Summer Film Previews

OUTLOOK: They're gonna love it in Europe. Here at home, it's become the cool thing for Democrats to distance themselves from Moore, but the bottom line is he knows how to make a documentary that can engage the average American, and he almost single-handedly made the Bush AWOL issue a news item again this year.

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Mamoru Oshii

PREMISE: Sequel to the highly influential anime about downloading human souls ("ghosts") into robot bodies. The original film was one of the most obvious stylistic and narrative influences on The Matrix.

OUTLOOK: DreamWorks did right by its last anime release, Millennium Actress, which didn't make a whole lot of money. Everyone who knows the name Mamoru Oshii will likely see this sequel and love it, but will anyone else?

MC5 * A True Testimonial
STARRING: The MC5

DIRECTOR: David C. Thomas

PREMISE: Documentary about the '60s Detroit hard-rock band, whose political stance caught the attention of the authorities. Includes archival and recent footage, as well as actual FBI surveillance tape.

OUTLOOK: This film should be enlightening to the kids of today who think all '60s music was mellow stoner jams. It should also find favor with those who fondly remember the band. Whether it gets seen by a wider audience depends entirely upon how well the film's publicists are able to market it.

Stander
STARRING: Thomas Jane, Ashley Taylor, David O'Hara

DIRECTOR: Bronwen Hughes

WRITERS: Ken Friedman (Bad Girls), Bima Stagg

PREMISE: The true-ish story of South Africa's popular early '80s antihero.

OUTLOOK: The director of Harriet the Spy takes on a gritty tale about a bad cop who robbed banks to prove that Apartheid was wrong. Big points for originality. Already a fave in its home country, itself an up-and-coming moviemaking haven.