Newspaper Page Text
DECEMBER 31, 2002
MOVIE REVIEW: "Itoo Weeks Notice" fires out
i I
I
t 5 A
I >jHHhw|
Jackie Cooper
Columnist
jkershawcooper@aol.com
Sandra Bullock is one of the
most endearing actresses
around. High Grant gets more
suave and debonair with each
film he makes. So when you pair
these two actors together you
should get a film with charisma
to burn. Wrong! Bullock and
Burns have zero chemistry
together and their movie “Two
MOVIE REVIEW: "Gangs of New York"
By Jackie K Cooper
Entertainment Editor
Martin Scorcese has been
working on bringing “Gangs of
New York” to the screen for
years. Now it has arrived. The
question is what was the prob
lem? Something delayed it, and
when audiences got to see it,
there was something definitely
missing - like an abundance of
entertainment value.
Even though the movie stars
Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz
and Leonardo Di Caprio; it is still
lacking that intangible some
thing that defines entertainment.
As good as each of the actors is,
they do not connect with each
other and give audiences a feeling
of participating in the movie.
The story concerns the battle
between rival gangs in New York
during the nineteenth century.
One group is led by Daniel Day-
’ ' " ipr “« ■ '''w&SSF A - W
\ *. yf *Jjjs m JS^Ull
M
nw
MHrafli
K^Qwmm323333
/—" *T77O-207-7000 I
Casual Ctalian JCcntng UJith jA. 'Uouch olCtalf \
I LUNCH
v Mon. Fri.
11:30 til 2
Lounge &
Banquet
Facilities.
Reservations
k Recommended
Entertainment
Weeks Notice” suffers miserably
for it.
In the film Bullock plays Lucy
Kelson, an attorney who champi
ons the underdog. Grant is
George Wade, an industrial
developer of the same magnitude
as Donald Trump. He hires her
to represent him and his compa
ny after promising her that he
will protect an older building
targeted for destruction. This
makes them a mismatched pair
from the start.
George is an obsessive person
who expects Lucy to be at his
beck and call. She finally tires of
it and gives him “two weeks
notice.” He then hires a woman
named June (Alicia Witt) who is
so cute and so clever that it
makes Lucy jealous. You can
write the rest of the story from
here and odds are you will be
right.
Lewis while the other is led by
DiCaprio’s father, Liam Neesom.
Neesom is killed by Day-Lewis in
the opening sequence. Then
DiCaprio’s character is sent off to
a work house of sorts for kids.
The film then flash forwards in
time to when DiCaprio has grown
up and is back in town. Day-
Lewis doesn’t recognize him
which is a good thing since Di
Caprio plans to take revenge for
his father’s death. He is aided in
his plans by a friend played by
Henry Thomas, and a pickpocket
played by Cameron Diaz.
While this is all going on, there
are riots in New York as well as
battles between the gangs. It is
all violent and bloody, and not at
all involving. Secondary charac
ters fall by the wayside and no
one really cares.
Scorcese directs with a remote
ness that renders the film diffi
Leonardo DiCaprio (center) stars in “Gangs of New York”
FREE MONEY
to change your life
Get Your Share of the Government’s $350 Billion ggflß
Our Government Gives Away Each Year!
Get FREE MONEY to start a business, go to school, train lor a new -
job, buy real estate, travel the world at government expense, become a ’mllijilM fpW
singer, dancer or artist or do just about anything you can imagine! *
You'll learn how to become an insider... work smart, not hard...get /o FREE\
what you can for nothing and get it all right NOW! / \
CALL NOW with credit card orders: 1 -800-443-4200 To order FREE MONEY ( REPORTS ]
TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE For only $29.95 + $5.95 ship. & hdlg. V if you J
Save! Order the entire Audio Package (6 cassettes + the 1200 pg.book) for only \act novd/
$59.95 + $6.95 S & H. Order On Line at: www.lesko.com/news7
Send: checks or money orders in the amount ot $35.90 or $66.90 for the audio package
to: Matthew Lesko, Dept NEWS 7, 12081 Nebel Street, Rockville, MD 20852
(c ARDEN CAFE")
SPECIAL OF THE WEEK
8 oz. Prime Rib 5 f7 95
w Includes Baked Potato or Pasta, Famous House Salad & Rolls
1500 Sam Nunn Blvd. at the Quality Inn, Perry, GA
(478) 987-9494
tElptuuston plume Jtmrnal
Bullock plays her usual plucky
self, but in this movie she acts
tired and she looks very tired,
Maybe she is just getting older
but that bright-faced glow is
gone. Still the entire movie has a
washed out look and that may be
the culprit. Come to think of it,
Witt didn’t look too great either.
Grant is in true funny form
and seems to be throwing off
some ad-libs as he moves his
character through the story. He
is fussy and frenetic, witty and
wise. He carries his end of the
movie totally but Bullock lets
him down.
A movie like this one should be
light, fun and full of laugh out
loud jokes. It isn’t. There is some
humor in the situation of Lucy
and George being total oppo
sites, but not much. These two
actors seem to be playing in two
different movies and only look
cult to understand, and even at
times makes it dull. All three of
the lead actors are competent but
they never seem to get inside
their characters’ souls. Di Caprio
is much better in the Spielberg
film “Catch Me If You Can” while
Diaz has been better in just about
anything else she has done. Day-
Lewis does manage to have some
moments when he actually is the
menace that his character asserts
himself to be.
The movie is rated R for vio
lence, profanity and nudity.
“Gangs of New York” has been
a highly anticipated movie so it is
regretfUl that it is not as good as
it could or should be. Scorcese is a
renowned director but a few
more misfires like this one and he
will be seen for thew shallow
director he just might be.
I scored “Gangs of New York” a
rowdy 5 out of 10.
DINNER |
Mon. - Thurs.
5 til 9:30
Fri.-Sat.
5 til 10
Closed Sunday
& Holidays
like they are in the same one.
The movie is rated PG-13 for
profanity.
Sandra Bullock won me over
in “Miss Congeniality”; she even
kept me fairly interested in “The
IE jdMULw . : '’
Ir\ • j
*k H *nr# w
ft ?jggp» dgf- I | |J| ipk
j . J 2,",, nirtifttfiituim M m BBn* -
Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock star in Castle Rock Entertainment’s romantic comedy “Two
Weeks Notice,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
BOOK REVIEW: "Prey" is terrifying
By Jackie K Cooper
Entertainment Editor
Author Michael Crichton is
very knowledgeable about the
world of science and that is
what makes his novels, such as
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN
and now PREY, so terrifying.
There is just enough scientific
fact in his fiction to give any
reader the willies. In this new
story he enters the world of
nanotechnology, and what a
place of gloom and doom it is -
in his mind’s eye.
As the story opens, Jack
Forman is a scientist without a
job. He had a run of bad luck
and got moved out of the work
he was doing. Luckily his wife is
gainfully employed in the same
industry. Anyway Jack has
ended up as a househusband
VIDEO COLUMN: "Kevin Dacon Adds Another Six Degrees"
By Jackie K Cooper
Entertainment Editor
In the game of “Six Degrees of
Separation of Kevin Bacon,”
there is a new movie to add to
the mix. In the film “Trapped”
he plays a menacing kidnapper
and he plays it with gusto. This
film was released in theaters at
the time it seemed kidnapping
in America was at its height.
This the film struck a chord too
close for comfort and it died at
the box office.
Now it is out on video and
probably more people will see it
than saw it in the theaters.
Charlize Theron is excellent as
the woman whose child is
taken. Courtney Love plays
Bacon’s partner in crime. And
Conyers, Georgia’s own Dakota
Fanning is astounding as the
abducted child.
The film develops its tension
methodically and keeps it in
view until the final moments. It
is a difficult movie to watch as it
does have a horrible theme, but
somehow seeing the parents
fight back to save their child
makes it worthwhile.
“Unfaithful” was not as
enjoyable to me even though it
A-1 CLEANERS\
1220 Russell Pkwy., Warner Robins \
(Next To Advanced Auto)
Mon. Fri. 7am - 7pm • Sat. 7am - 6pm
922-5739
r "“ cpp ]
DRY CLEAN |
$ 11 M :
Silk, Linings & Pleats Extra j
>telh^f!rtUMfcNb(Md|
Ya Ya Sisterhood.” But she loses
me completely in this film. I did
n’t feel like I knew her character
and I didn’t care. Why George
does is a mysteiy.
“Two Weeks Notice” is a movie
and Mr. Mom to his three kids.
Surprisingly, he is very good at
it.
His wife Julia is rarely at
home as she is working on a
high profile project at a facility
in the Nevada desert. When she
is at home Jack thinks she is
acting strangely. He even suspi
cions her having an affair with
one of his good friends. But the
reason for Julia’s strangeness is
locked, into her work in the
desert. When Jack is hired to
work there too, things take a
strange and deadly turn.
Without giving too much of
the plot away it should be men
tioned that there is a swarm of
deadly nanoparticles that ter
rorize the lab where Jack and
Julia work. This is an artificial
life form that takes on a mind of
had more success than
“Trapped” in theaters. This
story of a woman (Diane Lane)
who cheats in her husband
when he has done nothing to
cause it, struck me as shallow
and exploitative. If there had
been some reason for her
behavior then I might have
enjoyed the film, but since her
husband (Richard Gere) and
son are shown to be affectionate
and doting I couldn’t condone
in any way what she did.
Oliver Martinez plays the
man she meets and soon falls
passionately in like with. She
never seems to love him but
rather likes the danger of their
affair. It all comes across as silly
and/or vain. Lane is good in her
role and Gere is almost saintly
in his.
To switch to a good old kung
fu type movie might be the best
thing. Andy On takes over the
role of the Black Mask from Jet
Li in “Black Mask 2: City of
Masks.” Once again there is
non-stop adventure as “Black
Mask” battles the forces of evil
and danger.
This is a movie to watch just
for the excitement of it. Traci
SAME DAY SERVICE!
i To'Pieces
• DRY CLEAN
1 Dress Counts As 2 Pieces
| SO") 95
. ItGp'OntCwato toltyMßeM
Mlii|Ota(feMi Monty
SUPERIOR CLEANERS
2509 Moody Rd., Warner Robins
(Next To My Father’s Place Pizza)
Mon. ■ Sat 7am -10 pm • Sun. 9am - 7pm
918-0029
'""shirt"" 1
SPECIAL
99°
Shirts Laundered
lOp'taCiplkrtollyifcMnl
i.tfessw..
that looks like a good idea on
paper but bombs when brought
to film.
I scored “Two Weeks Notice” a
fired 4 out of 10.
its own.
The book is chock full of sci
entific facts and data, which
slow the story down a little. But
when it is purely focusing on
the basic plot, it zooms. There
are enough chills to keep you
turning the pages and enough
thrills to keep you awake at
night. This is a page turner of
the highest order and a story
that will linger in your memory
long after you have closed the
book
- Michael Crichton is the mas
ter at bridging the world of sci
ence and fiction. He keeps it all
plausible and logical while scar
ing us silly. PREY is his best
book yet at doing that feat.
PREY is published by
Harper Collins. It contains 364
pages and sells for $26.95.
Lords and Jon Polito co-star but
it is On’s movie all the way. I
didn’t even miss Jet Li.
Another sequel movie is
“Trios 2: Pandora’s Box.” This
film stars Monica Calhoun and
Michael Jai WHITE. Super
model Tyson Beckford also
makes an appearance. The plot
has a Psychologist being influ
enced by one of her patients and
getting involved in an under
world where sex money and
murder are waiting.
Finally we have “The
Adventures of Pluto Nash,”
another flop from Eddie
Murphy. For a while Eddie was
back and better than ever but
movies like this one have
thrown his career for a curve.
He had better bring on “The
Nutty Professor 3” or Dr.
Doolittle 3” and get his career
back in high gear.
In this film he plays a club
owner on the moon who gets
the mob after him. Yes, it is just
as silly as that sounds. Randy
Quaid and Rosario Dawson
share his shame and blame for
this fiasco.
UNIFORMS
Laundered • Dry Cleaned
$499
PAGE 5C
’ JEANS " 1
Laundred With ■
Heavy Starch
S3OOI
MCap'OnCieiilkr{taml|ttlkMW|
WntorObrCw'iaeifsty
■ ■■■HaaMMßflßiflnßHiJ