Movie Review

(On VHS, July 2001) Admittedly a relatively early Jackie Chan effort (considering his breakout Police Story as the baseline), with a nagging lack of technical polish and often-simplistic dialogue. The historical focus of the tale, centered in 19^th century Hong Kong, doesn’t help at making things comfortable for the western viewer. Of course, that doesn’t matter very much once the fights start. As usual, there’s a lot to enjoy here, from a barroom brawl to an original bicycle sequence to a good final assault. Ends somewhat abruptly.

(In theaters, June 2001) Well, we action fans pay and shut up. And what we get in Tomb Raider is enough to satisfy our appetites, but not quite enough to send anyone in giddy action-nirvana. Oh, Angelina Jolie makes one of the best action heroines in recent memory, mixing sexiness with hard determination, but the film around her is too small for her greatness. Most of the blame goes to the scriptwriter (as usual), for a limp narrative which stores its best sequences for the middle of the film, and never ever allows us to be interested in anyone except Lara—which becomes a problem when she’s supposed to make sacrifices to save one of the cardboard characters. Unfortunately, the scriptwriter isn’t the only bad guy, here; director Simon West (who, surprise, also co-wrote the film) is on his worst behavior here, seldom allowing us to be impressed by a long shot truly showing off Croft’s skills. Oh, it’s always somewhat interesting, if only on the oh-shiny-objects level, but when considering the possibilities and the richness of the premise, well, it’s a shame to end up with a film as indifferent as this one.

(Second viewing, On DVD, July 2003) Some aspects of this film still hold up under scrutiny (many action sequences, some of the sets, a few wonderful shots of Angelina Jolie), but it’s hard to avoid a certain ennui regarding the unimaginative ways some core concepts have been developed. Director Simon West shows he can get some great action images, but fails to make them stick together in any kind of coherent flow. The special effects are pretty nice, but they service a story that couldn’t have been more ordinary if it had tried to. Character interactions are limited to sketches, making (among other problems) a late sacrifice seem pointless. Oh, Angelina Jolie makes a superb Lara Croft (I could replay her shower scene and her little “tilting head” moment for hours), but even her best butt-kicking abilities can’t save this film from a certain boredom. A film whose parts are superior to its whole, Tomb Raider shows, maybe better than most movies, the perils in hiring a director who can’t hold everything together. The DVD offers a lot of interesting documentary material, but repeats everything at least twice, lessening the impact. U2’s “Elevation” music video is surprisingly entertaining.

(In theaters, June 2001) Hollywood loves to make movies about itself, writers love to write about themselves and actors like to act about themselves. So it’s no surprise to see State And Main come together as a none-too-biting comedy about “Hollywood people” descending upon a small town and wreaking havoc on the community. Of course, the writer gets the best role, and politicians get the big wooden paddle. Good performances by everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker to the incomparable William H. Macy. Hey, even Rebecca Pidgeon isn’t nearly so annoying. A comedic lull in the fourth fifth, as the inevitable dramatic conflict is raised and solved. A few chuckles, and a big laugh at the end. Didn’t bowl me over, but passed the time in a pleasant fashion.

(In French, In theaters, June 2001) Interesting but not overwhelming French-Canadian film dealing with pre-marriage jitters in a young couple due to wed in Niagara Falls. Not exceptional, but reasonably good as a romantic comedy—though its typical French-Canadianisms might not travel very well. The lead actors are wonderful, and there are a few interesting script/directing meta-fictional tricks that add to the fun.

(On VHS, June 2001) For commercial reasons, the short-film category never makes it in theaters, but when you can depend on Scorsese, Allen and Copolla to deliver a short film each, well, suddenly a theater short-film anthology doesn’t feel so weird after all. It’s a fair assessment to say that there’s probably a story for you in the three, whatever your tastes are. The first film, Scorsese “Love’s Lessons”, is undoubtedly the most artistic, the most ambitious and also the longest. It’s the type of film that suggests a deeper meaning, whether there’s one or not. After that, we’re off to Copolla’s “Life without Sophie”, a charming tale that somehow seemed to constantly refer to another story. Not a whole lot of substance, but certainly the most romantic tale of the three. We end with what will either be your favorite or your worst short film, Woody Allen’s “Oedipal Wreck”, which takes the concept of the all-seeing mom to its logical extreme. You’ll howl or you’ll grit your teeth.

(In theaters, June 2001) At its worst, this film features a bland romance, trite situations and a cliché music-group-film structure that will leave you indifferent. At its best, however, we get roughly the equivalent of a live-action Simpsons episode, with clever sight gags, off-the-wall plot developments, meta-fictional jokes and a subversive anti-commercialistic message that will make you blink twice in audacity. Unfortunately, not everything gels together: While the film preaches a rejection of labels and trends, it pushes so many brand names -in an unabashed in-your-face fashion- that the joke sours to the point where we’re never too sure if they mean it or not. There is a place for fake (even parodic) brands, and this film was it. Fortunately, I’m such an easily-swayed guy that the three lead actresses alone were enough to make me rush out to buy the soundtrack.

(In theaters, June 2001) Ay. Hard to know where to begin with this one. Was it the fact that David Spade’s brand of sarcasm was nowhere to be found? Or maybe the lack of funny material? The inane plot development that wouldn’t impress a twelve-year-old? The preachy sugary ending tagged on as an afterthought? The moronic romance? The anecdotal structure that’s a sorry excuse for plot development? The flat performance by Dennis Miller? The awful bad-guy character played by Kid Rock? The fact that I didn’t really laugh once? No! No! I know! It’s the total waste of Christopher Walken, and the false promise of his scenes, which momentarily lift this film in not-so-bad territory, only to kill us later as the rest of the film sinks to ever-lower levels of rot! There we go!

(On VHS, June 2001) Well, it had been a while since I’d seen this one, at it does hold up quite well fifteen years later. There are a few weak moments, and some special effects are showing their age, but the central premise and the sharply-defined protagonists more than make up for it. (I couldn’t stand Rick Moranis, though. Now that’s a name we’re not missing in this bold new millennium.) Oh, and Sigourney Weaver; oooh, aaah! Bill Murray is in top form, while Dan Aykroyd suddenly look very very young… In any case, the dialogue is fine, the pacing moves decently (at the regrettable exception of the Keymaster subplot) and the result is a fine film that can still compete with the best of them. Though the theme song… well… sounds really old and tired.

(On VHS, June 2001) Hey, it’s Terry Gilliam, so it’s got to be good on a visual level, right? Maybe, if you squint real hard and get a mild brain seizure from the added pressure. The story of a fallen shock DJ and a wacko homeless person, The Fisher King might work on some quasi-mythic level, but most of the film is painful in that inimitable “here are miserable people and we’re going to rub your noses in their pathetic lives” fashion. There is an excruciatingly painful date sequence that will make you grit your teeth. There are two appearances by gratuitously violent men who serve no other purpose than to artlessly advance the plot through violent beatings. A whopper of a coincidence drives the story. Well, maybe I’m being too harsh; Mercedes Ruehl is wonderful, Jeff Bridges as cool as usual, there’s a good scene inside Grand Central Station and a happy ending. But it might not be worth it unless you really, really want to see the film.