THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY FEATURES April 2 7, 1999 PAGE27 ALSO IN THEATRES CAPSULE REVIEWS OF FILMS IN CURRENT RELEASE BY VICTORY MARASIGAN AND JAMIE PECK Analyze This dant talents of lead Drew Barrymore. She plays a *** out of four nerdy reporter undercover in a Chicago high Robert De Niro's stressed-out mob boss seeks school. Her assignment: Infiltrate the in-crowd and help from Billy Crystal's timid psychotherapist. find the story-any story! As Barrymore struggles Based on that one-sentence synopsis, the makings to triumph over her inner geek (paving the way of a truly gut-busting comedy are in place, but to, yes, another big prom fmale), you might be Analyze This is fairly lightweight in its laughs. The surprised at how much you'll fall for her charac­ 20-minute set-up is amazingly dry, but once De ter and her character's plight. -JP Niro and Crystal - both, to be fair, absolutely marvelous - cross paths, the movie settles into a The Out-of-Towners nicely humorous rhythm. A scene where our in­ **lh fallible heavy breaks down over a sentimental In this remake of the 1970 Neil Simon original, banking commercial is probably worth the price Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn play the titular of admission alone. -JP travelers who kvetch, flail and mug· their way through a seemingly simple stay in the Big Apple Forces of Nature that turns into a zany obstacle course. The sight **lh gags and physical shtick here are strictly a hit-or­ Sandra Bullock's girl-next-door sunniness is miss affair; Martin and Hawn's non-stop outra­ appealing in the same way that Ben Affleck's swar­ geous fortune mines successful territory when it thy-but-affable ease is appealing, so it's reason­ strays from the obvious and sticks to realistic sil­ able to presume that a movie featuring their re­ liness, which is only half the time. But the stars spective appeals will be, urn, appealing as well. have a cute chemistry and the exceptional John i Forces of Nature surprises by casting this duo Cleese pops up in a hilarious minor role. -JP 1 somewhat against type as their respective travel­ 1 ers encounter various mishaps on an extended New Shakespeare in Love York-to-Savannah trek. It makes for cute road movie situations, but puzzling sidetracks, an in­ To compare Shakespeare**** in Love to a summer's creasingly heavy tone and one strange ending may day still wouldn'tdo it justice. This exquisite meld­ leave a bad taste in your mouth. -JP ing of romantic drama, screwball comedy and his­ torical commentary features a high-minded, liter­ Life Is Beautiful ate screenplay that speculates what it wquld have ***lh been like for the Bard (Joseph Fiennes) to be grap­ Pairing a first half full of light physical com­ pling with a mean case of writer's block while edy with a follow-up hour that's packed with penning some play called Romeo and Juliet. At wrenching intensity, Life Is Beautiful sounds like the Oscars, the film was named Best Picture, the perfect recipe for one jarring movie. And Gwyneth Paltrow Best Actress and Judi Deneb though this lovely import from Italy has its jolt­ Best Supporting Actress. -JP ing moments, it's nonetheless a joyous, heartbreak­ ing meditation of familial love and the power of 10 Things I Hate About You · woodS near Burkittsville,<~·- ~ ~~....,.~ -n~~ imagination. The goofy but always sincere *** - Roberto Benigni (Best Actor Oscar-winner) is a That rare instance of a movie whose fresh cast while shooting a documentary... delight to watch as a Italian-Jewish father who redeems a totally predictable storyline. Infec­ tirelessly tries to convince his young son that the tiously energetic newcomer Jul,ia Stiles is Kat, the concentration camp they've been sent to is an Padua High "shrew" who is reluctantly wooed by A year later their footage was found. elaborate game with a prize at the end. - JP long-haired loner Patrick (Heath Ledger). The pair's on-screen chemistry is surprisingly charm­ The Matrix ing, even when she's throwing up on his shoes. **lh Director Gil Junger and writers Kirsten McCullah So, what is The Matrix? After enduring a con­ and Karen Lutz take the original Elizabethan-era fusing if dazzling 136-minute running time, you inspiration (Shakespeare's The Taming of the THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT might be scratching your head as well. This tech­ Shrew) and made a film on par with Clueless or nically flawless sci-fi thriller casts Keanu Reeves even Fast Times at Ridgemont High. -VM as a Chosen One (maybe) of a future world (defi­ www. blairwitch.com nitely) where reality is a computer-generated illu­ Twin Dragons sion created by evil robots (uh, possibly). The fust * ITHIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED I lAR_TISANI and third acts deliver the goods in a uniquely en­ Jackie Chan plays a bumbling pair of Jj E N T E R T A I N M E N T" tertaining manner, but the middle section would separated-at-births in his embarrassingly bland ac­ be a downright snooze if it weren't weighed down tion comedy of mistaken identities. In this outing, IN SELECT THEATRES JULY 16 with plot holes and confusion. Don't think too the obligatory Scenes Where Nothing Happens much and it's possible to enjoy this. -JP take up such a disproportionately large part of the movie, you wish they would just get to the Don't Miss A Great Learning Experience: Never Been Kissed good part already. The action is spread thin, and Chan's usually so-corny-it's-funny brand of hu­ Wen Europetm Ci~~e~~~a Despite the preposterous*** premise, the improb- mor is off-kilter. Only the film's final showdown able casting, the confusing character treatment and -a tour de force display of Chan's agility and MLL2II(C) the overdose of gloppy sentimentality, Never Been grace - really impresses, but it's too little too Offered during the second summer session, Kissed scores a direct smooch thanks to the abun- late. - VM July 6 -August IJ Learn some of the most exciting stories of post-war Europe, told in innovative ways: Rosselini's Roma, De Sica's Bi­ cycle Thieves, Fellini's Cabiria, FILMS OPENING THIS FRIDAY Pasolini's Accatone, Bergman's Persona, Renais' Hiroshima Mon Amour, Truffaut's 400 Blows, Godard's Breath­ The horror spoof Idle Hands finds a slacker teen's (Devon less, Herzog's Aguirre, Fassbinder's Sawa) right appendage possessed by the devil, so expect a Maria Braun, and Wenders' Wings of mix of scares, silliness and masturbation jokes (they're guar­ Desire. All of these films won major in­ anteed with a premise like this); and Entrapment stars Sean ternational awards and are considered all­ time classics. Many of them have had Hol­ Connery as a legendary gentleman thief who plans a huge heist lywood remakes; others have been quoted with the help of a sexy insurance investigator (Catherine Zeta­ by major Hollywood directors. This is the Jones), so expect thrills, twists and James Bond-esque last time Renate Fischetti will be-teaching stuntwork galore (not Pussy Galore). this course before her retirement. Mon­ days/Wednesdays 6-9:10 p.m. Lecture Hall IV. .