CAST: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas
SYNOPSIS: Another Marvel Comic comes to life with scientist Bruce Banner dealing with an abusive father (Nolte) and his destructive alter ego.
WHAT WE SAID: "Lee's version of Hulk is the first comic book superhero movie that might fit well into an art house theater's lineup. That will be interpreted as a compliment by some viewers and a complaint by those who like their summertime flicks dumb and loud. Certainly there is more talk in this film than action, and the action brings up another possible sticking point: that the computer-generated green monster looks too bogus to impress," Times film critic Steve Persall said in his June review, giving the film a B.
CAST: Adrien Brody, Charlotte Ayanna, Jon Seda, August Diehl, Pam Grier, Katherine Moennig
SYNOPSIS: Brody plays a con man who becomes involved with a Columbia University grad student (Ayanna). When he senses they are growing too close, he pushes her away. Her life, then, starts to spiral out of control as she pursues him. Grier also is after him; she's a cop.
WHAT WE SAID: The Times did not review this film. It was not released in the Tampa Bay area.
MPAA RATING: R for sexual content, language and violence
RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes
Whale Rider
DIRECTOR: Niki Caro
CAST: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Rawinia Clarke, Tammy Davis, Taungaroa Emile, Grant Roa, Tahei Simpson, Elizabeth Skeen, Roi Taimana, Pura Tangira, Heemi Taumaunu, Mana Taumaunu, Tyronne White
SYNOPSIS: Inspiring tale of a New Zealand girl bucking tribal tradition by studying to be chief of her Maori tribe.
WHAT WE SAID: Times correspondent Philip Booth called the film "slow-moving but absorbing, and far more thoughtful than the majority of movies meant to connect with younger audiences. Writer-director Niki Caro, a New Zealander who adapted the movie from the novel by Maori author Witi Ihimaera, only occasionally stoops to sentimentality and cliche." He gave the film a B.
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for brief language and a momentary drug reference
RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes
TV on DVD
Also released this week:
Brooklyn South: The Complete Series. . . . Coupling: The Complete Second Season (the BBC series). . . . Ed Sullivan Presents the Beatles, two-disc set including the Beatles' four appearances on Sullivan's show. . . . Farscape: The Complete Second Season. . . . Homicide: Life on the Street: The Complete Season 3. . . . Married . . . With Children: The Complete First Season, two-disc set. . . . The Sopranos: The Complete Fourth Season. . . . SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season.
