DVD Divine Viewing Diversions: The Movies of the Summer of 2000
I readily admit that I’m biased, but from this vantage point nothing can compete with movies when it comes to vividly recalling or recreating the past.
Or even past perceptions of the present or future, come to think of it.
So, feast your eyes – or eye your feast – on the 10 movies that dominated the marketplace and compelled and entertained us exactly 20 years ago.
Why, you’d think it was just yesterday.
Say hello – again – to the big-screen movies of the summer of 2000.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II (PG-13)
The mission, if they decided to accept it, was to become the domestic box-office champ of 2000, earning well over $200 million – the only film to clear that particular hurdle that particular year. The first sequel to the movie adaptation of the popular series of high-tech thrillers was directed by John Woo, and again starred Tom Cruise – doing most of his own stunts, as had been his wont – as Ethan Hunt, the head of the Impossible Missions Force of superspies. Most critics saw it as coming up short of its predecessor despite an admittedly impressive and flamboyant series of fights and chases and set pieces. But sequelitis seemed to set in early on. As it turned out, the best of this cerebral action franchise was yet to come. And more than once at that.
GLADIATOR (R)
Director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe collaborated on this epic historical drama – 2 hours, 35 minutes long – about the Roman Empire, and it would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture as well as three other Oscars. The protagonist is a dedicated soldier who objects to having to transfer his loyalty to a new emperor. Crowe, in the title-character lead, also snagged the Oscar for Best Actor as his intense character finds himself in the Roman Colosseum, attempting to entertain the vociferous crowds and maintain a measure of dignity as he fights to reclaim his name and the freedom of his people. The supporting cast includes Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi and Djimon Hounsou.
THE PERFECT STORM (PG-13)
George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg were the headliners, under the direction of Wolfgang Petersen, in this weather-catastrophe action drama set in Gloucester, Mass., on a fishing boat as three simultaneous storms converge and the crew appears to be doomed. This based-on-actuality thriller was an adaptation of the best-selling book by Sebastian Junger about 1991’s “storm of the century.” And although the supporting cast included Diane Lane, John C. Reilly, John Hawkes, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, the real stars were the special effects. So it was no surprise when the film was nominated for Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound, which was what the film offered rather than strongly delineated characters to feel invested in.
X-MEN (PG-13)
The Marvel Comics-inspired thriller franchise comes to the movie screen as superheroic, evolved mutants attempt to integrate in human society. Bryan Singer directs Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Bruce Davison and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in this exuberant tale about a unique peacekeeping force of fit, gifted misfits fitting in. Sort of. True to its graphic roots and action-packed, this supernatural crowd-pleaser is a first foray as the Marvel-ous franchise begins its virtual takeover and makeover of the cinematic universe. The critics were kind, the moviegoing public showed up in droves, and life would never be the same as the “X-Men” movies did just what the title characters did: they fit right in.
THE PATRIOT (R)
Mel Gibson, long before his off-screen behavior changed his image forever, starred in this period drama as a South Carolina farmer, a former hero of the French and Indian War and a widower with seven children. He is reluctant to fight in the Continental Army in 1776 because he has seen war up close and personal, and because he fears for the safety of his young kids. So, he renounces violence. But then his oldest son – played by the late Heath Ledger – enlists, and the protective father soon finds himself back in battle. Gibson is nothing if not charismatic working for director Roland Emmerich, and the mere existence of the generally well-made history lesson is a reminder that very few films have actually been devoted to the American Revolution.
WHAT LIES BENEATH (PG-13)
The versatile and accomplished Robert Zemeckis directed this supernatural thriller starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer about a ghost who seems to be haunting a lavish home in Vermont. Handsome and absorbing if not particularly persuasive, the film has its share of unpredictable twists and sudden scares, but it is uncharacteristically generic for a director of Zemeckis’ skills. Ford and Pfeiffer lend their combined presence and talent to the proceedings in a way that helps lift the narrative in the direction of artistic respectability, but not quite enough for us to escape a general feeling of shallowness. Some viewers were impressed with the vivid shock ending, others were let down, humming “Is That All There Is?” as they exited.
DINOSAUR (PG)
This animated adventure about a dinosaur raised by a family of lemurs features in its voice cast D.B. Sweeney, Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Julianna Margulies, Max Casella, Hayden Panettiere and Della Reese. When a meteor shower destroys their island home, they head for a different island where they join another dinosaur tribe, with whom they attempt to flee to safety. This works as a children’s fable about the instinct for survival, hampered a bit by the inclusion of modern dialogue – which will disenfranchise the grownups – but it also serves as a vivid demonstration of just how far the industry had come with its staggeringly dynamic computer animation as the century changed and we welcomed the Golden Age of Animation.
NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS (PG-13)
If Eddie Murphy did nothing beyond one crucial and hilarious scene in this reboot sequel to a Jerry Lewis comedy, he’d still be acknowledged in movie history. As we watch him play five – count them, five – Klump family members sitting down to dinner in a sequence that is spit-out-your-popcorn hysterical, we feel as if he is the only actor on the planet who could deliver these astonishing goods. In addition, Murphy plays both struggling professor Sherman Klump and too-cool-for-school Buddy Love as the former attempts to marry the love of his life, played by Janet Jackson. The film certainly has its flaws and excesses, but witnessing Murphy’s unique and awe-inspiring talent renders them more or less irrelevant.
CHICKEN RUN (G)
Mel Gibson provides the lead voice in this splendid animated attraction from the British producers of the “Wallace & Gromit” films. It’s a comedic adventure thriller about a group of chickens on a Yorkshire chicken farm in England in the 1950s who are desperate to escape the cruel barnyard owners. This is stop-motion animation of the highest order, especially when married to a screenplay this wonderfully witty. The kids will love the exciting action and amusing slapstick, while adults might notice a strong resemblance to prisoner-of-war flicks such as “The Great Escape.” Among the other members of the voiceover cast are Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall, Miranda Richardson and Jane Horrocks. In no other form could clay be any funnier.
SCARY MOVIE (R)
A gaggle of sequels would inevitably turn up in the wake of this unashamedly lowbrow spoof of the “Scream” horror franchise and a number of ’90s television series. That it’s decidedly hit-or-miss is obvious from the first frame of this raunch-fest, but director Keenen Ivory Wayans seems to know how to please his audience with an anything-for-a-laugh approach about movies and programs with which viewers are more than familiar. In comic support are such farceurs as Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Regina Hall and Cheri Oteri. The film is certainly not as funny as it thinks it is, but there is nonetheless a modest but unmistakable collection of belly laughs to be had for fans of the genre.
