title: "Taking Lives"
starring: Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Oliver Martinez
genre: thriller
"Taking Lives," the newest entry into the psychological thriller genre (see: "Seven," "8mm," etc.) stars the sultry Angelina Jolie as Illeana, a Special Agent called in by Montreal police after they suspect a serial killer is on the loose. This serial killer, she figures, kills people and takes their identity because he's unhappy with his own identity. From there on out, the movie's a twisty piece of already-been-there cliches and steamy chemistry between Illeana and Ethan Hawke, who plays Costa, a witness to one of the crimes. Kiefer Sutherland plays, ahem, another character (rather than give everything away, I'll use that mysterious phrasing), whose creepy homoeroticism gives him an edge over his rambling costars. Oliver Martinez also is here as a Canadian cop who feels he can solve everything without the FBI's help. Yeah, right. There's no point in denying it: Jolie looks as good as ever on screen, but her undeniable attractiveness can't save a by-the-odd-numbers mess. B-
cool scenes: The beginning title sequence is "Seven"-ish
look for: clues to the mystery
MPAA: R
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What's your favorite Angelina Jolie movie?
A. Tomb Raider (1 or Cradle of Life)
B. Life or Something Like It
C. Original Sin
D. Girl, Interrupted
E. Gia
F. Other (Playing God, Foxfire, Bone Collector, etc.)
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Out there:
"Dawn of the Dead": Well, I'll be, um, darned. The newest zombie flick after "28 Days Later" tries to scare us, make us laugh, and groos us out, and it delivers on all accounts. Starring Ving Rhames, Sarah Polley, and Mekhi Phiffer, the film, based on the George Romero classic of the seventies, is a welcome relief of daring violence and bloody good fun. A group of survivors finds themselves stuck in a mall after a zombie surge takes over the town. And all the walking dead come to the mall too. If the film isn't good enough to be social commentary on human consumerism like the original was, at least it's cutting edge direction, awesome title sequence, and screaming script is. A-
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind": The newest piece of work from the mad Charlie Kaufman (see: "Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation"), "Eternal..." stars Jim Carrey as Joel, a warped, almost depressed guy who meets Clementine (Kate Winslet), and voila, they hit it off. Soon the relationship comes to a halt, and Clementine decides she wants Joel drastically erased from her mind. When Joel finds out, he decides to do the same, only to figure out halfway through that he doesn't want it anymore, because it was love. Directed by Michel Gondry, this film is one of those rare works that you either love or hate. But we probably can agree that it's excellently acted by Carrey, Winslet, and the supporting Three Stooges cast of Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Kirsten Dunst. (Tom Wilkenson also stars as the head honcho of Lacuna, Inc, where the erasing is done.) All "Eternal Sunshine..." does is asks eternal questions, but it asks them poetically, crazily, and magically so. A-
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coming up:
"The Girl Next Door"
"Troy"
"Man on Fire"
"Walking Tall"
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