By Désirée I. Guzzetta

SAVED! (2004)
MGM/United Artists

Saved! is a surprisingly sweet, albeit biting, look at life at a Christian high school. On top of the normal problems most high school kids go through, these kids get an extra topping of Jesus-guilt to go with it.

Jena Malone stars as Mary, a young Christian girl with a problem: her boyfriend, Dean (Chad Faust) has just come out of the closet. Mary, as all good Christian girls do, prays to God for guidance and gets it into her head that the only way to save Dean is to have sex with him. She winds up pregnant; he winds up shipped off to a camp for other gay children who need to be "straightened out."

Mary has a handicapped brother, Roland (an acerbic Macaulay Culkin), who gets involved with the only Jewish girl in school, Cassandra (Eva Amurri, the best of the young cast), who also happens to be the only girl who looks beyond his wheelchair to see him. Singer Mandy Moore is Hilary Faye, the most devout girl in school, and consequently, the bitchiest. Will Mary be ostracized like Dean once her pregnancy is uncovered? Will she stop resisting the attempts of nice guy Patrick (Patrick Fugit) to get closer to her? Will the Christian version of the Heathers (including Hilary Faye and Heather Matarazzo's Tia) succeed in putting on a good school dance? Or will they all learn a lesson in tolerance? Do you have to ask?

Director/screenwriter Brian Dannelly (along with fellow screenwriter Michael Urban) has affection for his subjects; he's not skewering them, but their attitudes and the way religion has been warped by man's interpretation of God's message. The result is a funny and at times, touching, film that is well worth using your tithing money to see.

Director: Brian Dannelly
Screenwriters: Brian Dannelly and Michael Urban
Starring: Jena Malone (Mary), Mandy Moore (Hilary Faye), Macaulay Culkin (Roland), Patrick Fugit (Patrick), Heather Matarazzo (Tia), Eva Amurri (Cassandra), Chad Faust (Dean), Elizabeth Thai (Veronica), Martin Donovan (Pastor Skip), Mary-Louise Parker (Lillian)
Running Time: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Get Saved! at: http://www.savedmovie.com/

DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (2004)
20th Century Fox

I haven't laughed this hard at a movie since Bad Santa. Okay, Bad Santa wasn't that long ago, but still, Dodgeball is a hoot and a holler and a half.

It's a classic tale of the little guy--in this case, Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn)--versus the giant--White Goodman (Ben Stiller). Peter owns a rundown gym, Average Joe's, with a clientele of average guys, including Justin (Justin Long of Ed fame), a nerdy high school student, Gordon (the very funny Stephen Root), a nerdy overweight guy, and some nerdy guy who thinks he's a pirate. It's a safe place these guys can go to work out without being ridiculed.

Which is a good thing, since it's right across the street from White's hyper-muscular Globo Gym filled with beautiful people; the gym's motto is "We're better than you--and we know it!" White, formerly obese, has sculpted himself into a lean, mean (and I do mean mean) workout machine, and he wants to eradicate the blight of Average Joe's by purchasing it and turning it into part of Globo Gym.

Stiller's real-life wife, Christine Taylor, stars as Kate Veatch, sent over by the bank to tell Peter he has to pay off his loan or lose his gym. His gymrats band together to solve Peter's money problem, and decide the best way to raise the money is to win a dodgeball tournament. But first, they have to learn to play.

Enter Patches O'Houlihan (the extremely funny Rip Torn), a one-time dodgeball champion and now a wheelchair-bound menace. With the soon-to-be-classic line, "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!", Patches coaches Peter's motley crew to turn them into lean, mean (well, not really mean) dodgeball machines. The results, while predictable, are hilarious.

Vaughn maintains a laid-back style which works well off Stiller's manic energy; the best moments are when White spouts off something ludicrous and Peter stares at him, incredulous. The rest of the cast put their hearts into their roles, making you actually care what happens to them, even the big burly Globo-dorks.

Dodgeball is the funniest film of the year so far. Make sure to stick around through the credits for a hilarious surprise. And whatever you do, don't forget the five Ds of dodgeball.

Written & Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Starring: Cast: Vince Vaughn (Peter La Fleur), Ben Stiller (White Goodman), Christine Taylor (Kate Veatch), Rip Torn (Patches O'Houlihan), Justin Long (Justin), Stephen Root (Gordon)
Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Rated: PG-13
If you can dodge your boss, you can dodge a ball: http://www.dodgeballmovie.com/

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (2004)
A Lions Gate Films/IFC Films/Fellowship Adventure Group release

Fahrenheit 9/11 is the most important film of the year. Period.

Michael Moore's latest documentary starts at a full gallop with information about Florida's role in the 2000 presidential election accompanied by banjo music, and doesn't slow down the criticism of the current administration for the rest of the film.

The film is by turns incendiary, disturbing, and touching as Moore lays out his case against George W. Bush & Co.; it had people in the audience alternately booing (at Bush, not Moore), cheering (for Moore, not Bush), and crying (there are some horrific images from the war in Iraq, not to mention the deeply touching story of one mother whose son was killed in the war).

The best parts of the film are actually when Moore is silent; that is, when he lets the clips speak for themselves. Among the best: restrained footage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (the screen is blank while audio of the disaster plays); Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) opining that the current administration uses fear as a means of controlling the American public; U. S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft singing an "inspirational" song he wrote, "Let the Eagle Soar." The last bit is comedy gold.

You may not agree with Moore's conclusions; I know I didn't necessarily reach the same conclusions he did on every bit of evidence presented. However, I think it's important for every American to check this film out for his/herself, whatever his/her political affiliation, leanings, etc., may be. Also, it will be easier to find the film come November when it's released on DVD, so you can watch it in the comfort of your own home.

Bottom line: It's an important film. See it and make up your own mind about it.

Written & Directed by: Michael Moore
Featuring: Michael Moore (Narrator), President George W. Bush, Lila Lipscomb, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell
Running Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes
Rated: R
More Moore: http://www.fahrenheit911.com/

SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
Columbia Pictures

Spider-Man 2 is not only a wonderful sequel, but it's the best film adaptation of a comic book character ever. Okay, to date since we still have some X-Men films ahead (I have little hope for the upcoming Fantastic Four picture, given some of the cast--feh!).

*Ahem* Anyway, as I was geeking about, Spider-Man 2 is a terrific film with depth of character, intense action sequences, and a solid plot. It takes its time building up to the reveal of the next super-villain, Doc Ock (Alfred Molina, tremendously sympathetic), giving us more insight into the mind of Peter Parker/Spidey (Tobey Maguire, who strikes the right balance of wonderment at and fear of his new role in life).

Since we last saw Spidey, he's given up hope for love with high school friend Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), who is now engaged to someone else; maintains a rocky relationship with the increasingly Spidey-obsessed Harry Osborn (James Franco); and, still takes care of his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris). He also still works for garrulous editor J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons, the most perfectly cast actor in the series), though that job is on shaky ground. As it is, in the opening sequence of the film, he loses his pizza delivery job, so he's basically fallen on hard times.

Oh, and he has one other problem: His super-powers are acting funny; occasionally, they even fail him completely. Well, two problems: Mary Jane is engaged to Jameson's astronaut-hero son.

What's a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to do? In this case, a lot of soul searching and a lot of taking hard knocks to arrive at a solution to his problems.

And, while he's having this spiritual/super-power crisis, along comes Dr. Otto Octavius with a great invention that Harry believes will earn a Nobel prize and that Octavius believes will solve many of mankind's problems. Peter gets to meet Octavius thanks to Harry's help, and Octavius imparts a bit of wisdom that will come back to help Peter in his darkest hours.

First, though, Octavius has to go from benevolent doctor to eight-limbed madman, which occurs in a sequence alternately thrilling and frightening as his experiment goes awry. Those four metal arms of his, as sinuous as metal arms can be, seem quite alive thanks to some excellent CGI work--in fact, the CGI on this film is much better than in the first. Between the arms and his frazzled brain, it's no wonder Doc Ock is willing to do anything to see that his vision is completed.

Peter/Spider-Man is left to resolve both the public's problem and his own personal problems as the crisis escalates.

Director Sam Raimi's love for his subject is evident, and the care he takes in making us care about the characters--even the villains--is evident in every frame. Also deserving credit are the actors, who give everything for their roles, as well as the writers of the screenplay, and well, basically everyone who worked on this film.

I loved it so much that I got off my Lazy Critic butt and saw it twice the first week it was out. I also plan on owning the DVD so I can watch it repeatedly from my own Lazy Critic recliner. Make sure you get webbed and see Spider-Man 2 more than once so I won't be the biggest geek out there. *Ahem*!

Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Alvin Sargent; based on a screen story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon and the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Starring: Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man/Peter Parker), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson), James Franco (Harry Osborn), Alfred Molina (Doc Ock/Dr. Otto Octavius), Rosemary Harris (May Parker), J. K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson)
Running Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Get caught in the web: http://spiderman.sonypictures.com/

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