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A high-tech, high
speed holiday hit
“Enemy of the State”surprisingly intelligent
and paranoiac... but in a good way
By Jonathan Howard
A&E Editor
Just in time for the Y2K
virus and surveillance
cameras in public areas,
along comes "Enemy of the
State," a fast-paced, Big
Brother is Watching thrill
ride by the maker of this
summer's critical flop-ola,
"Armageddon," Jerry
Bruckheimer.
Bruckheimer redeems
himself with this geuinely
enthralling tale of rampant,
and well-founded, paranoia
and more gadgets than the
Inspector, himself.
"...State" tells the story
of Robert Clayton Dean
(Smith), a Washington, D.C.
lawyer who finds his life
with loving wife, Carla
(played with Jerry
McGuire-like attitude by
Regina King) and child
changed when he gains
possession of a very, very
important videotape. You
see, the tape has evidence of
an assassination of a US
congressman under the
order of a high ranking
member of the National
Security Agency (Jon
Voight), an ultra-secret, "we
don't exist" group with
cameras and microphones
in more places than you
think (let's just say there's
no such thing as "behind
closed doors.")
After Dean gets hold of
the videotape, his life is
slowly taken apart bit by
bit, to make him crack
under the pressure and
surrender the tape. His
credit cards are cancelled,
his house is raided and
bugged, he loses his job,
and nearly loses his
marriage.
One problem, though,...
Dean doesn't even know he
has the tape.
Dean's fight to get his
life and innocence back lead
him to an individual named
Brill (played with usual
deftness by Gene
Hackman), who was
previously a faceless
“I see you! I see you!:” Will Smith is the target of a high tech pursuit in Jerry
Bruckheimer's “Enemy of the State.”
informant/spy who helped
Dean break open many
cases. Brill went through
Rachel Banks (played
by...what?!! Lisa Bonet?!!),
who soon becomes another
casualty in the NSA's
assault against Dean.
Brill wants nothing to
do with Dean, at first, but
soon realizes that he's
Dean's only chance to stay
alive and that this is his
chance to get back at the
NSA for killing Rachel. The
two set out to expose the
NSA's wrongdoings and
clear Dean's name.
While the hokey, "Pulp
Fiction"-esque ending
dissappointed, "...State"
turned out to be a pretty
good movie. Especially
surprising was the
performance of Mr. Smith
(no, not L.L.). Whereas I
usually give any movie
starring the sitcom prince
(pun intended) a hearty
thumbs-down, I really did
enjoy this. Smith winds up
carrying the movie without
acting like a clown and
Hackman has to be one of
the best character actors in
modern times, playing a
sort-of reverse Unabomber
with his "Jar''-full of
technology. And hey, how
could I pass up the chance
to see Denise ... er, Lisa
Bonet again? (What the hell
was Lenny Kravitz
thinking?)
This movie is definetely
worth the watch, even after
two servings of sweet
potato pie.
I still know
.. .how badly
this sucks
By Jonathan Howard
A&E Editor
You know what the
problem is with horror movie
sequels? They never graduate
into something more
spectacular. Every new
installment has to take you
right back to where the
original started.
They have to re-explain
the story, re-introduce the
main characters, re-do all of
the blood and gore (and then
some), just so all the new
viewers will understand why
the first one was so damn
good.
And this ruins any chance
for a decent sequel.
This same trend is
followed to perfection with
the ingeniously-titled "I Still
Know What You Did Last
Summer," the sequel to (duh)
"I Know What You Did Last
Brandy should still know
that she needs to stick to
singing. Or maybe quit
altogether.
Summer."
"Still," starring Jennifer
Love Hewitt, Brandy and
Freddie Prinze Jr., attempts, in
vain, to prove that Kevin
Williamson's ("Dawson's
Creek," "Scream") hell-
spawned series of chic
horror movies can survive
past an original.
In this installment of
the "bad and getting
worse" series, Hewitt is
haunted by the events of
the past two years.
She's frustrating her
boyfriend, scaring the hell
out of her roommate, and
basically being your
standard traumatized
heroine wet rag. Luckily
(or unluckily), she wins a
week(s getaway to the
Carribbean for some sun,
fun... and bloody murder.
And it's downhill
from there, folks
To counteract Mr.
Williamson's Rules for
Scary Movies (from
"Scream"), here are a few of
my own that should be
followed when trying to
convince anyone with an IQ
over 98 to watch any of his
sequels (just in case a "Scream
3" is in the works):
1. Cast at least one actor
in your movie: "...Still..."
sucks in this department.
Hewitt is a face; Brandy (in her
first acting role since
pretending to be a singer) is ...
uhh, Brandy; Mehki Phifer
should have his SAG card
removed for "High School
High," and the rest of the
nondescript cast doesn't
warrant mention.
Get somebody with a little
talent. Rose McGowan and
David Arquette were great in
"Scream," and you see where
that went.
2. Ditch these trite
stereotypes: All of the
characters in this movie were
cut out like Tollhouse cookies.
Brandy was the overly-
agressive Black female, and
Phifer got the lucky role of
horny, materialistic, playa-
playa.
Then there was the
weedhead whose days were
numbered as soon as he
stepped on the screen; the
older Black man who, of
course, practiced voodoo; and
the sexy, red-herring bartender
whose mysterious past had me
thinking that she was ... oh,
never mind.
3. More T&A shots: There
just weren't enough, man! I
mean, sure, there was the
shower scene, the wet
bathrobe scene, the hot tub
scene, the tanning bed scene,
and the nearly-nude lounging
in the bed scene, but this is a
horror movie!!
Where's the girl's gym
fight scene? The "Hey! How
did we get in a strip club?!?"
scene? And what about the
classic couple-having-sex-
getting-attacked-by-the-killer
scene? Come on, guys!! Work
around those no-nudity
contracts!
When this movie ended,
all I could think of was how
good it would be to place all
the actors in a burlap sack and
beat them with a hickory stick
... but I guess all dreams just
can't come true.
If so, Monica woulda
stomped Brandy's a#s up in
New York.
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