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MOVIE
CLIPS
| VIDEO
RELEASES
| THEATER
INFO
Woman
Warrior Power
Chicks kick ass in this
fabulous martial arts epic.
By Lois
Wadsworth
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Directed by Ang Lee. Produced
by Bill Kong, Hsu Li Kong and Ang Lee. Written by James Schamus, Wang Hui Ling and
Tsai Kuo Jung, based on the novel by Wang Du Lu. Cinematography, Peter Pau. Choreography,
Yuen Wo-Ping. Editor, Tim Squyres. Production design, costumes, Tim Yip. Music, Tan
Dun; performed by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Cello soloist, Yo-Yo Ma. Starring
Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. With Cheng Pei Pei and Lung
Sihung. Sony Pictures Classics, 2000. PG-13. 119 minutes.
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Zhang Ziyi as Jen.
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Taiwanese American film director Ang Lee is fearless and brilliant. Martial chivalry
rooted in a mythical China is an historic staple of Chinese movies and serialized
novels. But Lee imagined blending romances from ancient Chinese culture with adventures
drawn from the influential schools of secret martial arts. He packaged his film for
a sophisticated, contemporary, worldwide film audience by taking the pop art form
of the Hong Kong action film and raising it to art.
The interplay of opposites encompasses all other themes in the film. It says, there
are two ways a warrior may be in the world -- in harmony with the spirit or fighting
for personal power and gain. While the warrior class -- the Wuxia -- are similar
to medieval knights errant who wandered freely, without loyalty to any government,
women did not play the prominent role given them here. Lee's women warriors are as
handy with sword, knife, staff, spear, hand axe, hammer, cudgel, dart and arrow as
men.
As the film opens, Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) is preparing for a journey. She runs
the Yuan Security Compound with her partner and friend, Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat),
who arrives just before her departure. He requests she take his great broad sword
-- the legendary Green Destiny -- to a respected Beijing leader, Sir Te (Lung Sihung).
Li has had a deep mystical experience and intends to give up fighting to pursue the
spiritual path, the Way of the Tao.
This romance is really different. These seasoned warriors express their love, longing
and sexual desire through gesture, glance and tone of voice. Passion sizzles just
below the surface, but their behavior conforms to ritual and is correct. While the
struggle between social loyalty and personal desire traditionally drives the genre,
real feelings expressed by actors of this quality are rare. Shu Lien understands
Li's subtle allusion to their unfulfilled relationship as they part -- she for the
city and he to Udan Mountain, where warriors training in the secret martial arts
also receive Taoist teachings.
But everything changes after a young masked warrior steals the Green Destiny from
Sir Te, who had agreed to be the sword's custodian. Despite a one-on-one running,
leaping across rooftops, walking-up-walls battle between Shu Lien and the thief,
the great sword is gone. This first glimpse of the film's ballet-like choreography
of the fighting scenes is breath-taking. Shot in moonlight, the dance between the
lithe masked figure and the fabulous Shu Lien moves the drama to another level.
Now themes of honor and revenge enter the unfolding story. Li must reclaim his sword
and use it to kill his archenemy, Jade Fox, who he believes is behind its theft.
She is the witch who killed Li's late master, and Li must avenge his death.
Meanwhile, Shu Lien follows up on a mysterious young woman, Jen (Zhang Ziyi), who
is also staying in Sir Te's compound. Earlier she came upon the girl admiring the
sword. Now Jen confesses that she wants to be a fighter like Shu Lien and does not
wish to marry. Under Jen's questioning, Shu Lien reveals personal details about herself
as a woman in the Giang Hu life the girl so admires. Later, when Jen's secret lover,
Lo (Chang Chen), shows up, we understand more about this stubborn, willful girl.
Jade Fox (Cheng Pei Pei) also turns up, and her connection to the other characters
becomes clearer.
The film's magical realism is a startling departure from Lee's earlier, realistic
films of contemporary family life and period dramas -- the "Father Knows Best"
trilogy of Pushing Hands (1992), The Wedding Banquet (1993) and Eat Drink Man Woman
(1994), followed by Sense and Sensibility (1995) and The Ice Storm (1997). But it
is just the kick in the pants that world cinema needs at the start of a new century:
stupendous special effects in the service of art.
Lee's direction, Yuen Wo-Ping's choreographed action, Peter Pau's cinematography
and cellist Yo-Yo Ma's grace notes are superlative. Chow Yun Fat's elegant, serene
Li; Michelle Yeoh's clear moral compass as Shu Lien; Zhang Ziyi's boundless energy
as Jen; and Chang Chen as the sweet desert fox, Lo, are all magnificent.
Opening Friday, Feb. 2 at the Bijou Art Cinemas and Cinemark 17. Very highest
recommendations.
Atmospheric
Great performances enliven
suspenseful mystery.
By Lois
Wadsworth
The Gift: Directed by Sam Raimi. Produced by James Jacks, Tom
Rosenberg, Gary Luchessi. Co-written by Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Epperson. Cinematography,
Jamie Anderson. Production design, Neil Spisak. Costumes, Julie Weiss. Editor, Bob
Murawski, Arthur Coburn. Special effects, Vern Hyde. Music, Christopher Young. Starring
Cate Blanchett, with Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear, Hillary Swank,
Katie Holmes and Michael Jeter. Paramount Classics, 2000. R. 112 minutes.
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Soft-spoken Annie
Wilson (Cate Blanchett) finds herself in the midst of a horrific murder investigation.
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Suspense is director Sam Raimi's (A Simple Plan) great cinematic gift. He
goes about putting it on the screen the same way that director Alfred Hitchcock did
-- by saturating the ordinary with dread. Every time Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett)
enters the modest home she shares with her three sons -- 14-year-old Mike (Lynnsee
Provence), 9-year-old Miller (Hunter McGilvray) and 4-year-old Ben (David Brannen)
-- the rooms, furniture, personal articles, closed doors and open windows reek of
danger. You want to cry out, "Don't go in there by yourself," but of course,
that's the point. Annie has been alone since her husband died in an industrial accident
a year ago, but she's never been afraid until now.
One of the functions of a film score is to cue the audience about the intensity of
the scene on the screen. Contemporary audiences would probably not accept the relatively
heavy hand of composer Bernard Hermann, who scored almost all of Hitchcock's films.
Like Raimi, composer Christopher Young, cut his teeth on low-budget horror films,
and here he expresses menace without being intrusive. Likewise, cinematographer Jamie
Anderson put in his years at Roger Corman University. He helps Raimi increase the
moody, shadowed ambiguity that permeates the film and makes it a really scary movie.
Set in a small town where class differences are implicit, Annie has an ingrained
awareness that her place in the community is a modest one. Without a breadwinner,
the household depends on Annie's psychic readings to bring in bit of money. Because
she is not only clairvoyant but also psychologically clear about her gift, Annie
knows she can't use it for profit. In fact, she can't even call up her visions on
purpose. They come when they do.
Among the people who come to Annie for help are a battered wife, Valerie Barksdale
(Hilary Swank), and an auto mechanic, Buddy Cole (Giovanni Ribisi). Other people
in the community include Valerie's husband (Keanu Reeves); Annie's son Mike's teacher,
Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear); Wayne's fiancee, Jessica King (Katie Holmes); Jessica's
father, Kenneth King (Chelcie Ross); District Attorney David Duncan (Gary Cole);
a vicious defense attorney (Michael Jeter); and Sheriff Johnson (J.K. Simmons).
Late in the movie, the plot weakens as several twists move the focus away from Annie
and her second sight. After a woman goes missing and then turns up murdered, tangential
events drive the film sideways, and too many complications dull its point. Even then,
Blanchett doesn't miss a note. Annie remains a sea of calm even when subjected to
ridicule in the courtroom.
The portrait of this woman is the picture's real strength, not the search for a killer
that we've seen hundreds of times on television and in movie theaters. Raimi shows
how we treat those among us with different "gifts," the difficulties single
parents have fitting into community life that's geared to accommodate couples, and
how hard it is to support a family on an uncertain income. Blanchett's performance
here is one of the best of the year.
The last showing of The Gift is Thursday, Feb. 1 at Cinemark 17. It was to
have run at least one more week, but whoever-makes-these-decisions pulled it. Here's
hoping Movies 12 picks it up, because such an interesting film deserves longer than
two weeks to build an audience.
Feverish
Dream
Vampires make movies.
By Lois
Wadsworth
Shadow of the Vampire: Directed by E. Elias Merhige. Written
by Steven Katz. Produced by Nicolas Cage, Jeff Levine. Production design, Assheton
Gorton. Cinematography, Lou Bogue. Editor, Chris Wyatt. Art direction, Chris Bradley.
Costumes, Caroline de Vivaise. Starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. With Udo
Kier, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Issard, John Aden Gillet and Ronan Vibert.
Lions Gate Films, 2000. R. 89 minutes.
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Silent film director
F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) makes a Faustian bargain with German actor Max Schreck
(Willem Dafoe).
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One of the spookiest and most eccentric movies of 2000 is this reimagining of the
1922 filming of one of the great horror films of all time, F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu.
Murnau (John Malkovich) makes a pact with the devil to create his Gothic melodrama.
He agrees to allow his creepy German actor, Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), to slake
his blood thirst with the picture's leading lady, Greta (Catherine McCormack), but
only after the shoot is complete.
Soon after Schreck makes his first appearance with the cast and crew, however, first
one then another of them falls prey to the attentions of a real vampire. With rumors
circulating in the European movie-money capitals and location production costs spiraling,
Murnau finds himself in a race against time. Can he complete the film before the
notorious Schreck finishes them all off?
Using Nosferatu as a meditation on the creativity, ambition, obsession and
blood-sucking, devouring egoism that go into making movies is a novel premise. The
film's director, E. Elias Merhige, and scriptwriter Steven Katz have a lot of fun
with it. Dafoe and Malkovich are well paired as the pampered star and the proud,
dictatorial director who keeps trying to control him.
Dafoe makes the most of Schreck's ghoulish looks. He is nearly mute, speaking rarely
but issuing growls, grunts, snarls and other menacing animal sounds from time to
time. He uses his beady little eyes, feral mouth, sharp teeth, savage tongue and
monstrously long fingernails to great effect. There is no such thing as "over
the top" for a character such as this, yet even so, Dafoe's performance is relatively
restrained and his presence decidedly ominous.
For his part, Malkovich plays the acclaimed silent film director as a worldly man
who may himself be tainted with bloodlust and therefore cannot condemn the fiendish
appetite of his star. As is customary in a Malkovich film, he gets all the really
great lines, which he delivers in arch, icy, knowing tones. Preoccupied by his vision
for the film, Murnau lends himself to a campy treatment, which Malkovich plays with
gusto, ordering his lackeys around, keeping secrets from them and preying on their
fear. The director demands total control on the set, and his insistence on authenticity
exacts a very great price from his associates. Only in the movie's final minutes
do we realize exactly how far the deranged director will go to get the shots he wants.
The setting is properly Transylvanian -- a frightening inn in the mountains where
many of the picture's interiors are shot. The innkeeper is upset when the production
crew removes a large cross from the building's exterior as well as small crosses
from every room. The bedrooms look cold, they're Spartan and unwelcoming, while the
corridors provide a perfect space for fearsome shadows to lurk and screams in the
night to echo. But the most truly Gothic setting is among the ruins of an old castle
and a terrifying, dark, stone tunnel where Schreck's first scene is shot.
Shadow of the Vampire never quite makes up its mind whether it is homage to
Murnau's great silent film or an extended metaphor on the art of filmmaking or both.
But it doesn't matter, because when Merhige intercuts scenes from the original Nosferatu
with the scenes shot for Shadow, we can't tell the difference. Bravo!
Now playing at Cinemark 17, Shadow of the Vampire is highly recommended.
OPENING
OR RETURNING:
Films open the Friday following date of EW publication unless otherwise
noted.
All About My Mother: Pedro Almodóvar's complex, multi-layered drama
features outstanding performances and a witty script. A strong single mother, Manuela
(Cecilia Roth) embarks on an odyssey to the past on behalf of her dead son. She reunites
with an old friend, La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), meets Sister Rosa (Penélope
Cruz), and goes to work for a famous actress, Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes). R. Plays
at 7 pm on Feb. 6, 121 Pacific Hall, UO campus. Free.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Ang Lee's cinematic masterpiece, this romantic
fantasy set in ancient China involves intrigue, poison darts, a pirate of the dunes,
a witch, a magic sword, fabulous women fighters and beautiful, ballet-like martial
arts that transcend gravity. Stars Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat, Zhang Ziyi and Chang
Chen. Superlative! PG-13. Bijou Art Cinemas. Cinemark 17. See review
this issue.
Cry Baby: John Waters' 1990 teenage rock 'n roll melodrama stars Johnny Depp
as a 1950s dancing fiend from the wrong side of the tracks, with the usual Waters
crew creating madcap mania. PG-13. Plays at 8 pm on Feb. 2, 180 PLC, UO Campus. $2
students, $3 general.
Dude, Where Is my Car?: Danny Leiner's one-joke comedy is about a couple of
dudes who get too drunk to remember where they parked the car. PG-13. Movies 12.
Head Over Heels: Single woman who lives with four models gets a makeover and
a new boyfriend. Then the other women discover him committing a crime. Stars Monica
Potter and Freddie Prinze Jr. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Madcap Jim Carrey brings to life Dr. Seuss's
green grinch who wants to keep Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon and Bill Irwin and
others from celebrating Christmas. Directed by Ron Howard. PG. Movies 12.
Jungle Cat: Local filmmaker Jason Crum presents his independent feature for
a limited run. It's the story of a bouncer (Crum), a dancer (Mindy Nirenstein), the
club owner (Jerry McGill), and a bad tempered used car dealer (Lewis Dreyfuss). They're
all looking for lost gold. Not rated. Plays this week at 2 pm Feb. 3 and late night
Feb. 7. Bijou.
Proof of Life: Russell Crowe is a special agent for kidnap and ransom who
gets involved with the wife (Meg Ryan) of a hostage (David Morse) in this romantic
drama set in South America. Directed by Taylor Hackford (Dolores Claiborne, The Devil's
Advocate). R. Movies 12.
Saving Silverman: Steve Zahn and Jack Black are buddies who try to prevent
their best friend (Jason Biggs) from marrying a woman he doesn't love (Amanda Peet)
when he should be marrying his high school sweetie (Amanda Detmer). PG-13. Sneak
7 pm, Feb. 3. Cinemark 17.
Second Circle: Family relationships and mortality are themes of Aleksandr
Sokurov's Russian film. Plays at 6:30 pm on Feb. 7, 115 Pacific Hall, UO campus.
Free.
Valentine: Strong horror and gratuitous violence are offered by Jamie Blanks' offering,
which stars Denise Richards, David Borenaz, Marley Shelton and Katherine Heigl. R.
Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8.
Vertical Limit: Action adventure tale of a former mountain climber who has
to save a sibling trapped at 26,000 feet. Chris O'Donnell is the traumatized ex-climber,
Robin Tunney is his sis. Directed by Martin Campbell. PG-13. Movies 12.
CONTINUING:
Bring It On: Kirsten Dunst (The Virgin Suicides) is a cheerleader who wants
to lead her squad to a national title. Gabrielle Union (She's All That) is head of
a rival, inner-city hip-hop squad that has a score to settle with their suburban
counterparts. PG-13. Movies 12.
Cast Away: Fed Ex manager Tom Hanks learns to survive when he washes up on
a remote tropical island after his plane crashes. Helen Hunt is the girlfriend he
left behind. Intimate direction by Robert Zemeckis, a lean script by William Broyles
Jr., and an edgy performance by Hanks. Highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark 17.
Charlie's Angels: Elite private investigators Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan
(Drew Barrymore), and Alex (Lucy Liu) can handle anything on land, sea or air with
up-to-the-minute martial arts skills, futuristic vehicles, high-tech tools and toys,
and a raft of crafty disguises. Also stars Bill Murray. PG-13. Movies 12.
Chocolat: Directed by Lasse Hallström (Cider House Rules) and starring
Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, this confection is about the scandal in a small
town when a sexy, free spirited woman opens a chocolate shop. Sinful! PG-13. Cinemark
17.
Dungeons and Dragons: Fantasy adventure stars Jeremy Irons and Thora Birch
(American Beauty), based on the popular game. Courtney Solomon directs. PG-13. Movies
12.
Emperor's New Groove, The: Disney animation, Sting's music, and the voices
of David Spade, Eartha Kitt and John Goodman enliven this tale of a young emperor
who is turned into a llama and learns to be nicer to others. G. Cinemark 17.
Finding Forester: Gus Van Sant's latest film is badly written by Portlander
Mike Rich. Sean Connery plays a reclusive novelist and 16-year old newcomer Robert
Brown plays the super-bright teen who brings him back to the world. With Anna Paquin
and Busta Rhymes. Film reprises themes of Good Will Hunting without adding anything
new, but audience loved it. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8.
Gift, The: In Sam Raimi's Southern Gothic thriller, Cate Blanchett plays a
widowed mom who uses her psychic powers to help her neighbors. Greg Kinnear plays
a school principal looking for his missing girlfriend (Katie Holmes). Also stars
Hillary Swank and Keanu Reeves. Script co-written by Billy Bob Thornton. Excellent
film. Last showing: Thursday, February 1. R. Cinemark 17. See review
this issue.
Legend of Bagger Vance, The: A down-and-out former golf star (Matt Damon)
finds the girl of his dreams, again, (Charlize Theron). A guardian-angel (Will Patton)
helps him remember his former glory. Directed by Robert Redford. PG. Movies 12.
Little Nicky: Adam Sandler plays the shy, awkward son of the Devil who loves
heavy metal but has two older brothers who are bullies. When they make trouble in
New York, Nicky and a foul-mouthed talking dog go to the city to restore the balance
between Good and Evil. PG-13. Movies 12.
Meet the Parents: Ben Stiller plays the unfortunate prospective son-in-law
to Robert Di Niro's overly protective father. Directed by Jay Roach, the film also
stars Teri Polo and Blythe Danner as the engaged daughter and her mother. PG-13.
Movies 12.
Miss Congeniality: Dubious comedy stars Sandra Bullock as an FBI agent posing
as a beauty contestant, Miss New Jersey. Directed by Donald Petrie, flick also stars
Benjamin Bratt, Michael Caine and William Shatner. PG-13. Cinemark 17.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?: Ethan and Joel Coen's feel-good Depression-era
comedy is their best ever. This Odyssey stars George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim
Blake Nelson as chain-gang escapees in Mississippi, and the whole wild show is an
homage to old timey music and the folk traditions from which it springs. Also with
John Goodman. One of the very best films of the year, it gets the highest recommendation.
PG-13. Cinema World 8.
Pay It Forward: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth
Sense) star in this drama about a boy whose class project turns into phenomenon taken
up by lots of people. Directed by Mimi Leder. PG-13. Movies 12.
Pledge, The: Sean Penn directs this Jack Nicholson detective thriller that
also stars Sam Shepard, Helen Mirren and Vanessa Redgraves. Nicholson's a nearly-retired
cop who's looking for the murderer of an 8-year old girl when he stumbles on something
bigger. R. Cinemark 17.
Remember the Titans: Football movie based on the true story of a 1971 Virginia
high school falling apart from racial conflict until a black coach (Denzel Washington)
from out of town pulls them together. Directed by Boaz Yakin, it also stars Will
Patton and Kip Pardue. PG. Movies 12.
Save the Last Dance for Me: Talented white girl from small town (Julia Stiles)
enrolls in an inner city high school in New York where she falls for a popularAfrican
American boy (Sean Patrick Thomas) who also loves to dance. She has a chance to dance
ballet, but he prefers hip-hop. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8.
Shadow of the Vampire: John Malkevich plays silent film director F.W. Murnau,
and Willem Dafoe is his bloodthirsty star, Max Schreck. Directed by E. Elias Merhige
and written by Steven Katz, this film is about the making of Murnau's masterpiece,
the 1922 Nosferatu. It is either an homage to the film or an extended comparison
between vampirism and filmmaking or both. It's eccentric, spooky and has a touch
of magic, too. Highly recommended. R. Cinemark 17. See review this
issue.
Sixth Day, The: Roger Spottiswoode directs this futuristic thriller starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger in two roles. One is a clone, but nobody can tell which one.
Also stars Wendy Crewson as his wife, Tony Goldwyn and Robert Duvall. PG-13. Movies
12.
Snatch: Writer, director Guy Ritchie's (Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels)
comedy features an ensemble cast in the wild tale of a diamond heist gone sideways.
It's a rollicking ride through London's gangster world starring Benicio Del Toro
(Traffic), Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham and Stephen Graham.
R. Cinema World 8. Cinemark 17.
State and Main: David Mamet comedy set in a New England town taken over by
a film production crew and stars. Not so much culture clash as mutual opportunity
meltdown. Terrific ensemble cast includes William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Alec Baldwin and Sarah Jessica Parker. R. Very highly recommended. Late night Bijou.
Sugar and Spice: Cheerleader comedy shows girl power united to help one of
their own, even if it means breaking the law. Directed by Francine McDougall, it
stars Mena Suvari (American Beauty) and ensemble cast. PG-13. Cinemark 17.
Thirteen Days: Roger Donaldson directs this political thriller set during
the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when JFK and brother Robert scramble to avert Armageddon.
Kevin Costner plays the trusted Kennedy political operative, Kenny O'Donnell. Bruce
Greenwood plays the President, and Steven Culp plays Bobby. Very exciting, excellent
film. PG-13. Cinemark 17.
Traffic: Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed new film takes a hard look at the complexities
of drug interdiction programs. With an all-star, ensemble cast that includes Michael
Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Don Cheadle, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Erica Christensen.
Brilliant directing, excellent script and dynamite performances make this the best
film of 2000 (so far). R. Cinemark 17. Cinema World.
Wedding Planner, The: Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey star in this
romance about a San Francisco wedding planner (Lopez) who meets the man of her dreams
when a handsome pediatrician (McConaughey) saves her from a near-fatal collision
with a runaway dumpster. PG-13. Cinema World 8. Cinemark 17.
What Women Want: Mel Gibson stars as an accident victim who can suddenly hear
the private thoughts of women. The women in question include Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei
and Lauren Holly. PG-13. Cinemark 17.
MOVIE
THEATERS
Use the links provided below for specific show times.
Bijou
Art Cinemas
Bijou Theater | 686-2458 | 492 E. 13th
Regal
Cinemas
Cinema World | 342-6536 | Valley River Center
McDonald | 344-4343 | 10th and Willamette
Movieland | 342-4142 | W. 11th and Seneca
Springfield Quad | 726-9073 |
Cinemark
Theaters
Movies 12 | 741-1231 | Gateway
Mall
Movies before 12:30 are Sat. Sun. only. $1.50 all shows all days.
Cinemark 17 | 741-1231 | Gateway Mall
NEW RELEASES
ON VIDEO:
Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of
EW publication, sometimes sooner:
Better Way to Die, A: This thriller starring Andre Braugher, Lou Diamond Philips,
Natasha Henstridge and Joe Pantoliano never played Eugene. A case of mistaken identity
puts an ex-cop and is family in jeopardy. R.
Broken Hearts Club, The: Greg Berlanti's romantic comedy features a group
of 20-something gay men friends in L.A. looking for love. Main stars are Timothy
Olyphant (Go) and John Mahoney ("Fraiser") among a large ensemble cast.
Enjoyable film that should appeal to both straights and gays. Recommended. R.
Digimon the Movie: Japanese animated shorts became a children's series on
Fox Kids Network, spread to toys, an action apparel line and trading cards. Now it's
a movie and soundtrack CD. Great. PG.
Dr. T. and the Women: Robert Altman's pathetic comedy/romance stars Richard
Gere as an overbooked Dallas gynecologist with domestic problems. Also stars Helen
Hunt, Laura Dern, Kate Hudson, Shelley Long, Farrah Fawcett, Tara Reid and Liv Tyler.
Despite great cast, the film's misogyny is overwhelming. Not recommended. R.
Having Our Say: Made for TV-drama celebrates the real-life tale of two African
American sisters who lived past 100 and whose stories inspired a best-seller and
a Broadway play. Fabulous cast includes Diahann Carroll, Ruby Dee, Amy Madigan and
Della Reese. NR.
Straight Out of Compton: Title tells it all. Stars David E. Baker. NR.
Urban Legends: Final Cut: Student filmmakers (Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis
and Joseph Lawrence) make a psychological thriller about urban legends in a competitive
film school where someone is killing off other students. R.
Whipped: Love and sex satire starring Amanda Peet as the object of their affection,
as three old college buddies compete for her attention. Written, directed and produced
by newcomer Peter M. Cohen. R.
Next week: Rocky and Bullwinkle, Backstage, Bless the Child,
Bring It On, The Contender, Get Carter, The Prophet's Game, Relative Values, Seven
Girlfriends, Sunset Strip Drama and Woman on Top.
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