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movies-digest       Wednesday, November 4 1998       Volume 02 : Number 125



[MV] Film Threat Weekly : 11-2-98 :  Take 45
[MV] Old movie question -Reply
[MV] other lists
Re: [MV] Old movie question -Reply
[MV] The Crow
[MV] Desert Movies
Re: [MV] Desert Movies
Re: [MV] Desert Movies
RE: [MV] Desert Movies
[MV] Movie News - 11/02/98
[MV] REVIEW: VELVET GOLDMINE
[MV] Movie News - 11/03/98
[MV] Re: The Hitcher
Re: [MV] What about funny <hard to find> movies? -Reply
Re: [MV] a HUGE favor...
[MV] A plethora of reviews

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

Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 20:05:53 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: [MV] Film Threat Weekly : 11-2-98 :  Take 45

FILM THREAT WEEKLY
"Hollywood's Indie Voice of the New Millennium"
=============================
Take 45 : November 2nd, 1998
=============================
http://www.filmthreat.com
=============================

"Plastics."
- - Walter Brooks pointing the way of the future to Dustin Hoffman in "The
Graduate"

<===========Deluxe======Widescreen======Edition ===========>

THIS WEEK   "Right here, right now."
===========================================
ùù> NEWS: Where objectivity is strangely absent.
ùù> BOXOFFICE CHART: Who's number one at the boxoffice?
ùù> PICKS OF THE WEEK: A load of plugs.
ùù> BIG SCREEN: Life is Beautiful, Vampires, more...
ùù> Film Threat Presents...  THE VOW OF QUALITY


SUBSCRIBE   "Unless you already did."
===========================================
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CLASSIFIEDS   "If you advertise, they will come."
===========================================
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mail [e-mail].

NO DANCE FILM FESTIVAL
The NO DANCE Film & Multimedia Festival is accepting entries for its 2nd
annual alternative D.I.Y. festival in Park City, Utah January 1999.  Seeking
features, docs, shorts, screenplays, and music videos.  Screenings on DVD, VHS
and internet streaming.  Awards, prizes and parties.  Deadline November 20th,
1998.  Check web site (http://www.6161.com) for application, or send SASE to:
NO DANCE Film & Multimedia Festival, 703 Pier Avenue #675, Hermosa Beach, CA
90254
http://www.6161.com

FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT VIDEO MORATORIUM!
Nine Truffaut's films will not be available after October 31: CONFIDENTIALLY
YOURS; THE 400 BLOWS; JULES AND JIM; THE LAST METRO; LOVE ON THE RUN; SHOOT
THE PIANO PLAYER; THE SOFT SKIN; TWO ENGLISH GIRLS; THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR. We
put a "hold" on copies. If interested, order before 11/9. $32.98 each, but
Film Threat Weekly subscribers receive a $3.00 discount per if you type 'FTW"
into our "discount code."
http://www.atomic-hollywood.com

WORLDFEST-FLAGSTAFF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
This annual Independent film festival, now held in the High Country of
Flagstaff, Arizona on November 13-22, 1998 offers premieres of new independent
and international features, shorts, documentaries, and video. Screenings are
held in a three-screen Dolby theatre, and a select program of only 35-40 new
features and 60 shorts are premiered, with directors in attendance. In
addition, on the NAU campus (Northern Ariz Univ) there are video and 16mm
screenings, all open at no charge! WorldFest screens only Independent Films,
and NO major studio films are accepted.  Series VIP Passes start at just $100,
singles start at free, then $4 and $5.50 per film!  E-mail: [e-mail]
http://www.worldfest.org


WIN A FILM THREAT VIDEO!   "Sign up a friend!"
===========================================
Each week we'll be giving away a special collectible Film Threat Party Video
to readers who forward Film Threat Weekly to their friends! (And you know in
Hollywood, "friends" is a loose term, so that means just about anybody!!!)
You could WIN, too!  The more e-mail addresses you send, the more your chances
to win.  Sign up your whole family, or your whole company!  Start forwarding
FTW to your pals or send us their e-mail address and we'll send them a weekly
fix of Film Threat.  That's not a threat, it's a promise.


THE NEWS   "Filtered and manipulated.  Just like the real news."
===========================================
Look for updates this week at Film Threat Online in the Dailies section at:
http://www.filmthreat.com/Dailies-Today.htm


BOXOFFICE CHART   "Hollywood's Horse Race... and they're off!"
===========================================
Weekend of October 30-November 1, Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.

1/New JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES $9.2
2/    1 PLEASANTVILLE $6.6/$18.0
3/    2 PRACTICAL MAGIC $5.2/$33.5
4/    3 ANTZ $4.1/$67.4
5/    4 BRIDE OF CHUCKY $4.0/$26.8
6/    6 RUSH HOUR $3.4/$122.1
7/    5 SOLDIER $2.6/$11.0
7/    7 BELOVED $2.6/$18.7
9/    8 WHAT DREAMS MAY COME $2.4/$50.7
10/  9 APT PUPIL $1.7/$6.5
- -/New AMERICAN HISTORY X $.148 [17 screens]
- -/New LIVING OUT LOUD $.143 [8 screens]


PICKS OF THE WEEK   "Stuff we wanna plug."
===========================================
INDIE MOVIE THEATER DATABASE:
Considering self-distribution for your film?  Want to know where to see indie
films in your area?  Check out this amazing database of theaters in the U.S.
that show indie movies.  This site is THE source for people to find out where
to see indie movies.  They are also seeking submissions, so visit these guys
and help them complete this useful project.
http://www.dto.net/indieview/

WEB SITE:
Avid lovers of classic tv and movies now have a place on the web they can call
their own.  Offbeattv.com is an internet tv station with quirky tv and movies.
That's weird!
http://www.offbeattv.com

E-MAIL NEWSLETTER FOR FILMMAKERS:
The DV Filmmaker's Report seeks to aid filmmakers in creating high quality DV
originated and edited shorts, feature films, and documentaries.  Los Angeles
based filmmaker Maxie D. Collier has introduced his new bi-weekly e-mail
newsletter, The DV Filmmaker's Report. "The DV Filmmaker's Report is for
people who are ready to use this incredible technology to economically tell
their storiesà that's my focus-- technology and storytelling, " says Collier.
The DV Filmmaker's Report will concentrate on specific aspects of DV hardware,
software, services, and production techniques, specifically from a filmmaker's
perspective. The content will include current news of trends and emerging
technology that will benefit DV filmmakers.
     The debut issue introduces DV filmmaking, then delves deeply into the
planning and resources required to successfully launch a DV film
project. Readers are provided with practical information, equipment
checklists, and contact information for key vendors and suppliers.
     "There's a lot of discussion online about DV versus film but these
resources are for people who recognize the viability of DV as a filmmaking
tool and are now ready to make the most of it."
[e-mail]
http://members.xoom.com/dvfilmmaker

SCREENPLAY CONTEST:
The Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema is pleased to announce the seventh
annual "Set In Philadelphia" Screenwriting Competition. The competition is
open to all screenwriters nationwide. All genres of screenplays are eligible
and will be judged on their overall quality and the extent to which they tell
a "genuine Philadelphia story." Screenplays should capture the spirit,
characters and/or locations of the region.
     The winning screenwriter will be awarded $5,000 in prize money, a
professionally-cast live script readings of their screenplay at the Nuyorican
Poets' Caf  in Manhattan's Lower East Side, and also one at The Lab at Mike
Lemon Casting in Philadelphia. There will also be a special prize of $1,000,
the Irene I. Parisi Award, awarded to an outstanding writer under 30.
Deadline for entries is January 26, 1999.  E-mail: [e-mail].  Get the
full details on the site.
http://www.libertynet.org/pfwc/sip

DVD:
It's Hammer time!  Terence Fisher's "Dracula: The Prince of Darkness" features
Christopher Lee as the caped one in this sexy blood-sucking flick.  This
Dracula outing involves the vampire's ashes revived by fresh blood.  Dracula
(Lee), quickly chomps on an innocent vacationing couple.  Another couple
escapes, taking refuge in a monastery run by an ass-kicking Priest.  The rest
of the movie deals with the Count's attempts to drink their blood.  Dracula's
demise, in this now-classic scene, is by holy water in a cool, effects-laden
death.  "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" is available on DVD from Anchor Bay
Entertainment.  The disc contains a widescreen transfer, audio commentary from
Christopher Lee, trailers, plus behind-the-scenes home movies and more.  Get a
great deal on "Dracula" and other horror flicks from DVD EXPRESS' cool
Shocktober promotion.  Tell 'em Film Threat sent you.
http://www.dvdexpress.com


BIG SCREEN   "Coming Soon to a Theater Near You"
===========================================
From five stars "Perfect! * * * * *" to one star "Crap! *" here's the lowdown.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (PG-13)
(La Vita Θ Bella)
* * * * *
(http://www.miramax.com)
Benito Benigni has created a modern classic.  "Life is Beautiful" is
"Shindler's List" meets Charlie Chaplin by way of the Three Stooges.
Audiences will be laughing hysterically while crying their eyes out.
     Set in pre-World War II Italy, Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a happy go
lucky Jewish gentleman who simply wishes to open a bookstore when he meets the
woman of his dreams -- an exquisite Italian lady named Dora, played by real-
life wife Nicoletta Braschi.  The film begins innocently, like a standard
romantic comedy with plenty of physical humor courtesy of Benigni.  Guido
charms Dora and through a series of hilarious coincidences, she is convinced
that they are meant to be together.  They marry and we see them five years
later, now with a young boy.  The boy, Ferruccio, is cute, cuddly and avoids
taking a bath like any five year-old would.
     The screwball comedy antics take a jarring turn when, on the boy's
birthday, both father and son are taken away to a concentration camp.  Dora is
so distraught she joins them, in a separate train car, on the grueling journey
to the camp.  Guido loves his son so much, in order to shield him from the
horrors of the camp, he lies to him, convincing the boy that this is just a
big game and the winner gets to go home in their own tank.
     In one of the funniest scenes, Guido volunteers to translate German and
explain the rules of the camp to the new arrivals.  With his son watching,
Guido mimics the Nazi soldier and offers a completely different explanation of
the rules, making the concentration camp seem like fun!  Little Ferrucci's
aversion to taking a bath is a Godsend when all of the children in the camp
are eliminated in the gas chamber by the Nazis.  The stakes are raised as
Guido must cleverly hide his son while continuing to convince him that this is
all the most fun they've ever had.  The evils of the Holocaust are not hidden
however, and Guido must find a way to save his family before it is too late.
     It's touching, funny and one of the best films of the year.
- - Chris Gore

VAMPIRES (R)
* *
(http://www.spe.sony.com/movies/vampires/)
Scare master, John Carpenter ("Halloween" and "The Thing"), retools the "Wild
Bunch" as a supernatural, vampire versus mortal, showdown. James Woods is
magnetic as the mercurial vamp slayer in the service of the Catholic church --
though he's no alter boy. In the rolling, Western-like hills of California,
Woods tackles the mother of all bloodsuckers (Thomas Ian Griffith basically as
Count Dracula with a rescripted mythos) who's out to find the coveted artifact
that will enable him to walk in the sunlight without becoming a "crispy
critter." There's plenty of gore and swanky babes (Sheryl Lee filling the Lucy
role) in slinky outfits, but the languorous plot is a bore.  Carpenter
oscillates between high horror and lowbrow camp, which is more unsettling than
the scenes of decapitation and dismemberment, and drives a steak through the
heart of Woods' fine performance in the process. - Tom Meek

DANCING AT LUGHNASA (PG)
* * *
(http://www.spe.sony.com/classics/dancingatlughnasa/index.html)
Based on the play by Brian Friel, this is the story of the defining summer of
Michael Mundy (Darrell Johnston).  In Donegal, Ireland in 1936, Michael,
illegitimate, lived with his mother, Christina (Catherine McCormack) and her
four spirited, spinster sisters.  Poor, but proud and self-sufficient, the
Mundy clan were happy until they got some men in their lives.  Hilarity
Ensues.
   Luckily, this is the story of the sisters, not the coming of age story of
an 8 year old.  There's also a bit more going on thematically.  The Catholic
Church permeates and dominates all aspects of life in this tiny Irish town.
Christina is looked down upon for her child born out of wedlock.  Sister Kate
(an always excellent Meryl Streep) is a "righteous bitch" of a school teacher
and the primary breadwinner of the family who feels the brunt of
responsibility.  Sister Rose (Sophie Thompson) is "simple" and cannot
completely care for herself, and sisters Maggie and Agnes (Kathy Burke and
Brid Brennan) care for the rundown house and knit gloves to help make ends
meet.  All the women dote upon Michael.
   Then the men show up.  First is their brother, Father Jack (Michael
Gambon), who's spent the last 25 years in Africa, purportedly to give the
White man's religion to the natives.  Jack is old and sick, and doesn't appear
to quite mentally together.  Second is Michael's father, Gerry Evans (Rhys
Ifans).  Gerry has come to spend time with the family before running off to
Spain to fight Franco.  He loves both Christina and Michael, but has a slight
problem with responsibility.  Kate makes him sleep in the barn.  The
disruption to the sisters' lives is quite permanent.
   What's the point to all this?  Basically we witness the various aspects of
oppression inflicted by a male dominated Catholic society upon women.  This
culture has little use for unmarried women over 30.  The ascribed role for
them was mother and wife.  All of the sisters were past the age of courtship
except for Christina, who is disgraced in the eyes of the church for having a
"love" child.
   It was a great source of pride to the women that they had a priest for a
brother doing missionary work in Africa.  However, Father Jack kind of went
native down there and reveled in the joy, love, and pagan dance rituals of the
culture, similar to the one Ireland itself once had before the people's pagan
beliefs were likewise converted.  Jack was sent home not because of illness
but as punishment.  Kate is soon fired from her position as additional
retaliation for Jack's perceived failures.  Listening the radio, Jack asks
Kate to dance, an act she likes to heresy from a priest.
   The title refers to a pagan ritual of the area, still celebrated.  Dancing
is an act of celebration and release, barely tolerated by the church who view
it as a threat.  The church fails and punishes the fail repeatedly.  Their
strength lies in their love and support of each other.  They are never more
united than in the moments where they are dancing together, an act to
demonstrate their love.  This could have been the art film "Footloose".  I
guess we're better off that it's not. - Ron Wells

THE CELEBRATION (R)
* * * *
(http://www.octoberfilms.com/thecelebration/)
Another week, another film about pedophilia.   Danish filmmaker Thomas
Vinterberg reveals us the tale of Helge Klingenfeldt, the patriarch and owner
of a resort in the country.  On his 60th birthday, a celebration is to take
place, gathering all of the family including Helge's wayward children.  His
daughter's ghost, who killed herself in the hotel two months before, presides
over the event as her surviving twin brother prepares to reveal the family's
darkest secrets.  Hilarity ensues.
     Now this may sound like just another foreign art film.  As such, it's a
pretty damn good one.  The hook here is in the director's approach to the
material. Vinterberg, along with director Lars Von Trier ("The Kingdom",
"Breaking the Waves") and two other Danish filmmakers sat down in 1995 to form
a movement called, "Dogma '95".  The purpose was, "a rescue operation to
counter certain tendencies in film today.  Dogma 95 opposes the auteur
concept, make-up illusions and dramaturgical predictability.  Dogma 95 desires
to purge film so that once again the inner lives of the characters justify the
plot."  In addition, Vinterberg and Von Trier wrote the movement's "Vow of
Chastity", a set of rules to guide a director away from convention and
artistic hubris.  To subscribe to Dogma '95 a person agrees to the following:

DOGMA '95: THE VOW OF CHASTITY
I swear to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by
Dogma 95:

1.  Shooting must be done on location.  Props and sets must not be brought in.
(If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen
where this prop is to be found.)

2.  The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa.
(Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.)

3.  The camera must be hand-held.  Any movement or immobility attainable in
the shooting must take place where the film takes place.)

4.  The film must be in color.  Special lighting is not acceptable.  (If there
is too little light for exposure, the scene must be cut or a single lamp be
attached to the camera.)

5.  Optical work and filters are forbidden.

6.  The film must not contain superficial action.  (Murders, weapons, etc.,
must not occur.)

7.  Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden.  (That is to say that
the film takes place here and now.)

8.  Genre movies are not acceptable.

9.  The film format must be Academy 35mm.

10. The director must not be credited.

Furthermore, I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste!   I am no
longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a "work," as I regard the
instant as more important than the whole.  My supreme goal is to force the
truth out of my characters and settings.  I swear to do so by all the means
available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations.

Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY

     Now on first glance, this looks like the most pretentious bunch of
horses**t imaginable.  It's definitely not meant that way, though many critics
seem to take it that way.  While it's nearly impossible to stick to all 10
(and for most egos to keep to #10), the "rules" are just guidelines to make
directors THINK.
   In essence, the vow is to prevent movies from turning into theme park rides
or wallow in the filmmaker's ego.  You shouldn't always resort to spectacle,
or shock effect in place of good and believable storytelling.  Neither
"Breaking the Waves" or "The Celebration" completely adhere to all of the
above statements, but we believe in the events as they are take place.
   Let's take some big American produced film, say, "Batman and Robin". How
does it fair?  Running it through a sort of "Dogma Purity Scale", the flick is
pretty much choking on its own vomit with a score of 0.  Perhaps Joel
Schumacher can be cured in our lifetime.  Dogma '95 is your mom slapping him
in the back of the head to get out of the disco and stop putting nipples on
all the costumes.  I don't see Bruce Jenner and this ain't "Can't Stop the
Music".
   "The Celebration" only gets about a 7 on the purity scale, but the effect
is there.  We have a haunting, unpredictable film.  I dig the special effects
extravaganzas as much as anyone, but is the new "Star Wars" prequel going to
work unless we believe in the characters and the crises they face?  If you let
the marketing department into development all you end up with is a bunch of
muppets.  In the end, "The Celebration" will stay with me much longer than
"The Avengers" will.  At least I hope.  - Ron Wells


Film Threat Presents...  THE VOW OF QUALITY
===========================================
In the spirit of Lars Van Triers Dogma 95 proclamation, we would like to
present our own version...

THE HOLLYWOOD FILMMAKER'S VOW OF QUALITY

I, as a Hollywood filmmaker, make this vow to maintain the quality of my film
and the enjoyment of the work.  I promise...

1.   I'll keep a special, designated aluminum bat reserved for marketing
people who attempt to participate in creative meetings.  Plot and
characterizations are a higher priority than happy meals.

2.   I won't reveal all the major plot twists in the trailer.

3.  I will not stage a film like a series of 200 30-second commercials.
Trailers are for selling the movie.  You don't need to sell it after the
audience has already paid to see it.

4.  I will finish writing my film before I shoot it.  "Fixing it in
production" is like putting new brakes on your car while you're on the
freeway.  It could be done, but requires more skill than I probably have and
would have been much easier to do before the car was moving.

5.  If staging a horror film or an adaptation of a comic book, I will not act
as if I'm slumming from "real" filmmaking.  Super-powers and gore do not
replace human motivations and characterizations.

6.   When re-enacting a teenager's coming of age, I will not to portray it as
a wonderful "journey of discovery".  The only people who enjoyed high school
where the ones inflicting it on everyone else.  People generally don't want to
watch childhoods happier than their own.

7.  When writing a film about racism, slavery, or civil rights, I won't have a
white lawyer / white FBI agent / white police officer stand up and save the
black people.  Avoiding working with black actors in the lead only perpetuates
the problem.

8.  Irony and sarcasm are not substitutes for emotional involvement.  If the
main characters don't act like they care about what's happening, why should an
audience?

9.   I will not employ a pumpin' rock and roll soundtrack to elicit the
response my abilities as a filmmaker could not.  Kenny Loggins can retire with
what he's got.

And finally...

10.   I will employ midgets to dress like and mimic the actions of the
protagonist.  If it works for Brando and the Heat-Miser, it works for me.

If I fail to adhere to this pledge, please beat me with the aforementioned
marketing bat and force me to direct "Diagnosis Murder" for the rest of my
life.


END CREDITS   "Written, produced, and directed by . . ."
===========================================
Publisher / Chris Gore
Executive Publisher / Victor Minjares
Contributors / Merle Bertrand, Tom Meek, Anthony Miele, Ron Wells

Send us films, videos, CDs, games, screening passes:
FILM THREAT, 5042 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 150, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Website: http://www.filmthreat.com
Edress: [e-mail]

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Gore Group Publications.  All rights reserved.  Contents may not be reprinted
without written permission of the author.  You are, however, welcome to
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published herein. Not responsible for unsolicited submissions.

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FILM THREAT  "Hollywood's Indie Voice of the New Millennium"
===========================================
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==============CUT-AND-PRINT ===============

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

Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 07:40:34 -0800
From: Bruce Bridges <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Old movie question -Reply

I don't know about the movie you are thinking of BUT, a great horror
film of the early 70s is "The Legend of Hell House".  I believe it
starred Roddy Mcdowell.  Its been a while since if saw it but it was
about a group of parapsychologists or para somethings that visit a
house for a weekend and slowly get bumped off.  I remember it scaring
the hell out of me.

bb

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

Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 07:59:28 -0800
From: Bruce Bridges <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] other lists

HI Guys,

Its me complaining again.  What is up with all of these email lists I
am getting attached to?  As much as I enjoy the various opinions of
our group I do not need to recieve a newsletter of ramblings by the
next Rex Reed Wannabe.  I know the "journalist as star" is way cool
in college/high school/Details magazine but I just do not have the
time to trudge through every yokel's manifesto.  Is there anyway to
hold back the tide?

The last thing anybody wants is for me to start my own excruciatingly
detailed account of my Daily life (that happens to include a movie now
and then).  Oh and believe me there are details that you don't want to
know.

bb

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

Date: Mon, 2 Nov 98 18:37:34 +0000
From: Garrett Winters <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Old movie question -Reply

Bruce Bridges writes
>I don't know about the movie you are thinking of BUT, a great horror
>film of the early 70s is "The Legend of Hell House".  I believe it
>starred Roddy Mcdowell.  Its been a while since if saw it but it was
>about a group of parapsychologists or para somethings that visit a
>house for a weekend and slowly get bumped off.  I remember it scaring
>the hell out of me.
I know the one you mean and as a youngster it did scare me the first time
but it isn't the one I am thinking of, it was done more in the style of
"Race with the Devil" with Peter Fonda as I recall, very atmospheric and
lots of outdoor shots.
thanks anyway.
Garrett

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

Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 14:32:39 -0400
From: GARY ZEIG <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] The Crow

You know, a really enjoyable, really different movie, I thought, was The Crow.
Considering all that happened on the set, it's amazing a movie was completed.
I thought Brandon Lee's performance was excellent. Very very underrated.
This movie was far better than ANY of the Batman movies.
The sequel was not nearly as good, but I'd enjoy hearing from other people
who enjoyed The Crow.
I also understand a new graphic novel, The Crow: Flesh and Blood is coming
out soon.
Any Crow fans out there: e-mail me at [e-mail]

Gary



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

Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 12:40:54 -0700
From: jkrudy <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Desert Movies

I watched 2 different movies this weekend that are worth mentioning.  The
first was "Breakdown" with Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh.  I loved it.  I
thought Kurt Russell's acting was great.  You could really feel his sense of
despair and then I thought it was cool when it turned to anger as he regain
control of the situation.  The other movie I watched and have always liked
since the first time I saw it was "The Hitcher" with Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas
Howell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.  This was a totally cool movie with a
great chase scene in it.  (semi spoiler) The scene, when Howell is in the
back seat of the squad car and he's just agreed to turn himself in,  and you
think "Okay he'll be fine now" then Rutger comes along side a blows the two
cops away in the front seat, that was totally cool.  It's right after that
that he puts the gun in his head and thinks about killing himself.  I loved
that sense of hopelessness it developed.

The one thing that struck me about these movies is how there seems to be a
lot of these movies or at least one per decade.  There they are out in the
desert, with trucks, truck stops, greasy diners, and at least one
psychopathic killer.  If I could sum up I'd say the 70's had "Duel" which
was by far the best, the 80's had "The Hitcher" and the 90's had
"Breakdown".  I look forward to what the next decade holds for this genre.

Any comments, or am I just deluded in comparing these movies?

JAMES K. RUDY



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Date: Mon,  2 Nov 98 15:19:56 PST
From: Wade Snider  <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Desert Movies

>--- On Mon, 2 Nov 1998 12:40:54 -0700  jkrudy <[e-mail]> wrote:
>I watched 2 different movies this weekend that are worth mentioning.  The
>first was "Breakdown" with Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh.  I loved it.  I
>thought Kurt Russell's acting was great.  You could really feel his sense of
>despair and then I thought it was cool when it turned to anger as he regain
>control of the situation.  The other movie I watched and have always liked
>since the first time I saw it was "The Hitcher" with Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas
>Howell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.  This was a totally cool movie with a
>great chase scene in it.  (semi spoiler) The scene, when Howell is in the
>back seat of the squad car and he's just agreed to turn himself in,  and you
>think "Okay he'll be fine now" then Rutger comes along side a blows the two
>cops away in the front seat, that was totally cool.  It's right after that
>that he puts the gun in his head and thinks about killing himself.  I loved
>that sense of hopelessness it developed.

Breakdown was a really good movie, I thought. Took a very familiar premise of
underdog man against bad guys in search of missing wife. Bad guys kidnap
wife and want money, but Russell plays the usually-reluctant but driven to
desperation type of hero who must save his wife. Great acting, and great
tension building. the previews here in the US didn't do the movie justice.

The Hitcher is very good, sort of a horror/thriller, almost.. Hauer is
truly scary in this movie... and even if yoyu don't like the movie, you'll
think more than twice about picking up any hitchhikers...

>The one thing that struck me about these movies is how there seems to be a
>lot of these movies or at least one per decade.  There they are out in the
>desert, with trucks, truck stops, greasy diners, and at least one
>psychopathic killer.  If I could sum up I'd say the 70's had "Duel" which
>was by far the best, the 80's had "The Hitcher" and the 90's had
>"Breakdown".  I look forward to what the next decade holds for this genre.
>Any comments, or am I just deluded in comparing these movies?
>JAMES K. RUDY

I like your suggestion here.. Very interesting way to look at these types of
movies.. almost as a sub-genre of the action/suspense genre... I like what you
say.
I'll add some ideas, too... You can almost look at these types of movies along
the lines of the Hitchockian premise of average man in distress but acts in
desperation and cannot trust anyone... Some further relatable movies...
The Vanishing, Frenzy or Frantic, and Dead Calm.. all involving women
endangered with average husbands who desperately try to find them...

There was also a movie out a while back called The Drifter, not too unlike Hitcher.
You could also look at the underlying relationship between Hauer and Howell in The
Hitcher... and further examine Hitchcock classics such as Strangers of a Train, and
to some extent North by Northwest.. even marginally the new release, Apt Pupil..
There is also an old Wes Craven movie out there called The Hills Have Eyes.. not
that great, but fairly creepy in its own way, and not really along these themes....

There is a fairly interesting movie out on video release recently with James
Belushi, called Retroactive (?? I think??) He is a slimy guy who picks up a
former D.A. who is traveling throught the West Texas desert (actually some real
incongruities in the movie..) and her car breaks down. He is some kind
of twisto.. maybe not completely psycho, and due to a secret govt. project, she is
able to go back in time to try and change the problems this psycho causes.. SHe
does so over and over... Interesting, but not a fabulous movie or anything...

Just some thoughts...

Wade




- --------------------------------------------------------
W. Snider

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
- -Kierkegaard

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Date: Mon,  2 Nov 98 15:48:31 PST
From: Wade Snider  <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Desert Movies

Another movie I forgot to list that may relate somewhat to
Breakdown.. Deliverance. just add to the last pile..


Wade





- --------------------------------------------------------
W. Snider

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
- -Kierkegaard

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Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 13:41:55 -0800
From: "Romero, Leticia" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [MV] Desert Movies

Deliverance!  What a frightening movie THAT was!!  And I'm a girl!!

> -----Original Message-----
> From:    Wade Snider [SMTP:[e-mail]]
> Sent:    Monday, November 02, 1998 3:49 PM
> To:    [e-mail]
> Subject:    Re: [MV] Desert Movies
>
> Another movie I forgot to list that may relate somewhat to
> Breakdown.. Deliverance. just add to the last pile..
>
>
> Wade
>
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> W. Snider
>
> Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
> -Kierkegaard
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
>
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Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 15:00:31 -0700 (MST)
From: The Reporter <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Movie News - 11/02/98

"John Carpenter's Vampires" was the No. 1 movie attraction
this Halloween weekend, according to studio estimates. It
made $9.2 million, topping the previous record opening for
the holiday weekend of $7.4 million made by "Halloween II"
in 1981. Last weekend's biggest movie, "Pleasantville,"
finished a respectable 2nd this weekend with $6.6 million,
dropping only 25% from its opening. "Practical Magic" also
scared up solid numbers in its 3rd weekend: $5.1 million.

                        -=> * <=-

* Other top movies: "Antz" made $4.1 million for a total  of
$67.4 million, surpassing "Beavis & Butthead Do America" as
the top-grossing non-Disney animated movie of all time.
"Bride of Chucky" finished a close 5th with $4 million.
Oprah Winfrey's "Beloved" finished in 8th place -- after
"Rush Hour" and "Soldier" -- and has so far grossed a
disappointing $18.6 million after 17 days, despite extensive
publicity and widespread awareness.

                        -=> * <=-

LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's Sony has teamed up with movie star Sean
Connery in a $168 million deal to establish a film studio in
Edinburgh, the Sunday Times said. The studio plans to make 20 films
in its first five years. Scottish Screen, Scotland's public film
agency, will fund the deal. The Sunday Times said the deal could
raise the possibility of Connery returning as James Bond, although
Sony remains locked in a U.S. court battle over the extent to which
it owns the right to the Bond stories. The newspaper said Connery,
angry his support for the independence-minded Scottish Nationalist
Party robbed him of a knighthood this year, did not want the Labor
government to get any credit for the deal.

                        -=> * <=-

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Academy Award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones was
out of the hospital Sunday after being treated for injuries suffered
during a fall from a horse during a polo match near Houston,
according to news reports. The 52-year-old actor was released
Saturday from a Houston hospital. He said he was "not hurt, just a
little sore," his publicist Jennifer Allen told reporters. "His horse
stumbled and he went over the top of the horse, and the horse
rolled," Allen said. "When (the horse) stood up, it stepped on him,
so he was airlifted from the polo field he was playing on." Jones,
one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors, has had huge box-office
success in recent years with films including the blockbuster "Men in
Black."

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Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 07:42:39 -0700 (MST)
From: Scott Renshaw <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] REVIEW: VELVET GOLDMINE

VELVET GOLDMINE
(Miramax)
Starring:  Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Toni Collette, Christian
Bale.
Screenplay:  Todd Haynes.
Producer:  Christine Vachon.
Director:  Todd Haynes.
MPAA Rating:  R (sexual situations, nudity, adult themes, profanity, drug
use)
Running Time:  120 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.

     The pieces are familiar, but they don't quite fit together.  A
reporter tries to uncover the secrets behind a mysterious celebrity,
interviewing his ex-wife at a night club.  Extended, surrealistic,
dialogue-free musical interludes are used to advance character and set
tone.  Campy dialogue, gaudy costumes and ambiguous sexuality flourish.
Speculative romantic connections are established between roman-a-clef
versions of pop music stars, accompanied by effectively pseudo-period new
songs.  It's CITIZEN KANE meets PINK FLOYD THE WALL, THE ROCKY HORROR
PICTURE SHOW meets GRACE OF MY HEART.  And that's saying nothing of the
suggestion that Oscar Wilde, the father of flamboyance, was an alien
progeny.

     Welcome to the evocative, provocative world of writer/director Todd
Haynes, the man who used Barbie dolls to tell the story of Karen Carpenter
in the little-seen underground film SUPERSTAR, and who fashioned a
sublime, complex cautionary tale about environmental and psychological
collapse in SAFE.  In VELVET GOLDMINE, a fictionalized account of the
early 70s glam rock scene, Haynes takes a somewhat appropriate style over
substance approach.  The center of the story is the rise and fall of Ziggy
Stardust...I mean, Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), an androgynous
music sensation who created a musical alter-ego called Maxwell Demon and
bears no resemblance to any real music stars, living or David...I mean
dead.  Along the way Slade meets Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), an American
proto-punk whose onstage theatrics influence Slade to transform from
singer to full-fledged performance artist.

     The relationship between Slade and Wild -- actually a romantic
triangle including Slade's wife Mandy (Toni Collette) -- is only one piece
of the collage of decadence Haynes patches together.  VELVET GOLDMINE is
less a narrative than it is a long-form music video, intriguing images
full of manufactured outrageousness (including the bizarre Oscar Wilde
prologue).  As such, it certainly re-creates its era effectively.  The
music, the mood and the theatricality are all pure glam; Rhys Meyers looks
perfectly the part as pop creation already beginning to eat itself.  But
Haynes piles stylish surface on top of stylish surface in VELVET GOLDMINE
until it never quite gets at the heart of anything -- not the artists, not
the appeal of glam, not even whether the scene was about social change or
filthy lucre.

     It certainly comes awfully close on occasion.  More compelling than
the actual story of Brian Slade is the film's framing story, which finds
reporter Arthur Stewart (Christian Bale) trying to track down Slade in
1984, ten years after a stunt in which Slade staged his own mid-concert
assassination.  It turns out that Arthur was in attendance at that
concert, and that Slade and Wild were key figures in his youth.  In one
wonderfully cross-cut sequence, Arthur's sexual awakening is connected to
the sexual excesses of Slade's entourage, suggesting that even in their
self-absorption the glam rockers -- often tormented as children for their
sexual individuality -- succeeded at expanding boundaries for other youth.
Yet even this storyline spins into an absurd, pointless conspiracy-mystery
which Arthur could have put together only by actually viewing footage from
the film we're watching.

     That's the kind of infatuation with his own film-making that Haynes
displays in VELVET GOLDMINE.  Because it's always visually engrossing, it
keeps holding out the hope that it's going somewhere substantial.
Instead, it offers the cinematic equivalent of hip-hop sampling, turning
into a montage of visual and musical cues from other pieces of popular
cinema; Haynes even cribs from SUPERSTAR with a romantic scene between two
dolls.  If glam was somehow about the fine line between profound and
shallow, Haynes has hit the mark dead on.  This is one deliberately
confounding spectacle.

     On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 saggy stardusts:  5.

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Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 12:15:35 -0700 (MST)
From: The Reporter <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Movie News - 11/03/98

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - "John Carpenter's Vampires" scared up a solid
$9.2 million over the weekend, according to studio projections,
brightening an otherwise gloomy Halloween at the box office. It was
the biggest opening to date for the veteran director, topping the
debut of his much costlier studio picture, "Escape From L.A.," which
bowed to $8.9 million in August, 1996. In contrast to the young
female-driven turnout for such recent slasher pictures as "Scream"
and "I Know What You Did Last Summer," the James Woods-starrer
attracted a mainstream, slightly older, predominantly male audience.

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Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 18:39:57 -0700
From: Mandy Plog <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Re: The Hitcher

I also loved "The Hitcher."  Scariest movie that I ever saw.  I had to
sleep with the lights on that night.  And I could never eat french fries
in the same way.

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Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 00:04:32 -0800
From: Jason Cormier <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] What about funny <hard to find> movies? -Reply

I took your advise and rented Real Life and it was worth it!  Great fun and
very odd!  Have you noticed that a lot of first time comic filmakers use
the mock-umentary style?  Woody Allen with Take the Money and Run, Rob
Reiner with Spinal Tap and Brooks!?  Thanks for the tip!

At 08:38 AM 9/25/1998 -0700, you wrote:
>One of the Funniest movies I've ever seen that is not too well known
>(although I would expect many of you to know) is a movie from the
>mid-seventies called "Real Life" I believe.  Anyway it is about a
>film crew that  attempts to document the life of a typical family by
>moving in and filming every waking moment.  It is by Albert Brooks
>and he is also the star.  Charles Grodin is the father of the family.
> I would suggest this to everybody.
>
>Another film I haven't seen since it came out but remember enjoying a
>great deal is "Soup for One" about a newely single guy coping with the
>single scene.
>
>Finally, there was a movie called "Local Hero" I believe about the
>representative of a huge American Corporation who is sent to an
>British Village to oversee its purchase.  Instead he finds himself
>charmed and drawn into the quirky community.  Can't remember the
>actors but it is a great movie.
>
>Also, "Funny Bones".
>
>I could go on and on.
>
>bb
>
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>
>
Jay the Movieman
[e-mail]

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Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 00:07:08 -0800
From: Jason Cormier <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] a HUGE favor...

I hope I am not ruining anything by letting you know that the movie opens
on the 21st of May not the 28th!!!


At 03:54 PM 9/29/1998 -0700, you wrote:
>I'm about to ask of you all -- please let me know if it's too much to ask
>
>I'm determined to go into the theatre to see the Star Wars Prequel May 28,
>1999, knowing NOTHING about the film... impossible you say?  Maybe so, but
>I'm still determined.  Everytime anyone says or writes the words "Star
>Wars", "Prequel", "Lucas", etc, I started screaming, running, deleting, all
>of the above.  I don't want to hinder anyone, but if you're going to talk
>about it, could please treat the news as a "spoiler" and skip some lines?
>I'm sure you all are going to scream at me; I know what I'm asking is
>ludicrous, but I'm curious if I'm the only one who feels strongly about this
>topic as I.  Thx for your time
>
>Leti Romero ;)
>
>"The World Is Not Enough"
>
>
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>
>
Jay the Movieman
[e-mail]

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Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 07:29:14 -0800
From: Jason Cormier <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] A plethora of reviews

Hey hey!  Movieman is back from a haitus due to computer malfunction.  I've
noticed that movie going has slowed down in the last month - which is
probably directly related to the fact that none of you knew which movies to
see due to my absense...let's fix that (and I expect every one of you to
see a movie this week to catch up!)  Here are the movies I've seen in the
last month...

Your Friends and Neighbours - The second movie from the director who
brought us the scathing "In the Company of Men."  This one is also
scathing, humourous and bitter.  An eye opener about communication and sex
- - both done poorly! 91%

Antz - A great animated movie that is not Disney!  The second hit for
Dreamworks (Shaving Ryan's Privates being the first).  This one is a blast!
 Sly social commentary and good writing makes this one very enjoyable for
the adults while the animation alone makes it enjoyable for everyone. 90%

Lolita - Stanley Kubrik's version was better as this one was too drawn out.
 Jeremy Irons was good as usual. 70%

What Dreams May Come - Very sad tale of finding your true love even after
death.  They stay away from religion to appeal to a wider group of people
and I think it works.  Amazing sights to behold.  Bring a hankie.  85%

Practical Magic - Not trash but nothing worth writing anymore about it. 74%

Pleasantville - Not as good as I was hoping it to be but still enjoyable.
Black and white town turns to colour after it is infiltrated by two modern
day siblings.  Could have edited it down more and got to the conflict
faster. 75%

John Carpenter's Vampires - Slasher trasher.  An actual line in the movie:
"They're unstoppable - unless we stop them."  Good gore and concept - bad
execution (Woods is kinda fun!) 64%

Last Night - Directorial debut from Canadian Don McKellar.  It's not the
end of the world - there's still six hours left.  A movie about how
different people handle the imminent destruction of the earth.
Fascinating!  93%

I think that's it!  I should be back to normal now...thanks for hanging in
there and waiting for me!
Jay the Movieman
[e-mail]

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