Current Movies - Part 75 - June, 2001
Staff

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Acceptable | |
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"Traffic",
USA Films, 2000, Color, Filmed
spherically and presented at
measured aspect ratio (DVD) 1.851, DD 2 Hr 27 min, Rated R; Michael Douglas,
Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones; The new US
Drug Czar Michael Wakefield (Douglas) finds that his battles with a drug
addicted US public hit his own home, with his daughter Caroline (Erika
Christensen). In San Diego, California, the problems of drugs coming across
the border from Tijuana, Mexico, are severe. Two Mexican policemen, Javier
Rodriguez (Del Toro) and Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas) try to help the local
Police Chief, Arturo Salazar (Tomas Milian) destroy the Tijuana drug cartel,
and US DEA officers Montel Gordon (Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman) work
the US side of the border, in San Diego. When drug dealer David Ayala (Alec
Roberts) is captured and charged, one of his partners, Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel
Ferrer), is given immunity if he will testify. So, Ayala's wife Helena
(Zeta-Jones) contracts with an assassin to kill Ruiz before the trial. The
movie won 4 Academy Awards�. It is a very smartly directed film,
and is a cynical, fatalistic, and depressing condemnation of our "War on
Drugs" as having been a total failure. - JEJ -
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Violence: | yes |
Sex: | yes |
Language: | the "F" and "S" words |

"Shadow
of the Vampire", Lions Gate Films, 2000, Color, Filmed spherically
and presented at measured aspect ratio 2.34:1 (DVD), DD, DTS, 1 Hr 33 min,
Rated R; John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack; In the
early 1900's, when movie making was very young, and silent, German master
director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (Malkovich) wants to make a film about
Dracula, but Bram Stoker's widow won't let him. So, he changes the name to
Nosferatu (the unclean), and hires Max Schreck (Dafoe), a reclusive strange
actor who won't let anyone see him without makeup, to play the part of Count
Orlock. As the story unfolds, we find that Murnau has made a pact with Schreck,
who is extremely attracted to the heroine in the story played by a German
actress (McCormack), to not bother the actors before the end of the filming.
One by one, the actors become ill with strange maladies, and then everybody
realizes that Max is much more than just an intense method actor (an actor who
lives the role he is playing). The film received two Academy Award
nominations, but be forewarned, it is psychotic in its presentation. This is
one the kids should not see, even if they are accompanied by an adult. - JEJ -
Entertainment: |
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Violence: | yes |
Sex: | yes |
Language: | the "F" and "S" words |

"Crouching
Tiger Hidden Dragon", Sony Pictures Classics & Columbia Pictures,
2000, Color, Filmed spherically and presented at measured aspect ratio 2.33:1
(DVD), DD, 2 Hr, Rated PG-13; Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang
Chen, Lung Shung, Cheng Pei Pei; In 19th century Beijing, China, retiring
warrior Li Mu Bai (Fat) decides to give his sword, The Green Destiny, to the
Governor for safekeeping. It is stolen by a young woman, Jen (Zhang Ziyi), and
both Li Mu and his friend Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) try to get it back. On a caravan,
Jen is kidnapped. She uses her skills and The Green Destiny to make her way
back to Beijing, where she is confronted by Li Mu and Yu Shu. Li Mu must now
face the warrior The Jade Fox (Pei Pei) who murdered his teacher. Nominated for 10
Academy Awards, and winning 4, the film is a masterpiece. It is as
entertaining as anything American and British film makers have ever done, and
indicates China's emergence as a real power in movie production. - JEJ -
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Violence: | martial arts |
Sex: | mild |
Language: | no |

"Cast
Away", Twentieth Century Fox, 2000, Color, Filmed spherically and
presented at measured aspect ratio 1.82:1 (DVD), DD, DTS-ES, 2 Hr 23 min,
Rated PG-13; Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy; Chuck Noland (Hanks) is a
Federal Express engineer in Memphis, Tennessee. He is called away on business
overseas just as he proposes to his girlfriend Kelly Frears (Hunt). On the
flight, an accident occurs, and the jet crashes into the sea, with Chuck as
the only survivor. Making his way to the nearest land, he finds himself
marooned on a very small island, and there he stays for 4 years, with his only
companion a volley ball. Making a raft, he sets back out to sea, and is
rescued by a passing ship. Kelly, who thought him dead, is now married, and
Chuck is lost again. The movie has spectacular digital effects, but Hanks and
Hunt just don't have the emotional depth as actors to carry this story off to the
heights it really deserves. Thankfully, Robert Zemeckis directed it, so it is
certainly worth the rental. - JEJ -
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Violence: | yes |
Sex: | no |
Language: | the "S" word |

"The
Pledge", Morgan Creek Productions, 2001, Color, Filmed in Panavision
and presented at measured aspect ratio 2.32:1 (DVD), DD, 2 Hr 4 min, Rated R;
Jack Nicholson, Benicio Del Toro, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Wright Penn; Jerry
Black (Nicholson) is retiring from the Reno, Nevada Police Force when a little
girl is found murdered. He comes out of retirement in time to see the main
suspect Toby Wadenah (Del Toro) shoot himself in jail. The case is considered
closed, but Jerry doesn't see it that way, finding evidence of a serial killer
over the past several years, including one murder when Toby was in prison. He
moves to a small Nevada town, hoping that the murderer will surface. There, he
meets Lori (Penn) who works in a local restaurant. She has a little girl about
the same age as all the murder victims. One day Lori's daughter tells Jerry
that a tall man driving a black station wagon wants her to meet him at the
local picnic grounds so he can give her something. This is the same
description of the serial killer, so Jerry decides to use her as bait and wait
for the suspect to show up. The movie is very tight, but the storyline does
not flow smoothly, and it takes some time to get into it. Couple that with an
unpleasant ending, and it may not be a rental price well spent. - JEJ -
Entertainment: |
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Violence: | yes |
Sex: | mild |
Language: | the "F" word |

"Proof
of Life", Warner Brothers, 2000, Color, Filmed spherically and
presented at measured aspect ratio 2.33:1 (DVD), 2 Hr 15 min, Rated R; Meg
Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse, Pamela Reed, David Caruso; In a volatile
South American country, Peter Bowman (Morse) is building a dam in return for
oil pipeline rights. When he is kidnapped and held for ransom by a rebel
group trying to take over the cocaine trade, his wife Alice (Ryan) is faced with raising the money. A London-based
hostage negotiator, Terry Thorne (Crowe), volunteers his services to help out,
when no one else will. Soon, they are caught between their attraction to one
another and sticking to the mission. It is nice to see an action film that
stands up to all the hype, and then some. In spite of Equador's breathtaking
landscape, director Taylor Hackford has managed to make it look like a very
nasty place when you are a political hostage. - JEJ -
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Violence: | yes |
Sex: | no |
Language: | the "F" and "S" words |

"Unbreakable",
Touchstone Pictures, 2000, Color, Filmed in Panavision and presented at
measured aspect ratio 2.35:1 (DVD), DD, DTS, 1 Hr 47 min, Rated PG-13; Bruce
Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark; In
Philadelphia, Stadium Security Guard David Dunn (Willis) is in a train
accident, and is the only person to survive. After finding a strange message
on his car, asking him if he has ever been sick, he goes to meet the man who
left the message, Elijah Price (Jackson). Elijah tells him that he (David) may
be a very special person whose purpose in the world is to protect others who
are weak, such as himself (Elijah). David's wife Audrey (Penn) is reluctant to
believe, but his son Joe (Clark) easily can see how his father might be that
special person. The story is very strange, and is probably just a vehicle to
cash in on Willis' success with "The Sixth Sense", but it seems to work, and
holds the viewer spellbound. - JEJ -
Entertainment: |
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Violence: | mild |
Sex: | no |
Language: | no |

"Little
Nicky", New Line Cinema, 2000, Color, Filmed spherically and
presented at measured aspect ratio 1.85:1 (DVD), DD, 1 Hr 24
min, Rated PG-13; Adam Sandler, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Rhys Ifans,
Tom Lister Jr., Rodney Dangerfield, Allen Covert, Peter Dante, Robert Smigel;
Ten thousand years have passed, and it is once again time to pass on the reigns
of darkness to the next ruler of the Hell. Satan (Keitel) must decide which of
his sons is fit to rule for the next ten thousand years, Adrian (Ifans),
Cassius (Lister, Jr.), or Nicky (Sandler). Adrian and Cassius have been
eagerly awaiting this appointment, certain that one of them will be named the
subsequent ruler of darkness. When Satan reveals that he feels neither of them
are suited to rule, they rebel by busting out of Hell to wreak havoc on Earth.
Nicky, who had very little interest in becoming ruler himself, is sent to the
physical world to return his brothers to Hell to maintain the balance of good
and evil. However, he only has a few days to learn the ways of the over-world
and succeed in bringing them both back, or Satan's form will have completely
disintegrated leaving the throne open to whichever brother claims it first.
While up above, Nicky is aided by Mr. Beefy (Smigel), a talking dog sent by
Satan to help guide him along his way, and Valerie (Arquette), a kind-hearted
girl who takes a liking to Nicky's unusual nature. Too often movies starring
Adam Sandler seemingly feature only Adam Sandler. However, this film
has several likeable characters with equal screen time and presence, including
some funny roles played by SNL alumni. - JB -
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Violence: | yes |
Sex: | suggestive |
Language: | the "F" and "S" words |

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