[ MOVIE WEEK ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 14, 2000 by Capital-Journal

Films showing in or near Topeka

At the movies:

Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle --- A film of modest aims, pleasing moments and genuine smiles, this half-live action, half- computer generated version of the beloved TV adventures of a flying squirrel and a dim moose is, despite being too long for its own good, very much in the tradition of the original. (1:28. PG, for brief mild language.)

Big Kahuna --- Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito are terrific as veteran salesman at a Midwestern manufacturers' convention desperate to snag a major account. Highly rewarding adaptation of Roger Rueff's play "Hospitality Suite" reveals theatrical roots that gradually fade. (1:30. R for language.)

Big Momma's House --- If you think that Martin Lawrence dressed up as a hefty grandmother is funny, off to the cineplex with you. But the whole project works so hard at creating funny situations that Lawrence gets no chance to be funny as himself. (1:35. PG-13 for crude humor, including sexual innuendo, and for language and some violence.)

Chicken Run --- Nick Park, British master of clay animation and three-time Oscar-winning creator of "Wallace and Gromit," and co- director Peter Lord have put chickens front and center with this gleeful parody of prison and escape movies. A delightful pageant of chicken romance, chicken rescue and chicken intrigue that never loses its priceless stamp of individuality. (1:20. G.)

The Color of Paradise --- As in his Oscar-nominated "The Children of Heaven," Iran's Majid Majidi once again deals with a youngster coping with adversity in "The Color of Paradise." Pleading hardship, Hashem begs the school officials to keep his son over the summer. A coal worker, he does some farming and takes on odd jobs to support his mother (Salime Feizi) and two little daughters, Hanyeh (Elham Sharim) and Bahareh (Farahnaz Safari). (1:28. PG for thematic elements.)

Croupier --- An intense, icy and hypnotic journey inside the world of professional gambling from the point of view of a wary London croupier. Director Mike Hodges ("Get Carter") and writer Paul Mayersberg ("The Man Who Fell to Earth") have fashioned an elegant, assured jewel in which Robert Bresson meets Raymond Chandler. (1:29. Unrated: graphic scenes of sexuality, some beatings, very adult subject matter.)

Disney's The Kid --- More cloyingly sentimental than it needs to be, the film has more potential interest than might be imagined thanks to Audrey Wells' script. The concept, that 8-year-old Rusty (Spencer Breslin) is as disappointed in the adult he has become as Russ (Bruce Willis) is in the child he was, is a clever one. (PG, for mild language; some of the themes may be for adults, but the tone and content are suitable for young children.)

Final Destination --- TV veterans writer-producer Glen Morgan and writer-director James Wong --- "The Others," "The X Files," etc. --- score a big hit with this swift and scary thriller of the supernatural, starring Devon Sawa as a high school student who has a sudden premonition that the jetliner that's about to transport him and 39 classmates to a Paris field trip will explode on take-off from JFK. The film has an intelligence and reflectiveness atypical for the genre. (1:34. R for violence and terror and for language.)

Gladiator --- Director Ridley Scott's latest is a supremely atmospheric film that shrewdly mixes traditional Roman movie elements with the latest computer-generated wonders. Intensely masculine actor Russell Crowe is commanding as the heroic gladiator Maximus. But the movie --- too long at a full 2 1/2 hours --- is not as nimble outside the arena as inside. (2:30. R for intense graphic combat.)

Gone in 60 Seconds --- Remake of H.B. "Toby" Halicki's 1974 cult classic about a legendary car thief (Nicolas Cage) who is drawn out of retirement to save the life of his younger brother (Giovanni Ribisi), also a car thief. The movie, which co-stars Angelina Jolie, features some fine driving but the problem is not what "Gone" does on the straightaways; it's how it maneuvers through those hard-to- handle character curves. (1:57. PG-13 for violence, sexuality and language.)

Love and Basketball --- Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood's debut feature is a charming movie that follows two lover-athletes (Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps) over the course of 15 years. Although the movie is a bit smarter than it has to be, it's extremely well- acted movie and Lathan in particular is a marvel. Alfre Woodard and Debbi Morgan co-star. (2:04. PG-13 for sexuality and language.)

Me, Myself and Irene --- Jim Carrey has his moments as a schizophrenic Rhode Island state policeman both of whose personalities are in love with Renee Zellweger, but this new Farrelly Brothers comedy lacks the warmth that made "There's Something About Mary" such a hit. Strictly for the hard-core gross-out crowd. (1:47. R for sexual content, crude humor, strong language and some violence.)

M:I-2 --- Hong Kong actionmeister John Woo brings his marvelous visual sense and showy flair to this follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster. Tom Cruise, looking a bit shaggier but still appropriately steely-eyed in this new incarnation of special agent Ethan Hunt, is one of M:I-2's" strongest weapons. (2:06. PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action and some sensuality.)