New James Bond movie opens across town

New James Bond movie opens across town

JAKARTA (JP): What happens when a new 007 movie opens? All the
theaters in town may not be enough. Here's the alphabetical
lineup of films playing at the local cinema, with reviews and
grades by Rayya Makarim (RM), Oren Murphy (OM) and Tam
Notosusanto (TN).

Blue Streak. Action-comedy; starring Martin Lawrence, Luke
Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Peter Greene and William Forsythe.
Directed by Les Mayfield.

Jewel thief Lawrence hides a diamond in the ventilation of an
LAPD station and comes back, pretending to be a cop, to retrieve
it. But he is so convincing as a detective that he gets various
investigation assignments instead. The movie is an obvious
replica of Beverly Hills Cop, with a black, cheeky hero making
fools out of white, by-the-book law officers. There is a slight
problem, though: Lawrence is not as funny as Eddie Murphy (his
costar in Life) and is a lot more annoying. (Grade: C+ by TN).

Bowfinger. Screwball comedy; starring Steve Martin, Eddie
Murphy and Heather Graham. Directed by Frank Oz.

Small-time film director Bobby Bowfinger (Martin) receives the
script of his dreams and sets out to make the film with no money,
a production crew that includes his dog, and starring one of the
biggest stars of Hollywood, the paranoid Kit (Murphy). The one
hitch is that Kit has no idea he is in the film. Bowfinger finds
plenty of ingenious schemes to make Kit an unknowing star in his
film, and delivers lots of laughs in the process. (Grade: B+ by
OM).

End of Days. Action-thriller; starring Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Robin Tunney, Miriam Margolyes and
Rod Steiger. Directed by Peter Hyams.

Satan has his own way to celebrate the new millennium: he
chases a Chosen Virgin (Tunney) with whom he will bestow on the
world a brand new Rosemary's Baby. Ex-cop Schwarzenegger must
stop him to prevent an untimely Armageddon. The movie is rich in
pyrotechnics but less so in excitement. And Byrne should have
probably consulted his Usual Suspects costar Kevin Spacey in how
to portray a devil incarnate. The film's only fun is in the scene
where Arnold is thrown around the room by the overweight, middle-
aged villain played by Margolyes (the voice of the motherly sheep
in Babe). (Grade: C by TN).

Nightwatch. Thriller; starring Ewan McGregor, Nick Nolte,
Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin and Lauren Graham. Directed by Ole
Bornedal.

A student takes on a part-time job as a nightwatchman at a
morgue at the same time a serial killer is on the loose. Strange
things start happening while he's working, and as more murders
occur all the evidence seems to point at him. The film is
effective in evoking a sense of fear and paranoia with the use of
close-ups and the eerie setting. A quite enjoyable suspense
thriller. (Grade: B by RM).

The Substitute 2: School's Out. Vigilantism; starring Treat
Williams, B.D. Wong, Angel David and Michael Michele. Directed by
Steven Pearl.

What a great idea to enforce discipline in the classrooms:
hire a mercenary with vengeance in his mind as a teacher. Even
Charlton Heston would kill to play this part. While the hero in
the original film battles a corrupt black principal, the heavy in
this unnecessary sequel is a vicious, black-marketing Asian-
American teacher. How convenient. (Grade: C- by TN).

The World is Not Enough. Bond movie; starring Pierce Brosnan,
Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards and Judi Dench.
Directed by Michael Apted.

When British oil tycoon Robert King is killed at the MI6
headquarters, James Bond's mission is to protect his daughter and
heir Elektra (Marceau) from his killer, Renard (Carlyle) who
plans to sabotage an ongoing construction of the new King
pipeline. The villains are more complex, even if nothing else is
shocking about this 19th Bond film. (Grade: B by RM).