About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2000)
ALIENS (R) 1986. With Aliens, director James Cameron replaces Ihe deliberate pacing ol Ridley Scott’s original horror/sci-li film with incredible action sequences-wilhout sacrificing the sus pense. Sigourney Weaver reprises her role as Lt. Ellen Ripley, unquestionably the greatest action heroine in the history ol cinema (although sadly unchallenged in the last two decades). After being found unaged by a deep space salvage crew 57 years after Alien. Ripley jour neys to an alien-infested colony “to destroy, not to bring back" the aliens. Aside Irom having an intelligent script and solid perlormances by all (Weaver received an Oscar nomination this time), the film also—oh. torget it. The aliens have acidic blood and two sets of teeth and Ripley's got like this grenade launcher/blowtorch kinda thing, and man it's so cool! Showing Monday. 10/9. [Michael Ziegler] (Tate) ALMOST FAMOUS (R) Set in 1973, director Cameron Crowe's (Jerry Maguire, Singles) coming-ol-age drama is an amusing look back on his earlier career as a teenage music journalist. The story's hero. William Miller (Patrick Fugit). is a San Diego 15- year-old whose fairy-tale ascendance from middle school geek to serious music lournalist parallels Crowe's own experi ence. William's love ot rock music lands him a Rolling Slone assignment to interview an up-and-coming band called Stillwater. He embarks on an eye opening journey with the band's tour over the objections ol his overly-protec- tive but loving mother (Frances McDormand). He knocks heads with legendary rock critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hotlman). He learns about sex. drugs and backstage behavior Irom experienced groupies (Kate Hudson, Anna Paqum. Fairuza Balk). He bonds with a Jimmy Page-like rock star (Billy Crudup). He (alls in and ACC LIBRARY (613-3650) Frankenstein (NR) 7:00 (Th. 10/5) out of love. He grows up. With Zooey Deschanel, Noah Taylor. Jason Lee and Peter Frampton. Go see this. (Beechwood) BAIT (RVJamie Foxx (Any Given Sunday) is a shifty ex-con who is secretly implanted with a tracking chip and used as “bait’ by a determined, bulldog-laced cop (David Morse) to lure a creepy criminal mastermind (Doug Hutchison... or is that the singer from The Promise Ring?) out of hiding. Director Antoine Fuqua's mix of crime drama, comedy and violent action sequences feels and looks familiar enough, but most of it works. Kimberly Elise (Beloved) strengthens and bal ances the film in several serious scenes with Foxx. (Beechwood) BEAUTIFUL (PG-13) British actress Minnie Driver—who was so charming and eflective in Return To Me, Good Will Hunting, Grosse Poinle Blank, and Big Night—is stuck in a terrible role as Mona, an obnoxious, totally deranged woman obsessed with winning beauty pageants. She’s painted and dressed like a clown, perpetually screaming at her family and friend(s) and unwilling to accept the fact that she's pretending not to have a daughter. And this is sup posed to a comedy! When her nerdy but warmhearted best triend Ruby (Joey Lauren Adams ol Chasing Amy and Big Daddy) somehow ends up in iail for trumped-up murder charges(!), Mona is forced to play mother io her illegitimate daughter Vanessa (Hallie Kate Eisenberg of Bicentennial Man), who thinks that Mona is her aunt and Ruby is her mom. Follow? Everything is off about this movie: the jokes are ugly and obnox ious; the perlormances are still and the subject matter is ridiculously weak Most painful low point: Minnie Driver in full Miss Illinois regalia singing “Did You Ever Know That You're My Hero" to a horribly pregnant woman in labor lor a photo op in a supermarket. Awful stuff. Directed by Sally Field. (Beechwood. Carmike) BRING IT ON (PG-13) A giddy, weird mix ol squeaky teen energy, narrow social commentary and naughty-minded voyeurism. Kirsten Dunst (Dick) leads Ihe giddy cast as the energetic, newly- elected captain of a San Diego cheer leading squad that squares ofl with its rival, a mostly black squad Irom East Compton led by the cool-headed Isis (Gabrielle Union). (Beechwood, Carmike. Commerce Drive-In) THE CELL (R) Jenniler Lopez. Vincent D’Onolrio and Vince Vaughn star in video and TV ad director Tarsem’s visu ally stunning but utterly chaotic cine matic debut. This is a wild crime thriller about a child psychologist, the local FBI. and a seriously schizophrenic mur derer. The film makes weird use of sci ence fiction, serial murders, virtual reality and spotty psychology in an attempt to create a decidedly mod ernistic cinematic journey. Ends Thursday. (Carmike) CROUPIER (R) A unique crime-drama directed by Mike Hodges (Get Cartel) and written by Paul Mayersberg (The Man Who Fell to Earth). After struggling author Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) uses his father's (Nicholas Ball) connections to get a job running a roulette wheel at a London casino, he gets involved with three women and a scheme to defraud Ihe place. As a writer. Jack is under standably drawn to Ihe casino, which comes equipped with an infinite number of stories—shady owners, cheats, con fidence games and dramatic characters. Mayersberg's script uses all of the casino lingo, giving the film an insider’s feel while relying on our desire to know who is winning, losing, or cheating to help us define the terms contextually. The film works most effectively as a character study; the plotline involving the robbery is secondary—and for good reason, as there are a few glaring holes. British actor Clive Owen finds just the right degree of subtlety in his portrayal of Jack. Most importantly, his ebullience quickly translates off screen, and we laugh alongside Jack as Ihe losers continue to sit at his table. With Gina McKee and Kate Hardie. [Michael Ziegler] (Beechwood) DIGIMON: THE MOVIE 2000 (PG) Riding in on the coattails of the Pokemon global phenomenon, the “Digimon Digital Monsters" imported Japanese animated TV series lumps to the big screen. The heroes and their Digimon companions from the series must try to save the world by fighting against an evil Digivirus that has invaded the internet Oh no' Opens Friday. (Beechwood, Carmike) DUETS (R) The worst This road-trip “comedy" follows six deranged karaoke freaks searching for family and love an' 1 ends up in the middle ol nowhere. Gwyneth Paltrow leads Ihe cast as an “innocent Vegas showgirl” alongside a rather haggard Huey Lewis. With Maria Bello. Andre Braugher. Paul Giamatti, Scott Speedman, Angie Dickinson. Directed by Gwyn's dad Bruce Paltrow. Ends Thursday. (Beechwood) THE EXORCIST (R) 1973. A young girl (Linda Blair) is possessed by a demonic spirit in this influential horror- drama from director William Friedkin. This “director's cut’ of the original includes extra and restored footage, but don't expect some over-the-top “shock" tricks. The most disturbing elements rely instead on more subtle tools: omi nous hospital machinery; Ihe use ol audio/music; the intensity ol the lead actors' facial expressions. Based on the novel by William Peter Bfatty. With Jason Miller. Max Von Sydow and Ellen Burslyn. (Beechwood. Carmike) "FLICKER" (NR) Wednesday's and Thursday's program features the hilar ious 1937 comedy Way Out West—a black and white c'assic starring those geniuses of slapstick. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. On Monday through next Thursday, it's the classic 1935 western Annie Oakley, directed by George Stevens Barbara Stanwyck stars as the sharpshooting hero who joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Call 546-0039 for more information. (Flicker Theatre) FRANKENSTEIN (NR) 1931. Director James Whale's classic monster picture adapted from Ihe Mary Shelly book about a scientist. Dr. Frankenstein (Clive Colin), Ihe tall, flat-topped creature (Boris Karloff) he creates in his labora tory. and the unsympathetic lynch mob determined to exterminate him. Showing Thursday. 10/5. (Alhens- Clarke Library) THE GENERAL (R) 1999. John Boorman (Deliverance, Hope And Glory) won Best Director honors at Cannes for this fascinating biographical portrait of the famed Irish thief, Martin Cahill. Boorman perfectly depicts every facet of Cahill's character—his adverse relation ship with both the IRA and the police, his remarkable intelligence, his leader ship, his concern lor his privacy, his love for his family—including his inti mate relations with his wile's sister— and above all. his spirit of anarchy. At the end ol it all, however, we still cannot define or categorize Cahill; he creates his own morality and lives accordingly. Although Jon Voight turns in a tine per formance as Cahill's chief investigator, Brendan Gleeson's (Lake Placid, The Snapper, and Braveheart are not repre sentative examples of his talent) por trayal of Catiill is astounding and deserves more recognition than it received A great film. Showing Thursday. 10/5. [Michael Ziegler] (Tale) < GET CARTER (R) After a healthy run of likable mce-guy characters. Sly Stallone returns to Ihe big screen as a surly Vegas hitman in this gritty actiori- drama Irom director Stephen K Ray When mob enforcer Jack Carter (Stallone) travels from New York back to his hometown of Los Angeles tor his brother's funeral, ne realizes that the death was a murder arid sets out to kill all those responsible. With Miranda Richardson. Mickey Rourke, A'an Gumming, Michael Caine (who appeared in the original British version in 1971) and Rachael Leigh Cook. Opens Friday. (Beechwood. Carmike) MEET THE PARENTS (PG-13) A zany-looking “in-law" comedy directed by Jay Roach (Austin Poms: The Spy Who Shagged Me). Everything that could possibly go wrong lor groom-to- be Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) does after a disasirous first meeting with his girl friend'^ (Teri Polo of TVs “Felicity"; intimidating father Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), a gruff, suspicious “human lie detector." Stiller is always great in these “beleaguered nice guy" roles (Flirting With Disaster, There's Something About Mary, Keeping The Faith) and De Niro should be back on track after his recent disaster, The Adventures 01 Rocky And Bullwmkle. With Blythe Danner and James Rebhorn. Opens Friday. (Beechwood. Carmike) NURSE BETTY (R) Director Neil LaBute steps sideways from his typically bleak comedic approach and carefully meanders through two parallel fantasies in this awkward but amusing romantic comedy. Betty (Renee Zellweger with all her sweet, pouly. culeness) is a cheerful small-town waitress stuck in a bad mar riage. She is in love with a TV star, a dashing doctor named David Ravell (Greg Kinnear) off of a popular soap called ‘A Reason To Love.’ After she becomes an accidental witness to her scumbag husband's (Aaron Eckhart) violent assassination. Betty enters an “alternate reality' in which she believes she is “Nurse Betty.' Dr. Ravell's long- lost love and escapes to L A. in a Buick which just happens to hold a certain satchel of drugs. The two hitmen who wacked her hubby (Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock) follow after her. Zaniness ensues. The story could have used a bit more polish, but the scenes between Zellweger and Kinnear arc priceless. With Crispin Glover and Pruitt Taylor Vince. (Beechwood, Carmike) NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS (PG-13) In a follow-up to his breakthrough performance in the 1996 hit The Nutty Professor, Eddie Murphy re-proves his comic capabilities and delivers an uncharacteristically sensitive take on real family characters (Commerce Drive-In) THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY (R) Director Spike Lee's rau cous concert documentary highlights some of Ihe sharpest, raunchiest and funniest commentary and cultural criti cism coming out of the African- American comedy scene. Shot during a show in a packed arena in Charlotte, the film captures the on-stage and back- stage action dunng the phenomenally successful “Kings Of Comedy’ tour last winter. Comedians Steve Harvey, D. L. Hughley. Cedric The Entertainer and Bernie Mac crack on everything—con temporary hip hop culture, the use and misuse ol profanity, typically “black" family misadventures, the battle of the sexes and class warfare. (Carmike) REMEMBER THE TITANS (PG) See Movie Pick (Beechwood. Carmike) SCARY MOVIE (R) Directing from a weird script written by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans and others. Keenen Ivory Wayans has assembled one ol the most over-the-top disgusting comedies of the year. This movie skewers scenes from recent slasher flicks and makes satirical attacks on some of the catch- phrases and cliches produced recently by American cinema. Ends Thursday (Carmike) SHAFT (R) Samuel L. Jackson is a tough, smart-mouthed New York detec tive in director John Singleton's stylish update on the 1971 "blaxploilation” classic The film 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 implausibilities and over-the- top violence. The story mostly follows the wide-eyed, goateed detective as he investigates a brutal, racially-motivated murder, keeps tabs on the killer and confronts the unfairness entrenched in Ihe justice system. Jackson delivers a surpusingly smooth performance, even if his bug-eyed “bad mutha" delivery is starting to look a bit stale. With Christian Bale. Jeflrey Wright, Tom Collette. Busta Rhymes, Vanessa Williams, Dan Hedaya and Lee Tergesen. Featuring music from Isaac Hayes. Showing Friday. 10/6 through Sunday. 10/8.(Tate) SPACE COWBOYS (PG-13) Clint Eastwood. Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones and James Garner star in this conventional yet entertaining action- comedy as astronauts who accept a dangerous assignment to return to space one last tirrv on a secret mission involving a Russian “satellite" gone haywire. The story unlolds :n two parts: the first few acts introduce the lour guys and all of their old rivalries, grudges and love interests; the latter hall involves a mysterious government scheme. Expect plenty ol running jokes involving sexually-charged zmgers and one-liners, some decent special effects and a loose fm3l act. (Carmike) OVIE LISTINGS Theater schedules often change after our deadline. Please call ahead. BEECHWOOD (546-1011) Almost Famous (R) 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 Bait (R) 2:25, 4:55, 7:25, 9:55 (new times F. 10/6: 4:15. 9:15 ) Beautiful (PG-13) 2:15, 4:35, 7:15, 9:35 (new times F. 10/6: 2:05, 4:25. 7:05, 9:35) Bring It On (PG-13) 2:05, 4:15, 7:05, 9:15 (new times F. 10/6: 2:05, 7:05) Croupier (NR) 5:20, 9:20 (new times F. 10/6: 2:20, 7:20) Digimon: The Movie 2000 (PG) 3:10, 5:10, 7:25, 9:25 (add! time F. 10/6-Su. 10/8: 1:10) (opens F. 10/6) Duets (R) 2:10, 4:25, 7:10, 9:25 (ends Th. 10/5) The Exorcist (R) 4:25, 7:05, 9:50 (add! time F. 10/6-Su. 10/8: 1:45) Get Carter (R) 2:30, 4:55, 7:30. 9:55 (opens F. 10/6) Meet The Parents (PG-13) 2:15, 4:40, 7:15, 9:40 (opens F. 10/6) Nurse Betty (R) 2:20, 4:40, 7:20, 9:40 (new times F. 10/6: 4:45, 9:45) Remember The Titans (PG) 2:25, 4:45. 7:25, 9:45 (new times F. 10/6: 2:00, 4:20, 7:00, 9:20) Urban Legend: Final Cut (R) 3:10, 5:15, 7:35, 9:40 (new times F. 10/6: 3:15, 5:20, 7:35, 9:40) (add! time F. 10/6-Su. 10/8: 1:05) What Lies Beneath (PG-13) 2:00, 4:35, 7:10, 9:45 Woman On Top (R) 3:25, 7:25 (ends Th. 10/5) CARMIKE 12 (354-0016) Beautiful (PG-13) 1:55, 4:20, 7:15, 9:40 Bring It On (PG-13) 1:35, 4:00, 7:05, 9:20 The Cell (R) 1:45, 7:20 (ends Th. 10/5) Digimon: The Movie 2000 (PG) 2:00, 4:10, 7:10, 9:10 (opens F. 10/6) The Exorcist (R) 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 Get Carter (R) 2:05, 4:30, 7:20, 9:40 (opens F. 10/6) Meet The Parents (PG-13) 1:45, 4:05, 7:10, 9:30 (opens F. 10/6) Nurse Betty (R) 2:05, 4:40, 7:20, 9:45 (new times F. 10/6: 4:40, 9:45) The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (PG-13) 2:15, 4:30. 7:00. 9:30 (new times F. 10/6: 2:15, 7:00) The Original Kings Of Comedy (R) 1:30, 4:15, 7:05, 9:35 Remember The Titans (PG) 1:50, 4:25, 7:00, 9:25 Scary Movie (R) 4:35, 9:40 (ends Th 10/5) Space Cowboys (PG-13! 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:30 (new times F. 10/C: 1:40, 7:00) Urban Legend: Final Cut (R) 2:20, 4:50, 7:05, 9:15 The Watcher (R) 2:10, 4:45, 7:25, 9:35 What Lies Beneath (PG-13) 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 (new times F. 10/6: 4:15, 9:4 e ) COMMERCE DRIVE-IN (335-2486) All shows begin at 8:00, Monday through Sunday Urban Legend: Final Cut (R) Screen 1 (starts F. 10/6) Bring It On (R) Screen 1 (ends Th. 10/5) The Nutty Professor: The Klumps (PG-13) Screen 2 The Watcher (R) Screen 3 FLICKER THEATRE (546-0039) Way Out West (NR) 8:30 (W. 10/4, Th. 10/5) Annie Oakley CNR) 8:30 (M. 10/9-Th. 10/12) TATE CENTFR (542-8646) The General (NR) 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 (Th. 10/5) Shaft (R) 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 (F. 10/6, Su. 10/8) (add ltime F. 10/6: Midnight) Aliens (R) 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 (M. 10/9) m OCTOBER 4, 2000
