Wednesday, December 26, 2001
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Wednesday, December 26, 2001 |
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Movies By MICHAEL
BOYLAN Opening This Week Ali Will Smith plays Muhammad Ali in this film directed by Michael Mann. Jon Voight and Jamie Foxx also star in the film. Is it just me or does anybody else think Billy Crystal sounds more like Ali than Smith does? Rated R. Black Hawk Down Josh Hartnett and Ewen McGregor star in this film about American soldiers in Somalia. Ridley Scott (Alien, Thelma and Louise) is at the helm of the film, which is garnering critical acclaim. Rated R. Kate and Leopold Meg Ryan is back doing what she does best: romantic comedies. In this one, she ends up falling for a man from 1876. Breckin Meyer plays her brother, Liev Schreiber plays her ex and Hugh Jackman, that's right, Wolverine, plays her time-traveling loverboy. Rated PG-13. Now Playing Behind Enemy Lines Owen Wilson, growing more visible and popular by the day, stars in this film about a pilot who is shot down over some eastern European nation. Wilson has been in some great movies of late (Meet the Parents, Shanghai Noon) and could use this film to vault him to more leading roles. Gene Hackman stars as the captain who breaks protocol to go rescue Wilson. A nice, patriotic film for the family. Rated PG-13. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone This was excellent. As a fan of the books, I was very happy that the film stayed true to the tone and story. The characters looked great and I had Alan Rickman cast as Snape in my head a long time ago. This is fun for the whole family, though it is a little too long for really young kids. Rated PG. How High Two stoners, played by Method Man and Redman, get into Harvard University and cause hilarious mayhem. This movie is not for everybody and most likely will not last long. Rated R. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius A kid who is an inventor must save the world and his parents from aliens. Rated G. Joe Somebody Tim Allen gets beat up in front of his kid and decides he is going to take a stand and be somebody. He will probably learn that violence solves nothing. Rated PG. Lord of the Rings An epic fantasy comes to the screen with a solid cast and amazing special effects. This film, directed by Peter Jackson (The Frighteners) should draw big crowds. Rated PG-13. Monsters, Inc. The latest computer generated film from Pixar, the people who brought you the Toy Story films. This film focuses on monsters that live in closets and are afraid of children. This is an awfully cute, and entertaining family film. Rated G. Not Another Teen Movie Think "Scary Movie" but instead of spoofing horror films, they are spoofing teen comedies like The Breakfast Club, She's All That, and Bring It On. This should be really funny and really raunchy. Rated R. Ocean's Eleven Steven Soderbergh directs one of the greatest casts ever assembled in this remake. The story revolves around Danny Ocean and ten of his friends robbing three casinos on the night of a heavyweight prizefight. This was like a Tarantino film without the profanity and violence. It was a very entertaining film. Rated PG-13. Spy Game Robert Redford stars as a former spy that must go back under to save his protege, played by Brad Pitt. This is a nice cast and should be a solid drama. Rated R. The Majestic Jim Carrey is a blacklisted writer who crashes his car, gets amnesia and washes up in a town where they think he is somebody else. He becomes somebody else until his memory returns. This is another one that will be around at the awards shows. Rated PG. Vanilla Sky A remake of a Spanish thriller about a man whose jilted ex-lover tries to kill him after he leaves her for another woman. Tom Cruise is the man, Cameron Diaz is the jilted lover and Penelope Cruz is the other woman. Cameron Crowe directed this film, which some are saying is this decade's Fatal Attraction. Rated R. Also Playing Hardball Keanu Reeves stars as a down on his luck guy who loses a bet and is forced to coach an inner city baseball team. This film is about the rise of both the team and the man. This got decent reviews and should be very uplifting. Rated R. How The Grinch Stole Christmas Jim Carrey stars as The Grinch in this live action re-imagining of Dr. Seuss's classic Christmas tale. This was a lot of fun. Rated PG. Max Keeble's Big Move A Disney film about a young man causing mischief and mayhem in a middle school. It is probably very amusing for the preadolescents out there. Rated PG. Rat Race A bunch of people race around looking for millions of dollars, while people in Las Vegas bet on which group will win. The cast is impressive (Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr. Mr. Bean) but the reviews were not. Still, it's only a dollar. Rated PG-13. Riding In Cars With Boys The film follows the life of a teenage mom as she tries to do her best raising her son as well as become a writer. Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Steve Zahn and Lorraine Bracco star. Rated PG-13. Rush Hour 2 Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan team up once again to save the day with their deft police work and their Kung Fu. This time the film is set in Hong Kong. Rated PG-13. Serendipity John Cusack and Kate Beckinsdale star in this romantic comedy spanning many years. This looks very cute and Cusack rocks in romantic comedies. Rated PG-13. The Princess Diaries A nerdy girl finds out she is really a princess. Along they way she learns the value of friendship and being who you really are. Awww. Oddly enough, this is done by the same people who brought you 'Pretty Woman' and oddly enough most of the girls who have seen this film have no idea what 'Pretty Woman' is. Rated G. Training Day Denzel Washington is the veteran cop and Ethan Hawke is the rookie. Washington takes Hawke out on his first day and shows him the ropes. You could see this for full price at Tinseltown or a buck here. Which will you choose? Rated R. Zoolander The world of male models is skewered by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in this hilarious comedy. Stiller wrote, directed and starred in this film which finds Derek Zoolander brainwashed by an evil madman into attempting to assassinate a foreign dignitary. Rated PG-13.
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