Super Size Me
CRITIC'S CHOICE
After you see this deliciously pointed film, there's one place you probably won't head for a postmovie meal: McDonald's. How could you after watching Morgan Spurlock, the genial director, writer and star of Super Size Me, pig out on three meals a day at Mickey D's across the country for 30 days straight? Before our eyes, the 33-year-old Spurlock, a healthy fellow prior to embarking on his unique meal plan, packs on 25 lbs.; his cholesterol levels rocket skyward; his doctor compares his liver function to that of an alcoholic; and his girlfriend (a vegan chef, ironically) confides that his sexual vigor isn't what it used to be.
Spurlock doesn't conduct his experiment in a vacuum. Either while chowing down or between meals, he interviews medical and nutrition experts, points out how much fast-food companies spend on advertising and how much of it is aimed at kids, and explains how the sugar and fats in fast food make the stuff addictive. His movie is an amusing, informative, clever and worthy attack on Big Mac. (Not rated)
ACTION-HORROR
Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham
The gang's all here. There's Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man and even Mr. Hyde (the evil alter ego of Dr. Jekyll). The only major monsters missing from this vacuous bit of wham-bam summer silliness by writer-director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy and The Mummy Returns) are the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Figure on those two and more showing up in Van Helsing 2. Not that anyone needs a VH2. Asking viewers to sit through a second chapter of this blathering balderdash would be a monstrous imposition.
Van Helsing's titular hero is hunting down and, in most cases, trying to do away with all these creatures. Played with manly bravado by Jackman—is this guy ever going to get a movie worthy of his huge talent?—Gabriel Van Helsing toils at the behest of the Vatican to rid the world of supernatural fiends. He begins each job by asking two essential questions: "What are we dealing with, and how do I kill it?" This time he's assigned to take out Dracula (Roxburgh, who hams it up shamelessly) and encounters the other monsters along the way. He also falls for a comely, corset-wearing Transylvanian aristocrat (a snippy Beckinsale) whose family has been battling the sharp-toothed Count for centuries.
It's all pretty darn dumb, with even the main characters so thinly drawn that one remains indifferent to their fates. On the plus side, Van Helsing's nonstop special effects are whiz-bang impressive, and the movie never takes itself too seriously. Then again, it couldn't if it tried. This is popcorn fare popped so light it's practically weightless. (PG-13)
COMEDY
Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen
This frenetically spinning top of a movie, in which the 17-year-old Olsen twins play—big stretch here—teen twins from Long Island suffering through a really bad day in Manhattan, will bewitch only their most ardent young fans and leering Humbert Humberts. The former will be charmed by the pluck our two heroines show when facing adversity (including cute boys, a runaway dog and a lost daybook), the latter by the fact that the duo—who turn 18 next month—spend a big chunk of the film scampering about clad only in a skimpy towel and bathrobe. Their acting is still of the one-emotion-at-a-time variety, but both project a winsome likability. Comedy stalwarts Eugene Levy, Andy Richter and Andrea Martin wander through in dopey supporting roles. (PG)
Godsend
Remember when the very fact that Robert De Niro starred in a movie made it special? No more, as evidenced by this dismal horror thriller, in which he lumbers through as a mysterious doctor helping a couple (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) clone their son after the boy dies in an accident. (PG-13)
Valentin
A charming little Argentinean comedy (in Spanish, with English subtitles) about a resourceful 8-year-old boy who tries matchmaking. (PG-13)
>School's out in a few weeks, and children will be looking for ways to entertain themselves over the summer. Here are some newly released DVDs that should keep kids (and chaperoning adults) happily occupied for hours.
The Marx Brothers Collection
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(Warner, $59.92) Introduce the kids to comedy legends Groucho, Harpo and Chico Marx. The five-disc set offers seven of their riotously anarchic films, including the must-see A Night at the Opera (1935). Extras: Illuminating commentary on Opera by Leonard Maltin, documentaries and vintage shorts. (Not rated)
Shrek 3-D
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(DreamWorks, $26.99) This cute but superfluous 15-minute short—about the kidnapping of Shrek's bride—comes in both 3-D (with included glasses) and 2-D. The 3-D effects, while unexceptional, will fascinate kids. Extras: The two-disc set includes a full-screen version of the wonderful first Shrek (2001). (Not rated)
Peter Pan
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(Universal, $26.98) A rousing 2003 live-action film revisits J.M. Barrie's beloved story about a boy who can fly.
Extras: Deleted scenes and Sarah Ferguson—ex-royals need jobs too—tracing Pan's history. (PG)
The Triplets of Belleville
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(Columbia TriStar, $24.96) A 2003 Oscar nominee for animation, this fanciful tale follows a bicycle racer and his loyal grandma. Extras: Informative making-of short. (PG-13)
The Jetsons: The Complete First Season
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(Warner, $64.92) Today's kids will be as amused as baby boomers were in 1962 when these 24 episodes from the sole prime-time season of this clever, futuristic toon series first aired. Extras: Perky commentary by Janet Waldo, the voice of Judy Jetson, on two episodes. (Not rated)
Mark Ruffalo
Ruffalo, 36, made his mark as the wayward brother in 2000's You Can Count on Me. Now dad to Keen, 2, with actress wife Sunrise Coigney, 31, the Wisconsin native stars with Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30.
ON TAKING A YEAR OFF TO BATTLE A BRAIN TUMOR You become very acutely aware that one day you're going to die. During that year off, there was a time when I thought I may not be able to act anymore. They took the tumor out [in 2001], and it was benign. There's very little chance of it coming back. I have to take MRIs every now and then. It was such an intense time in my life.
ON WORKING WITH GARNER
I met her at a reading for the script and expected a girl in a leather bustier with chopsticks sticking out of her hair. But Jennifer walked in and had a ponytail, no makeup and sweats. She'd sing this song whenever she saw me: "Marcus Ruffalo...How does your hair grow?" She's just a goof, you know.
ON BEING 13
I was a really insecure, chubby kid with buck teeth. I was into the punk scene. More of a skate punk. I had really short hair and listened to the Dead Kennedys, the Circle Jerks and the Clash—the only band that matters.
ON GETTING GROUNDED
I got drunk one night at 14. I was a wreck and sick for four days. I never drank before and drank a whole bottle of peppermint schnapps. I ran myself over with a bike. I went over the handlebars, and the bike rolled over me. My mom said, "You're grounded."
ON BEING A DAD
We'll dig holes in the backyard looking for worms. Keen saw me on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He was like, "Papa!" and was trying to get inside the television.
- Contributors:
- Leah Rozen,
- Sean Daly.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
