Pfeiffer, Banks and Bacon are no match for their elders
Space Cowboys***
In the late 1950s, Frank, Tank, Bob and Hawk (Clint Eastwood, James Garner, Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones) formed Team Daedalus, a group of Air Force test pilots being groomed for space travel. That never worked out; they were hardheaded and the government was corrupt, so they took their military and engineering aplomb out into life’s less-than-wild blue yonder. As the new millennium dawns, Frank is a Mr. Fix-It, Tank is a preacher, Jerry builds roller coasters and Hawk is a pilot who takes kids on aerobatic plane rides. When a malfunctioning Russian satellite threatens to plummet back to Earth, NASA bureaucrat and longtime nemesis (James Cromwell) asks for help. Frank has his own demands — namely, that he and his team be allowed to go up in a space shuttle to make the repairs. And the clock is ticking.
The pacing is leisurely, the concept is preposterous and, frankly, the whole thing would probably crash and burn if not for the cast. The screenplay incorporates a lot of material, including Cold War politics, male bonding, aging and science fiction. Some of these elements work better than others, but it still makes for an entertaining ride. Eastwood and Jones have a good time poking fun at their age, and goofy Sutherland makes a serious bid to steal the film out from under the leads. Oddly, the one almost left out of the mix is the always-personable Garner, whose character is the least developed. Space Cowboy is a blast for those who don’t mind geriatric heroes — it’s Grumpy Old Men meets Armageddon. And, by the way, that’s Mr. Space Cowboy, to you.
What Lies Beneath**
In What Lies Beneath, Dr. Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford) and wife Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) are a happily married, middle-aged and middle-class couple. One day, when Claire is home alone “things” begin to happen — doors open by themselves, pictures fall to the floor. It turns out the house is haunted by a ghost with a hidden agenda. Harrison is not as good a husband as we are initially led to believe. When pouty Claire discovers a secret, a terrifying bath scene follows, recalling the famous shower scene in Psycho. The first half of What Lies Beneath is a creepy ghost story and murder mystery. The second half is painful to watch. I mean, we all know that when the villain dies, he’s not really dead if you walk near him! The film’s final half-hour is especially difficult to sit through; it’s more like a made-for-TV movie that you’ve endured hundreds of times because you are too lazy to find the remote control. What Lies Beneath is a mess of clichés and predictable shocks that devolves into ... well who cares?
Hollow Man**
In Hollow Man, Kevin Bacon is a cocky scientist who discovers a means of becoming invisibile and uses himself as the first human guinea pig. The only problem is that the psychological side effects of the serum turn this Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde times ten — a walking, talking, see-through psychotic with perverted, homicidal tendencies. The endgame hinges on a lethal game of hide-and-seek between Bacon, sexy scientist Elisabeth Shue and colleague Josh Brolin. Sure, director Paul Verhoeven has made it dazzling, but once things become clear, you’ll realize this is nothing more than a sharp-looking slasher flick, bad one-liners and all. Hollow Man is a special effects movie, pure and simple. There is no faulting the stunts — they’re easily the most impressive aspect of the film. The script and direction, though, are less imaginative in more conventional matters, such as narrative and character development. If you crave visual stimulation, check out this movie. Otherwise, there’s nothing to it.
Coyote Ugly*
A young New Jersey girl named Violet (Piper Perabo) wants to make it big in the music world. The trouble is, she’s too frightened to sing. So she goes to New York City to become a famous songwriter. The trouble is, she’s broke. Violet takes a job at a bar called Coyote Ugly, a country bar where the great-looking female bartenders (Bridget Moynihan, Izabella Miko and Tyra Banks) hop up on the bar and dance raunchily for their customers. To make money and perhaps work out her shyness problem, Violet performs Karaoke, nearly naked, in front of several hundred inebriated men. With her confidence bolstered by her groping customers, she gains the courage to pursue her dream of “sitting in the dark and hearing someone sing my songs.” For mega-successful producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Coyote Ugly represents a new low — one so deep that we may not see him for a few years (or is that wishful thinking?). A sizable share of the blame belongs to director David McNally (making his first, and hopefully last, film). This flick is howlingly bad.
FILMS IN ENGLISH CAN BE VIEWED AT:
Cinema 55 52 55 Nymphenburger Str. 31 (U1 Stiglmaierplatz), sneak preview Friday nights.
IMAX Cinema 21 12 50, in the Forum der Technik. A five-story-high screen.
Lupe 2 34 76 51 Ungererstr. 19 (U3/6 Dietlindenstr.).
Filmmuseum 23 32 41 50, St.-Jakobs-Platz 1 (S & U Marienplatz)
Museum-Lichtspiele 48 24 03, Lilienstr. 2, Ludwigsbrücke (S Rosenheimerplatz).
Neues Arena 260 32 65, Hans-Sachs-Str. 7 (U1/2 Fraunhoferstr.; Tram 18, 20, 25, 27).
Neues Rottmann 52 16 83, Rottmannstr. 15 (U1 Stiglmaierplatz).
Theatiner Filmkunst 22 31 83, Theatinerstr. 32 (U3/6, U4/5 Odeonsplatz).
Türkendolch 28 99 66 99, Türkenstr. 74 (U3/6 Universität).
