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By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 2, 2000
NEW RELEASES
The Road to El Dorado
(PG) DreamWorks continues its challenge to Disney's animation empire with a middling adventure of Spanish explorers seeking a legendary Central American city of gold. Not childish enough for some tastes, and possibly too serious for others. A few lively action sequences are countered by uninspired music from Elton John and Tim Rice.
First impressions: "(Some) decisions knock The Road to El Dorado a few notches down the pecking order of animated films . . . diluting any credibility established by the film's vibrant . . . diversity. Hearing Kevin Kline's master thespian voice and Kenneth Branagh's brogue attached to pale Spanish explorers is a stretch. Watching them frolic to a sterile Elton John ditty while Latin pop music explodes on radios is a grave misjudgment.
"After Antz, The Prince of Egypt and this film, the creative mind set of DreamWorks animation is becoming clearer. The studio prefers stories that aren't safe investments. . . . Yet, DreamWorks wants to be daring without creative risk, following the proven route of Disney pioneers."
Second thoughts: One of the most forgettable animated films I've seen.
Rental audience: Children who'll watch any cartoon without complaining.
Rent it if you enjoy: Kline and Branagh's wit.
(PG-13) Complex story of a firefighter (Dennis Quaid) killed in 1969, his disillusioned-cop son (Jim Caviezel) 30 years later, and a miraculous ham radio reuniting them, just in time to catch a cross-generational serial killer. Science fiction with a warm, Field of Dreams touch.
First impressions: "From the outset, Frequency is a smart thriller that keeps getting smarter until it seems ready to outfox itself. Then the filmmakers take the only logical step in time-twisting, digging into blarney so deep that any mistakes won't be traced until another viewing. Frequency is entertaining enough to make that second look worthwhile.
"(Toby Emmerich's) cagey script was apparently built backward from its fantastic conclusion. So many so-called film puzzles do the opposite. By knowing exactly where the plot is heading, Emmerich is less arbitrary about how to get there. Frequency is a breakneck ball of confusion."
Second thoughts: One of the year's better junk movies.
Rental audience: Sci-fi aficionados, first-daters and New York Mets fans.
Rent it if you enjoy: Time After Time.
(R) A mass communications class project goes terribly wrong as a false sexual rumor turns into accusations of date rape. Joshua Jackson and Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) are among the young actors who will drop this movie from their resume as soon as possible.
First impressions: "The dynamics of rumor make a few abrupt plot shifts bearable. Screenwriters Gregory Poirier and Theresa Rebeck do some neat layering of lies . . . to muddle the question of guilt. Those are just spasms of creativity. Most of the movie is just Cruel Intentions on a scholarship, with callous characters and a cynical approach to human nature.
"Coincidences and hidden agendas pile up until nobody, not even the alleged rape victim, has our sympathies. Gossip tosses red herrings like a fishmonger, then tries to pass them off as an incredibly complex sting operation. How clever. Not really."
Second thoughts: Do I really have to think about this loser again?
Rental audience: Nobody I want to hang around with.
Rent it if you enjoy: Cruel Intentions, Body Shots.
(G) The popular PBS series Shining Time Station and its locomotive hero arrive on the big screen, just as elementary in theme and execution as on television. Alec Baldwin lightens up as Mr. Conductor, searching for the charmed train that can save Shining Time from despair. Peter Fonda is the isolated old coot hiding her.
First impressions: "Thomas and the Magic Railroad recalls a time when computer animation didn't provide all the necessary imagination for young minds.
"The boldness of this film is its drastic simplicity, the way talking trains never move their mouths and actors playing miniature characters don't quite line up with life-size objects blue-screened around them. (The movie) looks cheap, but so does that elementary school play that you wind up enjoying in spite of yourself."
Second thoughts: The film should look better in its natural, babysitting element.
Rental audience: Children younger than 6, parents trying to keep them occupied.
Rent it (only) if you enjoy: Shining Time Station.
DVD
New and noteworthy for digital players
Something about this romantic fantasy has endured, despite its poor box office performance in 1980 and generally hooting reviews. Some viewers -- many of them women -- consider it among their favorites films of all time.
Certainly, it was out of place upon first release alongside gritty downers such as Raging Bull, The Elephant Man and Ordinary People. Director Jeannot Szwarc worked with gauzy pastels and weepy twists, creating a time-tripping love story drenched in sincerity.
Christopher Reeve plays a playwright intrigued by an old woman, a former stage actor, visiting on opening night. He uses hypnosis to travel back to when they first met at the turn of the 20th century. They fall in love, but can they reconcile their time differences?
Based on a Richard Matheson novel, Bid Time Return, the film has merit for an encore. It's a bittersweet feeling to watch Reeve in his preparalysis days; what a leading man he was turning out to be. Jane Seymour also displays more passion than later success as noble Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman would allow. Somewhere in Time is a three-hankie romance with timeless appeal for some viewers, now matched by DVD durability.
The 20th anniversary edition contains an audio commentary track by Szwarc, theatrical trailers and a documentary on the making of the film with cast and crew interviews.
Also included is a profile of the official fan club, INSITE (International Network of Somewhere in Time Enthusiasts), still going strong at http://somewhereintime.pair.com. True love never dies, it just gets a Web site.
Rewind
Videos worth another look
Tired of presidential debates, sound-bite politics and disparaging campaign ads? It'll all be over next Tuesday when America goes to the polls. Until then, movie watchers can pass the time with any of these fine films with something about the presidency in common:
All the President's Men -- Alan Pakula's taut essay on political corruption and journalists exposing it is a classic. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford play Watergate whistle-blowers Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, with Jason Robards in an Oscar-winning supporting role.
Primary Colors -- In the interest of equal time, here's a vaguely disguised Democratic scandal. John Travolta is very Clintonesque as a womanizing chief executive, with Emma Thompson adding a dash of Hilary to her first-lady role.
Wag the Dog -- The best recent political satire, with Hoffman and Robert De Niro faking a Mideast crisis to get sympathy votes for their candidate two weeks before the election. You'll never watch a CNN report from a political hot spot quite the same way again.
Kisses for My President -- Okay, the Oval Office isn't all scandalous. A groundswell of women's voting clout elects Polly Bergen as the first female president, and Fred MacMurray copes with being the first first husband. Dated gender politics, but fun.
Dave -- Kevin Kline is wonderful as a philandering president and the ordinary guy secretly replacing him for image's sake after a stroke. Frank Capra would have loved this optimistic moral fable.
Nashville -- A third-party candidate makes waves among 24 characters in Robert Altman's Music City masterpiece. The fictional contender, Hal Phillip Walker, spoofs every vapid campaign promise and patriotic bluff ever recited by a politician.
The War Room -- Fascinating documentary of the 1992 Clinton campaign, highlighted by the abrasive wit of adviser James Carville and the flim-flam charm of George Stephanopoulos.
The Best Man -- Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson sling mud at each other during a presidential convention. This 1964 release was before its time, since Americans thought the best of politicians then. It's tame by today's campaign standards.