movie review
Double Jeopardy** Murder Most Marital In Double Jeopardy, Libby (Ashley Judd) is a married woman with a happy home life, replete with a beautiful young son and an equally beautiful husband (Bruce Greenwood). Their marriage takes a nasty turn when Libby awakes covered in blood, her spouse nowhere to be found. Having just signed an insurance policy on her husband’s life, Libby is first suspected of, then tried, convicted and sent to prison for his murder. While incarcerated, the protagonist learns that her husband is not only alive, but has their son, and control of the ill-gotten insurance money. Libby does her jail time without complaint not only because she wants to get her son back, but because, as her bunkmates tell her, the law states that no one can be tried twice for the same crime. This means that, in having been convicted once for her spouse’s murder, she cannot be put on trial again, even if she kills him on national television. Earning parole after only six years, Libby bolts, much to the chagrin of her downtrodden parole officer (Tommy Lee Jones), who must track her down before she seeks revenge on her conniving husband. Double Jeopardy is a female-friendly remake of The Fugitive, going as far as to bring back Jones as the cop. Film critics universally panned this film upon release, and in some cases, asked for prison time for its producers. But a funny thing happened on the way to the movie theater. Double Jeopardy caught the imagination of American women everywhere, making it one of the top-grossing films of 1999. It’s just a simple story, with decent acting. Is that a crime? Three Kings*** The Golden Boys It is March 1991 and the Gulf War is over. Captain Archie Gates (George Clooney) is set to retire in two weeks. Sergeant Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) is a new father. Sergeant Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) and Private Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze) are bored to tears. As the Americans prepare to dismantle their base camp and return home, Troy, Chief and Conrad unexpectedly come into possession of a map that indicates the location of a stash of Kuwaiti gold bullion stolen by the Iraqi army. And, as Captain Gates says, in selling his plan to the others, “just one stash would be easy to take and that would be enough to get us out of our day jobs — unless you reservists are in love with your day jobs.” Armed with little more than high expectations, the foursome jumps in a jeep and launches its own war games. Their plan is to leave at dawn and to be back by lunch. Well, so much for the plan. Their foray into Iraqi territory becomes their first face-to-face encounter with the people of Iraq and the complex circumstances of life in a country at war with itself. Filmmaker David O. Russell has given the 1990s (and 2000) its own anti-war, anti-establishment piece, reminiscent of the Vietnam-based film Kelly’s Heroes and Korean war-spoof M*A*S*H. A provocative screenplay and surprisingly creative visuals provide just the right proportions of action and comedy to make you forget the numerous inconsistencies of the plot. See this film and you won’t be left between Iraq and a hard place. Toy Story 2**** Equal sequel Toy Story 2 is the bright and shiny sequel to the 1995 blockbuster from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Computer-animated mayhem continues when Andy goes to cowboy camp and his toys are left to their own devices. Team spirit kicks the story into high gear when Woody (Tom Hanks) tries to rescue a damaged penguin (his squeaker doesn’t work) from being sold at a yard sale. The plan goes awry and Woody winds up being stolen by Big Al (Wayne Knight), a toy retailer and memorabilia collector who needs the doll to complete his collection that he plans to sell for a hefty ransom to a Japanese museum. At Al’s place, Woody is amazed to discover his glamorous past identity as the lead puppet in a 1950s TV show that also featured a cowgirl named Jessie (Joan Cusack), an old prospector (Kelsey Grammer) and a trusty horse. It’s up to Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the gang from Andy’s toy box to save their pal from a never-ending shelf life. In Hollywood, it’s rare that a sequel matches the creativity and joie-de-vivre of its predecessor. By industry standards, director John Lasseter has done the impossible by topping the already near-perfect original. While computer animation continues to improve and evolve at an exponential rate, Toy Story 2 combines fantastic art, music and characters with a story line that appeals to young and old alike. Critics, who thought that Pixar would be content to ride the coattails of last year’s mega-hit A Bug’s Life, were mega-mistaken. <<<