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ATTENTION: Due to Holiday dead
lines. we are unable to provide
Movie Times. Please call the
theaters tor schedules. We’ve
also listed movies that are sched
uled to open from 12/25-1/3, but
call first to see if they actually
made it to town!
ANALYZE THAT (PG-13) II the only
reason lo make a sequel is because Ihe
original's title begs lor a counterpart,
then that is not a good enough reason.
Robert De Niro returns as mobster Paul
Vitli. who seeks the help of his old ther
apist Dr. Sobel (Billy Crystal) when he
escapes prison to figure out who's
trying to kill him. Sobel, however,
coping with the recent death ot his
lather, needs just as much help as Vitti
does. “Sopranos" references are not
enough lo justify continuing the gang
ster parody genre. Vitti's and Sobel’s
simultaneous battle against the
repressed memories may be rewarding
lor them, but not for us. It was funny the
first time, but the joke's over.
(Beechwood)
BARBERSHOP (PG-13) A wonderfully
entertaining film starring Ice Cube as a
young man who inherits his fathers bar
bershop then sells it to a seedy gangster
(Keith David) only to feel regret in real
izing its community worth. Cedric Ihe
Entertainer is hysterical as the seasoned
barber with the wicked 'do who speaks
his mind. (Georgia Square 5)
BROWN SUGAR (PG-13) Formulaic
but well done romantic comedy starring
Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan as best
friends whose deeper feelings for one
another emerge as they get more
involved in separate romantic relation
ships. (Georgia Square 5)
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (PG-13)
Steven Spielberg's account of Frank
Abagnale Jr., Ihe real life con artist who
successfully impersonated everyone
from a doctor to an airline pilot and
cashed millions in fraudulent checks all
while still in high school. Leonardo
DiCaprio plays Abagnale. Tom Hanks
plays the FBI agent in hot pursuit.
>- CHICAGO (PG-13) Screen adapta
tion of the hit musical. A famous show
girl (Catherine Zeta Jones) and an
aspiring one (Renee Zellweger) are on
trial lor different murders. Sharing a
lawyer (Richard Gere), they compete lor
his attention as well as that of the press
This looks really cool.
CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS
MIND (R) George Clooney's directing
debut detailing the memoirs of "Gong
Show" host Chuck Barns who claims to
have moonlighted as an assassin for the
CIA Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts, Drew
Barrymore, and Clooney himself star
Based on a script by Charlie Kaufman.
DIE ANOTHER DAY (PG-13) Though
the twentieth installment in the James
Bond franchise is more memorable than
The World Is Not Enough, of which I can
scarcely remember a single moment, it
is still one of the worst in the saga
Supposedly an homage to the films of
007s-past. fans will enjoy some of Ihe
references to classic Bond, but it’s not
enough to alleviate our fears about the
future of our favorite womanizing savior.
It’s not a matter of whether the franchise
can be saved (James Bond can always
be reinvented), but vhelher Pierce
Brosnan can save himself. This new
generation of action movies (XXXbeing
a progenitor) is really just a bunch of
video games, not movies—video
games that you can't play, and that
sucks. (Beechwood. Carmike)
DRUMLINE (PG-13) A Harlem street
drummer wins a full scholarship to play
in Ihe marching band at a fictitious
Atlanta college. His ego and unorthodox
methods cause a bit of friction with the
drum captain. Band director Dr. Lee
(Orlando Jones) has to settle the dispute
so the band will be ready for the BET
Southern Classic marching band com
petition. It's great to see a movie about
marching bands finally. Though it is
pretty formulaic, the sports-like compet
itive nature of these bands is captured
well, and the drumline showdowns are a
treat. (Beechwood, Carmike)
EMPIRE (R) Outdated crime thriller
about a street savvy South Bronx drug
dealer (John Leguizamo) who gets taken
for millions by a Wall Street banker
(Peter Sarsgaard). Had this come out in
the '90s, if might have made more
sense, but too many details seem oul of
place by this point. Leguizamo and
Sarsgaard are excellent as the lowlifes
from different sides of the tracks, but
superb direction and great perfor
mances can't quite save this gang life
tragedy from a tired script. (Carmike)
GANGS OF NEW YORK(R) Marlin
Scorsese's epic tale of street survival
and gang warfare in mid- 19th century
America finally makes if to theatres after
being postponed a year. An Irish immi
grant (Leonardo DiCaprio) seeks
revenge for the murder of his father
while waging a war against the xeno
phobic Anglo-Saxon "natives” who
dominate New York’s five points. Daniel
Day Lewis plays Bill the Butcher. You
better have a name like that to get away
with wearing that Dr. Seuss-sized top
hat. (Beechwood. Carmike)
HARRY POTTER AND THE
CHAMBER OF SECRETS (PG) I |us!
don't get this whole phenomenon.
Perhaps the books thrive on pure
escapism and are rich in detail and
imaginary history and that's why Ihe
people dig 'em, but these movies are
just plain boring All the details ot this
epic saga are completely arbitrary. It
seems it could be about virtually any
thing. and if you just packaged the
whole wizards n' stuff angle property,
people would still come in droves. To
the film's credit, however, it is darker
than the first, and the giant snakes and
spiders are preity rad. but I did fall
asleep for part of this very, very long
movie. (Beechwood, Carmike)
HELLO DOLLY! (G) 1969. A match
maker (Barbara Streisand) falls in love
with her latest project, a hall-millionaire
from Yonkers (Waller Matthau), and
weaves an intricate web of romantic
trickery in hopes to nab him for herself.
Gene Kelly directed this version of the
famous Broadway musical. Shows
Thursday, 1/2 (ACC Library)
THE HOT CHICK (PG-13) To what
lows one man can sink simply to make
rent. Poor Rob Schneider doing fired,
embarrassing, gender-bending bits lor
the cameras. When a popular, but hated.
high school cheerleader is hexed with
curse, her body becomes that of a
lowlife she once taunted Schneider
playing that lowlife, he of course ends
up playing the high school cheerleader
as well. There are hardly words. But let’s
try “not funny." (Beechwood. Carmike)
THE HOURS A pregnant housewife
(Julianne Moore) from 1949 and pre
sent-day working woman (Meryl Streep)
are profoundly affected by the writings
of Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman).
JONAH: A VEGGIE TALES MOVIE
(G) The big-screen arrival of the popular
cartoon is a telling of Ihe story of Jonah
that centers on compassion and mercy.
(Georgia Square 5)
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO
TOWERS (PG-13) See Movie Pick and
Flick Skinny (p. 7) (Beechwood,
Carmike)
MAID IN MANHATTAN (PG-13) It's
curious once in a while why Wayne
Wang seems uninterested in making a
Wayne Wang movie. Boasting an
impressive oeuvre of important films
including 1982’s seminal Chan Is
Missing, and a number of films which
have redefined storytelling in America,
it's bizarre that he can lump so easily
into making a formulaic Hollywood
genre film. That is certainly the case
with this romantic comedy starring
Jennifer Lopez as a hotel maid who
suddenly gets fancied by a charming
senatorial candidate (Ralph Fiennes)
who mistakes her for a Manhattan
socialite. Though the subject matter,
focusing on single mom and class dif
ferences, seems appropriate enough for
this director, it is devoid ot his personal
touches. The film's winning moments
are ones in which the help staff at the
hotel mocks the pampered socialites, at
one point referring to a couple of French
nuisances as "poodles," but you'd do
better to just watch Robert Altman's
GoslordPark if you want to empathize
with people who scrub toilets for a
living. (Beechwood. Carmike)
MAX (R) Story of an interesting friend
ship between Max Rothman (John
Cusack) as a Jewish art dealer encour
aging the artistic pursuits of a young
Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor) whose lack ol
success and increasing frustration lead
him to politics
NICHOLAS NICKELBY (PG)Oneot
Charles Dickens' many tales of poverty
and woe. a young lad (Charlie Hunnam)
moves lo London with his family after
his father dies and ends up in a school
with an abusive headmaster. He and a
friend eventually escape with hopes to
reunite the family. With Christopher
Plummer. Nathan Lane, Jim Broadbenl.
THE PIANIST (R) Roman Polanski's
film about a Jewish pianist hiding from
Nazis during the Holocaust was Ihe
Palm d'Or winner from this year's
Cannes Film Festival. Adrien Brody
(Summer ol Sam) plays Ihe brilliant
musician living in the ruins of Warsaw.
PINOCCHIO (G) Roberto Benigni
writes, directs, and stars as the mischie
vous marionette who longs to be a real
boy. Benigni sitting still long enough to
play a piece of wood. We'll see.
RED DRAGON (R) Based on Thomas
Harris' first novel, this is a prequel to
Silence ol the Lambs. Edward Norton
plays the talented detective who put
Hannibal Leder (Anthony Hopkins)
away, but now depends on his help to
capture another serial killer (Ralph
Fiennes). Lecter is no longer intriguing,
just funny. (Georgia Square 5)
SANTA CLAUSE 2 (G) I love
Christmas movies. The stories are
simple, the themes heart-warming and
usually funny, and the set decoration is
always a visual feast. But sometimes
they play Ihe same old song with the
tinny emptiness of a rusty music box.
Santa Clause2strives for all those great
elements but does little to strike a
memory. Starring Tim Allen.
(Beechwood, Highway 17 Theatres)
SIGNS (PG-13) M. Night Shyamalan
disguises another personal drama
within a genre ol mass appeal. Crop cir
cles challenge Ihe faith of a priest (Mel
Gibson) who must protect his family
from the terrifying unknown. (Georgia
Square 5)
SONNY (R) More directing debuts from
actors. This film directed by Nicolas
Cage stars James Franco as a former
New Orleans gigolo recently discharged
from the 3fmy who wants to escape his
old life But with few prospects, he has
no choice but to go back.
STAR TREK: NEMESIS (PG-13) The
"Star Trek The Next Generation" crew is
back tor their fourth and fin?! adventure
This time, the leader ot the Federation's
arch enemies, the Romulans. wants the
Enterprise and her crew to pay him a
visit and talk peace. But he turns out to
be an evil clone of Captain Picard
(Patrick Stewart) and a shootout and
The Outerspace 0 K Corral ensues A
pale remake of Star Trek II: The Wrath ol
Kahn, right down to the (sort of) tragic
ending (Margaret Moore) (Beechwood.
Carmike)
SWEET HOME ALABAMA (PG-13) A
young woman (Reese Witherspoon)
from the deep South makes it big in the
Big Apple with a marriage proposal
from the Mayors son The only problem
is that she is already married, having left
her husband seven years earlier.
Stereotypes and formulas abound. The
performances, ho.vever, are nice, espe
cially Witherspoor s. (Georgia Square 5)
TREASURE PLACET (PG) Disney's
traditional style of animation with
chisel-chinned white boys leading sur
rounding freaks through adventure and
good limes doesn't wa> nostalgic like
you'd hope. This sci-fi idaptation of
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel
has too many of the same old tricks.
(Beechwood)
25TH HOUR (R) A drug-dealer
(Edward Norton) facing a seven-year iail
term spends his last night of freedom
re-evaluating his life and his friends
Even after Summer ol Sam didn't do so
hot, director Spike Lee is giving wtute
people one more chance
TWO WEEKS NOTICE (PG-13) It was
only a matter of time. A romantic
comedy starring Mr. and Mrs Romantic
Comedy themselves, Charles Nelsen
Reilly and Brett Somers. No. I mean
Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. He
plays Ihe wealthy CEO ot a real estate
company. She plays his Harvard grad
lawyer who ge's fed up with mothering
him and decides lo quit Romance
thusly ensues. (Beechwood, Carmike)
THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE
(PG) In this animated feature from
Nickelodeon, young Eliza Thornberry
discovers that she has the ability to
communicate with animals while on an
African safari. When she learns that
poachers intend to kill a herd of ele
phants. she teams up with her animal
friends to stop them. (Beechwood.
Carmike. Highway 17 Theatres)
Patrick Franklin
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8 FLAGPOLE.COM • DECEMBER 25, 2002 - JANUARY 1, 2003