Roberts' movie shines at local cinemas<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A young innocent tries to experience life
\noutside the walls of his orphanage, while an unlikely legal
\ncrusader storms through legal bureaucracies and snobbish lawyers.
\nThe following reviews and grades are by Oren Murphy (OM) and Tam
\nNotosusanto (TN).<\/p>\n
The Bachelor. Romantic comedy, 101 minutes; starring Chris
\nO'Donnell, Renee Zellweger, James Cromwell, Artie Lange, and
\nBrooke Shields. Directed by Gary Sinyor.<\/p>\n
Jimmie Shannon (O'Donnell) has 24 hours to get married or lose
\nhis US$100 million inheritance. He botched the job with the woman
\nhe loves (Zellweger) and so desperately searches for an
\nalternative. The film heaps cliche upon stereotype about what men
\nare like (mustangs ever looking for a new "succulent patch of
\ngrass") and what women are like (looking for romance and
\nmarriage). Flat acting, dumb script and an utterly predictable
\nending are just a few reasons not to see this film. Graded C-
\n(OM)<\/p>\n
The Cider House Rules. Drama, 125 minutes; starring Tobey
\nMaguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Jane Alexander
\nand Michael Caine. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom.<\/p>\n
Young Homer Wells (Maguire) wants to leave the New England
\norphanage where he has been living all his life to get a little
\ntaste of the world. His mentor and father figure, Dr. Larch
\n(Caine), tries to keep him from going. This coming-of-age drama
\nfrom best-selling novelist John Irving moves too slowly to get to
\nits point. And the only performances that leave an impression are
\nfrom the children who play the bit parts as the orphans. Graded
\nB- (TN)<\/p>\n
The End of the Affair. Drama, 109 minutes; starring Ralph
\nFiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea and Ian Hart. Written and
\ndirected by Neil Jordan.<\/p>\n
Fiennes plays an author in wartime England who romances the
\nwife (Moore) of his good friend (Rea). Jordan adapted Graham
\nGreene's autobiographical book into this exquisite motion
\npicture, filled with passion, humor and a little bit of mystery
\nthat drives the plot through. Moore is outstanding as the
\ntortured lady, in a performance that received an Oscar nomination
\nfor Best Actress. Graded B+ (TN)<\/p>\n
Erin Brockovich. Legal drama, 130 minutes; starring Julia
\nRoberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart, Marg Helgenberger and
\nPeter Coyote. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.<\/p>\n
Erin (Roberts) is a divorced mother of three with a bad temper
\nand a bad taste in clothing. But at a small law firm where she
\nworks as a filing clerk, she discovers evidence of a giant
\nelectric and gas company polluting the water of a small
\nneighboring town and covering it up. With the obstinate
\npersistence that amazes his employer (Finney) and other seasoned
\nattorneys, Erin manages to motivate the town's people to file a
\nhuge lawsuit against the company. This factual story comes alive
\nin the hands of indie filmmaker Soderbergh, who proves to be
\nequally able tackling mainstream. And never before has Roberts
\nshown a performance this dynamic and captivating. Graded A- (TN)<\/p>\n
Romeo Must Die. Action, 115 minutes; starring Jet Li, Aaliyah,
\nIsaiah Washington, Russell Wong and Delroy Lindo. Directed by
\nAndrzej Bartkowiak.<\/p>\n
No, this is not the latest adaptation of the Shakespeare
\ntragedy, although the story has two warring families and two
\nyoungsters from each clan who seem to be smitten by each other.
\nThat's as far as they would go, because this movie is mainly a
\nshowcase for Li's martial arts talent in his first English-
\nspeaking starring role, not for him as a romantic leading man.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, the movie has great, elaborately choreographed
\nfight scenes. And the suspenseful, at times humorous script makes
\nit the more enjoyable. Graded B (TN)<\/p>\n
The Story of Us. Drama, 94 minutes; starring Bruce Willis,
\nMichelle Pfeiffer, Tim Matheson, Rita Wilson and Rob Reiner.
\nDirected by Rob Reiner.<\/p>\n
Ten years after When Harry Met Sally ..., Reiner gives us this
\nbleaker glimpse of a relationship, which shows a marriage
\nbreaking off at the seams. Apparently inspired by Ingmar
\nBergman's Scenes of a Marriage, the movie is never even half as
\nintelligent or insightful. Rather, it teaches us that an
\ninappropriate happy ending could really ruin an already
\nproblematic film. And with his real-life break-up with Demi,
\nyou'd think Bruce could get some real juice into his acting here.
\nWhat high hopes we have. Graded C (TN)<\/p>\n
The Whole Nine Yards. Comedy, 98 minutes; starring Bruce
\nWillis, Matthew Perry, Natasha Henstridge, Michael Clarke Duncan
\nand Rosanna Arquette. Directed by Jonathan Lynn.<\/p>\n
Analyze This begets a copycat with this story of a Canadian
\ndentist (Perry) who gets all jittery when he realizes his new
\nnext-door neighbor (Willis) is a mob contract killer hiding from
\nhis former employers. The strange script, wooden acting and
\nPerry's overblown shtick makes this movie a sore. But Arquette
\nshows off a hilarious Quebecois accent as Perry's gold-digging
\nwife. Graded C (TN)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/roberts-movie-shines-at-local-cinemas-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}