"The Truth about Cats and Dogs"

Written by Audrey Wells

Directed by Michael Lehmann

Starring Uma Thurman, Janeanne Garofalo and Ben Chaplin

Some things are difficult to believe, but with good acting, a little romance and a lot of comedy, people can see almost anything as the truth.

In "The Truth about Cats and Dogs" for example, an unlikely story becomes believable with Michael Lehmann's entertaining and persuasive direction.

The charming tale centers around Abby (Janeanne Garofalo), who has everything going for her except her looks. When she tries to avoid an uncomfortable encounter with Brian (Ben Chaplin), a caller on her radio show, she directs his attention toward Noelle (Uma Thurman), the beautiful blonde in her apartment building. He believes he has found the ideal woman, but in reality has stumbled upon two friends who end up pretending to be perfect inside and out.

Chaplin's performance as Brian, a sexy and sensitive man who unknowingly falls head-over-heels in love with two women, leaves a lasting impression. In his character's struggle to uncover the mysteries behind his seemingly faultless love interest, Chaplin's smoldering glances and tortured expressions bring Brian's emotional turmoil to life.

As Abby, the character with a perfect personality, Garofalo delivers witty remarks laden with enough sarcasm to sink a small city. Behind her character's self-doubt, Garofalo reveals enough intelligence and charm to prove that her character's mind rivals the beauty of the physically flawless Noelle.

Playing model and aspiring news broadcaster Noelle, Thurman does her best to breathe life into her character. But by no fault of her own, Thurman's persona as Noelle misses the realistic presence that characters Brian and Abby share. Thurman's personality-lacking part is entertaining, but her disinterest in intellectual pursuits is a violent loser of a boyfriend and occasionally embarrassingly ditzy lines, is too stereotypical to be seen as anything more than a hollow shell of a person.

The plot of the film is difficult to buy into, especially when Brian has the gullibility and naïveté of Lois Lane. In some of the more outrageous circumstances, it is easier to believe in Superman's costume as Clark Kent than Brian's stupidity.

But among scenes riddled with romance and comedy, it is difficult to nit-pick over character and plot development. The film has too many clever lines and magical moments to be dismissed for its unrealistic storyline.

Emily Forster Grade: B

"Stalingrad"

Directed by Joseph Vilsmaier

Written by Joseph Vilsmaier, Johannes Heide and Jurhen Buscher

Starring Thomas Kreischmann, Jochen Nickel, Sebastian Rudolph and Sylvester Groth

A long strand of anti-war films runs through cinematic history. There are modern classics such as "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon," and most recently, the German production "Stalingrad."

Written and directed by acclaimed German director Joseph Vilsmaier ( "Herbstmilch," "Rama Dama"), "Stalingrad" explores the moral and spiritual decay of a small group of German soldiers. The story fictionalizes the gruesome 1942 battle to seize the Russian city of the same name. But it is not the war, or its victories, that are important. It is the men.

The film begins with the soldiers on leave, happy and carefree while they drink and play cards on a sunny Italian beach. This freedom quickly ends when the men are suddenly sent to the battle of Stalingrad. The blue of the ocean becomes the stark, gray tones of war. For the remainder of the film, there is barely a splotch of color. Its effect is to move the viewer through the moral decline experienced by the soldiers ­ and its power is chilling.

Lieutenant Hans Von Witzland (Thomas Kreischmann) is young and idealistic, and his only reason for participating in the war seems to be his desire to continue his family's military history. He leads his troops into battle, and his idealism fades when only 62 of his 400 men survive. As the film progresses, Hans' group dwindles down to a kind, loyal soldier named Fritz, a young fighter nicknamed Gege and the aggressive, angry veteran Rollo. The men are forced to travel together from the bloody ditches of Stalingrad to the stark, white plains of Siberia. During this journey they come to realize the cruelty and hypocrisy of warfare.

Vilsmaier rivals Francis Ford Coppola and Oliver Stone with his ability to create the void and loneliness of war on the screen. He focuses his camera on the faces of the men instead of showing off his skill with exaggerated explosions and over-dramatic heroism. Instead of portraying war as physical action, he brings the emotions and psyches of the individual soldiers to the surface. His screenplay, written with Johannes Heide and Jurhen Buscher, is both poetic and horrifying.

The director gets a lot of help from the cast. The actors embody a wide range of talents, but they all possess an enigmatic and unforgettable presence on screen. "Stalingrad" may not be uplifting, but it is a piercing look at war's ability to destroy the spirit, and the mind, of soldiers.

Dina Gachman Grade: A

"Sunset Park"

Written by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld and Kathleen McGhee-Anderson

Directed by Steve Gomer

Starring Rhea Perlman, Fredro Starr and Carol Kane

If you were one of the legion that plunked down hard-earned cash to see "Dangerous Minds" last year, then you must humbly accept some responsibility for "Sunset Park." This new film is another inner-city high school melodrama in the tradition of the aforementioned Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle, and if getting no surprises and nothing new out of a film is your idea of a great time at the movies, then drop what you're doing and queue up at the nearest multiplex right now.

The story of "Sunset Park," which has been told so many times it needs a serial number, is how one high school faculty member who cares can make a difference in the lives of ghetto youth. The basketball court is the center of this yarn's attention, and the new coach is Phyllis Saroka (played by "Cheers" alum Rhea Perlman) who doesn't at all fit the profile of a winning coach. The players rankle at her appointment as their coach not just because she's a white chick (since that would simply be aping "Wildcats"), but because she demonstrates no knowledge of the game besides the fact that the ball goes in the basket.

Phyllis isn't some ex-Peace Corps do-gooder who takes the job to touch young lives (heavens, wouldn't that be sacchariny); she simply wants to earn enough cash to buy a bar and escape the public school system. But surprisingly enough, a funny thing or two happens on her way to the tavern of her dreams.

The players, led by Shorty (played with conviction by Onyx hip-hopper Fredro Starr), all present Phyllis with an array of challenges besides the main objective of getting the team to win games. Add to it a throbbing and eminently marketable hip-hop soundtrack, and you have all the ingredients a studio feels comfortable gambling on.

Besides being wholly unoriginal, the stories of the teammates fail to catch your interest since we've seen it all before and done better. Perhaps director Steve Gomer and screenwriters Seth Zvi Rosenfeld & Kathleen McGhee-Anderson should have taken studious notes while watching episodes of "The White Shadow." That '80s television series achieved a decade and a half ago what "Sunset Park" only makes a lackluster attempt at.

Brandon Wilson Grade: D+

"Mulholland Falls"

Directed by Lee Tamahori

Written by Pete Dexter

Starring Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Chris Penn, Michael Madsen, Melanie Griffith and John Malkovich

This police drama, based on 1950's tough guys named the "Hat Squad," has a lot of potential. There's murder, sex, love, car chases ­ all the prerequisites for a blockbuster. Unfortunately, all this promise got lost along the way.

The story by Pete Dexter, who penned 1992's "Rush," is intriguing at first. It seems like "Mulholland Falls" is going to swerve off that standard, boring path of big Hollywood films, but the detour doesn't last long. The squad is led by Max Hoover (Nick Nolte) ­ who gets to mumble all the cheesy one-liners because he's the boss. Hoover's team consists of Coolidge (Chazz Palminteri), Eddie Hall (Michael Madsen) and new kid Arthur Relyea (Chris Penn). The guys set out to solve the brutal murder of beautiful, big-breasted Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly). She got mixed up with some ruthless guys known as the Atomic Energy Commission, and her death sets Hoover and the boys face to face with some powerful competition.

This film undoubtedly has star power. It also has Hoover's wife Katherine (Melanie Griffith) saying to her moaning husband, "Max ­ don't drool on me Max." Pretty heavy dialogue. Nolte, who usually gives a powerful performance, sounds like a grunting, groaning animal in this movie. It doesn't even make him rough or sexy. It just makes him seem a little unhealthy.

Adding to Nolte's death bed charm is Palminteri as ­ once again ­ a tough guy. But in "Mulholland Falls" he's a different kind of tough guy. His character is supposed to provide some comic relief as an over-eating, sensitive cop who is seeing a female psychologist. His constant cracks about his therapy sessions, and the annoyance they cause to the stoic Hoover, fall flat. The actor tries way too hard to get some laughs, and it shows.

One acting triumph in "Mulholland Falls" comes from the always captivating John Malkovich. He plays General Thomas Timms, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. The character has few scenes, but when he is on camera coldly philosophizing about death and destruction, the weakness of the rest of the film is forgotten. Malkovich is the only member of the cast that truly becomes his role, and his small part almost saves the film.

A final disappointment comes from New Zealand director Lee Tamahori, who made a memorable feature debut with the critical hit "Once Were Warriors." Tamahori jumped from independent to big-budget movies too quickly. He is a perceptive, original filmmaker, but "Mulholland Falls" doesn't allow him to show it. If Tamahori goes back to a more creative project, and casts Malkovich, he might produce another work of art. For now, he has to sit with "Mulholland Falls."

Dina Gachman Grade: D-

Uma Thurman
and Ben Chaplin in "The Truth About Cats and Dogs"

(left to right) Fredro Starr, Antwon Tanner, Anthony Hall, Rhea Perlman and James Harris in "Sunset Park"

Melanie Griffith and Nick Nolte in "Mulholland Falls"

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Vilsmaier ... focuses his camera on the faces of the men instead of showing off his skill with exaggerated explosions and over-dramatic heroism.

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