Movies July 2003

MOVIES RELEASED AUSTRALIA JULY 2003

3 JULY
	Charles Angels 2: Full Throttle (M): National. Columbia. 391 screens. Action. 111 mins. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Robert Patrick, Luke Wilson, Bernie Mac, Matt LeBlanc, Justin Theroux, Crispin Glover, Demi Moore, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaclyn Smith (cameo), Mary-Kate Olsen (cameo), Ashley Olsen (cameo). D: Mc G (Charlie's Angels). The Angels are back and ready to kick (and show) some serious butt as they go undercover to retrieve two missing silver bands. They contain valuable encrypted information that reveals the new identities of every person in the federal Witness Protection Program. (Not 90 mins for car wash scenes, unfortunately).
	The Dancer Upstairs (MA): Selected, Can/ Syd/ Bris/ Melb/ Perth. Fox. 18 screens. USA/ Spain. 113 mins. Drama. Javier Bardem, Laura Morante, Juan Diego Botto, Luis Miguel Cintra, Alexandra Lancastre, Elvira Minguez, John Malkovich. D: John Malkovich (debut). Fear, love, and chaos underlie the dramatic events portrayed in "The Dancer Upstairs," the directorial debut of John Malkovich. The story concerns the search for Abimael Guzman, founder of the Peruvian guerrilla force the Shining Path. Bardem plays Agustin Rejas, the police officer involved in the manhunt. Rejas (played by Javier Barden) is a policeman charged with finding the legendary guerrilla leader who is planning to overthrow the corrupt government. The teacher of his daughter’s ballet class, Yolanda (played by Laura Morante) provides his only solace from an empty marriage and the war into which he has been thrust.
	Lost In La Mancha (M): Selected, Sydney/ Melbourne. Becker. 3 screens. Documentary. 93 mins. Jeff Bridges (Narrator), Bernard Bouix, René Cleitman, Johnny Depp, Benjamín Fernández, Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni, Vanessa Paradis, Phil Patterson, Nicola Pecorini, Gabriella Pescucci, Jean Rochefort. D: Keith Fulton (The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys (V)), Louis Pepe (Moments Of Doubt). With drama that ranges from personal conflicts to epic storms, this is a record of a film disintegrating. In September 2000, when the cameras began rolling on Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Don Quixote, the production already had a chequered past including ten years of development, a series of producers and two previous attempts to start the film.

10 JULY
	Auto Focus (R): Selected. Columbia, Can/ Syd/ Bris/ Adel/ Melb/ Perth. 14 screens. Drama. 106 mins. Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Maria Bello, Rita Wilson, Joseph D. Reitman, Nikita Ager, Kevin Beard, Cheryl Lynn Bowers, Gibby Brand, Bob Crane Jr., Robert David Crane, Marieh Delfino, Kurt Fuller. D: Paul Schrader (Hardcore). An absorbing glimpse into the colorful life, and mysterious death, of actor Bob Crane. Handsome and charming, Crane became well known as the star of CBS' hit comedy "Hogan's Heroes" (1965-1971). Crane teamed up with video technician John Carpenter to document his exploits, an association that may very well have led to his tragic end.
	I Capture The Castle (PG): Selected, Can/ Syd/ Bris/ Adel/ Melb/ Perth. Hoyts. 34 screens. 113 mins. Drama. UK. Romola Garai, Marc Blucas, Rose Byrne, Henry Cavill, Sinéad Cusack, Tara FitzGerald, Bill Nighy, Henry Thomas. D: Tim Fywell (debut). Set in the 1930s, this is the story of 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain (Garai), an aspiring writer who lives with her sister, Rose (Byrne); her brother, Thomas; her acclaimed writer of a father (Nighy) who's spent 12 years trying to write his second; and his nudist wife (Fitzgerald) in a crumbling castle in a remote region of England. When the castle's rightful heirs arrive in the form of two American brothers, Neil (Blucas) and Simon (Thomas) and their mother (Cusack), Cassandra's parents see it as a chance to improve the family's fortunes (since they're essentially squatters) by marrying off the two girls to the two wealthy young men. Cassandra finds herself conflicted, however, when she actually falls in love with Simon, even though he's engaged to Rose (in addition to being attracted to both Neil and the family's young servant, Stephen).
	The Real Cancun (M): National. Roadshow. 106 screens. Doco/ reality/ comedy. 97 mins. Brittany, Ben, Nicole, Roxanne, David, Jeremy, Amber, Paul, Sky, Laura, Matt, Alan, Heidi, Jorell, Casey, Sarah. D: Rick de Oliveira (debut). "The Real Cancun" is designed to be the first true reality feature film. Shot documentary style, six camera crews will follow the cast, made up of 16 American college students, as they immerse and indulge in the Spring Break revelry of Cancun, Mexico. Filmed 24 hours a day over the course of a week, the cast will be expected to participate in both interviews and planned group activities. The hottest trend in America comes to the big screen with The Real Cancun. Casting was done at colleges across the country to assemble a unique cast of real people ready to explore reality's barriers beyond the limits of television while on the ultimate Spring Break vacation in Cancun, Mexico, with surprising and electric results.
	A Song For Martin (M): Selected, Syd/ Melb/ Bris. Gil Scrine Films. 2 screens. 113 mins. (Sydney:- Chauvel and Valhalla. Sweden. Melbourne:- Lumiere.) Sven Wollter, Viveka Seldahl, Reine Brynolfsson, Linda Källgren, Lisa Werlinder, Peter Engman, Klas Dahlstedt, Lo Wahl, Kristina Törnqvist. D: Billie August (Smilla's Sense Of Snow). Barbara Hartman plays the first violin in a symphonic orchestra. She has been married for many years and has two grown-up children. Martin Fischer is a composer and conductor. He is also married and has two grown-up children. During the rehearsals of Martin's latest symphony they meet and fall deeply in love. As a consequence of their love they break out of their marriages. Especially Barbara has to pay a price as her son renounces her, whereas her daughter tries to understand and accept. Barbara and Martin get married and on their honeymoon to Morocco their love intensify and grow deeper and they make a vow of mutual honesty and sincerity. They create a beautiful home in the Swedish archipelago, and here they live in an loving atmosphere bound together in their common work with Martin's compositions which Barbara has a special talent to help him create.

17 JULY
	The Good Thief (MA): Selected, Syd/ Melb/ Perth. Fox. Crime drama. 111 mins. UK/ France/ Ireland. Nick Nolte, Jason Flemyng, Ryan Phillippe, Tcheky Karyo, Emir Kursturica, Said Taghmaoui, Gerard Darmon, Quassini Embarek, Nutsa Kukhianidze, Mark Lavoine, Ralph Fiennes. D: Neil Jordan (Interview With A Vampire). Studio: Fox Searchlight. Set against the glitzy backdrop of the French Riviera, aging gambler Bob Montagnet is about to gamble it all on the casino heist of a lifetime; a spectatcular sleight of hand--two heists, one real, one not, but which is which? Under the watchful eye of Roger, a policeman who would as soon save his longtime opponent as arrest him, Montagnet assembles a team that consists of partners Paulo and Raoul, technical mastermind Vladimer, former-drug-dealer-turned-informant Said, Anne, a young Eastern girl Montagnet rescued from prostitution, and the perfect complement to a double theft--identical twins Albert and Bertram.
	My Dream Girl (M): Selected, Syd. Comedy. Yu Enterprises. 1 screen. 108 mins. Hong Kong. Ekin Cheng, Vicki Zhao, Rico Kwok. D: Yip Wai Man (For Bad Boys Only). Ling grows up in a poor rural village in China, one day, she meets her dispersed rich father, Cheung. Cheung takes Ling back to Prosperous Shanghai and decides to give her the best living thereafter. The first step is to train Ling up to be a fair and smart lady. Cheung wrongly appoints a long-time unemployed guy, Joe, as the image designer of Ling. However, Joe cheats Cheung in order to earn a living, he is not an image professional. On the other side, pure Ling feels hard to adapt the city's life and refuses to change from the bottom of her heart. During the time, Joe and Ling help each other to hide their own secrets and gradually, they fall in love. Later, Cheung finally discerns Joe's boast and decides to drive him away, Ling abandons everything and leaves her father to find her lover. However when two hearts meet, Joe treats Ling so distantly and cool…
	Personal Velocity (MA): Selected, Syd/ Melb/ Perth. Palace. 86 mins. Parker Posey, Kyra Sedgwick, Fairuza Balk. D: Rebecca Miller (Angela). A tale of three women who have reached a turning point in their lives. Delia is a spirited, working-class woman from a small town in New York who leaves her abusive husband and sets out on a journey to reclaim the power she has lost. Greta is a sharp, spunky editor who is rotten with ambition. To spite the hated infidel ways of her father, she has settled into a complacent relationship and is struggling (not too hard) with issues of fidelity to her kind but unexciting husband. Finally Paula, who ran away from home and got pregnant, is now in a relationship she doesn't want. She's a troubled young woman who takes off on a journey with a hitchhiker after a strange, fateful encounter on a New York street.
	Terminator 3: The Rise Of The Machines (M): National. Roadshow. 109 mins. Action/ sci-fi. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, Claire Danes, Alana Curry, Timothy Dowling, Mark Famiglietti, Mark Hicks, Jerry Katell, Brian Sites. D: Jonathan Mostow (U-571). A decade has passed since John Connor (Stahl) helped prevent Judgment Day and save mankind from mass destruction. Now 25, Connor lives "off the grid" - no home, no credit cards, no cell phone and no job. No record of his existence. No way he can be traced by Skynet - the highly developed network of machines that once tried to kill him and wage war on humanity. Until... out of the shadows of the future steps the T-X (Loken), Skynet's most sophisticated cyborg killing machine yet.

24 JULY
	Bad Eggs (M): National. Roadshow. 98 mins. Comedy thriller. Australia. 98 mins. Mick Molloy, Bob Franklin, Judith Lucy, Chris Peters, Bill Hunter, Alan Brough, Nicholas Bell and Shaun Micallef. Director/Writer: Tony Martin (debut). Bag Eggs is a comedy thriller about two undercover detectives with way too much publicity. Two detectives in the elite Zero Tolerance unit are tested when a freak accident involving a dead magistrate lands them on the front of the newspapers. Busted down to uniform duties, Ben Kinnear and Mike Paddock find corruption links between their fellow cops and a shady casino boss they were investigating.
	Biker Boyz (M): National. UIP. Action. 110 minutes. Laurence Fishburne, Lisa Bonet, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones, Brendan Fehr, Meagan Good, Kid Rock, Djimon Hounsou. D: Reggie Rock Bythewood (Dancing In September). A mythic motorcycle tale of father and son, this is the story of Manuel Galloway (Fishburne), also known as "the King of Cali", the president of a motorcycle club whose members are all African-American men, mostly white-collar workers who exchange their suits and ties at night and on weekends for leather outfits and motorcycle helmets. The focus of this story takes place at an annual drag-racing event in Fresno, as Manuel tries to retain his championship title.
	Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (MA): Selected. Buena Vista. Drama. 113 mins. Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Chuck Barris, Matt Damon, Rutger Hauer, Brad Pitt, Fred Savage. D: George Clooney (debut). Television made him famous, but his biggest hits happened off screen. "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" is the story of a legendary showman's double life - television producer by day, CIA assassin by night. At the height of his TV career, Chuck Barris was recruited by the CIA and trained to become a covert operative. The fictitious story about the secret life of Gong Show host (and creator of The Newlywed Game & The Dating Game), Chuck Barris (Rockwell), including the time he spent as CIA assassin “Sunny Sixkiller”, making hits while under the guise of chaperoning the game show contestants who have won vacation prizes.
	Confidence (M): National. Thriller. Hoyts. 97 mins. Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, Paul Giamatti, Rachel Weisz, Morris Chestnut, Franky G., Brian Van Hol, Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr. D: James Foley (The Corruptor). What Jake Vig (Edward Burns) doesn?t know just might get him killed. A sharp and polished grifter, Jake has just swindled thousands of dollars from the unsuspecting Lionel Dolby with the help of his crew ?Insideman Gordo (Paul Giamatti) and Shills Miles (Brian Van Holt) and Big Al ?and two corrupt LAPD officers ?Lloyd Whitworth (Donal Logue) and Omar Manzano (Luis Guzman). But when both Lionel and Big Al turn up dead, it becomes clear that Lionel wasn?t just any mark; as Jake soon learns, he was an accountant for eccentric crime boss Winston King (Dustin Hoffman). Never one to shy away from a challenge, Jake offers to repay "The King" by pulling off the biggest con of his career. The mark? Morgan Gillette, a banker with deep ties to organized crime.
	Malibu's Most Wanted (M): National. Roadshow. 86 mins. Comedy. Jamie Kennedy, Anthony Anderson, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Ryan O'Neal, Blair Underwood, Greg Grunberg, Keili Lefkowitz, J.P. Manoux, Niecy Nash, Kal Penn, Nick Swardson, Damien Wayans. D: John Whitesell (See Spot Run). Malibu’s most wanted rapper, Brad "B-Rad" Gluckman, maintains a hip-hop lifestyle that is seriously hindering his father’s bid for governor. When his dad’s campaign manager tries to neutralize the "problem" and teach him a lesson about what gangsta life is really like, B-Rad proves to the player-haters that he’s for real and wins the affection of a business-savvy South Central hottie.
	A Mighty Wind (PG): National. Warner Bros (Roadshow). 92 mins. Comedy. Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Laura Harris, Linda Kash, Christopher Moynihan, Parker Posey, Jim Piddock. D: Christopher Guest (Waiting For Guffman). Christopher Guest follows up his acclaimed ensemble comedies "Best in Show" and "Waiting for Guffman" with a docu-comedy about three folk groups from the 60s who reunite for a memorial concert in New York City following the death of a legendary folk manager. Previews 17th July.

31 JULY
	Danny Deckchair (PG): Selected. Fox. Comedy. Australia. 100 mins. Rhys Ifrans, Rhys Muldoon, Justine Clarke, Miranda Otto. D: Jeff Balsmeyer (The Room). Studio: 20th Century Fox. When the long awaited holiday goes south thanks to Trudy (Justine Clarke), his scheming girlfriend, Danny (Rhys Ifans), a cement truck driver, escapes his suburban prison and blasts into the skies in a garden chair tied with helium balloons. A mighty thunderstorm blows him clean off the map and spits him out far away over the lush green town of Clarence, where he rockets into the world of Glenda (Miranda Otto), the town’s only parking cop. While the media back home run riot with the story of his disappearance, Danny gets to reinvent himself in Clarence and in the adventure discovers a true soul mate in Glenda. Fate catches up with him eventually: Danny’s true identity is revealed and Trudy, now a ‘60 Minutes’ celebrity, comes to Clarence to claim Danny and drag him back to Sydney.
	Extremist Ops (M): Selected. UIP. 93 mins. Rufus Sewell, Bridgette Wilson, Heino Ferch, Devon Sawa, Joe Absolom, Rupert Graves. D: Christian Duguay (Art Of War). A film crew travels to the Austrian Alps near the former Yugoslav border to film three extreme sports enthusiasts being chased down by an avalanche for a commercial. What they don't know, however, is that they're filming near the secret hideout of Slobodan Pavle, a Serbian war criminal. Accidentally catching him on film, they become locked in a life-or-death chase through the mountains that includes skiing, snowboarding, sky diving, white water rafting, helicopters, motorcycles and base jumping.
	Identity (MA): National. Columbia. Thriller. 90 mins. John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Rebecca DeMornay, Alfred Molina, John C McGinney, Jake Busey, Clea Du Vall. D: James Mangold (Cop Land). Caught in a savage rainstorm, ten travellers are forced to seek refuge at a strange desert motel. They soon realize they've found anything but shelter. There is a killer among them and, one by one, they are murdered. As the storm rages on and the dead begin to outnumber the living, one thing becomes clear: Each of them was drawn to the motel, not by accident or circumstance, but by forces beyond imagination, forces that promise anyone who survives a mind-bending and terrifying destiny.
	Mr. And Mrs. Iyer (M): Selected. MG Distribution. 120 mins. India. Drama. Rahul Bose, Konkona Sensharma, Bhisham Sahni, Surekha Sikri, Anjan Dutt, Esha Chauhan, Bharat Kaul. D: Aparna Sen (Sati). A bus rolls down a narrow, winding, hilly road. On board is Meenakshi Iyer with her nine-month old son, Santanam. With them is a Muslim named Raja Chowdhary, a wildlife photographer who was introduced to her through a common friend before boarding the bus. Since Meenakshi is travelling alone with her infant, Raja is given the responsibility of looking after her and everyone on the bus assumes them to be a couple. When the bus is stopped by an angry mob of Hindu extremists on the prowl for Muslims, a chill runs down Raja's spine. Born and brought up in an orthodox Brahmin family, Meenakshi is shocked to learn of Raja's background. She starts to maintain her distance from him. But fate has other ideas. Looking at the inhuman way in which Muslims are being killed, she can't help but save his life. She lies to the Hindu extremists, saying that they're a married Hindu couple, "Mr. and Mrs. Iyer."
	My Little Eye (MA): Selected. UIP. 95 mins. Thriller. UK. Stephen O’ Reilly, Jennifer Sky, Laura Regan, Sean C W Johnson, Kris Lemche. D: Mark Evans (Resurrection Man). Five young people apply to live in an isolated house together for six months whilst their every move is filmed by numerous cameras. Each has their reason for wanting to be there - fame, money, adventure. The prize - $1 million. The rules - if one person leaves, everyone loses. It becomes the ultimate morality test. When Danny's beloved grandfather dies, does his greed overcome his love? When the skittish Emma finds blood on her pillow why does she still stay behind? And what dark secret does the house harbor that leaves them feeling as though they're being watched by more than just a million pairs of eyes?
	Sex And Lucia (TBA): Selected, Melbourne. Rialto. 128 mins. Paz Vega, Tristan Ulloa, Najwa Nimri, Daniel Freyre. D: Julo Medem (Earth). Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid. After the loss of her long-time boyfriend, a writer, she seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island. There, bathed in an atmosphere of fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to discover the dark corners of her past relationship. It is as if she is reading forbidden passages of a novel, which the author only now, from afar, allows her to read. Is it fact or fiction?
	A View From The Top (PG): National. Buena Vista. 87 mins. Comedy/ Romance. Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Candice Bergen, Rob Lowe, Mike Myers, Regis Philbin, Kelly Preston, Mark Ruffalo, Christian Slater, Stacey Dash. D: Bruno Barreto (Bossa Nova). A comedy about a young woman (Paltrow) from meagre beginnings who has high hopes for the future. Donna dreams of becoming a first class international flight attendant and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that her dreams come true. The road to success, though, is rarely a smooth flight, and as she begins her trip she encounters more turbulence than even she bargained for.
	Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself (MA): Selected. Icon. 105 mins. Comedy. Jamie Sives, Adrian Rawlins, Shirley Henderson. D: Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners). Handsome and charming Wilbur (Jamie Sives), much beloved by his nursery school charges and irresistible to women, attempts suicide with such chronic regularity that members of his therapy group vote him out as being too discouraging. As solicitous and caring as Wilbur is cavalier and selfish, his brother Harbour (Adrian Rawlins) runs a shambling second-hand bookshop. Seemingly the only regular customer is Alice (Shirley Henderson); when she becomes involved everything, but everything, changes.
	Wrong Turn (MA): National. Icon. Horror. 110 mins. Jeremy Sisto, Eliza Dushku, Desmond Harrington, Emmanuelle Chriqui. D: Rob Schmidt (Crime and Punishment in Suburbia). Thomas Avon (Jeremy Sisto) has a job interview in Raleigh in three hours and he's making good time in his refurbished classic Mustang convertible... until an accident miles down the highway turns Thomas's 3-hour trip into a 6-hour wait. Not far away, Jessie (Eliza Dushku) and her friends Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), Carly's boyfriend Scott (Desmond Harrington), Evan (Kevin Zegers) and his girlfriend Francine (Lindy Booth), stand quiet; stunned as they survey what's left of their road trip after the tires blow out, leaving them stranded deep in the middle of the woods. In-bred hicks abound.. this isn't the best place to break down.