Real-life battles, inner struggles & A moth too big to swat

Interview, Feb, 2002

PREVIEW: BLACK HAWK DOWN

Directed by Ridley Scott

Action master Scott marshals his forces in a new gladiatorial ring, depicting the real-life events of October, 1993, when U.S. Army Rangers found themselves in a bloody combat situation in Somalia. Hot newcomers, a few crusty vets and some favorable advance whispers suggest this film will be a player in the battle for Oscar.

PREVIEW: COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Henry Cabot Beck

Directed by Andrew Davis

The title could refer to the hit this thriller took when it got caught in the backdraft of September 11. Originally due out in October of last year, studio bigwigs thought twice about releasing a film in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a firefighter who loses his family in a terrorist bombing and goes vigilante. While these terrorists are Colombian, Damage struck too close to reality and was exiled to cinematic no-man's-land: a February release.

PREVIE W: QUEEN OF THE DAMNED

Thelma Adams

Directed by Michael Rymer

Based on Anne Rice's novel, Lestat (Stuart Townsend) becomes a rock star whose music awakens a 6,000-year-old Egyptian royal who is the original vampire. Word is Queen was damned to go straight to video, but the untimely death of Aaliyah, who co-stars in the title role, rekindled interest in the film.

PREVIEW: JOHN Q

Mark Olsen

Directed by Nick Cassavetes

Everyman John Q (Denzel Washington) takes on the system that refuses to give his young son a heart transplant. With the situation grave, Q takes a hospital by siege, which means negotiating with cop Robert Duvall and ducking the crosshairs of SWAT leader Ray Liotta. A strong cast and a solid story make this movie a populist heart-tugger for Valentine's Day weekend.

REVIEW: MONSTER'S BALL

HCB

Directed by Marc Forster

A gritty love story between Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry is weakened by a painfully slow and often trite first half in which death is everywhere. Ultimately, the director's inability to mesh the romance with a politicized commentary on capital punishment proves to be the film's fatal flaw. Meanwhile, Thornton proves there's no one better at playing troubled rednecks, Berry proves she's got impressive dramatic chops, and a supporting Sean "Puffy" Combs proves he is not an actor.

REVIEW: THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES

Scott Lyle Cohen

Directed by Mark Pellington

After the mysterious death of his wife (Deborah Messing), hot shot reporter John Klein (Richard Gere) finds himself in a town where a giant mind-reading moth-like creature is placing ominous premonitions in the heads of locals--and driving them insane in the process. With the help of the town cop (Laura Linney), Klein tries to crack the supernatural mystery. With countless chills (and just as many head-scratchers), Mothman thrills.

REVIEW: BEIJING BICYCLE

Andrea Meyer

Directed by Wang Xiaoshuai

This beautifully shot, crisply acted contemporary drama examines a bicycle's impact on a Beijing peasant and a working-class schoolboy. The bike symbolizes upward mobility, and the tragedy resulting from the student's materialism is a warning to the masses about capitalism's perils in the wake of China's economic flux. A lucid, emotionally satisfying film.

REVIEW: SCOTLAND, PA

Directed by Billy Morrissette

Transposing the power plays of Macbet to a hamburger joint in 1970s Pennsylvania, this film is probably most notable for its evocative use of forgotten power-rock balladeers Bad Company. Morrissette gets fine performances from all involved-including Maura Tierney, Christopher Walken and James LeGros--but lacking real meat, the film never quite justifies its reason for being.