|
MOVIE
LISTINGS
| NEW
VIDEO RELEASES
MOVIE
REVIEW ARCHIVE
| THEATER
INFO
A
Boys Tale
A living
doll programmed to love.
By Lois
Wadsworth
A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:
Directed by Steven Spielberg. Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Steven
Spielberg, Bonnie Curtis. Written by Steven Spielberg, based on a
1969 Brian Aldiss short story, "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long,"
and the screen story by Ian Watson. Executive producers, Jan Harlan,
Walter F. Parkes. Cinematography, Janusz Kaminiski. Production design,
Rick Carter. Editor, Michael Kahn. Music, John Williams. Costumes,
Bob Ringwood. Special visual effects and animation by Industrial Light
and Magic. Robot characters by Stan Winston Studio. Starring Haley
Joel Osment and Jude Law, with Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson and
William Hurt. Warner Bros. Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, 2001.
PG-13. 140 minutes.
 |
|
|
David
(Haley Joel Osment) and Joe (Jude Law) plan to escape from Rouge
City.
.
|
|
More Spielbergian than Kubrickian, A.I.
Artificial Intelligence is a hypnotic sci-fi fantasy that resonates.
My middle-of-the-night, profound analysis has evaporated in the light
of day, leaving me only with the otherworldly wordplay of "Te Deum --
tedium," which was my final summing up of the movie, I think. The idea
went something like this: If Stanley Kubrick had made the film, he would
not have not required a happy ending but looked to the dark gods of
human nature to show a way through the dilemma of a child robot capable
of love in an unfeeling world -- sort of a cinematic Te Deum
addressed to the human shadow. But in Steven Spielberg's hand the movie
has to be about the boy who wants to be a real boy, and it must end
well. That's where the tedium comes in.
Because I haven't read Brian Aldiss' short story,
I don't know or care whether Spielberg's screenplay is true to it,
because the director has long been interested in the wounds and pleasures
of boyhood. E.T., Hook, Indiana Jones' adventures and
Jurassic Park's dinosaurs are aimed at the boy in all of us.
Even the fire-fighting pilot hero turned guardian angel of Always
is really a boy who didn't grow up but gets one more chance.
Spielberg's most unsentimental and interesting film,
Empire of the Sun (1987), is true to British writer J.G. Ballard's
childhood experience of Shanghai when the Japanese invaded at the
outbreak of WWII. When I reviewed Ballard's book and later Speilberg's
movie, I wrote about how the boy Jim liked the war, unlike
his parents and other adults. Spielberg captured young Ballard's particular
perversity without overly sweetening it.
Watching A.I., I longed for the child robot,
David (Haley Joel Osment), to acquire a touch of Jim's resilience
and refreshing appetite for life's darker side, to better withstand
the wrenching disappointments certain to come. David's human parents,
Henry (Sam Robbers) and Monica (Frances O'Connor), are a self-absorbed,
modern couple whose only child, Martin (Jake Thomas), is so sick they've
had him cryogenically frozen until a cure is found. Now a doctor tells
Henry they may never be able to help his boy as Monica slips toward
emotional instability.
Two things to know about the experimental child robot
Henry brings home from the lab where he works: David will love the
parent he imprints on forever and ever. And he must be returned to
the lab to be dismantled if the parents can't keep him. When a malevolent
but recovering Martin comes home, Monica has overcome her repulsion
at David's creepiness and loves him, too. The scene where she abandons
him in a dark forest -- the film's most important moment --
emotionally transcends all that comes before and after.
Now here's where it gets tedious. Instead of David
learning to take care of himself in a polarized world where robots
are hunted down, tortured and killed -- a very Dickinson storyline
-- the boy agonizes over his lost mother. David's steadfast companions,
a Teddy (voiced by Jack Angel) and a Mecha (a racial epithet) named
Gigolo Joe (Jude Law in a mesmerizing performance), teach him about
life. The story should end here, because in its last half-hour we
come to despise the all-too-human petulance, rage and unreasoning
demands of a boy who refuses to give up and grow up. But if A.I.
didn't build from an uneasy domesticity to cool surrealism to unmitigated
kitsch, it wouldn't be a Spielberg movie, would it?
Haunting, beautiful and flawed, A.I. is a must-see
movie now playing at Cinema World and Cinemark. Leave the little kids
at home.
A
False Friend
Menace
and thrills in the French countryside.
By Lois
Wadsworth
WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY
(France, 2000): Directed by Dominik Moll. Produced by Michel Saint-Jean.
Screenplay, Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand. Cinematography, Matthieu
Poirot-Delpech. Original Music, David Sinclair Whittaker. Art direction,
Michel Barthélémy. Sound, François Maurel. Editor,
Yannick Kergoat. Starring Laurent Lucas, Sergi Lopez, Mathilde Seigner
and Sophie Guillemin. Miramax Zoë Release, 2001. R. 117 minutes.
 |
|
Claire
(Mathilde Seigner) and Michel (Laurent Lucas) outside their hideous
pink bathroom.
. |
|
In this weird and original little film, what
the French call frisson keeps the story on course and makes it
all work. As the film opens, Michel (Laurent Lucas) is getting tense
driving the aging family car on a long, boring trip. The father of three
little girls, all of whom are understandably cranky on this hot summer
afternoon, Michel needs a break. His wife, Claire (Mathilde Seigner)
is a reasonable woman, but the duress of unrelenting child care has
made her impatient as well. When they stop to refuel, Michel hits the
men's room for a pee.
Imagine his surprise when a complete stranger calls
him by name and remembers embarrassing details about Michele's school
days. Harry (Sergi Lopez) never quite comes into focus for Michel,
but it seems that the man remembers not only anecdotes about Michele's
old girlfriends but also stories and poems Harry wrote in college
and has long forgotten. In his bedraggled state, Michel has no defenses,
so Harry attaches himself firmly to the family and insists that as
an old school chum, he and his lover, Plum (Sophie Guillemin) will
accompany the family to their home -- still quite a long drive
away -- for a drink.
And so it goes. Harry's interest in Michel goes beyond
Michel's comfort level, but the house guest has a sensitive radar
that measures when he's gone too far and when he can cajole Michel
into accepting his presence and his unwanted gifts for a bit more
time. Harry is that "friend" you never want to see again, and here
he is, deeply ensconced in Claire and Michel's otherwise bucolic if
demanding domestic summer life.
When Michel checks with his father (Dominique Rozan),
the former dentist remembers putting in Harry's plate after he and
Michel collided on the school ground. Reassured that Harry's for real
and grateful for Plum's devotion to their daughters, Claire and Michel
relax and try to enjoy their guests.
French director Dominik Moll has an uncanny ability
to turn scenes of blandest domesticity into truly thrilling suspense.
Like Michel, you know from the start there's something not quite right
about Harry but can't put your finger on it. Life is too busy to stop
and figure it out. And Harry's a goodnatured fellow, generous to a
fault, while Plum, who keeps Harry in sexual ecstasy, is a sweet girl.
They all share moments of genuine fun together, and the French countryside
is paradise.
As the story unfolds, Moll lets us in on Harry's less
wholesome side while keeping Claire, Michel and Plum in the dark.
And even though the worst of Harry's deeds take place off screen,
we see enough to be chilled to the bone. Any minute now, you think,
Michel will see through this guy. But no, when the denouement comes,
it's more shocking than the other surprises sprinkled throughout.
A cautionary tale about what happens when too much
of an individual's creative life gets set aside to tend to the minutiae
of daily living, it's also about recognizing and honoring the simple
joys of everyday life. The film catalogs the sacrifice parents make
to raise a family and notes the rewards of relationship and parenthood.
It also laughs at our pettiness. Harry is Michel's shadow, a character
whose destructive tendencies represent parts of himself he ignores
at his own peril.
With a Friend Like Harry opens at the Bijou
Friday, July 6. Highly recommended.
Grateful
Dead Documented
A different
kind of family fare.
By
Lois Wadsworth
THE END OF THE ROAD: THE FINAL TOUR:
Directed, edited by Brent Meeske. Produced by Meeske, Douglas Hosdale.
Sound editor, Michael Dong. Photography: Meeske, Hosdale, John Foynes,
Bob Hasek, Brown Bear and Chip Olsen. Additional video, Hasek, Mike
Greenberg. Music: Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia. With Babatunde Olatunji,
Merl Saunders, Wavy Gravy, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill
Kruetzmann, and thousands of Deadheads. Slow Loris Films, 2000. Not
rated. 97 minutes.
Brent Meeske's documentary of The Grateful
Dead's 1995 tour opens with part of the tribute to Jerry Garcia, who
died less than a month after the tour's last concert. At the end,
Meeske returns to the tribute. In between, he tracks the band's incorrigible
followers, the Deadheads, at four concerts -- Las Vegas, Seattle,
Highgate, Vermont and Deer Creek, Indiana, where riots occurred and
fans broke through the gate, turning it into a free concert.
Fanatical fans are no surprise to Eugeneans who saw
their share of Deadheads in the parking lot at Autzen Stadium in the
1970s and '80s. Vendors selling tie-dye shirts, hand crafted jewelry
and banners, food and beverages were tolerated by the Dead. But after
the band's "rediscovery" in the 1990s, many followers of 30 years
claim that a rowdier element began appearing at concerts, breaking
the unspoken rules of the road as well as the law.
Meeske doesn't shape the material into a narrative
flow, which results in a montage of the chaos that characterizes any
large, unregulated event. That won't stop fans from coming to his
movie. Not in Eugene. Opens Friday, July 6 at the Bijou for a one-week
run.
The
Big Squeeze
The Bijou's
struggle reflects a changing industry.
By
Lois Wadsworth
In response to the many e-mails and rumors circulating
over the past week regarding the Bijou's financial
woes, I want to share with EW readers some of what I've learned
in the past 10 years about the political and economic reality of being
in a small city during an era of mass entertainment, in which decisions
affecting movies are made by increasingly fewer studios, film companies,
distributors and exhibitors.
In Flash, the UO School of Journalism's newsletter
(Fall 1999/Winter 2000), Professor Janet Wasko wrote about powerful
corporations moving across industry lines to own and control more
and more of the entertainment industry: "Fewer than 10 corporations
now own the major U.S. broadcast television networks, control the
production and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, produce,
co-produce or have financial interests in more than 95 percent of
prime-time TV programming, and won or have financial interests in
more than 95 percent of the cable channels."
Excluding any business decisions
made by the Bijou over time, this industry-wide narrowing has propelled
the decline of small independent art houses. Art houses across the
country folded in large numbers last year, and many operate at the
edge of closure today, squeezed out by factors largely beyond their
control -- the size of the market; film distribution and booking
decisions; the marginal economic reality of small film companies;
and the desperate need for occasional "blockbusters" to absorb the
losses from unsuccessful films. (It's a matter of scale. A megaplex
may also have its share of flops, but with so many more screens, the
overall financial picture is lots better.)
The Bijou's plight is directly related to the context
in which film distribution takes place. Largely unknown to film consumers
but a vital part of the industry, distributors make decisions about
when and where to release films in cities across the country. "It's
probably the most competitive time this industry has ever faced,"
an industry insider told Editor and Publisher (1/15/01). Theater
chains now compete directly against each other and the remaining
art house venues for product.
"Wide" releases such as A.I., financed by major
studios and accompanied by massive television and print advertising
campaigns, open on thousands of screens in both large and small markets
at the same time, which requires thousands of expensive prints. In
contrast, films booked for art houses are frequently produced and
distributed by smaller film companies. Unless a major studio releases
an independently made film, prints are limited.
For example, a film that would be a natural for Eugene
and the Bijou is a documentary titled Down From the Mountain,
which opened in New York in the middle of June. It's about traditional
American music played by some of the performers from O Brother
Where Art Thou, which was a million-selling soundtrack album.
It's highly unlikely the film will reach Eugene, however. Even with
positive reviews, there are only two prints available at this time.
If the movie plays Seattle and Portland successfully, it may make
its way here eventually. But probably not, in part because by the
time it would get to us, it will have dropped off every publicist,
distributor and booker's screen.
Small studios are increasingly on the edge themselves.
Just last week, The New York Times reported the shut-down of
Manhattan's fast-growing film company, The Shooting Gallery, by its
parent corporation. Despite assets of $26.6 million, the company had
racked up $62.7 million in liabilities. The Shooting Gallery made
Sling Blade (later sold to Miramax), made and distributed last
year's You Can Count on Me, and brought to the U.S. the $6.2
million-grossing British thriller "Croupier," which played at the
Bijou and was a hit across the country.
Most mainstream theaters are owned
and operated by chains (locally by Regal and Cinemark, two of the
nation's largest), which have enormous bargaining power when booking
films from distributors. Smaller independent theaters such as the
Bijou depend on independent bookers to bargain for the limited number
of art releases available. A new wrinkle was introduced over the last
few years when films played at Regal and Cinemark theaters that would
have been booked into the Bijou in the past.
While some of these films did very well at the box
office for the mainstream theaters that booked them, many languished
in the malls, where drop-in audiences weren't interested. Ballyhooed
films that did well included O Brother Where Art Thou, Chocolat,
Nurse Betty, Best in Show, Billy Elliot and
The Exorcist . Those lacking mass publicity such as The
Gift, The Pledge, Shadow of the Vampire, The
Original Kings of Comedy, Saving Grace, and Snatch
were wasted in such venues. Most revealing to me was Girlfight,
which opened at Cinemark, ran one week and was dropped, then "saved"
by the Bijou for a two-week run.
As a film destination, the Eugene market is insignificant,
far behind Portland, where Regal Cinemas have a near-monopoly and
a much larger urban audience base. But now Eugene has also fallen
behind Salem in terms of opening of new releases. Three Regal theaters
(11 screens) closed in Eugene over the last year-and-a-half --
Springfield Quad, Movieland and the McDonald. With its 22 Regal Cinema
screens, Salem is a more important venue for the chain than Eugene
with its six screens, despite Eugene's university and a well-educated,
movie-going population.
Distributors have little incentive to accommodate
art theaters such as the Bijou in smaller markets such as Eugene.
"It's all about numbers," a film publicist in Seattle told me two
years ago, noting that publicists have no input into the booking process,
which takes place in central locations out of state. There the corporate
booker for Regal or Cinemark looks at market gross as a ratio of the
population base, a number that determines his or her decision.
The Bijou is fighting very large dragons, and I urge
all serious film lovers to support the films it brings to the screens,
because without even one venue for independent domestic and foreign
films, we will be stuck with a few films duplicated at two rival theaters
selected by people who don't know us, don't care about us, and don't
want to know. It's like the tag lines from Lily Tomlin's old, pre-breakup
skit put it: "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company."
OPENING
OR RETURNING:
Films open the Friday following date of EW
publication unless otherwise noted.
Along Came a Spider: Morgan Freeman stars as
Detective Alex Cross in the prequel to Kiss the Girls, this
time with Monica Potter as his partner. Directed by Lee Tamahori (Once
Were Warriors), thriller also stars Dylan Baker and Michael Wincott.
R. Opens Wed. 7/4. Movies. 12.
Cats and Dogs: An inside look at pet wars at
home while grown up people are at work. Kitty (Sean Hayes, voice)
has grandiose plans other critters want to stop. Live-action comedy
directed by Larry Guterman also features animatronic, computer-generated
action. PG. Opens Wed. 7/4. Cinemark. Cinema World.
End of the Road: The Final Tour: Documentary
look at the Deadheads on what became the last tour of the Grateful
Dead. Clips at end show the band's tribute to Jerry Garcia, August
1995. Not rated. Bijou. See review this issue.
Kiss of the Dragon: Jet Li action thriller
co-stars Bridget Fonda. Directed by Chris Nahon, it's set in Paris
where Li is wrongly accused of murder, and Fonda has been forced into
prostitution. R. Cinemark.
Knight's Tale, A: Aimed at 12-year-olds, this
medieval adventure fantasy stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark
Addy, Rufus Sewell. Directed by Brian Helgeland, co-writer of L.A.
Confidential. PG-13. Opens Wed. 7/4. Movies 12.
Mummy Returns, The: Starring Brendan Fraser
and Rachel Weisz star in this thriller directed by Stephen Sommers.
PG-13. Opens Wed. 7/4. Movies 12.
Scary Movie 2: The Wayans brothers return with
this sequel to last year's genre spoof, with Keenan Ivory Wayans directing
brothers Marlon and Shawn (who also wrote the script). The bros, trapped
inside a haunted house, enlist the help of James Woods, exorcist.
R. Opens Wed. 7/4. Cinemark. Cinema World.
With a Friend Like Harry: Dominik Moll directs
this French thriller with a fine hand for domestic suspense. Harry
wiggles into the lives of an old school chum and his family to really
make summer in the countryside exciting. Highly recommended dark comedy.
R. Bijou. See review this issue.
CONTINUING
A.I.: Steven Spielberg directs this
film, based loosely on a project of the late Stanley Kubrick and a
story by sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss. In a future filled with environmental
catastrophes, Haley Joel Osment plays an 11-year old android aware
of his own existence who wants to become a boy. Sexy star Jude Law
plays a sex toy. Also stars Frances O'Connor and William Hurt. Imperfect
gotta-see movie. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this
issue.
Angel Eyes: Luis Mandoki's romance between
a cop (Jennifer Lopez) and a mysterious man (Jim Caviezel) also stars
Sonia Braga. LA Weekly calls it a "sappy love story," and blames scriptwriter
Gerald DiPego who "plots himself into a dead end where the only way
out is to have the lovers each deliver life-changing, soul-purging
monologues." R. Movies 12.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Disney animated
tale directed by Beauty and Beast team, Kirk Wise and Gary
Trousdale. A museum cartographer named Milo finds a map to Atlantis
and heads an expedition to the lost land. Voices include Michael J.
Fox, James Garner and Leonard Nimoy. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Baby Boy: John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood
) goes back to the same inner-city L.A. neighborhood for this drama
about a misguided 20-year-old (Tyrese Gibson) resistant to the commitments
of real life. With Omar Gooding and Ving Rhames. Cinemark.
Cast Away: 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. Movies 12. Online archives.
Chocolat: Lasse Hallström's 2000 film
stars Juliette Binoche (best actress nom), Johnny Depp and Judi Dench
(supporting actress nom). A sexy, free spirited woman causes a scandal
in a small church-going town when she opens a chocolate shop. PG-13.
Movies 12. Online archives.
crazy/beautiful: John Stockwell directs this
high school drama starring Kirsten Dunst as the sexy, rich daughter
of a California congressman and Jay Hernandez as the poor Hispanic
boy she loves. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Crocodile Dundee in L.A.: Simon Wencer directs
the return of the old Aussie fave played by Paul Hogan, with Linda
Kozlowski as the love interest. PG. Movies 12.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Ang Lee's cinematic
masterpiece and Academy Award-winning foreign film 2000, 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. Movies 12. Online archives.
Dr. Dolittle 2: Eddie Murphy is back as the
good doctor, but the animals have changed. They've become activists
who plan to go on strike to save their forest in Steve Carr's new
film. And they're hungry for sex advice. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Driven: Sylvester Stallone in a racetrack action
picture directed by Renny Harlin. PG-13. Movies 12.
Fast and The Furious, The: Undercover cop (Paul
Walker) infiltrates gang-like LA street racing teams in Rob Cohen's
action-adventure that also stars Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez
(Girlfight). PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Himalaya: Beautiful adventure film shot in
the high mountains of Nepal stars courageous, talented nonactors from
the Dopol region of the country. Directed by Edward Valli, a documentary
filmmaker, writer and National Geographic photographer, it's a glimpse
into a culture and people with universal values we recognize. Highly
recommended. Not rated. Bijou. Online archives.
Joe Dirt, The Adventures of: Comedy directed
by Dennie Gordon stars David Spader as a dunce who's on a quest to
find the parents who dumped him at the Grand Canyon when he was 8
years old. PG-13. Cinemark.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: Angelina Jolie plays
the video game action heroine, and Simon West directs. Also stars
Jon Voight and Iain Glen. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Memento: Written, directed by Christopher Nolan,
based on his brother Jonathan's story. Stars Guy Pearce as a man whose
memory loss following a crime in which his wife was raped and killed
propels him toward vengeance. With Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano.
Question the film's skewed reality at every opportunity. R. Bijou.
Online archives.
Moulin Rouge: Director Baz Luhrmann (Strictly
Ballroom, Romeo and Juliet) sets this fabulous dramatic
musical extravaganza in the summer of love, Paris, 1899. Nicole Kidman
and Ewan McGregor make a great romantic pair, and John Leguizamo,
Jim Broadbent and Richard Roxburgh are excellent players. Everybody
wants to work at the all-singing, all-dancing Moulin Rouge shows.
Very highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives.
Pearl Harbor: Director Michael Bay and producer
Jerry Bruckheimer's $135 million WWII epic stars Ben Affleck, Josh
Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale, with Cuba Gooding Jr., Jon Voight, Dan
Aykroyd and Alec Baldwin. Spectacle, yes. Romance, no. Tediously unoriginal,
overstuffed turkey. Cinemark 17. Online archives.
Recess: School's Out: Animated Disney film's
about a plot to create permanent winter, thus doing away with summer
vacation! G. 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. PG-13. Movies 12.
Shrek: Computer-animated fairy tale (by DreamWorks'
Pacific Data Images, makers of Antz) stars Mike Myers, Eddie
Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow. Entertaining and funny for
kids and grown-ups. PG. Cinemark. Online archives.
Swordfish: John Travolta plays a C.I.A. spook
who persuades a sexy colleague (Halle Berry) and a hacker (Hugh Jackman)
to help him steal $9 billion. AP reviewer says after the first 10
minutes, this fish begins to smell. Directed by Dominic Sena (Gone
in 60 Seconds). R. Cinemark.
Tailor of Panama, The: John Boorman's film,
based on a John le Carré novel, stars Pierce Brosnan as a bored
British agent who puts the moves on Catherine McCormack while tying
his fate to a British ex-con (Geoffrey Rush) married to Jamie Lee
Curtis. Surprisingly well-done, it's highly recommended. R. Movies
12. Online archives.
Trumpet of the Swan: In its Eugene premiere,
this animated film based on E.B. White's classic tale stars voices
of Jason Alexander, Dee Baker, Mary Steenburgen, Reese Witherspoon
and Carol Burnett. G. Movies 12.
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
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:
Beyond Suspicion: Jeff Goldblum and Anne Heche
star in this dramatic film directed by Matt Tobak. When a man dies
in his arms during a botched holdup, Goldblum takes on his identity
and falls into the world of an ex-con. R.
Double Take: It's Trading Places for
the new century as NY investment banker (Orlando Jones) switches identities
with a petty thief (Eddie Griffin). George Gallow directs. PG-13.
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.
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.
Reduced Shakespeare Company: This hilarious
3-person comedy troupe played the Hult years ago to great acclaim.
Here they present their madcap, 90-minute version of "The Complete
Works of William Shakespeare." Not rated.
Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her:
Five interlocking stories of women on the edge stars Glenn Close,
Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart, Amy Brenneman, Holly Hunter and Kathy
Baker. Made for Showtime. PG-13.
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.
Next week: The Family Man, The Gift, In
the Mood for Love, Lucky Town, Once Upon a Time in China III, The
Pact, Saving Silverman, Silence and Sugar and Spice.
Back to Top
Table of Contents
| News | Views | Arts & Entertainment
Classifieds | Personals
| EW
Archive
|