'CODY BANKS' SEQUEL SELF-DESTRUCTS.Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer THEY ARE EVIL and they must be stopped. They being studio production executives who gleefully glee·ful adj. Full of jubilant delight; joyful. glee  ful·ly adv.glee greenlight a sequel to an OK kid-targeted adventure movie just because they are blinded by flashing dollar signs. Case in point: ``Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London.'' Its predecessor, last year's ``Agent Cody Banks,'' starred Frankie Muniz Frankie Muniz (born Francisco Muniz IV on December 5 1985, in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey) is an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award nominated American actor, who is now a full time Formula Atlantic driver. as a teenager recruited by the CIA CIA: see Central Intelligence Agency. (1) (Confidentiality Integrity Authentication) The three important concerns with regards to information security. Encryption is used to provide confidentiality (privacy, secrecy). and then sent on his first assignment: Cozy up to a certain adorable girl (played by Hilary Duff) to learn what her scientist dad is up to with nano-technology and thwart a villain's plan to use it for evil. One angle of the story gave it a certain charm: Cody, a pretty sharp agent, remained completely inept when it came to dealing with the opposite sex. How could he do his job when he could barely stammer stam·mer n. A speech disorder characterized by hesitation and repetition of sounds, or by mispronunciation or transposition of certain consonants, especially l, r, and s. v. To speak with a stammer. ``Hi''? Now Cody is back, and he's a smooth 16-year-old, a seasoned pro among all the kid agents and no longer a dithering Simulating more colors and shades in a palette. In a monochrome system that displays or prints only black and white, shades of grays can be simulated by creating varying patterns of black dots. This is how halftones are created in a monochrome printer. idiot in the presence of a pretty girl. But neither he nor his techno-toys are as slick as James Bond and his gear (except for those exploding Mentos This article is about the mint and fruit-flavored candy. For the Jamaican musical style, see Mento. Mentos is a popular brand of mints sold in many markets across the world by the Perfetti Van Melle Corporation. candies), so what's the point of making this movie? It opens in a potentially interesting setting, the back-woods training camp for junior agents, but director Kevin Allen Kevin Allen may refer to:
n. One who composes rhymes. Noun 1. rhymer - a writer who composes rhymes; a maker of poor verses (usually used as terms of contempt for minor or inferior poets) (who shares blame for the story with Harald Zwart and Dylan Sellers). The obviously twisted camp director Diaz (Keith Allen) flees the camp one night, having enlisted Cody and the other kids to aid him in what he says is a drill. Turns out the agency has determined Diaz is up to no good, and now that he has escaped, it's up to Cody to track him down. Cody is dispatched to London and teamed with Derek (Anthony Anderson Anthony Alvin Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American comedian and actor. Biography Early life Anderson was born in Los Angeles, California, but grew up in Compton, California, to Doris, a telephone operator and actor; his step-father, Sterling Bowman, ), a CIA agent on probation for fouling up an earlier assignment. They're trying to find innovative mind-control equipment and keep Diaz from using it on world leaders For a list of heads of state, see . World leaders is a MMORPG. The game involves creating a state, joining an alliance and going into war. It is mostly played by players from Israel, China, USA, Britain, Brazil and Saudi-Arabia. gathering there for a G7 summit. (Yes, the term ``G7'' is used in a family movie script, and it's not in a bingo game.) Diaz is in cahoots with Kenworth (James Faulkner), the scientist working on the mind-control gear. Cody is posing as a clarinet prodigy in an international youth orchestra hosted by Mrs. Kenworth (Anna Chancellor). Diaz is angry because after 20 years with the agency he is in charge of junior agents when he had hoped for the director's job. So he decides to take out his frustrations on the entire world by implanting Kenworth's microchips in the teeth of the U.S. president and other leaders and making them do his bidding. So the bad guys here are a Brit and an American. Hmmmm. And one of the diversionary tactics involves the youth orchestra breaking into a ripping rendition of Edwin Starr's 1970 hit ``War'' (``What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'!'') during a dinner concert for the world leaders. Hmmmm. And the kid agents are worried about the president's mind coming under the control of very bad influences, thereby allowing him to lead the world into chaos. Hmmmm. Did I mention that Madonna is an executive producer on it? Muniz, who was likable in the first film, plays the role now as if he is ever-mindful that he has outgrown it. He and Anderson have so little chemistry that they might as well have played all their scenes in separate rooms. Here's hoping MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. realizes that the Cody Banks premise has run its course. If they don't believe it, then somebody should plaster one of the CIA's exploding Mentos on the laptop of any screenwriter now brainstorming ``Agent Cody Banks 3.'' Valerie Kuklenski, (818) 713-3750 valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON - One star (PG: action violence, crude humor) Starring: Frankie Muniz, Anthony Anderson, Hannah Spearritt, Keith Allen, James Faulkner. Director: Kevin Allen. Running time: 1 hr. 40 min. Playing: Wide release. In a nutshell: One sequel in the ``Agent Cody Banks'' franchise, about a teenage CIA agent, is one too many. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Anthony Anderson, left, and Frankie Muniz meet awkwardly, then eventually join forces, in ``Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London.'' |
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