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From: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com (movies-digest) To: movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: movies-digest V2 #108 Reply-To: movies-digest Sender: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk movies-digest Monday, October 5 1998 Volume 02 : Number 108 [MV] test [MV] passing wind RE: [MV] passing wind [MV] Movie News - 10/05/98 [MV] The Movie Report#160, 10/5/98 [MV] REVIEW: THE IMPOSTORS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 12:40:17 +0100 From: "Gerry Taylor" <geeg@vossnet.co.uk> Subject: [MV] test This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - ------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BDF05D.4E572280 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable test ~ Gerry T ~~~~~ I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self = contained, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake and weep for their sins, they do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, not one is dissatisfied, not one demented with the mania of owning = things, Not one kneels to another nor to his own kind that lived thousands of = years ago, not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth. Walt = Whitman. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - ------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BDF05D.4E572280 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META content=3Dtext/html;charset=3Diso-8859-1 = http-equiv=3DContent-Type><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 = HTML//EN"> <META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.72.2106.6"' name=3DGENERATOR> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>test</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>~<BR>Gerry T<BR>~~~~~<BR>I think I = could turn=20 and live with animals, they are so placid and self contained,<BR>I stand = and=20 look at them long and long.<BR>They do not sweat and whine about their=20 condition,<BR>They do not lie awake and weep for their sins,<BR>they do = not make=20 me sick discussing their duty to God,<BR>not one is dissatisfied, not = one=20 demented with the mania of owning things,<BR>Not one kneels to another = nor to=20 his own kind that lived thousands of years ago,<BR>not one is = respectable or=20 unhappy over the whole=20 earth.<BR> &nb= sp; &nbs= p; = ; = &= nbsp; =20 Walt=20 Whitman.<BR>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</FONT></DIV></BODY></= HTML> - ------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BDF05D.4E572280-- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 00:30:08 +0900 From: Honwa Chau <nihonitchy@ibm.net> Subject: [MV] passing wind Which farting scene was longer, the one in "Blazing Saddles" or the one in Eddie Murphy's "The Nutty Professor"? Of course Billy Barty passed wind throughout "Night Patrol." itchy [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 11:42:22 -0600 From: jkrudy <jkrudy@micron.com> Subject: RE: [MV] passing wind There was also the Assteroid scene in Flesh Gordon 2????? JKRUDY - -----Original Message----- From: Honwa Chau [SMTP:nihonitchy@ibm.net] Sent: Monday, October 05, 1998 9:30 AM To: movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: [MV] passing wind Which farting scene was longer, the one in "Blazing Saddles" or the one in Eddie Murphy's "The Nutty Professor"? Of course Billy Barty passed wind throughout "Night Patrol." itchy [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 11:42:09 -0600 (MDT) From: The Reporter <gregorys@xmission.com> Subject: [MV] Movie News - 10/05/98 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The computer-animated comedy "Antz," featuring the voices of Woody Allen and Sharon Stone, opened at the top of the North American weekend box office, according to studio estimates released Sunday. The DreamWorks release earned about $16.8 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, and braved competition from two other new wide releases and continued strength from holdovers. Opening in second was the afterlife romance "What Dreams May Come," starring Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. It earned an estimated $16.1 million. "Rush Hour," "A Night at the Roxbury" and "Ronin" rounded out the top five. -=> * <=- NEW YORK (Reuters) - To prepare for her new movie "Beloved," Oprah Winfrey tells TV Guide she had to live the pain the slaves felt so the "character could come through me." To accomplish that, Winfrey was blindfolded, given a different name and brought to the woods along a section of the Underground Railroad. When the blindfold came off Winfrey had to live for 24 hours like a slave trying to escape bondage. She said the experience was difficult. "They had this guy who was set up as a slave master who said, 'You're mine now,' and called me the n-word. And there was a moment when it all clicked, when I connected to the true meaning of slavery - it's just the stripping of one's humanity." -=> * <=- Roddy McDowall, a British actor who became a 1940s child film star in "How Green Was My Valley" and "Lassie Come Home" and as an adult proved a versatile performer in theater, TV and films that included "The Planet of the Apes," died Saturday after being diagnosed with cancer last April. He was 70. McDowall died at his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, said Dennis Osborne, a friend who cared for the actor in his final months. "It was very peaceful," Osborne said. "It was exactly the way he planned." McDowall's ashes were scattered over the Pacific Sunday. -=> * <=- * TEAMED: George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic and Universal Pictures, to produce an original computer-animated full-length flick based on the "Frankenstein" movies that made Universal rich nearly seven decades ago. The creature feature is expected to be released come summer 2000. No word yet on who'll grunt the Karloff role. [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 09:44:18 -0700 From: Michael Dequina <michael_jordan@geocities.com> Subject: [MV] The Movie Report#160, 10/5/98 T H E M O V I E R E P O R T #160 OCTOBER 5, 1998 PLEASE HELP... ...keep the MR and Mr. Brown's Movie Site alive. I am undergoing a serious funding and resource crisis. You can help by renting or purchasing videos from Reel.com! Please visit: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-reel.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=welcome.html You can also help in other ways. Please visit: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/support.html Thank you very much. =>T H I S W E E K<= M O V I E S - -_A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_ - -_The_Impostors_ - -_The_Mighty_ - -_Slam_ - -_What_Dreams_May_Come_ V I D E O - -_Chinese_Box_ - -_The_Object_of_My_Affection_ - -_The_Spanish_Prisoner_ - -_Twilight_ - -_Two_Girls_and_a_Guy_ For links to the official websites of all the current films, past reviews, exclusive Hollywood event photos, movie discussion board, movie theme MIDI files, and more, visit Mr. Brown's Movie Site at: http://welcome.to/mrbrown or http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown Please don't forget to sign the guestbook... Select reviews are available at CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com ...and the Eyepiece Network at: http://www.eyepiece.com ...and Albany Online at: http://www.AlbanyOnline.com all movies graded out of four stars (****) ~~~ =>M O V I E S<= N E W R E L E A S E S Hollywood Hotline Featured Review _A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_ (PG-13) 1/2* Two party guys bob their heads to Haddaway's dance hit "What Is Love?" while getting themselves into trouble in nightclub after nightclub. It's barely enough to sustain a three-minute _Saturday_Night_Live_ skit, but _SNL_ producer Lorne Michaels, _Clueless_ creator Amy Heckerling, and Paramount Pictures saw something in the late night television institution's recurring "Roxbury Guys" sketch that would presumably make a good feature. Emphasis on the word "presumably." _A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_ takes an already-thin concept and tediously stretches it far beyond the breaking point--and that of viewers' patience levels. The first five minutes or so of _Roxbury_ play very much like one of the original "Roxbury Guys" skits. With "What Is Love?" blaring on the soundtrack, the brotherly duo of Doug and Steve Butabi (Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell) bob their heads, scope out "hotties" at clubs, and then bump a select few with violent pelvic thrusts. There is one crucial difference, however--they guys speak. That little fact has been used as justification for the film's existence, that the Butabis' newfound capacity for speech would open up a whole new set of doors for the characters. The doors opened by director John Fortenberry and screenwriters Steve Koren, Ferrell, and Kattan are new, that's for sure, but they all lead to comic dead ends. There is no story per se, only a loosely structured and linked series of subplots. The brothers literally run into (or, rather, get run into, as in by car) Richard Grieco of _21_Jump_Street_ fame, and through him they gain entrance into the exclusive Roxbury club. There, they meet a hotshot club owner (Chazz Palminteri, conspicuously uncredited--can you blame him?), who takes an interest in an idea of theirs. Meanwhile, the bros' overbearing father (Dan Hedaya) wants them to stop clubbing. When Doug refuses and the dimwitted Steve obeys his father, a rift is created between the two. The narrative messiness of _Roxbury_ would have been forgivable if all that went on were the slightest bit funny, but virtually none of it is. The assembled press audience mostly sat stonily silent throughout the entire film, with the one big exception being a big laugh near the end. Alas, the joke--a rather lazy takeoff on _Jerry_Maguire_--will only strike a chord with people who have seen that film. Granted, a lot of people _have_ seen _Jerry_Maguire_, but the fact that the film's best joke is completely dependent on one's familiarity with another film says a lot about _Roxbury_'s lack of inspiration. That lack of inspiration can be traced back to the insipid characters themselves. Like too many of the skits on the current incarnation of _Saturday_Night_Live_, "The Roxbury Guys" is a one-joke sketch that never once suggests that the characters have enough comic life in them to survive outside of the sketch context. After watching one of the "Roxbury" skits on SNL, this is what you come away with from the characters: they bob their heads to "What Is Love?", bump unsuspecting women, and... that's all. After watching _A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_, you'll be left with exactly the same. IN BRIEF _The_Impostors_ (R) ** 1/2 The sophomore slump has hit actor-screenwriter-director Stanley Tucci with this flat farcical follow-up to his auspicious 1996 filmmaking debut, _Big_Night_ (which he co-helmed with Campbell Scott). Tucci and Oliver Platt play Arthur and Maurice, two starving actors in Depression-era New York who unwittingly stow away onto a Paris-bound oceanliner after being falsely accused of assault by a pompous Shakespearean hack-tor (Alfred Molina). In theory, _The_Impostors_ should come to life when Arthur and Maurice find themselves on the cruise ship (which, of course, has their accuser as one of the passengers). However, that's where the film goes downhill. The film is at its best in the early going, during which the acting-technique-obsessed Arthur and Maurice attempt to con their way to free food; a wordless opening credits sequence harkens back to the best silent comedy, and one hilarious scene in a bakery is, as it turns out, the film's premature highlight. The problem with the shipboard antics is that only a handful of the eccentric array of passengers hold interest. For every inspired character and performance, such as Steve Buscemi's suicidal cabaret singer and Campbell Scott's creepy German steward, there are duds like a faux French con couple (Richard Jenkins and Allison Janney) and a golddigging older woman (Dana Ivey). The terrific timing and rapport between Tucci and Platt keeps _The_Impostors_'s head above water, but just barely. _The_Mighty_ (PG-13) *** 1/2 Young Max Kane's (Elden Henson) life is made forever richer through his friendship with Kevin Dillon (Kieran Culkin), an intelligent boy with a growth defect. Sounds an awful lot like the recently released _Simon_Birch_, and for a while _The_Mighty_, based on Rodman Philbrick's novel _Freak_the_Mighty_, appears to be a more gimmicky version of the same story. In this film, both of the boys are outcasts; like Kevin, Max is also often pestered by bullies, but over his abnormally large size and a learning disability. United as one, with the diminutive Kevin perched atop Max's broad shoulders, the two set forth to do chivalrous deeds in the spirit of the legendary King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Yet as it progresses, the understated _The_Mighty_ makes a more profound emotional impact than the mawkish and manipulative _Simon_Birch_. Instead of relying on maudlin music cues and a barrage of heavy-handed dialogue spelling out how its elfin lead is destined to do great things, driector Peter Chelsom has faith enough in his script (written by Charles Leavitt) and his cast to allow them to strike emotional chords on their own--and the lead actors, in particular, succeed marvelously. Culkin proves to be a much greater talent than his has-been older brother in the showier of the two main roles, but the real discovery is Henson, whose performance is made all the more endearing and heartbreaking by its remarkable warmth and subtlety. A few false notes are hit: a subplot involving the unwelcome return of Max's felon father (James Gandolfini) is a needless distraction, and Sharon Stone and a barely recognizable Gillian Anderson try a bit too hard as, respectively, Kevin's caring mother and an alcoholic whose past is tied to Max's. Ultimately, though, it's _The_Mighty_'s overall of _not_ trying too hard that makes it a genuinely moving film and a likely word-of-mouth hit. (opens October 9) _Slam_ (R) **** Marc Levin's _Slam_ is a powder keg of a movie, exploding with emotional honesty and truth and the exuberant passion of raw young talent. It is an uplifting and exhilarating experience, a powerful work that deservedly won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Newcomer Saul Williams plays Ray Joshua, a talented Washington, D.C. rapper/poet whose dealings in the drug biz land him in jail. There, given the choice of falling into the trap of violence or hone his gift, Ray chooses the latter, and with the help and love of prison writing teacher Lauren Bell (Sonja Sohn), he discovers the transcendent power of his words. The "finding oneself through art" premise isn't entirely original, but what makes _Slam_ such a triumph is the freshness of its voice. The first scene where Ray "slams," with the help of an inmate (Momulu Stewart) in the next cell, is dazzling in its sheer energy and percussive force. "Force" can also be used to describe Williams and Sohn, who are not only talented poets but charismatic screen presences and extraordinary actors. The two are downright electrifying; one highly charged confrontation in which she tries to convince him to own up to his past mistakes packs an overwhelming emotional potency. The same can be said of the entire film, which Williams has called--and rightfully so--"more of a movement than a movie." (opens October 16) _What_Dreams_May_Come_ (PG-13) *** 1/2 _What_Dreams_May_Come_ is, in the most literal sense, a "dream movie," a visionary exercise in the use of dreamlike imagery, which, in turn, helps create a sublime romantic fantasy. The centerpiece of the film is a breathtaking tour of the afterlife, which is taken by one Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) after he dies in a car accident. But while his spirit is in heaven, Chris's soul remains with that of his soulmate, his emotionally fragile wife Annie (Annabella Sciorra), who had never fully recovered from the years-ago deaths, also by car accident, of their two children. _What_Dreams_May_Come_ is nothing short of a visual marvel. Eugenio Zanetti's production design, Eduardo Serra's cinematography, and the spectacular special effects supervised by Ellen M. Somers paint a wildly imaginative vision of the afterlife. This is quite literally the case in the scene where Chris first arrives in Heaven, which manifests itself in the form of one of Annie's paintings. It is perhaps the most visually ambitious scene in a film overflowing with visual invention, with Chris swimming in the still-wet paint and the backdrop remaining as two-dimensional as any canvas. But the film is much more than a showcase for the latest in filmmaking technology. As with his last film, 1993's astonishing _Map_of_the_Human_Heart_, director Vincent Ward taps into the very core of romantic yearning, coming up with an admittedly sappy but no less poignant tale of true, pure love. There are some powerful moments, most notably a scene where Annie, in a fit of anger and grief, attempts to destroy a painting which, unknown to her, Chris and his spiritual guide Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is inside. Of course, moments like those are carried over the top by the efforts of the actors. Williams, as always, is effortlessly likable, and he and Sciorra share a natural, magical chemistry. One has no trouble at all believing that these two are indeed soulmates, and, consequently, has no trouble falling under the film's entrancing spell. IN CURRENT RELEASE (full reviews of the following in past MRs and at the listed URLs) - -_Blade_ (R) *** <MR#156, 8/28/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#blade - -_Clay_Pigeons_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#159, 9/25/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#clay - -_Ever_After_ (PG-13) *** <MR#152, 7/30/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt37.html#everafter - -_54_ (R) * 1/2 <MR#156, 8/28/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#54 - -_How_Stella_Got_Her_Groove_Back_ (R) *** <MR#155, 8/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#stella - -_Lolita_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#151, 7/24/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt37.html#lolita - -_Next_Stop_Wonderland_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#157, 9/6/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#wonderland - -_One_True_Thing_ (R) *** <MR#158, 9/17/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#1truething - -_Pecker_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#153, 8/7/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt37.html#pecker - -_Permanent_Midnight_ (R) ** <MR#158, 9/17/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#midnight - -_Ronin_ (R) ** <MR#158, 9/17/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#ronin - -_Rounders_ (R) *** <MR#157, 9/6/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#rounders - -_Rush_Hour_ (PG-13) ** 1/2 <MR#159, 9/25/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#rush - -_Saving_Private_Ryan_ (R) **** <MR#151, 7/24/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt37.html#ryan - -_Simon_Birch_ (PG) ** 1/2 <MR#157, 9/17/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#simon - -_Six-String_Samurai_ (PG-13) *** <MR#158, 9/17/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#6string - -_Slums_of_Beverly_Hills_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#155, 8/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#slums - -_There's_Something_About_Mary_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#150, 7/10/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt36.html#mary - -_Urban_Legend_ (R) ** <MR#159, 9/25/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#urban - -_Why_Do_Fools_Fall_in_Love_ (R) *** <MR#156, 8/28/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#fools - -_Without_Limits_ (PG-13) *** <MR#156, 8/28/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#limits - -_The_Young_Girls_of_Rochefort_(Les_Demoiselles_de_Rochefort)_ (G) *** <MR#158, 9/17/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#demoiselles - -_Your_Friends_&_Neighbors_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#154, 8/13/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#friends O N T H E H O R I Z O N OPENED FRIDAY, 10/2 _Antz_ (PG) *** 1/2 Full review in MR#159, 9/25/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#antz Smartly written computer-animated insect comedy in which a worker (voice of Woody Allen) falls for a princess (Sharon Stone). Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Lopez, and Danny Glover also provide voices. _Chicago_Cab_ (R) Gillian Anderson, John Cusack, and Julianne Moore are among those who steps in cabbie Paul Dillon's taxi in this adaptation of the play _Hellcab_. _Dee_Snider's_StrangeLand_ (R) Twisted Sister frontman Snider wrote, produced, and stars in this slasher flick in which he himself plays a cyberspace psycho. _The_Impostors_ (R) ** 1/2 <see above review> Stanley Tucci wrote, directed, and stars in this overstuffed Depression-era farce in which he and Oliver Platt play two on-the-run actors who take refuge on a cruise ship. _A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_ (PG-13) 1/2* <see above review> _Saturday_Night_Live_'s head-bobbing party guys (Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell) hit the big screen and fall flat on their faces. _What_Dreams_May_Come_ (PG-13) *** 1/2 <see above review> Entrancing romantic fantasy about a man in heaven (Robin Williams) pining for still-living wife (Annabella Sciorra). Cuba Gooding Jr. also stars for director Vincent Ward. ~~~ =>V I D E O<= N E W T H I S W E E K _Chinese_Box_ (R) ** Full review in MR#134, 3/13/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt30.html#chinesebox Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41037 Cold, uninvolving romance between a dying British journalist (Jeremy Irons) and a Chinese bar owner (Gong Li, in her English language debut), set against the backdrop of the Hong Kong turnover of July 1, 1997. (Trimark Home Video) _The_Object_of_My_Affection_ (R) *** Full review in MR#140, 4/30/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt33.html#affection Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41035 A pregnant woman (Jennifer Aniston) falls for her gay male best friend (Paul Rudd) in this sensitive, touching comedy-drama. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) _The_Spanish_Prisoner_ (PG) *** 1/2 Full review in MR#137, 4/10/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt31.html#prisoner Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41007 David Mamet wrote and directed this sleek, precise puzzle of a mystery thriller, in which an everyman (Campbell Scott) finds himself in the middle of a dizzying web of doublecrosses and deceit. Steve Martin is quite effective as a seemingly helpful stranger. (Columbia TriStar Home Video) _Twilight_ (R) ** Full review in MR#132, 2/27/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt29.html#twilight Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=40958 Boring, predictable mystery in which a beyond-middle-aged ex-gumshoe (Paul Newman) unravels a mystery surrounding his best friends (Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon). (Paramount Home Video) _Two_Girls_and_a_Guy_ (R/NC-17) ** Full review in MR#137, 4/10/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt31.html#2girls Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41042 This tiresome gabfest between two women (Heather Graham and Natasha Gregson Wagner) and the man (Robert Downey Jr.) who has been romancing them simultaneously is neither as bold nor as insightful as writer-director James Toback thinks it is. An NC-17 version, which restores some footage from a rather gratuitous sex scene, is available alongside the R-rated theatrical version. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) A L S O N E W T H I S W E E K _Mrs._Dalloway_ (PG-13) Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=40931 Adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel in which the titular character (Vanessa Redgrave) reminisces about her youth. Natascha McElhone stars as the young Mrs. Dalloway. (BMG Independents) _Paulie_ (PG) Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41040 DreamWorks scored a midsize hit with this family film following a talking parrot (voice of Jay Mohr) who goes on a cross-country journey. (DreamWorks) ~~~ =>T H U R S D A Y<= More reviews, including: - -_Apt_Pupil_ - -_Holy_Man_ 'til then... __________________________________________________________ Michael Dequina Chat Forum Host, The Official Michael Jordan Web Site http://jordan.sportsline.com mj23@michaeljordanfan.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com michael_jordan@geocities.com | mrbrown@iname.com >My personal WWW sites< Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown Michael Jordan Beyond the Court: http://fly.to/michaeljordan A Michael Jordan Fan's Heartbreak: http://fly.to/mj23 Personal Page: http://welcome.to/w3md >Other WWW sites I work on< CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com Albany Online: http://www.AlbanyOnline.com Eyepiece Network: http://www.eyepiece.com "Life is knowing the toughest competition you ever face is yourself." - --Michael Jordan __________________________________________________________ [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 16:33:32 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: THE IMPOSTORS THE IMPOSTORS (Fox Searchlight) Starring: Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt, Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Campbell Scott, Lili Taylor, Steve Buscemi, Hope Davis. Screenplay: Stanley Tucci. Producers: Beth Alexander and Stanley Tucci. Director: Stanley Tucci. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, adult themes, sexual situations) Running Time: 102 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. It has long been one of my most closely-held dramatic axioms that there is no middle ground when it comes to the execution of farce. Either a writer and director get it, or they don't. If they get it, the result is exhilarating comic brilliance. If they don't get it, the result is nearly unendurable. And never, I believed, could the twain meet. Another false dichotomy bites the dust. Writer/director Stanley Tucci's THE IMPOSTORS is old-fashioned farce that floats along amusingly, yet only occasionally hits the high notes that turn chuckles into gut-busters. Tucci and Oliver Platt star as a pair of struggling 1930s actors named Arthur and Maurice who, through a tortuous series of events, end up as inadvertent stowaways on the luxury liner U.S.S. Intercontinental. They've been pursued and accused of assault by egomaniacal thespian Jeremy Burtom (Alfred Molina) -- who also turns out to be a passenger on the ship -- but Burtom becomes the least of their worries. A pair of con artists (Richard Jenkins and Allison Janney) plot to seduce and kill two wealthy passengers, the first mate (Tony Shalhoub) plots to blow up the ship as a political statement, and an ambiguously sexual tennis pro (Billy Connolly) plots to make Maurice his "savage gypsy lover." It's a classic screwball farce set-up, which Tucci cleverly chooses to place in the classic screwball farce era of the 1930s. Opening with a great bit of pantomime accompanying the opening credits, Tucci establishes Arthur and Maurice as protagonists in the mold of the classic silent film comedians -- lovable losers, not above a bit of duplicity if it suits their purposes, yet ultimately heroic (and, in particular, chivalric). The pre-shipboard scenes, though little more than isolated comedy sketches, do a nice job of showing the chemistry between the two. By the time the Intercontinental hits the open sea, Tucci and Platt's starving, utterly sincere artistes have generated plenty of good will. I was ready for THE IMPOSTORS to soar once Arthur and Maurice began dashing from stateroom to stateroom; instead, it levels off at a pleasant cruising altitude. Tucci populates the ship with plenty of goofy characters -- a fascistic head steward (Campbell Scott), a suicidal entertainer incongruously named Happy (Steve Buscemi), a wallflower heiress (Hope Davis), a deposed monarch-in-hiding (Isabella Rossellini) -- clearly intended to make Arthur and Maurice look like the sane ones in a sea of chaos. Yet he doesn't allow these characters to function in scenes that build comic momentum. Tucci's gags are mostly of the hit-and-run variety. While there are a few admittedly hilarious ones, they seem like wasted opportunities to do what great farce does best: have each comic moment draw from the previous comic moment, and lead into the next comic moment, in a hysterically unstoppable domino effect. Those missed opportunities are most evident when Tucci _does_ allow a scene to build momentum. In one brilliantly unpredictable moment, Maurice hides under the bed while foreign radical Shalhoub radios his superiors, the sub-title translations for Shalhoub's dialogue becoming an ever-more-bizarre bit of business. In a later scene, a tracking shot through the ship's dance floor eventually catches Rossellini, who quickly hides her face from the camera. Such fourth wall-breaking captures farce at its anything-for-a-laugh finest. More often, Tucci goes for the gentle touch which worked so well in BIG NIGHT. As frisky and unpretentious a comedy as THE IMPOSTORS is, it traffics in an unnecessarily restrained level of lunacy. Tucci's spin on MONKEY BUSINESS has plenty of funny business, but it doesn't let anarchy reign quite as often as it should. It's that rarest of comedic animals: the merely-good farce. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 farce sides: 7. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's MoviePage http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the MoviePage for details, or reply to this message with subject line "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ End of movies-digest V2 #108 **************************** [ To quit the movies-digest mailing list (big mistake), send the message ] [ "unsubscribe movies-digest" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ]