ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY Aimed squarely at the open-mouth-breathers who turned Dumb and Dumber and Big Daddy into hits, Anchorman is the movie as litmus test -- specifically, how much Will Ferrell is too much Will Ferrell? The Saturday Night Live vet, who had a banner '03 with Elf and Old School, now seems headed down the path that Adam Sandler often travels, making movies that solely target his fan base while excluding everyone else. As a chauvinistic news anchor in 1970s San Diego, Ferrell gets to wear ugly clothes, make silly faces, and lust after the ladies, but unless you hold the opinion that the actor is a comic genius worthy of Chaplin or Tati comparisons, then this sort of obnoxious oafishness gets stale quickly. With the exception of one recently anointed Oscar winner, the cameos merely include the usual suspects (Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn), while capable comedienne Christina Applegate is forced to play straight man -- uh, woman -- to Ferrell and his posse. There are a handful of inspired moments -- the tribute to Burt Reynolds, who made the concept of end-credit bloopers fashionable, is a nice touch -- but these clever bits seem almost accidental in the midst of so much kitsch. 
1/2
BEFORE SUNSET Richard Linklater's 1995 indie fave Before Sunrise was a pleasant enough yarn about two college-age kids -- one American (Ethan Hawke), the other French (Julie Delpy) -- who meet in Vienna, spend the night talking (and loving), and agree to meet again in six months. Before Sunset continues their story: Unfolding in real minutes (about 80 of them), this follow-up finds Jesse, now a published author, and Celine, an environmental activist, again crossing paths, this time in Paris. Their planned rendezvous never took place, and now, nine years later, they find themselves forced to breathlessly bring each other up to speed before Jesse has to catch a plane back to the States. As they chat, their initial apprehension wears off, leaving them emotionally exposed as they discuss failed relationships and what would have happened if they had managed to remain together all those years ago. Superior to its predecessor in every way, this lovely film does an exemplary job of conveying the manner in which the freedom and naivety of youth inevitably fall by the wayside, leaving only cherished memories, present regrets, and the rigor mortis of a future that can only be avoided by those willing to take risks. Hawke and Delpy (who both co-wrote the script with Linklater) have never been better, and the movie's ending is letter-perfect. 1/2
THE CLEARING No superheroes, no car crashes, no sword-swinging knights, no animated critters -- for older viewers not interested in the glamour and glitz of the summer season, The Clearing would appear to be the winning ticket. Unfortunately, there's also no urgency in the execution and no point to the resolution -- all in all, a major disappointment for those seeking cinematic sanctuary. Marking the directorial debut of producer Pieter Jan Brugge (The Insider), the film is fortunate to be blessed with a powerhouse cast: Robert Redford as a self-made millionaire who finds himself abducted, Helen Mirren as his wife, and Willem Dafoe as the kidnapper. Their strong performances remain riveting throughout, yet the story that contains them is flimsy, with brief hints of psychological complexity being scuttled as this meandering movie heads for a conclusion that's meant to be devastating but instead proves desultory.
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL It sounds a bit calculating, even more so for a foreign import -- a movie about a camel that gives birth to a colt and then immediately rejects her baby, forcing the Mongolian family that owns the animals to devise a way to bond the pair. Yet writer-directors Luigi Falorni and Byambasuren Davaa pull it off: Citing documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty as their inspiration, they've created a film that's both fiction and nonfiction, draping a loose narrative around the real-life experiences of a nomadic family living in the Gobi Desert. The film is as much about this clan as about the camels, focusing on the people as they spin established folk tales, tend to their livestock, and rub shoulders with the modern world only when absolutely necessary (in one subplot, the youngest boy discovers television and becomes obsessed with it). But the movie always circles back to the animals, and the touching finale might insure that the camel won't be the only one doing the weeping.
CURRENT RELEASES
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Less an adaptation of Jules Verne's novel than a quasi-installment in the Shanghai Noon / Knights franchise, this expensively priced but cheaply realized action yarn finds Jackie Chan playing a martial arts expert who takes on all villains in an effort to return a jade Buddha statue back to his remote Chinese village. Stranded in London, he passes himself off as a French valet named Passepartout and hitches an intercontinental ride with inventor Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan), who has bet that he can travel around... well, you know this part. Everything about this production seems tired, from Chan's fight routines to the soggy humor to the cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger, looking rather ghastly as a lecherous Turkish prince sporting skimpy duds, a hideous wig and a jaundiced complexion. 1/2
DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY For devotees of dum-dum cinema, here's Dodgeball to placate the lowest common denominator while also allowing discerning filmgoers to slum in style. Oh, sure, writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber didn't have to look further than his weather-beaten VHS copy of Animal House for inspiration, and some of the jokes not only thud to the ground but then spend a few uncomfortable seconds writhing in agony. But when it has its game face on, this offers a satisfying number of laughs, characters that we care to follow, and cameo appearances that (in contrast to those in Around the World In 80 Days) are positively inspired. At a time when many ambitious studio films are aiming high and falling short, here's one that delivers on its low-pressure promise.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11 Let's be honest: For better or worse, this will be viewed as a propaganda tool first and a motion picture second, and those with strongly held political views won't be swayed one way or the other by Michael Moore's filmic diatribe against the Bush family (it's Moore's hope that the "undecideds" who brave the film will theoretically end up handing the election to Kerry). But is it worth seeing? Certainly -- and not even so much because of its politics, but because of its compassion. As is often the case with Moore, the movie works best when he removes himself from the equation and lets his subjects hang themselves through existing news footage. Still, for all its political pelting, this is at its most gripping when it simply focuses on the innocent people whose lives have been destroyed either by the heinous terrorists or by the abhorrent policies of this administration. 1/2
GARFIELD: THE MOVIE A film about the fat cat star of one of the least inspired comic strips ever to line birdcages coast to coast? We're talking about an uphill battle, and this doesn't even make it past the footstool. As envisioned by creator Jim Davis, Garfield is an ugly, unseemly beast, and that pretty much describes this film as well. Small children will at least get their parents' money's worth -- they'll squeal with delight at the mayhem perpetrated by the computer-generated cat -- but this will feel like a slow crawl through broken glass for anyone old enough to have mastered the fine art of shoelace-tying. So is there anything positive to say about it? Sure: At least it's not Family Circus: The Motion Picture. Trying to live through a film version of that atrocious comic would exhaust all nine lives -- and then some.
KING ARTHUR This is being pushed as the true story behind the myth, but while many scholars now believe there may have been a historical basis for the age-old legend, I doubt many of its components worked their way into this piece of pure Hollywood hokum. Yet as fictional filmmaking goes, this offers top-flight entertainment for about half its length before slipping into pure formula. Even with Armageddon/Bad Boys producer Jerry Bruckheimer breathing down his neck, director Antoine Fuqua avoids fetishistic vanity shots and macho preening (these characters are manly enough without requiring artificial enhancement), but the movie's vitality eventually drains away, leaving nothing but cumbersome speeches and a dull climactic battle. As Arthur, Clive Owen continues to radiate genuine star power, but Keira Knightley gets shortchanged by her limited screen time as a warrior Guinevere. 1/2
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE A case study in high school geekiness, Napoleon Dynamite spends his days stumbling from one miserable encounter to the next, occupying a movie that often seems as unsure of itself as its protagonist. Napoleon himself isn't exactly ingratiating, and it's impossible to tell whether Jared Hess and his co-writer (and wife) Jerusha Hess mean for us to laugh with him or at him. And if the goal was to render an accurate portrait of the inner circles of high school hell, the film ends up diluting its potency with some unbelievable plot developments. Still, cruel or not, there's no denying that the picture is frequently funny, and newcomer Jon Heder delivers a fearless performance that's almost breathtaking in its wormy detail. 1/2
THE NOTEBOOK Every summer seriously needs at least one picture to fill that Bridges of Madison County/Ya-Ya Sisterhood slot (otherwise, we'd completely choke on the sweat and testosterone), and this adaptation of Carolina writer Nicholas Sparks' popular weepie arrives as this year's bit of alternative programming. The story is fairly standard stuff that we've seen before in some variation or another: She's young, beautiful and rich, he's young, handsome and poor, and they're forced to contend with obstacles both personal (her disapproving mom) and public (WWII) in order to keep their love alive. The reason to consider catching this is to watch the terrific performance by Rachel McAdams, whose luminescent work, coupled with her turn as the meanest of the Mean Girls, marks her as a compelling newcomer. 1/2
SPIDER-MAN 2 It was a given that the long-awaited Spider-Man movie, released in 2002 after a 39-year gestation period on the comic book page, would make millions even if its hero had been played by John Travolta sporting his Battlefield Earth dreadlocks. But director Sam Raimi's surefooted adaptation turned out to be a phenomenal success with both audiences and critics, thereby raising the bar for its sequel to a stratospheric level; luckily, they don't screw it up. S-M 2 isn't as accomplished -- or even as enjoyable -- a movie as its predecessor, but it's a more ambitious one, with Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) coping with personal problems while the villainous Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) tears up the town. Despite a few flaws, this offers enough thrills and humor to qualify as sparkling summer entertainment.
SUPER SIZE ME Morgan Spurlock decided to eat only McDonald's for a whole month, heading to the Golden Arches for his three squares a day. By the end, he had (among other things) gained 25 pounds and watched his cholesterol skyrocket. Despite the obviousness of its conclusions, this is still an outrageously entertaining documentary that presents its material in such a compelling manner, we often feel like we're hearing its nuggets (McNuggets?) of information for the first time. Spurlock documents all aspects of his experiment, yet he also talks with health advocates and explores the reasons why the fast food industry has become such an integral ingredient in the American lifestyle. This is a movie filled with big laughs, yet even the guffaws don't diminish the periodic bouts of anger, depression and horror we personally experience as we watch a nation eating itself into oblivion. 1/2
THE TERMINAL Steven Spielberg's latest is loosely based on the true story of a man who, because of twisting ribbons of red tape, had to live in an airport after being denied access into any country (including his own). Tom Hanks plays the accidental tourist Viktor Navorski, and as we watch him settle into his new "home," we're delighted by the rich vein of humor and moved by Hanks' compassionate performance. But after a wonderful first half, the movie turns shameless and never lets up. Stanley Tucci plays the paper villain of the piece, a rabid airport official who tracks and torments Viktor as if he were Inspector Javert on the hunt for Jean Valjean; meanwhile, Catherine Zeta-Jones gets unconvincingly shoehorned into the plot as Viktor's nitwit love interest. Arguably Spielberg's least subtle movie, it's still worth a quick glance. 1/2
TWO BROTHERS In casting the lead roles for Two Brothers, director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear came up with a revolutionary idea: He used real tigers to play the parts of tigers! So forget about all those fake CGI critters that have become the norm as of late -- Annaud's approach is so retro that it's practically progressive. His movie's all the better for it: This is a tremendously touching story about two tiger cubs who get separated shortly after birth and are reunited under dire circumstances one year later. There's a complexity involved in some of the characterizations that usually isn't found in this sort of family film -- the man vs. nature theme isn't always painted in simplistic good vs. evil brushstrokes -- and some of Annaud's animal footage is simply remarkable.
OPENS FRIDAY:
BEFORE SUNSET: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy.
A CINDERELLA STORY: Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge.
THE CLEARING: Robert Redford, Helen Mirren.
DE-LOVELY: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd.
I, ROBOT: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan.
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL: Ingen Temee, Botok..
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