Mini Movie Reviews

OLYMPIAN STAFF, NEWS SERVICES

Originally published Friday, March 22, 2002

ASOKA

* * * (not rated)

- Stars: Danny Denzongpa, Kareena Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan.

- Playing: Capitol Theater with Olympia Film Society.

- Synopsis: This historical drama tells about Emperor Asoka's ascension to the throne of Magadha in the third century B.C. and his conversion from a warlord to a peaceful Buddhist. Directed by Santosh Silvan.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND

* * * * (PG-13)

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

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

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

BLADE 2

* * 1/2 (R)

- Stars: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus and Ron Perlman.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: This sequel to the violent 1998 vampire action film is an even more sadistic, rip-and-roar bloodbath. But, that said, it's also a pretty good movie. Wesley Snipes returns as the half-human, half-vampire warrior, determined to rid the world of bloodsuckers. Guillermo del Toro directs. New Line, 118 minutes.

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL

(PG)

- Stars: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore and Dee Wallace.

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

- Synopsis: Steven Spielberg's most personal and touching fantasy adventure returns, all spiffed up with a bit more footage. Universal, 120 minutes.

40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS

* 1/2 (R)

- Stars: Josh Hartnett and Shannyn Sossamon.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A young man gives up sex for Lent -- and then meets the woman of his dreams. Great setup, but weak writing keeps it from being nearly as funny as it should be. Directed by Michael Lehmann. Miramax Pictures, 93 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.

HARRISON'S FLOWERS

* * (R)

- Stars: Andie MacDowell, David Strathairn and Adrien Brody.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: When a Newsweek journalist disappears in war-torn Yugoslavia, his wife travels to Europe to find him. Directed by Elie Chouraqui.

ICE AGE

* * * 1/2 (PG)

- Stars: Animated, with the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary.

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

- Synopsis: Three prehistoric animals embark on a quest to return a human infant to his tribe in this fresh, funny and richly imagined animated comic adventure. Directed by Carlos Soldanha and Chris Wedge. Twentieth Century Fox, 85 minutes.

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

* * * * (PG-13)

- Stars: Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen.

- Playing: Lacey 8 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.

THE PLAYER

* * * * (R)

- Stars: Tim Robbins and Peter Gallagher.

- Playing: 2 and 9:30 p.m. March 24 at Capitol Theater with Olympia Film Society.

- Synopsis: In this satirical murder mystery, a boy-wonder studio executive tries to keep from falling apart in the shark-infested waters of Hollywood. Directed by Robert Altman.

RESIDENT EVIL

No stars (R)

- Stars: Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez.

- Playing: Capital Mall Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, "Resident Evil" is so bad it can't even steal effectively from far better movies. Written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Columbia Pictures, 101 minutes.

SHIPPING NEWS

* * (R)

- Stars: Kevin Spacey, Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench and Julianne Moore.

- Playing: Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: This adaptation of the E. Annie Proulx novel is awash in hackneyed old-time secrets and hydrophobic metaphor and never consumes us as it should. Despite an intriguing premise and a spectacular, rugged setting, it's a loping affair. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom. 124 minutes.

SHOWTIME

* * (PG-13)

- Stars: Eddie Murphy, Robert De Niro and Rene Russo.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Two mismatched cops are teamed to have their work filmed for a reality TV series in this weak comedy that gets its minimal laughs from the chemistry between the stars. But the film misses the boat in satirizing its subject. Directed by Tom Dey. Warner Bros., 95 minutes.

SORORITY BOYS

1/2 (R)

- Stars: Barry Watson, Michael Rosenbaum and Harland Williams.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Three frat rats must disguise themselves as girls and join a sorority to prove they didn't embezzle the fraternity's party fund. Naughty, but very rarely funny. Directed by Wally Wolodarsky. Touchstone Pictures, 97 minutes.

THE TIME MACHINE

* * * (PG-13)

- Stars: Guy Pearce, Orlando Jones, Samantha Mumba, Jeremy Irons and Sienna Guillory.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A modestly engaging time travel adventure, with filmmaker Simon Wells substituting romance, action and stunning visual effects for the more science-oriented logic and socio-political concerns of his real-life great-grandfather, H.G. Wells. Dreamworks, 96 minutes.

WE WERE SOLDIERS

* * * (R)

- Stars: Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A bloody true-life story of Americans' first major confrontation in North Vietnam, a 1965 battle that saw 400 Americans heroically hold out against 2,000 Vietnamese for three days. Randall Wallace is the film's writer-director. Paramount, 138 minutes.

Star guide

Superior * * * *

Good * * *

Fair * *

Poor *

Movie ratings

G - General audiences.

PG - Parental guidance suggested.

PG-13 - Parental guidance sug-gested for children under 13.

R - Under 17 requires adult guardian.

NC-17 - No one under 17 admitted.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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