Seemingly small movies often have pleasant surprises

ELLIOTT SMITH

Originally published Friday, January 11, 2002

One of the great things about movies is that no matter how many we've seen, they still have to power to surprise us.

Whether it's showing us something new or confounding box-office records, finding a surprise movie is always a good feeling.

For example, who would have thought a film about illegal street racing would be the breakout movie of the summer?

Even the makers of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (PG-13) ***, couldn't have imagined making $100 million, but in reality, all the makings of a hit are there.

The aptly named Vin Diesel stars as Dominic, the father figure to a group of racers in Los Angeles who, by day, soup up their cars for the races that roar through the street at night.

Into this world enters undercover cop Paul Walker, who befriends Dominic in the hopes of breaking up a theft ring the police suspect is masterminded by Dominic's crew.

So yeah, the plot isn't all that original, but that's not the reason why you're watching this.

The action here is pretty much nonstop, with high-powered cars screaming across the screen and fists and bullets flying with reckless abandon.

The Video Guy has been longing for a pure action film for quite a long time, and while this isn't the perfect movie, it delivers enough thrills to overcome some of its flaws, including the ridiculous finale.

Diesel continues to show a strong screen presence, although it will be interesting to see if he can break out of the brooding man of action roles he seems to be pegged for.

For the past couple of years, the horror genre has been in serious trouble, with the biggest hit being the re-release of "The Exorcist."

Naturally, no one held out much hope for JEEPERS CREEPERS (R) ** 1/2, a seemingly quiet movie that flew under the radar for much of its production, with the only real note being that it was directed by convicted child molester Victor Salva.

But it opened a lot of eyes when it was the No. 1 film its first week of release and wound up grossing a substantial amount more than its budget.

As a horror fan, I really wanted to like this movie, but there are some serious problems here.

The first half of this movie is excellent. Brother and sister Darry (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Phillips) are driving home from college on one of those out-of-the-way roads that exists only in the movies when they are nearly run off the road by a crazy driver.

Later, they see the same driver dumping what looks to be bodies down a hole in front of an abandoned house. Now, for some reason, they decide to investigate, where they make a horrific discovery.

At this point, everything is great. It's eerie, it's freaky, it works.

But then things start to falter. Once we get to see the monster, a lot of the suspense is lifted. The explanation for his actions is ludicrous. The introduction of a psychic is a cop-out.

And while the surprise ending is a step in the right direction, its abruptness doesn't help gain back some of the steam the movie had in its first hour.

Perhaps the biggest surprise last year was that Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor could sing!

Their pleasant vocal stylings could be heard in MOULIN ROUGE (PG-13) ***, director Baz Luhrmann's wild, visceral imagining of the famous French brothel.

McGregor's Christian is a struggling writer from London who moves to France and falls in love with Satine (Kidman), the star of the over-the-top show at the Moulin Rouge.

Their relationship isn't that easy, however, with an angry Duke (Jim Broadbent) vying for the affections of Satine while at the same time bankrolling the play Christian is writing and in which Satine is starring.

Luhrmann has his stars sing to express their feelings, using several modern songs, including "Like a Virgin." It's a novel touch, but at times so much is going on, it's hard to follow the action.

Still, Luhrmann should be credited for the hubris in bringing the musical back into the forefront and showing us that Kidman is more than a pretty face.

Elliott Smith is a sportswriter for The Olympian by night and The Video Guy even later at night. Readers may send comments or suggestions to esmith@olympia.gannett.com.

Star guide

great things about movies is that no matter how many we've seen, they still have to power to surprise us.

Whether it's showing us something new or confounding box-office records, finding a surprise movie is always a good feeling.

For example, who would have thought a film about illegal street racing would be the breakout movie of the summer?

Even the makers of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (PG-13) ***, couldn't have imagined making $100 million, but in reality, all the makings of a hit are there.

The aptly named Vin Diesel stars as Dominic, the father figure to a group of racers in Los Angeles who, by day, soup up their cars for the races that roar through the street at night.

Into this world enters undercover cop Paul Walker, who befriends Dominic in the hopes of breaking up a theft ring the police suspect is masterminded by Dominic's crew.

So yeah, the plot isn't all that original, but that's not the reason why you're watching this.

The action here is pretty much nonstop, with high-powered cars screaming across the screen and fists and bullets flying with reckless abandon.

The Video Guy has been longing for a pure action film for quite a long time, and while this isn't the perfect movie, it delivers enough thrills to overcome some of its flaws, including the ridiculous finale.

Diesel continues to show a strong screen presence, although it will be interesting to see if he can break out of the brooding man of action roles he seems to be pegged for.

For the past couple of years, the horror genre has been in serious trouble, with the biggest hit being the re-release of "The Exorcist."

Naturally, no one held out much hope for JEEPERS CREEPERS (R) ** 1/2, a seemingly quiet movie that flew under the radar for much of its production, with the only real note being that it was directed by convicted child molester Victor Salva.

But it opened a lot of eyes when it was the No. 1 film its first week of release and wound up grossing a substantial amount more than its budget.

As a horror fan, I really wanted to like this movie, but there are some serious problems here.

The first half of this movie is excellent. Brother and sister Darry (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Phillips) are driving home from college on one of those out-of-the-way roads that exists only in the movies when they are nearly run off the road by a crazy driver.

Later, they see the same driver dumping what looks to be bodies down a hole in front of an abandoned house. Now, for some reason, they decide to investigate, where they make a horrific discovery.

At this point, everything is great. It's eerie, it's freaky, it works.

But then things start to falter. Once we get to see the monster, a lot of the suspense is lifted. The explanation for his actions is ludicrous. The introduction of a psychic is a cop-out.

And while the surprise ending is a step in the right direction, its abruptness doesn't help gain back some of the steam the movie had in its first hour.

Perhaps the biggest surprise last year was that Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor could sing!

Their pleasant vocal stylings could be heard in MOULIN ROUGE (PG-13) ***, director Baz Luhrmann's wild, visceral imagining of the famous French brothel.

McGregor's Christian is a struggling writer from London who moves to France and falls in love with Satine (Kidman), the star of the over-the-top show at the Moulin Rouge.

Their relationship isn't that easy, however, with an angry Duke (Jim Broadbent) vying for the affections of Satine while at the same time bankrolling the play Christian is writing and in which Satine is starring.

Luhrmann has his stars sing to express their feelings, using several modern songs, including "Like a Virgin." It's a novel touch, but at times so much is going on, it's hard to follow the action.

Still, Luhrmann should be credited for the hubris in bringing the musical back into the forefront and showing us that Kidman is more than a pretty face.

Elliott Smith is a sportswriter for The Olympian by night and The Video Guy even later at night. Readers may send comments or suggestions to

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