|
|
 |
 The
Art of War (R)
Wide Release; New Line
Wesley Snipes assumes a new action pose as a deep-cover Secret
Service agent falsely accused of assassinating the Chinese
ambassador to the United Nations. Forced to fake his own death
and vanish underground, he tries to crack a global conspiracy
with the help of a non-combat-tested U.N. translator (Marie
Matiko). From what we're told, the fate of the entire United
Nations is at stake. Now are you impressed? |
 |
The
Green Mile (1999)
The
Green Mile
has a vivid, emotional story to tell before it sentences viewers to
interminable spiritual uplift. It may be a bit much to expect
searing, Ken Loach-
style realism here. This is, after all, a Tom Hanks holiday movie
based on a Stephen King novel — a big, gift-
wrapped, Oscar-
ready entertainment. Alas, writer-
director Frank Darabont's strengths (storytelling mojo, deft touch
with actors) are overwhelmed by his weaknesses (inability to grasp
the concept of brevity, weakness for histrionics). As the third hour
of mystical healing and predictable plot twists got under way, I
realized there was even less compelling justification here for the
gargantuan running time than in Darabont's first King adaptation
(and first film), The Shawshank Redemption.
|
|
|
 Pop
psychology: Jennifer Lopez's thriller The Cell tops the
charts
 Denzel
Washington coaches Southern high school football in Remember
the Titans |
 |
Godzilla
2000
(2000)
A Godzilla expert
has spent his life studying the habits of the great lizard,
trying to uncover a pattern to predict the monster's next
appearance and minimize the damage done. But, despite the
scientist's research, Godzilla rises again from the ocean and
attacks a nuclear power plant, destroying a city in the
process. On his way back out to sea, the big guy encounters an
out-of-this-world enemy. Will breathing a nasty atomic flame
be enough to vanquish this foe?
.
Highlander:
Endgame (2000)
The film and
television series that began with Highlander in 1986
rolls forward. The fourth film reunites the hero of the first
three films, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), with the
hero of the TV series, Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul). The two
MacLeods have shared the screen just once before (in the pilot
episode for the television series) and may not share it again
— the most persistent rumor swirling around Highlander:
Endgame is that Lambert's Connor will finally lose his
head. (Newbies: The Highlander heroes, or
"Immortals," can't be killed except by
decapitation.) The plot of the new movie has otherwise been
kept almost entirely under wraps, but decapitations, immortal
angst, and at least one luscious woman will almost certainly
be involved.
|
|
|
