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JAY (WILL SMITH), LAURA (ROSARIO
DAWSON), AND KAY (TOMMY LEE JONES) HURTLE THROUGH TRAFFIC.
|
Alien Alert
Jay and
Kay's reunion.
BY LOIS
WADSWORTH
MEN IN BLACK II: Directed
by Barry Sonnenfeld. Written by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro, based
on a story by Gordon and the Malibu Comic by Lowell Cunningham.
Produced by Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. Executive producer,
Steven Spielberg. Cinematography, Greg Gardiner. Production design,
Bo Welch. Edited by Steven Weisberg, Richard Pearson. Music, Danny
Elfman. Costumes, Mary E. Vogt. Alien make-up effects, Rick Baker.
Visual effects supervisor, John Berton. Starring Tommy Lee Jones and
Will Smith, with Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson,
Tony Shaloub and Rip Torn. Columbia Pictures, 2002. PPG-13. 82 minutes.
If you loved Men In Black and believe that
imitation is the most sincere form of flattery,
then the producers hope you'll rave about MIIB, as they like
the movie to be known. I don't enjoy leftovers and retreads myself.
This sequel is a bore. The plot recapitulates MIB's basic set-up:
A super-secret government agency prevents the dregs of the universe
from ruining our lives. As the movie's publicity notes, "Same planet.
New scum." Cartoonish characters react to yet another vague alien
plot to plunder Earth and then trash it. At the very last minute,
which is another MIB device repeatedly replayed in MIIB,
the two characters we like best win the battle, once again vanquishing
the alien hordes.
Along for the joyride, the former Post Office worker,
Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), and a still-sassy agent Jay (Will Smith) argue
about who drives, who's in charge, and other weighty matters. As a
buddy movie with extra-terrestrials, MIIB uses the laconic
Jones and tightly wired Smith to stand up to the latest alien threat
— Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) — although their lines are
neither as cutting nor as original as in MIB.
A Medusa-variant in Victoria's Secret undies, the
Kylothian temptress Serleena can turn her tongue into a venomous green
snake and sprout from her fingertips multiple black snakes that penetrate
her victims' various body orifices. When she's seriously pissed, Serleena
shapeshifts into a writhing, multi-headed snake creature that attacks
her victims like a Roto-Rooter.
Kay gave Serleena the brush-off long ago, but due
to his voluntary neuralization at the end of MIB, he's forgotten
that along with everything he ever knew about the Men in Black. Following
a hasty deneuralization on a ramshackle, pawned machine, details come
back slowly. It helps that Kay left himself clues he and Jay now have
to track down, treasure-hunt fashion.
The human cast includes Jay's love interest, Laura
(Rosario Dawson, Sidewalks of New York); MIB's head of operations,
Zed (Rip Torn); and Agent Tee (Patrick Warburton), who doesn't measure
up as picky Jay's partner. A passel of surprisingly imaginative other-world
creatures emerge, including a talking animatronic pug named Frank
(voice, Tim Blaney), who can't get any respect as an MIB agent; a
two-headed sidekick of Serleena's named Scrad and Charlie (Johnny
Knoxville, "Jackass"); and Jeebs (Tony Shalhoub), the pawnshop owner
from MIB.
Something's always popping on the screen, and that's
about the best you can hope for in this overcrowded sci-fi comedy.
It's all sight gags and high-tech pratfalls, just like the Three Stooges,
only never quite as funny. Now playing at Cinemark and Cinema World.
Back to Top
Comedy
of Manners
Wilde
language courts laughter.
BY LOIS WADSWORTH
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST:
Written and directed by Oliver Parker, based on the play by Oscar
Wilde. Produced by Barnaby Thompson. Executive producer, Uri Fruchtmann.
Cinematography, Tony Pierce-Roberts. Production design, Luciana Arrighi.
Editor, Guy Bensley. Music, Charlie Mole. Costumes, Maurizio Millenotti.
Starring Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon
and Judi Dench. With Tom Wilkinson, Anna Massey, Edward Fox. Miramax
Films, 2002. PG. 94 minutes.
With its hilarious skewering of British upper
class society, Oscar Wilde's 1895 comic stage masterpiece, The
Importance of Being Earnest, was a great popular success. Notably,
it was well received by the very class the devilish Wilde had shown
to be shallow, self-absorbed and affected. Wilde's quixotic genius
of course is that he could do two things at once — make the
foibles of the upper crust seem lovable and eccentric while showing
them a vainglorious and money-minded people. Wilde's dialogue is peerless,
and writer/director Oliver Parker, who also created the screen version
of Wilde's An Ideal Husband, leaves most of it intact.
 |
|
ALGY
(RUPERT EVERETT) PROFFERS HIS BUNBURY EXCUSE TO HIS DEAR AUNT,
LADY BRACKNELL (JUDI DENCH), WHO ACIDLY ACCEPTS.
|
If the first reason to see The Importance of Being
Earnest is Wilde, the next is the film's wickedly funny cast.
I'm less enthusiastic about the fantasy sequences Parker has inserted
to give the characters an inner life, which add depth when first shown
but later interfere with the main business going on. Also, Charlie
Mole's music seems to come from another era, the more adventurous
1920s. Director Parker has opened up the drawing room comedy that
Wilde envisioned with many scenes set in the lush countryside and
in a properly upstanding British country home.
At the center of the film are two men, Algy Moncrief
(Rupert Everett) and Jack Worthington (Colin Firth). The country home
belongs to Jack, but when he needs a break from the care of his beautiful
but sheltered niece, Cecily Cardew (Reese Witherspoon), he goes to
London to take care of problems created by his fictitious brother,
Ernest Worthing. Algy lives a dissolute life in London, but when he
wants to avoid creditors or social responsibilities with his Aunt,
Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench), he flees to the country to see his fictitious
invalid friend, Bunbury.
Romance has a way of changing one's priorities. Jack
(as Ernest) falls in love with Gwendolyn (Frances O'Connor), but Lady
Bracknell has no intention of letting her daughter, Gwendolyn, marry
a nobody like him. Meanwhile Algy, impersonating Jack's brother Ernest
while Jack is in the city, falls in love with Cecily. And this is
just the beginning of the confusion. In Wilde's play, both Gwendolyn
and Cecily swear they will only marry an "Ernest," but Parker's film
takes it to the extreme. It is the least effective joke in the whole
picture.
Another romance is brewing, this between Cecily's
tutor, Miss Prism (Anna Massey), and the impossibly shy rector of
the country church, Rev. Chasuble (Tom Wilkinson). Miss Prism and
Lady Bracknell share a secret from the past, which everyone gets drawn
into.
The most delicious scene is when a remorseful Jack
returns to his estate from London, bearing a telegram that says his
brother Ernest has died of a chill in Paris. Unfortunately, that's
the same day Ernest (Algy) has arrived and is visiting with Cecily.
The faces of the household staff register a series of confused states
that are vividly cinematic, and the scene is played with finesse by
the caught-out Jack and Algy.
Lady Bracknell is my favorite character. (The LA
Weekly's Ella Taylor describes her costume as "draped in ferociously
cross-eyed fox fur.") Played by Dench as shrewd and upright, Lady
Bracknell is given the very best lines in a story full of delirious
one-liners. You can hear Dench saying this one: "London society is
full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free
choice, remained 35 for years." Or again, when she reassures Cicely
that the girl will work out nicely in society: "The chin a little
higher, dear. Style largely depends on the way the chin is worn. They
are worn very high, just at present."
A charming trifle recommended for your summertime
enjoyment, The Importance of Being Earnest opens at the Bijou
July 12.
Back to Top
OPENING
OR RETURNING:
Films open the Friday following date of EW publication
unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com.
Crocodile Hunter, Collision Course: In this
comedy of errors, undercover CIA agents suspect Steve and Terri Irwin
of information theft and go to Australia to prove it. PG. Cinemark.
Cinema World.
Halloween Resurrection: Eight times already,
and the sucker still isn't really dead. At age 50, he can still terrorize
Busta Rhymes, Jamie Lee Curtis and lots of screaming teens. R. Cinema
World. Cinemark.
Importance of Being Earnest, The: Romantic
farce by Oscar Wilde brought to the screen by Oliver Parker stars
Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Frances
O'Connor, Tom Wilkinson and Anna Massey. Gorgeous and very funny.
Recommended for your summertime pleasure. PG. Bijou. See review
this issue.
Reign of Fire: After a slumbering fire-breathing
critter wakes up, all hell breaks loose, and the world descends into
Medieval times. Matthew McConaughey comes as savior, Christian Bale
is fire chief. Rob Bowman directs. Violent. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema
World.
Road to Perdition: Sam Mendes (American
Beauty) directs this fathers-and-sons drama set in Chicago during
the Depression. It stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman. With Jude Law, Tyler
Hoechlin, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci and Liam
Aiken. R. Cinema World.
CONTINUING:
About a Boy: Nick Hornby's popular British novel
about a rich London rake (Hugh Grant) who invents an imaginary son
to meet women who are single parents. But instead he finds a troubled
boy (Nicholas Hoult), who teaches him to grow up. Directed by Chris
and Paul Weltz, it also stars Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz. Highest
recommendations. PG-13. Movies 12. Online
archives.
Beautiful Mind, A: Inspired by the true story
of a mathematical genius who battles mental illness, Ron Howard's
film stars Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly. Academy
Awards for supporting actress, directing, best picture, and writing.
Highly recommended. PG-13. Movies 12. Online
archives.
Bourne Identity, The: Matt Damon, Franka Potente,
Chris Cooper, Clive Owen and Brian Cox star in Doug Liman's character-based
spy thriller based on Robert Ludlum's best seller. A man with amnesia
(Matt Damon) sets out to discover who he is and why everyone wants
to kill him, and along the way he discovers love (Franka Potente).
A subtle skewing of the genre, it's highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark
17. Online archives.
Changing Lanes: Starring Ben Affleck and Samuel
L. Jackson as, two men who meet in a minor car accident and set out
to destroy each other's lives. Directed by Roger Mitchell and produced
by Scott Rudin. R. Movies 12.
Clockstoppers: Johnathan Frakes directs this
teen movie about a boy who finds a way to stop time. Starring Jessie
Bradford, French Stewart and Paula Garces. PG. Movies 12.
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood: Sandra
Bullock plays a NY playwright who'd like to keep some distance from
her eccentric mother, played by Ellen Burstyn. Also stars Fionnula
Flanagan, Shirley Knight, Maggie Smith and Ashley Judd. PG-13. Cinemark.
Online archives.
Hey Arnold!: Nickelodeon animated series stars
voices of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Lloyd and Paul Sorvino.
PG. Cinemark.
Ice Age: Chris Wedge directs the voices of
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Goran Vizjnic in this
digitally animated story of prehistoric creatures trying to save a
human child. G. Movies 12.
Like Mike: Lil Bow Wow plays an orphan who
dreams of playing pro basketball. When he finds a pair of magic sneakers,
he makes the team. Also stars Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki,
Crispin Glover and Eugene Levy. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Lilo and Stitch: Animated Disney comedy about
Lilo, a lonely Hawaiian girl, and her small, ugly dog named Stitch.
The dog is an alien experiment that's crashed to earth. Six by Elvis
on the soundtrack. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Lord of the Rings, The: The Fellowship of the Ring:
The first book in J. R. R. Tolkien's literary trilogy, directed by
Peter Jackson stars Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Liv
Tyler, Sean Astin, Christopher Lee. Academy Award winner for cinematography,
makeup, and visual effects. Highest recommendations. PG-13. Movies
12. Online archives.
Men in Black 2: Jay (Will Smith) drags a reluctant
Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) back into the agency with the mission of "Protecting
the earth from the scum of the universe." Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld,
it also stars Lara Flynn Boyle as Serleena, an alien masquerading
as a Victoria's Secret model. With Rosario Dawson, Johnny Knoxville,
Tony Shalhoub and Rip Torn. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See
review this issue.
Minority Report: Steven Spielberg directs Tom
Cruise in this sci-fi where killers are arrested and convicted before
they commit murder. In 2054, Cruise heads the Pre-Crime unit until
he's accused of the murder of a man he hasn't yet met. Based on a
short story by the genre's master, Philip K. Dick. One of Spielberg
and Cruise's best. Highest recommendations. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Online archives.
Mr. Deeds: Adam Sandler plays an ordinary guy
who inherits $40 billion in this remake of Frank Capra's 1936 comedy,
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Also stars Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher,
Steve Buscemi, Jared Harris and John Turturro. PG-13. Cinemark.
Murder by Numbers: Sandra Bullock stars in
this detective thriller which pits her against two clever teens (Ryan
Gosling and Michael Pitt). Produced by Bullock herself, and directed
by Barbet Schroeder. R. Movies 12.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Based on Nia Vardalos's
one-woman stage show, it's about the 30-year old, unmarried daughter
(Vardalos) in an engaging, passionate but demanding Greek family in
New York. She meets the man she wants to marry (John Corbett), and
he isn't Greek. Yikes! Another humorous reminder that weddings are
also a family and community affair, this sweet romantic comedy entertains.
Recommended. PG. Bijou. Online
archives.
New Guy, The: DJ Qualls plays high school senior
who has a chance to wipe the slate clean and reinvent himself. Comedy
directed by Ed Decter also stars Eliza Dushku, Zooey Deschanel, Lyle
Lovett and Eddie Griffin. PG-13. Movies 12.
Panic Room: David Fincher directs Jodie Foster,
Forrest Whitaker and Dwight Yoakam in this creepy thriller about a
woman and her child, who are stuck in a room in their own home. R.
Movies 12.
Powerpuff Girls, The: Animated movie about
tough little girls saving the world before bedtime. PG. Cinemark.
Cinema World.
Rookie, The: Dennis Quaid stars as baseball
coach who makes a deal with his team and ends up trying out for a
minor league contract. Also with Rachel Griffiths. Received good reviews.
G. Movies 12.
Scooby Doo: TV's 1969 Great Dane, Scooby, returns
as a computer-generated detective dog in this comedy starring Freddie
Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Matthew Lillard. PG. Cinemark.
Scorpion King, The: Inspired by The Mummy
Returns, this thriller stars WWF's The Rock and is directed by
WWF's The Mask, aka Eraser Chuck Russell. The Rock plays a hired assassin
trying to stop the evil ruler of the city of Gomorra. Our bets are
on him. PG 13. Movies 12.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: George Lucas'
second of three Star Wars' prequels comes to the screen with
Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid
and Samuel Jackson doing all the heavy lifting. PG. Cinemark. Online
archives.
Sum of All Fears: Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman
are Central Intelligence agents trying to prevent terrorists from
getting weapons of mass destruction. Also stars James Crowmell, Liev
Schreiber, Alan Bates and Philip Baker Hall. Based on Tom Clancy's
bestseller. PG-13. Cinemark. Online
archives.
Undercover Brother: Action comedy directed
by Malcolm D. Lee and written by John Ridley stars Eddie Griffin,
who adopts the garb of blaxploitation era private detectives to go
undercover. PG-13. Movies 12.
Windtalkers: Nicolas Cage and Adam Beach star
in director John Woo's WWII drama about a US Marine ordered to protect
a Navajo code talker during the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific against
Japan. Also stars Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Christian and Peter
Stormare. R. 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. See archived movie
reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
Amelie: Jean Pierre Jeunet's popular hit film
about loneliness in the city stars Audrey Tautou as a shy French pixie
who meddles in the lives of her Paris co-workers, family and neighbors.
Worth seeing twice. Academy noms for foreign language film, art direction,
sound, cinematography, original screenplay. R. Online
archives.
Dragonfly: Widower Kevin Costner seeks help
from Sister Madeline (Linda Hunt) as he grieves for his wife. Also
stars Kathy Bates, Joe Morton. PG-13.
John Q: Denzel Washington, father of a boy
who needs an organ transplant, does desperate things. With Robert
Duvall, James Woods, Anne Heche, Kimberly Elise, Ray Liotta. PG-13.
New Best Friend: Directed by Zoe Clarke-Williams,
this college cliques drama stars Mia Kirshner, Meredith Monroe, Dominique
Swain, Rachel True, Taye Diggs and Oliver Hudson. R.
Storytelling: Director: Todd Solondz' latest
dark comedy received mixed reviews, but The New York Times's
A.O. Scott found it: "an unabashedly manipulative movie, as most movies
are, but manipulation is also its subject, and it scrambles our circuits
and confuses our responses in the service not of mocking sensationalism
but rather of satirical clarity." It stars Selma Blair, Robert Wisdom,
Leo Fitzpatrick, Paul Giamatti, John Goodman and Julie Hagerty in
two sections, "Fiction" and "Non-fiction." R.
Next week: Comic Book Confidential, Crossroads,
Kung Pow, Tarzan and Jane, The Time Machine and Twist.
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