Mini Movie Reviews

OLYMPIAN STAFF, NEWS SERVICES

Originally published Friday, February 22, 2002

ADANGGAMAN

* * * (not rated)

- Stars: Rasmanc Oucdraogo, Albertine N'Guessan and Ziable Honre Goore Bi.

- Playing: Feb. 23-27 at Capitol Theater with Olympia Film Society.

- Synopsis: During the 17th century, an African man escapes the attack of King Adanggaman in the king's quest to capture able-bodied slave material -- and is befriended by a fierce warrior. Contains mature subject matter. In Bambara, Baule and French with English subtitles. Directed by Roger Gnoan M'Bala.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND

* * * * (PG-13)

- Stars: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Shelton Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Russell Crowe delivers a virtuoso performance as the tormented, brilliant mathematician John Forbes Nash. Directed by Ron Howard. Universal Pictures, 129 minutes.

BIG FAT LIAR

* 1/2 (PG)

- Stars: Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti and Amanda Bynes.

- Playing: Capital Mall Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A small, thin comedy about a high-school student who gets revenge when his homework is stolen by a movie producer and transformed into a movie. Universal Pictures, 88 minutes.

BLACK CAESAR

* * * (R)

- Stars: Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry and Art Lund.

- Playing: 6:30 and 9 p.m. Feb. 28 at Capitol Theater with Olympia Film Society.

- Synopsis: A tough, angry youth, emotionally burdened by the oppression of racism, rises to power in criminal circles and eventually causes a gang war. Directed by Larry Cohen.

BLACK HAWK DOWN

* * (R)

- Stars: Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard, Josh Hartnett and Eric Bana.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A gritty, tough re-enactment of a U.S. mission in Somalia in 1993 that went drastically wrong -- and the heroism of the men involved. But its racial politics are muddled and unsettling. Directed by Ridley Scott. Columbia Pictures, 143 minutes.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

* * (R)

- Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Francesca Neri and Cliff Curtis.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A standard action film, built on the revenge formula, with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Los Angeles fireman who travels to Colombia to kill the terrorists whose bomb killed his innocent wife and child. co-star for director Andrew Davis. Warner Bros., 115 minutes.

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

* * * (PG-13)

- Stars: Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas, Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling tale of betrayal and revenge looks great in this new version, but suffers from a lack of depth once it gets past the production design. Still, it could be just the movie to interest that pre-teen boy of yours in reading the book. Directed by Kevin Reynolds. Touchstone Pictures, 110 minutes.

CROSSROADS

* * (PG-13)

- Stars: Britney Spears and Dan Aykroyd.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Three teen-age girls drive cross-country after high school graduation. One of them is Britney Spears. Does the rest really matter? Directed by Tamra Davis. Paramount Pictures, 90 minutes.

DRAGONFLY

* * (PG-13)

- Stars: Kevin Costner, Kathy Bates, Ron Rifkin and Susanna Thompson.

- Playing: Capital Mall Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Part "Sixth Sense," part haunted-house thriller and, in the biggest chunk of all, part new-age inspirational, "Dragonfly" takes about 85 minutes to get to a satisfying punch line but without coherence or momentum. Directed by Tom Shadyac. Universal, 85 minutes.

GOSFORD PARK

* * * * (R)

- Stars: Alan Bates, Clive Owen, Emily Watson, Helen Mirren, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Jeremy Northam and Ryan Phillipe.

- Playing: Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A British period piece full of eccentric characters who provide an endless list of suspects when one of them is murdered during a country-house weekend gathering in 1932. And this comedy of manners is so much fun that it wouldn't even need the mystery to be one of the year's top entertainments. Directed by Robert Altman.

JOHN Q

* * 1/2 (PG-13)

- Stars: Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta and James Woods.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Denzel Washington plays a frustrated, but under-insured father who takes over a hospital after they refuse to give his dying son a heart transplant. An overly obvious dispute against HMOs, the film still engages, thanks to Washington's heartfelt portrayal. Nick Cassavetes directs. New Line, 118 minutes.

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

* * * * (PG-13)

- Stars: Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Peter Jackson's vivid and imaginative retelling of the first part of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy trilogy about a young Hobbit who tries to save Middle Earth by destroying an all-powerful ring of evil. New Line, 178 minutes.

MULHOLLAND DRIVE

* * * (R)

- Stars: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring and Ann Miller.

- Playing: Feb. 23-27 at Capitol Theater with Olympia Film Society.

- Synopsis: A Hollywood mystery in which an older actress and a younger actress tangle with the dark side and each other. Directed by David Lynch.

QUEEN OF THE DAMNED

* * (R)

- Stars: Aaliyah.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: The late, widely adored R&B star Aaliyah may have the title role in "Queen of the Damned" but the movie turns out to be a calling card for Stuart Townsend, the actor who plays the vampire Lestat. Directed by Michael Rymer, Warner Bros., 95 minutes.

RETURN TO NEVERLAND

* 1/2 (G)

- Playing: Shelton Cinemas, Yelm Cinemas and Capital Mall Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Uninspired sequel to Disney's 1953 classic "Peter Pan." The animation looks 50 years old, which would have been OK had a Golden Age story accompanied it. Instead, we get rehashed characters and situations that play like the direct-to-video movie this should have been. Disney, 72 minutes.

SNOW DOGS

* * 1/2 (PG)

- Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Coburn.

- Playing: Shelton Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Predictable children's film about a Miami dentist (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who inherits a dogsled team and heads to Alaska. While there, he butts heads with a gruff local (James Coburn). Should be fun for the kids, but not parents. Directed by Brian Levant. Disney, 99 minutes.

SUPER TROOPERS

* * (R)

- Stars: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Marisa Coughlan.

- Playing: Capital Mall Cinemas.

- Synopsis: "Super Troopers" aims to be a sort of "Airplane" on the open road. And it has an authentic, low-budget look that recalls the worst '70s B-movies, even though it's set today. Jay Chandrasekhar directs. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 100 minutes.

A WALK TO REMEMBER

(PG)

- Star rating: Not reviewed.

- Stars: Mandy Moore and Shane West.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Jaded high schooler Shane West falls for Mandy Moore in a coming-of-age story set in North Carolina. With Peter Coyote and Daryl Hannah.

Star guide

Superior * * * *

Good * * *

Fair * *

Poor *

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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