MovieReview: "Paycheck"; "21 Grams"; "Cold Mountain"

title: "Paycheck"

starring: Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhart, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Morris

genre: action adventure

In the lavish and disappointing "Paycheck", Ben Affleck plays a top-notch buisness guy who agrees to have three years of his memory erased for 90 million dollars. These three secretive years, we find out, include a secret that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the world. It all starts when Affleck learns that he has forfeited his monstrous paycheck, for an envelope that includes 19 objects that will lead to the answers. This is John Woo by the way, the action maestro who helmed such brilliant flicks as "Face/off" and "The Killer." But this equation (grade A plot + grade B star) equals a grade D mess. Woo strands us in the middle of his calculated creation, but even with Affleck solving his futuristic puzzle, we're left in the dark and out of the riddle. Unlike "Memento," which became an involving and gritty tale, this time-looping story is as weak as its acting. Only Paul Giamatti ("American Splendor") is worth something as Affleck's quirky buddy. In fact, Mr. Lopez looks as stone as he did in the bomb "Gigli,"; he's a paralyzed statue, even while straddling a motorcycle through traffic and in Woo's elaborately, elastic, been-there-done-that action scenes. "Paycheck" is implausible playdoh; that is, it folds over and bends itself endlessly, crushing its plot - and star. D+

Quick Flicks:

"21 Grams": Quite the opposite of "Paycheck," this indie is as engrossing, stirring, and amazing as they come. At times a disturbing display of the underbelly of human society, and at other times a fractured film: distorted and ugly. Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio del Toro star as three lonesome hearts interlocked by a horrific car crash. Penn, better here than in "Mystic River," gives a startling performance as a stripped-down husband split between his trodden wife and Watts. Because the film is so heavy, it might unfortunately slip by Academy voters, but shouldn't slip by anyone looking for something else besides commercialized blockbusters. Possibly the film of the year. A

"Cold Mountain": Nicole Kidman and Jude Law star in this mega-glam adaptation of Charles Frazier's award-winning book. Law is Inman, a Confederate soldier who tries to escape the plight of war to get back to his sugary sweetheart, Ada (Kidman). You see, before the Civil War started, Ada and Inman made out once, so they're dreamily and dangerously in love. Law is better as Inman, but the plot gets sticky as we hear repetitive narratives of Kidman writing goo-goo letters to her wondrous warrior. The best is Renee Zellweger as Ruby, a go-get-em tomboy who serves Kidman with some farmwork, and life lessons. "Cold Mountain" is epic, frolic, and tiresome, a lathered piece of layered film concieved by director Anthony Minghella. If it was a "hill," perhaps. C+

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