Sun, Sand And Celluloid

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday December 8, 2000

Sacha Molitorisz

It's summer, which means there's nothing on TV. But at the cinema, there's a pop-cornucopia of choice. Sacha Molitorisz separates must-sees from don't-bothers.

SMASH, SLASH, SCARE

Unbreakable

The director (M. Night Shyamalan) and star (Bruce Willis) of The Sixth Sense are back, this time with the help of Samuel L. Jackson. The Seventh Sense? Almost. Willis plays the survivor of a disaster who just might have supernatural powers in a sci-fi thriller that's moody and filled with profound, grab-you-by-the-gills performances.

**** Now showing, rated M

Red Planet

During filming in Coober Pedy, sci-fi epic Red Planet struggled. Rumour had it co-stars Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore obtained mutual restraining orders. Producers denied those rumours, but cannot now deny the drubbing meted out both by punters (the US box-office has been awful) and critics. Wrote The New York Times: "A potential blockbuster hopelessly intimidated by its own technology and boxed in by tired formulas."

** Now showing, rated M

Vertical Limit

The opening sequence is a cracker, as siblings Peter (Chris O'Donnell) and Annie (Robin Tunney) dangle from a cliff in Utah. After a mishap, Peter resolves never to climb again, until he's called upon to scale K2 and save a few lives. The action is brilliant, but ultimately somewhat too relentless. Aussie duo Ben Mendelsohn and Steve Le Marquand provide some desperately-needed light relief.

*** Opens December 21, rated M

Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

The original was a triumph of Internet hype, costing $42,000 and taking $269 million in the US alone. By comparison, the second is a much more humble success, costing $29 million and taking $50 million in its first five weeks. The plot, by the way, concerns a group of students who try to unearth what happened to the three film-makers of the original. Critics have called it "misbegotten", "bunk" and "execrable".

* Opens January 11, not yet rated

LITTLE KIDS, BIG KIDS

The Grinch

In its first weekend in US cinemas last month, Ron Howard's Grinch recorded the best opening for any film that wasn't a sequel. Ever. Must be the combination of Dr Seuss, Ron Howard and Jim Carrey, the physical comedian rendered unrecognisable by a green furry costume. Critics, though, hate it. The New York Times dubbed it a "shrill, overstuffed cinematic contraption", while the SMH's Paul Byrnes called it "dull as ditch-water". Personally, I reckon it's quite tolerable - apart from the songs.

*** Now showing, rated PG

Bring It On

Kirsten Dunst (The Virgin Suicides) and Gabrielle Union (10 Things I Hate About You) shake their barely-covered butts as cheerleaders pom-pomming it out to be number one. It's raunchy, teen-driven fare with a few laughs and a few great rah-rah routines, although US critic Roger Ebert called it "yet another example of the cynical attempt by Hollywood to cram R-rated material into PG-rated movies". Salon.com was kinder: "A lively debut lucky enough to have appealing leads."

*** Opens Thursday, rated M

Fantasia 2000

In 1940, Walt Disney released Fantasia, his blend of animation and classical music complete with Mickey's famous Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence. Walt intended to release a new Fantasia every year, but Disney soon became too busy with other projects. (Printing Lion King T-shirts, for instance.) Here, finally, are seven new segments, many influenced by 1940s aesthetics. It looks great on the huge screen.

**** Opens Thursday, rated G

The Magic Pudding

At a cost of $12 million, director Karl Zwicky has finally created an animated adaptation of Norman Lindsay's 80-year-old classic. Voices include John Cleese, Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson and Mary Coustas. Mostly sweet,

as pudding should be. (Assuming it's not a

steak 'n' kidney pudding.)

*** Opens Thursday, rated G

Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Starring Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda, a low-tech, live-action offering for families and train-spotters. As one mum wrote on the Internet, "A dad I know lamented the 'Bronx-accented baddies' and renamed it Thomas the Yank engine. Put on your little kid hat and enjoy." The BBC obviously doesn't have a little kid hat: "So stretched that even averagely bright kids will be offended by the repetition."

* Opens Thursday, rated G

102 Dalmatians

Released from prison, Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close) tries a second time to get her paws on those cute dalmations to fashion a puppy-skin coat. This time, Gerard Depardieu is her partner-in-crime. His French accent may be funny, but not funny enough to carry

a film.

** Opens December 26, rated G

GIGGLE, CHUCKLE, CHORTLE

The Klumps

Eddie Murphy and his obese alter egos return for more Nutty Professor action. It's wall-to-wall fat, fart and bum jokes, but several are genuinely funny. Others are cringe-inducing. Janet Jackson's character and the Prof are falling in love, but Buddy Love is causing trouble. The 2001/Star Wars dream sequence is hilarious.

*** Opens Thursday, rated M

Chicken Run

After The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave and three Oscars, those brilliant Aardman animators return with their first feature film, a clay-mation reworking of The Great Escape. Mel Gibson plays the hero, Rocky, a rooster who must save his friends from the pie factory. Not only is it very funny, the action scenes are thrilling.

**** Now showing, rated G

Meet The Parents

A surprise box-office hit in the US last month - where it hogged the number one spot longer than any film since The Sixth Sense - this paranoid comedy is directed by Jay Roach, who brought us both Austin Powers films. Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) wants to marry his girlfriend, but first he has to meet her father (Robert DeNiro), a former CIA agent who just might be nuts.

**** Opens December 26, rated M

What Women Want

What with Chicken Run, Million Dollar Hotel and this, it's shaping up as a very Melly Christmas indeed. Here Mel plays a chauvinist (no comment) who, after an accident, can read women's minds, including Helen Hunt's. Wrote one reviewer: "If this movie had a great ending it could become a romantic comedy classic. As it stands now, it will probably be something that you would be glad you waited to rent."

** Opens January 11, not yet rated

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Hurrah! The brilliant Coen Brothers (Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski) are back. Inspired by Homer's Odyssey and Preston Sturges, it's a comedy starring George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as three escaped convicts trying to find buried treasure. As one witty reviewer predicted: "A breakout hit."

**** Opens December 26, rated M

Coyote Ugly

More sex packaged for teens, from Jerry Bruckheimer, the Hollywood producer behind Top Gun, Days of Thunder and Con-Air. Stars twinkle-toed Aussie Adam Garcia and a bevy of camera-friendly women trying to "make it" in NYC. The moral seems to be: forget your brains, gals, wear slinky clothes and the world is yours.

*** Opens January 1, rated PG

Little Nicky

Adam Sandler plays Satan's son. Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel and Rhys Ifans play stupid. Sadly none of them made a deal with the devil, or this hellish comedy might have been worth seeing.

* Opens December 26, not yet rated

BRAIN FODDER

Cunnamulla

Aussie documentarian Dennis O'Rourke turns his camera on a Queensland town at the end of the railway line. The characters are odd, rough, rude and strangely compelling.

*** Opens December 14, rated MA

Innocence

Innocence was a clear winner at last month's If (independent film-maker) awards, including film-maker of the year for Dutch-Australian Paul Cox, best actress for Julia Blake and best film. Charles Tingwell plays a retired music teacher who contacts a woman (Blake) he had an affair with 50 years earlier.

**** Opens December 21, rated M

Dancer In The Dark

Kooky Dane Lars von Trier (Breaking The Waves) won the Palme D'Or at Cannes this year for this drama about a young east European mum who takes her boy to the US, expecting nothing but hope, freedom and opportunity. That said, it's certainly divided critics, responses ranging from "a film so perfect it hurts to watch" to a "Kilimanjaro of absurdity". The former's right, I reckon.

***** Opens December 26, rated MA

Himalaya

In the same spirit as The Cup, Himalaya is a slow-moving, high-altitude drama about yaks. Nominated for a best foreign-language-film Oscar, Eric Valli's lush drama charts the tension between the old chieftain and his young rival. Shot in Nepal and starring locals instead of actors.

*** Opens December 26, rated PG

Sunshine

Ralph Fiennes stars as several characters in this worthy, acclaimed tale of three generations of a family of Hungarian Jews. That translates to roughly one hour for each generation. Occasionally clumsy, but a triumph.

**** Opens December 26, rated MA