Battling sharks and insomnia at the local movies

Battling sharks and insomnia at the local movies

JAKARTA (JP): Here's the lineup of movies currently playing at
your local cinema, with reviews and grades by Rayya Makarim and
Tam Notosusanto.

Deep Blue Sea. Shark movie; starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas
Jane, LL Cool J, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel
L. Jackson. Directed by Renny Harlin.

Harlin, who brought you Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, is
recovering from these two flops with this Jaws-meet-The Poseidon
Adventure spectacle. Intelligent sharks (don't ask) in an off-
shore underwater research lab go berserk and start chomping up
scientists as the unfortunate humans rush to the surface. Cool
J's lovable, Bible-spouting cook lightens the movie a bit. But
graphic dismemberment scenes and the sight of still-wiggling body
parts will guarantee you nightmares. (Graded B- by TN).

The General's Daughter. Detective story; starring John
Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton and
James Woods. Directed by Simon West.

Travolta and Stowe are army investigators delving into the
case of a murdered female officer, the daughter of an
influential, politically ambitious war hero. It's one of those
Hollywood movies that tries to depict the military as shady,
twisted and ultimately evil, only this movie probably tries too
hard. One aspect that makes it worth seeing, though, is Woods'
multi-layered performance as a tormented army colonel. (Graded B-
by TN).

The Haunting. Horror; starring Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson,
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson. Directed by Jan De Bont.

Under the premise of curing insomnia, Professor Marrow
(Neeson) recruits three people for a psychological experiment in
the mechanics of fear. The misguided volunteers are gathered at a
gothic mansion called Hill House, where the caretaker and
housekeeper never stay after dark and the next town is nine miles
away. This film deserves much credit for the amazing location,
sets and art direction. Unfortunately, there isn't much of a
plot. So don't expect to be scared, but be prepared to be amazed
by the film's overall visual splendor. (Graded C by RM).

Inspector Gadget. Sci-fi adventure; starring Matthew
Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher and Michelle
Trachtenberg. Directed by David Kellogg.

When a murder occurs at Brenda Bradford's (Fisher) research
lab, John Brown (Broderick), a security guard who dreams of
becoming a policeman, tries to help but ends up being
hospitalized, where he becomes Inspector Gadget. In the meantime,
the evil Claw (Everett) learns of Brenda's invention and creates
an evil version of the Inspector. Those familiar with the cartoon
version will notice that Broderick looks nothing like the
Inspector, and the sight of a grown man hollering "Go, go Gadget
oil slicks" is rather disturbing. (Graded C by RM).

Mowgli's First Adventure. Kiddie adventure; starring Gary
Collins, Michael Beck and Michael Des Barres. Directed by Michael
McGreevey.

Looks like our kids aren't in short supply of heroes in
loincloths. After the Disney animated tribute to the most famous
ape man, comes this cheesy attempt to cash in on Rudyard
Kipling's beloved classic. Our teenage wild child here assists a
group of archeologists in locating a legendary diamond in the
Indian jungle while greedy villains follow them closely. Between
lame action scenes, kid characters who aren't cute and are
totally obnoxious and a well-coiffed, overly polite Mowgli, I
don't know which one will bore your children to death first.
(Graded C- by TN).

The Pallbearer. Romantic comedy; starring David Schwimmer,
Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Rapaport and Barbara Hershey. Directed
by Matt Reeves.

A mysterious Mrs. Abernathy asks Tom (Schwimmer), a jobless
college grad to be pallbearer at her son, Bill's, funeral. Moved
by the woman's tears, though having no recollection of the boy,
he accepts. Through a string of unexpected events, Tom ends up in
a love triangle involving the older woman and an old high school
crush, Julie (Paltrow). This is supposed to be a 1990s version of
The Graduate though one could have easily thought otherwise. Skip
it and see The Graduate again instead. (Graded C by RM).

The Sixth Sense. Psychological drama; starring Bruce Willis,
Toni Collette, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams and Donnie
Wahlberg. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Child shrink Willis must get inside the mind of a troubled
young boy who sees dead people walking around him. It's a moving
human drama about relationships and the fragility of life,
disguised as a mild ghost story.

It doesn't matter that Willis underperforms, because Osment,
as the boy, steals all the scenes he is in with his staggering
portrayal of a reluctant psychic. Look for the unrecognizable
former New Kid on the Block Wahlberg in a chilling brief turn.
(Graded A- by TN).

The Thomas Crown Affair. Caper movie: starring Pierce Brosnan,
Rene Russo, Denis Leary and Faye Dunaway. Directed by John
McTiernan.

Thomas Crown (Brosnan) is a wealthy businessman who
masterminds the removal of a $100 million Monet from New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catherine Banning (Russo) is an
insurance agent who is determined to retrieve the painting
through any means. A battle of wits between the two slowly
develops into a more complex emotional tie. McTiernan directs
action films (Die Hard, Predator), not romance. Thus, besides the
opening and closing caper scenes, the middle section of the film
trails into sentimental mush. (Graded B- by RM).

Wrongfully Accused. Slapstick comedy; starring Leslie Nielsen,
Kelly Le Brock and Michael York. Directed by Pat Proft.

This film is a spoof of The Fugitive. We know this because:
1. Ryan Harrison (Nielsen) is convicted of a murder he didn't
commit; 2. Richard Crenna does an exaggerated impression of
Tommy Lee Jones' character; and 3. Everybody's looking for a one-
armed, one-legged, (one-whatevered) man. Its attempt to poke fun
at The Usual Suspects, Fargo, Entrapment, Mission: Impossible,
Field of Dreams and Braveheart only convinces us to watch the
originals instead. Do yourself a favor, don't bother, it's on
laser disc. (Graded by D by RM).