Show 2002 2 August Esanflini abed nr® Opening this week “Signs" Rated PG--1 3 Shyamalan's latest is the creepiest scariest movie to come out of Hollywood at least since last summer's ghost tale “The Others” maybe even since his own “The Sixth Sense” three years ago Mel Gibson plays a widowed farmer and former minister whose shattered faith is tested to the extreme when ominous crop circles appear In Ns fields portending the arrival of visitors from the skies This is ' one of Gibson’s finest performances and he gets excellent support from Joaquin Phoenix and child actors Rory Culkin and M Night Friday Cadre The Abigail Breslin 6 Page Writer-direct- Shyamalan creates muted suspense skillfultenor and imminent menace without resorting to the Hitchcock-lik- e ly implying usual bombast of modem Hollywood PG--1 3 for some frightening moments 105 min — The Associated Press The Master of Disguise” Rated PQ Such a sad irony that Daria Car-ve- y who's made Ns name bringing celebrities to life with uncanny impersonations should make such a lifeless movie based on characters of his own creation None is funny or inspired The ' jokes are beaten to death And the dialogue (which Carvey wrote) consists of his character the nerdy Pistachio Disguisey repeating everything everyone else says The plot about a vit-lain who kidnaps Pistachio's parents in order to steal the world's treasures is an excuse for Cap vey to become about a dozen other people afl of them obnoxious Jennifer Esposito Harold Gould and James Brotin (who doesn't need the work this PG for mikt lanbadty) co-stguage and some crude humor 80 min One star out of four —The Associated Press ar Stili showing “Austin Powers In GoMmem-ber- ” Rated PG-- 1 3 Pretty much every cliche to scorn about a sequel appffes here The movie is terribly unfunriy most of the time con- stantty repeating its own lame gags and lethargically regurgitating some of the best bits from the previous two fHms Mike Myers returns as Austin Dr EvH and Fat Bastard and plays an irritating new villain Goldmem-be- r who plots to destroy the world with a golden meteor Bey- ones Knowles of Destiny's (Mid is Austin's new love Interest and a sassy update of 70s biaxpkritation heroines Michael sidekick Caine plays Austin's neglectful father The best thing super-sp- y the movie has going is a wealth of big-nacameos PG--1 3 for sexual innuendo crude humor and language —The Associated Press tle Jonathan Upnickl as their son Thankfully so is the extremely likable Michael J Fox as Stuart and Nathan Lane hilarious as always as the family's pampered cat Snowball PG for brief mild language 72 min —The Associated Press “Roadto Penfltton” The Country Bears” Rated R Rated G Disney has taken the most corn-poof al theater cliches — “We gotta put on a showt" — and turned it into a ne ng heartwarm- crowd-pleasi- ing romp “The County Bears” hu a catchy soundtrack with musical ' several numbers comic touches aimed at parents and goofy slapstick humor that appeals to all Christopher Walken is ingty funny as a villainous banker and Daryl “Chill” MitcheH and Diedrich Bader delight as two modern-da- y Keystone Cops Haley Joel Osment is earnest as the young bear who leaves his human family to reunite The Country Beats” rock group and save the hal they made famous 88 minutes Rated G — The Associated Press show-stoppi- ng Easily the best movie of the year so far and an earty frontrunner for Oscar nominations Director Sam Mendes first Nm winsince Ns 1899 ner “American Beauty” is flawless — stunning In its simpficity beautifully shot and edited with deeply felt performances from Tom Hanks Paul Newman and newcomer Tyler HoecNin Showing a depth and a darkness he’s only hinted at previously Hanks stars as a hit man for the Irish mob in Depression-er- a Chicago Newman is formidable as his bossfather figure and Jude Law Is truly creepy as a best-pictu- re photographer who shoots dead people R for violence and language 119 min —The Associated Press “Rsign of Firs" Rated R The year is 2020 and Christ- ian Bale plays the leader of a Britons group of castle-boun- d survivors of a plague of dragons that has ail but wiped out humanity Matthew McConaugh-e- y is swaggeringly repellent as an American mama leader with a plan to exterminate the beasties Director Rob Bowman and a gaggle of screenwriters that took a pass at the script squander a Idea on a cool plot drowning in testosterone Ifs a fantastical story that requires real finesse to secure the audtence tolerance and the filmmakers just don't deliver letting “Reign of Fire” sink into sMiness PG-1- 3 for intense action violence 102 minutes half-bak- ed — The Associated Press “Men In Black Rated PQ-1-3 f P Sormenfekt and company come back for a second shot a saving the earth from the scun of the universe but with less steflar results The script suffer from shadow characters who h to situations and holdover joke from the first film Lara Flyrm Boyle is terrible but the rest of the cast is able to elevate the film beyond her medtocte talents Smith and Jones are espi dally worth R as is Frank the pug so let go of yourself and g in looking for a Nile aversion hi the dark you'l leave with a smile Enjoy but save a tew bucks and hit the matinee or wait for Ihe dtecount housePG 13 for sd-f- l action violence and some provocative humor — Michael Flood For The Herald Journal “Kith The Widowmakar” Rated PG-1-3 Excellent performances artful direction by Kathryn Bigelow and a smarter-than-avera- ge sense of history highlight this Cold War submarine drama Still it’s a tough sell to American autfi-encwith its Soviet perspective bleak story line and lengthy running time Harrison Fbrd and Liam Neeson star as feuding officers aboard one of the first Soviet nuclear subs which borders on a ChemobyHika meltdown after its cooling system springs a leak Based on a real sub accident in 1961 the film serves as a testament to the heroism of the crew whose per-t- o and sacrifices were suppressed for decades by the Soviet government PG-1- 3 for disturbing images 138 minutes —The Associated Press es IMiBaraaiiY $ Hiiiimuifliifiinm itm it m&tt lew fe 4p' d©CX fis iThnft j “Stuart Little 2” Rated PQ Sequel to the 1989 blockbuster based on the EB White book about a talking mouse who lives with a New York family The digital effects are even better this time — you can see every white hair on Stuarfs finy head— and the attention to detail is charming But the sense of km that infused the original has been replaced by overbearing adkm sequences The majority of the cast is back including Gesna Davis and Hugh Laurie as Mr and Mrs Lit n k ( ra 1 NNtmYs si triwu isn j ( i 1 i RetupningioPi3WeeKs0nlv! SHANGRIfLA ickets also available online at arttixorg HEALTH FOODS 20 or more)' (888)25 43 i North Mmr Strut Auutmm Swim CuTfi Lmm : r f rjpV r |