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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters On screen
Romeo Must Die (2000)
Romeo Must Die (2000): This gangster vendetta action flick about an ex-cop embroiled in a vigilante search for his brother's killers relies on numerous marriages: East/West, Hong Kong/Afro-American, Kung Fu/Hip Hop, Hong Kong-style wire-work stunts (where actors are tied to invisible wires during fight scenes) and Hollywood-style car and motorcycle chases (with actors replaced by professional stuntsmen). Hong Kong superstar Jet Li, whose American debut was in Lethal Weapon 4, is cast opposite music celebrities Aaliyah and DMX, under the direction of action visuals specialist Andrzej Bartkowiak. The film's publicity draws heavily on the Timbaland-produced soundtrack and producer Joel Silver's reputation (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and lately The Matrix).
Short wa Fanila wa Cap (Shorts, T-shirt and a Cap): Make money, get the girl, have fun -- isn't that what life is all about? This is the latest summer flick to delve deeply into this most superficial of plots, with, as has become standard for the Adl group production company, a twist of Arab unity to boot. Or, in this case, a lack of it. The plot's premise is an Arab economic conference taking place in Sharm Al-Sheikh, and the budding romance between local tour guide and overall good guy Ahmed El-Saqqa and the Lebanese minister of economy's daughter, played by Chipsy ad girl Nour, who still seems shell-shocked by her sudden celebrity-status. A bleached blond Sherif Mounir is featured as a dive instructor trying to immigrate to the States, and Sami El-Adl plays a henpecked police officer.
Short wa Fanila wa Cap (Shorts, T-shirt and a Cap)
See Film Index in Listings for venues
Around the galleries
At the Atelier du Caire, sculptor Hosni El-Demerdash exhibits a variety of works with the aim of creating a contemporary creative answer to the eternal problems of geometry. What is a square? How does the straight line perform its function? Could the various geometric shapes relate to each other in new ways? The effort is commendable, though the results are not always as stunning as one might be led to believe. But as a vigorous, individual approach to one of art's most interesting aspects (the overlap between sculpture and geometry), El-Demerdash's exhibition is definitely worth a look.
Hosni El-Demerdash
Reviewed by Nagwa El-Ashri
