|
|
|
 |
OUT OF TIME: Carl Franklin and Denzel Washington (DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS) reteam in this hilariously refreshing noir thriller. Washington is Matt Lee Whitlock, police chief of a small Florida town just outside of Miami. In the process of getting a divorce from Alex (the sultry Eva Mendes), whom he still loves, Chief Whitlock has begun to have an affair with Anne (Sanaa Lathan), wife of abusive ex-football quarterback Chris Harrison (Dean Cain). When he learns that Anne has terminal cancer and doesn't have long to live, Whitlock's stupidity gets the better of him: to help her out, he steals $450,000 cash that is waiting to be sent to the feds. But when both Anne's and Chris's dead bodies are discovered the next morning, all of the signs point to Whitlock. As the clamps begin to tighten and the excuses begin to lose their already shaky groundings, Whitlock must use his cunning to track down the money and clear his name once and for all. Gleefully subverting typical film noir conventions, first-time screenwriter David Collard's script is an utter delight. Featuring outstanding supporting turns from Lathan and Mendes, OUT OF TIME is a rollicking ride through the swampy haze of southern Florida.
HART'S WAR: Director Gregory Hoblit's debut film was the tricky courtroom drama PRIMAL FEAR. With his fourth feature, HART'S WAR, Hoblit is back with another. This time the court is inside a WWII prisoner-of-war camp. The defendant is Lieutenant Lincoln Scott (Terrence Howard), a black officer accused of killing a racist sergeant (Cole Hauser). Scott's lawyer is Lieutenant Tommy Hart (Colin Farrell), a second-year law student at Yale. A U.S. senator's son, Hart was having a relatively easy war until he was captured, interrogated, and sent to Stalag VI. The camp commandant is the urbane, charming, and ruthless SS Major Visser (compellingly played by Rumanian actor Marcel Iures). The ranking American officer at the camp is Colonel William McNamara (Bruce Willis), and Hart is soon in conflict with him. When Scott is accused of murder, McNamara insists that the prisoners should hold a court martial, and he appoints Hart counsel for the defense. At the court martial, Hart finds his client is being railroaded, although he gets help from unexpected quarters. Intricately plotted by scriptwriters Billy Ray and Terry George, and filmed by Hoblit with his accustomed attention to detail, HART'S WAR is a devious and absorbing courtroom/POW drama.
|
|
In Theaters 
