Frenzied emotions rule flicks around town

Frenzied emotions rule flicks around town

JAKARTA (JP): Jeff Bridges is paranoid in Washington, D.C.,
while Anthony Hopkins goes ape in the jungles of Rwanda. It's
possible to go berserk just about anywhere in the world.

Here's the lineup of movies currently playing at the local
theaters, with reviews and grades by Nan T. Achnas, Rayya Makarim
and Tam Notosusanto.

Arlington Road; Thriller; starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins,
Joan Cusack and Hope Davis. Directed by Mark Pellington.

Widowed history professor Bridges suspects that the couple who
live next door (Robbins and Cusack) are not the charming suburban
family they appear to be, but left-wing extremists bent on
blowing up government office buildings. It's a suspenseful,
captivating film that benefits from a sharp, uncompromising
script, a stellar cast and the visual prowess of former music
video director Pellington. Graded B+ by TN.

Big Daddy; Comedy; starring Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams,
Jon Stewart, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse and Steve Buscemi.
Directed by Dennis Dugan.

Sandler's routine of crassness and imbecility continues; now
he demonstrates how he can pollute a young child with all his
boorish shenanigans. From letting the tyke urinate anywhere he
likes to showing him how to injure other people, this film is
Sandler's very own Misbehaving 101. And the censorship board
certified it as a "movie for all ages". Graded D 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 depict the military as shady, twisted and
absolutely evil, only this one probably tries too hard. One
aspect that makes it worth seeing, though, is Woods' multilayered
performance as a tormented army colonel. Graded B- by TN.

Instinct; Environmental campaign; starring Anthony Hopkins,
Cuba Gooding Jr., Maura Tierney and Donald Sutherland. Directed
by Jon Turteltaub.

Primatologist Hopkins won't speak a single word after
reemerging from years of studying African gorillas closely in
their natural habitat. It's up to cocky psychiatrist Gooding to
unlock the mystery surrounding the famed scholar, now
incarcerated for killing people who hurt gorillas. In this film,
though, the gorillas are really kept in the mist, leaving the
terribly miscast Gooding ruining everything with his unforgivable
overacting. Somebody show him the door, please. Graded C by TN.

Pushing Tin; Comedy; starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton,
Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett. Directed by Mike Newell.

Inside the pressure cooker that is New York's Terminal Radar
Approach Control center, air traffic controllers Cusack and
Thornton entangle themselves in a fierce competition of wits and
derring-do, risking their marriages and the lives aboard 7,000
flights that come in and out of New York. Glen and Les Charles,
creators of hit TV series Taxi and Cheers, wrote this superbly
acted character-driven piece. Graded B by TN.

Runaway Bride; Romantic comedy; starring Julia Roberts,
Richard Gere, Joan Cusack, Christopher Meloni and Hector
Elizondo. Directed by Garry Marshall.

USA Today columnist Ike Graham (Gere) does a last minute story
on Maggie Carpenter (Roberts), a small-town babe who has the
habit of dumping men at the altar. Ike gets fired and seeks
vindication by getting up close and personal with the "man
devourer" herself. It's always great to see beautiful and well-
liked people on the screen. A fun film with "quirky, weird and
mysterious" characters. Graded B+ 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 with his staggering portrayal
of a reluctant psychic. Look for the unrecognizable former New
Kid on the Block, Wahlberg, in a brief chilling part. Graded A-
by TN.

Spanish Fly; Adult drama; starring Daphna Kastner, Toni Canto,
Marianne Sagebrecht and Martin Donovan. Written and directed by
Daphna Kastner.

A sexually rigid journalist (Kastner) researches a book about
machismo in Spain and finds out more than she bargains for. The
film is a must-see for those interested in witnessing an example
of a butchering job executed by the blunt scissors of the
Indonesian censor board. A convincing plotline and character
motivation are probably in bits and pieces on the censor board
floor. Graded C- by NTA.

Universal Soldier: The Return; Sci-fi action; starring Jean-
Claude Van Damme, Michael Jai White, Bill Goldberg, Kiona Tom and
Daniel Von Bargen. Directed by Mic Rodgers.

In a plot taken straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a
disgruntled ultraintelligent computer runs amok and mobilizes a
new batch of super-human Universal Soldiers to wreak havoc. But
fear not, for ex-UniSol (and this sequel's co-producer) Van Damme
is there to save the day. Although more plentiful in explosions
and karate kicks but less exciting than the original, this flick
mainly serves as Van Damme's martial arts demonstration and the
big-screen debuts of wrestling champion Goldberg and TV fitness
instructor Tom. Graded C- by TN.