Wednesday, June 19, 2002
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Wednesday, June 19, 2002 |
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Movies By MICHAEL
BOYLAN Opening Friday Juwanna Man A Rodman-esque basketball player is kicked out of the NBA. He dresses as a woman and enters the WNBA where hilarity ensues. This Tootsie in high tops could be funny, so check it out. Rated PG-13. Lilo and Stitch This film from Disney deals with a rogue alien who lands in hawaii and is adopted as a dog by a little girl. The previews, which have involved some of the more memorable Disney characters of late, have been great. Let's hope the move is as good. Rated PG. Minority Report Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg team up for this film based on a story by Phillip K. Dick. The visuals look impressive in this film that appears to be "The Fugitive" set in the future. This should be the best bet for the weekend. Rated PG-13. Now Playing About a Boy Hugh Grant stars as a rich cad in this film based on Nick Hornby's best selling novel. Grant's character pretends he is a single parent so that he can pick up single moms. Things get complicated when he befriends a boy of a woman he has no interest in. Rated PG-13. Bad Company Chris Rock plays a ticket scalper/hustler who must help the CIA when his twin brother, a CIA agent, is murdered. Anthony Hopkins plays the agent who will assist Rock in his training. Rated PG-13. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Sandra Bullock stars in this film about a group of women who have a special bond of friendship. Ashley Judd, Maggie Smith and Ellen Burstyn also star in this film. Rated PG-13. Enough Jennifer Lopez, J-Lo to her friends and fans, stars as a woman who is abused by her husband. She runs away and changes her name and appearance but he finds her. J-Lo decides enough is enough (hence the title) and becomes a fighting machine. Rated PG-13. Insomnia Al Pacino plays a detective who goes to Alaska to investigate a murder. Robin Williams plays an author who is the primary suspect and Hilary Swank plays a local cop trying to help Pacino. This is a remake of a Norwegian film and is directed by Christopher Nolan, who directed last year's sleeper hit, "Memento." Rated R. Scooby Doo The gang of Mystery Inc. reunites to solve a mystery set on Spooky Island. I hope this is good because I love Scooby Doo, but Rowan Atkinson is the bad guy and he really hasn't been very good since the days of "Black Adder." We shall see. One thing is for sure Matthew Lillard's Shaggy is right on the money. Rated PG. Spiderman This is a very good film. It stays true to the spirit of the comic book and the character. The performances are excellent, the direction by Sam Raimi is incredible and work on the sequel is underway. This is one you could see more than once. Rated PG-13. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron This animated film from Dreamworks is about a wild horse captured by the cavalry in an attempt to make him a war horse. Unlike many animated films, the animals in this film do not talk. The animation looks very good though and this may be a nice movie for the whole family. Rated G. Star Wars Epsiode 2 - Attack of the Clones Pay no attention to the critics, this movie was great. The special effects were terrific and the action was great. Though some of the romance scenes were hokey, the film did not suffer because of it. It continues the story very well and leaves you waiting for the third installment which should be the greatest of them all. Rated PG. The Bourne Identity Matt Damon plays a man who wakes up from a coma with amnesia and something implanted in him. People want that something and he is being chased around the world as he tries to figure out who he is and what these people want. Rated PG-13. The Sum of All Fears Ben Affleck plays Jack Ryan in this film based on a Tom Clancy novel. The plot revolves around terrorists planning on blowing up a nuclear device at the Super Bowl. Rated PG-13. Undercover Brother Eddie Griffin plays secret agent Undercover brother, who msut go undercover to stop evildoers plotting Operation Whitewash. This is based on a successful internet cartoon. Rated PG-13. Unfaithful Director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Jacob's Ladder) brings us this remake of a 1969 French film starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Lane's character has an affair and Gere goes insane with jealousy. This looks like an erotically charged thriller and, fortunately, that is what Lyne does best. Rated R. Windtalkers John Woo directs this film based on the Navajo in World War II. Navajo was a code that could not be broken by the opposing forces and soldiers had to protect the Navajo and the information they had. Nicolas Cage stars. Rated R. Also Playing A Beautiful Mind Russell Crowe stars as a John Forbes Nash, a brilliant mathmetician battling schizophrenia. This film won the Oscar for Best Picture and is quite good. Rated PG-13. All About the Benjamins Ice Cube plays a bounty hunter trying to track down stolen diamonds. Mike Epps plays the con man Cube enlists to help him. Rated R. Big Trouble This movie was in "big trouble" after 9/11. It had been generating good buzz but it's plot, featuring a missing nuclear device, scared Hollywood into shelving it. It was released a few months ago and did not do well. The previews looked funny, but it could be really bad. Hey, for a buck, go find out. I might. Rated PG-13. Blade II Praised as better than the original, Blade II features the half human,half vampire vampire hunter teaming up with vampires to wipe out even scarier vampires. I hear the action is awesome and the special effects are great too. Rated R. Frailty Though I did not find this film to be a horror film, I did think it was eerie and very well done. There are several key plot twists in this story about a father that sees demons and must slay them. Bill Paxton was terrific as both actor and director and Matthew McConaughey also gave a solid performance. Rated R. Jason X I saw this on the day it came out. I had been waiting for it for a few years and it was not worth the wait. Though some scenes were well done, most of this film was a waste. If you like Friday
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