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TOMCATS
- D+Starring: Jerry O'Connell, Jake Busey, Shannon Elizabeth, Jaime Pressly, Horatio Sanz, Tracy Kay Wolfe, Julia Schultz, Bill Maher Directed by: Gregory Poirier Comedy, 95 min (18A) (Columbia Tristar, 2001) In the two short years since American Pie introduced pastry into the world of gross-out comedies, toilet humour has only gotten increasingly obnoxious and, with Tomcats, Hollywood may have finally reached the bottom of the outhouse. Ineptly written and directed by Greg Poirier, a former writer of porn films (who knew they had writers?), Tomcats relishes in such uproarious subjects as S&M, vomit, erectile dysfunction and testicular cancer with virtually none of the likeability or enthusiasm of Pie. Jerry O'Connell tops the cast as Michael Delaney, a confirmed bachelor who placed a bet seven years ago with all of his buddies over whom would be the last single guy out of the bunch. Now that Michael has run into a serious gambling debt, he enlists an old acquaintance (Pie's Shannon Elizabeth) to seduce and marry his only competition (Jake Busey), never realizing that he may just fall in love with her himself. Tedious sex and relationship high jinks soon follow, but Poirier structures the film as a series of skits that all go on far too long, many of which suggest that he thinks grossness devoid of wit is funny. Even worse, his characters are such insanely selfish stereotypes that they fail to result in any genuine amusement. Put this Tomcat to sleep. (top) (back)  TOPSY-TURVY
- B+Starring: Jim Broadbent, Allan Cordoner, Lesley Manville, Eleanor David, Ron Cook, Timothy Spall, Kevin McKidd, Alison Steadman Directed by: Mike Leigh Drama, 161 min (PG) (USA Films, 1999) Theatrical life gets a thrilling cinematic treatment with this 17th century drama from director Mike Leigh, best known for contemporary working-class British pictures like Secrets & Lies and Naked. Well-constructed right down to the smallest detail, the film tells the story of how composer Arthur Sullivan (Allan Cordoner) and librettist W.S. Gilbert (Jim Broadbent), the duo behind The Pirates of Penzance, wrote their 1885 Japanese fantasy The Mikado. Topsy-Turvy is finely attuned to all of the nuance, structure and character conflict that goes into creating a play, yet Leigh's homage to theatre folk never seems constructed so much as alive and breathing. The craftsmanship that has gone into creating the backgrounds and costumes of a long-gone time are astounding and the acting is top notch. One could quibble that Topsy-Turvy is overlong (163 minutes), but the film still stands as a wonderful reminder that there is, and always has been, no business like show business. (top) (back)  TORTILLA
SOUP
- B+Starring: Hector Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, Elizabeth Pena, Tamara Mello, Raquel Welch, Nikolai Kinski, Paul Rodriguez, Constance Marie Directed by: Maria Ripoll Drama, 102 min (PG) (Samuel Goldwyn, 2001) There are far more dishes in Mexican cuisine than tacos and nachos and a whole mess of them are on display in Tortilla Soup, a refried version of Ang Lee's delicious Taiwanese film Eat Drink Man Woman (1994). Considering all of the mouth-watering treats on display - not to mention the amazing preparation that goes into making them - the film should definitely not be seen on an empty stomach. Hector Elizondo, best known for his frequent collaborations with director Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries) is finally given a much-deserved lead role here as Martin Naranjo, a widowed L.A. chef who specializes in exotic Mexican meals but has begun to lose his sense of taste. At the same time, Martin is slowly losing control of his three grown daughters: a repressed chemistry teacher played by Elizabeth Pena (Lone Star), a successful businesswoman (Jacqueline Obradors), and a young free spirit (Tamara Mello). Throughout Tortilla Soup, the food keeps threatening to overwhelm the drama, but the story quickly clicks into place after a few early snags and director Maria Ripoll tempers the family drama with the exquisite comic timing of Elizondo and Raquel Welch as a tasty dish who has set her sights on Martin. (top) (back)  TOUCH
OF EVIL
- AStarring: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Marlene Dietrich, Dennis Weaver, Valentin de Vargas Directed by: Orson Welles Suspense, 111 min (Universal, 1958/1998) It may have taken over forty years, but Orson Welles' classic film noir has finally been released on video according to the director's exact specifications. Re-edited in 1998 following the discovery of a 58-page memo that Welles wrote upon seeing how Universal Studios butchered his work, Touch of Evil is now even more of a masterpiece of style and mood than ever before. Is that to say the new Touch of Evil is an entirely different picture? Hardly. It is, however, a superior picture, marked by slight but important changes (love that touched up opening sequence) that have a strong influence on Welles' transfixing story of greed and corruption in a Mexican border town. Welles himself leads the pitch-perfect cast, giving a wonderfully grotesque and bloated performance as a racist police chief, with the rest of the players including Charlton Heston as a Mexican narc and Janet Leigh as his lover. Touch of Evil was Welles' last studio film and, even today, it remains one heck of a great swan song. (top) (back)  TOWN
& COUNTRY -
D+Starring: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Garry Shandling, Andie MacDowell, Jenna Elfman, Nastassja Kinski, Josh Harnett Directed by: Peter Chelsom Comedy, 105 min (14A) (New Line, 2001) It took three years of rewrites and reedits to finally get Town & Country released and, judging from the sour looks on all of the actors' faces, it likely felt that long to film this unfunny "comedy." Warren Beatty, robotic and unconvincing, plays Porter Stoddard, a wealthy architect with a designer wife (Diane Keaton) whose recent extramarital flings begin to get the better of him when his best friend (Garry Shandling) is caught cheating on his wife (Goldie Hawn). Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to find empathy for any of the four leads, all of whom are such selfish idiots that one feels they are only getting what they deserve. The supporting cast includes Nastassja Kinski as a cellist with the hots for Beatty, Jenna Elfman as a quirky tackle shop clerk and Andie MacDowell as a nympho with a weird obsession for childhood toys, but their characters are all underwritten and overcooked, adding to the frantic action of the film, but never bringing some much needed charm or humour to the table. Directed by Peter Chelsom but no doubt pieced together after he left, Town & Country is a stultifying film that could easily have been described as comatose if everyone in it wasn't running around like chickens with their heads cut off. (top) (back)  TOY
STORY 2 - A-Starring the voices of: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer Directed by: John Lasseter Animated, 94 min (G) (Walt Disney, 1999) Movies don’t come more joyful than this computer animated gem, in which Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return as the voices of Woody the cowboy and spaceman Buzz Lightyear, best friends and the favourite toys of their boy owner, Andy. When an obsessive toy collector kidnaps Woody, it’s up to Buzz and the rest of the toy-chest gang to save him. Problem is, Woody has befriended some of the other collector items – namely Jessie the Cowgirl (Joan Cusack) and Stinky Pete the Prospector (Kelsey Grammer) – and he may not want saving. Though it lacks the novelty and sense of awe that came with the original Toy Story (1995), this sequel is still a runaway success, marked by a first-rate set of characters, several scenes of sheer wonder, a stellar screenplay and an action-packed storyline. While the first film was an all-out comedy, Toy Story 2 transposes the original’s sophistication and comic flair into an action-adventure setting, resulting in that rarest of rare – a sequel just as entertaining as its predecessor. (top) (back)  TRAFFIC
- A-Starring: Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, Miguel Ferrer Directed by: Steven Soderbergh Drama, 147 min (14A) (USA Films, 2000) Considering how his resume includes Erin Brockovich, The Limey, and sex, lies and videotape, it's astonishing to realize that the work of director Steven Soderbergh just keeps getting better. That said, it is going to be difficult for him to beat the ambitiousness and engrossing complexity of Traffic, an expertly executed ensemble drama that took home Oscars for Best Director and Screenplay, among others. Telling an important story without compromise or preachiness, Soderbergh weaves together a series of subplots revolving around the war on drugs. Among the key players here are Michael Douglas, forceful as a US drug czar who learns his teenage daughter is an addict; Benicio Del Toro, who deservedly took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his haunted work as a conflicted Mexican cop; and Catherine Zeta-Jones, chilling as wealthy matron who learns her husband is a dealer. When all these elements are brought together, it results in a truly superior picture about violence, power and addiction. (top) (back)  TRAINING
DAY
- BStarring: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin, Raymond J. Barry, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Action, 122 min (18A) (Warner Bros., 2001) Most actors will tell you that it is far more fun to play the bad guy and, as a street justice-favouring cop in Training Day, Denzel Washington is clearly enjoying his chance to dance with the dark side. Directed by music video vet Antoine Fuqua with a tension and maturity lacking in his previous pictures (Bait, The Replacement Killers), Training Day spans a 24-hour period in which Washington's corrupt-but-effective rogue detective introduces a trainee (Ethan Hawke) to the ways of the street, at one point even going so far as to force the newcomer, at gunpoint, to smoke a pipeful of PCP-laced pot. Needless to say, this is not the sort of Remember the Titans saint we've come to expect from Washington and his Oscar-winning performance is chilling, commanding and wonderfully soaked with ego. At the same time, supporting Oscar-nominee Hawke does a surprisingly good job of holding his own in what could have easily been the bland moral center of the picture. Throughout, the two actors are sensational when it comes sustaining the audiences attention, even when the film makes a few mistakes in its second half, relying too much on a major coincidence and rote action clichés that this character-driven thriller would have been better to do without. (top) (back) |
