"King Arthur" Touchstone Pictures PG-13, 130 m with Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd and Hugh Dancy. Directed by Antoine Fuqua
**
No one who has seen the trailer for "King Arthur" is expecting it to be anywhere close to a good movie. It doesn't bode well that Disney has stripped the legend down to a "Braveheart"-esque battle movie that is probably causing poor Thomas Malory to roll over in his grave. The film boasts that it is telling the "true" story of King Arthur, but offers such a skewed version of every other Arthurian tale that one can't help but wonder if "true" simply means "Hollywood-ized."
The first three-fourths of the film are actually pretty decent. The rather fetching Clive Owen, from "Beyond Borders" and "Gosford Park," takes the title role, in which he and his knights are likable and provide lively banter that reflects some semblance of real friendship. The plot is kept simple and director Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") has a clean visual style that is mostly enjoyable to watch. The good parts of the film, however, cannot distract from how disgustingly awful Keira Knightly is as Guinevere and how much you will want to bash your head against a wall once you have seen the way the film ends.
If you are set on seeing this movie, the best plan of action is to watch the first hour and 15 minutes, leave midway through the final battle and make up your own ending - it's bound to be better than the real one.
-EMILY ZEMLER
"Spider-Man 2" Sony Pictures PG, 127 m with Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina and James Franco. Directed by Sam Raimi.
****
"Spider-Man" must be welcomed back to the world of the ever-disappointing comic book movie. It must be welcomed because once it has aged audiences will be forced to sit through another two years of half-decent comic book movies that serve only as cruel reminders of the rare qualities "Spider-Man" embodies.
By now, the success of "Spider-Man 2" has proven that a quality movie with a decent story is a sure-fire path to success.
As a movie, "Spider-Man 2" is flawed, but perhaps what sets it apart from the make-believe of other superhero movies is that it's flawed in all the right places. It draws upon the right mix of elements to portray what is an all-out romance story in the guise of a "dude's movie." As audiences follow Peter, Mary Jane and Harry Osborne they are brought back to the feeling that accompanied the first movie and its place in American pop-culture. Director Sam Raimi takes audiences to another universe with this fan film that plays out a circle of events so removed from the general perception of comic books or superheroes.
"Spider-Man 2" will be called many things. Like all movies there will be those who hate it, but one point is beyond dispute - this movie will remain a classic, or perhaps the classic middle of a timeless trilogy. "Spider-Man 2" is a must-see and probably a "will-see-someday" movie too. At the end of the day "Spider-Man 2" will always be a comic book movie. Should it eventually fall from critical grace, it will remain a testament to a time, a place and, most importantly, a feeling.
-AHMED NZIBO
"Before Sunset" Warner Independent Films R, 80 m with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Directed by Richard Linklater.
*** 1/2
From the mind of yet another Hollywood genius comes "Before Sunset." It is a sequel, the follow-up to writer and director Richard Linklater's 1995 film "Before Sunrise." However, "Sunset" stands alone in its identity and brilliance. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play to perfection the highest truths of the unbearable reality of beautiful emotional purpose. This movie should be compared to what "Lost in Translation" was mutated into by gushing critics and the heart of Bill Murray.
"Before Sunset" embodies the idea of love and destiny as enemies. Audiences see this relationship play out in the subtle body language and speech inflections that reflect what could have been or might be in the lives of two distant, but so matched individuals. This furrow into the philosophy of the human heart takes "Sunset" beyond the bounds of a mere romance film and into the territory of fiction that means something no matter what the plot. This is a rare type of writing.
"Sunset" hides its philosophy under the veil of low-credibility romance. It is a stroke of genius, but, sadly for "Sunset," "Lost in Translation" will take the credit.
-A.N.
"White Chicks" Columbia Pictures PG-13, 97 m with Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans.
**
Two parts Wayans, a dash of "Rush Hour" and a healthy dose of "Nutty Professor"-inspired cross-dressing, and audiences almost get "White Chicks." Taking the formula over the edge is fact that dressing up in this film involves crossing racial lines.
"White Chicks" uses quirks to defend humor and the perilous task of commenting on taboos. Unfortunately, in aiming for quirkiness the Wayans have overshot and landed somewhere in the territory of just plain weird. "White Chicks" brings back memories of 2001's "Shallow Hal."
In "Shallow Hal" Jack Black starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow who played a morbidly obese girl who was seen as the real Gwyneth Paltrow by Black's character only. The trouble with "Shallow Hal" was that on some level you couldn't stop thinking about the girl who was actually morbidly obese. Incidentally, MTV ran a piece the week after "Shallow Hal's" release, chronicling the unbearable lives of obese girls, which featured the aforementioned girl.
In "White Chicks" the "Hal" effect is taken further with the best that gender-bending, race-altering makeup artists have to offer. However, the sad truth is that the best simply isn't good enough. The makeup job is creepy. The makeup artist should think long and hard about what message they are sending to little white girls. Are we harkening back to the days of minstrels and segregated schools, only this time it's a twisted variation that reverses the stakes? In any case, perhaps they should have talked to Micheal Jackson.
The reaction shots of the actors opposite the Wayans illustrate how bad the whole thing turned out. They come together faking belief in an elaborate ruse that forces everyone in the audience above and beyond the line of even Wayan idiocy.
One actor though, stands head and shoulders above the rest. Terry Crews is a riot from start to finish. In so many ways Crews inspired laughs that many did not expect. It is almost worth seeing this movie for this guy alone. He should seek work elsewhere, outside the gray cloud hovering over the Wayans.
These days the Wayans make few appearances and when they do, it is hard not to feel sorry for them. "White Chicks," though it had its moments, is destined to be dragged through the morality pit before anyone really talks about how funny the supporting cast really was. The Wayans need to forget about story and parody, as the "Scary Movie" series also proved, but return to unadulterated sketch comedy. As for "White Chicks," as bad as it is, rent it when it comes out.
-A.N.
