THE COMPANY The latest from Robert Altman is a must-see for balletomanes but most likely a must-avoid for everyone else. With most of the cast comprised of members of Chicago's Joffrey Ballet, Altman takes viewers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the way a dance company operates on a daily basis, with writer Barbara Turner jerry-rigging a fictional storyline that brings a minimal sense of cohesion to the whole enterprise. Scream's Neve Campbell, herself a formally trained dancer, plays one of the members of the troupe, who like her peers must contend with rigorous schedules, dance-related injuries, and the whims of the company's dictatorial director (Malcolm McDowell, suitably spiky). A few of the ballet pieces are adequately shot for the screen (most notably one that's accompanied by a haunting Angelo Badalamenti tune), but the backstage material is unremittingly dull, and the central romance between Campbell's dancer and a chef played by James Franco is a distracting disaster. The climactic production, a garish number in a show called Blue Snake, is meant to dazzle with its sheer extravagance, but truth be told, it's no less cheesy or campy than the notorious set pieces from Showgirls and Staying Alive. 
1/2
DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS Just as Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey infused the 1987 hit Dirty Dancing with their vibrant personalities and swift moves, so do Diego Luna and Romola Garai provide some lift to this otherwise forgettable "re-imagining." Set in 1958 Cuba, on the eve of Castro's revolution, the film centers on open-minded American student Katey Miller (Garai) and her attraction to the local color. While her Yankee cohorts prefer hanging out at the country club where they're free to insult the Cuban employees, Katey opts to strike up a friendship with pool boy Javier (Luna), a local lad who shares her passion for dancing. With a major competition just around the corner, Katey decides that the combination of her ballroom experience and his street moves might make them unbeatable; first, though, they must overcome the prejudice of members of both families. The storyline is trivial in the extreme, and the film never establishes its explosive era in any believable sense -- despite some tacked-on moments of chaos, the movie might as well be set in 1986 Miami as 1958 Havana. Yet Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Garai (Nicholas Nickleby) make an appealing couple, while fans of the original Dirty Dancing will be rewarded with an extended cameo by Swayze as a dance instructor.
THE FOG OF WAR Subtitled Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara, The Fog of War might reasonably be expected to serve as a mea culpa on the part of the former Secretary of Defense for both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, a plea for forgiveness for his role as one of the chief architects of the Vietnam War. Yet this latest documentary from Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) proves to be an infinitely more comprehensive -- not to mention more ambiguous -- piece of nonfiction, as McNamara discusses just about every facet of his life yet still remains tantalizingly opaque regarding certain subjects. Punctuated by vintage newsreel footage as well as Morris' blatant attempts to visually dress up what's largely a "talking head" movie, McNamara chats about his experiences during World War II (where he was involved with the firebombing of Japan), his stint as president of Ford and the Cuban Missile Crisis before inexorably circling back to the topic of Vietnam. The Fog of War offers many lessons to mull over, yet the most meaningful one might be the old axiom about history repeating itself: One look at the current mess in Iraq and it's chilling to note how little has been learned by those in charge.
WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT Maybe Ray Romano's shtick works on television, where undemanding sit-coms can easily amuse undemanding couch potatoes. But as far as his big-screen debut is concerned, the man's a washout, a zero, a big fat nada. Welcome to Mooseport has been designed to showcase Romano's comedic prowess, yet his performance is ultimately as funny as Sean Penn's in Mystic River -- which is to say, not funny at all. Luckily, he's surrounded by a cast of professionals who do their best to cover up his deficiencies -- when the team includes the likes of Gene Hackman and Marcia Gay Harden, you can at least count on a couple of base hits here and there. Hackman stars as Monroe "Eagle" Cole, who settles down in the town of Mooseport, Maine, following two hugely successful terms as US President. Eagle finds himself railroaded by the city council into running for town mayor, a potential p.r. nightmare once it's revealed that he'll face opposition from Handy Harrison (Romano), Mooseport's easy-going schlub of a plumber. Hackman's spirited performance is better than this movie deserves, while Maura Tierney, as the no-nonsense recipient of both men's amorous advances, brings warmth and resolve to an otherwise thin character. But the comedy quotient, waning from the start, becomes nonexistent whenever it's placed in Romano's clumsy mitts. 1/2
CURRENT RELEASES
AGAINST THE ROPES The real-life story of Jackie Kallen, the first female manager in the history of boxing, is a captivating one, and someday I'd like to see a movie about it. In the meantime, there's Against the Ropes, which is "inspired" by Kallen's life but ultimately has as much to do with her story as Schindler's List did with the War of 1812. Of course, Hollywood frequently bastardizes history for the sake of producing an interesting yarn, but when what's put on the screen is far less compelling than the actual events, it's like shooting yourself in the foot but having the bullet pass through the kneecap as well. Ropes clearly fancies itself a companion piece to Erin Brockovich, but really, it's just a third-rate Working Girl, with Meg Ryan working overtime as the plucky working-class heroine. 1/2
ALONG CAME POLLY OK, so the stars have no chemistry together (Jennifer Aniston's channeling Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, Ben Stiller's channeling Ben Stiller in just about everything). And writer-director John Hamburg doesn't even begin to mine the comic possibilities of his premise, which examines the budding relationship between an overly cautious businessman who analyzes the risk factor in everything and an easy-going woman with a blind ferret and a spontaneous nature. Not to mention, the potty humor goes waaay overboard. Yet two factors save this from being a disaster: a terrific supporting cast, and Hamburg's ability to nail the little moments even as he's screwing up the big picture. These factors allow the film to provide more laughs than one would have initially thought possible. 1/2
BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS This doesn't feel like a sequel to the 2002 hit as much as a continuation, with the entire primary cast returning to protect the establishment from yet another outside threat. In the first film, it was a loan shark who wanted to turn it into a strip joint; here, it's a slick businessman (Harry Lennix) whose ambition to "upgrade" the neighborhood includes opening a chain salon (Nappy Cutz) directly across the street from the venerable family shop owned by Calvin (series star Ice Cube). No better and no worse than its predecessor, this likable, lackadaisical comedy proves more focused than the first film yet lacks much of its comic bite, with even Cedric the Entertainer (as opinionated Eddie) forced to marginally tone down his act. 1/2
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT In this redundant sci-fi tale, Ashton Kutcher plays a troubled college student haunted by a horrific childhood that managed to incorporate pedophilia, a psychotic dad, a dead baby, and a dog set on fire. But after discovering that, by accessing the journals he kept as a kid, he's able to travel back to that period in time, he sets about changing the events of his life -- and in effect creates alternate realities about as dismal as the one he left behind. Initially intriguing, this quickly turns silly and then eventually wears out its welcome altogether: By the time Kutcher makes his umpteenth time jump, I was praying that we would all end up landing in a better movie. 1/2
CITY OF GOD Thanks to its four surprise Oscar nominations (including a nod for director Fernando Meirelles), one of the best films of 2003 has been re-released nationally, so there's no reason not to catch it the second time around. Based on actual events, this Brazilian import takes a hard look at a Rio de Janeiro slum and dissects the lifestyle of the youthful thugs who rule this "war zone" with a bloody fist. Admittedly, it's tough to withstand 130 minutes of continuous nihilism, but Meirelles and his contributors are so completely in command of this material (the storytelling moves like mercury) that it's impossible not to get caught up in their descent into Hell on Earth. 1/2
THE DREAMERS Yes, Bernardo Bertolucci's adaptation of Gilbert Adair's novel has indeed been awarded the NC-17 rating. And yes, there are copious amounts of full-frontal nudity (both male and female), as its young leads engage in sexual mind games in 1968 Paris. But the puritans who will lambaste this film for being about nothing more than sex will largely miss the point. Sure, there's sex, but there's also politics, cinema, psychology, and the sort of ruddy-faced idealism that once upon a time fueled numerous motion pictures made by filmmakers with international aspirations. But even though the movie is more ambitious than it initially appears, its overall success can't quite rival its heady intentions. 1/2
50 FIRST DATES Even many of the folks who don't like Adam Sandler have conceded that The Wedding Singer is fairly decent, with cinema's top-earning frat boy ably subverting his obnoxiousness in pursuit of a sweet romance with Drew Barrymore. This new film features an even more intense love story between the pair, yet this winning hand is repeatedly set down in order to make more room for the sort of juvenile antics that will remind Sandler bashers why they hate this kid in the first place. Meshing Groundhog Day with Memento, this Hawaii-set comedy casts Sandler as an aquarium vet who falls for a school teacher (Barrymore) who suffers from short-term memory loss. Lowbrow antics repeatedly get in the way of the agreeable love story. 1/2
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING Pulling off a successful threepeat, director Peter Jackson wraps up J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy saga with a dazzling chapter guaranteed to please true believers. At 200 minutes, the movie is long but not necessarily overlong: The super-sized length allows many cast members to strut their stuff, and several new creatures, from an army of ghostly marauders to a gigantic spider in the best Harryhausen tradition, are staggering to behold. Ultimately, though, this final act belongs to the ringbearer Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his companions, faithful Sam (Sean Astin) and treacherous Gollum (the brilliant CGI creation voiced by Andy Serkis). This is a movie of expensive visual effects and expansive battle scenes, but when it comes to truly making its mark, we have to thank all the little people. 1/2
MIRACLE This Disney release is being promoted as "From The Studio That Brought You The Rookie and Remember The Titans," and that's clearly the best way to market this piece. Like those sports-illustrated endeavors, this one's also an acceptably middlebrow drama that asks nothing more of its audience members than to cheer at the appropriate moments and, if theater management doesn't mind, get a "Wave" going during the climactic Big Game. Here, the focus is on coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) and the 20 kids who formed the US Ice Hockey team that somehow managed to beat the formidable Russian squad during the 1980 Olympics. 1/2
MONSTER Anyone who's been paying attention knows that Charlize Theron is more than just a pretty face, yet her mesmerizing turn in writer-director Patty Jenkins' fact-based drama will finally allow the rest of the world to catch up. It isn't simply that Theron gained weight and thoroughly deglamorized herself to play the part of Aileen Wuornos, the prostitute who killed several men in Florida before finally being caught and executed. It's that she so completely buries herself in this woman's impetuousness, rage and vulnerability that she simply ceases to exist; it's a galvanizing performance in a difficult yet important film that manages to present Wuornos as both monster and victim. 1/2
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE Those of us who fell in love with Diane Keaton in Annie Hall now have an opportunity to rekindle that romance. She's simply smashing as a playwright not particularly fond of her daughter's new boyfriend, a 63-year-old bachelor (Jack Nicholson) who only dates women under 30. But eventually the pair find themselves overcoming their antagonism, leading to a rocky romance that's complicated by his womanizing ways and her burgeoning relationship with a boyish doctor (Keanu Reeves, never more appealing). For most of its length, this emerges as one of the premiere romantic comedies of recent years, but a disastrous, tacked-on ending hangs from the rest of the picture as awkwardly as a Florida chad.
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE This animated treat from France makes Finding Nemo look about as cutting-edge as an old Tom & Jerry cartoon. Its jumping-off point is a lonely little boy who, thanks to the support of his kindly grandmother, grows up to become an accomplished cyclist set to take part in the Tour de France. But after the lad gets kidnapped by the French Mafia, it's up to his granny and their aging pooch Bruno to rescue him; along the way, they receive unexpected aid from the title trio, elderly singing sisters who used to perform with Fred Astaire and Josephine Baker back in the day. Mere words cannot convey the sheer inventiveness of this enterprise, a melting pot of styles and storylines borrowed from (among others) Buster Keaton, Tex Avery and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. 1/2
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