Cheating hearts join the movie lineup

JAKARTA (JP): In two new films, characters lose their spouses in tragic accidents, only to discover that the spouses have been cheating on them.

Revenge comes in all shapes and sizes. The following reviews and grades are by Rayya Makarim, Oren Murphy and Tam Notosusanto.

Anna and the King. Period drama, 140 minutes; starring Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Tom Felton, Keith Chin and Bai Ling. Directed by Andy Tennant.

The story of the 19th century British governess who conquers the heart of the king of Siam is again brought to the screen, this time without the songs of The King and I.

For a change, a real Asian actor (though not quite Thai), action-star Chow, plays the monarch. Meanwhile, Foster shows off a British accent as the single-mother Anna Leonowens. The film is considerably enjoyable although the characters remain distant and flavorless throughout. B- (TN)

Double Jeopardy Action thriller, 105 minutes; starring Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd and Bruce Greenwood. Directed by Bruce Beresford.

Judd is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of her husband, whose body is never found. Then she finds out that dear hubby is still walking and breathing in another part of the country, with their child and a new wife.

Even though she keeps saying "I just want to see my son", we know that all she wants is revenge. Vigilantism is alive and well at the movie theaters. C+ (TN)

Fight Club. Dark comedy, 139 minutes; starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Directed by David Fincher. Men discover beating each other into a pulp is nourishing for the soul.

Sardonic social commentary and graphic violence make strange, but often effective bedfellows. A piercingly funny script and highly original plot save the film from the inconsistencies of pretentious anarchist theory.

The target audience is clearly males aged between 16 and 25, but others will find nourishment in its irony, or at least in seeing Brad Pitt punched repeatedly in the face. B+ (OM)

Good Will Hunting. Drama, 126 minutes; starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck and Stellan Skarsgard. Directed by Gus Van Sant.

Will is a math genius with a photographic memory who prefers to work as a janitor and drink with his buddies rather than solve math problems that leave even Nobel Prize-winning professors baffled. When an MIT professor tries to groom him for bigger and better things, Will senses "change" that may jeopardize his already safe surroundings. With the help of a counselor, he finally breaks through old traumas and insecurities. The story is full of human conflict that is written with such precision by co- stars Damon and Affleck. Although the movie's conclusion is perhaps predictable, it is the individual moments and sensitive acting that really make this film shine. A- (RM)

The Mighty. Youth drama, 100 minutes; starring Elden Henson, Kieran Culkin, Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands and Gillian Anderson. Directed by Peter Chelsom.

A humongous, slow-witted teenager teams up with a brilliant disabled boy to battle bullies and bad guys alike. It's really rare that we get inspiring and unsentimental films like this, which touchingly portrays a friendship as such a wonderfully symbiotic relationship. See if you can recognize The X-Files' Anderson, in her supporting bit as redneck white trash. B+ (TN)

The Patriot. Action, 90 minutes; starring Steven Seagal, Gailard Sartain and L.Q. Jones. Directed by Dean Semler.

It's a wonder how Steven Seagal maintains his indomitable persona: keeping a consistently sour facial expression and speaking in such a low voice we all need to bring hearing aids to the theaters. Here he plays a genial small town doctor and single father who just happens to know how to kick away 10 baddies in an instance without even mussing his hairdo. Standing in his way is an army of militiamen who unleashed a deadly virus in the small Montana town. Oscar-winning cinematographer Semler (Firestorm) made his sophomore directorial work with this uneven, flat piece. D+ (TN)

Random Hearts. Adult drama, 130 minutes; starring Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles S. Dutton, Dennis Haysbert and Bonnie Hunt. Directed by Sydney Pollack.

Ford and Scott Thomas learn that their respective spouses, who were killed in a plane crash, were having an affair. Then they go and have an affair of their own. Whether they do it out of passion or revenge, this slow-moving film never tells, thanks to Pollack's uneven direction. C+ (TN)

Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies. Horror, 96 minutes; starring Andrew Divoff, Paul Johannson, Holly Fields and Bokeem Woodbine. Written and directed by Jack Sholder.

A malevolent genie who is accidentally freed from his confinement grants wishes in exchange for people's souls. It starts out as an interesting twist on the Aladdin tale, but later proceeds for the immediate and continuous gore. Now we have to wish this schlocky movie gone, and nothing of its kind to return. D (TN)