Screenscenes

“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” Starring
Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan Directed by Peter Jackson 3.5 Paws As the
second installment of the famed Tolkien trilogy, “The Lord of
the Rings: The Two Towers” focuses on the now-shattered
fellowship of warriors chosen to return the One Ring to Mount Doom
in order to destroy it. The most impressive aspect of this film,
which surpasses its predecessor, is the amount of believable
computer-generated effects in use. “The Two Towers”
features an entirely digital, albeit very realistic Gollum (voice
by Andy Serkis) accompanying Elijah Wood’s Frodo Baggins and
Sean Astin’s Samwise Gamgee on their journey. Women will once
again swoon over macho Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn and too-cute
Orlando Bloom’s Legolas as they impale countless Orcs while
defending Helm’s Deep in a battle sequence that rivals
“Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” in technical
splendor. Much like the second book’s opening, director Peter
Jackson does not spend too much time re-acquainting audiences with
characters and the prequel’s plot, deciding rather to dive
into new material. There are a couple flashback sequences, but for
some, a reviewing of 2001’s “The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring” might be necessary. Still, Jackson
does a fantastic job of capturing what many have said to be an
un-filmable series, and this installment will no doubt give
audiences their Middle Earth fix until the release of next
year’s final installment, “The Lord of the Rings: The
Return of the King.” -Christopher Cobb

“Adaptation” Starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep
Directed by Spike Jonze 4.5 paws Every so often, there comes a film
that shatters conventions, picks up the pieces, and creates a new,
exciting filmic experience. “Adaptation” is one of
them. While writing standards for movies are loosening to a
frightening degree, Charlie Kaufman has reinvented the screenplay
to an astounding extent. After all, he is the twisted mind behind
“Being John Malkovich,” the 1999 hit that made heads
hurt the world over. Here, Kaufman has taken his delightful
dementia to the next step by featuring the most enigmatic character
imaginable ““ himself. The on-screen Charlie Kaufman (Cage)
attempts to adapt Susan Orlean’s “The Orchid
Thief,” a novel about John Laroche, a Floridian flower fiend.
Kaufman’s struggle to make an original “movie about
flowers” drives the story from neurotic amusement to
tongue-in-cheek predictability. Cage does an incredible job as both
Charlie and his brother Donald, model idealistic creativity and
naive amateurism, respectively. Chris Cooper makes a big splash as
Laroche, Jed Clampett’s long-lost Darwinist cousin. Meryl
Streep is divine as author Orlean, with a hotel room scene too good
to spoil. These stellar performances all play second fiddle to
Kaufman’s incredible screenplay, which functions on as many
levels under the hood as it does behind the wheel. There are great
character studies, quotable quotes, a wild combination of narrative
structures, and a whole lot more. Most of all, it challenges the
viewer to comprehend the real struggle behind the movie itself, and
the payoff is huge. “Adaptation” breaks the mold, and
must be seen to be believed. It is, without a doubt, one of the
best films of the year. -Paul Mendoza