24 HOUR WOMAN (R)

What is it about Rosie Perez’s voice that makes me want to shove hot pokers in my ears? Here’s a genuinely funny and engaging comedy-drama that is almost impossible to sit through thanks to Perez. Director Nancy Savoca has a unique voice, one that doesn’t get on my nerves. Her previous films, “Household Saints” and “True Love” were gems. “The 24 Hour Woman” is another off beat, quirky look at love and life. It features interesting characters and a great premise. Unfortunately, it also features Perez, who plays Grace Santos, the overworked producer of a popular morning show. When Grace becomes pregnant, the show puts the focus on her, right up through the deliver. As if being a working mom weren’t hard enough, having a camera record your every move is unbearable. While the rest of the cast manage to rise to the top like cream, Perez’s performance is like a lead weight. (Artisan)

DOWN IN THE DELTA (PG-13)

Writer-poet Maya Angelou makes a marvelous director’s debut with this honest and heartfelt drama about a mother doing whatever it takes in order to save her daughter and grandchildren from the bad streets of Chicago. Alfre Woodard is exceptional as Loretta, a woman with two daughters who lives with her mother and has succumbed to the drugs and booze that flow freely in the streets. In order to save her daughter’s life, Rosa Lynn (Mary Alice, very sympathetic) pawns her most prize heirloom in order to send Loretta and her two daughters to the old family homestead in Mississippi. With the help of her uncle (Morgan Freeman), Loretta pulls herself together and learns that family is more important than anything else in her life. The film is filled with memorable performances, strong dialogue, and honest situations that force you to stop and think about your life. Angelou does just fine as a storyteller, pacing the film with assurance. Her cast never lets her down, especially Woodard, who is always a delight to watch. Highly recommended. (Miramax)

RESURRECTION MAN (R)

Director Marc Evans’ morality play features a vicious performance by Stuart Townsend as an Irish terrorist who becomes the fascination of a journalist, well played by James Nesbitt. Set in and around Belfast in the mid 1970s, the film deals with the political turmoil that tore the country apart, and how some were forced into drastic situations. Violent and even brutal in moments, Evans’ film is filled with exciting situations and engaging characters, including a dynamic Brenda Fricker as the killer’s agreeable mother. What I especially liked about “Resurrection Man” was that the filmmaker’s never feel the need to stand on a soapbox. They don’t take sides, but instead present a story that looks at both sides of the conflict. (Polygram)

SHATTERED IMAGE (R)

Clever psychological thriller stars Anne Parillaud as a woman whose dream life and reality are about to collide. The problem is Jessie Markham doesn’t know which one is which. Is her life as a wealthy heiress a dream? If so, then that means Jessie is a cold-blooded assassin in real life. As Jessie struggles with her dilemma, the characters in her dreams and in reality begin to merge, creating a complex web that Jessie may never escape. Director Raul Ruiz, working from a playful, crafty script by Duane Poole, delivers a film that is both engaging and thrilling. Like the main character, we are kept in the dark. Parillaud does an excellent job of creating a character who walks a high wire most of the film, while William Baldwin is fine as the man in both of her lives. (Universal)

TELLING YOU (R)

Lightweight romantic comedy about two friends who wind up working at the local pizzeria after returning home from college. This Miramax pick-up gets a video release on the strength of co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt. Hewitt plays the ex-girlfriend of Phil (Peter Facinelli), who would rather make pizzas with his buddy (Dash Mihok) and party with his friends than light their old flame. Not much goes on in director Robert DeFranco’s film, but that’s the point. These characters are stuck in time, and as such, have to stagnate before they are allowed to redeem themselves. The young cast and familiar situations might appeal to those who can identify. (Miramax)

VIRUS (R)

Even though the science-fiction thriller “Virus” is based on a comic book, it feels like a retread of just about every film in the genre. The film even has former scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis as its lead. Still, those in the market for something tried and true will find it here. While it doesn’t have an original bone in its body, “Virus” does has a visceral style that works in its favor. It helps that the film was directed by former special effects supervisor John Bruno, who gives the film a signature look. He doesn’t do much with the actors or the by-the-numbers screenplay, but Bruno manages to make a film that is interesting to look at. We’ve been in these uncharted waters before, most recently with “Deep Rising.” In that film, the terror came from below the ocean’s surface. In “Virus,” the horror comes from outer space. It arrives in the form of an electrical signal that nests aboard a Russian research vessel. Arriving at the ghost ship is the troubled tug Sea Star and its crew, including mad captain (Donald Sutherland). It doesn’t take the crew of the Sea Star long to realize that the ship has been taken over by an alien presence that is using the ship and its crew to reconstruct itself. That gives Bruno and his special effects crew plenty of opportunity to show off their stuff, and boy do these guys lay on the gore. “Virus” isn’t very infectious, but it will quench the thirst of horror and science-fiction fans. (Universal)

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK:

BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND, A (R/Artisan)

DELIVER US FROM EVIL (NR/Victory Multimedia)

DOUBLE PLATINUM (NR/Columbia-TriStar)

FRANKLIN GOES TO SCHOOL NR/Polygram)

FRANKLIN AND THE TOOTH FAIRY (NR/Polygram)

STAR OF JAIPUR (NR/Victory Multimedia)

SURFACE TO AIR (R/Artisan)

TOM CLANCY’S NETFORCE (R/Trimark)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 10th, 2001 at 3:36 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.