Cast Away
Not many actors could pull off a virtual one-man show, spending most of a movie stranded on an island with no human companions. Tom Hanks isn't just any actor, though, and he proves again why he's amassing an Oscar collection. If only the rest of this tedious, poorly structured film lived up to its star's talents. "Cast Away" is riddled with plot holes and drags on and on (and on), until finally lurching to a deeply unsatisfying conclusion. Poor Robert Zemeckis (who also directed Hanks in "Forrest Gump") wants to be profound and inspiring, but he just doesn't have it in him. (PG-13) -- LL
** Plaza Six, 2339 Iowa.
Chocolat
The latest flick from director Lasse Hallstrom is as light and charming as his "The Cider House Rules" was somber. A stiff, fussy French community is turned upside down when a single mother (Juliette Binoche, "The English Patient") opens up a chocolate shop in the middle of Lent. Her treats have an oddly medicinal quality that makes some locals addicts and the mayor (Alfred Molina) an enemy. While the supporting cast is splendid, Binoche's delightfully low-key performance anchors the flick. The endearing characters and the director's storybook tone make for some tasty (if fattening) cinema. (PG-13) -- DL
*** Plaza Six, 2339 Iowa.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
In the hands of director Ang Lee ("Ride with the Devil"), the fight between two warriors (Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh) and two bandits (Chen Pei-Pei and Zhang Ziyi) for ownership of a 400-year-old sword becomes as urgent as a Biblical prophecy come true. While Lee is known for more introspective fare such as "The Ice Storm" and "Sense and Sensibility," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is loaded with eye-popping hand-to-hand battle scenes. It also contains many of the low-key dramatic touches that marked Lee's earlier films. For example, the actors make statements that are at odds with what their faces are telling the camera. Because of the care and detail devoted to each frame, "Crouching Tiger" is one of those rare films where the spectacle never comes at the expense of the story. As with the fabled sword itself, the elements combine into a lethally potent alloy. (PG-13) -- LL
**** Liberty Hall Cinemas, 644 Mass.
Down to Earth
The words "Chris Rock" and "bland" aren't normally used in the same sentence -- Rock's comedy has always been famously provocative. So how did he end up in this toothless fantasy? Rock plays a stand-up comic who dies before his time and is sent back to Earth in the body of a millionaire. If this plot sounds familiar, that's because it's a remake of the 1978 film "Heaven Can Wait," which was itself a remake of the 1941 film "Here Comes Mr. Jordan." The lack of originality doesn't end with the storyline, either. Rock's material here is often funny, but it's also recycled from his other work, only without the edge. The result is inoffensive and rather dull, two things Chris Rock should never be. (PG-13) -- LL
** Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
15 Minutes
Filmmaker John Herzfeld has something important to say. At least he thinks he does, anyway. What he actually ends up saying is "I haven't got a single original idea in my head, but Robert De Niro's in my movie!" De Niro does his best, as a cop trying to catch a pair of tabloid-courting serial killers, but he's still outdone by Czech actor Karel Roden, as the nuttier of the bad guys. The fact that the villain easily is the most compelling character in the film doesn't do much for Herzfeld's message about the evils of America's fascination with violence -- not that he'd notice the irony. (R) -- LL
** Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
Finding Forrester
"Finding Forrester" incorporates large portions of "Scent of a Woman and "Good Will Hunting." Fortunately, director Gus Van Sant, who helmed the latter imbues the new film with just enough stylish touches to keep it from feeling stale or rote. Rob Brown, in a solid debut, plays a bright teenager from the Bronx who gets lessons on writing and living from a J.D. Salinger-like novelist (Sean Connery). The two leads play off each other beautifully, and Van Sant's low-key approach keeps the familiar story from feeling mundane. (PG-13) -- DL
*** Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
Get Over It
In the spirit of the successful "10 Things I Hate About You," "Get Over It" finds a way of infusing Shakespeare into a modest adolescent farce. A smitten teen (Ben Foster) seeks to win back his long-time girlfriend (Melissa Sagemiller) by landing a role alongside her in the high school play, a gaudy musical version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Helping the hero gain confidence is his best friend's little sister (Kirsten Dunst), who also is developing a crush on him. Director Tommy O'Haver ("Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss") serves up a somewhat surreal teen comedy packed with song and dance numbers, used most cleverly in an elaborate title sequence. The rest of "Get Over It" often trips over its feet in the believability department. It's hard to envision Foster and Sagemiller as a couple -- she looks more like a grad student -- and there's no excuse why a clumsy New Zealand student (Playmate Kylie Bax) keeps stumbling in. The movie really lumbers in its final act (it may be time to retire "Midsummer" as an allegory in teen flicks), but still earns marks for its lively style and appealing cast. (PG-13) -- JN
** Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
Hannibal
Hannibal the Cannibal is back in business, this time with Ridley Scott taking over directing duties from "The Silence of the Lambs" helmer Jonathan Demme, and Julianne Moore replacing Jodie Foster as FBI Agent Clarice Starling. In fact, the only person returning from the original is Anthony Hopkins, who inhabits Dr. Lecter with the same sophisticated cruelty as before. "Hannibal" never really feels like a continuation of its predecessor -- Scott's style is completely different, and the 10-year gap between stories leaves too many holes in the characters' motivations. On its own terms, however, this is a dark, often gruesomely funny film with its own distinct sensibilities. (R) -- LL
*** Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
The Mexican
With a storyline that's as twisted as a funnel cake, "The Mexican" is guaranteed to surprise. The biggest jolt may be seeing glamorous high-dollar stars Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts as Jerry and Samantha, a scruffy, bickering couple who break up when Jerry agrees to do one last job for a mob don. The task seems simple: He has to retrieve a rare, handcrafted pistol from Mexico. But then the assignment becomes a disaster. A sensitive hired gun (James Gandolfini from "The Sopranos") kidnaps Sam, mistakenly thinking that she knows where Jerry is. Roberts has more chemistry with Gandolfini than she does with Pitt, and that's actually an asset (unlike the advertisements, the final film features few exchanges between the two stars). Screenwriter J.H. Wyman comes up with several amusing developments, but some are just a bit much (too many people once thought dead turn out to be merely wounded). Still, it's a treat to see a mean, feisty dog who steals every scene he's in. Where was he when they were making "See Spot Run?" (R) -- DL
** 1/2 Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The eccentric Coen brothers combine Greek mythology and the legends of the American South in this somewhat disappointing comedy featuring George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as a trio of escaped convicts who inadvertently gain fame as a singing group. If the movie's narrative (taken from Homer's "The Odyssey") loses steam at points, the Coen's give Clooney his juiciest role to date (as a hair-obsessed con man). Thanks to some gorgeous imagery, courtesy of cinematographer Roger Deakins and digital tweaking, and a great folk music soundtrack, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is a decent question to ask even if the answer disappoints. (PG-13) -- DL
** 1/2 Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
Save the Last Dance
Mix "Flashdance" with "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and throw in a hip-hop soundtrack, and you've got the formula for this sporadically interesting MTV Films production. Julia Stiles is the white suburban ballet dancer who ends up in inner-city Chicago after her mother's death; Sean Patrick Thomas is the black honor student who teaches her some new moves, and falls in love with her in the process. It's got the requisite earnest melodrama and overlong musical interludes. It also has appealing stars, a passable script and a refreshingly matter-of-fact attitude toward interracial romance. Not bad for the company that gave the world "Dead Man On Campus." (PG-13) -- LL
** Plaza Six, 2339 Iowa.
See Spot Run
With three incompatible themes (dog movie, gangland story, single man learning the joys of fatherhood), "See Spot Run" is the closest a person can come to channel surfing in a theater. The hammy David Arquette plays a pooch-hating mailman who accidentally adopts a dog, who's really an FBI agent on the run. The committee that wrote this mess can't make sense of it, and neither can viewers. Because it fails on so many levels, one wonders why "See Spot Run" wasn't put to sleep during development. It makes one long for the subtlety and wit of "K-9" or "Air Bud." (PG) -- DL
1/2 Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
Snatch
Just like his new bride Madonna, filmmaker Guy Ritchie is a master of style over substance. With "Snatch," Ritchie continues his tour of London's East End underworld with even more technical panache than in his breakthrough debut, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Sure, there are few deep, meaningful themes in these movies, but Ritchie's command of the medium is so skillful, his criminals so memorable and his writing so sharp that it makes up for the difference. With a plot too complicated to encapsulate, "Snatch" features dozens of colorful characters, including Brad Pitt as a bare-knuckle boxing gypsy and Vinnie Jones as a verbose gun-for-hire. Though extremely reminiscent of "Lock, Stock," and completely devoid of female personas (thankfully, Madonna is among them), "Snatch" is so visually inventive and relentlessly entertaining that any criticism rings as hollow as the spent bullet shell casings that litter Ritchie's violent landscape. (R) -- JN
*** 1/2 Plaza Six, 2339 Iowa.
Sweet November
Love. Laughter. Beautiful people suffering. Sobs and sniffles from the audience. Yes, folks, it's another "chick movie." This one has Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron making a truly bizarre arrangement -- he'll move in with her for one month, during which time she'll transform him from a selfish workaholic into a sensitive guy who appreciates life. Of course, they fall for each other in the process, and there's tragedy looming on the horizon. Could this have been a decent movie? Possibly, if it had been played for laughs, or if the filmmakers had bothered to write interesting characters. It wasn't, and they didn't, so it just ends up being shallow and manipulative. (PG-13) -- LL
* 1/2 Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
3000 Miles to Graceland
Why huge computer-generated scorpions battle each other during the opening credits is only one of many questions an audience is left asking after enduring this unpleasant tale of the multiple betrayals that hound a group of ex-cons (led by Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner) after they rob a Vegas casino dressed as Elvis impersonators. Former music video director Demian Lichtenstein force feeds "3000 Miles to Graceland" with time-lapse photography, jittery edits and a blaring soundtrack. It all reeks of "Natural Born Killers," and is just as headache-inducing and insufferably long. But the film's real sin is the lack of discretion in its portrayal of violence and the consequences that should result from such actions. This movie features two irresponsibly gratuitous scenes that belong more in a sequel to Schwarzenegger's "Commando" than in a supposedly sassy heist flick. And after about 30 cops and bystanders are gunned down during the intro bloodbath, only two marshals are given the job of pursuing the murderers. Huh? (R) -- JN
* Plaza Six, 2339 Iowa.
Traffic
This seems to be the year of great movies about drugs. On the heels of the harrowing "Requiem for a Dream" comes this very different -- but equally compelling -- look at the issues surrounding the drug war. Director/cinematographer Steven Soderbergh ("Erin Brockovich") takes a clear-eyed approach to the subject, weaving together four complicated stories while giving each a distinctive look and feel. The cast, which includes Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro and Catherine Zeta-Jones, is typically eclectic and served well by Soderbergh's confident direction and Stephen Gaghan's heavily-researched script. This is that rare film that will inspire deep conversations on the way home from the theater. (R) -- LL
*** 1/2 Southwind Twelve, 3433 Iowa.
The Wedding Planner
Jennifer Lopez stars as Mary, a career-minded wedding planner who is thrown into the arms of a charismatic pediatrician (Matthew McConaughey) after a traffic mishap -- until she discovers he is the groom-to-be of a client whose upcoming wedding is her most profitable account. Video choreographer Adam Shankman makes his directing debut with "The Wedding Planner" and shows a real eye for staging. The director is also skilled at handling his leads, allowing McConaughey's Texas charm to flow comfortably and Lopez to slip into the central role with the same ease that a pre-"Brockovich" Julia Roberts might have. Unfortunately, the film's peripheral characters are less interesting, and in the case of a surprise Italian suitor (Justin Chambers), downright incomprehensible. But for the most part this frivolous comedy succeeds because of a tone as light as wedding cake frosting and lead performances as poised as the bride and groom at the top of the cake. (PG-13) -- JN
** 1/2 Plaza Six, 2339 Iowa.
You Can Count on Me
Not much happens in this film -- it has virtually no plot and only three or four major characters - but its outward simplicity belies the emotional depth of Kenneth Lonergan's Oscar-nominated script. Laura Linney (also a nominee) stars as a single mother whose "perfect" world is turned upside down by the arrival of her slacker younger brother (Mark Ruffalo). As the two of them come to terms with their own failings and slowly learn to accept each other, the audience is treated to a profound look at love and family, and given a chance to consider what those words really mean. (R) -- LL
*** Liberty Hall Cinemas, 644 Mass.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.