(MD+BO)PICK OF THE WEEK(MD-BO)
(MD+BO)”MISSION TO MARS” (PG-13):(MD-BO) We have seen the future (2020, to be exact), and it looks a lot like “The Right Stuff” — only these pilots are astronauts and they go to Mars, a place where there’s always a red filter. Space cowboys Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle and Tim Robbins travel to the Red Planet in Brian De Palma’s space opera. Traveling with them are boy wonder Jerry O’Connell and Connie Nielsen, who dances with her hubby (Robbins) in the one place where it’s physically impossible for him to step on her blue suede shoes: a gravity-free rocket. De Palma and his screenwriters boldly go where “Star Trek” has gone before — a land far away filled with Tonka miniatures, red pebbles and a sandstorm borrowed from “The Mummy.”
(MD+BO)Language:(MD-BO) The team uses words like embolism and an occasional s.o.b.
(MD+BO)Sex:(MD-BO) Even married couples get no further than gravity-free two-steps.
(MD+BO)Violence:(MD-BO) One astronaut gets blown to anatomical bits in space — and it’s not pretty.
(MD+BO)Audience:(MD-BO) Boys 7 and up who think anything about space is cool, no matter how stilted.
(MD+BO)NOT RECOMMENDED(MD-BO)
(MD+BO)”WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?” (R):(MD-BO) The alien here is Garry Shandling, who stows away on a jet to Earth to pursue his goal of fathering a child, an alien hybrid with a three-month gestation period. This is an idea any mother can appreciate, although just how Shandling equips himself for the mating dance is disconcerting. Mike Nichols’ romantic comedy — also starring a brilliantly edgy Annette Bening — is fundamentally about the fact that, yes, men are from Mars (literally) and women are from Venus.
(MD+BO)Language:(MD-BO) Moderate profanity.
(MD+BO)Sex:(MD-BO) Naked breasts and Shandling’s backside, along with a running joke about the alien’s prosthetic manhood.
(MD+BO)Violence:(MD-BO) None.
(MD+BO)Audience:(MD-BO) It’s more entertaining than “Mission to Mars,” but less suitable for minors.
(MD+BO)NOT RECOMMENDED(MD-BO)
(MD+BO)”THE NINTH GATE” (R):(MD-BO) Director Roman Polanski returns to “Rosemary’s Baby” territory in this wry chiller about a rare-book dealer who confronts the devil. It seems creepy Frank Langella has a recipe book of spells co-authored by Satan himself — and he wants Depp to recover two other books that go with it. Along the way, Depp stumbles over corpses and flirts with a devil-worshipping widow (Lena Olin) and a mysterious stranger (Emmanuelle Seigner).
(MD+BO)Language:(MD-BO) Devil worshippers don’t mince words.
(MD+BO)Sex:(MD-BO) Wild orgies, bloody love bites and an abundance of female nudity.
(MD+BO)Violence:(MD-BO) Murder, drowning, choking, immolation.
(MD+BO)Audience:(MD-BO) Adults only.