A BETTER WAY TO DIE (R)

Vanity project for writer-director-star Scott Wiper. This guy can’t write or act, but he does know how to stage effective action scenes. Wiper stars as a former cop who just wants to settle down with his girlfriend back home and have a family. His plans are put on hold when he’s mistaken for a fugitive wanted by everyone from the FBI to the mob. Now he’s on the run, trying to stay ahead of his pursuers long enough to make sense of his predicament. Lots of explosions and car chases fail to make this anything more than what it is: low rent exploitation. You feel sorry for the supporting cast that that includes Andre Braugher, Joe Pantoliano, Natasha Henstridge and Lou Diamond Phillips. (Columbia-TriStar)

DIGIMON: THE MOVIE (PG)

I’m really not up on “Digimon” and Pokemon” and anything else that falls in-between. I tried watching “Digimon: The Movie,” but couldn’t. There aren’t enough hallucinatory drugs on the planet to make sense out of any of this. Kids love this stuff, and when I showed it to my neighbors kids’, they couldn’t have enjoyed it more. So my job isn’t to endorse or vilify “Digimon: The Movie.” I’m just here to let parents know that the film is now available on tape and DVD. Let them deal with it. (Fox)

DR. T & THE WOMEN (R)

Misstep for director Robert Altman, who is usually a master of character driven ensemble films. “Dr. T & The Women” is even more disappointing when you consider all of the wasted talent. Richard Gere stars as Dallas gynecologist Dr. Sullivan Travis, who services the city’s social elite. His already complex life becomes even more complicated when the women in his life start circling their wagons. First up is wife Farrah Fawcett, undergoing a mental breakdown and dancing nude in mall fountains. Then there’s daughter Kate Hudson, who is preparing for her wedding. Daughter Connie (Tara Reid) takes delight in outing her sister’s maid of honor, while his sister-in-law Laura Dern arrives with her three daughters in tow. Dr. T looks to chief nurse Shelley Long for sanity, and then escapes to the golf course to let off steam with his buddies. It’s there where he meets golf pro Helen Hunt, who teaches him more about life than birdies. The talent isn’t bad, it’s just that they really don’t have much to do. Altman constantly leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere. There’s plenty of conflict, but it’s not enough to make these characters enjoyable.(Artisan)

SEAMLESS (R)

The streets brought them together, their love of Rave parties threaten to tear them apart. There’s nothing seamless about this ineptly made teen drama that features Shannon Elizabeth before she became a hot property. Elizabeth plays the underground fashion designer who has caught the eye of J.B. (Kentaro Seagal, Steven’s son), a popular and successful D.J. and clothing store owner. J.B. is too good to be true, collecting lost souls on the street and adding them to his family. He sets up rave parties for these folks, and acts as the D.J. Elizabeth faces competition from one of J.B.’s “family” members, who wants him for herself. Who really cares? This film isn’t really about anything. It jumps from one clumsy moment to the next, where characters make speeches rather than talk to each other, and then try to look cool. They’re not. There’s nothing here that would have warranted a release except Elizabeth’s current popularity. (Artisan)

URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT (R)

The students at the exclusive Alpine University film school demand final cut. They get it in this occasionally clever and sometimes dumb sequel. Loretta Devine is the only link to the original film, playing a campus security guard who plants the seed for a horror film about urban legends into the mind of student Amy (Jennifer Morrison), who plans to use the idea to create a cinema verite thriller. Of course that sets the stage for a real killer to do his dirty work, using urban legends to dispatch the student body. There are plenty of in-jokes as Amy and her entourage go about making a film about urban legends as someone in their ranks actually creates them. The supporting cast is fun to watch, especially Devine as the female Dirty Harry and Matthew Davis in a dual role that will keep you guessing. The script and direction aren’t always in synch, but the cast makes up for it. (Columbia-TriStar)

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK:

FAR SCAPE (NR/ADV Films)

RATED X (R/NR/Showtime)

RETRIBUTION (R/Studio)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 8th, 2000 at 4:57 am and is filed under Film Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.