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War, pestilence and beautiful women; apes, Atlantis and a swordfish that looks like John Travolta: Summer movies 2001 not only offer some watery motifs; they're awash in variety.
By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 24, 2001
Drought? What drought? Moviegoers will find plenty of water in which to immerse themselves at megaplexes this summer.
Pearl Harbor opens the floodgates today, recreating a day of wartime infamy in an ocean that wasn't very pacific. Don't bother drying off. Soon, a box office will be your gateway to Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Steven Spielberg's futuristic A.I., when polar ice caps melt, flooding the world.
There's even a Swordfish looking like John Travolta swimming around out there.
Water, water everywhere.
Some flicks may even make you think.
Others might give moviegoers cold sweats. Angelina Jolie transforms cybersex symbol Lara Croft into a flesh-and-blood Tomb Raider. Meanwhile, another video game, Final Fantasy, makes computer-animated Dr. Aki Ross shapelier than Jolie. Nicole Kidman is real in Moulin Rouge.
While women play tougher, the likeliest male romantic star of the summer is sensitive guy John Cusack, wooing Catherine Zeta-Jones in one movie and Kate Beckinsale in another.
Creativity does have dry spells. Summertime, and the sequels are easy.
Last year, Hollywood repeated itself only twice, for another impossible mission and more Klumps. This summer includes five sequels and one remake, although director Tim Burton prefers "reinvention" to describe Planet of the Apes.
Let's take our annual dip into the pool of summer movies, categorized by their chances of staying afloat in this most competitive movie season. Shower before entering. No running, please.
Big budgets, big splash
Pearl Harbor (opens Friday) -- Bombs away! The creators of Con Air and Armageddon go historical on audiences by recreating the fateful attack that ignited America's entry into World War II. Stars Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Josh Hartnett.
Tomb Raider (June 15) -- Hold onto your joystick. The sexiest cyberbabe in video games comes alive. Oscar winner Angelina Jolie is perfectly cast as a fearless seeker of crypts from ancient empires.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (June 15) -- Disney drops the cute animals and sentimental songs for an animated adventure recalling 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Michael J. Fox voices Milo Thatch, a bookish sort leading an expedition to the legendary underwater city.
A.I. (June 29) -- Stanley Kubrick conceived it. Steven Spielberg directed it. Do you need to know anything else? Too bad, since this tale of an android Pinocchio (Haley Joel Osment) has been cloaked in secrecy. Should be a provocative hybrid of E.T. and HAL 2000.
America's Sweethearts (July 20) -- One grown-up romantic comedy usually breaks through each summer. This is the best bet. Bickering, married movie stars (John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones) must act friendly to promote their new flick. Oscar winner Julia Roberts dons a fat suit as a studio publicist-referee.
Planet of the Apes (July 27) -- Not a sequel or a remake of the 1968 classic, but a new interpretation from visionary director Tim Burton. Mark Wahlberg plays an astronaut marooned in a simian world where everyone puts their dirty paws on him. Tim Roth and Michael Clarke Duncan monkey around in makeup.
Caught in the blockbusters' wake
Moulin Rouge (June 1) -- Something is wrong when Saturday Night Live spoofs a movie before it even gets released. Nicole Kidman stars as a Parisian courtesan seducing Ewan McGregor to the beat of modern pop songs such as Roxanne and All You Need Is Love. Does the gambit work? Maybe it can-can.
Evolution (June 8) -- Remember Ghostbusters, when director Ivan Reitman was funny? He does. This sci-fi comedy uses the same formula with aliens instead of ectoplasm. You can take David Duchovny out of The X-Files, but you can't take The X-Files out of his career choices.
Swordfish (June 8) -- John Travolta needs a hit after last year's Battlefield Earth and Lucky Numbers. He plays, according to recycled studio jargon, "the world's most dangerous spy" leading a computer-hacking plot for the CIA. Code name: Swordfish. Comeback chances: Slim.
Dr. Dolittle 2 (June 22) -- Eddie Murphy talks to the animals again. Some moviegoers will buy into anything. Twice.
The Fast and the Furious (June 22) -- Want a sleeper pick? Try this souped-up saga of Manhattan hot-rodders stealing electronic equipment. Vin Diesel -- what a great name -- stars as the revved-up ringleader, with Paul Walker as the cop in his rear-view mirror. Could be a box office hit or gone in 60 seconds.
Scary Movie 2 (July 4) -- Ads for Scary Movie promised no sequels. Ads for the sequel admit the Wayans brothers lied. Older brother Keenan Ivory directs, Marlon and Shawn co-star in another sledgehammer satire of horror flicks. Reportedly more low-brow gross than the original. How?
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (July 11) -- Video gamers will flock to this big-screen version of a popular title, but cinephiles will see a vision of the future. Each frame is computer-generated, even human actors voiced by Ming-Na and Alec Baldwin. Someday, those Screen Actors Guild cards may be obsolete.
Legally Blonde (July 13) -- Ditzy sorority queen (Reese Witherspoon) gets dumped, then follows her ex-boyfriend to law school, where she becomes a legal beagle. Previews suggest another Election for Witherspoon as our favorite young female actor.
The Score (July 13) -- The cast sells this one, if the script doesn't sell them short. A master thief (Robert De Niro) is blackmailed by a young turk (Edward Norton) into one last robbery. His fiancee (Angela Bassett) doesn't like the scheme. Marlon Brando co-stars, making three generations of great actors represented.
Jurassic Park III (July 18) -- Spielberg was busy, so Joe Johnston (Jumanji, October Sky) stepped in to supervise another dinosaur adventure. Sam Neill and Laura Dern return after skipping part 2. Jeff Goldblum learned his lesson after two close calls, making Dr. Ian Malcolm extinct.
Rush Hour 2 (Aug. 3) -- Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reprise their odd-couple comedy act. The cop plot is secondary to Chan's charm and daredevil stunts and Tucker's machine-gun mouth.
American Pie II (Aug. 10) -- The gang that couldn't score straight reunites after its freshman year in college. Bet at least one of the guys is still a virgin. My money's on Jason Biggs, the new-wave Little Jack Horner.
Rollerball (Aug. 15) -- Norman Jewison's 1975 film was ahead of its time, railing against corporate takeover of professional sports and public bloodlust. Chris Klein dons James Caan's shoulder pads for a combination of roller derby and the XFL.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Aug. 15) -- During World War II, an Italian officer (Nicolas Cage) falls in love with a married woman (Penelope Cruz) while her husband serves in Greece's army. Based on a best-selling novel, so there may be a core audience to tap.
Stay in the cabana, boys and girls.
The Animal (June 1) -- Dr. Dolittle meets The Six Million Dollar Man. Rob Schneider survives an auto accident with vital organs transplanted from animals. Can I show Mr. Schneider something in a funny bone?
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (June 1) -- Maybe paying $7 to see this movie. Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito play criminal rivals one-upping each other.
Kiss of the Dragon (July 6) -- Chinese intelligence agent (Jet Li) becomes involved in one of those deadly international conspiracies that always seem to pop up this time of year.
Fast Food, Fast Women (July 20) -- Lonely New Yorkers look for love in a diner with advice from "Mary Hartman" herself, Louise Lasser.
crazy/beautiful (July 20) -- Suburban princess (Kirsten Dunst) falls in love with a Hispanic (Jay Hernandez) from the poor side of town.
Original Sin (Aug. 3) -- Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie are a hot match but, boy, is this preview trailer dull. They're a mail-order married couple lying to each other about something important between soft-focus trysts and murder plots.
Rat Race (Aug. 3) -- Cannonball Run for the new millennium. Las Vegas casino boss (John Cleese) sets up a cross-country auto race featuring Cuba Gooding Jr., Jon Lovitz, Whoopi Goldberg and 40 Lucille Ball impersonators. Directed by Jerry Zucker (Airplane!, Ruthless People).
American Outlaws (Aug. 17) -- Whoopin' and hollerin' with young Jesse James (Colin Farrell, Tigerland). Timothy Dalton co-stars as lawman Allan Pinkerton, hired by a corrupt railroad tycoon.
Rock Star (Aug. 24) -- Mark Wahlberg returns from Planet of the Apes as a 1970s heavy-metal guitarist making it big. Not Dirk Diggler big, but big.
John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (Aug. 24) -- More sci-fi horror cliches from a filmmaker who stopped mattering years ago. Want proof? Carpenter just signed to create Halloween 8.
Jeepers Creepers (Aug. 31) -- Another cast of unknown young actors unleash a standard-issue evil spirit.
All That Glitters (Aug. 31) -- Pop music diva Mariah Carey gets her first starring role playing a pop music diva. She's so last century.
A shallow selection of family viewing
Cats and Dogs (July 4) -- The eternal struggle between canines and felines for world domination continues. This time, the animals learned how to speak from Babe. They fight like . . . you know.
The Princess Diaries (Aug. 3) -- American teenager (Anne Hathaway) discovers she's heiress to the throne of a small European nation. She gets royalty lessons from Julie Andrews. More than a spoonful of sugar in this one.
Osmosis Jones (Aug. 10) -- Bill Murray ate something that didn't agree with him. Enter Osmosis Jones, an animated germ killer voiced by Chris Rock. Fantastic Voyage meets Futurama.
Saving us from drowning in blockbusters
More Tampa Bay screens devoted to alternative films means more choices this summer. Release dates, when noted, are particularly subject to change. Most will be very limited engagements. Keep an eye open for:
Startup.com (June 1), a fascinating documentary of friendship and finances; John Turturro as a chess master playing The Luzhin Defence (June 8); couples swapping secrets at The Anniversary Party (June 22); John Singleton's return to the hood in Baby Boy (June 27); the brutal British gangster yarn, Sexy Beast (July 6); Woody Allen unraveling The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (Aug. 10); and Kevin Smith completing his slacker trilogy in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (Aug. 24).
Also watch for: John Cusack in Serendipity (Aug. 17); Japanese mobsters in Brother (Aug. 24) and Time and Tide (TBA); Dennis Hopper leading a gang of Knockaround Guys (Aug. 31); Sundance favorite The Deep End (Aug. 1); a thriller, The Glass House (Sept. 7); the gender-bending musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch (July 20); and Bubble Boy (Aug. 3), who sounds like he could use a visit from Osmosis Jones.