara (the greatest living comedienne) as his wife and erstwhile slattern Cookie Fleck; Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as a grating yuppie couple; Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins as a gay couple whose love for each other is matched only by their love for Shih Tzus; and scene stealer Fred Willard as the local anchorman who's been horribly misassigned as an announcer at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. And hey, sorry about that guitarist gag. --DiGiovanna
BILLY ELLIOT. Another Oscar contender is born in this truly delightful British drama about a driven 11-year-old boy who defies his father and the social norms by becoming a refined ballet dancer instead of a boxing rogue. In a charismatic acting debut, Jamie Bell stars as the little Gene Kelly who livens up the screen with every enthusiastic bend and bound. In addition to Bell's prodigal performance, first-time writer Lee Hall presents an emotional story that intertwines a politically charged revolution with family values and gender reversals to create an unforgettable film. --Hernon
BOUNCE. An innocent game of airline ticket switcheroo turns deadly in Don Roos' second feature film. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Abby, a struggling Realtor in mourning over her recently deceased husband. She gets a helping hand and a touch of flirting to boot from Buddy, a flashy Los Angeles advertising executive (Ben Affleck). But the lonely widow doesn't know that prince charming gave his seat on the fatal flight to her late husband. This deep, dark secret opens up a wormy can of deceit, alcoholism, grief, family values and even a mushy and expedient court trial. Affleck and Paltrow deliver touching performances with captivating chemistry, but they are muddled down when Roos, the acclaimed writer/director of The Opposite of Sex, tries to tackle too many substantial subjects at once, creating an inefficient mess. --Hernon
BRING IT ON. My friend Amy, whose favorite thing in the world is watching the national cheerleading championships on TV, thought that this was a nearly perfect film. As far as I could tell, the audience of adolescents agreed with her. In fact, Bring It On is witty enough to withstand adult viewing, and self-conscious enough to announce that "cheerleaders are dancers who've gone retarded," though the faults in that line are pretty much the faults of the movie. It's got the standard teen film stock characters (the rebel girl, the catty girls, the evil jocks, the cute gay boy) and never becomes so self-aware as to defeat its main goal, making money off 13- to 17-year-olds. But so what. I mean, succeeding at hitting the side of a barn with a shotgun is still success. Plus, Bring It On features some excellent, well-photographed choreography. It's kind of like Busby Berkeley for really, really, really horny teenagers. --DiGiovanna
THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB. Seven gay men contend with love and heartache in Greg Berlanti's witty and refreshing directorial debut. John Mahoney plays a gay restaurateur in West Hollywood who acts as a mentor to some lovesick lads, including a conceited playboy, an impressionable youth and a headstrong photographer, all of whom explore rejection, regret, commitment and camaraderie. Instead of portraying the stereotypical gay lifestyle of ailing AIDS victims withering away in horrid hospital beds or pompous parades of flaming drag queens, this film takes a down-to-earth look at the universal realms of romance. --Hernon
CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Like crack cocaine for the soul, Charlie's Angels delivers shameful, addictive, and no doubt tremendously harmful fun. This movie has more explosions, more butt shots and more explosions that feature butt shots than any film since Triumph of the Will. In case you missed the 1970s, Charlie's Angels is based on the TV series that gave the world the terms "jiggle" and "T&A." Three hot young women prance about in low-cut, skintight outfights fighting crime and making what the French call "love." Still, you may ask, is this a good movie? Well, if "good" means "not evil," then, no, this is not a good movie. Rather, it's bad, in exactly the same way that cheap sex, cigarettes and chocolate ice cream are bad. I think you know what I'm talking about.--DiGiovanna
DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. Ron Howard brings Dr. Seuss' classic tale to life. Jim Carrey dresses like a pregnant green Chewbacca with crooked teeth and yellow eyes to star as the infamous Grinch who wastes his days on top of Mount Crumpit eating rotten produce and condemning any holiday cheer. All inhabitants of Whoville, with their donkey noses and rabbit teeth, despise the party pooper, with the exception of little Cindy Lou Who, an optimistic girl helping everyone discover the true meaning of Christmas. The elaborate detail of the whimsical and colorful sets, the playful vocabulary ("snorkleblasts," "flooflounders") and Carrey's exquisite delivery of genius comedic shtick create a magical realm full of wit and energy. However, the storyline itself is mundane and slow-paced and does not live up to the vibrant Dr. Seuss spirit. --Hernon
THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE. Director Robert Redford remains at the top of his game with this film about persuasion, destiny, redemption and magic. Matt Damon stars as Runnulph Junah, an acclaimed golfer from Georgia who loses his swing and becomes a reclusive drunk after enduring heartache and war. Yet misfortunes are reversed when a mystical sage (Will Smith) suddenly appears to help the wayward soul drive out his demons with a nine-iron in a 72-hole marathon. Charlize Theron plays the defiant debutante with golden locks who organizes the promotional golf tournament by inviting Junah, her ex-lover, to challenge two extreme golf pros: Bobby Jones, a straight-laced golden boy, and Walter Hagen, an egotistical trash talker. Though these supporting characters seem underdeveloped and the chemistry between Theron and Damon lacks sparks, Smith's profound performance, the Field of Dreams-like wonderment and the philosophical poignancy make this inspirational film a hole in one. --Hernon
LITTLE NICKY. It's Adam Sandler to the rescue to save devilish dad from two bad brothers and their wicked plot to extinguish New York City and rule the Underworld. The Saturday Night Live star plays the greasy-haired spawn of Satan with an annoying speech impediment and a repulsive taste for fried chicken. He comes to Earth with a pug-nosed promiscuous pooch to preserve the balance of good and evil by sending his siblings back to Hell in an enchanted flask. However, this task is impeded by an assorted supporting cast--a blind street preacher (Quentin Tarantino), a possessed police chief (Michael McKean) and a homely Martha Stewart-like girlfriend (Patricia Arquette). Regardless of this colorful cast, Little Nicky boils down to a dimwitted, dirty-mouthed film that is more torturous to watch than the raunchy Beelzebub pineapple punishment. --Hernon
MEET THE PARENTS. In 1773 Oliver Goldsmith published his most famous play, She Stoops to Conquer. In it, a series of misunderstandings leads to an endless run of slapstick jokes and double entendres. Essentially, Goldsmith had invented the basic formula for Three's Company. Now, in the year 2000, to celebrate the 227th anniversary of She Stoops to Conquer's first public performance, Universal/Dreamworks has remade a cult comedy classic from 1992 called Meet The Parents. Creatively re-titling it Meet The Parents and updating it for the new millennium by casting stars Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller in place of the unknowns in the original, Meet The Parents is essentially a drawn-out farce of the sort pioneered by Goldsmith. Only, you know, dumbed down for Americans. If you can pass this quiz, you should pass on the movie: Early in the film, DeNiro notes that a precariously balanced and clearly fragile urn contains the ashes of his precious mother. Does that urn fall over and break later in the film? If you answered "yes," you're probably too sophisticated for this movie. Nonetheless, DeNiro and Stiller turn in great performances and manage to get a few real laughs out of this tired material, so it might still be worth seeing if you need something to do while your methadone is kicking in. --DiGiovanna
MEN OF HONOR. Cuba Gooding Jr. stars in this true story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American Master Chief Naval Diver. He literally takes a 12-step program to achieve ultimate honor and dignity despite a mean-spirited naval officer (Robert DeNiro), extreme racial discrimination, a seventh-grade education and an amputated leg. Gooding portrays a tenacious soul who is a true inspiration in a riveting performance that might garner him another Oscar. --Hernon
PAY IT FORWARD. The realm of possibilities is explored by an Oscar-bound film, cast, and crew in Mimi Leder's latest project. Kevin Spacey plays Eugene Simonet, the social studies teacher with sparkling white sneakers, who motivates his seventh grade class to change the wretched world of hookers and hoodlums, violence and vagabonds into a utopia. Trevor, an altruistic 11-year boy played by child prodigy Haley Joel Osment, has an idea to "pay it forward" by doing three big favors for three other people, including playing matchmaker for his emotionally and physically scarred teacher and his alcoholic trailer-trash mom (Helen Hunt). As the magnanimous movement spreads, it reaches Jay Mohr's character, an intrigued LA journalist who tracks down the originator and sees how people truly can surprise you. Pay It Forward mirrors American Beauty in its somber subtexts; it even shares the same composer and practically the same soundtrack. But just like last year's multiple Oscar-winning film, the poignant message and sheer inspiration make this one a must-see. --Hernon
RED PLANET. Watching a great movie is supposed to be more than two hours of passive entertainment. It's supposed to be an experience, and the best movies should be like the best experiences. Thus, if seeing Nashville or Persona or Reflections in a Golden Eye is roughly equivalent to mainlining heroin as you receive the Nobel Prize in literature while the cast of Showgirls gives you a full body rub, then seeing Red Planet is roughly the equivalent of sticking your feet in slightly warm water. This flavorless outing is supposed to be a science fiction film, but, instead, it winds up being a series of grisly, but strangely boring, deaths, book-ended by some embarrassingly bathetic philosophizing. Starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Val Kilmer and the planet Mars. --DiGiovanna
REMEMBER THE TITANS. The true story of racial integration in Alexandria, Va. during 1971 is taken to the field in Jerry Bruckheimer's latest production. Denzel Washington plays Herman Boone, the defiant black high school football coach called in to replace the white head coach and Hall of Fame qualifier Bill Yoast (Will Patton). The burdens of bigotry ignite; even Yoast's daughter Cheryl, who is played prodigiously by Hayden Panettiere, displays her festering prejudices toward the new recruits. But Washington's drill-sergeant ways and poignant pep talks unite the players, the school, the town. No wonder Washington accepted this role; who wouldn't want to portray a Martin Luther King Jr. and Bill Parcells combination, despite a weak script and stock game footage? --Hernon
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. A psychedelic, two-hour, gruelingly painful but technically superb public service announcement about the dangers of drugs. In sum: Drugs are bad. Real bad. They can make your arm fall off, or ruin your chances of appearing on television, or cause you to have double-ended dildo sex for money. So don't do drugs. Only losers and extremely beautiful people like Jared Leto and the incomparably breathtaking Jennifer Connelly do drugs. So drugs either make you a loser or a really pretty person, but one who doesn't feel so good. So now you know the basic message, and you can skip the film. Unless -- you want to see something that is utterly, technically amazing. Requiem features over 2,000 flawlessly executed edits (the average contemporary film has around 600, and they ain't always flawless), giving its visual aspects an almost musical rhythm. A perfectly integrated soundtrack complements and completes the aesthetic aspects of this film, making it one of the most beautiful pictures of the last several years. Unfortunately, it can't stop hammering home its message, and the final sequence, which in itself contains over a hundred cuts, is a rhythmic flashing of the most degrading images you'd ever want to see on film. In sum: not for the faint of heart. --DiGiovanna
RUGRATS IN PARIS: THE MOVIE. Several slobbering, troublemaking toddlers wreak havoc in Paris in another reckless Rugrats animated adventure. Chuckie is a joyless juvenile whose single dad is sent to repair his robotic raptor invention in the City of Lights, where he meets the cunning Coco, a theme park manager in designer clothing who feigns love only for a piddling promotion. The scraggly-haired tykes aren't fooled, however, and fight to stop the heartless shrew and find the saddened son the perfect mom. All this between toilet humor and constant snacking. Debbie Reynolds, John Lithgow and Susan Sarandon supply some of the characters' voices in this surprisingly enjoyable and fast-paced film with an energetic soundtrack and entertaining parodies of several classic films. --Hernon
SIXTH DAY. This is basically your standard Schwarzenegger film, only with some cloning. Arnold gets very angry when another Arnold shows up at his house and starts boffing his wife and smoking his cigars. Next, lots of stuff blows up and unformed humanoids float around in a big tank waiting to be "imprinted." Then, more stuff blows up, some really cute puppies and kittens get duplicated, and Arnold steals somebody's severed thumb so that he can walk around saying things like "I'm all thumbs today," and "Thumb's up!" and "I'm just trying to thumb a ride!" Then people get suspicious about all the thumb comments, so some more stuff blows up. Then Robert Duvall appears as a scientist, but he keeps looking at what appears to be a very fat check that is made out to "Robert Duvall" and in the "memo" field it says "for selling out big-time." Then there's an explosion, some jokes about cloning, a fireball, an explosion, and a car crash. Then the credits roll, and you can read the names of lots of people who helped make things explode. Basically, if you like Shwarzenegger movies, you'll like Sixth Day, which is sort of a cross between Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop and Arnold's marriage to Maria Shriver, only with lots more cloning. Well, more cloning than there was in Total Recall and Kindergarten Cop. --DiGiovanna
TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES. I'd always promised myself that I'd never use the words "poignant" and "powerful" in the same review. Sadly, Time For Drunken Horses is both poignant and powerful, so what can I do? It's a beautifully photographed tale of Kurdish children trying to survive without parents by working the smuggling routes between Iran and Iraq. The child actors are uncanny, delivering performances that are extremely affecting and perfectly naturalistic, and the snowy, mountainous landscapes and sparse but warm interiors of Kurdistan are shot with a slow subtlety that's occasionally mesmerizing. Oddly, as excellent as Time for Drunken Horses is, it's not a particularly exceptional Iranian film; Iranian cinema of the last 10 years has been almost impossibly good. Movie fans should see this film in the theater, and then check out such contemporary Iranian classics as Children of Heaven, The White Balloon and The Jar, which are available at local video stores. (Well, last I checked you could get them at Casa. I doubt you'll find them at your neighborhood Lackluster Video.) --DiGiovanna
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