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REVIEWS

TAKE THE LEAD

Photo: Antonio Banderas stars in Take The Lead.

Gather around, children, and listen to the story of how Antonio Banderas saved the juvenile delinquents of New York City by teaching them how to do the cha-cha. It's a tale you may have heard before -- in the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, about how New York students learn the basics of manners, grace and music you can actually listen to by taking lessons in ballroom dancing -- but you've never heard it like it's told in Take The Lead, a movie "inspired by" that true tale.

Banderas plays Pierre Dulaine ("my mother was Spanish," he explains, rather lamely but with such brio that you forgive him), the man who started the dance program. In Take The Lead, Dulaine is a charming, handsome, elegant gentleman with a touch of Zorro about him. He shows up one day at an inner-city school and volunteers to teach dancing to the worst students, the ones who are on permanent detention in what looks like the school's boiler room. There they play rap music and sneer, at least until the arrival of Mr. Dulaine with his fancy suits and Gershwin records and habit of saying "please" and "thank you." The school principal, Alfre Woodard, laughs at the very idea of ballroom lessons. She's just one of the people who are due to be surprised by what happens in the made-in-Toronto Take The Lead, apparently because none of them has seen a teacher movie before. The rest of us know what's going to unfold even before we get to the theatre: an inspirational figure will combat a disbelieving, tight-laced staff, a rebellious group of parents (thrown in rather listlessly in this version of the fairy tale, but you can't leave them out apparently) and the rich snobs who laugh at the very idea of these losers taking part in the movie-ending dance competition, the final element of the formula.

There's a light mood to much of Take The Lead that lessens the cold feeling you get when you hear about the dance contest. Banderas has a warm sincerity that makes you believe he could influence this group of hard-nosed young cynics, who are nevertheless not quite so hard-nosed or cynical that they won't get up and try the box step at Mr. Dulaine's urging, mostly so he'll turn down the Gershwin. "You have what it takes to win," he tells them in an inspirational moment that is the movie's code for having an adult who believes in them for the first time. There's also a Romeo and Juliet story -- or at least a Jets and Sharks subtext -- involving Rock (Rob Brown from Coach Carter), the school bad boy who's just acting out his despair due to the death of his brother, and LaRhette (newcomer Yaya DaCosta), whose nascent scholarship is held down by a mother who is, um, very popular with the boys. Dianne Houston's screenplay also finds room for a privileged white girl who feels like an ugly duckling and joins the inner-city dance class, a romance for Mr. Dulaine, who is widowed and who would therefore be the most desirable catch in all of Manhattan, and some odd-couple pairings involving obese kids and slender partners. This is all put together by director Liz Friedlander, a music video director making her feature film debut, in an awkward patchwork of moments that are familiar even before they happen: the boy and girl who are enemies learning they like each other, the epiphany of the troubled boy who learns he must turn away from crime, and, especially, the dance competition, which is barely sane even in the context of kids from the boiler room going up against dance school graduates and professional hoofers. You could buy this kind of stuff in Mad Hot Ballroom because it was documented; Take The Lead proves once again that in Hollywood, fiction is stranger than truth.-By J. Stole

BASIC INSTINCT 2

Photo: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2.

It's difficult to pick a favourite moment from the garden of overwrought delights that is Basic Instinct 2, but I'm going with the scene near the end when Sharon Stone -- purring seductively under a sultry gaze and wearing yet another revealingly low-cut top that her character apparently can afford by virtue of having absolutely no brassiere budget -- says: "Don't take it so hard. Even Oedipus didn't see his mother coming. "Seductive, sultry, manipulative, and smart to boot: that's Catherine Tramell, the character Stone introduced 14 years ago in Basic Instinct, where the serial killer-cum-novelist was last seen reaching under the bed for an ice pick with which to dispatch Michael Douglas. That movie teased us with the identity of the killer; now, in the sequel, we know what Catherine has done, so most of the interest lies in watching Stone resuscitate this 1990s icon with a performance of such campy eroticism that at times it appears you're watching a Mae West film festival. If her teasing half-smile, her flashes of nudity -- at 48, Stone has kept herself very nicely -- her provocative walk, and her knowing glance don't get you, there's her prose: Catherine researches her potboiler books by getting involved in murder mysteries and then writing about them. And such writing! "She dressed carefully. She liked to be well-dressed when she killed." Catherine is under the care of Dr. Michael Glass (David Morrissey), a psychiatrist in London who is called in when she drives her car into the river, drowning her passenger, an English sports star. Catherine is also enjoying a sexual climax at the time, a case of auto-eroticism that combines the movie's twin themes, danger and hyperbole. Like many before him, Dr. Glass is captured in the web of sultriness and seduction and so on that Catherine spins. "Tell me something you're afraid of," he says to his patient. "Boredom," she replies, and that's even before she has sat through Basic Instinct 2, which, despite the stew of sex, murder, intrigue, and unlikelihoods spun by screenwriters Leora Barish and Henry Bean, is a tiresome caricature of a film that is desperately unsexy and remarkably flaccid, two faults that may be connected. Back in the plot, Dr. Glass, it turns out, has a history of a previous patient who did a bad thing while under his care. "I was treating a patient who ended up killing his pregnant girlfriend. End of story," he says, which sounds like wishful thinking, especially with Catherine Tramell around, looking for material. And sure enough, it looks like it might be happening again: the doctor is apparently falling under the spell of the novelist, although it's difficult to tell. There's little chemistry between Morrissey (Derailed) and Stone, nor are their characters -- the frantic shrink and the comic-book sexpot -- easy to believe. The sex scenes show off Stone's fitness regimen but raise no heat, and there is no equivalent to the shock of the famous cross-her-legs scene in the first film; indeed, in this realistically updated version, Catherine isn't even permitted a cigarette because the psychiatrist's office is a non-smoking zone. Stone's outrageous vamping dampens even the overheated dialogue. "What if I told you that I masturbate thinking about you?" she asks, and you want to answer, "I'd say you were based on a character created by Joe Eszterhas." The story turns on the investigations of a London policeman (a humorously mordant turn by David Thewlis) who suspects Catherine is a killer, but without the erotic charge the tensions are as imaginary as Dr. Glass's obsession with his dangerous patient. Director Michael Caton-Jones, who managed such an ingenious cultural dissection in Scandal, about the Profumo scandal, creates a slick and modern London -- including an alarmingly phallic office building for Dr. Glass -- but can't find any believable people to populate it with. The warmest touch of humanity comes from Charlotte Rampling, who plays another psychiatrist and who provides a lesson in aging gracefully a l'anglaise. Rampling wears nothing low-cut, and her character doesn't reveal any sexual fantasies, but she's the most alluring woman on screen.

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NEWS

Sweden TV 'harmed' film integrity

Photo: Sjoman's sexually explicit films stirred controversy in the 1960s.

A Swedish TV channel damaged the artistic integrity of two filmmakers by interrupting their movies with commercial breaks, a court has found. Claes Eriksson and Vilgot Sjoman, who died on Sunday, sued TV4 after two of their films were interrupted in 2002. The films were made before a change in the law allowing TV stations to have breaks during films. The appeals court in Stockholm said the artists had not given permission for the breaks. Eriksson said Sjoman, who died aged 81 from a brain haemorrhage, would have been "incredibly happy" with the decision. "This has taken four years of our time, and it is good that it has not been in vain," Eriksson told Swedish TV. The judgement, which upholds an earlier ruling by a lower court, means Eriksson can sue for damages. TV4 said it was considering appealing the decision to the Swedish Supreme Court.

Da Vinci in new plagiarism claim

Photo: The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 40m copies worldwide

A Russian art historian has accused The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown of plagiarism, just days after a British court rejected a similar claim. Mikhail Anikin, from St Petersburg, said he would sue Brown if he did not receive an apology and compensation. He claims Brown stole his idea that Leonardo Da Vinci was also a theologian and his Mona Lisa portrait was an allegory for the Christian Church. The Da Vinci Code was published in 2003 and is a global blockbuster. Mr Anikin, a Da Vinci expert at the Hermitage Museum, said he had shared his ideas with colleagues at a museum in Houston, Texas, in 1998. He said one of the them had asked if he could pass on the ideas to a friend who wrote detective novels. "I gave permission, but asked that this author indicate in his book that the idea had been mine," Mr Anikin told Agence France Presse. On Friday, the High Court rejected a claim that Brown had breached the copyright of the 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Both books explore the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child and the bloodline survives to this day. The Da Vinci Code is still in the UK top 10 book sales chart, and a screen adaptation starring Tom Hanks is due for release in May.

Bollywood shock at star's verdict

Photo: Khan has seven films lined up and a lot of money is riding on him

Bollywood is reeling from the shock of one of its top actors, Salman Khan, being sentenced to five years in jail for poaching a rare antelope. rigorous punishment but several film projects in which he was starring have been put at risk. Khan, 40, spent last night in Jodhpur Central Jail following the verdict. He faces two other court cases relating to the 1998 hunting trip in Jodhpur when two black bucks were killed. Khan has always denied any wrong-doing and his lawyers said he will appeal in a higher court.

Photo: Salman Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest stars.

The editor of weekly film trade magazine Box Office, Vinod Mirani told the BBC the actor is presently starring in about seven film projects that are under production and his absence puts an investment of almost 18 million dollars at risk. "Salman is one Bollywood actor who enjoys universal appeal. People all over India and abroad love him and that's why he is always in so much demand. "His performance has also been consistent and every year he has managed to deliver a hit." These seven projects include Babul (Father's Home), Saanwariya (Beloved), Partner, God Tussi Great Ho (God You Are Great) and London Dreams. Mr Mirani also said this verdict will not affect Khan's future prospects in any manner. "Producers will continue to sign him in their movies... He's not going away from the industry anytime soon." Film-maker Ravi Chopra had signed Khan for his film Babul (Father's Home) and finished almost 50% of the shooting. He had hoped to finish the other half on schedule and release it in October this year. However, with the actor being sent to prison, there is some uncertainty about whether he will manage to follow through with his plans. Despite that, Mr Chopra told the media he is not worried about his movie as much as he is worried about Khan. "I am not nervous about my project at all. If anything, I am not happy about the treatment being given to Salman Khan," he said. "I don't think whatever happened, if it had happened at all, needed the kind of punishment that was given to him. I feel he has paid the price of being an actor." The odds may be stacked up against Khan, but industry people believe he will manage to appeal against the verdict and get out on bail, reported Monica Cadla.

Irish college 'to welcome' Sheen

Photo: Sheen says he wants to finish his education after retiring

An Irish university has said it was "looking forward to welcoming" Hollywood actor Martin Sheen as a student next autumn. The West Wing star plans to study English literature, philosophy and theology with special interest in oceanography in Galway. A spokeswoman for the National University of Ireland said: "We are developing that interest with him." Sheen has said he wanted to finish his education after he retires from acting. The university is home to the Huston School of film and digital media here, of which Angelica Huston is a patron. Sheen, who is 65, said he had been awarded several degrees, but had received no "proper education" since starting acting. He has played President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing since 1999. His big screen roles have included Apocalypse Now and Gandhi.

Indian actor Rajkumar dies at 77

Photo: Rajkumar was one of India's most popular actors

Indian film legend Rajkumar, who starred in more than 200 films over five decades, has died aged 77. Rajkumar, one of the most famous Kannada actors in south India, suffered a cardiac arrest and died in Bangalore. Rajkumar - whose name was sometimes written Raj Kumar - starred in such films as Bangaradha Manushya (The Golden Man) and Shabdavedi. He had given up acting in recent years, but remained one of the best-loved figures in south India. Fans of the actor, who called him Annavaru (elder brother), have been gathering at his home to pay homage. There have been outbreaks of violence in the southern state of Karnataka following Kumar's death. Bangalore, which is popularly known as India's technology capital, has virtually shut down following his death. Rajkumar's son Raghvendra, also an actor, said his father had recently been under strain following the death of his older brother. In July 2000, he was kidnapped along with three members of his family from his home in Gajanur, Tamil Nadu, by notorious Indian bandit Veerappan. His kidnapping sparked violent protests by in his bordering home state of Karnataka with people demanding his immediate release. Rajkumar was freed by Veerappan after spending weeks living in the forests of south India. Local reports said a large ransom had been paid for his release, though Rajkumar denied that. Veerappan, a self-styled champion of the Tamil people, was killed by police in 2004.

'Smellovision' for Japan cinema

Photo: Colin Farrell plays an American colonial leader in the film.

Screenings of Colin Farrell's latest film will be accompanied by a series of smells at a cinema in Japan. Seven fragrances will waft from machines under back row seats during historical adventure The New World. A floral smell will accompany love scenes, with a mixture of peppermint and rosemary for tear-jerking moments. Cinemas across the country will be able to download programmes to control various sequences of fragrances for other upcoming films. The company who makes the fragrance-emitting machines launched a service for Japanese homes last year. The home version of the equipment costing £510 was designed to provide aromatherapy during work or horoscope readings. The machines have to be topped up with fragrant liquids which create the scents. A globe-shaped version of the machine for computer users is also manufactured, which emits fragrances depending on mood. It can be used to provide relaxation before bedtime or to keep the user alert if they are working late at night. In The New World, Farell plays American colonial leader John Smith, said to have been saved from execution by North American Indian princess Pocahontas.

Digital cinema releases up by 50%

Photo: Goblet of Fire from Warner was released digitally in 18 countries

The number of movies released in cinemas around the world in a digital format has doubled, experts have said. There were 97 digital releases in 2005 compared with 47 in 2004, according to media analysts Screen Digest. They said China had the highest number of releases with 29 followed by the US with 27 and Italy with 17. The most widely released films came from Fox, Warner and Disney, which analysts said had "enthusiastically" embraced the digital format. Their report said one the obstacles to a wide scale roll-out of digital cinema has been the lack of movies in digital format. "That has been a natural consequence of the lack of readiness of the market," the report said. The final Star Wars film was released digitally in 25 countries, while Harry Potter Goblet of Fire made it onto digital screens in 18 countries. Screen Digest predicts that by the end of 2006, all major releases by Hollywood studios should be in a digital format.

FILMS: COMING SOON

Hard Candy: Geoff is a 30ish, successful, high-fashion photographer who meets 14-year-old Haley on the Internet. They arrange a date at a coffee shop and then head back to his house. What follows is a spine-chilling nightmare. And, Geoff has no one to blame but himself.

Release Apr 14, 2006

Genre: Drama

MPAA Rating: R [Parental Advisory]

Running Time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Humko Deewana Kar Gaye

Aditya works as an automobile engineer and test-driver. He is engaged to an upcoming fashion designer, Sonia, with whom he is not on the same wavelength. Their marriage has been fixed, but Aditya leaves for Canada for training while Sonia takes off to France for a fashion show. In Canada, Aditya bumps into Jia, and as fate would have it, meets her more than once. Jia, the gorgeous daughter of a business tycoon, is busy shopping in preparation for her marriage to an affluent entrepreneur, Karan. Jia is a girl of simple tastes who craves for friendship and company, which her busy father and fiancé cannot give her. Aditya enters her life like a savior of sorts, and soon, a strong friendship develops between the two. In time, the two share intimate moments with each other, making them forget they're engaged to someone else! A misunderstanding and her impending marriage to Karan makes Jia return to India. Aditya also returns with a firm conviction to forget Jia and marry Sonia. But fate intervenes, and they meet again at Jia's wedding. Does true love manage to find its way or do the lovers make peace with their destiny?

Release Apr 14, 2006

Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: NR [Parental Advisory]

Running Time: 2 hours, 35 minutes

Kinky Boots: Charlie Price faces the impending shut down of the Northampton shoe factory that his family has owned and operated for generations. Just when he feels that all is lost, he has a chance encounter with Lola, a flamboyant transvestite cabaret star. Lola's desire for stylish, kinky boots for herself and her colleagues provides a glimmer of hope for the factory and its employees.

Release Apr 14, 2006

Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: PG-13 [Parental Advisory]

Running Time: 1 hour, 46 minutes

La Mujer de Mi Hermano: After almost 10 years of marriage, the stunningly attractive Zoë realizes that her marriage to Ignacio no longer carries the passion and spark it once had. Emotionally adrift, she is left to search for those sensations once again, and soon finds herself seduced into the arms of Gonzalo, her husband's brother. At first, Zoe becomes reinvigorated by the romance. But her decision soon launches a series of events that drives these three people through a gauntlet of revenge, secrets and despair that will unravel them all.

Release Apr 14, 2006

Genre: Drama

MPAA Rating: R [Parental Advisory]

Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Look Both Ways: Meryl imagines disaster coming from every direction -- train crashes, man-eating sharks, baby-eating killer whales ... and then there's Nick.

Release Apr 14, 2006

Genre: Drama

MPAA Rating: PG-13 [Parental Advisory]

Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Mountain Patrol: Kekexili: Antelope poachers kidnap and execute a member of the Tibetan posse that was trying to capture them. In 1996, Ga Yu recruits the resourceful Ritai, a maverick who set up a private mountain patrol three years earlier, to accompany the posse on its mission. The drama unfolds over 17 days, with the journo witnessing the ruthlessness of the profiteers, and the patrol of volunteers combating their merciless adversaries and a frequently dangerous landscape.

Release Apr 14, 2006

Genre: Drama

MPAA Rating: NR [Parental Advisory]

Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

NEXT WEEK: In-depth article: Revisiting forgotten divas of the silver screen by Maximillien de Lafayette.

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