8 Boxoffice FEBRUARY TRAILERS In which valentines arrive from the heart ofHollywood Elsewhere in this issue, Regal topper Mike Campbell calls this the best of times and the worst of times for the industry. Hollywood's release lineup this month could be «.i>.«-u a.3 u iui .«> «./\«iii|^i^ III :3U^pui i yjt iiij j Campbellese, the hefty number of offerings lu ««.itti j. few years ago was considered an off month shows that this is the best of times—and the worst of times, too. all Somewhere between "where will we get all the movs to fill all our megaplexes?" and "where will we pul these movies even with our megaplexes?" there's a hasn't found it yet. Case in point: Feb. 5, when four studio titles weigh in—with two of those offerings being of the same genre (and six more studio efforts banging on the holiday door one week later). Still, it's better to have a wealth of suitors than no callers at all. Just hope they bear boxoffice bon-bons. FEBRUARYS Life Funnymen Eddie Murphy ("Holy Man") and Martin Lawrence ("Nothing to Lose") team up in this comedy about a couple of criminals who finally figure out the value of life after being sentenced to spend it in prison. Noah Emmerich ("The Truman Show") and Lisa Nicole Carson (TV's "ER" and "Ally McBeal") co-star. Ted Demme ("Beautiful Girls") directs a script by "Destiny Turns on the Radio" team Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone; Brian Grazer ("Psycho") produces. (Universal, 2/5) True Crime Veteran Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this thriller based on an Andrew Klavan novel about an experienced newspaper reporter whose jaded cynicism is challenged by his latest interviewee: a death-row inmate on his way to his execution. With just 26 hours to go before the event, the journalist becomes convinced that the accused murderer is innocent and races against time to come up with the proof. Eastwood is joined by Isaiah Washington, James Woods and Denis Leary, among other familiar names. Stephen Schiff ("Lolita") scripts; Eastwood and longtime associate Tom Rooker produce with "Driving Miss Daisy" team Lili Fini Zanuck and Richard D. Zanuck. (Warner Bros., 2/5) Ruslimore This comedy chronicles a year in the life of Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), who's devoted to the prestigious Rushmore Academy even though he's the worst student in school Threatened with expulsion. Max sets his sights on a first grade teacher, but his mentor, too, develops a crush. Let the war games begin. Olivia Williams ("The Postman") and Bill Murray co-star. Wes Anderson directs a script he wrote with "Bottle Rocket" partner Owen Wilson; Barry Mendel and Paul Schiff ("PCU") produce. (Buena Vista, 2/5) Ravenous "The Full Monty's" Robert larlyle takes a star turn in a film )f an entirely different sort. This Irama/horror flick centers iround a handful of U.S. soliiers isolated in the snowy Sijrra Nevadas during the mid- J800s. A psychopath who's tasted human flesh before tempts them to soothe their hunger pains by feasting on each other. Guy Pearce ( L.A. Confidential") and David Arquette co-star. Antonia Bird (1994's controversial "Priest") directs a script by Ted Griffin; Adam Fields ("Money Train"), David Heyman and Tim Van Rellim produce. (Fox, 2/5) The Harmonists Set in 1920s Germany, this quasi-musical perioci film traces the rise and fall of the Comedian Harmonists, an a cappella German sextet patterned after an American group called the Revelers. Ulricn Noethen (best known for his German television work) garnished a German Film Award for his role leading these young men on their swift rise to stardom. Unfortunately, these guys are having too much fun to take Hitler's unprecedented rise to power seriously—despite the fact that half the troupe is Jewish. Meret Becker co-stars. Joseph Vilsmaier directs and executive produces; Jurgen Buscher and Klaus Richter script; Hanno Huth, Reinhard Klooss and Danny Krausz produce. (Miramax, 2/5 NY/LA) 20 Dates For every Hoi lywood success story, there are 10or20failures; Myles Berkowitz, apparently, is one of these. In his docu-comedy "20 Dates," Berkowitz tries to improve both his love life and his professional career by documenting his social life over the course of 20 dates. Perhaps by the end of this project, he'll have improved at least one of the three. Berkowitz stars, and he directs and scripts; Tia Carrere ("True Lies") co-stars. Elie Samaha ("Monument Ave.") and Mark McGarry produce. (Fox Searchlight, 2/5) Hideous Kinicy "Titanic"phenom Kate Winslet stars in tnis hippie drama as mother who, a young English disillusioned by her irresponsible, polygamist mate, packs up her two young daughters and heads for Morocco in search of spiritual fulfillment. There she hooks up with an acrobat/conman who, after realizing that not all Europeans are ricn, attempts to take care of his pseudo-family. Gillies Mac- Kinnon ("A Simple Twist of Fate") directs a script, written by brother Billy, based on a novel
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