VIDEO RELEASES 10/03
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Thank You for Smoking: (4 STARS) Based on Christopher Buckley's
acclaimed 1994 novel, "Thank You for Smoking" is a fiercely satirical
look at today's "culture of spin."Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), chief
spokesman for Big Tobacco, who makes his living defending the rights of
smokers and cigarette makers in today's neo-puritanical culture.
Confronted by health zealots out to ban tobacco and an opportunistic
senator (William H. Macy) who wants to put poison labels on cigarette
packs, Nick goes on a PR offensive, spinning away the dangers of
cigarettes on TV talk shows and enlisting a Hollywood super-agent (Rob
Lowe) to promote smoking in movies. Nick's newfound notoriety attracts
the attention of both tobacco's head honcho (Robert Duvall) and an
investigative reporter for an influential Washington daily (Katie
Holmes). Nick says he is just doing what it takes to pay the mortgage,
but the increased scrutiny by his son (Cameron Bright) and a very real
death threat forces him to think differently. Vitals: Director: Jason
Reitman. Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody,
Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy,
J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: R, 91 min., Comedy,
Box office gross: $24.449 million, Fox.
X-Men: The Last Stand: (3 STARS) In "X-Men: The Last Stand," the final
chapter in the "X-Men" motion picture trilogy, a "cure" for mutancy
threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants
have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and
alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing
viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance,
and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to
the ultimate test -- triggering the war to end all wars. The film
reunites the stars of the first two X-Men films: Hugh Jackman as
Wolverine, a solitary fighting machine who possesses amazing healing
powers, retractable adamantium claws and an animal-like fury; Halle
Berry as Storm, who can manipulate all forms of weather -- and fly; Ian
McKellen as Magneto, the powerful mutant who can control and manipulate
metal; Patrick Stewart as Xavier, a telepath and the founder and leader
of the X-Men; Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, a mutant with incalculably
powerful telekinetic and telepathic abilities; Anna Paquin as Rogue,
who absorbs the powers and threatens the life of anyone she touches;
Rebecca Romijn as the shape-shifting Mystique; James Marsden as
Cyclops, whose eyes release an energy beam that can rip holes through
mountains; and Shawn Ashmore as Iceman, who can lower his body
temperature and radiate intense cold. Also reprising their "X2" roles
are Shawn Stanford as fire-manipulator Pyro and Daniel Cudmore as
Colossus, who can change his flesh into organic steel. Kelsey Grammer
joins the cast as one of the "X-Men" universe's most beloved
characters: Dr. Henry McCoy, also known as Beast. McCoy is a highly
intelligent geneticist, a mutant endowed with superhuman agility and
physical prowess. As the subject of one of his own experiments, McCoy
mutated further, growing blue, bestial fur. "X-Men: The Last Stand"
stays true to the tone and story arcs of "X-Men" and "X2," while
expanding the characters, continuing the balance between spectacle and
reality, and, especially, deepening the emotion and relationships.
Vitals: Director: Brett Ratner. Stars: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian
McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, Rebecca Romijn,
James Marsden, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, Patrick
Stewart, Tanya Newbould. Daniel Cudmore. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13,
104 min., Sci Fi, Box office gross: $232.329 million, Fox.
Hail Mary: (4 STARS) Denounced by the Pope and the object of worldwide
protests, this surprisingly serene and lyrical work translates the
Virgin Birth into tangible contemporary terms, with Joseph as a cab
driver and Mary as a basketball-playing gas station attendant who
receives the Annunciation by jetliner. Audacious and provocative. In
French with English subtitles. Vitals: Director: Jean-Luc Godard.
Stars: Myriem Roussel, Thierry Rode, Philippe Lacoste, Manon Andersen,
Malachi Jara Kohan, Juliette Binoche. 1985 CC, MPAA rating: NR, 107
min., Drama, New Yorker Video.
Edmond: (3 STARS) "You are not where you belong," says the
fortuneteller, and Edmond (William H. Macy) begins his descent into a
darkly funny yet horrifying modern urban New York City hell in this
compelling film written by acclaimed playwright David Mamet. The
encounter with the fortuneteller has caused bland businessman Edmond to
confront the emptiness of his life and marriage. His wife (Rebecca
Pidgeon) complains that the maid broke a lamp, and this seems to be the
last straw, prompting him to flee the safe boredom of his home for the
vortex of the dark streets of the city. The strangely liberating act of
leaving his wife tilts Edmond into a free-fall that he mistakes for
freedom, although he certainly now feels alive. Stumbling into a local
bar, Edmond meets a man (Joe Mantegna) who convinces him that sex is
what he needs to solve his problems and points him in the right
direction. To Edmond's surprise, hookers are expensive, the pimp
(Lionel Mark Smith) he encounters is violent, and the guy running a
three-card monte game on the street is a cheat. Still, he wanders the
streets, encountering big-city night crawlers, until finally he is
robbed and beaten and left bewildered. Feeling freed, he goes home with
a waitress, Glenna (Julia Stiles), but their riotous sex play leads to
some very deep conversation. The two engage in a discussion about the
meaning of race, death, life, and honesty. When the honesty topic is
explored, Glenna refuses to engage, causing Edmond intense turmoil. He
asks her, begs her, to rely on honesty, but instead pandemonium ensues.
As Edmond spirals on towards personal disintegration, his racism and
homophobia emerges -- and he freely expresses it. "Every fear hides a
wish," he discovers. Vitals: Director: Stuart Gordon. Stars: William H.
Macy, Julia Stiles, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, Dylan Walsh, Joe
Mantegna, Rebecca Pidgeon, Dule Hill, Bai Ling, Bokeem Woodbine, Debi
Mazar, George Wendt, Lonnie Smith. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: R, 82 min.,
Drama, Box office gross: $.055 million, Vivendi Visual Entertaiment.
Changing Times: (3 STARS) Antoine (Gerard Depardieu) is a French
engineer who arrives in Tangiers to oversee the construction of a major
television facility. But his real motive is to re-establish contact
with Cecile (Catherine Deneuve), a woman he loved and lost 30 years
before. While Antoine quietly pined for his lost love, Cecile all but
forgot Antoine. Cecile lives in Tangiers with her younger Moroccan
husband, Nathan (Gilbert Melki), and their adult son, Sami (Malik
Zidi), who has just arrived from Paris with his partner Nadia (Lubna
Azabal). After an awkward reunion, Antoine pushes hard to win Cecile
back, sending roses, appearing uninvited at her home and office, and
offering his love. As Cecile struggles to reconcile with Antoine's
sudden return, Nathan, Sami, and Nadia revisit ghosts of their own.
When dramatic events intervene, Cecile and Antoine establish a new
intimacy that's very different from what either of them had ever known
-- or come to expect. Vitals: Director: Andre Techine. Stars: Catherine
Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Gilbert Melki, Malik Zidi, Lubna Azabal.
2006, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 100 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.274
million, Koch Lorber Films.