Baz Luhrmann “reinvented” the movie musical with his deliriously over-the-top Moulin Rouge. Now, director-choreographer Rob Marshall’s Chicago takes the genre right back to its roots, proving that a savvy story, a sizzling score and a series of scorching musical numbers can send shivers down the spines of viewers even without flashy cinematic gimmickry. Just how … Continue reading
Bob Fosse’s shrewd satire of crime as entertainment makes a stunning transition from the stage to the multiplex in a big-screen version overflowing with razzle-dazzle. Director-choreographer Rob Marshall doesn’t attempt to reinvent the movie-musical genre; instead, he wisely allows the cunning story and sizzling score to thrill viewers. When mousy chorine Roxy (Renee Zellweger) lands … Continue reading
From the start, Come Undone illustrates the differences in sexual attitudes between European and American films. In an early scene, after an afternoon of cruising on the beach, a boy retires to his room to masturbate. Where an American film might imply the act, French director Sébastien Lifshitz instead presents close-ups of the boy’s penis … Continue reading
In a truly inspired performance, Sam Rockwell plays Chuck Barris, the eccentric creator and host of _The Gong Show_, who stumbles into a career as a contract assassin for the CIA just as he finds success as a TV game show producer. Finding he enjoys both jobs, he assumes a bizarre double life, juggling risky … Continue reading
Is it just me, or is Chris Kattan kind of cute? Okay, it’s just me. Okay, he’s not really cute… at all. But, hey, he sure is funny. Which is a good thing, because if he weren’t, there would be absolutely nothing positive to say about his new flick, Corky Romano. Despite Kattan’s comic abilities, … Continue reading
Martial arts dynamo Jet Li teams with rapper DMX in this exceptionally convoluted urban kung fu caper. Li, whose dramatic range includes exactly one facial expression, plays Su, a Taiwanese government agent looking for the precious “black diamonds” recently pilfered by professional thief Tony (DMX), which are now in the hands of a powerful crime … Continue reading
Say what you will about Britney, but she’s no dumb blonde. Unlike fellow pop diva Mariah Carey, whose acting debut was a wooden performance in a melodramatic vanity project of epic proportions, Britney has chosen a cheery road-trip flick in which to launch her film career. It’s a smart move; Crossroads is silly and exuberant … Continue reading
With its dazzling opening credit sequence, Daredevil begins on an unquestionably promising note. Stylized drawings of a gigantic metropolis give way to a CGI cityscape suitably grim for a crime-fighting crusader. But then, a terrible thing happens. With no warning, the first voiceover narration begins, delivered in Ben Affleck’s distinctly inflection-free monotone. And just like … Continue reading
Blinded by toxic waste when he was a boy, lawyer Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) now puts his radioactivally enhanced remaining senses to use every night as Daredevil, a vigilante crime fighter in a ridiculous red leather pantsuit. The surprisingly joyless action sees him wooing Elektra (Jennifer Garner), a hyper-defensive martial arts expert, while squaring off … Continue reading
“There are no moments of miraculous self-discovery in Dark Blue, nor do any of the characters suddenly grow a conscience. Instead, as their own situations increasingly mirror the city’s own foreboding state of affairs, they experience brief moments of clarity, then struggle quietly to figure out the right thing to do.” Riot Act Racial unrest serves … Continue reading
Mike Rucker Writes 