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Bang Rajan
* * * 1/2

The most successful Thai film ever made-not to mention the winner of 11 Suraswadee Thai Film Awards (their equivalent of the Oscars), the war drama "Bang Rajan" is finally making an appearance in the United States and even those whose knowledge of the history and culture of Thailand is nil will be able to appreciate it simply as an impressive, blood-and-thunder epic. The film recounts the true story, set in 1765, of the small village of Bang Rajan and how they managed to withhold the advances of 100,000 Burmese troops advancing towards the capital of Siam. The battle scenes are astonishing, especially considering that they lack the CGI enhancements of most contemporary films, but director Thanit Jitnukul tells his story in a strong effective manner that never allows the human element to become overwhelmed by the carnage. Bold and spectacular, "Bang Rajan" is a thrilling true-life saga that deserves comparison to such films as "Braveheart".

120 Minutes Unrated

Written by Thanit Jitnukul, Hongkiat Khomgiri, Patikarn Phejminee and Buinthin Thuoykaew. Directed by Thanit Jitnukul. Starring Jaran Ngamdee, Winai Kraibutr, Theerayut Pratyabamrung and Bin Bunluent

Because the point-of-view of the new drama "Rosenstrasse" is so unusual-not only is it a film dealing with the Holocaust from a female perspective-it is tempting to give the film-which tells the true story of how a group of women in 1943 Germany banded together in order to attempt to free their imprisoned Jewish husbands-a pass. To do so, however, would require overlooking the fact that director Margarethe von Trotta has told the story in a peculiarly uninteresting manner; aside from their basic plight, there is never any particular reason to care about any of the women and the film’s present-day framework (the daughter of one survivor returns to Germany to learn details of her family’s past) is a pointless distraction that inevitably winds up distancing viewers from the main story. Most insulting is the finale-after all the noble speeches and dramatics, von Trotta gives us a maddeningly vague climax that raises more questions than it answers. There have been many Holocaust-themed dramas over the years but "Rosenstrasse", despite its noble intentions, is one of the weakest.

RATED PG-13 136 minutes

Written by Pamela Katz & Margarethe von Trotta. Directed by Margarethe von Trotta. Starring Katja Riemen, Marie Schrader and Martin Feifel

If Yet another politically-oriented documentary (who would have guessed that would become the biggest trend this summer?), "Uncovered: The War on Iraq" began life as a DVD documentary (released last winter) that, following subsequent revelations, director Robert Greenwald (whose "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism" is also currently playing) decided to expand to a full-length theatrical release. Using interviews with a variety of top-level subjects responding to the various claims used to justify the current war, Greenwald’s film is a clear, well-done look at the Bush administration and their rush to use the events of 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq. The only trouble with the film is that it doesn’t really add anything new to the discussion after a season of books, films and news exposes on the same subject and there is always the sense that Greenwald is not interested in doing anything more than preaching to the converted. Worth watching, but with its never-ending stream of talking-head interviews, this is the kind of documentary whose virtues are probably best served on the small screen.

Unrated 83 Minutes. Directed by Robert Greenwald

A couple of weeks ago, I got a note from a reader in Australia complaining about my negative review of "Thirteen", which I disliked because of the overly melodramatic, soap-opera approach it took in depicting the troubles and travails of adolescence. In response, I sent her a list of movies that I thought were more successful at capturing that subject-titles like "River’s Edge", "Heathers", "Elephant" and the like. If she had only written me a couple of weeks later, I would have added Jacob Estes’s thoughtful and moving "Mean Creek", one of the most penetrating and realistic youth-oriented dramas to come along in a while-so penetrating and realistic that the "R" rating, primarily for language not unfamiliar to anyone in that age bracket, will effectively bar those who could benefit the most from seeing it for getting a look at it.

The film centers on a young boy (Rory Culkin in another effective performance) who is routinely beaten up by the school bully (Josh Peck). With his older brother and some friends, Culkin lures the punk out for a boating trip in order to pull a humiliating prank on him as revenge, only to discover that the bully is less of an ogre than originally believed. To say more would ruin Estes’s tight story but there surprises in store, as well as a series of events that will have lasting consequences (physical, emotional and moral) on the lot of them.

Expertly acted by a group of relative unknowns (which only heightens the realism), "Mean Creek" is a wonderful drama from a writer/director who hasn’t forgotten how kids talk and behave-he perfectly nails the quicksilver way in which friendships and alliances among kids can change in a heartbeat and the way that even the best of friends can be casually sadistic towards one another. More impressive is the way that, unlike something like "Thirteen", he assumes that the audience has enough intelligence so that they don’t need to be hit over the head with exploitative sensation or require characters who are all Good or all Bad. A strikingly assured debut film, this is the kind of film that should be required viewing-for parents as well as for their offspring.

RATED R

Written and directed by Jacob Estes. Starring Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelly, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck and Carly Schroeder

So you are in the mood to see Jon Voight hamming it up in a dreadful, unnecessary sequel and are crushed to discover that he doesn’t appear in "Anacondas"? (Sure, he was famously eaten a couple of times in the original, but his still-digesting body could have popped up in a cameo that I, for one, would have welcomed.) Well, never fear, you can catch him making a complete ass of himself in "Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2", a sequel so bad that even Kim Cattrall wouldn’t appear in it. Even granting the fact that he is one of the more mercurial actors working today, his presence here is simply embarrassing; I suspect that not only is Angelina Jolie glad that she changed her name, she may now go out and purchase an old microwave oven from the 1950’s and straddle it while making popcorn in an effort to change her genetic structure so that she can deny any relation to him.

Apparently focus groups for the original "Baby Geniuses" revealed that while it may have contained more than enough stomach-churning material, mostly poop jokes and scenes in which babies were digitally altered to look as if they were speaking (imagine a creepier-than-usual episode of "Clutch Cargo"), it lacked one key ingredient-Nazis! Thankfully, director Bob Clark (the genius whose work here is not just a notch below his "A Christmas Story", it is a notch below his "Turk 182" and his "Porky’s Revenge") remedies that situation with Voight playing a former Nazi (although they never say the "N" word and swastikas are never shown, the implication is clear) who somehow plans to take over the minds of the world using television signals. His greatest nemesis, a 70-year-old toddler, inexplicably named Kahuna despite his East German extraction, who recruits a band of toddlers to defeat his plans. The big joke at the finale is that the mind-altering message that is sent out is changed by the good guys to tell kids to turn off the TV for good and get some fresh air; I suspect a broadcast of this film would have the exact same results.

The only reason to watch the film (provided that you aren’t a little kid, who should be kept as far away from this crap as possible) is to see how much lower things are going to sink; this is the only level on which "Superbabies" doesn’t disappoint. We get to see Jon Voight-who was once Joe Buck, for Pete’s sake!-perform a scene while wearing a bunny-rabbit hand-puppet. We get to see Jon Voight-who was in "Coming Home", for the love of Pearl!-quoting Casey Stengel while fighting off a group of infants. We even get to see Jon Voight-who did an amazing Howard Cosell in "Ali", in the name of all that is holy!-get involved in a climactic fistfight with Scott "Zapped" Baio; it is a pretty amazing moment when you consider that it may be simultaneously a low point of Voight’s film career and a high point for Baio.

RATED PG

Written by Gregory Poppen. Directed by Bob Clark. Starring Jon Voight, Scott Baio, Vanessa Angel and Skyler Shaye.

Previously available in America only in a drastically shortened 35mm version, Jacques Tati’s 1967 comedy "Playtime" is finally being released stateside in a full-length 70mm presentation that finally reveals it to be what Tati’s followers have claimed all along-the grand masterwork of one of the world’s great comedic filmmakers. Relatively plot-free, the film is a collection of gorgeously-staged gags (cleverly utilizing sight and sound) tied together by Tati’s famous Mr. Hulot character wandering through a shiny ultramodern version of Paris (all built on a soundstage by Tati, who personally spent 15 million francs on the film and lost nearly all of it when the film bombed) while desperately trying to keep an appointment. A timeless comedy, this is a film that should entrance viewers of all ages and nationalities-many of whom should also be amused to discover all the various things that Steven Spielberg nicked for his superficially similar "The Terminal".

UNRATED

Directed by Jacques Tati. Starring Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek and Jacqueline Lecomte

-- Capsule Reviews by Peter Sobczynski

Copyright © 2004 Peter Sobczynski
All rights reserved.
Used with permission
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While the views expressed by Peter Sobczynski do not necessarily reflect the views of Criticdoctor.com, the Critic Doctor will occasionally examine Mr. Sobczynski's film reviews to bring forth an honest examination of those views expressed.