Music of the Heart - * * 1/2*

Wes Craven directs this true story of a fiddle teacher (Meryl Streep) in East Harlem who gives her students a love and understanding of music, eventually taking them to perform at Carnegie Hall. Gloria Estefan will star as her friend and co-worker. Aidan Quinn will play Streep’s romantic interest, who introduces her to her Harlem school. Based on the short film Small Wonders. Angela Bassett, Jane Leeves, Cloris Leachman, Kieran Culkin, Jay O. Sanders, Charlie Hofheimer and Arnold Steinhardt will also star. Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman will play themselves. Previously titled Fiddlefest and 50 Violins.

Capsule Review: Though there’s not an unexpected note, the film plucks the heartstrings perfectly. The film is uplifting, as intended…but it’s no Mr. Holland’s Opus. Meryl Streep does a good job, as usual, and has a stellar supporting cast to back her up. You don’t need to enjoy violin music to appreciate this film, but it’s a strong plus.

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Crazy in Alabama - *

The title of Crazy in Alabama could have multiple meanings. It might describe the wild adventures of a young boy growing up in the South. It could describe the pathetic state of civil rights in 1965 Alabama. Or, it could describe one of the film’s central characters, a murderously insane woman who hears voices and dreams of stardom. But no, the “Crazy” in the title is only apt to describe the schizophrenic state of the movie, which unsuccessfully attempts to merge all of the above concepts into a slightly coherent film.

The film is told by Peejoe (Lucas Black), a young boy who’s saddled with a humiliating name. When his favorite aunt, Lucille (Melanie Griffith), admits to killing her husband and cutting off his head, Peejoe’s wild summer begins. Lucille abandons her seven kids and hightails it to Hollywood (dragging along her husband’s head as a souvenir). Peejoe, forced out of his home by the horde of kids, must live in the local mortuary with his Uncle Dove (David Morse).

But that don’t bother Peejoe none, as he takes pleasure sleeping in the coffins which litter the house anyway. Things, however, take a darker turn when Peejoe witnesses the bigotted Sherriff Doggett (Meat Loaf Aday) murder a local black boy for the crime of wanting to swim in a public pool.

So Peejoe is left with a big movie dilemma. If he keeps silent, Doggett will loosen up the search for beloved Aunt Lucille (who’s far out of his jurisdiction anyway). But, if Peejoe testifies against the Sheriff, well…bad things will happen.

Crazy in Alabama has one plot too many…but which one should have been cut? If Peejoe’s tale was dropped, there would be even less cohesion to the story than there is now. If the civil rights tale was omitted, the resulting film would have been creepy, and a little stale. If Lucille’s tale was cut, we’d be left with a rather dry and routine civil rights movie, that’s been done many times before, and much better to boot.

Director Antonio Banderas took a troublesome film for his directoral debut, but it is easy to see why. The film offers plenty of variety. It has its “touching” moments, its “epic” moments, its “important” moments, its “nostalgic” moments, and its “quirky” moments. But all of these manufactured “moments” seem to consist of recycled plastic. There’s nary a spark of life or ingenuity to be found.

Lucas Black is the only actor (in a worthy cast) who gives anywhere near a decent performance. His narrating everyday kid is realistic and sympathetic, but regrettably similar to his superior role in Sling Blade. The rest of the cast is a spectrum of overacting, from the subtle (Meat Loaf’s blindingly hateful sheriff) to the extreme (Cathy Moriarty’s shrieking wife, or Rod Steiger’s idiosyncratic judge).

Who would have thought that so much whiplash could induce boredom. But, despite being pummelled by the unrestrained actors, and whirled and jerked around by the dizzying array of plots, you’ll find Crazy in Alabama to be an utterly unremarkable film.

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Bringing Out the Dead - * * 1/2*

When it was announced that Martin Scorsese’s new film would be a Paul Schrader scripted tale of an unhinged man prowling the nighttime streets of New York City in an ambulance, it was easy to quickly dismiss his latest effort as “Ambulance Driver”. But such a dismissal turns out to be unfair, for, while not equal to Taxi Driver or the other great films under Scorsese’s belt, Bringing Out the Dead has some strong points and is truly a story of its own.

Nicolas Cage stars as Frank, a paramedic who’s slowly being driven insane by the pressures of his job. Five years ago, he became a paramedic to do some good…to help people. Now, he can barely hold on to himself. He finds himself haunted by the spirits of those he wasn’t able to save, in particular, a young asthmatic girl named Rose (Cynthia Roman), who choked to death right before his eyes.

His cohorts on the job aren’t much help. Larry (John Goodman) distances himself with ruminations about food. Marcus (Ving Rhames) takes comfort in the words of Jesus. Walls (Tom Sizemore) is a complete psychopath, in search of blood and violence.

The hope of salvation appears when Frank meets Mary (Patricia Arquette), the daughter of a heart attack victim he’s called to rescue. Even through the pain, grief and agony, Frank senses a connection with her. Can Frank find in her the meaning he’s been searching for…or is he simply trying to make any connections while at wits end?

Bringing Out the Dead hardly represents a change of pace for Scorsese, who’s led us on a personal tour of the New York City streets several times before. However there is much more of a spiritual aspect to this film than his previous films of NYC. Frank is a healer who wants to do good; he needs to do good. But the seeming randomness of his job causes a deep spiritual crisis, which Nicolas Cage aptly portrays with a truly haunting performance.

Cage’s performances usually run at two speeds: somber (ala Leaving Las Vegas) or energetically wacky (ala Snake Eyes). Bringing Out the Dead gives him a chance to express both styles, and in a way that is never discordant.

However, though Cage delivers a standout performance, the rest of the film fails to keep pace. Arquette is surprisingly distant as a pseudo-romantic lead, and no chemistry between the couple is ever evident onscreen. The three sidekicks (Goodman, Rhames and Sizemore) provide ample comic relief, but their roles aren’t much of a stretch and never seem to amount to much.

Even Scorsese’s direction seems old hat. He’s taken us to visit these streets many times before, and we learn nothing new on this latest trip. Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Joe Connelly’s novel has quite a few surprises, but the dialogue never reaches the gritty peaks of Taxi Driver or Raging Bull.

Still, even a lesser tour of New York from Martin Scorsese proves to be better than many works of lesser filmmakers. Bringing Out the Dead has its flaws, but is intriguing enough in the end to merit a look.

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Bats - [No Tickets]

Bats

With a title like “Bats”, you shouldn’t expect much from a film. But no amount of low expectations could truly prepare you for the horror of watching this film.

In the small Texas town of Gallup, a whole flock of flying rats has set up shop. If they aren’t stopped, soon they will take over the world! For these aren’t just your average ordinary bats…they’re SuperBats, created by the mad scientist Professor McCabe (Bob Gunton), just because he could. Taking a pair of the largest bats in the world (flying foxes, no less), McCabe purposely infects them with a manmade virus which increases their intelligence a hundred fold, gives them telepathic capabilities, and, oh yes, gives them a craving for meat…just for a little spice.

Leading the charge against the furry flying fiends is none other than Gallup sheriff Emmett Kimsey (Lou Diamond Phillips). To help, he’s enlisted the aid of world-reknowned bat expert Sheila Casper (Dina Meyer), and her wacky, claustrophobic, comic-relief assistant Jimmy (Leon).

Of course, for some reason the screenwriters forgot to mention, Kimsey and Casper invite the evil, cackling McCabe to be part of their inner war council. Normally, when someone begins cacklingly maniacly and frothing at the mouth, drooling over how his new improved SuperBats are perfect killing machines, you’d lock him in a closet, not share your top secret bat defense plans with him. But, then, that would require the characters (or the screenwriters) to own a shred of intelligence.

Of course, audience members with a shred of intelligence will be promptly vacating the theater once they hear snippets of the horrific dialogue and sample the cut-rate special effects. In a cheesy horror film, you don’t expect top of the line craftsmanship…but this is ridiculous.

The film has some campy, so-bad-it’s-almost-good qualities…but not enough to last past the first fifteen minutes. By the time we learn that bats don’t really use sonar (they just see the world under a red filter), and see a crude series of animated smudges obscure the full moon, we’ve entered so-bad-it’s-bad territory…and it only gets worse from there.

What was Lou Diamond Phillips thinking? As the “name” in the cast, he held the most to lose, and has promptly lost it. At least his performance in the film isn’t bad, all things considered. He’s the one-note good guy, but at least he’s not as obnoxious as Bob Gunton or Leon.

Consider yourself warned. Bats is pathetic even by cheesy monster movie standards.

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The Straight Story - * * * *

Director David Lynch has specialized in shocking, adult-oriented fare, helming such films as Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart. Thus, it is surprising to see his name attached to the wholesome G-rated movie like The Straight Story. But perhaps the most shocking thing about The Straight Story is that the film is perhaps Lynch’s best work yet.

Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is a stubborn old man, living in the small town of Laurents, Iowa. He’s kept a grudge with his brother Lyle for over ten years…neither man really knows what it was about, but neither has spoken to the other since their bitter argument.

When Alvin learns Lyle has had a stroke, he decides the time has come to patch things up. He has to find a way to visit Lyle, who lives in far away Mt. Zion, Wisconsin. However, he can’t drive, and neither can his daughter, Rose (Sissy Spacek). He refuses to let anyone else drive him, as this is something he must do himself.

Alvin’s unique solution is to ride his lawnmower nearly 400 miles across Iowa, and into Wisconsin. The journey isn’t a quick one… it’s slow and steady, just like Alvin. His adventures on the road, the places he goes, and the people he meets, make this journey one to be savored.

Although this isn’t the archetypical David Lynch film, his fingerprints are definitely all over the project. From the quirkiness of small town life, to the unusual characters Alvin meets, to the bizarre coincidences which happen along the way, all are decidedly Lynchian. However, Lynch’s penchant for weirdness has wisely been toned down for The Straight Story, and never becomes overpowering.

A film like this can rise or fall based on the strength of its lead actor. Lucky for The Straight Story, that actor is Richard Farnsworth. He aptly convey’s Alvin’s stubborn streak, as well as the wisdom he has attained over the years. A lesser actor might have made Alvin seem goofy, but Farnsworth tempers Alvin’s eccentricities with a sense of his strong character, and delivers one of the most fascinating portraits of the year.

Yes, the based-on-a-true-story plot is slightly goofy, and may even seem boring upon first description (an old man rides a lawnmower). Yet, while Alvin’s choices are unusual, we never doubt for a second that that’s the way he’s thinking. The movie isn’t just about Alvin’s interstate trek. The film’s true heart lies with its characters. It’s not just Alvin, but the inhabitants of Laurens, Iowa, and all the people he meets along the way. But that’s not to say one should easily dismiss the trek, as Freddie Francis’ cinematography gorgeously captures America’s heartland.

The Straight Story may not be the typical David Lynch film, but it one of the best. Nice and wholesome, as it may be, The Straight Story is a story worth watching.

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The Story of Us - * *

The Story of Us

Rob Reiner directs this romantic comedy starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, a couple trying to put the spark back into their marriage. Paul Reiser, Julie Haggerty, Rob Reiner, Tim Matheson, Rita Wilson, Betty White and Red Buttons also star.

Capsule Review: The Story of Us tells its story as completely in its commercials as it does in the whole film. The extra ninety plus minutes are filled with more of the same: more fights, more happy moments, the ups and downs of a marriage. However, the film rides mostly on the charm of its stars, and relationship nostalgia. There’s just not much more substance here than you’d find on any given sitcom.

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Fight Club - * * *

The first rule about Fight Club is that you don’t talk about fight club. I’m about to break that rule. Director David Fincher (of Seven, and The Game fame) is back with a new film, and you should know by now what to expect: a relentlessly bleak, but wonderfully shot tale of despair. He doesn’t break new ground in Fight Club, but he does take the dark ideas from his previous films even farther here.

Edward Norton stars as a white-collar worker, who has become increasingly unhappy with his consumer-oriented life. Plagued with insomnia, he finds himself depressed and unable to see the purpose of his pathetic existence. His search for meaning leads him to attend various deadly disease support groups, where the openness and raw emotion become the only truly real thing in his life.

Enter Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), an unorthodox soap salesman with a rather anarchic world view. The pair meet, and quickly bond. When Edward Norton’s apartment is blown up in a freak accident, Tyler Durden is the man he calls for help, and the two men quickly become inseparable.

Since years of self-improvement have never led to happiness, the pair decide to give self-destruction a try. To taste the sting of life, the pair begin to have bare knuckle fights just for fun. Soon, this pasttime becomes a passion, as more and more disaffected men yearning for more join this elite secret society: Fight Club. But the anarchy doesn’t stop there, and Tyler has plans for the group that go well beyond anyone’s imagination.

A true adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, Fight Club, seemed impossible. With a twisty timeline, surreal developments, and radical ideas scattershot all over the plot, the novel must have been a screenwriter’s nightmare to adapt. However, Jim Uhls tackled the task admirably, successfully creating order out of chaos. Edward Norton reads a heavy narration through the film, usually a bad move, but in this case it works. With witty dialogue lifted straight from the book, the narration further enhances the film’s unique world view.

Like Fincher’s previous work, Fight Club is unrelentlessly bleak. Full of provocative ideas and brutal, brutal violence, his film is a portrait of the downfall of modern civilization. The dehumanizing aspects of society are shown as an emasculating force, against which a group of men rebel by giving in to their primary urges of chaos and destruction. Sensitive viewers may take offense at the film’s destructive, fascistic and misogynistic themes, but that’s only if they can last through the film’s intensely ugly depiction of violence. Those who can stomach the violence and the film’s unusual message are in for a treat, however. Fight Club is visually inventive, and a tremendous treat to watch

Though there are many punches literally thrown in Fight Club (the film is not for the slightly squeamish of stomach), one aspect which can’t stand a punch is the characterization. Edward Norton has the strongest character, and even his is paper thin. As Tyler Durden, Brad Pitt is all attitude, and no substance. We never learn what makes these men tick, even though we are shown they tick in the most explosive of ways.

Things aren’t much better in the supporting cast. Helena Bonham Carter plays the sometime girlfriend of Tyler. However, a shallowly drawn character, her sole purpose in the film is to de-emphasize the homosexual aspects of the film’s many male-to-male relationships. In the film’s only other supporting role of substance, Meat Loaf plays a man who is literally emasculated (as a testicular cancer survivor with hormonal problems). Though his character might have had substance, he is merely played as a quick joke, and never seems real.

Brilliantly shot and intensely provocative, Fight Club never matches the genius of Fincher’s crowning achievement, Seven. Still, his stunning visual style carries the film well past its faults, and (provided you can stomach the blood…and the message) Fight Club will be a film you remember.

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Superstar - * 1/2*

In yet another Saturday Night Live skit-turned-film, Molly Shannon stars as nerdy Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher, dreaming of superstardom. She enters a talent contest with hopes of winning a part as a film extra. Will Ferrell will play the hunk, Sky Corrigan. Elaine Hendrix will also star as Evian, a rival, and Emmy Laybourne will be Mary Katherine’s best friend, Helen. Harland Williams and Tom Green will also star. Bruce McCulloch directs from Steven Koren’s script.

Capsule Review: Superstar doesn’t break the horrible streak of SNL-based films. It has the usual malady: a premise that seems worn thin in ninety seconds, much less ninety minutes. Harland Williams steals the show, however, as the mysterious loner at the high school.

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Three to Tango - * *

Three to Tango

Damon Santostefano directs this romantic comedy. A businessman (Dylan McDermott) asks his employee (Matthew Perry) to look after his mistress (Neve Campbell), thinking the employee is gay. He’s not…but pretends to be in order to be close to the girl of his dreams. Kelly Rowan will appear as McDermott’s wife. Oliver Platt, John C. McGinley and Bob Balaban will also star.

Capsule Review: Slightly funny in a sitcomish sort of way, but the central joke is played a bit too long, and stretched out too thin. The film delivers a mixed message, with many jokes regarding how demeaning it is to be presumed gay, while flamboyantly gay characters and situations are thrown in the mix as if to say “look, we’re not homophobic!”. In the end, though, the movie is too slight to be offensive, and not funny enough to be memorable.

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The Limey - * * *

Steven Soderbergh directs this action-drama about an Englishman (Terence Stamp) who travels to L.A. to avenge his daughter’s death. Lesley Ann Warren is an English teacher who helps him out. Peter Fonda will play the bad guy, Amelia Heinle will be his girlfriend, and Ann-Margret, Melissa George and Nicky Katt will also star.

Capsule Review: Stylishly edited, the film flits effortlessly between past and present, yet never confuses. Stamp is wonderful as the title character, but Luis Guzman steals the show as a contact in L.A. who assists his quest for revenge. This is a crime thriller worth watching.

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