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Show The Salt Lake CALENDAR Friday, February 14, 1997 Tr Branagh’s ‘Hamlet’ ‘Fools Rush In,’ But Don’t Stay For This Comedy Crowning Achievement Fools Rush In so-funny Valentine BY SEAN P. MEANS trikes e THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Many peoplewill receive disap- Hamlet To goor notto go? By all means, go, pointing Valentine gifts today wilted BY SEAN P. MEANS. sive and hesitant, “Hamlet” is but Kenneth anything Branagh’s chocolates, kitchen appli- ‘Fools Rush In,” a whiny and plodding romantic comedy MatthewPerry, oneof the last but. Bold, energetic and visually inventive, stale ances. But perhaps the most dis. appointingvalentine this year is Branagh’s robust movie version of roses, cheap jewelry, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Hamlet may have been indeci- Friends” stars to have his own movie, plays nightclub developer unabridged production presents every word Alex Whitman. While on a six of William Shakespeare's play in month jobin Las Vegas, Alex has anintermission) atumultuous one-night stand with Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek lish, months later, Isabel returns to an nounce she is pregnant. She says shewill raise the baby herself, but a brisk andlivelyfourhours(plus Youknowthestory, unless you slept through high-school Eng- from Young Prince Hamlet (played by Branagh) ited by asks Alex to accompany her on theghost of his dead father(Brian Blessed), who s he was mur- one visit to her large Mexican dered by his brother, Claudius (Derek Jacobi), who then Americanfamily assumed ily, the throne and married Hamlet's mom, Gertrude (Julie Christie). Hamlet plays the lunatic to flush out Claudius, driving everyone batty (especially the smitten Ophelia, played by Kate Winslet) ‘‘Desperado’’), Three Kenneth Branagh delivers Hamlet's classic ‘to be or not to be” soliloquy in a hall of mirrors. Branagh also directedthe film placed Jack Lemmon(as Marcel Hamlet's failure to act decisively lus, the palace guard who ob- leads to more murder, morein- “someth downfall of the kingdom. (Nosug- terthanofseeing a kingly ghost here.) Everything about Branagh’s play(taken from the First Folio with added bits from the Second huge, ances frequently omitted from trimmed-down productions of cs sanity and — with the mighty Fortinbi (Rufus Sewell) and his serves that is rotten in thestate of Denmark”) appears army approaching —theeventual morescared of iambic pentame- Byincluding every wordofthe ated Hollywood rewriting Quarto), Branaghfleshes out nu- production is big. The cast is a mix of British sta American stars and Branagh’s core regulars. The movie was filmed in 70mm, allowing Bran- “Hamlet” (like the 1948 Laur: ence Olivier classic or Franco Zef. firelli’s 1990 version with Mel aghto captureeverydetail of the opulent sets and locations (pri- Gibson). Polonius, usually depict edas a talkative bumbler, here revealed as a meddlesome schem. and John Bennett Perry) prompts him to impulsively propose mar. riage in an Elvis chapel. The mar. riageis a bumpy one, though. The in-laws don't get along. The newlyweds can't agree on where to live, what religion to teach the babyor muchofanythingelse The plotting of “Fools Rush In is as predictable as a cuckoo clock: Alex withholds information from Isabel, they have a big fight they go offto talk to their sympathelic best friends (Jon Tenney for him, Siobhan Fallon for her), Alex returns to makea big apolo- getic speech, they kiss and make up, and repeat the process. This may be how some couples oper ate, but you wouldn't want to pingplots, The political machina Director Andy Tennant (who made the Olsen Twins’ epic “It tions of Claudius and Fortinbras receive a fuller airing, as does the ‘Takes Two") finds it too easy to and the final swordfight would do Errol Flynn or Arnold Schwar- Kate Winslet as Ophelia. it or big, Queen Gertrude. as he tears through the dia. logue with the voraciousness of a pit bull finding meat. The other lead actors are uniformly strong: Jacobi (who played Ham. let in the 1980 BBC version) as the duplicitious Claudius, Winslet as the fair Ophelia, Michael Maloney (who portrayed Branagh's Ham let-playing alter ego in “A Mid winter's Tale”) as the vengeful not, her first attempt at Shakespeare) as the sorrowful Branagh also dots the land scape with stars who shine in small roles: Billy Crystal banter Ss PETrT Conte‘ rr Kaysville 2:1 ain, keyevine (PG) 7:45 9:48 Sal.|RNAS00 Sat. & Mon, M & Mon. Mat ot iss Se 4:00 3:00 5:00 how pliable Shakesy is, and derstand him. enacting the Player King's tale of the fatuous Osric, and poor mis “MICHAEL” “STAR TREK: FIRSTH Branagh may have proved that such a thing is impossible. Branagh’s “Hamlet (rated PG-13 for some violent im ages andsexuality) demonstrates gud and Judi Dench wordless Priam and Hecuba. Not all ofthe stunt casting works — Richard At Polonius, and Christie (in, believe Richard Briers as the pompous scienceof the king whyactors (and audiences) always from “A Midwinter’s Tale”) as the worried Horatio, Branagh regular Nicholas Farrell (also In tryingto create the definitive Hamlet,” to “catch the con ing as a gravedigger, Charlton Heston fulminating mightily as the Player King, and John tenborough and Gerard Depardieu showup so briefly one won ders why they bothered, Robin Laertes, groundling”’ comic relief Williams is mildly distracting as Z| go back for another attempt to un DAYLIGHT(PG-43) 9:25 watch it as it was happening capitalize on Hayek's figure, thus missing out on her comic talent He also miscalculates Perry's charm, makinghim moreabrasive and smugthan the sweetly sarcas: tie Chandler on “Friends.” n= nant’s choice of Elvis musicis curious, too: Uponarriving in Las Vegas, the soundtrack plays Bleskly, iirector-actor humorous Southern Gothic trom Billy BobThornton BY SEAN P. MEANS THE SALT LAKE Karl shouldn't TRIBUNE Childers be probably getting out of the mental institution. Mildly retard ed and abused by his fundamen talist parents, Karl landedin the nut hatchery after killing his mother and a local bully when Karl foundthemhaving sex. Now after 25 years, Karl is deemed healthy enough for the outside world But that world, as depicted in the darkly comic“SlingBlade,” is a rough place — aplace morein sane than the people Karl is leay ing behind Returningto his old hometown Karl (played by Billy Bob Thorn ton) first befriend. young boy Frank (Lucas Black), suades his mom, who per Linda (Natalie ‘anerday), to let Karl live in the ve, Karl also makes a friend in Linda's boss, Vaughan (John Ritter) — who, asa gay man ina small Southern town, is as mueh an outsider as Karl. Karl soon be: comes a protector for Linda against her abusive boyfriend, Doyle (played by country singer Dwight Yoakam) To get an image of Karl, imag- ine what Boo Radley, the unseen neighbor in 7o Kill a Mocking. bird, Jailhouse Rock"?!?) simply, good and bad, black and would look like after 25 white. The danger comes when Karl finds the world doesn't work that way Thornton — who also wrote and directed — takes his time in Sling Blade His directorial style is as slow and deliberate as Karl's clunky walk. Thornton has that gift of great Southernwriters to soak up the humid Dixie atmos: phere andlet it permeate the characters, Eventually, we get un- derneath Karl's gravelly mono tone — like a smoker's voice-box with a drawl — to understand his rough senseofjustice Thornton’s intense perfor mance is at the center of “Sling Blade.” but he has gathered a strong supporting cast. Canerday (best known for her role in ‘One False Move.” another Thornton script) is tenderly sympathetic Black (from the short-lived American Gothic”) is a powerful young actor, and Ritter (who Starred with Thornton on the sit Com “Hearts Afire”) is surpris. gly strongin a change-of-pace Tole As actor, director and writer of Sling Blade” (rated R for strong language, including descriptions of violence and sexual behavior) Billy Bob Thornton asserts him self as a storyteller to he reckoned with. With sharp characters, a piercing eye for detail and a well honed performance, Thornton's Sling Blade” cuts deep. Fools Rush In” (rated PG-13 for sensuality and brief language) does earn some goodwill on the chemistry between Perry and Hayek. They make a cute couple but maybe they should date a while before getting married tion devoutly to be wished eTnoe ret” 450 546-3400 SPACE JAM (PG) 6:55 THAT THING YOU DO (PG)7:05 JINGLE ALL THE WAY (PG) 7:15 STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT(PG-13) 8:40 THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES (PG-13) 9:15 There may never be a definitive “Hamlet” on film but moviegoers still will find this forceful rendition a consumma years. Karl looks at things pretty = Sling Blade the contrast between her close-knit clan andhis stuffy Connecticut parents (Jill Clayburgh er undone by his own eavesdrop: zenegger proud Branagh’s performance as the melancholy Daneis bigger than ‘Sling Blade’ a Fine Dose Of Southern Discomfort WhenAlex meets Isabel's fam- marily Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire), Some classic scenes are reworked boldly — Hamlet's to be or not tobe” soliloquyis set appropriatelyin ahall of mirrors, Billy Bob Thornton, left eas Black in “Sling nae [ACADEMY AWARD NOMINE | A ONCE-IN-A-CENTURY WaNNER! SCREEN EVENT.” (BEST PICTURE ) «ABSOLUTE so i | “tk Ok BREATHTAKING.’ Best ACTRESS Best DirECctOR _ Best CivpMarocn nny PoaWARSSe Special * BEAUTICIAN & THE BEAST (PG) 20 2.40 5.0 12 ACADEMY UAIN ay eT ME Aa is LA AY ‘THe Best MOVIE aat YEAR. {t's incateague with Lawrenée. at Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. EER STOO MAIL es Yee rem COTUR aCoa e Wg all deserve Oscar aoe ‘ a!BRIEAL<ING| THIE WAVES| LA S VONPRIER NEWSWEEK, Deri aver EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT! “EXTRAVAGANTLY ROMANTIC, Reptete WITH Spies, BATTLES, AND RAVISHING VISTAS. 876 E. 900 80./207-4040 Web ile Ii p www october com f “THE FIRST. MUST-SEE MOVIEOF 1997! stication and pai ucceeds stunnin Fip-on your emotion CLINT IS AT THE TOP OF-HIS. GAMEAS. DIRECTOR AND STAR? 11M Rie Cd “THis, YOU REALIZE With A Gasp OF Joy, Is WHat 7 Movies CAN Do," Peeaah mcd “A FIRST-CLASS. THRILLER! ereUMUC ermetic MPTreece SisKLL 100 “Two BiG THumss UP, A asc ie HAMLET: MOVIE.COM : : 4:00 £40 Lety N | "“k *&*&! An utterly original thriller!” Steve Oldfield, FOX-TV “Sling Blade’ has the long, clean lines of an American classic!” Richard Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE “Billy Bob Thornton's performanceis stupendous!” Poter Travers, ROLLING STONE Neem THis Has OscAR® WRITTEN Att Over It," Ey EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT! TL) NE RRL ry Mts THE- ENGLISH PATIENT Sling Blade WILD) HON TOI TON DYVIGHD YOMK YE J WASHED JOH HEE PEO HIAGK \WEVEICOXMENDIY AND ROHEIE BOY VEE ana EXCLUSIVE UNGAGEMENT Ree aon SOME Reeeld VOR MOVIES & SHOW TIMES CARL 36-FINPHS sntet cn CASTLEROCECOM ‘ 1:20 4:40 7:05 10:00 TERE |