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RECOMMENDED
RELEASES COMPLETE
REVIEW INDEX OSCAR
FAVOURITES |
| Archived Video Reviews (Bo - Bz) |
 BOILER
ROOM
- B-Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nicky Katt, Ben Affleck, Nia Long, Tom Everett Scott, Jamie Kennedy, Scott Caan Directed by: Ben Younger Drama, 120 min (14A) (New Line, 2000) With Boiler Room, writer-director Ben Younger is more than aware that he is making a Generation X version of Wall Street. He is so aware, in fact, that he actually finds room in his picture for a tribute to that 1987 picture in which his characters, a young group of selfish, money-hungry stockbrockers, treat the film as their own gospel of greed. During such a scene – as well as any sections of the film that takes us inside the devious, sneaky world of a sleazy "chop shop" brokerage – Boiler Room makes for riveting entertainment, chugging along on the rhythm of its own passionate amorality. The film runs out of steam, though, when it tries to fit entirely routine subplots about an office romance, a father-son relationship and the FBI into the behind-the-scenes action. Giovanni Ribisi is somewhat mannered as the film’s protagonist, but Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel and Nicky Katt give commanding performances as three oily snakes. (top) (back)  THE
BONE COLLECTOR
- C+Starring: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Ed O'Neill, Mike McGlone, Luis Guzman, Zena Grey Directed by: Phillip Noyce Suspense, 118 min (14A) (Universal, 1999) Watching this routine crime thriller, one can pretty much tick off a list of earlier pictures that are being ripped off, with the most prominent victims being Seven, Copycat and, to a lesser extent, Silence of the Lambs. In other words, this is yet another atmospheric, only-in-the-movies thriller in which a diabolical killer actually takes more time planting clues for his pursuers than trying to get away with murder. Denzel Washington does what he can with the role of Lincoln Rhymes, a criminologist who, paralyzed from the neck down, enlists a rookie street cop (Angelina Jolie) to be his eyes, arms and legs in the pursuit of a madman. Directed by Phillip Noyce without the sense of dread that marked his Dead Calm, The Bone Collector has its terrifying moments, but most of them are only due to a fetish with gore and none of them are due to any character involvement. The film's spinelessness becomes particularly apparent when the killer's face is revealed. It's almost as though his identity was picked out of a hat. (top) (back)  BONES
- C+Starring: Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, Khalil Khan, Sean Amsing, Bianca Lawson, Merwin Mondesir, Clifton Powell, Michael T. Weiss Directed by: Ernest R. Dickerson Horror, 92 min (18A) (New Line, 2001) Rap star Snoop Dogg clearly relishes the chance to be bad to the bone in this hip-hop throwback to '70s blaxploitation horror pictures (though, truth be told, he was more genuinely frightening as a reality-based villain in Baby Boy). Fit snugly in leather pimp duds, Snoop Dogg plays Jimmy Bones, a Robin Hood of the hood who was killed by some shady partners in the '70s and now spends his time haunting his old Amityville-style townhouse. When a group of young entrepreneurs led by Khalil Khan buy the building with the intent of turning it into a dance-club (despite the warnings of psychic Pam Grier), Jimmy is more than happy to wreak havoc and seek revenge on those who betrayed him. Former Spike Lee cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson, who has directed more than his share of stinkers (1994's Surviving the Game, 1995's Demon Knight), shows a stylistic proficiency here and the film should please hard-core horror fans. Reaching a wider audience is another matter, and Bones, with its skeleton-thin storyline, all to often falls back on routine haunted house tricks (menacing shadows, pipes dripping with blood, projectile maggots) instead of trying to push the genre in a different direction or offer as much bite as bark. (top) (back)  BOOK
OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2
- FStarring: Jeffrey Donovan, Kim Director, Tristan Skylar, Erica Leerhsen, Stephen Barker Turner, Lanny Flanherty Directed by: Joe Berlinger Horror, 90 min (18A) (Artisan, 2000) Before becoming the victim of its own hype, The Blair Witch Project was an inventive, highly effective horror film that, in telling the documentary-style story of three slackers who disappeared in the woods, drew its terror out of brilliantly keeping the scares to our imaginations and baring little resemblance to the typical fright flick. Joe Berlinger, a documentary director making his fiction debut with this lousy sequel, seems to have no understanding for what made the original film so popular in the first place, instead shoving our faces in violent, bloody images (dead children, anyone?) and staging everything as if it were the umpteenth Nightmare on Elm Street sequel. Problem is, Book of Shadows is actually far, far worse than anything with Freddy Krueger, packed to the brim with dreary dialogue and amateurish performances, not a single scary scene and a pathetic excuse for a story that steals from the Scream sequels as it follows five fans of The Blair Witch Project who head into the Blair Witch's nesting grounds only to return with a strange spirit haunting them. None of this is worth the tape it is copied on. (top) (back)  BOWFINGER
- BStarring: Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Robert Downey Jr, Christine Baranski, Jamie Kennedy, Terence Stamp Directed by: Frank Oz Comedy, 97 min (PG) (Universal, 1999) It's always a good thing when an actor writes a screenplay based on his or her specific strengths and, with Bowfinger, Steve Martin has not only written a movie that plays perfectly into his talents, but also into those of costar Eddie Murphy. As a result, though Bowfinger may be a little soft on the satire side, its eagerness to please is undeniable and some moments are howlingly funny. Set in the no-budget world of Los Angeles filmmaking, Bowfinger casts Martin as the title character, an Ed Wood-of-the-'90s director who, for his latest effort entitled Chubby Rain, comes up with a scheme to secretly film action star Kit Ramsey (Murphy) as he unknowingly interacts with his cast and use a glasses-and-braces-wearing look-alike (also Murphy) to fill in any gaps. As in The Nutty Professor, it is comically rewarding to have Murphy play two roles (one arrogant and mean, the other naïve and endearing) and, though his character's scheme is hardly plausible, Martin's performance is disarming and loose. (top) (back)  BOWLING
FOR COLUMBINE - B+Featuring: Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Matt Stone, Dick Clark, George W. Bush Directed by: Michael Moore Documentary, 119 min (14A) (MGM, 2002) Michael Moore gets more press than the bulk of documentary filmmakers not because his ideas are passionate (though they are) or because he isn't above a little self-promotion (he certainly isn't). If anything, it is because he knows how to tell a story, take a stand and make a point while entertaining at the same time. Moore's Oscar-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine takes a deep look at the American gun culture, skillfully juxtaposing moments of horror (security-camera footage from the Littleton, Colorado, high school massacre) with satire (a South Park-style review of the country's violent past), and the result is a sobering, insightful and controversial work. Moore occasionally leans too far into blunt manipulation (at one point placing the photo of a murdered young girl on the driveway of NRA president Charlton Heston), but you have to admire his dogged journalistic ambition. Among the nuggets here: an interview with the creepy brother of an Oklahoma City bombing convict, a man who was saddened when he only ranked second on a list of bomb suspects, a Chris Rock stand-up routine and interviews with a thoughtful Marilyn Manson and seemingly racist Heston. Inflammatory, powerful and provocative indeed. (top) (back)  BOUNCE
- B-Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Tony Goldwyn, Joe Morton, Natasha Henstridge, Jennifer Grey, Alex D. Linz, Johnny Galecki Directed by: Don Roos Drama, 106 min (PG) (Miramax, 2000) Any spring in the step of this romantic drama can be attributed to one sparkling source: lovely Gwyneth Paltrow. Playing the widowed mother of two young boys, Paltrow gives a stellar performance marked by happiness, sadness, hopefulness and confusion, with the actress often dancing between the emotions within spans of only a few seconds. Because of this, the Oscar winner effortlessly outshines everything else in the film including, unfortunately, her co-star (and ex-squeeze) Ben Affleck, who spends most of the movie either trying too hard or not enough as an advertising executive who feels guilty for the plane crash death of Paltrow's husband (Affleck gave the stranger his ticket at the last minute). Bounce was written and directed by Don Roos, but the film bares zero resemblance to the fiercely dark comedy of Roos' last picture, The Opposite of Sex, instead opting for a quiet, touching and understated, if occasionally mundane, look at what happens when love is mixed with loss. (top) (back) |
