HOLLOW MAN

Kevin Bacon 

HOLLOW MAN (2000). Director: Paul Verhoeven. 

Brilliant scientist Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) leads a team working on developing invisibility for military purposes. Caine takes the plunge and decides to inject himself with the formula, but a man who was already a bit of a conscienceless egomaniac turns into a dangerous and violent megalomaniac when attempts to make him visible again fail. In a nod to H. G. Wells' classic novel The Invisible Man, Caine goes on a reign of terror, trapping the other scientists in their underground bunker and taking after them one by one. Will anyone be left alive when the dust clears?

Elisabeth Shue

Hollow Man received some criticism because it follows a tried and true path instead of treading new territory in its treatment of invisibility. But on its own terms the movie works beautifully as a modern retelling of Wells' tale and as a thriller with many exciting scenes --especially a breathless climax in an elevator shaft -- along with superb special effects showing animals and humans disappearing as muscles, organs and bones, the covering flesh vanishing, are gradually revealed. The movie has a fast pace and nary a dull moment. 

Dickens, Brolin, Shue, Grunberg, Slotnick

Bacon gives an excellent and energetic performance, and is matched by a feisty Elisabeth Shue as a co-worker who used to be his lover. Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens, Greg Grunberg, Joey Slotnick and Mary Randle are also good as the other members of the team, and William Devane scores in a small role as another scientist overseeing the project from afar. Some of the characters are a bit cold-blooded and there are questionable scenes regarding some of Sebastian's sleazy actions. However, this is a very entertaining  and well-made picture with stunning and Oscar-nominated FX work, Nice score by Jerry Goldsmith, too. The 2020 film The Invisible Man was another notable Wells-influenced thriller. 

Verdict: Visibly exciting thriller. ***. 

BURT LANCASTER: AN AMERICAN LIFE

BURT LANCASTER: An American Life. Kate Buford. Knopf; 2000. 

Tracing his pathway from the rough streets of New York's Harlem to a stint as an acrobat to his making his mark in motion pictures rather quickly, pretty much attaining stardom in his first film The Killers, this well-written and very absorbing biography offers a fascinating portrait of a complex individual. Lancaster was driven to succeed, something he achieved, but not without cost. Some friends and co-workers describe him with lavish affection while to others he was cold, distant, and occasionally cruel. While his wife nearly drank herself to death, Lancaster apparently did little or nothing to help her while he had numerous affairs and a long-time mistress (a passed-out spouse can be a convenience). On the plus side, Lancaster was dedicated to his art and tried his best to make worthwhile pictures instead of just appearing in junk for money (although eventually he would have to do that as well). 

Although Lancaster was not a kid when he became a bona fide movie star, he was young enough -- and it happened quickly enough -- for such rapid success to go to his head. There was one shocking report of violence against women while under the influence. The term "bisexual" is used over and over again in the book, but  Buford never really deals with it head on or provides any solid evidence of homosexual relationships, although eyebrows were raised in certain instances. Lancaster did have several gay friends and co-workers, and did an ad for AIDS awareness -- "Think Before You Act -- Don't Get Aids." Lancaster had several children but his relationship with his children isn't really examined that significantly (and we never learn the contents of his will). 

Whatever good or bad points Lancaster had, he made some memorable, or at least, famous motion pictures during his career, and gave some solid performances. From Here to Eternity, Come Back Little Sheba,  The Swimmer (my favorite Lancaster film and performance), A Child Is Waiting, Elmer Gantry, and many, many others. However Buford is not a film critic, so don't expect in-depth analysis of his films, although she does go behind the scenes of many of the movies. 

Verdict: Imperfect but notable bio that delves a bit more than others into the life of this enduring star. ***1/2. 

GET HAPPY: THE LIFE OF JUDY GARLAND

GET HAPPY: THE LIFE OF JUDY GARLAND. Gerald Clarke. Dell/Random House. 2000.  

Here is another book that traces the life of the famous singer-actress in generally sympathetic fashion. Clarke looks at Garland's early life and her parents, her emergence as an MGM star, her struggles with diet and pills and more pills, her numerous affairs, marriages and divorces, and even her movies and concerts. There are some things in the tome that give one pause, however. The notion that Judy's mother, the homely Ethel Gumm, was trading sexual favors for consideration for her daughter, seems ludicrous, but to be fair Clarke says whether this is true or not "is impossible to say." Clarke is largely sympathetic to Judy's father, a theater owner, but there is a big difference between a man who is simply gay or bi and a married man who hits on teenage boys -- Clarke doesn't seem to get that if this was true the man was a predator. Clarke also seems too credible when presented with alleged evidence -- a letter -- that Tyrone Power was madly in love [!] with Garland. In those days (and even today) actors would have done anything to cover up even an inference of homosexuality. Clarke also states that Garland "occasionally enjoyed a frolic with another woman" but refuses to label her as bisexual -- huh? Still, Get Happy is well-written, and has some solid information to go with the more suspect material.

Verdict: Generally worthwhile if imperfect Garland bio. ***. 

SWING IT! THE ANDREWS SISTERS STORY

SWING IT! THE ANDREWS SISTER STORY. John Sforza. University Press of Kentucky; 2000.

Petty squabbles, sibling rivalry, bad marriages, lawsuits and counter suits against each other, and even suicide attempts -- this was all part of the Andrews Sisters' story. However, it is just part of the story. True, two of the sisters, Patti and Maxene, did not even speak or look at one another in the last few years of  their lives -- Maxene died some years before Patti did -- but author Sforza suitably spends more time detailing the careers (both together and as individuals) and personal triumphs of the singing group than their trials and tribulations -- but he leaves nothing out. The author looks at other girl groups and explains why the very versatile Andrews Sisters were at the top of the heap and the reasons for their longevity. The gals were of Greek descent, and one could not say they were raving beauties, but they generally looked much more attractive in real life than in their movies. LaVerne, the oldest, looked like a witch in Hold That Ghost, but still shots in this heavily-illustrated tome show her looking much prettier and with a more becoming hairstyle in later years. The sisters did several films with Abbott and Costello, then a series of mediocre films for Universal, who didn't seem to know just what to do with them, and then there was their work for the USO. When Patti and Maxene did their successful Broadway show, Over Here!, it highlighted the sisters' comedic abilities. Their hit songs included "Rum and Coco-Cola;" "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree;" "Boogie Woogie Buigle Boy;" and many, many others. The group split up in the early fifties, then forgave each other and reunited, until there was another, longer split between Patti and Maxene (LaVerne had passed away by then) over Over Here! The Andrews Sisters remain the "best-selling female vocal group" of all time, and had more Top Ten Billboard hits than either the Beatles or Elvia Presley! In addition to many great photos, the book also has a lengthy, annotated discography as well as lists of their film, radio and TV appearances.

Verdict: This is an excellent biography and career study of three talented women who became symbols of WW2 but whose careers spanned many decades. ***1/2.

THE GIFT

Cate Blanchett

THE GIFT (2000). Director: Sam Raimi.

Annie Wilson (Cate Blachett) is a widow with three young sons who makes extra money doing readings for people. One of her clients is Valerie (Hilary Swank), whose husband, Donnie (Keanu Reeves), is a wife beater. Meanwhile her friend Wayne (Greg Kinnear) is dating a young woman named Jessica (Katie Holmes) who goes missing. Is Donnie responsible for her disappearance as everyone thinks, or does Annie's "gift" tell her that someone else is responsible? By the end of this mediocre film with its insufficient and sometimes obvious script I couldn't care less. This is one of those movies that purports to look into the lives of borderline Hillbilly types -- poor white trash, in other words -- but what we've really got are slick Hollywood types putting on phony Southern accents and hoping for the best. Lead Blanchett is one of the worst offenders, all actressy and unconvincing, and Hilary Swank [The Black Dahlia] isn't much better. Kinnear scores as Wayne, as do Reeves as the nasty Donnie and Gary Cole as the prosecutor on the case. I'm not certain what to make of Giovanni Ribisi [I Love Your Work] as a sad neighbor who may or may not have been molested by his father. There are moments in the movie that make no sense, and the ending is the shaggiest of shaggy dog stories. Co-written by Billy Bob Thorton, who must have dreamed this up over a sixpack. Blanchett deservedly won a Best Actress Oscar for Blue Jasmine six years later, but then she was working with Woody Allen and not Raimi of Evil Dead fame. [Raimi did knock one out of the ballpark with Spider-Man 2, however.]

Verdict: Hard to understand what anyone saw in this script. ** out of 4.

DR. T AND THE WOMEN

DR. T AND THE WOMEN (2000). Director: Robert Altman.

Dr. Travis (Richard Gere with a white-haired dye job) is a Dallas gynecologist with an exclusive clientele. His wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett) has a public meltdown -- she takes off all of her clothing and steps into a fountain -- and winds up institutionalized, after which he embarks on an affair with new golf club employee, Bree (Helen Hunt of Empire Falls). Meanwhile his family and patients are bothering him with an assortment of problems: nurse Carolyn (Shelley Long) is secretly in love with Dr. T, and his daughter, Dee Dee (Kate Hudson of The Skeleton Key), has invited her former female lover (Liv Tyler) to her wedding (to a man) as maid of honor; Dee Dee's sister thinks the marriage is a mistake,  for obvious reasons. [Bree has a supposedly open-minded but pretty stupid reaction to this whole rather contrived business.] Other cast members include Lee Grant as a shrink; Andy Richter, who makes no impression, as a buddy; Janine Turner as a neurotic patient; and Laura Dern. In its treatment of the lesbian couple the movie strikes some liberated, if awkward, sparks, but somehow it still seems old-fashioned and unsatisfying, although it's more watchable than a lot of Altman's[Popeye] movies. One interesting sequence graphically shows the miracle of child birth.

Verdict: Typically rambling and unfocused Altman with some good scenes and okay acting. **1/2.

THE TRUTH ABOUT JANE

Ellen Muth as Jane

THE TRUTH ABOUT JANE (2000 Lifetime telefim). Writer/director: Lee Rose.

Jane (Ellen Muth) is a sixteen-year-old high school student who realizes for sure that she is gay when she is intimate with, and falls for, another student named Taylor (Alicia Lagano). Although Jane's parents are liberal and have gay friends, they don't react well when their daughter comes out of the closet. The Truth About Jane is well-intentioned and well-acted -- Stockard Channing [Twilight] and James Naughton are excellent as the parents, and Muth and Lagano are also terrific -- but it has an oddly dated quality, although it does expose the evils of homophobia and bullying. There is an unfortunate underscoring of "pity those poor gays" that doesn't quite mesh with modern day Gay Liberation attitudes, and it's interesting that the Parents of Gays in the group PFLAG introduce themselves the way alcoholics do at AA, creating an probably unintended corollary between homosexuality and alcoholism! Kelly Rowan plays a sympathetic teacher who also turns out to be a lesbian, and a comparatively subdued, out of drag RuPaul [Charles] has a nice turn as Jane's mother's gay friend, Jimmy.

Verdict: Nice enough as far as it goes... **1/2.

TRAFFIC (2000)

Michael Douglas as Judge Wakefield

TRAFFIC (2000). Director: Steven Soderbergh.

Compressing a long BBC mini-series [Traffik] into a two and a half hour movie, this feature deals with different aspects of the drug traffic, from Mexican cops and dealers, to American drug lords and narcs, to a Judge or "drug czar," investigating the problem who discovers his own daughter is an addict. Michael Douglas is the judge; Steven Bauer is the businessman who turns out to run a drug cartel, and Catherine Zeta-Jones is his initially unknowing wife who ultimately proves as ruthless as he is, wanting to take out a witness played by Miguel Ferrer. Others in the cast include James Brolin [The Car], Albert Finney [Tom Jones], Dennis Quaid [Legion], Benicio Del Toro [The Wolfman/2010] , and Don Cheadle [Iron Man 2] as a cop. The acting is okay and sometimes better than that, but the movie is disjointed [you get a sense that an awful lot was left on the cutting room floor] and badly directed. The movie holds the attention but it should be riveting and it isn't. Worse, some of the developments stretch credulity; certainly there is enough drama in the subject without contriving improbable sequences, such as the judge hitting the streets instead of calling the cops to find his daughter? This is not great movie-making by any stretch of the imagination.

Verdict: A movie on this subject shouldn't be so blah. **.

MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT

MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT (2000). Director: Claude Chabrol.

If you were the passenger in a car, and the driver, looking sick, said "I'm beginning to feel numb all over," wouldn't you tell them to pull over to the side of the road? Well, this passenger doesn't in one of the dumb, illogical moments in this film made by French filmmaker Chabrol from an old Charlotte Armstrong mystery novel. The plot has to do with "Mika" Muller (Isabelle Huppert), heir to a Swiss chocolate concern, who is fond of serving her own special hot chocolate to her husband, concert pianist Andre Polonski (Jacques Dutronc), and her stepson Gillaume (Rodolphe Pauly), as well as any guests she may have. Into this little household comes aspiring musician Jeanne Pollet (Anna Mouglalis), who thinks that Andre might possibly be her biological father. She also suspects one of the members of the household of being a poisoner. Merci Pour le Chocolat is absorbing and suspenseful for much of its length, but ultimately it heads in a predictable direction and has absolutely no surprises. Worse, Chabrol completely fails to bring out the dramatic potentialities of the storyline and character inter-relationships. The film is so low-key that its characters act like zombies when they should be more than a little upset. This isn't subtlety -- this is just mediocre filmmaking. Those who wrongly compare Chabrol with Hitchcock won't want to use this movie as a case in point. Hitch would never make the fatal mistake of leaving the audience without a punch line and way too many unanswered questions to boot. Chabrol and Huppert also teamed for the slightly better Story of Women in 1988.

Verdict: Have mercy and don't make criminally disappointing movies like this. **.