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28 Days Later
DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle
CAST: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson
SYNOPSIS: Inventive zombie flick about a handful of survivors after a killer virus epidemic trying to preserve the species. Infected ghouls have different ideas.
WHAT WE SAID: Times film critic Steve Persall gave 28 Days Later a B-, noting that the director borrowed liberally from George Romero's Night of the Living Dead trilogy, as well as The Omega Man and The Stand. "28 Days Later is smart fun for horror fans to devour, yet there's always a nagging feeling that we've seen this terror before," he wrote.
MPAA RATING: R; graphic violence, harsh profanity, frontal nudity, sexual situations.
RUNNING TIME: 112 min.
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
DIRECTOR: McG
CAST: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bernie Mac, Demi Moore, Crispin Glover, Justin Theroux, Robert Patrick, John Cleese
SYNOPSIS: In this, the sequel to the hit movie adaptation of the 1970s TV show, the Angels try to recover two stolen platinum rings that would reveal the names of every person in the world's witness protection program. Mobs from Brooklyn to Tokyo would pay big bucks to get revenge against snitches. The mastermind is a former Angel, Madison Lee (Demi Moore), now a gold pistol-packing mama lounging in a bikini and fur coat while she waits for the offers to pour in.
WHAT WE SAID: Persall gave it a B: "Film critics aren't supposed to enjoy movies like Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. But if American cinema is degenerating into a mindless mosh pit of lowbrow, high-volume video games, let them all be as fearlessly stupid as this one," he wrote.
MPAA RATING: PG-13; action violence, sensuality, profanity, sexual humor
RUNNING TIME: 105 min.
Respiro
DIRECTOR: Emanuele Crialese
CAST: Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato, Francesco Casisa, Veronica D'Agostino
SYNOPSIS: (Italian, with subtitles.) Golino plays Grazia, a mother of three and bored wife of a fisherman. She may be manic-depressive, but although nobody can quite identify her illness, they all want her sent to a mental hospital. Her oldest son hides her in a cave to prevent the hospitalization. After a few days, everyone else thinks she has drowned.
WHAT WE SAID: Persall gave it a C+ criticizing Crialese's screenplay for the film's deficiencies. Golina is "capable of playing much darker material if it's provided. Crialese's screenplay is more successful with the daily lives of Grazia's children, tormented by bullies or, in the case of sister Marinella, a budding romance. Those scenes of prankish behavior and naive concern are the best parts of Respiro, but not quite enough to recommend it."
MPAA RATING: PG-13
RUNNING TIME: 91 min.