Rating: NNNNN
New releases
before night falls (2000, Alliance Atlantis), dir. Julian Schnabel w/ Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp. Before Night Falls focuses on an unlikely hero — gay Cuban poet/novelist Reinaldo Arenas, played beautifully by the Oscar-nominated Bardem. Schnabel recounts Arenas’s oppressive life with assured ease and cinematic flair. He’s a storyteller who’s unafraid to take small risks, like casting Depp to play two separate roles. Bardem is the heart of the film, showing Arenas’s gentle spirit but also capturing his wry humour, healthy ego and growing rage at his continued persecution at the hands of a repressive state. NNNN
Big-screen rating: NNNN (IR)
requiem for a dream (2000, Artisan), dir. Darren Aronofsky w/ Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn. Aronofsky’s second film (he debuted with the acclaimed ) is a visually jarring and emotionally disturbing tale of Harry (Leto), his mother (Oscar-nominated Burstyn) and his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly), who become hooked on drugs while following their dreams. Based on Hubert Selby Jr.’s novel, this demanding movie opts for style over substance, showing off a range of head-spinning cinematic tricks. NN
Big-screen rating: The film lacks genuine drama but makes up for it with hyperactive sequences. NNN (JH)
shadow of the vampire (2000, Lions Gate), dir. E. Elias Merhige w/ Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich. You should rent Shadow Of The Vampire just to see Dafoe’s Oscar-nominated turn as Max Schreck, a real-life vampire hired by director F.W. Murnau (Malkovich) to star in his silent vampire film, Nosferatu. This low-budget feature is a horror bauble, more comedy than drama. It’s Dafoe who’s interesting, playing Schreck as a terrifying yet tired member of the undead whose bitterness toward humans rises off him like early-morning fog. NNN
Big-screen rating: Dafoe gives a one-note performance. NN (JH)
vertical limit (2000, Columbia Tri-Star), dir. Martin Campbell w/ Chris O’Donnell, Robin Tunney. Traumatized climber O’Donnell heads a rescue team up K2 to find his missing sister (Tunney ) and an insufferable billionaire (Bill Paxton). The effects looked weak on the big screen, but when they’re downsized for TV they’re more than passable. The plot is far-fetched, but fans of nail-biting climbing sequences will love the outlandish string of situations faced by O’Donnell and his team. NNN
Big-screen rating: Fun during the action sequences, much less when people talk. NN (JH)
Also this week
Stardom
Two Family House
Upcoming
May 29
Brutal Truth, A Matter Of Taste, Traffic. June 5
Beautiful Joe, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Contaminated Man. DVD pick of the week
point break (1991, Fox), dir. Kathryn Bigelow w/ Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze. Bigelow is a director of endlessly frustrating movies — brilliant one minute, appalling the next. Point Break is more consistent than most, partly because she drops her jones for big social themes. This is a surf-god caper movie, which lets Bigelow draw a quintessential dude-savant performance from Reeves. Fox’s DVD is light on extras but scores points just for its action sequence. It does for foot chases what The French Connection did for cars. 117 minutes. NNN
CAMERON BAILEY
