Bandits
Look close enough and you’re bound to recognize numerous other film homage’s in director Barry Levinson’s positively winning comedy starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton as two prison escapees who take bank robbery to a whole new level. Joe Blake (Willis) and Terry Collins (Thornton) have just broken out of Oregon State Prison and plan to return to their old ways.
Instead of holding up the bank, hypochondriac Terry suggest that they kidnap the bank managers the evening before, spend the night with their respective families, and then enter the bank first thing in the morning before anyone arrives.
Not only does the ploy work, the team become known on the hit television show “Criminals At Large” as the sleep-over bandits. The bandits invite Joe’s cousin Harvey (Troy Garity) into their fold to serve as driver and look-out. Then they run into disillusioned housewife Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett), on the run from a bad marriage, who not only becomes an asset to the team, but eventually falls for Joe. Filled with hilarious asides, great gimmicks and engaging performances, “Bandits” also benefits from a script that pay homage to such films as “Bedtime Story” and “It Happened One Night.” Great caper, great fun, great time. (MGM)
DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE (PG-13)
You want to feel sorry for Danny Morrison (Matt O’Leary), a 12-year old going through the pangs of divorce. As if the divorce weren’t enough of a jolt, Danny’s situation goes from bad to worse when his mother remarries. Top that off with the realization that Danny’s new stepfather is actually a killer and you have the makings of a made-for-television melodrama. Like Danny’s stepfather, the new film “Domestic Disturbance” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The film pretends to be a big screen thriller when in fact it’s nothing more than a rehashed Lifetime cable movie. Adding insult to injury, the film clocks in at an amazingly brief 89 minutes. Like it matters. Please click on title for complete review. (Paramount)
HIGH HEELS & LOW LIFES (R)
Disappointing comic caper from Mel Smith, who directed “The Tall Guy” with Jeff Goldblum (the “Elephant Man” musical alone is worth the price of admission) and “Bean” starring Rowan Atkinson. Smith’s comic timing is off in this good gals-bad guys caper about two ordinary women who decide to blackmail criminals. When British nurse Shannon (Minnie Driver) and her best friend, Frances (Mary McCormack), a failed actress, overhear plans for a bank robbery, they go to the police. When the police fail to do anything, the two women decide to blackmail the robbers for half the loot. Nice work if you can get it, but nothing goes as planned. When ringleaders Mason (Kevin McNally) and Kerrigan (Michael Gambon) come after Shannon and Frances, the bodies start piling up as the two women are forced to rise to the occasion. The cast is always better than the material, which relies heavily on circumstance and lapses in logic to move the plot forward. I realize this is just supposed to be a lark, but it fails to take flight. (Hollywood)
LOVE & RAGE (R)
The always watch-able Greta Scacchi is the main reason to watch this 19th Irish melodrama about a woman estate owner whose lust for her young, handsome estate manager sets into motion a dangerous power struggle. Scacchi stars as Agnes MacDonnell, a forty-something Englishwoman who owns a large estate on a small island off the coast of North West Ireland. Being female makes Agnes vulnerable to a male dominated society that looks down on strong women, so when she reluctantly hires estate manager James Lynchechaun (Daniel Craig), she keeps her attraction to him quiet. That wouldn’t be any fun, so it’s not long before James is sweating to the oldies, I mean older woman. What begins as a passionate affair turns ugly when James’ dark side comes to light. Nice production values and strong direction by Cathal Black. (Lion’s Gate)
MULHOLLAND DRIVE (R)
Take two hits of acid and call director David Lynch in the morning. What began as a rejected television pilot was turned into a feature-length film, and the results are absolutely frustrating. However, that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s pure Lynch, who not only demands that you watch the film, but pay close attention. Even then you might have a problem following the non-linear screenplay that might seem all over the place but really makes sense if you pay attention. Naomi Watts is stunning as simple, naive Betty Elms, who has come to Hollywood to be a star. Betty’s chance encounter with a woman named Rita (Laura Elena Harring), who is suffering from amnesia and hiding out in her aunt’s apartment, leads poor Betty down a dark and dangerous path called “Mulholland Drive.” Lynch treats the film like a cinematic puzzle, slowly adding a piece until everything begins to make sense. Or does it? Nothing is really what it seems in this film, and when you get to the ending you’ll either feel bewildered or fascinated by Lynch’s ability to break all the rules. There are many wonderful, weird moments in “Mulholland Drive,” including musical numbers that seem to come out of nowhere. The cast is outstanding, especially Watts and Harring, who play mirror opposites of each other. You must see this film. (Universal)
NO MAN’S LAND (R)
Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Film is a wonderfully witty and relevant parable about the horrors of war. Branko Djuric is excellent as Ciki, a Croatian fighter who escapes a Serbian ambush by hiding out in a trench. When Serbian soldiers dump one of his dead comrades into the trench on top of a land mine as a booby trap, Ciki panics and ends up killing one of the soldiers and wounding Nino (Rene Bitorajac). Trapped in the trench with his enemy and a comrade who turns out to be alive and whose movement could kill them all, Ciki decides that the only way to survive is to call a truce. That gives Ciki and Nino an opportunity to hash out the absurdities of war before being interrupted by a UN observer (Simon Callow) and a cable news reporter who turn their dilemma into a three-ring circus. Like “M*A*S*H” and “Catch 22,” writer-director Danis Tanovic, making his debut, perfectly captures the contrasts of war. Instead of forcing his characters to stand on a soap box, Tanovic gives them thoughtful reflections that have a lot to say not only about the war but the people caught up in its twisted logic. Highly recommended. (MGM)
SERENDIPITY (PG-13)
New York City is the backdrop for the romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale as two ships who meet in the night and then leave it to fate to bring them back together again. Jonathan Trager (Cusack) and Sara Thomas (Beckinsale) bump into each other while Christmas shopping in 1990. They spend the evening playing cutes games to see if they’re destined to be together, but as fate would have it, they find themselves separated. Years pass, and even though Jonathan and Sara move on with their lives and become engaged to others, they still wonder what would have been. Separated by a continent (Jonathan is a TV producer in New York, Sara a counselor in San Francisco), the two use their friends to help track down each other. Cusack and Beckinsale are so good that it’s easy to forgive the dry patches that blemish an otherwise sweetheart of a movie. Jeremy Piven, Molly Shannon and Eugene Levy as a reluctant Bloomingdale’s salesman are stand-outs. (Touchstone)
SPY GAME (R)
So mind-numbingly banal, “Spy Game” is an insult to anyone who has to suffer through it. One bad choice piled on top of another, “Spy Game” quickly collapses under the weight of a ludicrous screenplay, flat acting and uninspired direction. The film is an exercise in futility, an albatross that sets a new milestone for big budget, big star, big screen disasters. Extremely old-fashioned, and not in a good, nostalgic way, “Spy Game” is a spy thriller that never thrills. Not once do you feel a sense of urgency. “Spy Game” is so mechanical in its plotting, writing and acting that it becomes impossible to care about. Director Tony Scott (“Crimson Tide”) seals the deal with annoying camera tricks that are designed to pump up the action but only draw attention to how dull the film really is. Please click on title for complete review. (Universal)
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