A reel good time at the movies<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Can't make up your mind about what movie to see
\nthis week? See if the following brief reviews, along with the
\ngrades, can be of any help. They are provided by film director
\nNan T. Achnas, screenwriter Rayya Makarim and film reviewer Tam
\nNotosusanto. This week's films, in alphabetical order, are:<\/p>\n
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Comedy; starring Mike
\nMyers, Heather Graham, Elizabeth Hurley, Rob Lowe and Robert
\nWagner. Directed by Jay Roach.<\/p>\n
Sexually-impotent in 1999, Austin Powers discovers that Dr.
\nEvil has traveled back in time to 1969 to steal his \"mojo\"
\n(Austin's source of power).<\/p>\n
With the help of his own time machine Austin pairs with CIA
\nagent Felicity Shagwell to reclaim his lost libido and destroy
\nhis arch-nemesis once and for all.<\/p>\n
Hilarious in some parts, this film, however, is two notches
\nbelow the original. A lot of the humor is recycled and as a
\nresult the film lacks the spontaneity and the originality of its
\npredecessor. (Graded B by RM.)<\/p>\n
Blast From The Past. Comedy; starring Brendan Fraser, Alicia
\nSilverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek and Dave Foley.
\nDirected by Hugh Wilson.<\/p>\n
Wilson, who brought us the box-office hit The First Wives
\nClub, co-wrote, co-produced and directed this film about a man
\n(Fraser) who emerges from an atomic bomb shelter after 35 years
\nto fall in love with a thoroughly '90s young woman (Silverstone).
\nA light-hearted comedy, though slow to warm up. Unconvincing
\ncharacters except for an engaging and fresh performance by Fras
\ner. (Graded C by NTA).<\/p>\n
Entrapment. Action; starring Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-
\nJones, Ving Rhames and Will Patton. Directed by Jon Amiel.<\/p>\n
Aging master thief Connery goes on a series of heists
\naccompanied by beautiful insurance investigator Zeta-Jones, who
\ngoes undercover to entrap him. From New York to London to Kuala
\nLumpur, this movie is a spectacle of breathtaking stunts, exotic
\nlocations and the May-December romance between the two leads.
\nIt's glamorous and sometimes thrilling, but not much else.
\nGraded B- by TN.<\/p>\n
The Mummy. Adventure; starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz,
\nJohn Hannah and Arnold Vosloo. Written and directed by Stephen
\nSommers.<\/p>\n
Don't expect to be frightened by the state-of-the-art
\ncomputer-generated mummy, because this glossier, noisier redoing
\nof the 1932 horror classic never has the intention to go there.
\nThis movie is more a Raiders of the Lost Ark wannabe, but without
\nthe wit, the thrill and the classy style that have engaged
\nIndiana Jones fans around the world. Graded C by TN.<\/p>\n
The Thirteenth Floor. Sci-fi thriller; starring Craig Bierko,
\nGretchen Mol, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert and Armin
\nMueller-Stahl. Directed by Joseph Rusnak.<\/p>\n
No, it's not about claustrophobics stuck in an elevator. It's
\nan intriguing yarn about a group of scientists who invent a
\nparallel universe set in 1937 Los Angeles which they can leap
\ninto and out of.<\/p>\n
Then one of them is brutally murdered and the film becomes a
\nnoir-ish mix of time-travel fantasy and a detective story.
\nIndependence Day creator Roland Emmerich co-produced this
\nsubtler, quieter Matrix lookalike. Graded B by TN.<\/p>\n
Warlock: The End of Innocence. Horror; starring Bruce Payne,
\nAshley Laurence, Boti Ann Bliss and Angel Boris. Directed by Eric
\nFreiser.<\/p>\n
When did we ever get Warlock I and II anyway? In this third
\ninstallment of the bewitched franchise, a 17th century sorcerer
\n(Payne) comes to the present and terrorizes a group of college
\nstudents camping out in an old New England mansion. It takes
\nforever to get to the fun stuff, and it's not even coherent and
\nsatisfying. The Blair Witch Project this isn't. Rent the funnier,
\nscarier original instead. Graded D by TN.<\/p>\n
William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Comedy;
\nstarring Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Kevin Kline, Michelle
\nPfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, Christian Bale and Sophie Marceau.
\nWritten and directed by Michael Hoffman.<\/p>\n
The worlds of fairies and human beings meet in a comical
\ncircumstance of confusion and romantic attraction. Shakespeare's
\nwords and plot are well-preserved in this engaging adaptation
\nthat despite some miscasting and misinterpretation on the part of
\nthe actors, still comes out as an entertaining, enjoyable motion
\npicture. Graded B by TN.<\/p>",
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