NEW RELEASES
THE BIG BOUNCE It wasn’t that long ago that Owen Wilson was the cinematic equivalent of a mosquito: noisy, bothersome, and deserving of a good smack. Yet his blond, bland, surfer-boy shtick has gradually grown on me, and indeed, he proves to be the MVP of this souffle-light adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. A 1969 film version starring Ryan O’Neal has been completely forgotten over time, and there’s no reason to think this new take won’t share a similar fate. But for now, it’s an amusing watch, with Wilson cast as a small-potatoes thief who, while killing time in Hawaii, runs afoul of a venal real estate developer (Gary Sinise) while simultaneously striking up a relationship with his mistress (Sara Foster). Wilson and former model Foster make a sexy couple, and director George Armitage brings to the project the same degree of playful insouciance that informed his previous picture, Grosse Pointe Blank. But with a running time just shy of 90 minutes, the feeling emerges that a third of the movie was left on the cutting-room floor, as evidenced by jarring transitions in plot and character development and the ill use of several major stars (Morgan Freeman and Charlie Sheen are saddled with half-baked characters, while Sinise barely appears at all). Gorgeous location shooting, though. 
1/2
CITY OF GOD Technically, this isn’t a new release, since it played Charlotte briefly (very briefly) back in March 2003. But thanks to its four surprise Oscar nominations (including one for director Fernando Meirelles), it’s being 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 with a bloody fist. Make no mistake: As depicted here, the “City of God” (the name given to the area) is nothing less than a war zone, with blood flowing as swiftly and steadily as water over Niagara Falls. Our clean-cut protagonist in this urban epic is Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), whose desire to become a professional photographer might be just the thing to lift him out of the surrounding squalor. On the opposite end, there’s Li’l Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora), a rabid gang leader prone to killing anybody at any time — perhaps not since Ralph Fiennes’ Nazi in Schindler’s List has there been such a frightening portrait of unadulterated evil onscreen. Certainly, 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
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. Although reasonably involving, there’s nothing about the movie’s “underdog” angle that feels remotely fresh; instead, what’s more interesting to ponder is the film’s not-so-subtle suggestion that, coming at the end of a turbulent decade (Watergate, Vietnam, the hostage crisis, gasoline shortages), it was this single event and not, as widely credited, Ronald Reagan’s ascendancy that inspired and rejuvenated a reeling nation. By that token, which sporting event will eventually lead us out of the escalating injustices in George W. Bush’s United Police State of America? (The smart money’s on Game 7 of the 2009 World Series.) 1/2
CURRENT RELEASES
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
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
THE COOLER Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy), a sad sack whose very presence causes everyone around him to experience bad luck, is employed by Vegas casino manager Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) to “cool” off customers enjoying a hot streak. Yet once Bernie falls for a sympathetic cocktail waitress named Natalie (Maria Bello), he begins to spread good luck, a situation that calls for drastic measures on Shelly’s part. The romance between Bernie and Natalie is both believable and extremely touching, and Macy and Bello deserve kudos for their uninhibited (in all senses of the word) performances. Yet it’s Baldwin who delivers the most memorable turn: As an “old-school” Vegas bigwig whose brutality mingles uneasily with his unusual code of honor, he hasn’t been this good since his pitbull act in 1992’s Glengarry Glen Ross.
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING The plot can be dismissed by crotchety viewers as borderline soap opera — in more modern times, its character dynamics could easily play out on the Ewing ranch in Dallas — but this adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s speculative book about 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) and his 17-year-old muse (Scarlett Johansson) soars primarily because of its visuals, an appropriate strength for a movie about an artist. Vermeer’s pieces are notable for their meticulous attention to detail as well as their astonishing capture of light and use of color; working in tandem with ace cinematographer Eduardo Serra and production designer Ben Van Os, director Peter Webber follows suit by transforming his film into a live-action facsimile of a Vermeer painting.
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
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD Based on Patrick O’Brian’s series of novels, this casts Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey, a British naval hero assigned to bring down a formidable French vessel during the Napoleonic Wars. For a swashbuckling epic, the film is rather subdued in its approach, with director Peter Weir taking great pains to present an oft-times understated tale that’s about the art of warfare as much as it’s about the battles themselves. Paul Bettany, Crowe’s A Beautiful Mind co-star, portrays the ship’s doctor (and Aubrey’s best friend), and it’s the relationship between their two characters — coupled with Weir’s attention to minute detail — that largely drives the story.
MONA LISA SMILE An unlikely cross between Dead Poets Society and The Stepford Wives, this casts Julia Roberts as an art teacher who arrives at Wellesley College in 1953, ready to change the world to the chorus of “Carpe Diems.” Instead, she’s shocked to learn that her students plan to shelf their education and become housewives. So it’s up to Saint Julia to save the stuffy college from itself, since no one else can possibly match her sheer fabulousness. Roberts is such a bundle of modern tics that she’s as out of place in this setting as Bill O’Reilly at a Marilyn Manson concert; then again, almost everything feels artificial in this gathering of rigid archetypes and warmed-over speeches. Roberts’ character may be presented as a breath of fresh air, but the movie surrounding her is the cinematic equivalent of halitosis.
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
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2004.
