Friday, February 28, 2003 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Movies

Movies are rated on a letter-grade scale, from A to F. Opinions by R-J movie critic Carol Cling (C.C.) are indicated by initials. Other opinions are from wire service critics.

Motion Picture Association of America ratings:

G - General audiences, all ages.

PG - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 - Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children under 13.

R - Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or guardian.

NC-17 - No one under 17 admitted.

NR - Not rated.

ABOUT SCHMIDT

(B+) "Schmidt" happens! More than 30 years after "Five Easy Pieces" established Jack Nicholson as the quintessential alienated drifter, "About Schmidt" puts him on the road again, as a retired, suddenly widowed insurance executive whose tidy life certainties unravel as travels to his estranged daughter's wedding. Writer-director Alexander Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor, adapting Louis Begley's novel, miss the crucial balance between satire and affection that made "Election" such a winner, but Oscar-nominated turns from Nicholson and Kathy Bates (pitch-perfect as a holdover from the hippie era) make this a cinematic journey well worth taking. Nominated for two Academy Awards: actor, supporting actress. (124 min.) R, profanity, brief nudity, mature themes. (C.C.)

ADAPTATION

(A-) Those wonderful folks who brought you "Being John Malkovich," screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze, reunite for another metaphysical mind-bender, this one focusing on Kaufman himself (Oscar nominee Nicolas Cage), who's hopelessly blocked trying to adapt New Yorker writer Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief" while his doofus twin (also played by Cage) breezes along with a script for a derivative thriller. Oscar nominees Meryl Streep (as the smart, sly Orlean) and Chris Cooper (as the roguish orchid thief) also deliver killer performances in this delirious ode to adaptation -- in the writerly, psychological and Darwinian senses of the word. Nominated for four Academy Awards: actor, supporting actor, supporting actress and adapted screenplay. (114 min.) R; violence, profanity, nudity, sexual situations, drug use. (C.C.)

ARARAT

(C) Almost, but not quite: Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyan ("The Sweet Hereafter") explores Armenian genocide in the early 20th century through a variety of contemporary characters, including an 18-year-old (newcomer David Alpay) detained by a customs agent (Christopher Plummer) on his return from Turkey, and a filmmaker (France's legendary Charles Aznavour) making a historical epic about the Ottoman Empire's persecution of Armenians. Elias Koteas, Eric Bogosian and "Sweet Hereafter" veterans Bruce Greenwood and Arsinee Khanjian round out the starring cast of this contentious, passionate misfire. Egoyan specializes in weaving together stories that we gradually realize are all one story. When this technique works, it can be breathtaking. But "Ararat" is a puzzle whose pieces don't fit. Some are fascinating, some not. It all adds up to a good movie -- almost. (115 min.) R; violence, sexual situations, nudity, profanity.

BIKER BOYZ

(D+) This fast 'n' furious "Western on wheels" about the fastest gun -- oops, the fastest motorcycle rider -- in the West (Laurence Fishburne) and a young upstart gunning for the title (Derek Luke, alias "Antwone Fisher") bogs down in a pretentious swamp of consequence, wasting a fascinating premise, leaving such capable cast members as Fishburne, Luke, Orlando Jones, Djimon Hounsou and Vanessa Bell Calloway hopelessly spinning their wheels. (111 min.) PG-13; violence, sexual references, profanity. (C.C.)

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

(B+) Portrait of the con artist as a young man: The true-life adventures of teen Frank Abagnale Jr. (a fast-and-loose Leonardo DiCaprio, in a marked contrast to his brooding "Gangs of New York" role), who worked as a doctor, a lawyer and a co-pilot for a major airline, forged checks for millions of dollars and wound up on the FBI's most-wanted list -- all before his 21st birthday. Under Steven Spielberg's assured direction, this '60s-era caper offers a breezy take on Abagnale's dubious exploits, a grown-up fantasy that revels in deft deception. Nominated for two Academy Awards: supporting actor (Christopher Walken), original score. (140 min.) PG-13; sexual situations, profanity. (C.C.)

CHICAGO

(B) Give 'em the old razzle-dazzle: Showbiz wannabe Roxie Hart (Best Actress Oscar nominee Renée Zellweger) dreams of emulating '20s nightclub sensation Velma Kelly (Best Supporting Actress nominee Catherine Zeta-Jones), becoming the Windy City's most notorious murderess -- and stealing Velma's slick lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) along with the headlines. This jazzy, pizzazzy adaptation of the hit musical isn't quite the bedazzling Broadway-to-Hollywood triumph some of us hoped for; by casting actors first, musical performers second (at least in Zellweger's and Gere's cases), director-choreographer Rob Marshall throws "Chicago" enough off-balance that it occasionally has trouble finding its feet. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including picture, director, actress, supporting actress (Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah), supporting actor (John C. Reilly), director and adapted screenplay. (108 min.) PG-13; sexual content and dialogue, violence and mature themes. (C.C.)

DAREDEVIL

(C) Another Marvel Comics hero hits the big screen as fearless Matt Murdock, blinded in a boyhood accident, works as a crusading attorney by day -- and a crusading avenger by night. Alas, Ben Affleck inhabits Daredevil's crimson costume -- and the contradictory character within -- with an underwhelming combination of phlegmatic affability and whiny petulance, turning the less-than-superhero into a wallflower at his own party. Luckily, "Alias' " dynamic Jennifer Garner (as Murdock's love interest, Elektra) and especially "The Recruit's" Colin Farrell (demonstrating undeniable movie-stealing muscle as maniacal assassin Bullseye) turn up to distract us from the vacuum at the center of this handsome but largely empty comic-book epic. (103 min.) PG-13; action/violence, sexual references. (C.C.)

DARK BLUE

(B) On the eve of the Rodney King acquittals in 1992, corruption within the Los Angeles police force breaks down the fabric of both the department and the city, putting a veteran cop (Kurt Russell), a member of the department's elite, rule-flouting Special Investigations squad, on the firing line when the department's assistant chief (Ving Rhames) blows the whistle. Scott Speedman (late of TV's "Felicity") and Brendan Gleeson ("Gangs of New York") co-star in this gritty tale directed by Ron Shelton (best known for such sports hits as "Bull Durham" and "White Men Can't Jump"). It's gripping, if a bit uneven, but Russell (an underrated dramatic resource after a literal lifetime of acting) hits all the right notes. "Dark Blue" wouldn't be half as dark without him. (118 min.) R; violence, profanity, brief sexual situations.

DARKNESS FALLS

(D) The title town, plagued by an unrelenting evil that's been around for 150 years, meets its match -- maybe -- when young Kyle Walsh (Chaney Kley) returns home to confront his troubled past and save his childhood sweetheart Caitlin (Emma Caulfield) and her younger brother Michael (Lee Cormie) from the Tooth Fairy, a Blair Witch-like killer spirit with a dental fixation. At least this movie contains one decent piece of advice: Stay in the light. After all, when the lights are on, they can't show "Darkness Falls." (85 min.) PG-13; terror and horror images, brief profanity.

DELIVER US FROM EVA

(C-) Desperate to rid themselves of the title character (Gabrielle Union), alias the sister-in-law from hell, the men in the lives of her close-knit sisters hire a sweet-talking stud (a laid-back LL Cool J) to distract her -- only to find their plan backfiring big-time -- in a tepid "Taming of the Shrew" retread that finds an attractive cast trying to keep afloat the cinematic equivalent of a concrete rowboat. (107 min.) R; sexual references. (C.C.)

FINAL DESTINATION 2

(F) On the road again: Death literally stalks survivors of a multi-car pile-up, finding multiple ways to mutilate, mangle and pan-fry the incautious and unwary in Rube Goldberg-style accidents that, one suspects, were a lot more fun to conceive than they are to watch. Ali Larder, the first "Destination's" sole survivor, returns, as does Tony Todd as the omniscient mortician. If you think of this as an extended Three Stooges short with bones breaking and membranes splashing, maybe it will go down easier. Or maybe not. (100 min.) R; strong violence and gore, profanity, drug use, nudity.

FRIDA

(B-) Julie Taymor, director of Broadway's "The Lion King," gives visual brilliance to a biography of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Some audacious sequences take flight, but more often the episodic tale lapses into a soapy study of the tempestuous Kahlo (Oscar nominee Salma Hayek) and husband Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina) as they dance a tango of mutual torment and desire. Nominated for six Academy Awards, including actress,song and original score. (127 min.) R; sexual situations, nudity, profanity, brief violence. (C.C.)

GANGS OF NEW YORK

(A-) In Civil War-era New York, a young Irish immigrant (brooding Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrates the inner circle of Nativist leader Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (best actor Oscar-nominee Daniel Day-Lewis), intent on avenging his father's death at Bill the Butcher's hand. Director Martin Scorsese's epic account of New York's -- and America's -- furious growing pains chronicles the violent upheavals that set the young nation's melting pot boiling. More than a century later, the pot's still boiling, giving "Gangs of New York" a striking immediacy -- even as the movie transports us back to the past with such visceral power we can almost smell the fear and hatred in the air. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including picture, actor, director and original screenplay. (166 min.) R; intense strong violence, sexual situations, nudity, profanity and racial epithets. (C.C.)

GODS AND GENERALS

(D+) The motion picture as stone monument: This prequel to 1993's "Gettysburg" is just as big, just as ambitious, and twice as bloated, stilted and stiff, as two regiments -- one led by Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang), the other by Union Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) -- from 1861 to 1863, march toward an inevitable clash. This petrified exercise in nostalgia, bristling with New Testament wrath and Old Testament beards, claims to tell the Civil War story as it "really" happened. Instead, it's a shameless apologia for the Confederacy as a divinely inspired crusade for faith, home and slave labor. They should have called it "Dixie Jihad." (216 min., plus a 12-minute intermission.) PG-13; combat violence.

GRAND CANYON: THE HIDDEN SECRETS

(B) Clearly, the Grand Canyon and the giant screen were made for each other, as this 1987 documentary -- now at the Luxor's Imax theater --ably demonstrates, exploring the lives of some of the people who have challenged its stark grandeur, while capturing the scenic splendors of the geological phenomenon, from wild white-water rapids to narrow side canyons etched over thousands of years. (36 min.) NR.

THE GURU

(C+) Gotta sing! Gotta dance! Gotta preach the gospel of sex! That's more or less the trajectory of a Delhi dance teacher (Jimi Mistry) who tries his luck in America, where stardom eludes him -- until he's hailed as a sex guru when he shares the arousal secrets of a perky porn princess (Heather Graham) while working as a waiter at the birthday party of a dizzy socialite (Marisa Tomei). This modestly harebrained, Bollywood-meets-Hollywood frolic, a cinematic definition of "guilty pleasure" if there ever was one, would be a lot funnier if it weren't so eager to please. (91 min.) R; sexual situations and references, profanity. (C.C.)

THE HOURS

(A) This exquisitely insightful adaptation of life's little revelations, based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, links three women in three different decades: British literary giant Virginia Woolf (best actress Oscar-nominee Nicole Kidman) in the 1920s, a 1950s housewife reading Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" (best supporting actress Oscar-nominee Julianne Moore) and a contemporary Manhattan book editor (Meryl Streep) who shares the first name -- and the preoccupations -- of "Mrs. Dalloway's" title character. Screenwriter David Hare and director Stephen Daldry expertly dramatize the inner musings that drive, and link, the characters, embodied by the stunning cast (which also includes Oscar nominee Ed Harris, Miranda Richardson, Allison Janney, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels and John C. Reilly). Despite its downbeat subject matter, "The Hours" emerges as a gripping, even exhilarating experience, thanks to its profoundly moving themes -- and to the subtle but undeniable artistry that brings them to life. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, including picture, actress, supporting actress, director and adapted screenplay. (114 min.) PG-13; mature themes, disturbing images, profanity. (C.C.)

HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS

(C) Star-crossed schemers find that losing at love isn't as easy as they think, as a magazine columnist (Kate Hudson) decides to detail a step-by-step romantic disaster, betting her pals she can hook -- and lose -- any guy. Her target: a macho ad man (Matthew McConaughey), who bets he can sweep any woman off her feet, proving he's worthy to handle a female-friendly diamond account. Trite, contrived and cutesy, but Hudson and McConaughey strike a few welcome sparks, offering tantalizing glimpses of what might have been with a smarter, tarter script. (116 min.) PG-13; sexual references. (C.C.)

THE JUNGLE BOOK 2

(C) "I Wan'na Be Like You," indeed. This wannabe sequel to the 1967 animated hit has just what you would expect from a Disney cartoon with a digit in the title: more of the old songs, more new songs that sound like the old songs, and more of the old characters with new voices (Haley Joel Osment, John Goodman) that sound like the old voices. It's all a little dispiriting, in the manner of a high school reunion where everyone is dancing to the same old songs and looking a little worse for wear. (72 min.) G.

KANGAROO JACK

(F) It's not a g'day when two Brooklyn mates (Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson) endure misadventures galore while delivering mob money in Australia -- including a close encounter with the title character, an elusive marsupial who leads them on a madcap chase across the Outback. About as low as high-concept can get; the only levity in this so-called comedy is the sound of co-star Christopher Walken laughing all the way to the bank. (86 min.) PG; profanity, crude humor, sexual references, violence.

THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE

(C+) A leading death-penalty opponent (Kevin Spacey), four days away from execution for a rape and murder he swears he didn't commit, hopes an award-winning journalist (Kate Winslet) will find enough evidence to save him. Director Alan Parker once again stirs the embers of controversy with a lurid melodrama masquerading as topical exposé. Despite a top-chop starring cast that includes the luminous Laura Linney as the title character's staunchest friend and ally, this in-your-face thriller generates a lot more heat than light -- and rarely misses the chance to hammer audiences with self-righteous indignation. (130 min.) R; sexual situations, nudity, profanity, drug use, violence. (C.C.)

THE LION KING

(B+) The king of the animated jungle returns to the big screen (the really big screen) as the Oscar-winning 1994 original makes the leap to the Luxor's Imax theater. This giant-screen version looks good, having undergone some subtle tinkering, and it sounds even better, creating an aural landscape to match the movie's resplendent visual one. (88 min.) G; all ages.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

(B) The epic quest continues for the Fellowship of hobbits, humans, elves and dwarves battling to destroy the title ring and its evil powers. Director Peter Jackson's second chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy divides the movie's focus, spotlighting dashing warrior Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as he struggles to defeat a Middle-earth axis of evil, while four hobbits pursue their goals on the sidelines: Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin), accompanied by the slithery gremlin Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis), plus Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan), allied with a lumbering tree spirit. Jackson's cross-cutting among the movie's three plot strands often slows the narrative momentum to a crawl, but his command of fantastical imagery keeps "The Two Towers" on track, ably setting the stage for next year's finale. Nominated for six Academy Awards, including picture and visual effects. (179 min.) PG-13; epic battle sequences, scary images. (C.C.)

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING

(C+) When glum, withdrawn Toula (Nia Vardalos), the unmarried daughter of Greek immigrant parents (Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan), falls for a decidedly non-Greek teacher (John Corbett), multi-ethnic complications ensue in a genial romantic romp, based on Vardalos' one-woman stage show, that's been transfigured into a mushy, overcooked ethnic comedy with culture-clash jokes whose freshness date expired 30 years ago. Nominated for one Academy Award: original screenplay. (95 min.) PG; sexual references, profanity. (C.C.)

MYSTERIES OF EGYPT

(B+) Appropriately showcased at the Luxor, this National Geographic tour recounts myths and magic of the chambers of the sacred tomb of King Tutankhamen, offering intimate views of Egypt's magnificent treasures. (45 min.) NR; all ages.

NATIONAL SECURITY

(D) Martin Lawrence is under arrested development as a motor-mouthed rent-a-cop helping a disgraced ex-patrolman (Steve Zahn) catch the bloodthirsty galoots who killed his partner. Just to illustrate how completely, desperately unfunny it is, even the usually reliable Zahn isn't funny. But at least it demonstrates the diminishing returns of Lawrence trying to outswagger, outsass and outshoot Eddie Murphy. That stuff doesn't even work for Murphy anymore, though he keeps coming back for more. So, one fears, will Lawrence. (90 min.) PG-13; violence, profanity, sexual references.

OLD SCHOOL

(D+) Boys will be (dumb, dopey) boys: Facing crucial crossroads in their lives, three 30-something buddies -- uptight Mitch (Luke Wilson), party-hearty "Frank the Tank" (Will Ferrell) and settled Beanie (Vince Vaughn) -- take a collective step back in time, starting an off-campus fraternity that promises all of the fun (and none of the classwork) of the college version. This bleary slapstick comedy from writer-director Todd Phillips is an unkempt clearinghouse for cheap, throwaway laughs. And for those who regard that as a recommendation, two words: Grow up. (91 min.) R; strong sexual content, nudity, profanity.

THE PIANIST

(A-) Winner of the top prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival, this haunting Holocaust drama from director Roman Polanski recounts the true-life tale of Wladyslaw Szpilman (best actor Oscar-nominee Adrien Brody), a Polish Jew who escapes the Warsaw Ghetto and, inspired by his music, survives in hiding as World War II rages around him. Polanski's own background informs every frame of this spare, often surreal chronicle of survival, which manages to convey both individual and mass tragedy with harrowing restraint. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including picture, actor, director and adapted screenplay. (148 min.) R; violence, brief profanity, mature themes. (C.C.)

THE QUIET AMERICAN

(A-) World-weary British journalist Thomas Fowler (best actor Oscar-nominee Michael Caine), on assignment in 1952 Saigon, finds himself plunged into turmoil when he encounters the idealistic and enigmatic title character (Brendan Fraser), who stirs up Vietnam's volatile political climate -- and falls for Fowler's Vietnamese mistress (Do Thi Hai Yen). Philip Noyce directs this haunting adaptation of Graham Greene's novel. It's a major improvement on the 1958 version), a rich, rewarding thriller brimming with intelligence, irony -- and eerie topicality. Nominated for one Academy Award: actor. (100 min.) R; violence, brief sexual situations, profanity. (C.C.)

RABBIT-PROOF FENCE

(A-) Director Philip Noyce returns to his Australian homeland for this haunting, fact-based tale that explores a shameful chapter of his country's history. When a gung-ho 1930s official (Kenneth Branagh) implements a policy banishing "half-caste" children from their Aborigine families and exiling them to distant settlement camps, two young sisters (Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury) and their cousin (Laura Monaghan) to escape and make the 1,200-mile trek home on foot. An amazing story, amazingly well told. (95 min.) PG; emotional thematic material.

THE RECRUIT

(C+) A CIA spymaster (Al Pacino) taps a talented newcomer (Colin Farrell) to undergo rigorous training -- so the rookie can become the point man in his mentor's efforts to trap a mole inside the agency. This cat-and-mouse thriller from director Roger Donaldson suffers from a front-loaded premise: the movie's taut training sequences are so much more compelling than the connect-the-dots spy stuff that follows, you almost need a Starbucks IV to stay awake during the snooze-inducing climax. (115 min.) PG-13; violence, sexual situations, profanity. (C.C.)

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS

(C+) Back in the saddle again: "Shanghai Noon" pards Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) and Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) reunite for another goofily anachronistic, thoroughly preposterous romp, which takes them to Victorian London in hot pursuit of a Chinese rebel (Donny Yen) and an English aristocrat (Aiden Gillen) plotting a monarchical murder -- or two. Singapore star Fann Wong joins the fun as Chon's high-kicking sister, Lin, in another amiable amble down the slapstick trail. highlighted by the contrast between Wilson's Zen verbal dexterity and Chan's physical virtuosity. (107 min.) PG-13; action violence, sexual references. (C.C.)

SPACE STATION

(B) Imax space movies venture into a new frontier -- three dimensions -- as the first Imax 3-D space movie lands at the Luxor's Imax Theatre, transporting audiences audiences 220 miles above Earth -- at 17,500 mph -- to the International Space Station. (45 min.) NR; all ages.

TWO WEEKS NOTICE

(C) It feels more like three weeks, as an activist attorney (Sandra Bullock) and her airheaded, real-estate tycoon boss (Hugh Grant) stumble down the road the romance in a been-there, seen-that comedy that displays more promise than polish. But give it points for attempted character development and the genuine charm generated by the down-to-earth Bullock and the deftly goofy Grant, who make such a delightful team you can't help wishing this movie had more of their warmth and wit. (101 min.) PG-13; sex-related humor. (C.C.)