You know you've been waiting for it. The weekend is coming, and you're totally stressing about what to do. As always, you look to the Daily for guidance. And like the dependable force we have come to be on campus, never failing to deliver your precious crossword puzzle, we have come through yet again. This time we salvage your weekend plans with previews of movies opening today. Hey, if you can't have parties, at least you can have movies!
Urban Legends: Final Cut
Director: John Ottman
Starring: Joey Lawrence, Jenny Morrison, Matt Davis
"Whoa," Joey Lawrence is back, "whoa!" Perhaps best known for his role as Blossom's brother Joey on the sitcom Blossom, Lawrence now stars as Graham, one of three student filmmakers at Alpine University vying for the best thesis film award. Jenny Morrison and Matt Davis play the other candidates, and Morrison's character, Amy, decides to make her thesis about... you guessed it... urban legends. Of course, her film crew is ravaged by a series of "accidents," and Amy must uncover the murderer (this time clad in a fencing mask) before she suffers the same demise.
John Ottman has the distinction of being the only film editor/film composer in Hollywood, known for the superb editing and tense scores of such films as The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil. Ottman's sequel to Urban Legends is his first attempt at directing.
Not to miss in this sequel will be the return of the character Reese (Loretta Devine), the headstrong supervisor of campus security. In the world of cheesy teen-horror films, she may only be Officer Dewey's counterpart (remember David Arquette in Scream?), but as a Foxy Brown fanatic, she's irreplaceable.
Under Suspicion
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman
While Under Suspicion loses points for being a remake of the 1981 French film Garde ? Vue, its stellar cast still sets it apart. Freeman and Hackman don't know how to make bad movies, so while the plot may take you for a ride, the acting will make it worth every penny.
Freeman plays Victor Benezet, the detective investigating the murder of two local teenage girls. Hackman (Henry Hearst) is a powerful lawyer with a beautiful wife, played by Monica Bellucci...and the number one suspect. Filmed in San Juan, Under Suspicion promises to be a chilling and intelligent mystery set against an exotic background. It may be long and a bit drawn out, but if you hang in there, the verbal battles waged between Freeman and Hackman will deliver.
Chain of Fools
Director: Pontus L?¶wenhielm, Patrick Von Krusenstjerna
Starring: Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn
Hayek plays a detective hot on the trail of some stolen ancient coins. Her search leads her to Zahn, who plays a suicidal barber that happens to have the coins in his possession, through a rather odd chain of events. Yes, we said a suicidal barber. He ends up on the wrong side of the law... and in love with Hayek. The supporting cast may be the saving grace of this film, with talents like Jeff Goldblum, Lara Flynn Boyle, David Cross, Tom Wilkinson, and Elijah Wood. Directors L?¶wenhielm and Von Krusenstjerna, part of Swedish TV and commercial directorial team Traktor, have had no previous experience with feature-length films. But with names like those, how can they not bring originality and freshness to what has been characterized as both a black comedy and a romantic comedy?
Woman on Top
Director: Fina Torres
Starring: Penelope Cruz, Murilo Benicio
You know when you're browsing through the comedy section of Blockbuster and you see all those random movies from the early '80s with girls in bikinis on the cover in compromising positions? Or maybe that's just the Blockbuster that I go to... anyway, Woman on Top could very well skip the New Releases section and end up directly on that shelf, surrounded by other funny but dull movies.
Cruz plays Isabella, a controlling woman who finds her insecure husband (Benicio) in bed with the neighbor and goes off to San Francisco to start her life again. Cruz and Benicio have starred in many foreign television series and movies, but remain relatively unknown to the Hollywood scene. The same can be said for director Torres, who hails from Venezuela. The even more international cast (Cruz is from Madrid and Benicio is from Brazil) injects much passion into its roles, but even with good acting, a decent screenplay and creative directing, Woman on Top could end up a flop. You're better off going to Blockbuster, skipping the comedy section and renting Like Water for Chocolate.
