Rating: NNNNN
New releases
down to earth (2001, Paramount), dir. Chris and Paul Weitz w/ Chris Rock, Regina King. This remake of Heaven Can Wait stars Rock as an aspiring comedian whose soul is put into the body of a wealthy white businessman. The directors Weitz take large bits from the Warren Beatty/Elaine May Heaven Can Wait screenplay and meld it with Rock’s tirades against racism to come up with an incisive look at what it means to be a black man in today’s America. Rock is less an actor than a comedic truth-teller, a performer intent on making us see the world through his eyes. NNN
Big-screen rating: Any two minutes of Rock’s stand-up material is funnier than this entire movie. N (CB)
things you can tell just by looking at her (2000, MGM/UA), dir. Rodrigo García w/ Glenn Close, Holly Hunter. It’s a shame this stunning drama was never released in theatres in Canada. García loosely ties together the stories of five women living in L.A. Close plays a lonely abortionist, Hunter a bank manager in need of an abortion, Calista Flockhart a gay psychic taking care of her dying lover (Valeria Golino), Kathy Baker a children’s book author intrigued by the dwarf who’s moved in next door, and Amy Brenneman a cop who envies her blind sister’s (Cameron Diaz) social life. All the women are living lives of quiet desperation, and all of them are holding onto the hope that their plights will improve. With every performance wonderfully muted, García masters the art of dramatic understatement. NNNN
Big-screen rating: N/A.
thirteen days (2001, Alliance Atlantis), dir. Roger Donaldson w/ Bruce Greenwood, Kevin Costner. The Cuban missile crisis is retold in this taut, tension-filled drama. Veteran Canadian actor Greenwood plays JFK, Steven Culp is RFK, and Costner chimes in as watchful presidential aide Kenny O’Donnell. Donaldson and writer David Self trust viewers to follow the verbal action this movie is all about diplomatic language and political perceptions. The actors, especially Greenwood, give riveting performances as men holding steadfast to the belief that a peaceful resolution isn’t just possible — it’s the only acceptable solution. NNNN
Big-screen rating: NNNN (IR)
Also this week
The Claim
Malèna
Upcoming
July 17: The Caveman’s Valentine, The Gift, The Family Man, Saving Silverman
July 24: In The Mood For Love, Pollock, Sweet November, Valentine
DVD pick of the week
monkeybone (2001, Fox), dir. Henry Selick w/ Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda. Fraser plays an animator who falls into a coma, where his repressed libido escapes as a lewd, animated monkey, constantly pricking Fraser’s nice-guy façade. Monkeybone adapts Kaja Blackey’s Dark Town graphic novel as a classic Freudian struggle. And Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) brings a wild visual imagination to updating the Jekyll and Hyde story. Fraser’s appeal remains a mystery, but the animation is incredible. Extras: director’s commentary, trailer, extended scenes, sketch gallery, TV spots, plus behind-the-scenes look at combining animation and live action. Additional French soundtrack, French and Spanish subtitles. 100 minutes. NNNN
CAMERON BAILEY
