Movie Guide
(Page 3 of 3)
Director: Tony Scott. With Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Dakota Fanning, Giancarlo Giannini. (146 min)
Sterritt **An alcoholic, Bible-reading assassin (Washington) becomes the bodyguard of a little Mexican girl whose wealthy parents fear she might become a victim of kidnappers who are terrorizing their city. The first hour is sharply directed, character-driven drama that ranks with Scott's best work. Then he lapses into his usual mode - more a bombardier than an entertainer, filling the screen with sadistic violence and arbitrary plot twists. In all, a wasted opportunity.
Sex/Nudity: 2 instances of innuendo, 2 of implied sex. Violence: 24 instances of violence. Profanity: 20 instances, mostly harsh. Drugs: 13 scenes with smoking, 8 with drinking, 3 with both.
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh. With John Travolta, Thomas Jane, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Will Patton. (123 min)
Sterritt ** A violent, well-acted vigilante tale about a muscleman (Jane) with a high IQ tracking down the suave psychopath (Travolta) who killed his family, calling it not "revenge" but "punishment," as if that makes his exploits morally admirable. The most entertaining scenes focus on the lovable louts and losers who share the boardinghouse where the protagonist prepares his grisly exploits. The rest is mayhem.
Sex/Nudity: 3 instances of innuendo, 1 of nudity. Violence: 18 instances of intense violence. Profanity: 27 instances, mostly harsh. Drugs: 11 scenes with smoking, 8 with drinking, 3 with both.
Director: Gary Winick. With Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Kathy Baker, Andy Serkis. (98 min)
Sterritt **Snubbed by the cool chicks she envies, 13-year-old Jenna wishes she were 30 and flirty, and suddenly "wishing dust" makes her exactly that - editing a fashion magazine, sparring with a cool-chick rival, and hoping to capture the heart of a boy she spurned when she was too young to know better. The early scenes are full of too-familiar situations and stereotypes, as our heroine figures out how to cope with 30-ness in the 21st century. The story picks up steam when Jenna tackles a crisis at her magazine, though, and Ruffalo's laid-back manner helps maintain a reasonable degree of plausibility and charm.
Staff *** Family friendly, sweet but not saccharine, fresh reworking of old ideas.
Sex/Nudity: 3 instances of innuendo. Violence: None. Profanity: 23 instances, almost all mild. Drugs: 5 instances of drinking, 2 of smoking.
Creator: Amy Sherman-Palladino. With Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. (21 episodes)
Staff *** The fastest-talking mother-daughter duo on television make their DVD debut on Tuesday. Lorelai Gilmore (Graham) left her privileged Connecticut upbringing behind after having a little girl when she was in high school. Rory (Bledel) is now a lovely, bright teen with dreams of Harvard. To get the private education Rory needs to make that happen, Lorelai makes a deal with her wealthy parents: dinner once a week in exchange for a loan. The series combines lightning-fast repartee with real warmth for its characters and its small-town setting. But for such a sharp-witted series, the DVD extras are a snooze. There's a limp featurette in which the cast and creators talk about how great the show is, one episode with "Pop-Up Video" trivia, and three deleted scenes. The best part of owning the series is that you can now rewind to try to catch all the cultural references as they blow by at 60 m.p.h. By Yvonne Zipp
