Legends of the Fall

  Universal Pictures In "K-Pax," Prot, played by
Kevin Spacey, claims to be from a distant planet.
Here, he shares his view of the world with psychiatrist Dr.
Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges).

By Ryan Joe and Emily
Pauker
Daily Bruin Contributors

Jack the Ripper is probably going to kill somebody. Jet Li will
probably kick somebody. And Steve Martin just might pull out some
teeth.

Westwood, flanked and surrounded by movie theaters, will
definitely feel the wrath of the wide variety of movies
being released this fall.

Films of all shapes and sizes are set to hit theaters; with
everything from kung-fu fighting to classic horror remakes, there
will no doubt be something for everyone.

For those who appreciate a good scare, the highly anticipated
film starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham and titled “From
Hell” tells the story of the infamous villain Jack the Ripper
and it will hit theaters Oct. 19.

As Eddie Campbell, co-creator of the comic series explained,
“From Hell” was intended to have surfed into theaters
with a wave of other Hollywood horror films. “I tended to see
it as part of that trend of reviving the horror classics. Branagh
did Frankenstein, Coppola did Dracula, Nichols made the Wolfman,
somebody else did the Mummy.”

But every once in a while according to Campbell, the time is
ripe for the Ripper.

“I think it’s just that time of the decade has come
around to do another Ripper movie. Personally I’m astonished
that they still think there’s any mileage in a Ripper
movie.”

Along with the horror and sci-fi films, a couple of action
movies will also entertain audiences this fall.

Generally, action flicks are content to fight their bouts in the
summer. But this fall, two martial arts films make their way into
theaters; in the first week of October comes the Miramax re-release
of the Hong Kong film “Iron Monkey,” directed by the
action choreographer of “The Matrix” and
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Yuen Woo Ping.

November follows with the Jet Li vehicle “The One”
(The Rock was originally supposed to star) in which Li plays both
the villain and the hero and proceeds to beat himself up.
It’s a safe bet that the Jet Li character will claim victory
in the end.

John Woo’s World War II project “Windtalkers”
is reportedly less flashy than the bullet ballets that made Woo an
action trademark in both Hong Kong and the U.S.; this despite the
presence of Nicholas Cage, who collaborated with Woo in the
blockbuster action-fest “Face/Off.”

Possibly the most anticipated release of the fall season is
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” based
upon J.K. Rowling’s immensely popular book. “Harry
Potter,” initially intended for a summer release, boasts a
mostly-British cast blending commonwealth figureheads such as
Richard Harris and John Cleese with relative newcomers such as Emma
Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, who snagged the title role.

A science fiction film will reach theaters Oct. 26 as acclaimed
actor Kevin Spacey claims to be from a far away planet in his
movie “K-Pax.” He begins counseling with a psychiatrist
played by Jeff Bridges and has strange effects on the other
patients. Bridges’ character initially diagnoses
Spacey’s character with multiple personality disorder, but
eventually begins to question his initial diagnosis.

Yet as numerous expensive blockbusters arrive to the big screen
to entertain much of the general public, many moviegoers still
prefer films without a budget equivalent to that of a small
country.

“To me they are more topic-oriented, they care less about
making money and more on the art form,” said campus visitor
Dion Smyth-Tynes.

And due to their growing popularity, the line that separates the
independent films from studio productions is becoming less
defined.

“Independent film no longer has anything to do with
whether there is financial backing from a major studio or
not,” said Greg Laemmle, vice president of Laemmle theaters,
an independent theater chain in Los Angeles. “For our
theaters we look for artistic merit and quality.”

“The Debut,” “The Man Who Wasn’t
There,” “Better than Sex,”
“Novocaine” and “In the Bedroom” are among
the critically acclaimed independent films showing this fall.

Oct. 5 is the release of “The Debut,” the first
American film written, directed, and acted in by Pilipinos about
the Pilipino-American experience. It stars Dante Basco, best know
for his role as Rufio in “Hook.” This film was
originally conceived by a Loyola Marymount film student and was
later turned into a full length film.

“Better than Sex,” an Australian film directed by
Jonathan Teliptzy that won over Australian critics, is to be
released Oct. 12. The film deals with a one night stand and what
comes along with that action.

“The Man Who Wasn’t There” is the latest Coen
brother’s film, set to be released Nov. 2. This ’40s
style crime comedy is in black and white and stars Billy Bob
Thornton and Frances McDormand from “Fargo.” The Coen
brothers have done such films as “Fargo,”
“Raising Arizona,” “The Big Lebowski,” and
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

“Novocaine,” comes out Nov. 16, a comedy starring
Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter (“Fight Club”) and
Laura Dern (“Jurassic Park”). In
“Novocaine,” Steve Martin plays a dentist for the
second time in his career (he did so in “Little Shop of
Horrors”). This second time around, he is seduced into
handing over drugs to a patient and unknowingly contributing to a
murder.

Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson won the Special Jury Prize at
Sundance 2001 for their performances in “In the
Bedroom”. “In the Bedroom” is about a New England
family struggling to cope with a tragedy. Marisa Tomei stars and is
said to have her best role since “My Cousin Vinny.”

Yet whether one opts for blockbuster excitement or low-budget
entertainment, it is difficult if not impossible to predict the
quality of a movie before it comes out.

“Independent filmmakers can make a good movie and larger
filmmakers can make a bad movie, or vice versa,” said Jordan
Moore, director of publicity and marketing for Laemmle Films.

“The most important thing is that the vision of the
American filmmaker isn’t destroyed by the process.”