Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London PG,93 minutes,South Wind 12
Cody Banks is a blond-haired, blue-eyed miniature James Bond. Whether he is training in simulated missions at CIA's Camp Woody or snooping around in halls and on roofs, his new movie is action-packed and entertaining.
The story begins when Banks unknowingly helps his power-hungry camp counselor to steal mind-control software. Recovering the software before it is used to control international officials' minds and policies falls to Banks, so he goes undercover as a clarinet player at an international band camp in London. But the counselor quickly recognizes Banks, and he becomes the first to fall under the control of the software. Will he be able to regain control and save the world?
Frankie Muniz (Cody Banks) is a cute, naive agent. The highlight of the movie is the final fight scene, which flashes from an instrumental rendition of "What is it good for" to the destruction of antiques in the midst of an artful Karate fight. The movie is great for kids, and parents will enjoy the gadgets.
Grade: A
Erin Riffey
Secret Window PG-13, 106 Minutes, South Wind 12
Spartan
Secret Window lights up the screen as the most recent, and perhaps best, adaptation of a Stephen King story into a movie.
Secret Window doesn't settle for the obvious conclusion of a final showdown that typical murder flicks do. In fact, this ending is somewhat unexpected. Depp, coming off Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, does a job in Secret Window that may be worth Oscar consideration later on down the line.
It is the tale of Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), a successful fiction writer who sleeps up to 16 hours a day and is going through a messy divorce. As he sleeps on his favorite couch, a stranger rattles at his door, interrupting his peace. The stranger, John Shooter (John Turturro), accuses Rainey of stealing one of his stories, "Secret Window," and won't leave him alone until he gets his version of retribution. Rainey denies the accusation, so an unconvinced Shooter goes on a murderous rampage against everyone Rainey knows.
R, 106 minutes, South Wind 12
Grade: A
Travis Metcalf
Famous playwright and director David Mamet made headlines in August of 1998 when thenPresident Bill Clinton, up to his neck in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, ordered an air strike on Afghanistan — a weapon of mass distraction that closely resembled Mamet's screenplay for Wag the Dog.
Similarly, Spartan, Mamet's uneven but ultimately compelling new political thriller, has a ripped-from-the-front-pages immediacy. The nation is on high alert, terrorists are waging "World War III" and the president is going to extreme lengths to frame the issues at the start of his reelection campaign. Sound familiar?
The film stars Val Kilmer as a high-ranking Marine looking for a nationally beloved coed who may have been kidnapped by an international sex slave ring. Mamet usually stays two or three steps ahead of the viewer, which becomes a mixed blessing in Spartan because much of the first part of the film is confusing. Also, it's weird to see Kilmer, Iceman from Top Gun, perform Mamet's stylized, rhythmic dialogue. His performance improves in the second half, though, and so does the film, which gets a lot of mileage out of William H. Macy's shadowy government figure.
Spartan will probably improve on a second viewing and is worth seeing for a great American writer's take on uneasy times.
Grade: B
- Stephen Shupe