Gladiator—

Heralding the even earlier start of the blockbuster summer event-films, Ridley Scot’s film deftly claims a stake as the first entry this season. Scot (Alien, Thelma & Louise) gathers a wonderful cast to pay homage to the great Roman epics of yesteryear. The film is set in 180 A.D. and at its heart is Maximus (Russell Crow, The Insider), a Spaniard named to be the next Emperor by Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), the current, ailing Emperor. This upsets Marcus’ son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who then plots out how to become the Emperor himself and get rid of his problems. This leads Maximus to be sold off and be made a gladiator. From this lowly place, Maximus must learn how to become strong and powerful with the help of promoter Proximo (Oliver Reed, who died towards the completion of the film).

Scot gives us a rousing and grand action-packed time as the old genre gets revived and he proves that you don’t need crashing cars, buildings blowing up or machine gun fire to get great excitement on the screen. The fights are brutal and amazing (an ancient version of Smackdown) and the opening scene of the film brings to mind the harsh violence that started Saving Private Ryan off. The strong cast is complemented by Djimon Hounsou (Amistad) as an adversary-turned-friend to Maximus, the beautiful and talented Connie Nielsen and the great British actor Derek Jacobi.

I Dreamed Of Africa—

And I dreamed of watching a better film than this. Based on the 1991 book by Kuki Gallman (and, while I am an adult, it is a funny name, no?) who went to Africa and discovered a land of beauty and tried to make a change for the better around her. While the settings of the film (Kenya) are breathtaking and Kim Basinger as Kuki does a fine job (in her first role since her Oscar-winning performance in L.A. Confidential), the story and dialogue are lost and the movie cannot seem to find its direction. Some of the other performances become stilted without having the strong three-dimensional script that they deserve. Also starring Vincent Perez (Indochine, The Crow 2: City of Angles) and Eva Marie Saint. Directed by Hugh Hudson (Chariots of Fire, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes).

U-571—

No, this isn’t a new medicine just approved by the FDA but rather a prescription for high sailing fun on the big screen. Lifting true-story elements about a German U-boat seized by an American Sub in World War II in order to steal their special encoder so they can crack their intercepted messages (in reality, it was mainly the Brits who did this), Jonathan Mostow displays the same clean and crisp handling of events as with his previous thriller Breakdown. Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, and Jon Bon Jovi are the Americans who eventually end up having to use the U-boat after their sub is sunk.

The action flows swiftly and the film knows how to deliver the goods. While this isn’t a movie that gives us utter originality, it certainly stays compelling enough to hold our attention throughout its slower spots and keep us rooting for the Allies to kick some ass and steal ’em boats.

American Psycho—

Finally, Bret Easton Ellis’ (Less Than Zero) novel comes to the big screen after years of controversy and director/cast changes. Published in 1991, Psycho was a brutal story of a Wall Street shark (played by Christian Bale, shedding his period-piece image) who is not only greedy for money, but apparently for blood as well. You see, our main man here is a serial killer who chops up his dates and is generally not a nice individual. Living in the excesses of the greed-soaked 1980s (I guess he still is stuck in period pieces after all), drugs and bad hairstyles abound around our intrepid psycho as he spends his time being narcissistic and comparing the look and feel of his business cards to those of his coworkers. Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) directs (and co-scripted) her second film and does a fitting job of it. Having a female helm this material was a smart move because it gives the proper tone for digesting this film. At times disturbing and at other times humorous, Psycho will undoubtedly cause a stir but ultimately be considered a good film instead of just a ‘controversy.’

Where The Money Is—

When a movie is sitting on some studio shelf and then gets a little fanfare quick release, flags usually go up to warn viewers that there may be a problem here. While the movie is actually fairly good, it isn’t something that will be remembered for more than a few moments after leaving the theatre. There is a feeling watching this that it belongs more on the small screen than on the silver one. Henry (Paul Newman) is a jailed bank robber. He is now being treated for his stroke-induced coma. Carol, a nurse (Linda Fiorentino, Dogma, Men In Black), suspects that this old coot is in fact faking his symptoms and is perfectly all right. This leads her to convince Henry to escape with her and perform one more heist to crown his body of work.

At times, the film flashes moments of heart (Newman gives a powerful monologue that reminds us just how good and understated he can be), and at other times, the film gets fun. The general mix of tone and genres in the film begin to grind against it and ultimately reduces the overall impact of the film, restricting it from becoming something more than it is.