THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY FEATURES February 25, 1997 PAGE 9

•••••••••••••••• • • **•••••••••*••••••••••••••••••.• THE PEEL DEAL / MOVIE PEVIEWS Clint Eastwood's Absolute Power THE WEEK Is Absolutely Full of Story Holes IN MOVIES Jamie Peck look as though the woman surprised der weapon before cleaning the crime Retriever Weekly Staff Writer a burglar. The quartet think they've scene? succeeded, but Whitney makes it out Still, the story is so smashingly Absolute Power (**'h out of with the murder weapon with the intriguing that these improbabilities four) is one of those movies that president's blood and fingerprints on seem slight. But then Absolute Power starts out so good, follows up with a it. turns into an action-thriller during its great first hour, begins getting sloppy Local homicide detective Seth last half-hour and slaps on a conclu- and concludes with an angering, ri- Frank (Ed Harris) is put on the case. sion that takes the easy way out of diculous ending. But I'm giving it the He knows that only a pro could have such a complex scenario. It's not only B. Hamitl / Mandalay Entertainment benefit of the doubt because I was been so effective and therefore puts laughable, it's downright insulting. entertained more often than not. Luther Whitney at the top of his list. The actors are always one step IN THEATERS... Clint Eastwood, who stars, di- Whitney knows that soon, either the above the finally turgid material. rected and co-produced, plays mas- police or the Secret Service will take Eastwood has come to embody ev- Donnie Brasco (above) Al Pacino and ter thief Luther Whitney. In the him down, so he decides to leave the erything we love about the modern- Johnny Depp star in this story of an electrifying opening sequence, he country. day antagonist. His Luther Whitney FBI agent (Depp) who infiltrates the breaks into a Virginian estate owned All of this is extremely provoca- makes purposely self-depreciating mob in 1978 Mike Neweli's true-life by a vacationing millionaire (E.G. tive, and for a good while, Absolute remarks that are impossible to resist. crime drama In theaters Friday. Marshall). He discovers a secret Power establishes just the right bal- Hackman makes a sinister national Booty Call Tommy Davidson and ance of psychosexual terror and nau- leader (How'd he ever get elected?). chamber packed with jewels and Jamie Foxx are two sex-crazed guys coins hidden by a two-way mirror. sea-inducing suspense. But as soon Laura Linney gets an interesting sub- on a double date with Tamala Jones Whitney hides between the mirror as Whitney turns the tables and ini- plot as Whitney's estranged.daugh- and Vivica A. Fox as the women who when the millionaire's wife stumbles tiates a battle of wits against the ter that a lesser movie would have won't give in to their whim. In the- into, the room drunk — and accompa- president and his crack team, some- just used as time filler. And Davis, aters tomorrow. nied by President of the United States thing goes wrong with the movie. who reads kind of like an evil com- Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman). Plot holes spring up like geysers. bination of Hillary Clinton and ON VIDEO... They begin to fool around, but their Some characters are required to Elaine from Seinfeld, fills her brief foreplay quickly turns sadomasoch- know things they couldn't possibly but important role incredibly. 2 Days in the Valley A group of strang- ers find themselves embroiled in sex, istic and the scene climaxes with the know. Hackman and Davis have a Absolute Power is good enough to murder and robbery. Available today. woman being shot in the head by two great White House dance sequence carry my recommendation, but I can't Secret Service agents (Scott Glenn that's performed with psychotic bril- help but wish it finished off as good Bulletproof Damon Waynes and and Dennis Haysbert) who burst into liance, but the script has them talk- as it started. By employing a begin- Adam Sandier become unlikely allies the room. ing about the conspiracy within ning so gripping and then blowing it in this comedy-thriller. Available tofay. A cover-up is initiated by earshot of other party members. Not all away for a lackluster finish, it re- Richmond's all-too-willing Chief of very convincing. And come to think ally illicits an uneven response — and Last Man Standing Bruce Willis play s Graham Kuhn / Castle Rock Entertainment Staff Gloria Russell (extremely ef- of it, if you were initiating a cover- uneven is the last thing a murder agunslingerwhomaniputatesaSouth- ern Prohibition-era town. With Chris- Absolute Powers star, director and co-producer Clint Eastwood fective Judy Davis), who has the two up, wouldn't you want to remove the mystery involving the most power- topher Walken. Available today. prepares to make the great escape. agents sanitize the room and make it blood and fingerprints from the mur- ful man in the world wants to be. That Darn Cat Remake Is Just Kitty Litter

Jamie Peck The screenplay is a major disap- Retriever Weekly Staff Writer pointment, coming from, as they're billed here, S.M. Alexander and My memories of the original L.A. Karaszewski. In case you 1965 version are quite restricted. I don't know, they're the writing vaguely recall seeing it with the en- team behind the flawless Ed Wood tire second grade class at Manor El- and the great The People vs. Larry ementary School in Levirtown, Flynt. Judging from,thi§iJa£$s, they Penn., but that was 11 years ago and should stick to biopics. ■ >i: even I can't seem to remember that The acting is all over therrrrap. far back. Therefore, I will not be Doug mugs endlessly; his charac- making any comparisons. ter is so poorly and unrealistically But even without the contrast, I scripted that it's hard to believe he can still say that Disney's remake hasn't been dismissed from his job. of That Darn Cat (no stars) reeks Bess Armstrong, as Patti's mother tremendously. I hate to make pre- (her father is played by Michael dictions, but with the current triple- McKean, who I ran into in a New Frank Masi / Columbia Pictures threat of this, Shadow Conspiracy York City bookstore, but never Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek hang out at the Hoover Dam in and The Pest, I don't think I'll need mind), seems to sing all of her lines. Fools Rush In. to wait until December to anoint the John Bramley / Disney Enterprises And someone seems to have for- Christina Ricci shares a table with That Darn Cat. worst movies of the 1997. gotten to tell Ricci, a fine young ac- This goofy children's film fol- witness to a high-profile kidnapping commit various acts of passion, se- tress, that this is a comedy. Fools' Funny Valentine lows the hijinks of a short-haired case. When Patti figures this out, she crecy or treachery. Example: Rival That Darn Cat is a very insipid tabby called D.C. (which stands for goes to the FBI, where bumbling auto mechanics (John Ratzenberger movie. In place of strong personal- Perry and Hayek Are an Engaging Odd Darn Cat), played by — according agent Zeke Kelso (Doug E. Doug) is and Mark Christopher Lawrence) ity it offers obnoxious cardboard. to the credits — Elvis. D.C, the pet put in charge of the ensuing investi- sabotage eachother's body shops dur- Rather than an interesting plot, it's Couple in a Friendly Screwball Comedy got boring, recycled kiddie contriv- of Patti (Christina Ricci), a 16-year- gation. ing the midnight hours. All of this Jamie Peck tails the lengths they go to make their old student who is bored with her Zeke and Patti trail D.C, hoping goes absolutely nowhere and wastes ance. Who thought this would be a Retriever Weekly Staff Writer relationship work as family members hometown's monotonous daily life. he'll lead to the victim. While they're a lot of character actor talent (Estelle good idea? I dunno. I've just never disapprove greatly. In'a series of events too compli- on their stakeout, they watch as the Parsons, Megan Cavanagh, Peter wanted to hack up a furball so much Matthew Perry brings the relaxed This movie works nicely even cated to explain, D.C. becomes the usually lackadaisical town members Boyle, etc.). in all my life. sarcasm he's perfected on television when it ventures into the cliched ter- to the big screen in Fools Rush In ritory that has been used before in so (•••), one of the better movies to many other romantic comedy pre- Also Playing At Your Local Theater... star a cast member of Friends. Of dicaments. This probably has a lot to course, he is helped by a deftly writ- do with the two lead performers, who Capsule reviews by Jamie Peck unless oth- Shine (***) The story has the familiar- erwise noted. ity of a made-for-television biography, but ten script, something that really give the material an original feel with The Beautician and the Beast (**'/:) actor Geoffery Rush turns in a tour-de-force eluded Matt LeBlanc in last year's their game personalities. This bubbly farce finds Fran Drescher star- and makes Shine worth seeing. The film chimpanzee fiasco, Ed. When Alex clashes with Isabel's ring as a New York hairdresser who is acci- charts the rise to fame of pianist David He plays Alex Whitman, a Man- parents and all of her older brothers, dentally called upon to educate the children Helfgott, from young prodigy to tormented of a gruff European dictator (Timothy teenager to exasperated adult, with a grip- hattan-based architect who is as- it's standard culture clash fodder Dalton). How well you like Beautician will ping, tightly-wound narrative drive that cap- signed to supervise the construction exerecised as engagingly as possible. depend on your tolerance level of the lead tures your attention immediately. of a nightspot in Las Vegas. During The father is portrayed gruffly, the actress - I think she's funny, but some may Star Wars Special Edition (*•**) An one of the first nights he's there, he mother is a little softer and the broth- find this the cinematic equivalent of some- experience both exciting and nostalgic, this one Dragging their nails across a blackboard. enhanced version of George Lucas' 1977 bumps into feisty Mexican-American ers' idea of a good time is to drag Alex Dangerous Ground (no stars) Ice Cube sci-fi classic still resonates superbly with Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek) in the along when they go snake-hunting. plays a South African exile who's sent on a great characters, an intricate plot and an au- rest room line at a bar. The trick that Fools Rush In uses very wild goose chase when he tries to locate his 20th Century Fox daciously pleasing sense of humor. Lucas They end up impulsively spending effectively is to play up the funny drug dealer brother. It would have at least Han Solo (Harrison Ford) encounters Jabba the Hutt in an has added an encounter between space smuggler Han Solo and crime boss Jabba the night together. She leaves before physical humor and strong character made a good half-hour documentary about enhanced scene from Star Wars Special Edition. the troubles in South Africa. It's called Dan- the Hutt and cleaned up or added some vi- he can wake up, only to surface three relationships to take the focus off the gerous Ground because that's where it puts "Goodnight and Thank You" sure-fire The Pest (no stars) John Leguizamo plays suals, but Star Wars was already a perfect months later to tell him she's preg- familiarity. Ice Cube's film career. -- Jannet C. S. Chan standouts. the obnoxious human target of a Most Dan- establishment to begin with. nant. She's not going to abort, and Perry's warm, friendly persona off- Dante's Peak (***'/:) When a dormant Hamlet (***'/:) Kenneth Branagh takes gerous Game-like scenario that manages to volcano begins to spew molten lava on a on the doubly difficult task of acting in and offend everybody everywhere in just about she doesn't want financial help. She sets Hayek's occasionally aggressive small, rural town, geologist Pierce Brosnan directing the first full-length film version of every way, all in a scant 81 minutes. The Pest just wants him to know. bluntness. They have a sweet chem- and mayor Linda Hamilton become stranded William Shakespeare's play and succeeds is an ugly, raunchy comedy that spends too Alex is persistent, though, and he istry that carries the movie to memo- among the ruins. What should be a deriva- boldly. Aside from some minor gripes in the much time on vomit and poopy jokes. You get talks her into a hasty marriage in what rable lengths. Even when Fools Rush tive disaster flick instead is an exciting casting department (Jack Lemmon, who butch- the feeling that director Paul Miller and scribe adrenaline rush, even when some plot ele- ers the dialogue), Branagh treats the source David Bar Katz are just little boys playing with may be the movie's most unconvinc- In speeds toward its inevitable con- ments don't hold up under close scrutiny. dynamically, exploring the story in ways shock tactics. ing scene. As abrupt as the decision clusion, you get the feeling that if The special effects are reason enough to see never-before attempted. -Brigitta Krai Scream (***'/:) Finally, a competent, is, they still have to learn how to fall you've seen it all before, you're this on the big screen. Jerry Maguire (****) As a slick sports thrilling, shocking horror flick with a fantas- in love. The rest of Fools Rush In de- watching pros get it deliciously right. Everyone Says I Love You (***'/:) agent who comes to terms with the human el- tic sense of irony and self-parody. Wes Woody Allen's latest doesn't exactly cover ement in himself, Tom Cruise is boldly ap- Craven's scary movie finds a group of teens any new territory, but in exploring the friend- pealing and turns in a performance that, if pitted against a black-clad psycho who kills I ships and relationships of an upper class there's any Hollywood justice, will win him when and if his victims disobey the rules to The Retriever Weekly New York family by having them break into his long-deserved Oscar. The whole cast does popular slasher films (like "Don't answer the wonderfully orchestrated tunes from the exceedingly noble work, whether it's tartly phone." etc.). Scream loses logic in its final past, he gets things terrifically right. Edward funny Bonnie Hunt, exquisitely beautiful scene, but runs an exciting fever pitch from is looking for writers, Norton and Goldie Hawn stand out in an A- Renee Zellweger or robustly energized Cuba opening titles to end credits. list cast that even finds time for a Tim Roth Gooding, Jr. Shadow Conspiracy (*) White House-aide appearance. Mother (***'/:) Albert Brooks' new com- Charlie Sheen is pursued by assassins in this photographers and copy Evita (***'/:) Madonna plays Argen- edy is full of wickedly on-target humor as his incredibly dopey thriller, in which sheer stu- tinean first lady Eva Peron in this adapta- divorced sci-fi author moves back in with his pidity overcomes an already formulaic assistants. Experience is helpful tion of the legendary musical stage crassly loving mom (Debbie Reynolds) in a premise. You'll need about seven hands to tick production. What it lacks in narrative it of- last-ditch effort to figure women out. The off the number of scenes where suspension of ten makes up for in sheer spectacle. Some ending's a little too pat, but Mother is a come- disbelief is required and the plot twist is an- Claudette Barius / Paramount Pictures although not necessary. of the lyrical dialogue is indecipherable, but dic lark from opening titles to closing credits, ticipated as soon as the characters are intro- Fran Drescher deadpans in the music is nice and the visuals are excel- with Reynolds' perversely hysterical perfor- duced. The word "suck" is a definite Call xl2G0 for info. lent, with "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and mance a definite treat. understatement. The Beautician and the Beast. .