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Compared to this riff-raff, The Mexican couldn't be too bad, I figured, what with such pricey luminaries as Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos"). Wrong. Even star-power charm can't offset the amateur, clunky plot and direction, and souping it up with sordid, unnecessary violence doesn't help. This flimsy feature, ineptly directed by Gore Verbinski (Mouse Hunt) and poorly written by J.H. Wyman (Pale Saints, a 1997 Tarrantino-like film he also directed), is simplistic. Samantha (Julia Roberts) and Jerry (Brad Pitt) really love each other, but they pick fights over petty differences all the time. Sam wants Jerry to go to Vegas with her, but first Jerry has to make one more trip for his mobbed-up, sleazy boss, Bernie Nayman (Bob Balaban). Now Bernie is second-in-command to El Jefe Grande, aka Arnold Margolese (uncredited cameo by well-known H'wood actor), who's serving time. Bernie's got ideas, bad ideas. Crazy things happen to Jerry, who's in Mexico to meet up with a contact, Beck (David Krumholtz), and bring back an antique Mexican pistol that's lavishly decorated with silver. Delays and a dead body do not endear Jerry to Bernie. Meanwhile, Sam is kidnapped on her drive to Vegas. Her kidnapper turns out to be a soft-hearted guy called Leroy (James Gandolfini), who's also a cold-blooded killer goon. On the road trip, Sam and Leroy meet up with two guys 4 one a sweet hitch-hiker named Frank (Michael Cerveris) and one they only call the Well Dressed Black Man (Sherman Augustus), who dogs their every move. Now all these characters either meet up in Mexico or they don't, and that's about as much suspense as this lame set-up can manage. The most endearing character in the movie is a dog who becomes Jerry's only pal while he's on the lam from the locals, and this mutt's big, mean, sweet and loyal. I also chuckled with the running gag about the kind of rental car Jerry and later his best friend Ted (J.K. Simmons) want to drive while they're down south 4 custom-detailed low-riders with booming sound systems audible six blocks away. It's a fact that the cars in this movie have more character than most of the people. You can't entirely ignore Roberts and Pitt, who give the kind of performances that allow them to charge zillions but don't scratch the surface of their capabilities. My real problem is that this may be as good as it gets until next November, when the dumb-as-bread, venal, greedy film companies again clog the movie pipeline with all the year's best movies at once. Maybe this year I'll subscribe to HBO and start reviewing cable programs. There's got to be some film art out there somewhere, and it sure isn't in what the multiplexes will bring in from the 2001 movie crop.
Fifteen Minutes: Robert De Niro is a homicide detective and Edward Burns an arson investigator in John Herzfeld's thriller. They're looking for killers who sell their videotaped snuff footage to reality TV. Could happen. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Get Over It: Romantic teen comedy stars Kirsten Dunst and Ben Foster (Liberty Heights). PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Heartbreakers: Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play mother/daughter con artists, and Gene Hackman's their mark. David Mirkin (Romy and Micheles' High School Reunion) directs. PG-13. Sneak 7 pm Saturday March 10. Cinemark. Once Were Warriors: 1994 Lee Tamahori directs this New Zealand drama about a Maori family struggling with domestic violence and urban ghetto life. Unbelievably good performances by Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison and the Maori teen actors who play their children. Stay 'til the end, and you will be moved. R. 7 pm March 13 at 150 Columbia. Free. Panama Deception, The (1992): Barbara Trent's controversial Academy Award-winning best documentary feature about the 3-day invasion of Panama is still relevant. Observers interviewed charge both illegal actions by the U.S. government and a conspiracy by major media to keep quiet the deaths of Panamanian citizens at the hands of U.S. military. NR. 7 pm 3/14 180 PLC. Free. 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. Late night Bijou. See review. Stand by Me: River Phoenix's film debut as one of four 12-year old boys who discover a dead body on their trek into the Oregon woods. Rob Reindeer directs this adaptation of Stephen King story with attention and a minimum of sentimentality. Filmed in Oregon. Highly recommended. R. 8 pm March 9 at 180 PLC. $3 gen./$2 students. Taxi Blues (1990): Pavel Lounguine won best director at Cannes 1990 for this political allegory about the friendship between a Moscow cab driver and a musician. NR. 6:30 pm March 14 in 115 Pacific Hall. Free. Wonder Boys: Thanks for bringing back director Curtis Hanson's marvelous comedy set in academia. This sweet, funny movie stars Michael Douglas in a surprisingly tender role as a professor with writer's block, Tobey Maguire as his eccentric bright student, Frances McDormand as his paramour and Robert Downey Jr. as his publishing agent. Also Katie Holmes and Rip Torn. Highly recommended, it's on many critics' top ten list for 2000. R. Movies 12. CONTINUING 3000 Miles to Graceland: Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell arrive in Vegas decked out like Elvis, intending to rob the casino, but plans go wrong. Demian Lichenstein directs; David Arquette, Christian Slater also star. The NY Times calls it a "bloated spectacle" and cautions about its "wall-to-wall violence." R. Cinemark. All the Pretty Horses: Directed by Billy Bob Thornton, drama based on Cormac McCarthy's novel stars Matt Damon and Henry Thomas as young Texas cowboys who ride to Mexico to work with horses in 1949. Also stars Penelope Cruz, Lucas Black and Ruben Blades. Highly recommended. R. Movies 12. See review. Before Night Falls: Artist/director Julian Schnabel's film combines recent Cuban socio-political history with one artist's search for the freedom to express his vision. As poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, Javier Bardem's flawless performance earned an Academy Award nomination. With Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Johnny Depp and Sean Penn. Very highly recommended. R. Bijou. See review. Best in Show: Christopher Guest directs and stars in this faux docu about dog-lovers who want to win at national kennel club show. Michael Hitchcock, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara plus ensemble cast.. Very funny movie. PG-13. Movies 12. See review. Bounce: Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck star Don Roos's romantic drama. Affleck plays a man who gives up his seat on a flight that crashes, and Paltrow is the widow of the man who took his place. Highly recommended. PG-13. Movies 12. Carman The Champion: Born-again Christian movie stars gospel singer Carman (Licciardello) in this Rocky-like fight drama. Movie producer Matt Crouch "will hold a live Praise the Lord show" at flick's premiere opening in Los Angeles, according to official website. Oh, dear. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cast Away: Academy Award nominee Tom Hanks learns to survive when his plane crashes and he washes up on a remote tropical island. 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. See review. 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, Bill Murray. PG-13. Movies 12. Chocolat: Lasse Hallström directs this best picture nominee, which stars Juliette Binoche (best actress nom), Johnny Depp and Judi Dench (supporting actress nom). It's about the scandal a sexy, free spirited woman causes in a small town when she opens a chocolate shop. Other noms: best adapted screenplay, original song, PG-13. Cinemark. See review. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Ang Lee's cinematic masterpiece, romantic fantasy set in ancient China garnered 10 Academy Award nominations: best picture, best director, best foreign film, best adapted screenplay, art direction, cinematography, original score, song, costumes and film editing. Stars Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. Superlative! PG-13. Bijou. Cinemark. See review. Down to Earth: Chris Rock gets sent to Heaven by mistake, but then he comes back in the body of a recently murdered Manhattan mogul. Regina King, Mark Addy, Frankie Faison and Chazz Palminteri also star. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. 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.
Finding Forester: Gus Van Sant 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. PG-13. Cinemark. See review. Hannibal: Ridley Scott chronicles Hannibal Lector's inevitable return in this gruesome sequel that stars Julianne Moore as Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins as the infamous cannibal. Script by David Mamet, Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List). Bloodsoaked, creepy movie earns its R-rating. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review. Meet the Parents: Ben Stiller plays the unfortunate prospective son-in-law
to Robert Di Niro's overly protective father, with Teri Polo and Blythe Danner as
the engaged daughter and her mother. Directed by Jay Roach. Nominated for best original
song. Mexican, The: Comic road movie stars Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini in a stupid mob caper south of the border. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. See review. Monkeybone: Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg star in this comedy about a cartoonist who enters a strange world dominated by his creation .PG-13. Cinemark. O Brother, Where Art Thou?: Ethan and Joel Coen's feel-good Depression-era comedy and homage to old timey music is their best ever. This Odyssey stars George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as chain-gang escapees in Mississippi. With Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, John Goodman. Highest recommendation. Nominated for best adapted screenplay and cinematography. PG-13. Cinema World. See review. Recess: School's Out: Animated Disney film's about a plot to create permanent winter. Hard to overcome what The NY Times review calls its "visual deficit." G. Cinemark. Rugrats in Paris: While his dad works on EuroReptarland, a new amusement
park, Tommy Pickles leads the gang on adventures in Paris to solve the mysteries
of life. G. 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. PG-13. Cinemark. Saving Silverman: Buddies Steve Zahn and Jack Black 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. Cinemark. See Spot Run: David Arquette plays a mailman who teams up with a crime-fighting
canine in this comedy. Cinema World. Cinemark. Traffic: Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed film looks at the failures of America's war on drugs with an all-star 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. Nominated for best picture, director, supporting actor Del Toro, adapted screenplay and film editing. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review. Unbreakable: M. Night Shyamalan's film stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, who put themselves on the line in powerfully understated roles. Beautifully directed, very highly recommended movie. PG-13. Movies 12. See review. Vertical Limit: Action adventure tale of a former mountain climber (Chris
O'Donnell) who has to save a sibling (Robin Tunney) trapped at 26,000 feet. Directed
by Martin Campbell. PG-13. Movies 12. Bijou
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Bridge, The (France) Gerard Depardieu directs this 2000 film about the effect of adultery on a marriage; he stars with Carole Bouquet and Charles Berlin. NR. Crew, The: Burt Reynolds, Richard Dreyfuss, Dan Hedaya and Seymour Cassel
are old-timers in Miami Beach who hatch a scheme to save their garish senior residence.
PG-13. Rosie: Rosie, who's 13, is caught breaking the law, and her story evolves in flashback. Directed by Patrice Toye. NR. 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. Wonder Boys: Director Curtis Hanson's marvelous comedy set in academia stars Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. and Rip Torn. Very sweet, funny movie with a surprisingly tender turn by Douglas and subtle, lovely work by Downey. Highly recommended, it's made many critics' top ten films of 2000 lists. R. Next week: American Vampire, Dancer in the Dark, Lucky Numbers, Remember
the Titans, The Tao of Steve and Turn It Up.
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