Film Openings

Bad Boys II. Michael Bay. Those who prefer their movies with nuance and levels of meaning may not appreciate this, but action movie fans know that there is a big difference between the unrestrained over-the-top Michael Bay-Jerry Bruckheimer collaborations (Bad Boys, The Rock), and the pandering teenybopper Ben Affleck vehicles (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor). In general, Bad Boys II is Bay unleashed. This is a good thing when it comes to action sequences, less good between said moments of spectacle, as Bay seems determined to prove that he can pull off the quiet moments as well. Nothing wrong with that in theory: if done right, such scenes help to pace the action. But Bad Boys II runs almost two and a half hours, and much of it's filler. There's no plot to get in the way of the story; it boils down to an evil Cuban drug dealer (Blow's Jordi Mollà, boring) and his henchmen being chased by Smith and Lawrence. Some sequences may be derivative, but the bangs are big and parts of the banter genuinely funny. Opens Friday, July 18, at multiple locations. (Luke Y. Thompson)

Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns). A.J. Schnack. The documentary, which is reviewed in this issue, is preceded by Morning Guy, a film short directed by Mark Gray. Opens Friday, July 18, at the Tivoli.

The Heart of Me. Thaddeus O'Sullivan. Opens Friday, July 18, at the Plaza Frontenac. Reviewed this issue.

How to Deal. Clare Kilner. Opens Friday, July 18, at multiple locations. Reviewed this issue.

Jet Lag. Daniele Thompson. Opens Friday, July 18, at the Plaza Frontenac. Reviewed this issue.

Johnny English. Peter Howitt. Rowan Atkinson plays a bumbling British agent trying to solve the theft of the crown jewels and save the nation from a despot. Opens Friday, July 18, at multiple locations. NR