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campos and around Athens. Ends
Thursday. (Beechwood, Commerce
Drive-In)
BUIES OF ENGAGEMENT (R)ff you
can! get enough ol Samuel L.
Jackson's bad-ass Ireakouls in Shaft,
check him out in 1ht$ tense military
drama. Directed by William Friedkin
{TheExorcist}. Starts Friday. (Mall)
SHAFT (R) Samuet L. Jackson is a
tough, smart-mouth New York detec
tive in director John Singleton's stylish
update on the 1971 'Waxploitalion*
classic. The lilm maintains a cool,
gritty style similar to the original and
touches on serious social issues.
However, it loses its balance somewhat
along the way and almost stumbles
over its numerous implausibitities and
over-lhe-top violence. The story mostly
to! tows the wide-eyed, goaleed detec
tive as he Investigates a brutal,
racially-motivated murder, keeps tabs
on the killer and confronts theuntair-
ness entrenched in the justice system.
Jackson delivers a surprisingly smooth
performance, even if his bug-eyed 'bad
mutha" delivery is starting to took a bit
stale. With Christian Sale, Jeffrey
Wrighl, Toni Collette. Busfa Rhymes.
Vanessa Williams, Dan Hedaya and Lee
Tergesen, Featuring music from Isaac
Hayes. (Beechwood, Carmike)
TITAN A.E, (P6-13) Computer-gener
ated animation meets comic book sci-fi
m tfu ’ visually impressive action-
drama from directors Don Bluth and
Gary Goldman. After Earth is destroyed
by the attack of the Orej—an evil alien
race that fears the intelligence of
humans—in 3028, a pack of human
heroes use a map that shows the way
to a mysterious “eaithship" called The
Titan that may hold the key 1o saving
mankind from a terrible fate. Featuring
the voices of Matt Damon, Bill
Pullman, Hank Azaria, Drew
Barrymore. Jim Breuer, Janeane
Garolalo, Nathan lane, John
leguizamo and Lena Olin.
(Beechwood, Carmike)
28 DAYS (PG-13) Sandra Bullock
plays a beavy-dfinkin', pill-poppin’
party girl who gels sentenced to 28
days at a drug and alcohol rehab center
in this lightweight drama. The film tries
to examine specific peculiarities of
addiction, denial and dependency
while maintaining an exaggerated
‘cole’ vtbe. Starts Friday. (Mat!)
WARRIORS OF VIRTUE <PG) 1997.
A young man suffering from a dis
ability is swept away through a
whirlpool to the land of Tao in this odd
aclion-adventure hick. Showing
Thursday, 6/29. (Beechwood)
WINGING IT
CHICKEN RUN (G) A pack of grinning British
chickens are desperate to escape from their farm
in this charming animated film from the creators
of "Wallace And Gromit." This is the first fuU-
length feature from Brifcdris Aardman
Animation, and it's a wonderfully whimsical
effort like none seen before.
Unlike so many "kid’s flicks" that hit the big
screen every year. Chicken J?urr follows real char
acters as they move through some very funny
and, at times, very dire situations. Packed with a
dry, English seme of humor and a genuine sense
of drama and urgency, the story is uniquely off
beat and as colorful and magical as either Babe
or a Muppets installment.
The story takes place cn Tweedy's farm, a
grim, prison-tike facility set against the back
drop of a serene, rustic countryside and run by
the awful, jack booted Mrs. Tweedy (voiced by
Miranda Richardson) and her bumbling husband
(voiced by Tony Haygarth). The henhouses look
just like the barracks out of "Hogan's Heroes" or
St&bg 17. The chickens mostly seem content
with the daily drudgery of laying eggs,
scratching in the chit and exchanging gossip—
basically the same cultural scene as looney
Tunes' 'foghorn Leghorn’* series. One hen named
Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha) is Ml of ideas;
she dreams of escaping to freedom and life in
"paradiie" across the valley where the 'grass is
green and there are no farmers or dogs of
fences."
Ginger constantly tries to escape but b
always caught and tossed into solitary confine
ment. The chickens’ situation grows even more
desperate and urgent when Mrs. Tw**dy deddes
to phase && the egg operation and turn of
her chkkem into gravy-t^Ud thkfeevi fries.
Then Rocky the Flying Rosier (Vvfced by Mel
Gibson), a cocky American who is on the run
from a carnival, comes bouncing into the yard
from out of the Uue. Rocky is basically a decent
guy with an immature streak who operates
mostly on overconfidence and half-Ues (the typ
ical European view of Americans). On a whim, he
promises Ginger and her friends that he'll teach
them to fly and there are many adventures
before the audience discovers the answer.
One of t?»3t things about Chrdten Run is the
amazing Claymation work. The film's directors
Nick Park and Peter Lord make use of modeled
latex figures instead of drawn animation and
create a warm, fluid, three-dimensional look and
feeL The characters are expressive and realistic,
and the life lessons they learn along the way are
universal It must have been painstaking work
repeatedly moving and re-photographing each
slight movement
Chicken Run is also a very British film. It
allows most of the main characters to be true
eccentrics, such as Mack, the brainy, bespecta
cled Scottish hen who pronounces "thrust" with
a few extra trills and syllables, and Fowler, the
cranky old rooster who constantly boasts of his
glory days "in the R.A.E" The film's satirical
take on language, culture and social status is
subtle but effective (Americans kids may be
using such terms as "poppycock" and 'yer bum"
and "Yank* immediately afterward).
Chicken Run is not only funny and wicked, it
U clever, kind and sweet Seme ol the most fas
cinating "kid's movies"—The Wizard Of Oz, WiUy
fcbnfcs A The Chocolate factory, Bob* and
Charfottes Web in particular—tap Mo the imagi
nations of children and ddt« wkh humor and
drama. Chicken Run can fty with the best of
them,
Marti Lttemiim
Vegetable hasagna
\m &
229 fast toad St 706-543-8552
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1/
bove
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JUNE 28, 2000 FLAGPOLE B