THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE (PG) Jay Wards original ‘Rocky And Bullv/inkle’ car- loons ol the lale-1960's—a series fol lowing wacky moose Bullwinkle and his sidekick Hying squirrel pal, Rocky— were intelligent, clever and original. This v«ak big screen version is a mess. Direcrar Des McAnutf’s blend of com puter animation (with help from the Industrial Light & Magic lab) mostly looks forced and stiff. The lame story about the fall of the Iron Curtain, bad guys Boris' and Natasha's sinister activi ties in the town of Frostbite Falls, and their Fearless Leaders elaborate plan to further stupefy the American public by making television even worse on his Really Bad TV Network is little more than a ridiculous, boring, confused attempt at satire. Expect a slew of veak one-liners uttered by an uncomfortable looking cast. Too silly to reoommena (Beech wood, Carmike. Commerce Drive-In) BABE: PIG IN THE CITY (PG) The little pig gets a dose of rough city life in this almost surreal sequel. Very weird and highly entertaining Showing Tuesday. 7/18. (Beechwood) THE BIG KAHUNA (R) Kevin Spacey. Danny DeVito and Peter Facinetli are highly competitive, grouchy Midwestern salesmen determined to land a major client. This black comedy is director John SwanbeckS film debut and Kevin SpaceyS producing debut. Starts Friday. (Mall) BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE (PG-13) Martin Lawrence goes ‘deep under cover* in this crude comedy about a slick city detective who poses as an obese Georgia grandmother. As ‘Big Momma." he kicks ass in karate class, slant dunks on the basketball court, boogies hard in church and delivers a baby with unconventional methods. This is a derivative comedy consisting of little more than a continuous string of gags and one-liners revolving around the same joke, but audiences are howling anyway. (Beechwood, Carmike, Commerce Drive-In) CHICKEN RUN (G) Some of the most fascinating ‘kid's movies" tap into the imagin^ion of both children and adults by use of humor and drama and this off beat, whimsical Claymalion action- adventure certainly does with great results. Set in England in 1950s, the story follows a pack chickens desperale to escape from the prison camp-like Tweedy’s Farm. Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha). dreams of escaping but is caught at every attempt and tossed into solitary confinement Then, Rocky the Flying Rooster (voiced by Mel Gibson), a cocky American bird, comes bouncing into the yard and claims he can teach the hens how to fly to freedom. Itts weird excitement packed with dry British humor and slang, some fnghtemng dosc-calls and a genuine sense of drama and urgency. Go see it. (Beechwood, Cannike) CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (PG) 1977. This month’s ‘Spielberg* series continues at the Library with this earty-career epic about a group of average Midwesterners wno make contact with a peaceful group of aliens. Laden with impressive (for the limes) special effects and strong perfci- mances from Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon. Teri Garr and others. Showing Thursday, 7/13. (Athens-Clarke Library) DISNEY'S THE KID (PG) Director John Turteitaub’s (Phenomenon) family comedy is a warm, clever, and senti mental offering that is equal parts Back To The Future, Frequency and A Christmas Carol. Bruce Willis is a rude, arrogant, smug LA image consultant with a stress-induced eye-twitch who. on the eve ol his 40th birthday, gets to meet himself as an 6-year-old kid. Ol course, he ‘doesnl have the lime to go crazy" and dismisses the phenomenon as an oncoming nervous breakdown. The pudgy kid, played with convincing charm and wit by newcomer Spencer Breslin, can! understand why he's been transplanted to his future, either. The two develop a decent rapport, however, and Willis' cold heart inevitably thaws Look tor wonderful performances from British actress Emily Mortimer and the great comedienne Lily Tomlin. Recommended, despite the lame title (Beechwood, Carmike) FRIN BROCKOVICH (R) Director Steven Soderbergh (The Limey, Out Ol Sight) took care to avoid the usual cliches found in so many big-budget courtroom dramas and delivers a solid, well-acted movie. The true-lite story fol lows a struggling, twioe-divorced single mom (played by Julia Roberts) who lands a job at a small legal firm arid finds herself tackling a direct-action lawsuit against a major public utilities company that is polluting a nearby town. With Aaron Ecktert and Albert Finney. Showing Friday, 7/14. (Tate) FANTASIA 2000 (G) Walt Disney's spectacular animated feature introifnees seven new sequences set to ihe mu jc ol the master composers and spotlights the return of *The Sorcerer's Apprentice"—a milestone piece ot ani mation which was the centerpiece ot the 1940 feature. Highlights include ■Rhapsody In Blue’ and ‘Pines Ol Rome.’ Highly recommended. Ends Thursday. (Beechwood, Carmike) FINAL DESTINATION (R) Six high school seniors and their teacher ‘cheat death" by disembarking a doomeo air liner just before takeoff. After Ihe plane goes down (in a disturbingly realistic scene), the group is stalked by death itself. Silly, scary, disturbing and quite entertaining. Starring Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Kristen Cloke. Directed by James Wong. (Brad Aaron) (Mall) “FLICKER" (NR) Wednesday's pro gram features The Grapefruit Moon (Der Pampefmusenmorxt), a 1989 German tilm directed by Joachim Masannek The story follows a seven-yeai old girt who runs away from home. She takes with her a magical snow globe with 2 special dwarfs inside Friday's and Saturday's program features German dirxtor Werner Herzog's Stroszek—i bizarre 1976 comedy about three misfits from Berlin who try out the American Dream in a trailer home in Wisconsin Featonng music from Sonny Terry and Chet Atkins. Culor. Monday's. Tuesday’s and next Wednesday’s program features Burning Lite, a 1994 comedy about two bank robbing bandits (Anna Thalback and Maria Schrader) from German director by Peter Welz. All films are in German with English subtitles. Call 546-0039 tor more intormation. (Flicker Theater) GONE IN 60 SECONDS (PG-13) Nicholas Cage furrows his brow and flexes his muscles through yet another inane action flick. Here in mega-pro ducer Jerry Biuckheimer's latest mess, he’s an automobile aficionado and a leg endary thief who long ago abandoned his life of crime. After his kid brother (Giovanni Ribisi) tries to follow in his •ootsteps and gets in deep trouble, he must pull oft one last heist and steal 100 cars to save his little brother’s tile. Although she enjoys co-star billing, wiggy actress Angelina Jolie is barely in the thing -With Robert Duvail. Delray Undo, Will Patton and Vinnie Jones. Directed by Dominic Sena. (Beechwood. Carmike) HARRIET THE SPY (PG) 1996 A ras cally young tomboy (Michelle Trachtenberg) is encouraged to spy on everyone around town in this family comedy based on the popular book by Louise Fitzhugh. With Rosie O'Donnell. Showing Thursday. 7/13. (Beechwood) HIGH FIDELITY (R) This quirky, bitter sweet. laugh-out-loud, romanlic comedy Irom director Stephen Frears (The Snapper, Dangerous Liaisons)— successfully adapted from the 1995 novel by Nick Hornby (which was set in London)—examines the ups and downs ol modem romance and never settles on a clean resolution, but rather meanders through the common tears, insecurities and life lessons involved in the never- ending quest to understand it. John Cusack is as sharp as ever as the trou bled, flawed hero. Look lor strong per formance, Iben Hjejle, Lisa Bonel, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Lili Taylor, Jack Black, Todd Louiso and Tim Robbins. (Georgia Theatre, Mall) LOVE AND BASKETBALL (PG-13) Director Gina Prince's smart and warm hearted romantic drama gets at more than just college heep dreams, it lol- lows two childhood friends, Mcnica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps), as they grow up and into a com plicated .elationship in which basketball becomes a catalyst. With Dennis Haysbert. Starts Friday. (Mall) ME, MYSELF & IRENE (PG-13) Jim Carrey suffers an extremely weird split personality disorder in this vulgar comedy from the Farrelly Brothers (There's Something About Mary). The comedian is Charlie, a mce-guy cop living in Rhode Island in a town where everybody—except for h«s three special sons—constantly walks all over him. He’s the joke of the town... until one day when he totally loses it and becomes *Hank,‘ a completely nnlik- abte. overly aggressive, sexist menace. The opening 15 minutes of this thing are packed with ridiculously offensive jokes thai get big laughs, but things quickly gel shaky as Charlie/Hank's love interest (played blandly by Jerry Maguires Ren6e Zellweger) drags him/them on a confusing and bumpy adventure Like Mary and Kingpin before, the story basically follows its characters along a wild road Irip filled with setups, punchlines and pratfalls. It doesnl work so well this time, unlortu- nalely. There is too much gratuitous *gross-out‘ and not enough heart. While most fans of the Farrelly brand ol crudeness will find plenty here to yell about, others will be thoroughly disap pointed With Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins and Little Tony Cox. (Beechwood. Carmike) MUPPETS FROM SPACE (G) 1999. A cute and decent kid's comedy from the Jim Henson studio. In a spoof ot both Men In Black and Contact, Gonzo. with the support ot all the Muppel characters, makes contact with his extraterrestrial family and learns a lesson along the way. Showing Thursday. 7/13. (Beechwood) THE PATRIOT (R) Director Roland Emmerich’s sentimental Revolutionary War epic is tilled with powerful perfor mances, expansive, scenic photography and a handful ol realistically brutal ano disturbing battle scenes, but tries to do too much with too little. At times moving and complicated, the film assumes its audience nas already brushed up heavily on its Colonial his tory and bounces from one scenario to another without thoroughly setting up any one on particular. Th«s should either have been specifically about the War or about a family struggle to survive it. Still, there’s plenty ol power in Mel Gibson’s effective performance as a South Carolina farmer who resists the call to arms (the character is very loosely based on the real-tile character Francis Marion—known as ‘The Swamp Fox* for his cunning, his skills in killing and guerrilla-type tactics). Watch lor some tierce, hand-to-hand combal between well-equipped redcoat army regulars and scruffy Continental militiamen Heath Ledger (10 Thvgs I Hate About You) stands out as the rebellious eldest son determined to fight lor the cause. English actor Jason Isaacs steals the screen as a villainous British Colonel who doesn't play by the gentlemanly ‘rules ot war ‘ Historians may argue over a few details, bul most moviegoers will be captivated by much of this one. With Tom Wilkinson and Joley Richardson. (Beechwood. Carmike) THE PERFECT STORM (PG-13) A salty tragedy, directed with a heavy hand by Wollgang Petersen (Air Force One, Das Boot) from Sebastian Junger’s best selling book (based on true events). Drenched in sea water, fish guts, a relentless score of overly-dramatic sym phonic music, and a lew magnificent performances, the epic follows a group ol grizzled Massachusetts fishermen aboard the boat Andrea Gail as they attempt fo haul in the motherioad catch during a monstrous ‘storm of the cen tury.* The story, set in the fishing town of Gloucester in 1991. gradually intro duces a handful ol blue-collar, chain smoking, whisker-faced characters—all of whom are struggling to make life work, be if on the sea or on land. The lilm slowly and effectively builds momentum as three freakish weather systems collide. As the boat's serious- minded. determined skipper. George Clooney clocks in a strong perfor mance. conveying a complicated blend ot heroism, romanticism, greed and desperation. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantoniu (who was wonderful in another recent ‘boat disaster* movie. John Sayles' Limbo). Maik Wahlberg, Diane Lane, William Fichtner and John C. Reilly deliver some fine support per formances. as well. Unfortunately, much ot whal should have been climactic moments in the final acts get bogged by the choppy story and drawn-out storm scenes propelled by special etiects. Still, there’s enough realism and inten sity in the depiction of this tragic story to stir audiences. Check it out. (Beechwood. Carmike) PULP FICTION (R) 1994. Rogue indie director Quentin Tarantino’s influential and highly-stylized look al pop culture. The offbeat crime fiick simultaneously follows three or lour seemingly unre lated LA stories involving two hit men clad in black suits, ? heroin dealer, an aging boxer, a handlul of wealthy drug addicts and various criminal types. Starring Bruce Willis, Vmg Rhames, John Travolta. Samuel L. Jackson, Eric Stoltz and Uma Thurman. Showing Tuesday. 7/18 (Tate) ROAD TRIP (R) Canadian comedian Tom Green—known tor his mischief on MTV—'“narrates" this dumb, derivative college romp tilled with obligatory nudity and hi!-or-miss jokes Partially filmed on the UGA campus and around Athens. Showing Monuay, 7/17. (Georgia Theatre) MOVIE LISTINGS Theatpr schedules often change after our deadline. Please call ahead. ACC LIBRARY (613-3650) Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (PG) 6:30 (Th. 7/13) BKKCHWOOD (546-1011) The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle (PG) 2:00, 4:25, 7:00 (new time F. 7/14: 2:00) Babe: Pig In The City (G) 10:30 a.m. (Tu. 7/18) Big Momma's House (PG-13) 5:05, 7:20, 9:30 (new times F. 7/14: 2:15, 4:45, 7:20, 9:30) Chicken Run (G) 1:10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:20, 9:20 (new times F. 7/14: 1:10. 3:10, 5:10, 7:15, 9:15) Disney's The Kid (PG) 1:45, 4:00, 7:10, 9:25 (new times F. 7/14: 1:30. 4:00, 7:10, 9:25) Fantasia 2000 (G) 1:40, 3:20 (ends Th. 7/13) Gone In 60 Seconds (PG-13) 1:40, 4:15, 7:25, 9:50 (new times F. 7/14: 4:15, 7:25, 9:50) Harriet The Spy (PG) 10:30 a.m. (Th. 7/13) Me. Myself & Irene (R) 1:50, 4:20, 7:15, 9:40 Muppets From Space (G) 10:30 a.m. (Th. 7/13) The Patriot (R) 1:00, 1:30, 4:30, 5:00, 8:00, 8:30 (new times F. 7/14:1:00, 4:30, 8:00) The Perfect Storm (PG-13) 1:15. 4:15. 7:00, 9:15, 9:45 (new times F. 7/14:1:15, 4:10, 7:00. 9:45) Scary Movie (R) 1:25, 3:30. 5:30. 7:30, 9:35 Shaft (R) 2:10, 4:40. 7:35, 9:55 Stuart Little (PG) 10:30 a.m. (Tu. 7/18) The X-Men (PG-13) 12:45, 1:45, 3:00, 4:20, 5:20. 7:00, 7:40, 9:30, 9:55 (opens F. 7/14) CARMIKK 12 (354-0016) The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle (PG) 12:15, 2:20, 4:25, 7:10, 9:15 (new rimes F. 7/14: 12:15, 2:20, 4:25) Big Momma's House (PG-13) 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 (new rimes F. 7/14: 12:30, 3:00, 5 15, 7:30, 9:45) Chicken Run (G) 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00 Disney's The Kid (PG) 2:15. 4:35, 7:05, 9:20 Fantasia 2000 (G) 12:50 (ends Th. 7/13) Gone In 60 Seconds (PG-13) 1:15. 4:00. 7:00, 9:30 (new rimes F. 7/14: 7:00, 9:30) Me, Myself & Irene (R) 1:30, ':00, 7:00, 9:30 The Patriot (R) 12:00, 1:15, 3:45, 4:45. 7:00. 8:00, 10:15 The Perfect Storm (PG-13) 1:00, 1:30, 4:00. 4:30, 7:00, 7:30, 10:00, 10:30 Scary Movie (R) 12:15, 2:30, 4:45. 7:00, 9:15 (add! showing F. 7/14 & Sa. 7/15:11:30 p.m.) Shaft (R) 12:45. 3:00, 5:15. 7:30. 9:45 The X-Men (PG-13) 12:15. 2:30, 4:45. 7:00, 9:15 (add'i rime F. 7/14 & Sa. 7/15:11:30 p.m.) (opens F. 7/14) COMMERCE DRIVE-IN (335 2486) All shows begin rt dusk. Monday through Sunday The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle (PG) Screen 1 (ends Th. 7/13) Shaft (R) Screen 1 (starts F. 7/14) Big Momma's House (PG-13) Screen ? Scary Movie (R) Screen 3 FUCKER THEATRE (546-0039) The Grapefruit Moon (Der Pampetmusenmcnd) (NR) 8:30 (W. 7/12) Stroszek (NR) 8:30 (F. 7/14, Sa. 7/15) Burning Life (NR) 8:30 (M. 7/17, Tu. 7/18, W. 7/19) OEOROIA SQUARE MAUL In (543-1632) The Big Kahuna (R) 5:45. 7:55 (12:30, 3:00 Sa. & Su.) (starts F. 7/14) Final Destination (R) 5:40, 7:50 (12:25, 2:50 Sa. & Su.) High Fidelity (R) 5:30. 8:00 (ends Th. 7/13) Love And Basketball (PG-13) 5:30. 8:05 (12:15, 2:50 Sa. & Su.) (starts F. 7/14) 28 Days (PG-13) 5:45, 7:55 (ends Th. 7/13) U-571 (PG-13) 5:35. 8:10 (12:20, 2:45 Sa. & Su.) GEORGIA THEATRE '549-9918) Road Trip (R) 7:00, 10:00 (M. 7/17) High Fidelity (R) >:00. 10:00 (Tu. 7/18) Virgin Suicides (R) 7:00. 10:00 (W. 7/19) TATE CENTER (542-8646) Erin Brr^ovich (R) 5:15. 7:30, 9:45 (F 7/14) Pulp Fiction (R) (R) 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 (Tu. 7/18) B FLAGPOLE JULY 12, 2000
