REEL CRITICS -- Mary A. Castillo and Melissa Richardson

‘Queen’ damned by its writers, director

I’ll admit that I was -- OK, still am -- an Anne Rice nerd.

I fell in love with “The Vampire Chronicles” at the age of 15, when I

randomly found “The Vampire Lestat” at my local library. Thirsting for

more adventures of Anne’s “brat prince,” I hit mom up for cash and then

bought the first volume, “Interview With The Vampire,” and the third,

“Queen Of The Dammed.”

Fast forward to 1994. Admittedly I was one of those fans who was

outraged when Warner Brothers announced that Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt

were cast as Lestat and Louis in the film version of “Interview With A

Vampire.” But after I saw the film, I had a new respect for those actors.

Tom and Brad delivered the most courageous and beautifully nuanced

performances of their careers. And I couldn’t wait for more.

Fast forward to last weekend. When I walked into the theater to watch

“Queen Of The Dammed,” I knew this movie wasn’t even in the same league

as its predecessor. No Tom, no Brad, and the story is completely out of

order in “The Vampire Chronicles.” However, the one thing I didn’t know

was how bad this movie was going to be.

“Queen Of The Dammed” sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from

Neil Jordan’s “Interview With The Vampire.” Judging from this effort, the

director (Michael Rymer) has no understanding of the power of

cinematography, mood or subtlety. It’s basically a two-hour Marilyn

Manson video with crummy special effects and makeup that makes the

vampires look like low-budget silent film actors.

Speaking about the actors, their methods are examples of what happens

when you attend the school of posing. Unlike Tom Cruise -- who startled

fans all over the world with his blond tresses and predatory sexuality --

Stuart Townsend in the role of Lestat de Lioncourt does not even make an

effort to dye his hair, much less act. But I’ll give him this: His Lestat

spoke with a French accent that he kept throughout the entire movie.

The one bright light in “Queen Of The Dammed” is Aaliyah’s performance

as Akasha. She delivers moments when her ruthlessness and reptilian grace

are chilling. Sadly though, the screenwriters never allow the audience to

understand the motivations behind Akasha’s quest for power, and so we

have to endure a lot of screaming, burning vampires in the last 20

minutes of the movie.

The bottom line: “Queen Of The Dammed” is another example of what

happens when Hollywood gets its hands on some great material but employs

the marketing staff to write the screenplay.

“Queen of the Damned” is rated R for vampire violence.

* MARY A. CASTILLO, 28, is a Costa Mesa resident.

‘John Q’ can’t be taken too seriously

John Archibold walks into the emergency room of the hospital where his

son is dying and shuts the place down, taking all inside as hostages.

Although his ultimate goal is to get his son’s name on the heart

transplant list, he gives the police only his first name and middle

initial. The only purpose this serves is to play up the drama of the

movie, not heighten it. It is silly little points such as this that keep

“John Q” from being taken too seriously, both as a man and as a film

subject.

Anyone who has seen the preview for this movie has seen most of the

film. The rest of the time taken by “John Q” only serves to tell us how

bad the health care system is in America. It’s a public service

announcement on a grand scale, but that is all it is. “John Q” would have

been great as a television movie of the week, but doesn’t have anything

special to catapult it to the big screen.

“John Q” has some great talent in its cast, which is mostly wasted.

Robert Duvall is only given time to shift about and utter one cliche

after another as the hostage negotiator. Denzel Washington plays his role

as John Q. with great skill, keeping the movie from becoming an absolute

melodrama. Anne Heche, Kimberly Elise and Ray Liotta put some time in

also, but the script doesn’t give much depth to characters.

Despite points against it, “John Q” does have an interesting finale. I

won’t spoil it for those of you who may not have seen it and would be

willing to catch it when it comes to the small screen. With the exception

of a car crash at the beginning and some hospital procedures, “John Q” is

not very violent or graphic. It might be worth your time, it just isn’t

worth much of your money.

“John Q” is rated PG-13 for violence, language and intense thematic

elements.

* MELISSA RICHARDSON is a Costa Mesa resident and a junior at UC

Irvine.