Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

June 15, 2001Posted in2000s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Walter Chaw, Fantasy, Germany, Japan, Theatrical, Thriller, UK

*½/****
starring Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Leslie Phillips, Mark Collie
screenplay by Simon West and Patrick Massett & John Zinman
directed by Simon West

by Walter Chaw To say that Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is completely incomprehensible is not entirely accurate, for the basic plot appears to be pretty straightforward. The British Lara Croft (played by the American Angelina Jolie) is a sort of jet-setting archaeologist in the Indiana Jones mold who is extremely well outfitted by a gadget man in the James Bond mold, and who boasts of a loyal, shotgun-packing butler in the Batman mold. Her task is to discover two pieces of a triangular artifact before the Illuminati do on the day that a rare syzygy coincides with a solar eclipse, allowing the triangle-bearer to control time.

Antitrust (2001) [Special Edition] – DVD

May 9, 2001Posted in2000s, Action, Authors: Walter Chaw, Crime, Drama, DVD, Thriller

*/**** Image A+ Sound B+ Extras D
starring Ryan Phillipe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tim Robbins
screenplay by Howard Franklin
directed by Peter Howitt

by Walter Chaw A fitfully entertaining throwback to the Pakula paranoia thrillers of the Seventies, Peter Howitt’s Antitrust is a cross between the techno-geekery of Wargames, the ‘gifted youngster getting a crash course in Machiavellian corruption’ of The Firm, the steal-the-air adolescent angst anthem of Pump Up the Volume, and the ‘rebel teen-geniuses unite’ malarkey of the simply-abominable Hackers. The great shame and irony of Antitrust is that after all the high concept–the creative use of sesame seeds, the Citizen Kane-esque skewering of a media tycoon, the constant reiterations of the hero’s intelligence–the film remains a conventional addition to the thriller genre that is slightly better than it should be because of its audacious goofiness, but far worse than it could have been because of its failure to be goofier. Antitrust, in other words, suffers from what I call the Wizard of Oz malady: no heart, no brain, no courage.

The Substitute 4: Failure Is Not an Option (2001) – DVD

May 1, 2001Posted in2000s, Action, Authors: Walter Chaw, Crime, DVD, Thriller

The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option
*½/**** Image C Sound B Extras B-
starring Treat Williams, Angie Everhart, Patrick Kilpatrick, Bill Nunn
screenplay by Dan Gurskis
directed by Robert Radler

by Walter Chaw Since being robbed of an Oscar for his performance in Sidney Lumet’s underestimated Prince of the City, Treat Williams has been engaged in a terrifying and vengeful rampage of direct-to-video schlock and woeful cinema (The Deep End of the Ocean). Taking over the decidedly unimposing titular role of “the substitute” after Tom Berenger’s surprise cult favourite inversion of the tired Blackboard Jungle/Dangerous Minds mold–fish-out-of-water teachers beating the tar out of inner-city youths–Treat Williams makes his third appearance as the teacher we’d love to torment…but better not.

Digimon: The Movie (2000) – DVD

March 6, 2001Posted in2000s, Action, Adventure, Animation, Authors: Sam Jonasson, DVD, Family, Japan, Sci-Fi

***/**** Image A Sound A
screenplay by Jeff Nimoy & Bob Buchnolz
directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Mamoru Hosoda

At 10 years old, Sam Jonasson is FILM FREAK CENTRAL‘s youngest contributor yet. (Unless we’re talking mental ages.) Knowing the lad is a cartoon junkie, I thought Digimon: The Movie would be right up his alley. Sam squeezed in this report on the disc between homework and architectural–Lego–pursuits.-Ed.

by Sam Jonasson Digimon: The Movie is actually two movies in one: the first movie is about the first season of Digidestines and the second movie is the second season of the TV show, which is on lots of kids channels. You would need good eyes and at least a vague idea of Digimon to understand it. A Digimon is an imaginary creature (animal or human) with one single type of attack (besides things like hitting and biting) who can Digivolve into a stronger and bigger Digimon who has one new attack type. Sometimes, the stronger has two attack types. Digimon are born out of an egg and live in the Digital world, which is parallel to ours. Some Digimon warp or Armor-Digivolve, which means they skip a level or two. Evil Digimon usually take a longer time to Digivolve.

Twin Dragons (1992) – DVD

January 22, 2001Posted in1990s, Action, Authors: Bill Chambers, Comedy, DVD, Hong Kong, Jackie Chan, Martial Arts

**½/**** Image C Sound B+ Extras D
starring Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Nina Li, Teddy Robin
screenplay by Barry Wong and Tsui Hark and Cheung Tung Jo and Wong Yik
directed by Tsui Hark

by Bill Chambers The day Steven Seagal inflicts two performances on us within the same film I’ll hang up my film critic’s apron and call it a life. Soap opera actors and fighting stars, you see, are not so much nonimmune as prone to landing the dual role of identical twins, and one muumuu-wearin’ aikido “master” is already too much to bear. But a couple of Jackie Chans, that I can and did handle: Chan’s 1992 action-comedy (emphasis on comedy) Twin Dragons isn’t as seedy as the similarly plotted Van Damme vehicle Double Impact. With action auteurs Tsui Hark and, purportedly, Ringo Lam at its helm, though, and choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) behind the stuntwork, one has every reason to expect more combat and spectacle than Twin Dragons actually delivers.

Titan A.E. (2000)

June 18, 2000Posted in****/****, 2000s, Action, Adventure, Animation, Authors: Jarrod Chambers, Family, Sci-Fi, Theatrical

****/****
screenplay by Ben Edlund and John August and Joss Whedon
directed by Don Bluth & Gary Goldman

by Jarrod Chambers The true test of an animated film is whether it can make you forget that it is animated. Pixar has had great success in this regard: both Toy Story and A Bug's Life are so engrossing that I completely forgot that I was watching state-of-the-art computer animation. This was also the case with last year's The Iron Giant, and now we can add Titan A.E. to the list.

Shaft (2000)

June 18, 2000Posted in2000s, Action, Authors: Travis Mackenzie Hoover, Crime, Germany, Theatrical, Thriller

**½/****
starring Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa WIlliams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale
screenplay by Richard Price and John Singleton & Shane Salerno
directed by John Singleton

by Travis Mackenzie Hoover Shaft is a weird combination of action drama and problem picture that never quite jells as either. Its namesake, a 1971 crime flick featuring a super-stud black private eye, barely resembles this cop-heavy, moralizing film. The updated Shaft wants to score points as both a thriller and a message movie, and only winds up defeating both purposes; nevertheless, the attempt at both is highly suggestive. The combination of the classic Shaft with an ensemble of new characters and villains is irresistible, and the performances patch over the holes in the script to create a film that, if not entirely successful, manages to give us plenty at which to look.

F/X (1986) + FX2 (1991) – DVDs

June 15, 2000Posted in1980s, 1990s, Action, Authors: Bill Chambers, DVD, Thriller

F/X
**½/**** Image C+ Sound B-
starring Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora, Cliff DeYoung
screenplay by Robert T. Megginson & Gregory Fleeman
directed by Robert Mandel

BUY @ AMAZON.COM

FX2
**/**** Image B+ Sound B
starring Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Rachel Ticotin, Joanna Gleason
screenplay Bill Condon
directed by Richard Franklin

BUY @ AMAZON.COM

by Bill Chambers F/X is only 14 years old, and yet it seems to be in a forgotten language like those modern-dress Shakespeare adaptations. I'm risking hyperbole here because practical effects are a dying art in the face of CGI. Today's motion-picture illusionist is primarily a computer animator, a trade that just doesn't lend itself to the sort of ingenuity the movie celebrates. The Tom Savinis of this world are rapidly becoming an endangered species.

Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases – DVD

April 24, 2000Posted in1940s, 1950s, Action, Adventure, Animation, Authors: Bill Chambers, Comedy, DVD, Family, Short Films

Image B- Sound B-
“The Yankee Doodle Mouse,” “Solid Serenade,” “Tee for Two,” “Mouse in Manhattan,” “The Zoot Cat,” “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse,” “The Cat Concerto,” “The Little Orphan,” “Salt Water Tabby,” “Kitty Foiled,” “Johann Mouse,” “Jerry’s Diary,” “Jerry and the Lion,” “Mice Follies”

by Bill Chambers As I waded through Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases, a perfectly enjoyable DVD compilation of postwar “Tom and Jerry” cartoons, I began to wonder why the eternally backbiting cat and mouse have not endeared and endured over decades to the extent that almost any combination of bickering Looney Toons has.

Cruel Intentions (1999) [Collector’s Edition] + Payback (1999) – DVDs

July 28, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Authors: Bill Chambers, Crime, Drama, DVD, Romance, Teen, Thriller

CRUEL INTENTIONS
**/**** Image A+ Sound A- Extras A
starring Ryan Phillipe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair
written and directed by Roger Kumble

PAYBACK
**/**** Image A Sound A
starring Mel Gibson, Maria Bello, Gregg Henry, Lucy Liu
screenplay by Brian Helgeland and Terry Hayes, based on the novel The Hunter by Richard Stark
directed by Brian Helgeland

by Bill Chambers SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT. The Mel Gibson revenge movie Payback and the teen romance Cruel Intentions have a surprising amount in common. For starters, they each represent the mainstream’s idea of a subversive night at the movies. Both films centre unapologetically on bastard antiheroes–if Payback and Cruel Intentions were intended as escapist entertainments, and I believe they were, then something like the “Quake” and “Doom” videogame mentality has invaded Hollywood filmmaking: Let’s spend the evening staring at a disposable world through the eyes of a misanthrope.

Heat (1995) – DVD

July 26, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Al Pacino, Authors: Bill Chambers, Authors: Vincent Suarez, Crime, Directors: Michael Mann, Drama, DVD

***½/**** Image A Sound A- Extras B
starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd
written and directed by Michael Mann

by Vincent Suarez Michael Mann's Heat is a rare Hollywood action film, indeed. In an era in which the standard studio actioner consists of loosely-motivated bits of plot and character development that merely link one set-piece to the next, the explosive action sequences in Heat fittingly punctuate moments of genuine drama enacted by a wealth of interesting characters. Further, while today's action films are invariably vehicles for the likes of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis, et al, Heat is the rare studio action picture that, despite its own heavyweight stars, is truly an ensemble piece, cast and acted to perfection. And in an age when the standard Hollywood epic spends three hours glossing over the "major events" in its characters' lives, Heat confines its three hours to perhaps a few weeks of "real" time, allowing Mann (who produced, wrote, and directed) to present a drama that is epic in its emotional depth, if not in years.

Arlington Road (1999)

July 10, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Authors: Bill Chambers, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Theatrical, Thriller

*½/****
starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis
screenplay by Ehren Kruger
directed by Mark Pellington

by Bill Chambers Wrote Josh Young, in issue #493 of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: "With studios now viewing the mid-level, Oscar-nominated directors as a luxury they can no longer afford, established auteurs…are facing increasingly stiff competition from slick young music-video turks who'll work for a mere pittance." From its galling opening sequence, I wondered what Arlington Road would look like had it been sired by someone more established in movies than the director of Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" clip. Director Mark Pellington is so mindful of 'the image' that writer Ehren Kruger's plotting eventually drops off the tightrope of credibility. Could a veteran filmmaker, comparable in status to the late Alan J. Pakula, swindle us more successfully with the same screenplay?

Wild Wild West (1999)

July 2, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Theatrical, Western, Will Smith

*/****
starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek
screenplay by Brent Maddock, S.S. Wilson, Peter S. Seaman, and Jeffrey Price
directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

by Bill Chambers If you don't think Kevin Kline in drag is funny, wait 'til you see Will Smith in drag–it's even less funny. By the time Jim West (Smith) had disguised himself as a belly dancer to retrieve his captured comrade Artemus Gordon (Kline) from the clutches of evil Dr. Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), I was unequivocally bored with Wild Wild West, the new summer action-comedy from Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld. Is the Old West really a breeding ground for slapstick, anyway? If your answer is yes, you're probably thinking of Blazing Saddles, but Blazing Saddles was a parody of the western genre that also satirized the social climate of 1974, not a nineteenth-century romp in and of itself.

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

May 18, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Star Wars, Theatrical

This one's pretty rough, folks; mea culpa. Reprinted for posterity and completism, since Walter reviewed the other two. Some minor edits made for clarity.-BC

**/****
starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Potrtman, Jake Lloyd
written and directed by George Lucas

by Bill Chambers Forgoing my typical formula in an effort to write something that stands out from the pack. I can't promise not to spoil anything, but I will do my best to avoid giving too much away.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) – DVD

May 12, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, DVD, Sci-Fi, Star Trek, Thriller

*½/**** Image A Sound A+
starring Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, F. Murray Abraham, Anthony Zerbe
screenplay by Michael Piller
directed by Johnathan Frakes

by Bill Chambers Stardate: 12/13/98 Everything about this ninth entry in Star Trek's feature-film franchise seems on the cheap, from its Roger Corman-grade special effects (the series' worst since Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) to its highly derivative and ugly ad campaign (the poster is nearly identical to that for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). But Michael Piller's not-even-half-baked screenplay should ultimately claim responsibility for the failure of Star Trek: Insurrection. I'm about to give the same unsolicited advice to Trek producer Rick Berman that I've given to the financiers of James Bond movies: it's time to breathe life back into this workhorse by hiring solid genre writers and a real director. While we're at it, put that visor back on La Forge!

The Matrix (1999)

April 3, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Australia, Authors: Vincent Suarez, Martial Arts, Sci-Fi, Theatrical

***/****
starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
written and directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski (née The Wachowski Brothers)

by Vincent Suarez There's an early moment in The Matrix when Keanu Reeves's character retrieves contraband from a hollowed-out copy of one of the canonical texts of Postmodernism, Simulacra and Simulation, in which Jean Baudrillard suggests that modern reality is little more than a series of items and experiences replicating all that has come before; that ours is a reality comprising resemblances. It's details like these which elevate The Matrix above the vast majority of recent science-fiction films. Yet, like the strain of contemporary philosophy informing it, The Matrix is full of inconsistencies and contradictions, holes you could drive a truck through… But it's a scenic drive.

Jackie Chan’s First Strike (1996) + Rush Hour (1998) [New Line Platinum Series] – DVDs

March 1, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Comedy, Crime, Drama, DVD, Hong Kong, Jackie Chan, Martial Arts, Thriller

First Strike
**½/**** Image B Sound A-
starring Jackie Chan, Chen Chun Wu, Jackson Lou
screenplay by Stanley Tong, Nick Tramontane, Greg Mellott, and Elliot Tong
directed by Stanley Tong

RUSH HOUR
*½/**** Image A Sound A Extras A+
starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peña
screenplay by Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna
directed by Brett Ratner

by Bill Chambers Early on in Rush Hour, the smash-hit buddy-cop movie from last fall, there’s a shot of Jackie Chan clinging tenaciously to a Hollywood street sign as he dangles several feet above the L.A. traffic. It’s a powerful metaphor for Chan’s career: Rush Hour represents his last-ditch effort to become a Stateside action star after finally finding a measure of Hollywood success with the popularity of HK imports like Rumble in the Bronx and Supercop. (Indeed, Chan includes said image in the colour stills portion of his autobiography I Am Jackie Chan, annotated by this caption: “On the set of Rush Hour–hanging on to another chance at Hollywood success.”) This final gamble, after striking out in the early-’80s with Cannonball Run II and The Big Brawl, his English-language debut, paid off handsomely. But why?

Rumble in the Bronx (1996) + Mr. Nice Guy (1998) – DVDs

January 25, 1999Posted in1990s, Action, Adventure, Authors: Bill Chambers, Comedy, Crime, DVD, Hong Kong, Jackie Chan, Martial Arts, Thriller

RUMBLE IN THE BRONX
***/**** Image A Sound A-
starring Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Francoise Yip, Bill Tung
screenplay by Edward Tang and Fibe Ma
directed by Stanley Tong

MR. NICE GUY
**/**** Image A Sound B+
starring Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee, Karen McLymont
screenplay by Fibe Ma and Edward Tang
directed by Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

by Bill Chambers Prior to his breakout stateside hit Rush Hour, Chinese box-office sensation Jackie Chan's Hollywood forays were the terrifically unsuccessful films The Cannonball Run I & II and The Big Brawl (which planted Jackie in Prohibition-era Chicago!). When American studios–namely, "mini-majors" New Line and Miramax–elected to give him a second chance, not by casting him in their movies but by importing, dubbing, and retitling his more recent Hong Kong hits and putting the full force of their niche-adept marketing machines behind them, the results were much different: Rumble in the Bronx made a small mint for New Line, which almost immediately signed him up for Rush Hour (review forthcoming), last year's sleeper hit. (Sadly, Chan's masterpiece, Drunken Master II, has yet to be distributed in North America by a North American company. Perhaps it's too, well, drunken.)