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movies-digest         Friday, October 16 1998         Volume 02 : Number 116



[MV] Coming Monday, 10.19, to The Flick Filosopher
[MV] Movie News - 10/16/98
[MV] The Movie Report#162, 10/16/98

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 16 Oct 1998 16:37:02 -0000
From: The Flick Filosopher's Coming Attractions <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Coming Monday, 10.19, to The Flick Filosopher

The Flick Filosopher's Coming Attractions - http://www.flickfilosopher.com/flickfilos

Ah, the thrill of the chase. An intricate game of cat-and-mouse. Passing
the hot potato. One potato, two potato, three potato, four...

Er, anyway, this week I'll run around a twisting maze with two versions of
Button, Button, Who's Got the Button? In *Ronin,* the hot potato is a
weird metallic suitcase containing... what? A nuclear weapon? Money? Guns?
The same thing that was in the briefcase in *Pulp Fiction*? Speaking of
Tarantino, the too-cool one checks in with *Jackie Brown,* in which a
bunch of crooks go chasing a shopping bag full of small, unmarked bills.


=================
Have you seen The Flick Filosopher t-shirt? Check it out at
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/flickfilos/goodies.html
=================


I'm not going to be anywhere near a computer next week, so I'll actually
be posting Monday's columns on Saturday (tomorrow) morning. And because
I'll be "incomputercado," as it were, there will be no Coming Attractions
mailing next Friday, though there will be two new reviews for you to check
out as usual on Monday, 10.26.

(Okay, okay -- on the 26th, the theme, just in time for Halloween, will be
Signs and Wonders, and I'll be ranting on *Practical Magic* and *Fallen.*)


MaryAnn


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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 14:09:53 -0600 (MDT)
From: The Reporter <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Movie News - 10/16/98

LONDON (Reuters) - James Bond edged out Casablanca Thursday to win
the greatest film quote award from the Guinness Book of Films. The
compilers decided that "Bond - James Bond" as first uttered by Sean
Connery in the 1962 film "Dr. No" was the most memorable quote in the
history of cinema. Humphrey Bogart came a close second with the
immortal line from the 1942 classic "Casablanca" - "Of all the gin
joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Mae
West took third place with her "I'm No Angel" line back in 1932 -
"It's not the men in your life that counts, it's the life in your
men."

                        -=> * <=-

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola hit a major snag
Wednesday on his way to collecting his $80 million jury verdict
against Warner Bros. when the trial judge threw out the punitive
damage award of $60 million but left $20 million in compensatory
damages still standing. In July, an L.A. Superior Court jury awarded
Coppola an unprecedented $80 million in his lawsuit against Warner
Bros. over the ill-fated "Pinocchio" project. A jury found that
Warner Bros., by claiming it had a prior agreement with the director,
had unlawfully interfered with Coppola's attempt to take the project
to Columbia Pictures.

                        -=> * <=-

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's annual Oscar race gets under way
this weekend when "Beloved," the film based on Toni Morrison's
prize-winning novel and starring TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey,
opens across the country. Also an actress and producer, Winfrey
returns to the big screen for the first time since "The Color
Purple," a 1985 film that garnered her an Oscar nomination for best
supporting actress. She has teamed up this time with Academy
Award-winning director Jonathan Demme, whose work includes "The
Silence of the Lambs" and "Philadelphia." The book by Morrison, a
Nobel Prize winner, recounts the life of a runaway slave in Ohio
after the Civil War and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988.

                        -=> * <=-

A Hollywood auction house is putting a racing helmet Tom
Cruise donned in "Days of Thunder" and a football jersey
Cuba Gooding, Jr. wore in "Jerry Maguire" on the block later
this month. Butterfield & Butterfield is also offering
several pages of Elizabeth Taylor's homework -- from when
she was 16 -- as well as one of Charlton Heston's costumes
from "Ben Hur." There's also a lot of Jimmy Stewart stuff --
including a set of golf clubs, several cowboy hats and the
lunch box and thermos he used to carry to work.

                        -=> * <=-

"Titanic" star Kate Winslet, 23, is to marry her boyfriend
(since summer), 24-year-old assistant director Jim
Thrempleton, reveals Friday's Daily Mail. The British paper
quotes Kate as saying: "When you know, you know -- that's
what I've been told my whole life. And now I know. My sister
got married the other weekend, and I'm next." The Mail says
the wedding will take place next year.

                        -=> * <=-

When it comes to sex, age shapes choice, says a survey. Men
in their 20s picked Pamela Anderson, 31, as their fantasy
date, while those in their 30s preferred Sandra Bullock,
also 31 (reportedly), and those in their 40s chose Demi
Moore, 35, according to a poll released Thursday by Playboy
magazine.

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 12:27:17 -0700
From: Michael Dequina <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] The Movie Report#162, 10/16/98

T   H   E
M   O   V   I   E
R   E   P   O   R   T
#162
OCTOBER 16, 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
- -_American_History_X_
- -_Beloved_
- -_Happiness_
- -_Practical_Magic_
- -_Elizabeth_
- -_Holy_Man_
- -_Life_Is_Beautiful_(La_Vita_E_Bella)_
- -_Pleasantville_
V I D E O
- -_Black_Dog_
- -_The_Last_Days_of_Disco_
- -_Major_League:_Back_to_the_Minors_
- -_Quest_for_Camelot_
- -_Tarzan_and_the_Lost_City_
- -_The_X-Files_

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
_American_History_X_ (R) ***
    "A Tony Kaye film."  "Directed by Tony Kaye."  Whether he likes it or not,
after a still-developing war of words (and very expensive trade ads) with
the higher-ups at New Line Cinema and the Directors Guild, the embattled
first-time feature director has his name on the credits of the release cut
of _American_History_X_.  Much has been made of the issues of artistic
integrity and free speech, but precious little has been made of the film
itself--except that, according to Kaye, it no longer reflects his original
vision.  I do not know what exactly Kaye had in mind for his _X_, but the
film I saw, flawed though it may be, definitely works on its own merits.
    The main reason for the film's effectiveness the impassioned work of
Edward Norton.  He stars as Derek Vinyard, a young man who turns to a
racist gang after his firefighter father is murdered.  Head shaven and with
a swastika tattooed to his chest, Derek is hate incarnate, and his rage
leads to the brutal murder of two black men and a prison sentence.  After
three years, Derek emerges from prison a changed man, determined to let go
of a violent life that, of course, won't so easily let go of him.  It's a
formulaic character progression, but Norton's intensity makes it fresh and
involving.  His depth and nuance convincingly meshes his character's two
sides: utterly despicable and chilling as the skinhead Derek and
sympathetic but--crucially--no less edgy, as the post-prison Derek.
    The character of Derek and his personal journey are riveting, but less so
are writer David McKenna's additional narrative touches--namely the focal
relationship between younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong), who idolizes
his brother and appears headed down the same destructive path of hate.
Derek's attempts to steer Danny in the right direction is the central
dramatic issue, but there's no real tension.  Danny is less a character
than a plot device, with no clearly defined personality trait other than
his emulation of his brother, thus there's very little suspense as to
whether or not Danny will change.
    While Kaye has disassociated himself from all aspects of the film, one
other thing his name is attached to aside from the direction is the
cinematography, and he does a stunning job.  The story mostly unfolds in
flashback, with Derek's despicable actions and brutal prison experience
shown in black-and-white--no doubt a visual extension of the race theme.
But the absence of full color also lends the more violent scenes an added
roughness, and, in turn, a heightened sense of reality.
    _American_History_X_ ends on a fairly predictable note, but the resolution
effectively reinforces the film's strong anti-hate, anti-violence message.
Perhaps in Kaye's editing hands the film would have been more well-rounded,
less formulaic, and, as such, more powerful and profound.  Alas, as it
currently stands, the incendiary _X_, for all its faults, still makes a
lasting, thought-provoking impression.  (opens October 30)

_Beloved_ (R) ***
    Jonathan Demme's _Beloved_, based on Toni Morrison's Pulitzer
Prize-winning novel of the same name, is a movie of moments--moments of
raw, lyrical emotional power scattered over a nearly three-hour time
expanse.  While the extended running time does little to dilute the potency
of these isolated moments, it does, however, blunt the dramatic urgency of
the assembled story.  Instead of cutting deep into the heart, _Beloved_
pierces the heart; the film is indeed moving, but lacking the momentum to
make a sweeping emotional impact.
    _Beloved_ is named after a character in the story, a mysterious young
woman (Thandie Newton) who shows up in the yard of Sethe (Oprah Winfrey)
one morning in 1873.  Sethe is a runaway slave trying to provide a decent
living for herself and her daughter Denver (Kimberly Elise) on the
outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio.  With the arrival of old friend Paul D (Danny
Glover) and, later, the childlike Beloved (whom she takes in), Sethe's life
appears to be taking a turn for the better, but the secrets of her tortured
past refuse to rest in peace.
     It is my understanding that the screenplay, credited to Akosua Busia,
Richard LaGravenese, and Adam Brooks, is remarkably faithful to Morrison's
narrative structure.  In theory, fidelity to source material is a good
thing, but it does not completely work here.  Often, watching _Beloved_
feels like reading a book--a good thing if one is indeed reading, but not
necessarily what one is looking for when watching a film.  Although the
basics of Morrison's story and her characters are compelling, not much
really _happens_--at least not enough to sustain the 172-minute running
time.  As such, the memorable moments--and there are quite a number of
powerful ones, particularly some harrowing, hard-to-watch flashbacks of the
young Sethe's (Lisa Gay Hamilton) horrific past--are a bit too widespread
to make an assembled effect.  Any emotional response to any given moment
exists independently of any other.
    Still, I must give Demme and the writers credit for the risks they take.
In duplicating Morrison's timeline-jumping structure, they demand an
inordinant amount of concentration from the viewer, and very few films
present such a fascinating challenge.  And while the structure and stately
pace work against the building of narrative momentum, they create a
haunting--or, rather, _haunted_--atmosphere.  Most of the key action in
_Beloved_ takes place in the past, and the film makes an uncanny
duplication of the seemingly cyclical nature of memories in one's mind,
revealing its secrets little by little, fragment by fragment, leaving
certain events only to retrace and expand on them later.  Granted, this
technique makes a lot of the action hard to follow, sometimes frustratingly
so, but it creates a feeling that is rich and unique.  Also unique is how
Demme isn't afraid to show the grimy nature of life in the time period;
instead of giving everything a shiny Hollywood sheen, the dirt and grit is
always there, on the sets and even the actors.
    Also extending to the cast is this element of risk.  Taking the most
chances is Newton, who delivers a raw, unpredictable performance.  Called
upon to bare body and soul, adopt maladroit body movements and slurred
speech rhythms, she could have easily come off as ridiculously overwrought
and alien, but her soulful eyes consistently project a tempering humanity.
Not to be outdone, of course, is Winfrey.  People forget that before she
became a daytime TV phenomenon, she first made a name of herself as an
Oscar-nominated actress (for _The_Color_Purple_), and her work here is
restrained and, as such, the more emotionally honest; the same goes for
Glover.  But the standout performer is the one who will likely be the most
overlooked--Elise.  She doesn't have a role as literally showy as Newton's,
nor does she have the star power of a Winfrey or Glover, but she
is_Beloved_'s steadying force.  Denver has the most dramatic evolution out
of all the characters (from shut-in to independent woman), yet remains the
most stable; the key is to not play the change as if it were dramatic but
natural.  Elise's performance is so natural that it is easy to forget she
is an actress playing a part.
    _Beloved_ is a wearying film, and that comment should be interpreted in
all the ways it can be.  On the positive side, the filmmakers so
successfully create the intended air of melancholy that it is daunting.
But on the negative end, one cannot help but feel exhausted, emotionally
and physically, after three slow hours.  Similarly, by that time the film
is also exhausted.  I was indeed be moved by _Beloved_, but in the end,
there wasn't enough momentum left to truly sweep me away, as it should have.

_Happiness_ ****
    No other film released this year is likely to cause the storm of
controversy that Todd Solondz's _Happiness_ is most certain to stir.  A
bold, provocative look at some truly miserable lives in American suburbia,
this beyond-black comedy offers some queasily subversive laughs--while at
the same time shocking and, more than likely, offending everyone.  It is a
brave, brilliantly realized piece of work, one that will be debated about
for years to come.
    _Happiness_ follows a broad Altman-esque cast of characters, all of whom
are linked somehow, as they attempt to find happiness--or some reasonable
facsimile thereof.  At the core of this canvas are the three Jordan
sisters: Joy (Jane Adams), Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle), and Trish (Cynthia
Stevenson), daughters of long-unhappily-marrieds Lenny (Ben Gazzara) and
Mona (Louise Lasser).  Down-on-her-luck Joy, miserable after losing
boyfriend Andy (Jon Lovitz), attempts to find fulfillment teaching at a
school for adult refugees, where she meets Vlad (Jared Harris), a shady but
alluring Russian.  Sophisticated Helen is a successful writer, but she
yearns for raw emotional authenticity, which she attempts to find through a
twisted pas de deux with an obscene phone caller--whom she doesn't know is
her slobby but completely innocuous neighbor Allen (Phillip Seymour
Hoffman), who, in turn, is quietly pursued by his other, far less glam
neighbor, Kristina (Camryn Manheim).  Trish, married with three children,
appears to be the one sister who has her life together.  Little does she
know that she doesn't.  Her shrink husband Bill (Dylan Baker) has a problem
suppressing certain sexual impulses... involving prepubescent boys.
    The pedophilia subplot is certain to be _Happiness_'s most controversial,
but not because the issue is taken lightly; in fact, it is the only story
in the film that is _not_ played for laughs.  What makes the topic even
more disturbing to viewers (myself included) is the brutal honesty with
which it is handled.  Bill is certainly a monster, but Solondz and Baker
refuse to let the viewer off the hook, infusing the character with genuine
humanity.  The rub is, Bill knows and admits that he's a monster--it's just
that he cannot control his urges.  His problem culminates in a
heartbreaking and, at the same time, highly upsetting scene where he comes
clean, with blunt frankness, about his actions to his son Billy (Rufus Read).
    This gravely serious subplot may seem out of place in a film that is a
comedy (albeit one that is seriously warped), but its inclusion is
justified.  Sick as he is, Bill is the only character who actually finds
"happiness" during the film, freely indulging in his taboo desires.
Everyone else fails to come close, and while their misery can be and often
is laughed at, the pain is real.  The sight of dumpy Allen calling random
women in the phone book in hopes of getting off is funny, but his
loneliness is genuinely sad; the same is the case with Kristina, who is
often shrugged off with a giggle as a pathetic loser.  Joy tries to do her
best to do good, but her often comical failures are failures nonetheless,
much like how Helen's ridiculous desperation, is, in the end, desperation.
    Solondz described his film as being about "how people always struggle to
make a connection."  Everyone in _Happiness_ is searching for some type of
connection, but, in fact, they are already connected with everyone
else--through their collective isolation.  The issue, then, is not
connection with others, but connection with themselves.  Bill comes to know
who and what he is, and for one brief moment, he is happy.  By the end of
the film, one wonders if everyone else--or oneself--will ever be able to
follow suit.

_Practical_Magic_ (PG-13) **
    Akiva Goldsman.  If those two words don't strike fear in the hearts of
moviegoers everywhere, I don't know what will.  The _Lost_in_Space_ and
_Batman_&_Robin_ scribe is true to sloppy form with _Practical_Magic_, a
muddled melange of genres that fails to come up with a distinct identity.
    Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play Sally and Gillian Owens,
respectively, sisters who carry on the family tradition of witchcraft.
Slutty Gillian loves to use her powers, especially to lure men, while the
reluctant but more powerful witch Sally yearns for a normal life--and a
true love that, according to an apparent curse on all Owens women, can
never come.
    After the basic setup, _Practical_Magic_ heads in a number of divergent
directions.  The film is being sold as a whimsical lark, and at times the
film is light and agreeable fluff, especially when Sally and Gillian's
proud witch aunts Jet (Dianne Wiest) and Frances (Stockard Channing) are
onscreen.  But then there are the sober sister bonding scenes, where Sally
and Gillian, generally teary-eyed, profess their love for and devotion to
each other.  Then there's a taste of macabre comedy, where the sisters find
themselves disposing of the body of a man whose death they accidentally
caused.  This sets the stage for a romantic subplot between Sally and the
police officer (Aidan Quinn) investigating the man's death.  Lest we forget
this is a movie about witches, events take a turn toward straight horror,
with an evil spirit threatening the life of Gillian and everyone and
everything around her.
    The all-encompassing scope of _Practical_Magic_ would not be a problem if
these elements blended into a convincing whole; _Ghost_ proved that it is
not an impossible task.  But the reason why that film was able to
successfully cover a number of bases was that, for all its genre-hopping,
it had a clearly defined central concern: the undying love between the two
main characters.  Goldsman, co-scripters Robin Swicord and Adam Brooks
(adapting Alice Hoffman's novel), and director Griffin Dunne don't appear
to have a central concern other than to try to make the film as many things
as possible to all people.  As the film jumps from place to place, so does
one's idea of what the film is exactly about.  Witchcraft?  Sally's search
for love?  Sally and Gillian's relationship?  The evil spirit?  The Owens
women's "curse"?  Anyone's guess is as good as mine.
    If the makers of _Practical_Magic_ had kept things simple, it could have
been an amusing little popcorn flick.  As in all her films, Bullock is
instantly likable, and Kidman is fun as the wild witch.  That said, the two
have little sisterly chemistry, which brings to mind a direction the film
could have taken: the comical feud between two rival sister witches, one
reckless, the other reluctant but more powerful.  OK, maybe that's not such
a great idea.  But at least it's a clear direction, something the unfocused
_Practical_Magic_ is in constant search of.

IN BRIEF

_Elizabeth_ (R) *** 1/2
    In 1558, the young, naive Princess Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) is
proclaimed Queen of England after the death of her devoutly Catholic
half-sister, Queen Mary I (Kathy Burke).  Being Protestant and illegitimate
(she was borne of an extramarital affair by King Henry VIII), Elizabeth
arrives on the throne with a fair share of enemies within her country as
well as abroad.  As forces ranging from French queen Mary of Guise (Fanny
Ardant) and the Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston) plot against her,
Elizabeth takes a stand with the help and guidance of ever-loyal Master of
Spies Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush).
    Anyone expecting a typically stately, in manner and in pace, British
historical drama will be jolted by Shekhar Kapur's stylish and fast-paced
"historical thriller," in which Queen Elizabeth I's rise to the throne and
resulting loss of innocence plays not unlike that of--yes--Michael
Corleone's in _The_Godfather_.  Michael Hirst's screenplay does not offer
any true insight into what made Elizabeth tick, Blanchett's effortlessly
commanding Queen is no less a fascinating character.  Blanchett is just one
of a uniformly excellent cast, which also includes Joseph Fiennes as
Elizabeth's love interest, Lord Robert Dudley.   Even if I did not
particularly learn anything from it, I was completely engrossed by
_Elizabeth_, which not only makes the traditionally stuffy and aloof
British costume drama accessible, but entertaining and exciting as well.
(opens November 6)

_Holy_Man_ (PG) * 1/2
    Who knew that in 16 years Eddie Murphy, who made such a brash, raucous
big-screen splash in _48_Hrs._, would become... cuddly.  The disconcerting
trend begun in this summer's cutesy, largely laugh-free _Doctor_Dolittle_
continues with this earnest-to-a-fault dramedy.
    Although he is top-billed, here Murphy is merely support for Jeff
Goldblum, who plays Ricky Hayman, the programming director at a home
shopping network.  Sales are way down, and Ricky's job hangs by a thread
until he meets G (Murphy), a mysterious spiritual guru whom a desperate
Ricky puts on the air.  While sales skyrocket and G becomes an overnight
sensation, the reinvigorated Ricky's greed grows, endangering his budding
romance with a goodhearted media research consultant (Kelly Preston).
    Writer Tom Schulman has some promising ideas, satirizing home shopping and
infomercials and the nature of instant celebrity.  But these ideas would
have more bite if Stephen Herek had invested any energy into the direction
of the film.  The sluggishly paced _Holy_Man_ is not only slow and overlong
(113 minutes), but an unfunny bore, and Murphy can do little to juice up
the proceedings; cleansed of both the attitude _and_ comic sensibility that
made him a star (G is, for the most part, a straight man), he is a
curiously lifeless presence.  Goldblum is actually quite good, but it's
hard for the audience to sustain much interest in his character and
spiritual journey when the director doesn't seem to be much interested,
either.

_Life_Is_Beautiful_(La_Vita_E_Bella)_ (PG-13) ****
    It would seem impossible to make a "Holocaust comedy," but Roberto Benigni
has not only made one, he has made a terrific one.  A national treasure in
his native Italy, Benigni co-wrote (with Vincenzo Cerami), directed, and
stars in the funny, poignant tale of Guido (Benigni), a Jewish bookstore
owner in fascist WWII Italy whose "beautiful" existence with wife Dora
(Nicoletta Braschi) and son Joshua (Giorgio Cantarini) is disrupted when
the entire family is sent to a concentration camp.  Although he is equally
terrified by harsh camp life tas anyone else, Guido is nonetheless
determined to shield his son from the truth of their horrific reality,
coming up with an elaborate, if desperate, cover story to convince Joshua
that everything is fine.
    And that's how Benigni is able to maintain what would seem an improbable
balance: the film wins hearty, heartfelt laughs through Guido's creative
lies while never once downplaying the inhumane horror of the concentration
camp situation.  While one may often laugh at Guido's ruse, each laugh
comes with the lingering threat of death, which Benigni vividly yet fairly
subtly depicts (people being called for "showers," a brief glimpse of
charred bodies).  _La_Vita_E_Bella_'s lasting impression is not made by its
laughs or sense of reality, but its huge heart.  Strip away the harrowing
Holocaust setting, and Benigni's story is a simple, timeless, uplifting
tale of the ways (in this case, through laughter) love can bring out the
unlikely, but no less brave, hero in any man.  (opens October 23)

_Pleasantville_ (PG-13) *** 1/2
    Thanks to a magical remote control, '90s fraternal twin siblings David
(Tobey Maguire) and Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) get sucked into the
wholesome, black-and-white, 1950s TV sitcom world of Pleasantville.  It's a
gimmicky premise, one that would appear to set the stage for a
too-cute-for-its-own-good film.  But writer-director Gary Ross uses the
gimmick as the springboard for a wildly clever fable of self-discovery in
which the two teens' contemporary sensibilities break the citizens of
Pleasantville from their antiquated bonds of repression.  Spiritual
awakening is not without its side effects, most visibly being a
part-by-part transformation from drab duotones to vibrant
Technicolor--which leads to a sly (and most unexpected) satire of racial
politics.
    The beauty of _Pleasantville_ is while it tackles some issues that are
high-minded, the film itself is not.  Ross has his cake and eats it too,
being socially relevant without being preachy, never once forgetting the
film's duty to the audience is to entertain--and that it does.  The script
is as funny as it is wholly original, and it is filled with memorable
characters, such as the seemingly happy marrieds George (William H. Macy)
and Betty Parker (Joan Allen) and timid malt shop owner Mr. Johnson (Jeff
Daniels).  If the script has a shortcoming, it is that the arcs of the two
main characters, '50s-loving David and wild '90s girl Jennifer, are rather
predictable.  The one element of _Pleasantville_ that is perhaps attracting
the most attention is the special effects wizardry used to mix black and
white with color; while the resulting visuals are stunning, what makes the
effects work all the more impressive is how they are used to support story
ideas rather than to serve as gratuitous eye candy.  (opens October 23)

I N  C U R R E N T  R E L E A S E
(full reviews of the following in past MRs and at the listed URLs)

- -_Antz_ (PG) *** 1/2 <MR#159, 9/25/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#antz
- -_Clay_Pigeons_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#159, 9/25/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#clay
- -_The_Impostors_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#160, 10/5/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#impostors
- -_Lolita_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#151, 7/24/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt37.html#lolita
- -_The_Mighty_ (PG-13) *** 1/2 <MR#160, 10/5/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#mighty
- -_Next_Stop_Wonderland_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#157, 9/6/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#wonderland
- -_A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_ (PG-13) 1/2* <MR#160, 10/5/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#roxbury
- -_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
- -_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
- -_What_Dreams_May_Come_ (PG-13) *** 1/2 <MR#160, 10/5/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#dreams
- -_Without_Limits_ (PG-13) *** <MR#156, 8/28/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#limits
- -_Your_Friends_&_Neighbors_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#154, 8/13/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt38.html#friends

F U T U R E  F I L M S

- -_Apt_Pupil_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#161, 10/8/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#pupil
   (October 23)
- -_Slam_ (R) ****  <MR#160, 10/5/98>
  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#slam
   (October 21)

O N  T H E  H O R I Z O N
FRIDAY

_Beloved_ (R) *** <see above review>
    Moving, if fragmented (sometimes frustratingly so), adaptation of Toni
Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, in which a former slave (Oprah
Winfrey) is haunted by her past.  Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, and
Kimberly Elise also turn in fabulous performances for director Jonathan Demme.

_The_Celebration_ (R)
    Danish drama in which a family birthday party becomes a miserable affair
of accusations and confrontations.

_Bride_of_Chucky_ (R)
    "Chucky gets lucky" in this fourth installment of the killer doll series.
What is Ronny Yu, director of the Hong Kong action/fantasy classic
_The_Bride_with_White_Hair_, doing at the helm of this one?

_Hands_on_a_Hard_Body_ (PG)
    How far will people go to win a Nissan Hardbody truck?  This Matthew
McConaughey-produced documentary follows a sleep-deprivation contest where
the winner receives said motor vehicle.

_Happiness_ **** <see above review>
    Todd Solondz's bold, subversive, and often queasily funny look at the
miserable lives of a linked cross-section of suburban residents.  Jane
Adams, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Louise Lasser, Camryn Manheim, and Cynthia Stevenson head the ensemble.

_Practical_Magic_ (PG-13) ** <see above review>
    Messy melange of horror, fantasy, comedy, drama, and romance, starring
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as two witch sisters.

_Reach_the_Rock_ (R) * 1/2
Full review in MR#161, 10/8/98; and at:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#rock
    John Hughes wrote this well-acted but dramatically empty drama about a
troubled youth (Alessandro Nivola) "at a crossroads in life."  William
Sadler and Brooke Langton also star for director William Ryan.

_Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer:_The_Movie_ (G)
    New animated feature telling the story of the high-flying reindeer with
the shiny nose.  John Goodman and Whoopi Goldberg head the voice cast.


~~~

=>V I D E O<=
N E W  T H I S  W E E K

_Black_Dog_ (R) *
Full review in MR#141, 5/7/98; and at:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt33.html#blackdog
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41152
    Patrick Swayze's career continued its freefall with this brain-dead,
video-game style actioner in which he plays a disgraced former trucker
coerced into one last, lucrative driving gig.  (Universal Studios Home Video)

_The_Last_Days_of_Disco_ (R) ***
Full review in MR#145, 6/4/98; and at:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt35.html#disco
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41420
    The latest gabfest from writer-director Whit Stillman was this
entertaining, wittily written comedy focusing on a group of club-hopping
preppies at the end of the glitter-ball era.  Chloe Sevigny and Kate
Beckinsale star.  (PolyGram Video)

_Major_League:_Back_to_the_Minors_ (PG-13) no stars
Full review in MR#139, 4/23/98; and at:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt32.html#ml3
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41029
    The third time was not the charm for this genuinely laugh-free third entry
in the baseball series, with Scott Bakula as an aging, washed-up pitcher
leading his minor league club in a game against a big-league team. (Warner
Home Video)

_Quest_for_Camelot_ (G) **
Full review in MR#142, 5/14/98; and at:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt34.html#quest
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41348
    Part two of Warner Bros. flop week at the video store is the studio's
embarrassingly half-hearted attempt to start an animation franchise.  This
vapid tale focuses on a young girl (spoken by Jessalyn Gilsig, sung by
Andrea Corr) who dreams of becoming a knight of King Arthur's legendary
Round Table.  Forgettable songs and memorably mediocre animation adds up to
a sub-Saturday-morning-level affair.  (Warner Home Video)

_Tarzan_and_the_Lost_City_ (PG) no stars
Full review in MR#140, 4/30/98; and at:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt33.html#tarzan
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41076
    Warner Bros. flop week concludes with this dreadfully boring and often
laughable "new generation" take on the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs
character, which is a shoo-in for the year's worst list.
_Starship_Troopers_ himbo Casper Van Dien is the vine-swinging king of the
jungle; Jane March, whose only noticeable "talent" has been her willingness
to bare all, mercifully keeps her clothes on as his Jane.  (Warner Home Video)

_The_X-Files_ (PG-13) *** 1/2
Full review in MR#147, 6/17/98; and at:
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt35.html#x
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41647
    Paranormal-investigating FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana
Scully (Gillian Anderson) successfully brought their TV act to the big
screen in this tense, inordinately intelligent and complex sci-fi thriller
that unravels the series' vast alien conspiracy.  Sort of.  Available in
both widescreen and pan-and-scan formats.  (20th Century Fox Home
Entertainment)

A L S O  N E W  T H I S  W E E K

_The_Big_One_ (PG-13)
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41018
    Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore once again takes on American corporate
bigwigs, this time while on a book tour.  (Miramax Home Entertainment)

_Dancer,_Texas_Pop._81_ (PG)
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41120
    Four high-school graduates wonder whether or not they should leave their
hometown in this small-scale drama.  Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, Eddie
Mills, and Ethan Embry star.  (Columbia TriStar Home Video)

_I_Got_the_Hook-Up_ (R)
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41452
    Two hustlers (Master P and A.J. Johnson) sell stolen cell phones in the
'hood in this comedy.  (Dimension Home Video)

_In_God's_Hands_ (PG-13)
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41123
    Self-proclaimed "king of erotic filmmaking" Zalman King abandons his
typically titillating tricks of the trade for this drama about a surfer
(Shane Dorian) determined to ride a 40-foot wave.  (Columbia TriStar Home
Video)

_Neil_Simon's_The_Odd_Couple_II_ (PG-13)
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41019
    Felix (Jack Lemmon) and Oscar (Walter Matthau) hit the road for their
respective daughter and son's wedding in this much-maligned sequel to the
1967 film that inspired the Jack Klugman-Tony Randall TV series.
(Paramount Home Video)

_Suicide_Kings_ (R)
Rent or buy at Reel.com:
http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as
p?MMID=41041
    A gangster (Christopher Walken) is held hostage by a group of young men
(Sean Patrick Flanery, Johnny Galecki, Jay Mohr, Jeremy Sisto, and Henry
Thomas) in this crime thriller.  (Artisan Entertainment)


~~~

=>N E X T  W E E K<=

More reviews, including:
- -_Soldier_

'til then...

__________________________________________________________

Michael Dequina
Chat Forum Host, The Official Michael Jordan Web Site
http://jordan.sportsline.com

[e-mail]  |  [e-mail]
[e-mail]  |  [e-mail]

>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
__________________________________________________________

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