Screen Scene

  New Line Cinema Ice Cube and
Mike Epps star in "All About the Benjamins."

“All About the Benjamins” Directed by Kevin
Bray Starring Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Tommy Flanagan

Wild police pursuits, diamond heists and bad guys with facial
scars ““ it may sound like a new Arnold Schwarzenegger flick
but instead it’s Ice Cube’s latest action-comedy
project, “All About the Benjamins.” Cube, an actor,
co-writer and co-producer, returns to the big screen this time as
Bucum Jackson, a bounty hunter on the prowl for Miami’s
toughest petty thieves. His “Next Friday” co-star Mike
Epps plays Reggie Wright, Jackson’s ever-present subject of
pursuit. Jackson’s approach to catching criminals convinces
his boss that he needs a partner to balance out his antics.
Ironically, Jackson finds a partner in Wright after they
conveniently stumble upon each other at a diamond heist. Littered
with ridiculous situations, “All About the Benjamins”
fails to capture the humor of Cube’s “Friday”
series. Cube comes nowhere near being a believable rent-a-cop, but
perhaps because he helped write the script, manages to look smarter
than the scum he chases after. The biggest surprise of the movie
and its only positive feature is up-and-coming comedian Epps. A
smooth-talker with a snappy tongue, Epps makes Wright’s
character worth a chuckle or two. While Jackson uses his guns and
muscles to beat down criminals, Wright comes to his aid with witty
remarks. Perhaps even more comical than Epps’ performance is
teen rap sensation Lil’ Bow Wow’s cameo as
Wright’s bratty, pre-pubescent neighbor in search of the
ultimate treat ““ the privilege of being baby-sat by
Wright’s girlfriend, Eva Mendes. I’m sorry to say that
maybe he should just stick to rapping. Not too much can be expected
from a movie named after a Puff Daddy hit, but at least in the true
rap kingdom fashion of featuring (what else) women and nice cars,
the movie has a happy ending.

Mayra Marquez   Dreamworks Guy
Pearce
races away from a terrible fate in "The Time
Machine."

“The Time Machine” Directed by Simon Wells
Starring Guy Pearce, Samantha Mumba, Orlando Jones

Prepare for terrifying images of sub-human, cannibalistic
creatures known as Morlocks in the new film adaptation of H.G.
Wells’ novel, which offers a grim vision of the future.
Directed by Simon Wells, the great grandson of the famous novelist,
this film marks the second attempt to capture H.G. Wells’
horrific vision. Set at the turn of the century in New York City
instead of the original London, Guy Pearce stars as the time
traveler Alexander Hartdegen. He builds a time machine to travel
into the past in order to find out why he is unable to change it.
Irish pop singer Samantha Mumba stars opposite Pearce as the
beautiful woman Pearce encounters as he travels into the distant
future. Mumba plays an Eloi, in a society that has become more
natural and less advanced. The original book told the story of the
human race becoming divided into those who live above ground, the
Eloi, and those who live below ground and feed off the Eloi, the
Morlocks. The movie gives a completely different scenario than the
book, leaving out Wells’ poignant social commentary in the
process. Unfortunately, a love story is tacked onto the
film’s beginning in an attempt to give motivation for
Hartdegan’s desire to travel through time. Wells’ time
traveler needed only curiosity to motivate him, but the time
traveler of this new version travels into the past only to change
the present. The special effects, especially the time machine
itself, redeem certain parts of this movie. The machine is an
amazing construction that realizes Wells’ initial creation
beautifully. The Morlock and Eloi villages are also imaginative
constructions in the world visited by Hartdegen. The best part of
the movie tends to be its special effects and it is possibly worth
seeing for those. Many corny moments can’t be fully saved by
these effects but they’re more impressive, creative and
interesting than the rest of the movie.

Phoebe Bronstein

“Festival in Cannes” Directed by Henry
Jaglom Starring Maximilian Scell, Anouk Aimee, Alice
Palmer

At some point in “Festival in Cannes,” Victor Kovner
(Maximilian Scell), a retired film director, tells Millie Margaud
(Anouk Aimee), a legendary actress, about how he imagines he would
make a film about the Cannes Film Festival: It would primarily
consist of successive shots of people talking on their cell phones.
The director of “Festival in Cannes,” Henry Jaglom,
would have done better had he taken to heart the wisdom inherent in
his character’s idea: Know what you want to show and find an
effective way of conveying it. Despite its prestigious place in the
film world, the Cannes Film Festival has gathered the reputation of
an extravagant carnival where the wannabes, voyeurs and anybody
who’s somebody in the film world gather once a year in what
also becomes a race for romance and a criss-crossing of sexual and
business affairs. “Festival in Cannes” is a glimpse
into this money-and-fame-driven fantasy world that subverts the
festival’s glamour and its claim to being a haven for
artists. Kaz Naiman (Zack Norman) comes from the middle of nowhere
to impose himself as a producer in a film that an actress, Alice
Palmer (Gretta Scacchi), is conceiving. Alice’s story is
intriguing enough for Millie to consider signing on for the lead
role, but another producer badly needs to get Millie to fill a
specific role. The honesty and atypical beauty that glow on
Millie’s and Alice’s faces, and their uplifting female
bonding supply the few charming parts of the film. Besides these,
the unreliable deals, incessant inbreeding, shallow hopes and quick
changes of fate in the film chart an unbearably predictable course.
Although the film is pitched as a romantic comedy, there is little
of the heart-binding romance or witty humor of romantic comedies.
And if one isn’t aware that the director comes in as an
independent filmmaker with a diverse body of work, it’s easy
to mistake this for a first-time student-directed film with rampant
zooms, pointless cuts and uneven storytelling.

Azadeh Farahmand

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