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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 31, 2002
The Force to expand on IMAX screens
The Force is again with moviegoers, larger and louder than ever before. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones opens Friday at two IMAX venues in Tampa, Channelside IMAX Theatre and IMAX Dome Theater at the Museum of Science and Industry. The continuing saga of Anakin Skywalker (later Darth Vader) will be shown for a limited time in rotation with other IMAX presentations, so visitors are urged to call theaters for show times and advance ticket-sale information. George Lucas' fifth film in the series stars Hayden Christensen as Anakin, with a crush on Sen. Amidala (Natalie Portman) while intergalactic political intrigue leads to formation of the evil Empire made famous in the original Star Wars. Samuel L. Jackson co-stars alongside a more mobile, agile and hostile Yoda than fans have seen before. Attack of the Clones will play at Channelside through Nov. 26, and at MOSI through Dec. 24. Group sales also are available at both locations. Call the Channelside box office at (813) 221-0700 and MOSI at (813) 987-6100 for information.
The great stand-up comedians, such as Jerry Seinfeld, make it look easy. The audience never sees how much anguish goes into being funny. Comedian, a documentary starring Seinfeld and directed by Christian Charles, who created Seinfeld's amusing American Express ads, is a peek backstage. The narrative follows Seinfeld as he sharpens his act for a nationwide tour, popping into chuckle clubs for surprise sets, then analyzing what went right and wrong. Mostly wrong, since stand-ups comedians are notoriously insecure about what they do. Unless you're Bill Cosby, who appears to offer his perspective on the process. Comedian also profiles a newcomer, Orny Adams, as he builds the same neuroses from the ground up. The film was screened too late for Weekend. See Friday's page 2B for a full review.
You can tell the holiday movie season is approaching because studios are jockeying for release-date position. Warner Bros. intended to release Femme Fatale (R) on Nov. 8 but decided a head start on the weekend box-office competition was in order. The thriller starring Antonio Banderas and Rebecca Romjin-Stamos is scheduled to debut on Wednesday. Banderas tries to put Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever behind him with a role as a paparazzo who snaps photographs of two mysterious women. Since Brian DePalma is directing and he still has that Hitchcock jones, it's easy to deduce that Romjin-Stamos plays both of them. What she's up to, and how much heat Banderas and Romjin-Stamos can generate, are questions for next Thursday's Weekend.