Short Subjectives July 14 2005

Opening Friday

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (PG) See review.

DEEP BLUE (G) In what appears to be the summer of the heavy-handed, long-winded, overly narrated nature documentary, Deep Blue joins March of the Penguins in exploring the often overlooked nonhuman tenants of planet Earth. When contemporary children would have to look long and hard for a “G”-rated film, they should not turn to Deep Blue for entertainment succor. This death-tripping celebration of the mysteries of the ocean would give children nightmares for years to come with its fetishistic scenes of killer whales snacking on baby seals, and adults may not dig the animal snuff themes, either, or the grave, flowery narration that can’t seem to rescue this big-screen opus from the bland conventions of the little-screen doc. — Felicia Feaster

HAPPY ENDINGS (R) See review .

KING OF THE CORNER (R) Peter Riegert of Local Hero directs, co-writes and plays a grumpy paterfamilias in this family dramedy featuring Isabella Rossellini, Eric Bogosian and Eli Wallach.

WEDDING CRASHERS (R) See review.

Duly Noted

BEAUTY SHOP (PG-13) Barbershop it ain’t, though it recycles almost every plot point from that Ice Cube comedy. Beauty Shop has its own frothy appeal held together by the warm, charismatic presence of Queen Latifah as a hair entrepreneur who quits a chic salon to open her own beauty shop in the ‘hood. The scenes where her diverse staff gleefully riff, vamp and insult over the hot rollers offer something to hold onto amid an uninspiring plot involving Latifah’s efforts to hold onto the salon when “the Man” comes calling. It’s all lighter-than-air, but it’s hard not to be momentarily charmed by all the assembled intergenerational girl power and fizzy energy. Flicks on 5th. Wed., July 20, 9 p.m. Centergy Plaza, Technology Square, 75 Fifth St. Free. 404-894-2805. www.flickson5th.com. — Felicia Feaster

DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993)

(R) Why ever watch “That ’70s Show” when you can drink in the fashion, music and silliness of 1970s high-schoolers in such sharp but affectionate detail as in Richard Linklater’s second film? The cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck and Parker Posey. Fri.-Sat., July 15-16, midnight. Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive. 678-495-1424. — Curt Holman

LAST BEST CHANCE (NR) This docudrama examines America’s vulnerabilities by depicting how al-Qaeda operatives could smuggle nuclear material into the United States. The screening features a speech by former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn. Thurs., July 21, 7:30 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 1911 Cliff Valley Way. Free. 404-524-5999.

NOBODY KNOWS (PG-13) Four Japanese children aged 5 to 12 eke out an existence in near-total isolation after being abandoned by their monstrously childish mother. Comparable to a modern-day Diary of Anne Frank and based on a true incident from 1988, the film provides both the fly-on-the-wall details of an exceptional case as well as universal insights into the experience of childhood. Writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda gets remarkably natural performances from his young actors and never shies away from the emotional truths of the painful, powerful story. Faith and Film. Wed., July 20, 6:30 p.m. Central Congregational Church, 2676 Clairmont Road. Free. 404-633-4505. — CH

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) (R) The cult classic of cult classics, the musical horror spoof follows an all-American couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) to the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a drag-queen/mad scientist from another galaxy. It’s all fun and games until Meat Loaf gets killed. Dress as your favorite character and participate in this musical on acid. Midnight Fri. at Lefont Plaza Theatre and Sat. at Peachtree Cinema & Games, Norcross.

SAHARA (PG-13) There is something about the cocky, thrill-seeking, globe-trotting adventurer Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) — with his ability to stamp out the world’s problems in a single-blow — that seems, well, ill-timed considering the mounting crises of African genocide and the war in Iraq raging abroad. In this cartoonish adaptation of Clive Cussler’s novel, Pitt is a former Navy SEAL-turned-international treasure hunter with the cool of James Bond and the chops of an Army-of-one. He’s in Africa hunting a long-lost Civil War battleship and helping a World Health Organization doctor (Penelope Cruz) find the source of a plague killing local villagers in this theme park ride of a movie. Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival. Mon., July 18, 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. $7. 404-817-8700. www.foxtheatre.org. — FF

SIN CITY (R) Based on Frank Miller’s hard-boiled cult comic books of the same name, Sin City wallows unapologetically in violence, T&A and other preoccupations of adolescent boys of all ages. Co-directors Miller and Robert Rodriguez leer over interlocking tales of chivalrous antiheroes (led by a hulkingly charismatic Mickey Rourke) who take on a corrupt city’s sadistic power brokers. Though the film’s black-and-white images can sear your retinas, its repetitive plots, grisly slapstick and predictable misogyny can leave you embarrassed to be a geek. Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival. Thurs., July 21, 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. $7. 404-817-8700. www.foxtheatre.org. — CH

3 GIRLS I KNOW (NR) Paula Mozen’s documentary examines three teenage girls from Montana, San Francisco and Baltimore, respectively, and how they deal with such sexual issues as peer pressure, pregnancy and AIDS. Thurs., July 21, 7:30 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, 450 Auburn Ave. Free. 404-352-4225. www.imagefv.org.

Continuing

THE ADVENTURES OF SHARKBOY & LAVAGIRL IN 3-D (PG) Sin City director Robert Rodriguez switches back to the kid-friendly mode of his Spy Kids flicks with this tale of an imaginative 10-year-old who teams up with the young title heroes to fight the evil Mr. Electric on Planet Drool.

BATMAN BEGINS (PG-13) Memento director Christopher Nolan and American Psycho actor Christian Bale prove a perfectly-matched dynamic duo as they explore the psychological trauma that turned millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne into a masked vigilante. Nolan and Bale bring undeniably gritty intensity to the film’s first half, but as it works to its conclusion, it’s hard to overlook the silliness of the villains’ Evil Scheme or the miscasting of too-cute Katie Holmes as a tough D.A. It’s still the best Batman movie ever made, and the only one in which the Caped Crusader, instead of his villains, is the star. — CH

BEWITCHED

(PG-13) As a fading movie star, Will Ferrell insists on casting an unthreatening amateur actress (a likably girlish Nicole Kidman) to play supernatural Samantha to his befuddled Darrin in an updated “Bewitched” sitcom — not realizing that she really is a witch trying to pass as human. Co-writer/director Nora Ephron makes the most of a talented cast (including many hip supporting players from “The Daily Show”) and some fitfully funny showbiz satire. But rather than push the film’s post-modern possibilities in exciting directions, Ephron falls back on the chick-flick courtship cliches she helped set in stone with films like Sleepless in Seattle. — CH

CINDERELLA MAN (PG-13) Like Seabiscuit with Russell Crowe playing the inspirational racehorse, only in this case he’s Jimmy Braddock, a Depression-era boxer who endures economic deprivation to achieve one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. The first 45 or so minutes amount to little more than pious sludge, with Renee Zellweger scrunching her face up cutely as Braddock’s loving, concerned wife. Once Braddock’s comeback starts, though, Cinderella Man finds both a sense of humor and a terrific screen villain in strutting heavyweight champ Max Baer (Craig Bierko). The story and Crowe’s performance both find snap and swagger in its high-impact boxing scenes. — CH

CRASH (R) Writer/director Paul Haggis (whose Million Dollar Baby script won an Oscar) presents one of those sprawling multi-character films set in Southern California, only it emphasizes racism as the unifying element. Both thought-provokingly relevant and shamelessly manipulative, Crash presents a simmering melting pot of frustrated Los Angelenos waiting to take out their rage on the first person of a different color who crosses their path. The engrossing scenes and dedicated actors (including Don Cheadle in the central role as an honest LAPD detective) make up for Crash’s heavy-handed storytelling. — CH

DARK WATER (PG-13) Jennifer Connelly hopes to follow in the footsteps of Naomi Watts and Sarah Michelle-Gellar by starring in the remake of a moody Japanese thriller. Here, a divorced mom and her young daughter move into an apartment haunted by ominously running water.

GEORGE A. ROMERO’S LAND OF THE DEAD (R) Writer/director George Romero, who virtually invented the ultra-violent zombie flick, returns to the genre after a two-decades absence with his fourth film in his Dead series. Much of the film plays like second-string Mad Max, with tough commandos trying to protect a besieged human city from an army of increasingly intelligent zombies. If you’re not already a fan of the genre, you’ll find Land a little too disgusting to stomach, but Romero’s sociopolitical consciousness remains intact. The film plays like a parable of the have-nots rising against the haves. And eating them. — CH

FANTASTIC FOUR (PG-13) Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis star in a tale of four “imaginauts” who survive an accident in outer space, only to be granted super powers. Although director Tim Story, of Barbershop fame, tweaked Marvel Comics’ original, Cold War-tinged comic book, the film stays surprisingly faithful. And while it serves up loads of CGI-laden action sequences, the hilarious performances by Chris Evans and tender moments provided by Chiklis really make this movie fantastic. — Carlton Hargro

HAPPILY EVER AFTER (NR) Leave it to the French to come up with a truly revealing, profound, angst-wracked film about marital yearning and infidelity. Yvan Attal’s film concerns three male friends dealing with various romantic discontents, ranging from a wandering eye to a desire to settle down. Charlotte Gainsbourg (Attal’s wife) delivers the film’s truly knockout performance as a wife and mother who expresses conflicting fight-or-flight tendencies as she watches her marriage crumbling. — FF

HEIGHTS (R) Not bad for a freshman effort, former Ismail Merchant apprentice Chris Terrio follows a group of neurotic New Yorkers as their lives intertwine like angel hair pasta. The performances are strong and the film captures the grass-is-always-greener aphrodisiac character of metropolitan life, where every unhappiness seems easily answered by the infatuation around the corner. — FF

HERBIE: FULLY LOADED (PG) This automotive comedy harks back to the era when “The Love Bug” made us think of sentient Volkswagen beetles, not sexually transmitted diseases. Lindsay Lohan plays a spunky girl whose smart car becomes an unlikely NASCAR contender.

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE ? (PG) In industrial-era Europe, a repressed shop girl becomes transformed into a elderly (but spunky) woman after getting embroiled with feuding wizards. Hayao Miyazaki, the world’s greatest living director of animated films, offers some wild, whimsical variations on themes similar to his Oscar-winning Spirited Away, in which another spellbound girl found romance, empowerment and outlandish monsters. At times the rules of Miyazaki’s world can be confusing, but the director rightly appreciates that the magic of a story often lies in the mystery. — CH

IMAX THEATER: Bugs! (NR) A praying mantis and a butterfly “star” in this documentary about the insects of the Borneo rainforest - some of whom will be magnified 250,000 times their normal size on the IMAX screen. Also, The Living Sea (NR), features humpback whales, golden jellyfish and giant clams in this documentary about the diversity of undersea life, with music by Sting and narrated by Meryl Streep. (CH) Fernbank Museum of Natural History IMAX Theater, 767 Clifton Road. 404-929-6300. www.fernbank.edu.

LADIES IN LAVENDER (PG-13) Two elderly sisters find a handsome Polish man (Daniel Brü hl) washed up on the shoreline near their bungalow on the remote Cornish seaside in the 1930s and nurse him back to health. This low-key, gentle character study, the directorial debut from actor Charles Dance, has a tendency to periodically peter out, losing focus and momentum, but the performances by Maggie Smith and Judi Dench as the two lonely, bickering sisters bring a degree of psychological urgency to this tender, understated film. — FF

LAYER CAKE (R) A never-named London drug dealer (Daniel Craig) plans to retire from the British underworld but finds himself increasingly ensnared by it. An intoxicating, pop-scored prologue suggests that the real high comes not from doing drugs, but dealing them. Matthew Vaughn, producer of Guy Ritchie’s stylish English mob films, brings similar flash but ultimately more substance worthy of a cautionary tale. — CH

THE LONGEST YARD A disgraced NFL star (Adam Sandler) leads a team of violent inmates against their sadistic guards in this remake of the 1974 Burt Reynolds comedy. The authority-defying premise and violent punch lines still click, but the relentlessly homophobic humor earns the film penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. — CH

MAD HOT BALLROOM (PG) Like the superior Spellbound, this documentary centers on several groups of kids who, as students enrolled in the NYC public school system’s ballroom dancing classes, hope to find themselves competing in the annual tournament. This is yet one more nonfiction film that ably extols the transformative power of the arts and its ability to allow individuals to discover the best within themselves. It’s a pleasure spending down-time with these lovely boys and girls, which is why it’s disappointing when the movie shifts away from their individuality to focus on the mechanics of the tournament. — Matt Brunson

MADAGASCAR (PG) Four pampered Central Park Zoo animals become fish out of water when a series of mishaps maroon them on the jungle isle of Madagascar. When Ben Stiller’s Alex the Lion finds himself increasingly ravenous and views best pal Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock) as prey, the computer-animated comedy briefly finds a premise to sink its teeth into. Mostly, though, Madagascar follows Dreamworks’ habit of emphasizing big-name voice actors and predictable pop references instead of strong plots and characters. — CH

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (G) This French documentary, a kind of inferior, non-flying version of Winged Migration, concerns the annual migration of Antarctica’s Emperor penguins from their bachelor digs across inhospitable climes to their mating grounds. The doc features adorable birds, cloying, hard-to-take narration from Morgan Freeman and the not exactly original assessment that nature is cruel. — FF

MR. & MRS. SMITH (PG-13) Tabloid-fueling hottie movie stars (and supposedly just friends) Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play bored spouses who turn out to be assassins unaware of each other’s true occupation. True Lies and The Incredibles beat this film to the punch by using secret identities as metaphors for marital tension. Like those recordings in Mission Impossible, the movie erases itself from your memory, but both actors prove in good form, and thanks to some smart, supple filmmaking from Go director Doug Liman, it’s fun to keep up with the Smiths. — CH

MYSTERIOUS SKIN (NC-17) A devastating, unforgettable and often hard to watch film about how sexual molestation changes the lives of two Kansas boys, one of whom becomes a teenage hustler (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). The film features powerhouse performances by Levitt and Brady Corbet, as a shell-shocked teen who believes he was abducted by aliens as a kid. Using a purposefully candy-coated, surreal style, director Gregg Araki shoots reality through the prism of two childhoods permanently altered by abuse. — FF

THE PERFECT MAN Hilary Duff, the personable but one-note Disney Channel star, plays Holly Hamilton, a teen who fabricates a Mr. Right to cheer up her lonely single mom (Heather Locklear). But it never occurs to Holly that, duh, her mom might eventually want to meet this seemingly perfect man in the flesh, and that’s when her scheme begins to unravel. Even allowing that this is supposed to be a frothy comedy aimed at younger viewers, the film is so casually cruel in its treatment of its characters (particular Locklear’s, who craves a man like a junkie craves his next fix) that a bad taste lingers in the mouth even after everybody learns their valuable life lessons during the final 10 minutes. — MB

REBOUND (PG) If you worried that no underdog sports comedy would open this week, rest easy. Martin Lawrence plays a disgraced NBA coach who gets a shot at redemption when he makes winners out of an inept, ragtag team of middle-schoolers. See if it strays from the same formula as Kicking & Screaming and The Bad News Bears remake.

SAVING FACE (R) A young Chinese-American lesbian (Michelle Krusiec) locks horns with her traditional mother (Joan Chen) in this culture-clash dramedy written and directed by Alice Wu.

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS Ann Brashares’ best-selling book has been transformed into an agreeable film for those interested in an emotional high. As they prepare to separate for the summer, four high-school friends — brainy America Ferrera, shy Alexis Bledel, sexy Blake Lively and antisocial Amber Tamblyn — decide that a pair of jeans will serve as their link to each other. Statutory rape, parental abandonment, the death of a child — these are heavy issues for any movie. While Sisterhood occasionally skirts around their full import, it’s honest enough to acknowledge the perils of adolescence as well as the pleasures. — Matt Brunson

STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (PG-13) George Lucas gets his Sith together for the fast-paced, thematically dark and politically pointed final chapter of his space opera saga. As Darth-Vader-to-be, Hayden Christensen still comes across as a Hitler Youth Mark Hamill, but his adolescent-sized angst doesn’t diminish the film’s increasingly apocalyptic tone. Though the nonstop battle scenes (Droids! Wookies! Duplicitous heads of state!) make the film feel like an immersive video game, the dark subject matter gives weight to the sci-fi swashbuckling. — CH

UNDEAD (R) A meteor shower starts turning the residents of a sleepy Australian fishing town into your standard-issue brain-eating zombies. The low-budget, home-movie vibe brings out the pleasures writer-directors Michael and Peter Spierig take in romping through gross-out slapstick and action flick clichés, with Mungo McKay’s laconic, gun-toting performance riffing on Clint Eastwood. Despite some weirdly inventive effects involving alien abductions, Undead’s proves too shrill and repetitive to hit the shlocky heights of Shaun of the Dead. — CH

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (PG-13) A deadbeat dad (Tom Cruise) learns to be an attentive, protective father when alien war machines attack the American heartland. Director Steven Spielberg uses a sci-fi action premise comparable to Jurassic Park or Close Encounters of the Third Kind to air some serious themes about how a catastrophe brings out the best and worst in Americans. Imagery reminiscent of 9/11 abounds and Spielberg’s command of terrifying set pieces remains unequaled, yet the script feels thinner than it should be and the “easy” resolutions make the end of the world feel oddly inconsequential. — CH