Rating: NNNNN
New releases
antitrust (2001, MGM/UA), dir. Peter Howitt w/ Ryan Phillippe, Tim Robbins. A hotshot computer geek (Phillippe) is hired by a Bill Gates-style software tycoon (Robbins) to help launch a revolutionary convergence system. The plot has so many holes, it looks like a macrame net, yet it’s a watchable thriller — mostly because Robbins excels at playing his villain as a goofy geek. NNN
Big-screen rating: Not a bad time-waster. NNN (JH)
best in show (2000, WB), dir. Christopher Guest w/ Guest, Eugene Levy. Guest hit a comedic home run with Waiting For Guffman. Best In Show is his stand-up triple. He assembles a first-rate cast of improv-savvy actors — including Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch and Jennifer Coolidge — to play nutty dog owners attending the Super Bowl of dog shows. I’ve seen it three times and still laugh out loud. My only complaint is that it’s not longer and that the entire cast never comes together for a comedic melee. NNNN
Big-screen rating: A movie full of endearing compulsions and weirdness. NNN (JH)
pay it forward (2000, WB), dir. Mimi Leder w/ Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt. A young boy (Haley Joel Osment) is inspired by his facially disfigured teacher (Spacey ) to perform three acts of kindness, which in turn begin a nationwide movement. This is feel-good filmmaking without an ounce of subtlety, an Oprah-ish drama that deifies Osment’s character, turning him into a Jesus-like figure with the power to change the world. Spacey gives his usual interesting turn, but Hunt, portraying an alcoholic single mom, falters, her blue-collar efforts sunk by her blue-blood vibe. NN
Big-screen rating: Oscar-calibre talent pitted against Oprah-calibre material. Shameless. N (KL)
Also this week
Just One Time
Kimberly
Tell Me No Lies
Upcoming
May 22
Before Night Falls, Requiem For A Dream, Shadow Of The Vampire, Vertical Limit
May 29
Brutal Truth, A Matter Of Taste, Traffic, What’s Cooking? DVD pick of the week
tora! tora! tora! special edition (1970, Fox), dir. Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda w/ Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura. Vietnam and the 60s counterculture changed Hollywood, producing revisionist westerns, blaxploitation heroics and Tora!Tora! Tora! An attempt to retell the Pearl Harbor story from both American and Japanese perspectives, it’s exactly as well-meaning as that suggests. Still, the action is good for its day, and the historical detail is impressive. The big message: this wasn’t so much a day of infamy as a predictable, blundering calamity. Fox’s special-edition DVD is timed to ride on next week’s blockbuster, Pearl Harbor, and comes with an audio commentary and background documentaries. 144 minutes. NNNCAMERON BAILEY
Upcoming
May 22
Before Night Falls, Requiem For A Dream, Shadow Of The Vampire, Vertical Limit
May 29
Brutal Truth, A Matter Of Taste, Traffic, What’s Cooking?
