MOULIN ROUGE’s Baz Luhrman and Nicole Kidman reteam for this epic that pays homage to their homeland. In AUSTRALIA, Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) is a prim and proper Englishwoman who journeys to Australia in the years before World War II reached the country’s shores. She is determined to have her estranged husband sell his cattle ranch to a monopoly-craving businessman named King Carney (Bryan Brown), but when she arrives, Lord Ashley is dead, and her plan to sell the ranch changes when she sees an employee named Fletcher (David Wenham) cheating her husband’s business and mistreating a young boy named Nullah (Brandon Walters) because he is of mixed race. Urged on by both pride and a sense of justice, Lady Ashley wants to drive her herd of cattle to Darwin so she can sell them to the troops, but she’ll require the help of an independent cowboy (fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman) to get them there.
AUSTRALIA changes genres almost as much as Kidman’s character changes from fantastic costume to fantastic costume (courtesy of Luhrman’s wife and collaborator, Catherine Martin). The film begins as a fish-out-of-water comedy, then changes into a Western, then morphs into a romance, and it finishes as a World War II drama. But in this genre-bending epic, there’s something for everyone, especially for fans of Jackman. The actor has rarely looked better, and there’s plenty of opportunity for him to show that he can be an action star as well as a romantic lead in the mold of the Golden Age stars. The film itself harks back to classic Hollywood, at times resembling essentials such as GONE WITH THE WIND and THE AFRICAN QUEEN. And fans of THE WIZARD OF OZ will enjoy seeing how the beloved film works its way into AUSTRALIA’s plot and score. (2 hr. 35 min.)
Amazon princess Diana rescues Steve Trevor, an Air Force pilot who crashes on her island. Intrigued by her first exposure to the outside world, she leaves the island and becomes the superhero known as Wonder Woman. (74 min.)
In Disney’s unabashedly silly talking-dog movie BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA, Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore), the ridiculously spoiled title pet, is swept away from her comfortable 90210 existence, when the impulsive niece (Piper Perabo) of her wealthy owner (Jamie Lee Curtis) combines dog-sitting with a vacation in Mexico. When Chloe gets lost south of the border, her scrappy Chihuahua admirer, Papi (voiced by George Lopez), embarks on a mission to bring her back home. While Chloe’s pint-size dog in shining armor searches for his posh crush, she must contend with the rough-and-tumble side of life, learning a few important lessons along the way.
Directed by Raja Gosnell, who is no stranger to dog-themed live-action/CGI flicks (see SCOOBY-DOO), CHIHUAHUA is an amusing diversion that is custom-made for canine lovers. Barrymore and Lopez are pitch-perfect in their vocal performances, and they are ably assisted by a bevy of Latino talent, including Andy Garcia, Edward James Olmos, and Cheech Marin. Although the film doesn’t give its human actors a lot to do, it doesn’t matter much, since the dogs are the reason for the entire show. In fact, the more the movie concentrates on its furry protagonists the more giddily entertaining it gets, as exemplified by a fun, fantastical doggie musical sequence that serves as CHIHUAHUA’s undeniable highlight. (1 hr. 25 min.)
Karen Moncrieff follows up her well-received debut feature, BLUE CAR, with THE DEAD GIRL, an impressive, haunting ensemble drama. When a young girl is found murdered, the lives of several different individuals are impacted. Some of these connections are peripheral, while many others are painfully direct. The film is broken up into five distinct chapters, each with its own title. In “The Stranger,” Arden (Toni Collette) finds the body, much to her abusive mother’s (Piper Laurie) dismay. “The Sister” follows a graduate student (Rose Byrne) who is still mourning the disappearance of her sister along with her mother (Mary Steenburgen). Mary Beth Hurt stars in “The Wife” as a frustrated housewife who discovers that her husband (Nick Searcy) has been up to no good. “The Mother” features Marcia Gay Harden as a heartbroken mother who travels to Los Angeles to see how her murdered daughter lived and forms an unlikely bond with her daughter’s former roommate (Kerry Washington). Lastly, “The Dead Girl” tells the story of Krista (Brittany Murphy), a tempestuous drug addict who wants to visit her daughter on her birthday, but fate conspires to bring her down.
Moncrieff uses different filmmaking techniques to tell each story (handheld camerawork vs. static cinematography, a variety of color schemes, etc.), but the overall tone remains the same. This is a sad, somber world, yet glimpses of hope poke through the cracks at the most unexpected moments. An all-star cast brings Moncrieff’s vision to life, but it is Brittany Murphy who steals the show, delivering a performance so naked and reckless that it’s painful to watch. (1 hr. 34 min.)
Everyone in the Portokalos family worries about Toula (NIA VARDALOS). Still unmarried at 30-years-old, she works at Dancing Zorbas, the Greek restaurant owned by her parents, Gus (MICHAEL CONSTANTINE) and Maria (LAINIE KAZAN) and smells like garlic bread. Vowing that shed rather stab herself in the eye with a red-hot poker than work in the restaurant for the rest of her life, Toula is ready for a change. Unfortunately, the rest of her family is not. After taking a job at her aunts travel agency, she falls in love with Ian Miller (JOHN CORBETT), a high school teacher who is tall, handsome and definitely not Greek. Toula isnt sure which will be more upsetting to her old-fashioned father, that Ian is a Xeno (foreigner) or that hes a vegetarian. But none of it matters once he asks her to marry him. Toula knows that if he can pass muster with her crazy relatives and get baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church…their big fat Greek wedding, including one powder blue limousine, two ice sculptures and ten bridesmaids in turquoise dresses, will be a piece of cake, five layers high with a plastic staircase and a fountain of champagne. (1 hr. 35 min.)
Set in the year 2084, a man goes to Mars via a memory implant and discovers the truth about himself. (1 hr. 53 min.)
A young boy, newly arrived in town after his father’s tragic death, befriends a hoops-playing pup while trying out for his new school’s basketball team. The dog’s owner, however, has a more avaricious plan in mind. (1 hr. 37 min.)
An all-star cast brings vividly to life Steinbeck’s novel about the rivalry between two brothers for the affection of their father.
A small-time criminal with a disfigured face takes the rap of a soured robbery. In jail, he receives a new face and is granted parole. He begins an honest life, but his old partners show up to spoil his plans, except he has plans too–for revenge. (1 hr. 35 min.)