ShareThisBy ROBERT DENERSTEIN
Thursday, October 26, 2006
ALL THE KING'S MEN (C-) A mostly stagnant attempt to breathe new life into Robert Penn Warren's classic 1947 novel, already made into an Oscar-winning movie in 1949. Sean Penn huffs and puffs as Southern demagogue Willie Stark, but fails to blow the house down. It's not easy to determine why director Steven Zaillian wanted to take another swing at this material, and even more difficult to understand the misguided casting.
Rated: PG-13. Adult material.
BOYNTON BEACH CLUB (C+) Director Susan Seidelman, whose movies ("Smithereens" and "Desperately Seeking Susan") defined hip cinema in the '80s, turns her attention to widows and widowers living in retirement in Florida. Standout performances from Brenda Vaccaro and Sally Kellerman help create interest, and Seidelman deserves credit for turning her attention away from a youth demographic. Too bad the movie too quickly reveals itself as a routine relationship movie _ albeit with an older cast.
Unrated.
THE DEPARTED (B) Martin Scorsese isn't often thought of as a director who's in love with special effects, but he has one here _ Jack Nicholson. Nicholson gives a massively hammy and malevolent performance in Scorsese's look at Irish mobsters in Boston. Strongly acted by Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, who play very different kinds of undercover cops, the movie also features tasty small performances from Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg and Ray Winstone. Full of violence, inventively used profanity and rueful humor, "The Departed" begins in gripping fashion, but never entirely transcends the limitations of genre moviemaking.
Rated: R. Strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material.
D.O.A.P. (C-) Few films caused as much stir at the Toronto International Film Festival as "D.O.A.P." (also known as "Death of a President"), a movie that imagines George W. Bush 's assassination and the aftermath. Director Gabriel Range is none too subtle when it comes to his message about the dangers of the Patriot Act and reaching snap conclusions.
Not rated.
FEARLESS (B) Jet Li bows out of martial-arts movies with a handsome, idealized biography of Huo Yuanjia, the founder of a major martial-arts school who died in 1910. Director Ronny Yu works in broad strokes as he turns Huo into a hero who becomes a champion of civility in fighting, but only after he experiences tragic loss. Yu makes room for few martial-arts sequences (a few of them nifty), but the story is marked by as much melodrama as muscle.
Rated: PG-13. Violence related to martial-arts action.
49 UP (B) For those of us who've been with it from the start, director Michael Apted's series on the lives of folks he first filmed at the age of 7 remains essential viewing. As its title suggests, the participants in "49 Up" are approaching 50. Befitting their age, they seem to have found ways to become more comfortable in their own skins. Maybe they're all starting to run out of gas. Not quite as intriguing as its predecessors, but still interesting for fans of the series. Unrated.
FLYBOYS (D+) This attempt at World War I drama proves callow and cliched. James Franco stars as one of a group of Americans who flew for the French before the United States entered the war. A couple of exciting flying sequences can't compensate for the numbing "dramatic" interludes.
Rated: PG-13. Combat violence, some mildly sexual material.
THE GUARDIAN (B-) This formula job isn't likely to impress anyone with its originality, but "The Guardian" does one unusual thing: Instead of introducing us to callow youths train for combat, we're asked to watch them learn to become rescue swimmers for the Coast Guard. Kevin Costner does a fine job as the hardened veteran who trains rookies, including a hot-shot swimmer played by Ashton Kutcher. And credit director Andrew Davis with making the rescue footage exciting.
Rating: PG-13. Intense sequences of action/peril, brief strong language and some sensuality.
HOLLYWOODLAND (B-) This noir lite film _ centered on the 1959 case of George Reeves, who played Superman on TV before committing suicide _ winds up feeling like an imitation of a great movie. A detective (Adrien Brody) investigates whether Reeves (Ben Affleck) was actually murdered.
Rated: R. Language, violence
THE ILLUSIONIST (B) A visually accomplished period piece about a magician (Edward Norton) reunited with a childhood sweetheart (Jessica Biel). Only she's engaged to a ruthless nobleman who orders a police stooge (Paul Giamatti) to keep an eye on the "illusionist." Ultimately the film aims too high, but not before it delivers an entertaining blend of secrets, plot twists and decent acting.
Rated: PG-13. Sexuality, violence
INFAMOUS (B+) It may be difficult to believe, but we now have a second good movie about author Truman Capote's travels to Kansas to write "In Cold Blood." Director Doug McGrath follows last year's "Capote" with an intriguing, quick-witted movie that begins as a kind of slick comedy about Capote's life among New York's glitterati. McGrath slowly allows seriousness to pervade the proceedings as he explores Capote's devastating relationship with killer Perry Smith, portrayed by a volatile Daniel Craig. British actor Toby Jones makes a fine Capote, and Sandra Bullock gives the movie some heart as Capote pal Harper Lee. "Capote" is the better of the two movies, but this one sheds light of its own.
Rated: R. Language, violence and some sexuality
INVINCIBLE (B) It's no surprise that the producers who brought us "The Rookie," a baseball movie about an improbable triumph, have turned their attention to Vince Papale, the oldest non-kicking rookie to land a job in the NFL as a wide receiver who logged heavy time on special teams for the Philadelphia Eagles in '76. Mark Wahlberg stars as Papale, and Greg Kinnear plays his coach, Dick Vermeil. The movie does a decent enough job mixing Philly grit and pro football to make us overlook a few fumbles.
Rated: PG. Adult situations.
JESUS CAMP (B) This provocative new documentary attempts to show us how some evangelical Christians indoctrinate their children. True to its name, the movie features extensive sessions at Kids on Fire, a Christian camp in an ironically named location, Devil's Lake, N.D. The filmmakers _ Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady _ don't offer much by way of critical commentary, opting instead for full immersion. Why should we care about any of this? The directors answer the question by showing that faith and fervor often cross the line into politics.
Rated: PG-13. Some discussions of mature subject matter.
KEEPING MUM (C+) Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas do nice work in this mildly mordant comedy about a country vicar (Rowan Atkinson) whose household is verging on collapse. Thomas plays the vicar's wife and Smith portrays a housekeeper who moves in with the vicar's dysfunctional family and applies her own peculiar brand of assistance to their many problems.
Rated: R. Language and some sexual content/nudity
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (B) Forest Whitaker gives a towering performance as dictator Idi Amin, the monster who ran Uganda from 1970 to 1979. This one barrels along in compelling fashion, creating reservations only when it's done. By the end, we realize that we've seen one more movie in which Africa serves as the backdrop for the reclamation of a white character. James McAvoy plays a young Scottish doctor who winds up working as Amin's personal physician. In the bargain, he remains shamefully ignorant of the extreme violence around him.
Rated: R. Some strong violence and gruesome images, sexual content and language.
MAN OF THE YEAR (C) Robin Williams plays a savvy, Jon Stewart-style comedian who runs for president in director Barry Levinson's broad-ranging satire. Perhaps uncertain about what it wants to accomplish, the movie eventually morphs into a lukewarm thriller. The bottom line: "Man of the Year" is not funny or trenchant enough, and it takes aim at far too many targets.
Rated: PG-13. Language including some crude sexual references, drug related material and brief violence.
RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES (B) Those familiar only with director Zhang Yimou's recent martial-arts extravaganzas, "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," may be surprised to learn that the director has turned his attention to a narrowly focused, contemporary story. Zhang's new movie mixes gentle observation, cultural comedy and emotional revelation in telling the story of a Japanese father (Ken Takakura) who tries to reconcile with his estranged son, a documentary filmmaker who's dying of liver cancer.
Rating: PG. Mild thematic elements.
SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS (C-) Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite") plays the classic loser in this loose remake of a 1959 British comedy. Too bad the movie comes up a loser, as well. Heder's Roger tries to become assertive with help form a strange teacher played by Billy Bob Thornton. A promising premise never produces the expected laughs, and director Todd Phillips "(Road Trip," :Old School") can't kick the proceedings into high gear.
Rated: PG-13. Language, crude and sexual content, and some violence.
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP (B+) Director Michel Gondry (who worked with American writer Charlie Kaufman on movies such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") has one of the most inventive directorial minds in the business, and he applies it with relish in "The Science of Sleep." The animation and graphics have a wonderful handcrafted feel, as if they'd been designed by a precocious elementary-school student. Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal), a young man who arrives in Paris from Mexico, moves into his mother's apartment and falls for a neighbor (Charlotte Gainsbourg).
Rated: R. Language, some sexual content and nudity.
SHORTBUS (C) This sexually explicit movie from director John Cameron Mitchell leaves nothing to the imagination with its loosely assembled overview _ or underview if you prefer _ of a group of New Yorkers who attend a private downtown club to engage in all manner of sexual activity. It's a bold idea, but the movie has a numbed-out feeling and the characters aren't all that interesting. If you're looking for eroticism, look elsewhere. If you're looking for any profundities, look elsewhere, as well.
Unrated. Explicit sexual material, profanity and drug use.
THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON (B) In this often-revealing documentary, we watch Lennon's protective cynicism wear away. The movie chronicles attempts by the U.S. to deport Lennon, who had become too identified with counter-cultural and peace activities during the Vietnam War. Fine new footage of Lennon and some great Lennon music provide enhancement.
Rated: PG. Strong language, violent images and drug references.
WORLD TRADE CENTER (B) It's impossible not to be moved while watching Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," which re-creates the rescue of two Port Authority policemen trapped in the rubble. Precious little plot augments Stone's spare tale, aside from scenes that show us how the families tried to cope with the unimaginable. The movie can lag, and Nicolas Cage might have been too recognizable a face for the main role, but ultimately Stone accepts the workaday values of his heroes and bathes them in an appreciative glow.
Rated: PG-13. Intense content, disturbing images and language.
YOU, ME AND DUPREE (C-) Owen Wilson is the houseguest from hell in a lame comedy about how Wilson's character nearly wrecks the fledgling marriage of his best friend. We're asked to believe that Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson are a couple, which isn't easy. Really, though, this one has nothing going for it besides Wilson's patented ill-kempt, slothful act: It's not enough.
Rated: PG-13. Sexual situations, profanity.
