22
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2004
MOVIE LISTINGS
Liberty Hall
644 Massachusetts, Lawrence
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (R) 9:40
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (R) 4:40 7:10
Super Size Me (PG) 4:30 7:00 9:30
South Wind 12
3433 Iowa Street, Lawrence, KS 66046
Two Brothers, 12:00, 2:20, 4:40, 7:10, 9:40
Garfield, 12:05, 2:15, 4:25, 7:05,
9:35
White Chicks, 12:10, 2:30, 4:55, 7:50, 10:10
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, 12:10, 2:25, 4:35, 7:15, 9:55
*The Stepford Wives, 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:20, 9:45*
Around the World in 80 Days, 12:20,
4:15. 7:05. 9:45
Shrek 2,12:30,2:45,5:00,7:35,9:50
The Notebook, 12:35, 4:10, 7:20, 10:05
The Terminal, 12:40, 4:05, 7:25, 10:15
The Chronicles of Riddick, 12:45,
7:00, 9:50
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 12:50, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00
The Day After Tomorrow, 2:00, 4:40, 7:30, 10:20
MOVIE-REVIEW
The Terminal' fails to inspire more than a few laughs
Steven Spielberg's new movie The Terminal revolves around the point that American government officials treat foreigners visiting our country quite shoddily. Certainly many international students have had trouble reentering the U.S. after breaks and missing a semester or more of school. The Terminal's problem is that it does not convince the audience of how serious its hero's problems are. The movie argues that bureaucratic apathy keeps Viktor, played by Tom Hanks, trapped in the international terminal of the John F. Kennedy airport. If he escaped, which it seems he could easily, why would such lazy officials bother to chase him?
Viktor's predicament comes about when his country plunges into civil war while he is flying to New York. The U.S. won't recognize his passport and confiscates his return ticket. The nebbish official in charge of customs, played by Stanley Tucci, escorts the confused tourist to the main terminal with some food vouchers and instructions not to leave.
For the next few months Viktor does odd jobs in the terminal and learns English by comparing Fodor's guide
THE TERMINAL
■ Theater: South Wind 12
■ Times: 12:40, 4:05, 7:25, 10:15
■ Grade: C
books. Airport personnel provide amusing sidekicks for Viktor. Kumar Pallana from The Royal Tenenbaums has the best moments as a mischievous janitor. Viktor's interest in Amelia, a flight attendant played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, is believable enough, even though a relationship obviously wouldn't work.
The cinematography is particularly good. The abandoned gate where Viktor lives glows and shimmers once he moves in and turns off the fluorescent lights. The cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, isn't painterly, but instead makes the terminal look sterile, glassy, and colorless to contrast the warmth of Viktor's improvised home.
Tom Hanks' performance is a more dignified version of Andy Kaufman's Foreign Man character. Sometimes the only things keeping the movie going are some easy gags where Viktor falls over something or gets hit in the head.
In the end, the movie just doesn't bite. The creators are trying to make a
Courtesy of Dreamworks
Tom Hanks stars in The Terminal, a new movie directed by Steven Spielberg.
statement about the cavalier manner with which the government treats international visitors, but the audience can't get past how unlikely it is that someone in Viktor's particular position couldn't get help. Instead of being inspired or incensed, you leave the theater wondering what the problem really was.
Robert Ward