Boxoffice-January.2000

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH •*•
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie
Marceau, Robert Carlyle and Denise
Richards. Directed hy Michael Apted.
Written hy Seal Purvis and Robert Wade.
Produced by Michael G. Wilson and
Barbara Broccoli. An MGM release.
Action. Rated PG-li for action violence
and sexuality. Running time: 128 min.
Chock full of everything that makes a
Bond movie a Bond movie—high-octane
action sequences, double entendre-laden
dialogue, — slick gadgets and sexy sidekicks
"The World Is Not Enough" lives
up to the 007 formula, even taking it a step
further to tongue-in-cheek.
After the murder of a Russian oil
tycoon, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) vows
to protect his daughter, Elektra King
(Sophie Marceau), who's taken over her
father's operation. Bond suspects that
Renard (Robert Carlyle), who had kidnapped
Electra years before, is responsible
for her father's death and determined to
ambush the pipeline she's building across
the Russian countryside.
Once again proving that his casting as
Bond is damn near perfect. Brosnan is
joined here by the equally talented and
attractive Marceau, who's more convincing
as a revengeful daughter than a helpless victim.
Carlyle is underused, however, as a villain
who can feel no pain—a quality that
could have inspired gripping scenes of torture.
Denise Richards as nuclear scientist
Christmas Jones is so bad that one can only
hope her character is a self-aware mockery
of all the Bond girls that have come before
her.
Annlee Ellingson
THE HUNGRY BACHELORS CLUB
•1/2
Starring Jorja Fox, Bill Nunn and
Suzanne Mara. Directed by Gregory
Written by Fred Dresch and Ron
Ruzzin.
Produced hy Dan Gifford and Amy
Ratliff.
Sommer. A Mama's Boys release. Romantic
comedy. Rated PG-li for some mature thematic
elements. Running time: 91 min.
Intended as a succulent dish spiced
with equal parts quirkiness and homeyness,
"The Hungry Bachelors Club" starts
out appetizing enough, but ends as a bland
mishmash of conflicting ingredients.
Of the many problems with "The
Hungry Bachelors Club," primary is the
stunted development of almost all
of the
characters (who are not nearly as unique or
unusual as intended) and the numerous
plot threads that dribble off into nothing of
consequence. Clearly hoping to recreate the
food-as-social-bonder spirit so delectably
done in "Fried Green Tomatoes" a few
years back. "The Hungry Bachelors Club"
leaves one starved for something more substantial.
Luisa F. Riheiro
REVIEW
LIGHT IT UP
**l/2
Starring: t slier Raymond, Forest Whitaker,
Fredro Starr, Rosario Dawson, Robert
Richard, Sara Gilbert, Clifton Collins Jr.,
Vanessa L. Williams and Judd Selson.
Directed and written hy Craig Bolotin.
Produced by Tracer E. Edmonds. A Fox
2000 release. Drama. Rated R for language
and violent content. Running time: 99 min.
With school funds being cut to the bone,
students are forced to share books in freezing,
overcrowded classes being taught by
substitute teachers. When one of the few
decent teachers is wrongfully suspended,
the protest triggers a confrontation that
leaves a school security officer ("Ghost
Dog: Way of the Samurai's" Forest
Whitaker) bleeding in the hallway with a
bullet in his leg. With no luck convincing
authorities that the act was an accident, six
students take over the school and hold the
officer hostage in an attempt to make the
truth known. However, their motive takes a
detour as the students use the press coverage
as a way to voice the need for improved
conditions in their deteriorating school.
While igniting social awareness about
the dire state of the public school system,
"Light It Up" also touches on abuse, teen
pregnancy and police brutality. But it tends
to inform instead of entertain, neglecting
to dwell on the power struggles and bonding
that goes on between the students,
which would have helped viewers to connect
with and care more about the characters
and their plight. Dwayne E. Leslie
THE MESSENGER: THE STORY OF
JOAN OF ARC ••
Starring Milla Jovovich, John
Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin
Hoffman. Directed hy Luc Besson. Written
by Andrew Birkin and Luc Besson. Produced
by Patrice Ledoux. A Columbia release.
Historical drama. Rated R for war violence,
rape and language. Running time: 141 min.
"The Messenger" has all the makings of
a historical epic: lush cinematography,
elaborate sets, a sweeping score, A-list
cameos and a brutal running time. This
particular historical epic depends on the
charisma of a single character—a character
who defied the circumstances of her
birth and the traditions of her culture to
liberate France from England's stranglehold.
A character too important and complex
for model-cum-actress Milla
Jovovich.
"The Story of Joan of Arc" depends on
Joan's ability to convince her Dauphin
(John Malkovich) that she's the warrior
destined to reclaim the city of Rheims
from the English so that he can officially
be crowned King. At this Jovovich succeeds,
adeptly adopting a quivering lip as
she approaches him for the first
time as a
shy peasant girl. Once she's achieved his
confidence, however, her performance
becomes wildly erratic, vacillating between
tremulous indecision and fearless confidence,
often coming off as a maniacal,
bug-eyed crazy person who exhibits none
of the qualities that would inspire her
army, let alone an entire nation.
Apart from this glaring error in casting.
Besson has peppered his mostly European
cast with Hollywood heavyweights who
bring gravity to their critical roles.
Malkovich is funny and charming as a
king uncomfortable with his newfound
power. Faye Dunaway, playing the
Dauphin's mother-in-law, exhibits strength
and presence of mind when he doesn't.
And as The Conscience, Dustin Hoffman's
penetrating baritone resonates to one's
very core. But without an adequate protagonist,
"The Messenger" fails to deliver.
— Annlee Ellingson
P0KEM0N: THE FIRST MOVIE
• •1/2
Starring Pikachu, Ash, Misty, Brock,
Team Rocket and Mewtwo. Directed by
Kunihiko Yuyama. Written by Takeshi
Shudo. Produced by Norman J. Grossfeld,
Choji Yoshikawa, Tomoyuki Igarashi and
Takemoto Mori. A Warner Bros, release.
Animated. Rated G. Running time: 98 min.
Mewtwo, a scientific clone of the rare
Pokemon Mew, destroys his creators,
intending to
take over the world by harvesting
more Pokemon clones and destroying
the original Pokemon and their human
masters. Dark and scary, this movie draws
from Japanese anime (animated entertainment
tailored for discerning adults) and
sci-fi classics such as "Alien."
In the battle finale, all the Pokemon are
combating clones of themselves in fights
that can only end in death. "Pokemon"
attempts to justify this scene—and its
whole premise— by pointing out how it
differs from typical Pokemon battles and
spouting aphorisms that advocate antiviolence
and tolerance. Unfortunately,
pontificalions like "The circumstances of
one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do
with the gift of life that determines who
you are" are probably too verbose to significantly
influence the target audience.
There's room for camp here, of
course. The dialogue is frequently sarcastic
and punny, particularly in the case
of the wisecracking Meowth, the only
Pokemon (aside from the telepathic
Mewtwo) who can speak and who says
things like. "Send in the clones" and "I
almost made a clawful mistake." And
while kids will be traumatized when the
Pikachu clone bitch-slaps the real Pikachu,
the scene's gut-wrenchingly hilarious fori
adults with a sense of humor about such
things.
Annlee Ellingson
66 (R-5) BOXOFFK I