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BLACK KNIGHT Looking over the holiday film schedule, I had earlier predicted that, based on its premise and the appeal of Martin Lawrence, his new comedy would cross the $100 million mark in grosses. Having now seen the picture, I can state that it goes for the predictable gag at every single turn -- which of course makes my forecast look even more like a no-brainer. The sort of automatic-pilot entry that's frequently foisted upon the public during this lucrative film season, this variation on A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court is the perfect picture for select audiences in the market for something that won't require them to employ even one single brain cell (one woman at the advance screening was so caught up in the movie's mindless merriment, she roared with laughter whenever Lawrence did nothing more than utter another character's name). Of course, there's nothing inherently wrong with this sort of predigested programmer, but did this one have to be so stridently bare-bones? Wielding none of the whimsy or heart of another recent medieval flick, A Knight's Tale, this one casts Lawrence as a theme park employee who discovers a necklace that magically transports him back to the Middle Ages; there, he helps a fallen knight (Tom Wilkinson) defeat a corrupt king (Kevin Conway). Lawrence's easy-going charm results in plenty of smiles during the first half-hour, but even those fade over the course of this exercise in sameness. Black Knight isn't particularly good or bad; it's just... there.
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE Considering that the first four books in J.K. Rowling's series about a budding boy wizard have sold over 100 million copies, it's no surprise that Hollywood decided to get into the act; what is surprising is the degree of reverence with which this property has been treated. This lavish film version ends up working on both levels: as a stand-alone motion picture and as a worthy adaptation of a novel that, while hardly a literary landmark, is nevertheless funny, inventive and full of spirit and spunk. Director Chris Columbus has a deserved reputation for making cloying films (Home Alone, Bicentennial Man), but here he has deftly allowed the movie to walk the precipitous line between being too syrupy for adults and too grave for children. This balancing act begins with the kids cast in the principal roles: Daniel Radcliffe as 11-year-old Harry Potter and Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as his loyal classmates at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All three actors are endearing rather than annoying, and the natural ease with which they work together goes a long way toward drawing audience members directly into their world (they're supported by a top-flight cast that includes Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith). If there's a flaw to be found, it's that the picture may be a little too breathless for its own good, occasionally relying on its technical achievements at the expense of its emotional content. For the most part, though, this is an enchanting magical mystery tour -- and a sure moviegoing bet for the holiday season.
HEIST David Mamet's latest work has the dubious distinction of competing with last summer's DeNiro-Brando debacle The Score as the most disappointing caper yarn of the year. Mamet wrote and directed the film, which means the dialogue includes such attention-grabbing mouthfuls as "I'll be as quiet as an ant pissing on cotton" and "[He's] so cool, when he goes to sleep, sheep count him." And the cast is headed by the Get Shorty trio of Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo and Danny DeVito, which means good performances won't be in short order. But for a movie that's obsessed with double-crosses, triple-crosses and even a couple of right-crosses, this is ultimately about as easy to patch together as a 6-piece puzzle. The actual heists depicted in the film consume far too much screen time (watching guys smash open jewel cases gets dull reeeal quick), and even without having read the script, we know as much as the actors do about how this yarn about a seasoned thief (Hackman) pulling off One Last Job will unfold -- right down to the fate of the gang member with the lowest billing (Mamet regular Ricky Jay), the loyalty of Hackman's significant other (Mamet's miscast wife Rebecca Pidgeon), and even the climactic switcheroo. With Heist's all-too-familiar rhythms, Mamet may have thought he was pulling a fast one, but the only person he ended up outsmarting was himself.