Mini Movie Reviews

OLYMPIAN STAFF, NEWS SERVICES

Originally published Friday, March 29, 2002

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.

BLADE 2

* * 1/2 (R)

- Stars: Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson.

- 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. Snipes returns as the half-human, half-vampire warrior, determined to rid the world of bloodsuckers. Guillermo del Toro directs. New Line, 118 minutes.

CLOCKSTOPPERS

* * 1/2 (PG)

- Stars: Jesse Bradford, French Stewart and Michael Biehn.

- Playing: Capital Mall Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: A Nickelodeon movie about a teen who finds a wristwatch that allows him to stop time. Aimed squarely at the 10-year-old audience; parents, beware of having to sit through this one. Directed by Jonathan Frakes.

DEATH TO SMOOCHY

* 1/2 (R)

- Stars: Robin Williams, Edward Norton and Catherine Keener.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas.

- Synopsis: This tale of the downfall of kids' TV personality Rainbow Randolph (Williams) is a crushing disappointment and a failure for nearly everyone involved. Directed by Danny DeVito.

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL

* * * 1/2 (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.

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.

MONSTER'S BALL

* * * 1/2 (R)

- Stars: Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry.

- Playing: Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Marc Forster's potent drama confronts racism through its depiction of an unlikely relationship between a white, Southern death-row prison guard and the black widow of a man he helped execute.

PANIC ROOM

* * * (R)

- Stars: Jodie Foster.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: Competent thriller about a divorcee (Foster) who buys a New York brownstone equipped with an impenetrable bunker. On their first night in the home, she and her daughter use the room to escape burglars. To their dismay, the bad guys refuse to leave, and a standoff begins.

RESIDENT EVIL

No stars (R)

- Stars: Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez.

- Playing: Capital Mall Cinemas.

- Synopsis: "Resident Evil" is so bad it can't even steal effectively from far better movies.

THE ROOKIE

* * * 1/2 (G)

- Stars: Dennis Quaid, Brian Cox and Rachel Griffiths.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

- Synopsis: The unlikely but true story of baseball's oldest rookie -- and how he got there -- told in an affecting, sometimes-poetic tale.

SCOTLAND, PA

* * * 1/2 (R)

- Stars: Maura Tierney, James LeGros and Christopher Walken.

- Playing: March 30-April 4 at Capitol Theater with Olympia Film Society.

- Synopsis: A modern rendition of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," in which the McBeths vie for fast-food stardom in a working-class town.

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.

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 rarely funny.

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 from filmmaker Simon Wells, whose real-life great-grandfather was H.G. Wells.

WE WERE SOLDIERS

* * * (R)

- Stars: Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott

- Playing: Lacey 8 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.

WHAT TIME IS IT THERE?

* * * 1/2 (not rated)

- Stars: Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Shiang-Chyi and Ly Yi-Ching.

- Playing: March 30-April 4 at Capitol Theater with Olympia Film Society.

- Synopsis: After a Taipei watchmaker dies, his widow mourns and his son frantically changes all the clocks in town to Paris time in this bittersweet film about love and loss. For mature audiences.

Star guide

Superior * * * *

Good * * *

Fair * *

Poor *

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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