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'Formula 51': Shaft in tartan
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 17, 2002
Samuel L. Jackson is such a fashion plate, he can even make a kilt look cool. Jackson reportedly sports one for much of Formula 51 (R) playing Elmo McElroy, a chemist who invents a new rave party drug 51 times more powerful than ecstasy. Elmo takes his concoction to England for a once-in-a-lifetime drug deal that gets more dangerous with each double-cross. Robert Carlyle, the hothead from Trainspotting, plays Elmo's guide through London, and Emily Mortimer (Lovely & Amazing) co-stars as Elmo's ex-girlfriend who comes back in the picture. Formula 51 is directed by Hong Kong action ace Ronny Yu, whose English-language productions include Bride of Chucky and the upcoming Freddy vs. Jason: Friday the 13th Part 11. Expect plenty of gunplay, foreplay and car chases, plus Jackson can't deliver many lines without dropping an f-bomb or two. See Friday's page 2B for a complete review.
'Abandon': Mystery man on campus
Katie Holmes has always impressed me as one of the few refugees from those WB and UPN teen-angst dramas who truly can act. The former Dawson's Creek co-star was fine in Doug Liman's Go as a nice girl clumsily dealing rave drugs. Then she created a suitable co-ed distraction for Michael Douglas in Wonder Boys. Now Holmes moves into name-above-the-title territory with Abandon (PG-13), a thriller in which she plays Catherine Burke, a college senior facing the pressures of a final thesis and job interviews. The last thing Catherine needs is the reappearance of a former boyfriend (Charlie Hunnam) after a mysterious two-year absence. Benjamin Bratt co-stars as a detective who also would like to know where the young man has been, and if he knows anything about another disappearance on campus. Abandon looks like resume padding for a young actor on the way up.
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