The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

RRL. ov a RS J. Hal Zs DIN ars ta -- Ps [ { "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2000 - 9 Mystical epic delivers on Lee's potential SCREENING ROOM By John Foote CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Peder de tedy) Directed by Ang Lee Now in limited release The laws of gravity can be defied. While experiencing this fantastic new film, you must walk in and accept the fact you are about to see a fantasy where the principles of gravity, the concepts of what the body can endure, and the power of romance are merged and pushed to the limit as never before. Traversing the spectacular, diverse landscape of mainland China, director Ang Lee has created a magical, mysti- ~ cal epic from the famous "wuxia" genre of heroic warrior story. The story is adapted from the early 20th century novel by Wang Du Lu, and celebrates the glory of days gone by in Imperial China, during the Qing dynasty. Chow Yun Fat stars as Li Mu Bai, a powerful and skilled martial arts war- rior who is about to retire after years of obeying the Giang Hu warrior life. He entrusts his sword, the four hundred year old Green Destiny, to his long time friend and sequestered love Uy Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). She reluc- tantly agrees to deliver the great sword to her father's friend in Bejing. When his magical sword is stolen in the night by a masked thief, it sets in motion a spectacular war between good and evil which leads to some of the most jaw-dropping and stunning martial arts sequences ever created for film. Warriors scale walls, battle at the tops of 'trees on branches that could not possibly hold them, and appear from time to time to fly. This is an adult fairy tale that is breathtaking in scope, beautifully shot, and brought to life by Lee and his choreographer Yuen Wo-0ing, who created the superb fight sequences in The Matrix (1999). What | found quite remarkable about this great film is that despite its exotic locations in the rugged China landscapes, spectacular battle sequences and breathtaking fights, there is a quiet dignity and intimacy to the movie and the characters. Essentially, the film observes Taoist themes about righting wrongs and dis- covering inner strength. Ang Lee has been quietly building a solid reputation, with a string of American films that are all wildly diverse. His breakthrough film was Sense and Sensibility, which featured superb performances from Emma Thomson and Kate Winslet, which he followed with the haunting study of 70s life in The Ice Storm (1997). Last year he directed one of the year's best films, Ride with the Devil (1999), a thrilling Civil War epic which, like this film, never sacrificed the human story for scope. He is a unique artist among current film makers because he moves so easily from genre to genre, and seems incapable of making a bad film. Here he makes his first film in Mandarin (meaning subtitles) in years, yet the picture earned standing ova- tions at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, proving that audi- ences will embrace great cinema no matter which culture is being explored. A soaring work of art that many insiders are predicting will nab the Academy for best picture. Lee is long overdue for a best director nomina- tion, and should nab one this year. MORE ON THE GRINCH Yes, it is making money, as it was expected to do, but more and more | hear parents grousing about the fact the film is pretty scary, and despite the fact it is Jim Carrey (beloved by kids), you cannot see Jim Carrey under that makeup. Ron Howard's film is a major disap- pointment as art, but let's not get crazy here; the film was made to reap financial rewards for Universal Pictures. Trying to stretch a 25-minute animated television work into a two- hour film proved quite impossible for the writers, who fleshed out the story with goofy subplots involving the Whos. And those Whos are kind of - shall we say - alarming in their looks. Still, 1 enjoyed much of the film but again be warned: It may not be for the little ones, because Carrey is a rather imposing Grinch when projected on a huge movie screen. 8E MARY ST. 1 - PORT PERRY - (905) 985-7383 TRANSLUCENT! -- rh BONUS!! IAPLCASSITII HELUDEn DYMO* "Letratag" Electronic Labeimaker Josip, Bultn Cutter and spiit-back Print preview for odin Tent tomer re SoA Dock dasy beets, "91343 Ble. 71701-91347 Orange. ' Ath etetes ce nine tiocen Bang » KEEPS YOUR CELL PHONE WITHIN EASY AUREX "Big Number" Pocket Calculator EDC-4700 8 cig BIG number LOD display Create Your Own Personalized Calendar Bring in your 12 favourite photos (4x6 horizontal) for only [4 5 7 8 9 10 1" 12 14 15 1 19 AM (additional copies $24.95) Please allow 10 days Deadline Dec. 15/00 REE (extra charge for photo's not 4x6 size) 188 Mary St., Port Perry (905) 985-7383 or Fax (905) 985-3708 ay EA A Te a ET LS Ts Se Ret ad i i TE Ae ME Sr a TS ------ ON a a (I NR