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Apes
of Wrath
Great sets and good
monkey suits aren't enough.
By Lois
Wadsworth
PLANET OF THE APES: Directed by Tim
Burton. Written by William Broyles, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, based on
La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle. Produced by Richard D. Zanuck. Executive
producer, Ralph Winter. Cinematography, Philipe Rousselot. Production design, Rick
Heinrichs. Editor, Chris Lebenzon. Costumes, Colleen Atwood. Music, Danny Elfman.
Visual Effects, Bill George. Special make-up effects, Rick Baker. Starring Mark Wahlberg,
Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, Estella Warren
and Kris Kristofferson. Twentieth Century Fox, 2001. PG-13. 125 minutes.
 |
|
Thade (Tim Roth)
tries to subdue Leo (Mark Walberg) in the heat of battle.
. |
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The subtext of Tim Burton's ambitious remake of Planet of the Apes
may be about race, class, diversity, gender equality, social theory or Darwinian
survival -- all have been proposed or are suggested by the picture itself -- but
in the end -- especially in the end -- it doesn't matter. All a viewer can do is
gape in wonder at the artful movement of these distinctly more simian-like men in
realistic monkey suits and marvel at their cunningly designed ape make-up. It makes
you wish the screenwriters had given the actors something meaty to chew on instead
of such embarrassing dialogue that it begs to be underplayed.
Without any necessity for acting, most of the actors who play humans
are reduced to slave types such as the sacrificial father, Karubi (Kris Kristofferson);
his beautiful daughter, Daena (Estella Warren); or the adolescent (Luke Eberl) who
adores Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg), a role young John Wayne might have played with
gusto. Despite Wahlberg's restraint here, Leo is also a determined, cocky flyboy
whose mission to save the former slaves who've made him their leader takes back seat
to his more narrowly focused goal of returning to his spaceship.
The actors who play non-humans have a lot more fun, as they get
the plum roles. The top-dog warrior, Thade, gives actor Tim Roth marvelous opportunities
to go ape-shit, crinkling his nose, narrowing his eyes, beating his chest and in
one delirious scene flying through the air and swinging from the rafters to position
himself above his terrified underlings. Thade makes every encounter be about his
dominance. He's a mad Caligula-type ruler, a particularly cruel character who can't
bear to have his authority questioned.
Helena Bonham Carter's progressive-minded, unmarried simian female,
Ari, is played very quietly and submissively, an attitude she would adopt in such
a male-dominated society. But Ari is determined to bring about a society in which
apes and humans live with equality. Carter's gift is to make Ari interesting and
suggest her sexuality, a plot development Burton declines to investigate further.
Other great apes (no pun intended!) include the gorilla Attar (Michael
Clarke Duncan), who commands the ape army in the field; the orangutan Limbo (Paul
Giamatti), a cowering slave trader; and in a memorable cameo, Charlton Heston as
Thade's father. Heston is readily connected to the first Planet of the Apes,
where he played a blustery, swaggering ugly American. Here he's on his deathbed but
still rallies to share with his son the secret on which ape culture is based, and
the racial hatred that goes with it.
Planet of the Apes takes itself a little too seriously for
its own good. Burton plays it for subtleties that are largely lost on the audience
this big-budget, industry package is designed to attract. It's exactly the thing
that distracts me from wholeheartedly admiring his movies. From Edward Scissorhands
to Sleepy Hollow, Burton refuses to commit to reality or fantasy but always
insists on both at the same time. The result is either pomposity, which makes the
actors look inflated, or just plain silliness, which is a waste of time.
Now playing at Cinema World and Cinemark. Worth seeing, with reservations.
Metaphysical
Puzzler
Is it fate or just coincidence?
By Lois
Wadsworth
THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR: Written
and directed by Tom Tykwer. Produced by Stefan Arndt, Maria Köpf. Cinematographer,
Frank Griebe. Editor, Mathilde Bonnefoy. Music, Tom Tykwer, Johnny Kilmek, Reinhold
Heil. Starring Franka Potente and Benno Fürmann. With Joachim Kròl, Marita
Breuer and Jürgen Tarrach. Sony Pictures Classics, 2000. R. 130 minutes.
 |
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Franka Potente
as Sissi.
. |
|
Tom Tykwer's wonderful, lively 1999 film, Run Lola Run, introduced
Franka Potente to American audiences. As the indefatigable Lola, Potente streaked
across Berlin -- three times -- on a mission to save her criminal boyfriend from
untimely death. Now as Sissi in Tykwer's new film, The Princess and the Warrior,
Potente plays a woman who's saved from inopportune death by a desperate man who's
turned to crime, Bodo (Benno Fürmann).
Bodo doesn't want her love in his life, but the shy Sissi doesn't
know how to not love him. Fate intervenes, and not for the first or last time. In
fact, the role of destiny becomes a crutch for writer/director Tykwer, who muddles
through the film, making his own work look shallow and blocking the capable actors
from finding a satisfying human solution to their dilemma until almost the last moment.
That said, Potente alone almost pulls it off. She has enough presence
and power to keep the audience engaged, despite Sissi's clumsy efforts to foist her
love on a man incapable of receiving it. Bodo is damaged goods. He's still wrapped
up in the death of his wife, Bodo's brother, Walter (Joachim Kròl), tells
Sissi. But when we see Bodo's flashback to the day his wife died, we get a lot of
information that we don't really want and that doesn't add to our understanding of
why he so thoroughly rejects Sissi.
Likewise, the plot detour about the death of Sissi's mother is
irrelevant, irritating and so larded with clues as to be unintelligible. Sissi, who
works as a nurse in a lock-down psychiatric hospital, is herself a bit of a mystery.
Her relationships with the patients appears very comfortable, too close one might
say. She sleeps in the facility, and is introspective and restrained until the day
she's hit by a huge truck while walking with one of the visually impaired patients.
That Bodo is the cause of the accident is not negligible information.
Running away from pursuers following a holdup, he distracts the truck driver, who
doesn't see Sissi until too late. Lying under the truck, Sissi realizes that a great
silence has descended on her: Her breathing has stopped. As she begins to fade away
because she can't get any oxygen, a stranger, a man, Bodo in fact, crawls under the
truck, realizes what's happening, and takes care of her. Without giving away the
scene, it is beautifully shot, intimate and emotionally involving, unlike anything
that follows.
Tykwer doesn't live up to the perceived brilliance he demonstrated
in Run Lola Run, relying instead on spurious coincidences to carry the plot
forward and continue to connect the characters. But even at its most maddening, obscure
moments, The Princess and the Warrior is a more intriguing experiment than
most of the big-budget, over-produced flim-flam that passes for summer entertainment
out there. Not great, but interesting, the film opens at the Bijou on Friday, Aug.
10. See it for Potente; she's magnetic and haunting.
OPENING
OR RETURNING:
Films open the Friday following date of EW publication unless
otherwise noted.
American Pie 2: Same cast -- Chris Klein, Jason Biggs, Mena
Suvari, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas -- but a different director, J. B.
Rogers, and a super-secretive writer, Adam Herz. R. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Others, The: A haunted Victorian mansion, a rigid and icy
mother (Nicole Kidman) and two special kids who see things makes this one of the
scariest movies made, critics say. Directed by Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar
with style. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Osmosis Jones: Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly with
others, this live action/animated comedy goes inside the body to the sites of the
most yucky sites. Stars Bill Murray, Molly Shannon and the voices of Chris Rock,
David Hyde Pierce and Laurence Fishburne. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Princess and the Warrior, The: New movie by Tom Tykwer (Run
Lola Run) stars Franka Potente, and she's the best reason to see it. A somewhat muddled
story about a psychiatric nurse who almost gets killed by a truck and the reluctant
hero who saves her. R. Bijou. See review.
Rat Race: Trailer's been around for awhile, so you've probably
seen Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr. and other desperate folks making fools of
themselves looking for a $2 million jackpot hidden in New Mexico. Directed by Jerry
Zucker of Airplane! fame. PG-13. Sneak 8/11. Cinemark.
Spy Kids: Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi) directs this youth-oriented
tale about superspies (Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino) who leave the life to marry
and have a family. When they're kidnapped, only their kids can save them. PG. One
show daily. Cinemark.
CONTINUING
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. Movies. 12.
America's Sweethearts: Directed by Joe Roth as a spoof on
Hollywood's publicity industry, a famous Hollywood couple played by Catherine Zeta-Jones
and John Cusack) try to fool movie critics on a junket that they're still together.
Also stars Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Hank Azaria. Stanley Tucci, Christopher
Walken, Alan Arkin and Seth Green. Cinemark. PG-13.
Animal, The: Wimp Marvin (Rob Schneider) becomes a super
cop after surgery following an accident leaves him with animal organs. Now, his instincts
are taking over, and it isn't a nice picture. Luke Greenfield makes his directorial
debut; also stars Coleen Haskell. PG-13. Movies 12.
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. See review.
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.
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.
Movies 12.
Evolution: David Duchovny and Julianne Moore star in an
Ivan Reitman summer comedy about pterodactyls and meteors. PG-13. Movies 12.
Fast and 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. Movies 12.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within: Computer-generated human
characters live in 2065, when a meteor bearing millions of alien creatures crashes
into Earth. Only the beautiful scientist, Dr. Aki Ross, can save the planet. Directed
by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Voiced by Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames,
Donald Sutherland and James Wood. PG-13. Movies 12.
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. Movies 12.
Jurassic Park 3: Sam Neill reprises his role as paleontologist
Grant. Joe Johnston directs. Grant takes a rich adventurer (William H. Macy) and
his wife (Téa Leoni) for a fly-by of the forbidden island. Lots of dinosaurs!
PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
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. Movies 12.
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. Movies 12.
Legally Blonde: Reese Witherspoon stars as Elle Woods, a
LA girl and a natural blonde, who leaves her plush digs for Harvard Law School to
persuade her reluctant boyfriend, Warner (Matthew Davis), that she's the one for
him. Directed by Robert Luketic. Also stars Selma Blair, Victor Garber, Holland Taylor,
Jennifer Coolidge and Luke Wilson. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
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. Movies 12. Online archives.
Mummy Returns, The: Starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz
star in this thriller directed by Stephen Sommers. PG-13. Movies 12.
Original Sin: The preview's run for months, so you know
that Angelina Jolie is the possibly unfaithful wife of Antonio Banderas in this thriller.
Bet you didn't know it's set in the 1880s, that he's a Cuban coffee impresario, and
she's his mail-order bride. Credit or blame goes to filmmaker Michael Cristofer,
who adapted the same novel Truffaut used for Mississippi Mermaid (1969). R.
Cinema World. Cinemark.
Planet of the Apes: Re-imagining of the 1968 original by
filmmaker Tim Burton has great makeup and quicker-witted, stronger apes who act more
like real ones. Tim Roth walks away with the show as the menacing chimpanzee who
wants to kill all humans. Stars Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke
Duncan, Paul Giamatti and Tim Roth. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. See review.
Princess Diaries, The: Directed by Garry Marshall, this
comedy about a S.F. teen who finds out she's a princess stars Anne Hathaway, Hector
Elizondo, Julie Andrews, Robert Schwartzman and Heather Matarazzo. G. Cinema World.
Cinemark.
Rush Hour 2: Brett Ratner returns to direct Jackie Chan
and Chris Tucker as detectives who travel to Hong Kong, LA and Vegas looking for
a master criminal. Also stars Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, The Road Home).
PG-13. Cinemark.
Score, The: This Frank Oz action movie stars Robert De Niro
as a career criminal who breaks his own rule to take a comely partner (Angela Bassett)
on a heist. Also stars Edward Norton, Marlon Brando. R. Cinemark. See review.
Sexy Beast: Brilliant, violent but darkly comic caper flick
directed by Brit Jonathan Glazer stars the fabulous Ray Winstone (The War Zone,
Nil By Mouth) and rescues the great Ben Kingsley from his Gandhi role
for good. Highest recommendation. R. Bijou.
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. See
review.
What's the Worst That Could Happen: Thief Martin Lawrence
and businessman Danny DeVito star in this Sam Weisman comedy about a ring DeVito
steals off of Lawrence's hand as he's taken off to jail. Revenge ensues, with comic
results. With John Leguizamo, Glenne Headley, William Fichtner and Bernie Mac. PG-13.
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:
Blow Dry: Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty writer) wrote script, Paddy Breathnach
directs, and this family drama set in Northern England stars Alan Rickman, Josh Harnett,
Rachel Griffiths and Natasha Richardson. The New York Times reviewer noted
you may feel that you've seen it all before. R.
Dancing in September: HBO film about African-American sitcom
writer and an African-American network executive directed by Reggie Rock Blythewood
stars Nicole Ari Parker, Isaiah Washington, Vicellous Reon Shannon and Malinda Williams.
R.
Enemy at the Gates: During the siege of Stalingrad during
WWII, a Soviet sniper (Jude Law) is pursued by a Nazi assassin (Ed Harris). Also
stars Joe Fiennes, Bob Hoskins and Rachel Weisz. Flawed, but well worth seeing for
Harris' performance. R. Movies 12. Online archives.
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.
Get Over It: Romantic teen comedy stars Kirsten Dunst and
Ben Foster (Liberty Heights). PG-13.
Josie and the Pussycats: Rachel Leigh Cook, Tara Reid and
Rosario Dawson, life-long friends from the 'burbs, put their garage band on the road
to success until they run into a nefarious pair of schemers. PG-13.
Tomcats: Gregory Poirier's raunchy sex comedy stars Jerry
O'Connell, Jake Busey, Horatio Sanz and Shannon Elizabeth. The last bachelor standing
gets the pot. It's a guy thing. R.
Next week: Batman, Hannibal, Le Dernier, Lip Service,
Pokemon 3, Say It Isn't So and Sex, Drugs and Democracy.
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