Movies March 2004

MARCH 2004 CINEMA RELEASES IN AUSTRALIA

4 MARCH
	The Alamo (TBA): National. Buena Vista. Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric, Billy Bob Thornton, Emilio Echevarria, Patrick Wilson, Marc Blucas, W. Earl Brown, Stephen Bruton, Rutherford Cravens, Blue Deckert, Nick Kokich, Jordi Molla, Matt O'Leary, Wes Studi. A small group of a couple of a hundred men, led by William B. Travis, hold off a large army of Mexican soldiers led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. They fought valiantly for 13 days to keep Texas from being taken over by Mexico. Among the legendary members of the small group were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and Davey Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee.
	The Fighting Temptations (PG): National. UIP (Para). 118 mins. Cuba Gooding Jr., Mike Epps, Faith Evans, Steve Harvey, Beyonce Knowles, Rue McClanahan, Melba Moore, Wendell Pierce, LaTanya Richardson, Dave Sheridan, Angie Stone. D: Jonathan Lynn (The Whole Nine Yards). As a young boy growing up in Montecarlo, Georgia, Darrin sings in the church choir alongside his mother (Faith Evans). Darrin and his mom leave town after the choir discovers that she has been singing rhythm and blues in a local club. Twenty years later, Darrin (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is a broke, junior-level advertising executive in New York City who has just been fired. Summoned back to Montecarlo when his only living relative dies, Darrin discovers that he stands to inherit her estate if he can revive the choir at his old church and win the annual Gospel Explosion. Against the odds, Darrin assembles a first-rate choir of talented quirky characters. He also recruits Lilly (Beyoncé Knowles), a jazz singer and single mother who just may steal his heart and help him find himself.
	Mona Lisa Smile (TBA): National. Columbia. Drama. Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dominic West, Juliet Stevenson, John Slattery, Topher Grace, Marcia Gay Harden. D: Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral). Academy Award® winner Julia Roberts stars in "Mona Lisa Smile" as Katherine Watson, a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty (Dunst) and Joan (Stiles), to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.
	Thirteen (R): National. Fox. 100 mins. Drama. USA. Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed, Jeremy Sisto, Brady Corbet, Deborah Kara Unger, Kip Pardue. D: Catherine Hardwicke (debut). Thirteen is an unflinching look at the sometimes-harsh world of a young teen trying to fit in with a fast group of seventh graders in Los Angeles. Co-written by Director Catherine Hardwicke and the then-13-year-old Nikki Reed, upon whose experiences the film is inspired, Thirteen chronicles the life of 13-year-old Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood). After falling under the intoxicating influence of Evie (Nikki Reed), the most popular girl in school, Tracy finds herself entangled in a fast-paced world that spins her sedentary life and emotions wildly out of control. Her mother, Mel (Holly Hunter), frantically tries to understand her daughter's radical transformation. Each time she reaches for her, she learns the extent to which she's fallen just beyond her grasp.
	To Be And To Have (Etre E Avoir) (TBA): Selected, Sydney/ Melbourne. Palace. 100 mins. France. D: Nicolas Philibert. In many small towns in France so-called “single classes” in which one teacher teaches to all the children from pre-school to Year 5 still exist. In a small village in the Auvergne, George Lopez is in charge of a dozen children aged 3 to 12. Some teachers have volunteered for this fate…others have ended up there by chance. Nominated to the 2003 French Cesar Awards for: Film of the Year, Best Director and Best Editing and ‘Arte’ Prize for Best Documentary at the 2002 European Film Awards.

11 MARCH
	The Old Man Who Reads Love Stories (TBA): Selected. Sharmil Films. Drama. Australia.
	Suspect Zero (TBA): National. Columbia. Thriller. USA. Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Harry Lennix, Carrie-Anne Moss. D: E Elias Merhige (Shadow Of The Vampire). The film stars Aaron Eckhart as Thomas Mackelway, a Dallas-based FBI agent investigating the case of a murdered serial killer. This leads him to a hunt for an avenging former agent (Ben Kingsley) who has dedicated himself to hunting down serial killers. Mackelway begins to suspect that the man is now after the biggest fish, a "suspect zero" responsible for hundreds of murders. This crime thriller about a man who becomes the very thing he’s trying to eradicate.
	Taking Lives (TBA): National. Roadshow. Thriller. Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Paul Dano, Tcheky Karyo, Olivier Martinez, Gena Rowlands, Kiefer Sutherland. D: DJ Caruso. A respected FBI profiler has been called in by French Canadian inspectors to stop a serial killer with the ability to take on the identity of each new victim.
	Thunderstruck (TBA): National. Icon. Comedy. Stephen Curry, Jason Gann. D: Darron Ashton. Four Boys make a pact to bury their best friend next to the grave of AC/DC’s Bon Scott. 12 years and one unfortunate golfing accident later, the remaining four find themselves having to honour their promise.

18 MARCH
	Agent Cody Blanks 2 (TBA): National. Fox (MGM). Adventure. USA.
	My House In Umbria (TBA): Selected. Hopscotch. UK/USA D: Richard Loncraine. Maggie Smith, Chris Cooper, Timothy Spall, Ronnie Barker. My House in Umbria, is a drama based on the William Trevor novel starring Academy Award winners Maggie Smith and Chris Cooper and directed by Richard Loncraine. Maggie Smith, plays Mrs Delahunty a successful romance novelist whose idyllic life in the Itallian country-side is shattered by a train accident. With the aid of her valet Quinty she invites three survivors to recover in her villa in Umbria including 8 yr old Aimee. When Aimee’s estranged uncle arrives to bring his niece back to the US, Mrs Delahunty struggles to hold together her newfound family.
	Paycheck (TBA): National. UIP. Thriller-sci fi. Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Michael C. Hall, Aaron Eckhart, Kathryn Morris, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton. D: John Woo. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Ben Affleck stars as Michael Jennings, a brilliant computer engineer hired by high-tech corporations for specialized top-secret projects. Once a job is complete, Jennings routinely has his short-term memory erased so as not to divulge any sensitive company information to future clients. Highly paid for his work, he expects to earn $4.4billion at the end of his latest 3-year project. But upon completion of the job, instead of a big paycheck, Jennings is handed an envelope filled with random objects and told that he has agreed to forfeit all payment.

25 MARCH
	And Now Ladies & Gentlemen (TBA): Selected. UIP (Para). 128 mins. Jeremy Irons, Laure Mayne-Kerbrat, Romula Walker, Xavier Lecoeur. D: Claude Lelouch (One 4 All). French with English subtitles. Weaving several intriguing plotlines into one that culminates in an idyllic hotel paradise in Morocco, Claude Lelouch has created a stylish romantic adventure with AND NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. Two strangers leading separate lives in different cities come together in this tale of mystery and fate. Valentin (Jeremy Irons) is an English jewel thief whose lifelong dream is to buy a sailboat and take a solo journey around the world, however he is set off-course and winds up in Morocco. Jane (Patricia Kaas) is a Parisian cabaret singer who has just suffered a tough breakup with her band's trumpet player and has taken a job in Morocco to escape. Both Valentin and Jane are afflicted with a strange disease that causes them to periodically blackout, suffering amnesia after the incidents.
	Club Dread (TBA): National. Fox. Comedy. USA. (Broken Lizard's Club Dread). Bill Paxton, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Tony Amendola, Julio Bekhor, Brittany Ann Daniel, M.C. Gainey, Jordan Ladd, Samm Levine, Elena Lyons, Daniel Montgomery, Lindsay Price (Yu), Tanja Reichert D: Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers). At Club Dread, an alcohol (and other substances) drenched swinging-singles-style island resort off the coast of Costa Rica, the festivities are interrupted by the presence of a machete-wielding serial killer, so it's up to the staff (the Broken Lizard guys) to try to stop (or at least hide) the bloodshed before they lose all their business (and of course, their swank jobs).
	Mindhunters (TBA): National. Columbia. Val Kilmer, LL Cool J, Christian Slater, Eion Bailey, Will Kemp, Jonny Lee Miller, Clifton Collins Jr., Kathryn Morris, Patricia Velazquez. D: Renny Harlin. Hiding inside a group of eight young FBI profilers learning to hunt serial killers is a killer attempting to hunt them. As one by one the agents begin to disappear, none can be trusted. Each one is under suspicion. And they are all in mortal danger until, in the ultimate test of their crime-solving skills, they uncover the mysterious predator lurking in their midst.
	Raising Helen (TBA): National. Buena Vista. Comedy. D: Gary Marshall (Exit To Eden). Filmed 28 Jan 03 to May 03 at Universal Studios. While filming, director Garry Marshall kept referring to star Kate Hudson as Goldie. He had worked with Hudson's mother Goldie Hawn on Overboard (1987) and kept getting the name wrong, as he said the looked and acted so much alike. The actress was a good sport about it, but the crew put up a box for Marshall to pay $5.00 for every time he called her by the wrong name. By the end of the shoot the money in the box provided for a lavish party, thrown by Hawn for the entire crew. Shot on the same streets in Queens as Spider-Man (2002) and It Could Happen To You (1994).
	The Young Black Stallion (TBA): Selected, Imax. Buena Vista. Richard Romanus, Biana Tamimi. D: Simon Wincer (The Phantom). In Disney's first dramatic feature made specifically for the giant screen, Walt Disney Pictures is proud to present the continuation of a family favorite and a story that has enthralled generations of readers. "The Young Black Stallion," a prequel to the 1979 classic, presents the horse's adventures with a young girl named Neera, who has been separated from her father in Arabia by WWII. Left alone in the desert, she befriends the wild colt, whom she names Shetan. Once reunited with her father, however, Neera remains haunted by images of the "lost horse of the desert" -- one of a few stallions of legend, rumored to be "born of the sands, sired by the night sky, drinkers of the wind."

MARCH 2004
	The Butterfly Effect (TBA): National. Icon. Thriller. Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, Elden Henson, Ethan Suplee, Melora Walters, John Patrick Amedori, Cameron Crigger, Irene Gorovaia, Brandy Heidrick. D: Eric Bress (debut) & J. Mackye Gruber (debut). A young man is struggling to get over harmful memories from his childhood, but while doing so discovers a technique that allows him to travel back in time and occupy his childhood body changing his history forever. However her also discovers that every change he makes some how alters his future.
	Duplex (TBA): National. Buena Vista. Comedy. Drew Barrymore. Ben Stiller, Harvey Fierstein, James Remar, Eileen Essel. D: Danny DeVito (Hoffa). Set in the competitive world of New York real estate, a couple (Barrymore and Stiller), whose dream home is a converted duplex apartment in the perfect neighbourhood, decide to kill the sweet little old lady who’s currently living there, or else they’ll never get to buy it. A lighthearted comedy then.
	Exorcist: The Beginning (TBA): National. Roadshow. Stellan Skarsgård, Gabriel Mann, Billy Crawford, Alessandra Martines. D: Paul Schrader (Auto Focus). In this prequel to The Exorcist, Father Merrin is a younger man working on a dig in Africa. Suddenly, a young boy starts to become ill and starts to suffer from the same syndromes that Regan from the fist movie suffered. Before long, Pazuzu, the demon from the movies, fully possesses the boy and Father Merrin is the only one who can stop Pazuzu's evil plan of world domination.
	Girl With a Pearl Earring (TBA): National. Roadshow (Warner). Drama. Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Essie Davis, Alakina Mann, Cillian Murphy, Judy Parfitt, Leslie Woodhall. D: Peter Webber. The story of Griet, a 16-year-old Dutch girl who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Her calm and perceptive manner not only helps her in her household duties, but also attracts the painter's attention. Though different in upbringing, education and social standing, they have a similar way of looking at things. Vermeer slowly draws her into the world of his paintings - the still, luminous images of solitary women in domestic settings.
	Gladiatress (TBA): Selected. Icon. Comedy. UK. Sally Phillips, Fiona Allen, Pam Ferris, David Hayman, Rory MacGregor, Doon Mackichan. D: Brian Grant (The Immortals). Clumsy village outcast, Worthabout a pig (Sally Phillips), is shockingly chosen to rescue her kidnapped sister Dwyfuc (Doon Mackichan), from the Romans. Armed with only a goose, her mission seems hopeless, until the gods help her find her long lost sister Smirgut the Fierce (Fiona Allen). Together the sisters encounter soothsayers, gladiators, barbarians and even lawyers in their perilous quest.
	The Heart Of Me (TBA): Selected. Becker. 96 mins. UK. Period drama. Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams, Paul Bettany, Eleanor Bron, Luke Newberry, Rosie Ede, Gillian Hanna, Andrew Havill. D: Thaddeus O'Sullivan (Ordinary Decent Criminal). In 1934, two attractive sisters fall in love with the same man: the debonair Rickie, who has a career in the city and knows what is expected of one who has been well-groomed in the proper English fashion. Rickie marries the serenely confident and level-headed Madeleine, leaving the high-strung Dinah to watch while her sister carries away the spoils.
	Love Don't Cost A Thing (TBA): National. Roadshow. Comedy. D: Troy Beyer (Lets Talk About Sex). This is a remake of the 1987 teen comedy, Can't Buy Me Love, starring Patrick Dempsey and Seth Green. The "twist" on this remake is that instead of using mostly caucasian actors as the original film did, this movie stars mostly African-Americans. An unpopular teenage boy (Cannon) hires a cheerleader (Milian) to pose as his girlfriend so that he can improve his reputation in school, which leads to high jinks and shenanigans that are both romantic and comedic. Or as this letter from their lawyers tells me.
	Masai (TBA): Selected. D: Pascal Plisson (debut). France. Masai is a beautifully photographed wide screen drama set in South Africa amongst the Masai people. From the creators of Himalaya comes what promises to be one of the most visually stunning dramas of 2004. Aka Masai - Les guerriers de la pluie.
	The Passion (TBA): Selected. Icon. Italy. James Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci, Fancesco Cabras, Rosalinda Celentano, Claudia Gerini, Ivano Marescotti, Matt Patresi, Sergio Rubini. D: Mel Gibson (Braveheart). A vivid depiction of the last 12 hours of Jesus's life. Mel Gibson says, "I want to show the humanity of Christ as well as the divine aspect. It's a rendering that for me is very realistic and as close as possible to what I perceive the truth to be."
	Under The Radar (M): National. Hoyts Distribution. 95 mins. Australia. Comedy. D: Evan Clarry (Blurred). The story of a young surfer, Brandon, who is sentenced to a six months good behavior bond to be served at a home for the intellectually disabled. Here he meets Adrian, a young man with a disability: his most distant memory is ten minutes ago, and then it’s gone. Brandon’s sole aim is to get back to the coast to compete in an upcoming surfing competition and he exploits Adrian’s condition to get there. On the way, they pick up a beautiful woman who has been left stranded on the side of the road by her dangerous boyfriend. The motley group get caught in a battle between two rival gangs of drug dealers and end up fighting for their lives in a deadly night of mayhem, laced with black humor. Our unlikely heroes survive the ordeal and Brandon undergoes a reformation. Under the Radar is a mix of Black comedy and non stop action in an original story aimed at a youth audience.