24 M E T R O S P I R I T A U G 1 2 0 0 2
Cinema Movie Listings “Signs” Austin Powers in Goldmember (PG-13) —
Randy 1960s spy Austin Powers is still sparring with Dr. Evil and Mini-Me; this time, the duo teams up with new villain Goldmember to kidnap Austin’s father and transpor t him to the 1970s. Austin follows, sexy Beyonce Knowles in tow as his par tner Fox xy Cleopatra, and vows to contain Dr. Evil once and for all. This is the third and final installment in the Austin Powers series, with plenty of cameos to take it out in style. Cast: Mike Myers, Michael Caine, Beyonce Knowles, Seth Green, Verne Troyer, Rober t Wagner, Michael York. Bad Company (PG-13) — It stars schticky Chris Rock and stolid Anthony Hopkins, who seem barely in the same movie. Rock plays a straight-arrow CIA agent named Kevin, whose cover is running an antiques store in Prague. Kevin gets killed on duty and replaced in a rush by identical twin brother Jake, a jokey speed-chess hustler in New York who never knew he had a twin "separated at bir th." His recruiter is Hopkins as the CIA's Gaylord Oakes. It's another car toon show without animation. This is where James Bond has finally gone for burial. Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Peter Stormare. Running time: 1 hr. 45 mins. (Elliot t) ★ Blade 2 (R) — Wesley Snipes is Blade. He's a buff leather dude, a half-vampire who hunts vampires with weapons that might give James Bond pause, and with the mar tial moves of a Hong Kong dervish on a spree. There is a vampire aristocracy, their bodies so bleached and pasty you expect them to crumble into talcum powder. And there is a new strain of killer virus monster. Set in a Prague that surpasses Kafka's bad dreams, the movie has a necro-glam ostentation. Kris Kristofferson is Blade's friend, mentor, old daddy-o. The movie is an enjoyable showoff until it turns pompous, runs too long, and tries to find pathos in the decay of the vampire dynasty, as if this were Greek tragedy instead of pop kitsch. Cast: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus. Running time: 1 hr., 52 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ The Bourne Identity (PG-13) — Bourne (Mat t Damon) was sent to kill a risky African leader on a yacht, had an at tack of qualms, then plunged overboard with holes in his back. He was saved by fishermen, the captain an amateur doctor who pulls the rounds out of Bourne, and ex tracts an implant that has
the number of a Swiss bank account. In an identity fog, though now with money and passpor ts, and reflexively gif ted with all his trained skills — his sour CIA boss, Conklin (Chris Cooper), decides to snuf f Bourne as "a malfunctioning $30 million piece of equipment" — Bourne zips to Paris af ter emptying the deposit box in Zurich. "The Bourne Identity" has the identity of potent enter tainment. Cast: Mat t Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles. Running time: 2 hrs. (Elliot t) ★★★1/2 Changing Lanes (R) — A propulsive nerve-biter with genuine human characters, about a yuppie law firm hawk (Ben Af fleck) who upsets the precarious life of a volatile working stif f (Samuel L. Jackson), their mutual moral crisis moving on lines that converge jarringly, despite some plot conveniences. New York is seen smar tly by ace English director Roger ("Persuasion") Michell, with Toni Collet te also outstanding as a lucid mistress. 1 hr., 47 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★1/2 The Country Bears (G) — A blend of live action and Jim Henson-esque puppets, "The Country Bears" tells the story of a young bear, Beary, who is raised by humans and doesn’t realize he was adopted. When he learns the truth, Beary sets out on a journey to the forest to find his family. Cast: Christopher Walken, Deidrich Bader, Daryl Mitchell, Queen Latifah, Haley Joel Osment.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (PG) — Steve "The Crocodile Hunter " Irwin and wife
Terri dance circles around inept government agents and cuddle flesh-eating crocodiles. When the highenergy hosts of the hit wildlife series "The Crocodile Hunter " are accused of stealing a fallen U.S. spy satellite, they bat tle two silly CIA agents in an Outback adventure. Forget the common sense, but if you toss in the bot tle-sucking joey kangaroo cameo, this lite comedy is a close second to family bonding at the zoo. 1 hr, 27 mins. (Diamond) ★★1/2 Eight Legged Freaks (PG-13) — A clunky, mildly amusing "salute" to big-bug monster movies, as toxically enlarged spiders chase, spear and web dumb-bunny humans in Arizona. The only style is TVfiller nostalgia, not the wit tier goofiness of "Tremors," and scenes like a terrified girl being wrapped in web by a giant arachnid are too ickily intimate for kids (some adults, too). Kari Wuhrer, David Arquet te and
“Austin Powers in Goldmember” RATINGS
★★★★ — Excellent.
Doug E. Doug are screaming bait. Acting dies first. 1 hr. 22 min. (Elliot t) ★1/2 Halloween: Resurrection (R) — Jamie Lee Cur tis makes an appearance once again in the eighth film in the "Halloween" series. This time, six teens decide to host a live Internet chat in the house where Michael Myers grew up, stirring up evil. Cast: Jamie Lee Cur tis, Tyra Banks, Brad Loree. Ice Age (PG) — Most of "Ice Age" is about a lippy sloth named Sid, voiced by John Leguizamo. (Is there a less sloth-like actor alive?) Fleeing the advancing polar ice cap, he tries fiercely to bond with a hairy mammoth, Manfred (Ray Romano) and even a sabertoothed tiger, Diego (Denis Leary). Sure enough, Sid, Manfred and Diego rescue a human baby from marauding saber-toothed tigers. That's the story: the three travelers, each way ahead of the evolutionary curve with their jokes, and the papoose-like human with big eyes, and the pursuing big cats, who expect Diego to betray his new companions. There is a clima x, so safely predictable you won't find your temperature budging. "Ice Age" will probably get enough kids smiling to earn its big cost back, and then some. Cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black, Tara Strong. Running time: 1 hr., 24 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ Insomnia (R) — From Christopher Nolan ("Memento"). LAPD detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his par tner (Mar tin Donovan) travel to Alaska to assist an old pal with a murder case. There's a lurching, Nolanesque vector shif t, and suddenly it's a different movie, infused with Dormer's exhaustion in the 24-hour sunlight. A twisted, vaguely repulsive hack writer/murder suspect (Robin Williams) feeds of f Dormer's growing weakness. With Hilary Swank, sor t of — her character is sorely underwrit ten. Adapted from a 1998 Norwegian film of the same title. Running time: 1 hr, 55 mins. (Salm) ★★★ Juwanna Mann (PG-13) — Miguel A. Nunez Jr. is Jamal. The vain, preening NBA star is suspended for a burst of irate mooning and then full-frontal exposure on cour t. And then — inspired by a young girl whose love of the game moves him — he becomes Juwanna, a fake female, who fires up a women's pro team. Vivica A. Fox is the team's reigning beauty, on whom Jamal has a cover t crush. The cour t action is all high points, no game. Gender comedy becomes a ruthless reduction of both sexes. Director Jesse Vaughan came from music videos, and should probably return. Hectic, vapid, almost witless, "Juwanna Mann" keeps jammin' across the goofs, then milking inane sentiment before stumbling to a blooper reel that is no dif ferent than the preceding inept movie. Cast: Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Kevin Pollak, Vivica A. Fox, Ginuwine, Tommy Davidson. Running time: 1 hr., 26 mins. (Elliot t) ★ K-19: The Widowmaker (PG-13) — is about the vir tually suicidal mission and hapless plight of a Soviet sub of that name, during a tense time (1961) of the Cold War, based on actual facts. Though said to be the pride of Soviet Russia's new nuclear fleet, K-19 goes to sea inadequately prepared, on a politically motivated mission. It must voyage under polar ice to fire a demo missile, showing the cocky new man in the White House (JFK) how virile Moscow can be. The crew's beloved skipper, Capt. Polenin (Liam Neeson), is demoted to executive of ficer under Capt. Vostrikov (Harrison Ford), a fierce patriot. "K-19" puts a clammy whammy on us when a pressure leak in one of the reactors brings on nuclear horror. This is one of the most machocentric and masochistic movies ever made by a woman; Kathryn Bigelow directed. Cast:
★★★— Worthy.
★★ — Mixed.
★ — Poor.
0— Not worthy.
Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Joss Ackland, Peter Sarsgaard. Running time: 2 hrs., 10 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ Like Mike (PG) — The rapper Lil Bow Wow plays 14-year-old Calvin Cambridge, one of the older residents in an L.A. orphanage. Calvin has two wishes – to find parents who love him and to play in the NBA like his idol, Michael Jordan. Then one day, Calvin's only adult ally, Sister Theresa (Anne Meara), discovers an old pair of sneakers that once belonged to Michael Jordan. Calvin tries them on, and they are a per fect fit. The nex t day, Calvin's dreams begin to materialize. He meets one of his idols, basketball superstar Tracey Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), during a half time contest at a Los Angeles Knights game. Calvin makes a wish to be "like Mike" and suddenly displays moves reminiscent of Jordan. He is quickly signed by the Knights, and both he and new teammate Tracey go on a journey of self-discovery. Cast: Lil Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Brenda Song, Crispin Glover, Anne Meara and Eugene Levy. Running time: 1 hr., 30 mins. (McCormick) ★★★ Lilo & Stitch (PG) — A cute Disney 'toon made in Florida but set in Hawaii, where darling Lilo turns a space crit ter into a pet. The animation is not computerized and has lovely watercolor ef fects, though the plot, voicework, Elvis tunes and product plugs are generically New Disney, not of Walt caliber. 1 hr., 20 min. (Elliot t) ★★1/2
Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat (R) —
“Mar tin Lawrence Live: Runteldat” is a documentar yst yle version of Lawrence’s bad-boy comedy, complete with commentar y by the man himself and liberally mixed with pounding hip-hop beats. The standup comedy por tion, where Lawrence is a solitar y presence onstage, illuminated by a spotlight, contains personal anecdotes and social commentar y. Cast: Mar tin Lawrence. The Master of Disguise (PG) — Dana Carvey stars as a waiter with a bad habit; he can’t help but impersonate everyone he serves. Though he is able to take on other identities with ease, he has trouble finding out who he really is. Cast: Dana Carvey, James Brolin, Jennifer Esposito, Bo Derek, Edie McClurg. Men in Black 2 (PG-13) — Will Smith (very post-"Ali") and Tommy Lee Jones (looking aged and bored) return as the alien-busting men in black, in a movie stuf fed with crit ters and special ef fects, like a vast expansion of a Mad magazine parody. Rosario Dawson is a decal of innocence, Lara Flynn Boyle a creepy space witch, the pug dog gets more lines, the fun is rather oppressive even at 82 minutes. Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Rosario Dawson, Lara Flynn Boyle. Running time: 1 hr., 22 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ Minority Report (PG-13) — "Minority Repor t" is a sci-fi thriller set in one of those futures (2054) most of us hope never to endure. At the front edge is John Ander ton (Tom Cruise), head of Pre-Crime. He works in a tech hive called the Temple, where three clairvoyants float in a tank like nearly comatose dolphins, feeding their pre-vision of impending murders to a big computer screen. Ander ton assembles the clues, then leads the police team to arrest the presumptively guilty. Once Ander ton is himself accused of being a future killer, he abducts one of the "pre-cog" floaters (Samantha Mor ton). "Minority Repor t" has a kind of ugly beauty and, in its central storm of murk and rush, the suction of a compelling nightmare. Cast: Tom Cruise, Samantha Mor ton, Lois Smith, Peter Stormare, Ma x Von Sydow, Tim Blake Nelson. Running time: 2 hrs., 15 mins. (Elliot t) ★★