Hoolywood's 'Afterglow', locally made 'Sri' worth a look
JAKARTA (JP): What makes a good film? We wish not to answer this age-old question. Rather, we would like to use our very subjective evaluations of the films that are running at the local cinemas to help our readers make that difficult decision at the ticket box. Each week, we will briefly describe the films, and, in lieu of the universally-overused star system, we will grade them, to indicate those movies we like and others we simply can't stand. From A to D (we hope no movie should ever force us to dispense an F), the grades for this week's edition are given by screenwriter Rayya Makarim (RK) and film reviewer Tam Notosusanto (TN). The films, in alphabetical order, are:
Afterglow. Adult drama; starring Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Jonny Lee Miller and Lara Flynn Boyle. Written and directed by Alan Rudolph.
Rudolph's tragicomic cross-generational romance follows a young, lonely housewife (Boyle) who has an affair with a middle- aged repairman (Nolte) while her indifferent, yuppie husband (Miller) unknowingly begins a fling with the handyman's elegiac wife (Christie). The film is bolstered by a marvelous cast, particularly Christie, in her Academy Award-nominated performance. (Graded B+ by TN.)
Entrapment. Action; starring Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta- Jones, Ving Rhames and Will Patton. Directed by Jon Amiel.
Aging master thief Connery goes on a series of heists accompanied by beautiful insurance investigator Zeta-Jones, who goes undercover to entrap him. From New York to London to Kuala Lumpur, this movie is a spectacle of breathtaking stunts, exotic locations and the May-December romance between the two leads. It's glamorous and sometimes thrilling, but not much else. (Graded B- by TN.)
Forces of Nature. Romantic comedy; starring Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, Maura Tierney, Blythe Danner, Ronny Cox. Directed by Bronwen Hughes.
New Yorker Affleck has to go to Savannah, Georgia, to get married, but a lot of things stand in the way: a canceled flight, doomed car trips, very bad weather, and a wildly eccentric, attractive woman (Bullock). It's only a matter of time before the two go from being an odd couple to inseparable traveling companions. (Graded B- by TN.)
Idle Hands. Horror-comedy; starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba and Vivica A. Fox. Directed by Rodman Flender.
A dopey, pot-smoking teenager (Sawa) gets into a Jekyll-and- Hyde situation when his right hand, possessed by evil spirits, goes on a murder spree. Oliver Stone did something similar called The Hand a couple of decades back, but at least that one does not show people getting dismembered, decapitated and mutilated in more ways than you can imagine, and then manipulate the audience into laughing at it all. (Graded D by TN).
King Cobra. Sci-fi horror; starring Pat Morita, Scott Brandon, Kasey Fallo, Hoyt Axton and Erik Estrada. Directed by David Hillenbrand and Scott Hillenbrand.
We've probably had enough of snake movies already. But this old-fashioned movie about a giant mutant snake terrorizing Small town, USA, is quite scary and suspenseful, and never schlocky. Between scenes of humans falling prey to the humongous reptile, snake expert Morita gives worldly wise lectures on cobras, rat tlers and all creeping animals alike. (Graded B- by TN.)
The Mummy. Adventure; starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo. Directed by Stephen Sommers.
Don't expect to be frightened by the state-of-the-art com puter-generated mummy, because this glossier, noisier redoing of the 1932 horror classic never has the intention to go there. This movie is more a Raiders of the Lost Ark wannabe, but without the wit, the thrill and the classy style that have engaged Indiana Jones fans around the world. (Graded C by TN.)
Never Been Kissed. Comedy; starring Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan and Leelee Sobieski. Directed by Raja Gosnell.
Lovable, plump-faced Barrymore had a horrendous time in high school. And she goes through that whole experience again when the newspaper she works for assigns her to blend in with teenagers to do a story on high school life. Perfect, now she can realize her dream of being a reporter, and at the same time get another shot at becoming a hip high school student. As if the plot is not shallow and brainless enough, her loser brother Arquette joins her, passing himself off as a student so he can work his way to becoming the school's star quarterback. (Graded C by TN).
Sri. Drama; starring Rina Ariyanti, Sardono W. Kusumo and Niniek L. Karim. Written and directed by Marselli Sumarno.
A slow-paced drama about a woman who bargains for her husband's time on Earth through pliant negotiations with the god of death. The strong storyline helps prop up the film as a whole. However, details are sometimes unmotivated and ineffective. Overall, a decent film worth seeing. (Graded B by RM).
Thick As Thieves. Caper movie; starring Alec Baldwin, Andre Braugher and Michael Jai White. Directed by Scott Sanders.
A caper comedy much in the style of Pulp Fiction or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels without the wit, humor and unpre dictability. Baldwin as The Thief is more noticeable for his pursed lips than his inconsequential role. Boring. (Graded C by RM).