Show jr El oo CN CO puftsMte ffffg ff through the compound of the Spanish mission in San Antonio director John Lee Hancock then flashes back one year to cover the events leading up to the bloodbath This opening montage turns out to be an enormous tactical error on Hancock's part Because we have already seen the aftermath it is nearly impossible to invest ourselves inchmao' ten whom we cannot help but write off from the start as dead men walking The script itself does not help matters The major characters— who inducing Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thomtort) Jim Bowie (Jason Patric) and Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid)— are sketched even more hastily than the historical background With its cinematography of dying light— sunsets flickering candles— and a lush but mournful score the film asks us to grieve for these men without first letting us know or- care for them Ttoo stars out of four —r Brian McCuskey for the Herald Journal Continued from p 6 — an amusing distraction guage and strong violence 142 R for lan- - min Two stan out of four —The Associated Press O “The Punisher" R 6 Rated This sadstic two-hoassault qualifies as cruel and unusual ' punishment for audiences Between ‘Walking Tall" and The Punisher" Hollywood has deliv3o ered a one-tw- o punch of debased -n vengeance where heroes are as bloodthirsty as villains and they 2D differ only in that the filmmakers X have stuck a halo on one and a horns on the other Thomas Jane stars as Marvel Comics vigilante Frank Castle a lawman whose sting operation kiBs the son of shady businessman Howard Saint (John Travolta) in retaliaCD tion Saint slays the entire family of Castle who embarks on a bloody vengeance spree Cowriter and director Jonathan Hensieigh turns Castle into the very thing he's huntingla depraved killer out to spjB as much blood as he can fl for pervasive brutal violence language and brief nudity 124 min One : star put of four — The Associated Press ua ur 2 £ c c “Kill Bill Vol 2" "gift” of ’ : V : history to say the least and "Vol 2” devotes king stretches to thpir t elliptical conversations onsub-ject- s ranging from the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart technique to marriage farhily and parenthood After the cartoon mayhem of the first movie these weighty themes suggest that Tarantino is trying to grow up although not even the sentimental ending can ' convince us that Beatrix is much more than a teenaged boy’s fan- tary of girl power Three stars out of four ’ — Brian McCuskey for the Herajd Journal “The Alamo” : Rated PG-1-3 ' ViV "The Alamo" opens just after the famous 1 836 siege and mas--: ' sacre the camera grimly survey- ing the many corpses strewn ' or co-sta- rs Rated PG-1-3 Despite Ron Perlman’s merry presence as the adaptation gradually flames out d amid the usual chads of explosions and computer-animate- d beasties Adapted from Mike Mignola's V It’s only three fept from The Whole Nine Yards” but the jokes get stretched so thin in this " sequel it feels more like a mie The 2000 original wasn't exactly begging for a folow up— it seemed to wrap itself up in a ' rather tidy satisfactory fashion-' but it was surprisingly funny in ah low-ke- y ir way Bruce WVJis as a retired hit man was ' supremely cod and confident " Matthew Perry as a dentist who’s ' his nervous next-doneighbor : aflowedJhe laughs to flow from his oftendeadpan delivery And - writing-directin- too-iou- “Home on Rated PG us Ordinarity lens Continued from p 7 Rated PG-1-3 cringe-inducin- : title demon this latest comicbook : about talking singing cows which contains the tag line "Bust a moo” might be udderly (sorry g couldn’t help it) But "Home on the Range" is so dam cute and features such an impressive array of vocal talent it’s hard not to be lassoed in: As Disney movies got ifs not extraordinary enough to be deemed an instant classic the story from the g duo of Wdl Fmn and John Sanford is weak and the pacing drags a bit in the mid- dfo But kids will enjoy the colorful wiH characters and grown-up- s chuckle at many of the jokes Featuring the voices of Roseanne Barr Judi Dench Jennifer TiBy PG for brief mBd rude humor 78 : min Two and a half stars out of ' four: Guillercomics by writer-directmo del Toro “Helftxjy" is the story of a demon infant unleashed by lunatic Rasputin (Karel Roden) but intercepted and raised by a kincfly occultist (John Hurt) Perlman's Heilboy grows into a wise-monster fight- cracking blue-coller who leads the battie against Rasputin's plot to bring about Armageddon Selma Biair as HeUboys sort-o- f girlfriend a human firebug and John Myers plays an FBI ally PG-1-3 for sci-- fi action violence and frightening images 122 minutes Two stars out of four —The Associated Press “Heilboy”' “The Whole Teh Yards” or : Amanda Peet as a dental hygienist was disarming in her perky obsession with becoming an assassin All that has been scrapped here in favor of broad Slapstick and loud shriB repetitiveness: PG-1- 3 for sexual content some violence and language 97 min One star out of four ' — The Associated Press obedence away famous for another fairy tale The Princess Diaries” this jokey revision ing of such bedtime stories would collapse under the weight of its overwhelming attempts at parody The movie's mixture of storybook mythology with modem and pop references ' becomes too much as the story progresses drawing attention to its own derivativeneSs Young girt? wjfl be enchanted by "EHa” and Hathaway but grown-up- s wi groan as the film tries too hard in ' nearty every area except special- effects PG for some crude humor and language 95 min Two and a half stars out of four ' — The AssodatedPress fBm-no- ' wv story-book-wo- from her fairy godmother when she was an infant Without Hath- ' ap photo Dr Richard Wells (Robert De Niro) is an expert in stem cell research who brings a "Ss&Vj smaB boy back to life through an experimental (and iflegal) cloning and regeneration process in Lions Gate Rims’ "Godsend” heroine who's mystical lybound to do whatever anyone tells her to do thanks to an Rated R Two down and three to go: Hit list in hand The Bride (Uma Thurman) is back in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill BUI Vol 2" the conclusion to last fairs ultraviolent "Vol 1"The movie marks a return to form for Tarantino whose powerq of vprbal and narrative invention are also back One of the best jokes of the film is the casting of David Carradinb— the strong silent hero of TVs KungFif— as Bill a loquacious criminal master- mind who accompanies himself on flute He and Beatrix have a ' jJmsJII III “Ella Enchanted” Rated PG Anne Hathaway glows with sweetness and Charm as a ffrf” that incident in the closet and so he is naturally surprised to see Jenna on his doorstep after 17 years making puppy-do- g ' eyes at him Buffalo may be the most relaxed actor work-in- g in movies today his off-hand presence onscreen in the midst of the jumpy slapstick and thumping soundtrack is a blessed relief Matt is first ' bemused and then bedazzled by Jenna but he already has a fianed before long the two childhood friends must make ' - : the Range” : an animated movie some seriously grown-u-p choices' “Love is a battlefield” as Jenna oftensighs Pat Behatar is her favorite philosopher next to Rick Springfield This raises an important question:' What' is Jenna doing listening to “Jessc’sGirr in 1987 V when everyone knows it topped the charts way back in 1981? For that matter why do the Six Chicks fail to recog-nize the Talking Heads’: “Burning Down the House” V when by 1987 it was a staple of FM radio? It’s one thing for Hollywoodto mess around with American history but it’s quite another to fudge the : release dates of pop songs and MTV videos Is nothing sacred' ‘ anymtne? ”13 Going on 30” is rated PG- 13 for some sexual content and brief drug references Running time: 97 minutes ’ - ' ' 1 - Brian McCuskey is an associate professor of English at Utah State University where he ? teaches courses on film and lit- erature He is among a number of freelance writers whose columns appear in The Herald Journal as part of an effort to V- expose readers to a variety of : community voices He is not an - empfoyeeof the newspaper at hjmoyiesOhot- 'V' maBcom' Feedback V |