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From: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com (movies-digest) To: movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: movies-digest V2 #145 Reply-To: movies-digest Sender: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk movies-digest Friday, December 18 1998 Volume 02 : Number 145 [MV] The Movie Report#171, 12/16/98 [MV] Screen It Newsletter (December 17, 1998) [MV] REVIEW: PATCH ADAMS [MV] Movie News - 12/17/98 [MV] REVIEW: PATCH ADAMS [MV] REVIEW: STEPMOM ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 16:37:28 -0800 From: Michael Dequina <michael_jordan@geocities.com> Subject: [MV] The Movie Report#171, 12/16/98 T H E M O V I E R E P O R T #171 DECEMBER 16, 1998 PLEASE HELP... ...keep the MR and Mr. Brown's Movie Site alive. I am undergoing a serious funding and resource crisis. Please send any donations (every little bit does help) to: Michael Dequina 3650 Denver Avenue Long Beach, CA 90810-2205 You can also help by renting or purchasing videos and DVDs from Reel.com! Do some holiday gift shopping by visiting: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-reel.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=welcome.html Thank you very much. =>T H I S W E E K<= M O V I E S - -_The_Prince_of_Egypt_ - -_You've_Got_Mail_ - -_Shakespeare_in_Love_ - -_The_Celebration_(Festen)_ - -_Central_Station_ - -_Gods_and_Monsters_ V I D E O - -_Halloween:_H20--20_Years_Later_ - -_Hav_Plenty_ - -_High_Art_ - -_Lethal_Weapon_4_ Mr. Brown's Movie Site is down once again (damn server). However, a full-service mirror will be operational in a couple of days at: http://mrbrown.webjump.com or http://welcome.to/mrbrown But, hopefully, within a few days (if not less) you can find links to the official websites of all the current films, past reviews, exclusive Hollywood event photos, movie discussion board, movie theme MIDI files, a comprehensive link section, and more at the regular URL: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown Please don't forget to sign the guestbook... I am always up for a good live chat. Feel free to message me on ICQ at #25289934 (nickname "NY152"), or on AOL Instant Messenger under the handle "MrBrown23." If you are reading this on Usenet, you can subscribe to the MR at: http://mrbrown.webjump.com/moviereport.html 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 ...and Film Frenzy at: http://www.filmfrenzy.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 _The_Prince_of_Egypt_ (PG) **** "It's unlike anything you've seen before"--words that have been intoned many times by many a studio chief trying to wrap a veneer of freshness around another stale assembly-line product. But coming from Jeffrey Katzenberg, the "K" in DreamWorks SKG, in reference to the company's first traditional animated feature, _The_Prince_of_Egypt_, the statement is, well, gospel. _Prince_ is unlike any animated feature ever made, a musical drama that just _happens_ to be completely drawn. It's epic in every sense of the word, from subject, spectacle, sentiment, and, most of all, seriousness--and, as such, I have no idea how it will be received by the public. _Prince_'s larger-than-animated-life intentions are clearly--and most memorably--spelled out by directors Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells in the prologue. "Deliver us to the promised land," pray the Hebrews held in bondage by the Egyptian pharaoh Seti (voice of Patrick Stewart) as Yocheved (Ofra Haza) sets her infant son Moses adrift on a river in an attempt to spare him the life of a slave--and possibly free his people in the future. Moses is rescued from the sea by the Queen (spoken by Helen Mirren, sung by Linda Dee Shayne), who takes Moses in as her own. This sequence is truly astonishing, from the visuals to the haunting song that scores it, "Deliver Us," composed by Stephen Schwartz. The opening is just one in a long line of spectacular sequences in this treatment of the Book of Exodus, in which Moses's (spoken as an adult by a full-voiced Val Kilmer, sung by Amick Byram) bond with adoptive brother and eventual pharaoh Rameses (Ralph Fiennes, well-cast) is broken after he discovers his true identity--and calling--and crusades for his people's freedom. The animators exploit all that the medium currently offers and then elevate it to the next level: a harrowing nightmare scene is made even more chilling by being told in pantomime through hieroglyhics; and computer-generated effects are effectively, and unobtrusively, used to enhance such crucial scenes as Moses's encounter with the burning bush, the deaths of the firstborns, and the dazzling parting of the Red Sea. Artistically speaking in the literal sense, _Prince_ is easily the most impressive animated feature ever made. But there's more to the film than awesome visuals, which would be empty without an absorbing story and characters. _Prince_ has both, regardless of the viewer's religious beliefs; the themes of brotherhood, freedom, and faith (in oneself) are universal, and they resonate strongest in the film's quieter scenes. In fact, these quieter scenes hold the most lasting impact: simple moments like Moses feeling the desert sand blow over his entire body, or, my personal favorite, the song number "When You Believe," which is currently out as an overblown pop single performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. The film version, sung to Moses by his sister Miriam (spoken by Sandra Bullock, sung by Sally Dworsky) and wife Tzipporah (spoken _and_ sung by Michelle Pfeiffer, in fine vocal form) is beautiful and transcendent, building a muted yet no less powerful crescendo of complex emotion; in the pop version, any and all emotion is lost under all the diva bluster. Schwartz, a veteran lyricist for Disney animated efforts (the two most underrated, _Pocahontas_ and _The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame_), also writes the melodies here, and his song score is not without a couple of missteps. "Playing with the Big Boys," sung by Rameses's court magicians Hotep (Steve Martin) and Huy (Martin Short) is a throwaway, and the just-OK "Through Heaven's Eyes," sung by Tzipporah's father Jethro (spoken by Danny Glover, sung by Brian Stokes Mitchell), is redeemed by the dramatic importance of the scene it accompanies. By and large, Schwartz does a more than adequate job, exemplified by his two standout compositions, the aforementioned "Deliver Us" and "When You Believe." However, Schwartz's work comes close to being overshadowed by Hans Zimmer's towering score, which is sure to win an Oscar nomination. As superlative as _The_Prince_of_Egypt_ is, in all likelihood, it will not receive its just due from the moviegoing masses weaned on the tried-and-true Disney animated recipe of singing animals and easy comic relief; there is neither here, and the religious themes will undoubtedly keep many away. And that is a shame, for not only _Prince_ is a landmark cinematic achievement, the entire fate of its medium is dependent on its financial success. Robust box office would not only pose a long-overdue animation threat to Disney, but it would also erase the medium's "kids' movie" stigma, allowing filmmakers to explore the medium's heretofore untapped potential through more complex, serious, and adult themes. But, as the film's signature song goes, "There can be miracles when you believe"--a statement that does hold some water in the fickle movie marketplace. _You've_Got_Mail_ (PG) **** Of all the delights to be had while watching the enchanting romantic comedy _You've_Got_Mail_, none gave me more joy than the performance of co-lead Meg Ryan. The reigning queen of romantic comedy, Ryan, not so surprisingly, delivers another turn of irresistible charm as bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly. But what I paid conscious attention to this time around was the ease with which she tackles the deceptively simple-looking job of romantic comedienne. It's no easy task to project a natural blend of sweetness, strength, wit, and genuine, hard-earned heart, yet Ryan has effortlessly pulled it off year after year, in movie after movie--without ever receiving her rightful recognition from the critics. Sadly, _You've_Got_Mail_ will likely not change that, but that's mostly because so much of the film is so good. The film reunites Ryan with her _Sleepless_in_Seattle_ partners Tom Hanks and director/co-writer (with sister Delia) Nora Ephron in a plot that, not so coincidentally, appears to be a variation of that 1993 blockbuster. Ryan's Kathleen owns the small children's bookstore The Shop Around the Corner, whose long life as a Manhattan neighborhood staple is threatened by the nearby opening of a Barnes and Noble-like superstore called Fox Books, owned by wealthy Joe Fox (Hanks). Naturally, it's hate at first sight for Joe and Kathleen, but little do they know that appears to be their first meeting really isn't--they have anonymously been conducting a romance over the Internet as "NY152" (Joe) and "Shopgirl" (Kathleen). Now, it would have been easy--and completely understandable--for the Ephrons to completely mirror _Sleepless_'s proven formula to the letter, but they manage to come up with some wrinkles that are often as unpredictable as they are funny. The biggest deviation from _Sleepless_ is the increased interaction of Hanks and Ryan, who spent most of their last collaboration apart--which called into question if the two truly had any chemistry. _Mail_ proves once and for all that Hanks and Ryan are a screen duo for the ages, equally convincing trading comic barbs or longing glances. Their sparring sessions have real bite, and their more mellow moments are so warmly tender that only the coldest hearts won't be at least slightly moved. This isn't to say that the film doesn't make a concession to what has become the Ryan romantic comedy formula--namely, a man she is already attached to, here in the form of Greg Kinnear's politically-minded reporter Frank Navasky. The new rub here is that Frank, while a bit stuck on himself, is a nice guy and a much more appealing romantic choice than ruthless businessman Joe, who, in turn, already has a partner of his own: Patricia Eden (Parker Posey), who works at a publishing house. While the nice and perky Kathleen is clearly better than the ever-frantic Patricia, it is easy to see why Joe would be with her; her high social station makes for a "comfortable" choice, and it is in line with his hard-as-nails attitude--which, of course, hides the truly gentle soul that he bears only to "Shopgirl." Similarly, Hanks does a bang-up job playing (to use Joe's term) a "pill," but he has a natural gentleness that he buries just deep enough and gradually brings to surface as the film progresses. Ephron has said that _Mail_'s central question is "Can Mr. Wrong turn out to be Mr. Right?" and that evolution is made involving and convincing by Hanks, who instead of making Joe's progression from black to white, makes it a more realistic shift between opposite shades of grey. Again, though, _Mail_ is ultimately the glowing Ryan's show. Her Kathleen is fun and more than a little (hilariously) pathetic at times, but her flightiness is grounded in real, complex emotion. This is especially the case in one late shot of her face, which displays surprise, disgust, anger, and ecstatic, teary delight--all in a matter of seconds. If that's not a difficult acting task, I don't know what is--and it comes to Ryan as second nature. Cynics will probably dismiss _You've_Got_Mail_ as disposable fluff for suckers for shamelessly romantic hokum. If that truly is the case--and, admittedly, there's no evidence to suggest otherwise--then I wear the title of "sucker" with pride. IN BRIEF _Shakespeare_in_Love_ (R) *** 1/2 This Brit-set period romantic comedy had been in the development stages since 1990, with star pairings ranging from the promising (Kenneth Branagh and Winona Ryder, currently displaying a nice rapport in Woody Allen's _Celebrity_) to the potentially ghastly (Daniel Day-Lewis and... accent-challenged Julia Roberts?!) attached. _Shakespeare_ has now finally arrived onscreen, and, I am glad to report, in the right hands--those of director John Madden and stars Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. If Fiennes and Paltrow's charming lead turns as, respectively, the Bard and Lady Viola, the woman who melts away his writer's block and inspires _Romeo_and_Juliet_, is the lifeblood of this film, then its vigorous body is the deliciously witty script by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, full of great lines (most delivered by Judi Dench's Queen Elizabeth) and peppered with intelligent details (sly allusions to Shakespeare's _Twelfth_Night_). Madden is the film's spirit, coaxing memorable work from his cast--or, rather, _most_ of his cast (co-star Ben Affleck is too contemporary to convince as a pompous Elizabethan stage actor)--and striking a nice blend of light and heavy, achieving true emotion in its finale. However, the scale is definitely tipped toward the "light" side, for this fine film is frothy fun. I N C U R R E N T R E L E A S E _The_Celebration_(Festen)_ (R) **** The title of this Danish import couldn't be more ironic. First, there's the literal level, in the plot: the sixtieth birthday bash of a wealthy patriarch Helge (Hennig Moritzen) becomes something decidedly less festive when his successful eldest son Christian (Ulrich Thomsen) disrupts the event with some shocking allegations about him and Christian's dead twin sister. On a deeper level, there's the irony of tone: while the charges being made by Christian are as serious as they can get, the situation is played for some gleefully venomous laughs--making the overall mood sort of a "celebration" of everyone's misery. It's a fine line to walk, that between comedy and misery, but director/co-writer (with Mogens Rukov) Thomas Vinterberg handle the balancing act magnificently. While one is often laughing at and with Christian's shamelessly disruptive antics, one can feel the pain that compels him to do so. The real balancing act, though, is how Vinterberg keeps the truth largely ambiguous through his characters; they are portrayed equal parts bad and good, so it's often up to question whether or not Christian is telling the truth or merely spiting his father. It's that heightened sense of reality--in accordance with the Danish film movement called "Dogme 95," which sets standards for realism and "purity"--that lends _Festen_ an uncommon power, even if some "realist" techniques become somewhat irksome (i.e. shaky, cinema-verite hand-held camera work). _Central_Station_ (R) *** 1/2 By all outward appearances, this Brazilian drama is a standard road movie--and to a certain extent, it is. Central Station in Rio is what brings together the film's unlikely traveling duo: Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), former schoolteacher, now letter-writer; and Josue (Vinicius de Olveira), an orphaned 10-year-old boy, whose mother was one of the Dora's customers before her untimely death. The two set off on a rough journey across the country to find Josue's long-lost father. _Central_Station_'s travellers follow the beaten cinematic path, but the film is made unusually compelling by the lead characters. This is because they are so recognizably human; neither Dora nor Josue are the most likable of characters. Dora is, at times, unbearably bitter; Josue is often unnecessarily cruel to his de facto guardian, often ridiculing her haggard appearance. What keeps the audience involved in the plight of this prickly pair are the actors. de Olveira, a shoeshine boy who was discovered by director Walter Salles after the boy asked him for change, is a remarkable find, exuding the right balance of toughness and vulnerability. The same can be said, but to a greater degree, about Montenegro (who has been named Best Actress of the year by both the National Board of Review and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association); she rightfully sees Dora's bitter anger as less a weariness with the world than with herself, a desperate, self-destructive mechanism to keep the world even more distant than it already is. The nuances of Montenegro's work--and the film--are too subtle to notice along the way, but by the film's poignant yet understated conclusion, they are powerfully felt. _Gods_and_Monsters_ *** 1/2 The first Best Picture winner of the year is Bill Condon's speculative account of _Frankenstein_ director James Whale's final days, which won said honor from the National Board of Review. Ian McKellen plays Whale, and his performance is undoubtedly what made the film pull off the upset victory over _Saving_Private_Ryan_. His Whale is a fascinating figure, a man at the end of his rope literally and figuratively, whose body is slowly dying though his spirit has long left him. The film's focus is how Whale tries, in vain, to find a concrete reason to either continue living or die--either of which may come in the form of his young gardener Boone (Brendan Fraser), for whom he has a strong physical attraction. From this description, Whale may sound like a passive character, but as played by McKellen, he is very much a man in charge of his ultimate destiny--which is the only power he has left. In the film's other key roles, a surprisingly composed Fraser erases (make that _mostly_ erases) memories of _George_of_the_Jungle_, and Lynn Redgrave is a scene-stealing hoot as Whale's devoted maid. But the film clearly belongs to McKellen, whose presence is what makes the film as affecting at it is; he is truly the man to beat for Oscar gold in March. (full reviews of the following in past MRs and at the listed URLs) - -_American_History_X_ (R) *** <MR#162, 10/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#historyx - -_Antz_ (PG) *** 1/2 <MR#159, 9/25/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#antz - -_Babe:_Pig_in_the_City_ (G) ** 1/2 <MR#169, 12/3/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#babe - -_A_Bug's_Life_ (G) *** 1/2 <MR#167, 11/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#bugs - -_Celebrity_ (R) ** <MR#169, 12/3/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#celebrity - -_Elizabeth_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#162, 10/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#elizabeth - -_Enemy_of_the_State_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#168, 11/24/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#enemy - -_Happiness_ **** <MR#162, 10/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#happiness - -_Home_Fries_ (PG-13) ** <MR#168, 11/24/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#home - -_I_Still_Know_What_You_Did_Last_Summer_ (R) * <MR#165, 11/6/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#istillknow - -_Jack_Frost_ (PG) ** 1/2 <MR#170, 12/11/98> http:///www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt43.html#frost - -_Life_Is_Beautiful_(La_Vita_E_Bella)_ (PG-13) **** <MR#162, 10/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#vitabella - -_Little_Voice_ (R) *** <MR#164, 10/29/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#lv - -_Living_Out_Loud_ (R) *** <MR#164, 10/29/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#living - -_Meet_Joe_Black_ (PG-13) *** <MR#167, 11/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#joe - -_Pleasantville_ (PG-13) *** 1/2 <MR#162, 10/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#pleasantville - -_Psycho_ (R) ** <MR#170, 12/11/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt43.html#psycho - -_Ringmaster_ (R) no stars <MR#169, 12/3/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#ringmaster - -_The_Rugrats_Movie_ (G) *** <MR#166, 11/12/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#rugrats - -_The_Siege_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#164, 10/29/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#siege - -_A_Simple_Plan_ (R) **** <MR#167, 11/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#plan - -_Star_Trek:_Insurrection_ (PG) ** <MR#170, 12/11/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt43.html#insurrection - -_Two_Girls_and_a_Guy_ (R) ** <MR#137, 4/10/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt31.html#2girls - -_Very_Bad_Things_ (R) **** <MR#167, 11/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#bad - -_Waking_Ned_Devine_ (PG) *** <MR#164, 10/29/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#ned - -_The_Waterboy_ (PG-13) ** <MR#165, 11/6/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#waterboy - -_The_Wizard_of_Oz_ (G) **** F U T U R E F I L M S - -_Rushmore_ (R) **** <MR#170, 12/11/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt43.html#rushmore (February) - -_Stepmom_ (PG-13) *** <MR#170, 12/11/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt43.html#stepmom (December 25) - -_Still_Crazy_ (R) ** <MR#169, 12/3/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#crazy (January 22) O N T H E H O R I Z O N FRIDAY _The_General_ (R) John Boorman won the Best Director Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival for this drama about an Irish robber (Brendan Gleeson) who's doggedly pursued by an investigator (Jon Voight). _Playing_by_Heart_ (R) Gillian Anderson, Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie, Dennis Quaid, Gena Rowlands, Jon Stewart, and Madeleine Stowe in writer-director Willard Carroll's drama (until recently known as _Dancing_About_Architecture_) about the romantic lives of three sisters and their mother. _The_Prince_of_Egypt_ (PG) **** <see above review> DreamWorks makes a spectacular entrance into the traditional animation field with this stirring musical epic based on Exodus. Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Sandra Bullock lead the star-studded voice cast. _You've_Got_Mail_ (PG) **** <see above review> The _Sleepless_in_Seattle_ team of Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and director Nora Ephron reteam for another absolutely enchanting romantic comedy about two business rivals (Hanks and Ryan) who are unwittingly romancing each other over the Internet. ~~~ =>V I D E O<= N E W T H I S W E E K _Halloween:_H20--20_Years_Later_ (R) *** Full review in MR#152, 7/30/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt37.html#h20 Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=42286 The long-running horror franchise's final chapter is a formulaic but undeniably fun thrill ride, energized by Jamie Lee Curtis, who returns as presumed-dead heroine Laurie Strode, sister of masked killer Michael Myers. (Dimension Home Video) _Hav_Plenty_ (R) ** 1/2 Full review in MR#148, 6/26/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt36.html#hav Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41644 Likable, if overly broad, by-the-numbers romantic comedy about a homeless aspiring writer (Christopher Scott Cherot, who also wrote, directed, and edited) and the wealthy, engaged friend (Chenoa Maxwell) for whom he secretly carries a torch. (Miramax Home Entertainment) _High_Art_ (R) ** Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41572 Ally Sheedy recently won (along with _Central_Station_'s Fernanda Montenegro) this year's Best Actress award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for this film, and her understated work as a self-destructive photographer is a standout performance. That said, it's not too hard to stand out in this warmed-over _Red_Shoe_Diaries_ episode (one of which, perhaps not so coincidentally, guest starred Sheedy) wrapped in a blanket of pretension by first-time writer-director Lisa Cholodenko. Young photo magazine assistant editor Syd's (an unimpressive Radha Mitchell) rigid lifestyle becomes more free when she meets upstairs neighbor Lucy Berliner (Sheedy). A professional interest in Lucy and her work soon becomes a romantic one, which leads to some unforeseen emotional fallout. Along the way, I believe Cholodenko hoped to make some points about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness (suggested by Sheedy's subtly anguished turn), but anything resembling those points takes a back seat to some overheated lesbian sex scenes--which are all anyone is likely to remember about this dull film. (October Home Entertainment) _Lethal_Weapon_4_ (R) *** 1/2 Full review in MR#150, 7/10/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt36.html#lethal4 Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41900 More fast and frenetic fun with Los Angeles police detectives-turned-captains Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover), who this time out do battle with an Asian crime lord (Hong Kong superstar Jet Li, making a spectacular American debut). Joe Pesci and Rene Russo (in a sadly diminished role) also return, and Chris Rock joins the cast in what is likely to be the franchise's final installment. (Warner Home Video) A L S O N E W T H I S W E E K _Madeline_ (PG) Rent or buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=MRBR&OBJECT=moviepage.as p?MMID=41878 Big screen family adventure starring the titular coat- and hat-wearing orphan (Hatty Jones) of Ludwig Bemelmans's celebrated children's books. Frances McDormand and Nigel Hawthorne also star. (Columbia TriStar Home Video) ~~~ =>C O R R E C T I O N S<= to #170, 12/11 With the holiday movie madness inevitably come the gaffes: the title of _My_Best_Friend's_Wedding_ was incorrect in the _Stepmom_ review (Movies); the correct star rating for _Six_Days,_Seven_Nights_ is *** (Video). ~~~ =>N E X T W E E K<= Holiday movie madness continues with more reviews, including: - -_A_Civil_Action_ - -_Mighty_Joe_Young_ - -_The_Thin_Red_Line_ 'til then... __________________________________________________________ Michael Dequina mrbrown@ucla.edu | michael_jordan@geocities.com | mj23@the18thhole.com mrbrown@michaeljordanfan.com | mj23@michaeljordanfan.com mrbrown@iname.com | mst3k@digicron.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown Personal Page: http://welcome.to/w3md CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com Michael Jordan Beyond the Court: http://fly.to/michaeljordan A Michael Jordan Fan's Heartbreak: http://fly.to/mj23 "I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. It doesn't matter if you win as long as you give everything in your heart." - --Michael Jordan __________________________________________________________ [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 12:38:56 -0500 (EST) From: reviews@screenit.com Subject: [MV] Screen It Newsletter (December 17, 1998) Welcome to the Screen It! Newsletter (December 17, 1998). This week at the movies, an animated retelling of "The Ten Commandments," Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan re-team for the year's best romantic comedy, and a smaller release film focuses on one of Ireland's most notorious criminals. On home video, comedies of many varieties and a new vampire flick compete for your rental dollars. PLEASE NOTE: The new movie reviews WILL NOT be publicly posted until LATE Thursday night (EST) to comply with the studios' wishes/demands. Next week, the floodgates open. Watch for reviews of "A Civil Action" (John Travolta, Robert Duvall), "Down in the Delta" (Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman, Jr.), "Mighty Joe Young" (Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron), "Patch Adams" (Robin Williams, Daniel London), "Stepmom" (Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon) and many other films. =========PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS============= THE MOST REWARDING PAGE ON THE WEB. LITERALLY. Prolaunch launches you to a different web site which matches your interests PLUS you can earn "Launch Points" which are redeemable for frequent flyer miles, gift certificates and many other rewards. It's free. It's easy. It's private. And it pays...you! Sign up today at: http://www.prolaunch.com/default.asp?associd=alc0403 =========PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS============= NEW MOVIE REVIEWS FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18TH: "THE GENERAL" (1998) (Brendan Gleeson, Jon Voight) (R) Drama: A charismatic robber (Gleeson) foils the attempts of the police (including Voight) to catch him in the act during his crime spree in modern day Ireland. Based on the real-life exploits of one of Ireland's most notorious criminals, the film features a great performance from Gleeson and is never boring, but lacks the necessary and collective oomph to really take off. The film is rated R for nonstop profanity and violence. (Limited Release) http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/the_general.html __________________________________________________ "THE PRINCE OF EGYPT" (1998) (voices of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes) (PG) Animated/Drama: An animated retelling of the biblical story about Moses and his relationship with his brother Rameses. Due to our screening being scheduled the night before the movie opens, we can't tell you anything about the picture, but our review will be ready sometime on Friday. According to the MPAA, the PG rating is for "for intense depiction of thematic elements." (National Release) (Review available sometime on Friday) http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/the_prince_of_egypt.html __________________________________________________ "YOU'VE GOT MAIL" (1998) (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan) (PG) Romantic Comedy: Two rival bookstore owners (Hanks & Ryan) unknowingly carry on a platonic relationship over the Internet. With those two charismatic performers re-teamed with director Nora Ephron (the three collaborated for 1993's "Sleepless in Seattle"), you can't go wrong and this delightfully funny and romantic film never does. It's easily the best "feel good" and perfect date movie of the year, and gets its PG rating from brief profanity/language. (National Release) http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/youve_got_mail.html __________________________________________________ NEW VIDEO REVIEWS FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22ND: "BILLY'S HOLLYWOOD SCREEN KISS" (1998) (Sean P. Hayes, Brad Rowe) (R) Romantic Comedy: A young gay man (Hayes) searches for love and believes he may have found it in a sexually ambiguous, male model (Rowe) that he's hired. Despite lacking the star power and studio financed big budget that brought the gay theme movies, "In & Out" and "The Birdcage" to mainstream audiences, "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" -- a little film with big aspirations -- is just as charming and often as funny as its better known cinematic cousins. Rated R for profanity, sexuality (of both orientations) and some drug content, the film grossed around $2 million domestically. (http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/billys_hollywood_screen_kiss.html) __________________________________________________ "BLADE" (1998) (Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff) (R) Horror: A half human, half vampire (Snipes) continues on his quest to rid the world of "normal" vampires (including Dorff). Packaged as some akin to "The Terminator" meets "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," this latest vampire flick has more in common with the rambunctious "From Dusk 'Till Dawn" than Bram Stoker's original Dracula character. Despite featuring some decent action scenes and plenty of goo and gore, this is an otherwise unremarkable entry in the vampire genre, despite the hybrid nature of the title character. Rated R for violence, bloodshed, profanity, and brief sexually related material, the film had a domestic gross of nearly $70 million. (http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/blade.html) __________________________________________________ "COUSIN BETTE" (1998) (Jessica Lange, Elisabeth Shue) (R) Drama/Comedy: On the eve of the French Revolution, a middle-aged spinster (Lange) sets forth a plan of revenge upon those who've wronged her and her hopes for love. Based on Honore de Balzac's 150 plus year old novel that exemplifies the old saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, "Cousin Bette" is a deliciously wicked, but ultimately cold and detached tale of revenge. Rated R for sexuality and nudity, the film grossed around $1 million domestically. (http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/cousin_bette.html) __________________________________________________ "WRONGFULLY ACCUSED" (1998) (Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crenna) (PG-13) Comedy: Wrongly accused of murdering his lover's husband, a world class violinist (Nielsen) escapes from confinement and strives to clear his name while avoiding the determined Marshal (Crenna) who's hot on his trail in this spoof of the action thriller, "The Fugitive." Nowhere near as funny as its spoof predecessors, and suffering from poor timing and a lack of ripe source material, this film just doesn't have what it takes to fully amuse audiences. Despite an occasional laugh -- and the usual goofy credits -- the film comes up quite short of what's normally expected from this genre. Rated PG-13 for profanity and sex-related humor, the film grossed less than $10 million domestically. (http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/wrongfully_accused.html) =========PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS============= THE MOST REWARDING PAGE ON THE WEB. LITERALLY. Prolaunch launches you to a different web site which matches your interests PLUS you can earn "Launch Points" which are redeemable for frequent flyer miles, gift certificates and many other rewards. It's free. It's easy. It's private. And it pays...you! Sign up today at: http://www.prolaunch.com/default.asp?associd=alc0403 =========PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS============= Do you find the Screen It Website useful? If so, contact your local newspaper, TV or radio station, or favorite magazine and ask that they do a story about our site so that others in your community or country may benefit from this information. Contact information can be found at the following address: http://www.screenit.com/press.html __________________________________________________ Remember, before you and/or your kids see it, buy it , or rent it, make sure that first you Screen It! Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents http://www.screenit.com __________________________________________________ Since we respect your privacy and time, we'll always keep these messages brief and we'll never sell or give your e-mail address to anyone. If at any time you no longer wish to receive these updates, simply let us know at reviews@screenit.com and we'll remove you from our list. [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 09:13:10 -0700 (MST) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: PATCH ADAMS PATCH ADAMS (Universal) Starring: Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Daniel London, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton. Screenplay: Steve Oedekerk, based on the book "Gesundheit!" by Hunter Doherty Adams and Maureen Mylander. Producers: Barry Kemp, Mike Farrell, Marvin Minoff and Charles Newirth. Director: Tom Shadyac. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 115 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. We've seen this Robin Williams before, though not much recently. We saw him in GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM as the disc jockey whose unconventional approach to military broadcasting endears him to grunts while irritating The Establishment; we saw him in DEAD POETS SOCIETY as the teacher whose unconventional approach to literature endears him to students while irritating The Establishment. This is Robin Williams the crowd-pleasing riff-meister, playing the comedy-drama character arc in which he is temporarily sobered by tragedy but eventually emerges triumphant in the lives he has touched with humor. This is the Robin Williams -- the stand-up comic with the heart of gold -- that we see in PATCH ADAMS, the fact-based story of a medical student whose unconventional approach to patient care endears him to patients while irritating The Establishment. Unfortunately, we've never seen this character so compromised by such an aggressively feel-good film. It opens in 1969, where Hunter "Patch" Adams is a voluntary inmate in a mental hospital. His experience with the patients there energizes him with a desire to heal, leading to his enrollment two years later in medical school. There he becomes a top student, but angers a conservative dean (Bob Gunton) by testing his theory that laughter is the best medicine on actual hospital patients. While repeatedly butting heads with administrators, Patch and two classmates (Monica Potter and Daniel London) commit themselves to creating a place where they can treat patients not just with prescriptions, but with compassion, personal contact and big red clown noses. The first half of PATCH ADAMS certainly belongs to Williams the Clown, given free rein to do his stuff; not coincidentally, it's also the most entertaining half. He performs and pratfalls for a juvenile oncology ward, grants the wishes of the ailing and elderly, and breaks through the anger of a surly terminally ill man (ubiquitous commercial voice Peter Coyote). His rebel with the mile-a-minute mind delivers quite a few laughs through an hour of PATCH ADAMS, but then again, he has to. It's so obvious where this narrative is headed from the moment he enters medical school, Williams offers the only spark of invention. Even when contending with the hammering pathos of grinning, hairless children, he still has the ability to disarm an audience with a joke. Those grinning, hairless children do bode ill for the second half, when PATCH ADAMS gets serious on us. It's not just that screenwriter Steve Oedekerk and director Tom Shadyac (who teamed up on Eddie Murphy's THE NUTTY PROFESSOR) play to the most cliched devices of emotional manipulation, like a tearful speech over a grave and a pedantic speech in a courtroom setting. What's worse is that they don't understand when _not_ to resort to emotional manipulation. There is a particularly distasteful moment in PATCH ADAMS when a character reveals that she is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Instead of allowing the scene any sort of sensitivity or dignity, they turn it into a romantic interlude, complete with Marc Shaiman's obtrusive, syrupy underscore (Shaiman's work should be declared a health risk for diabetics). PATCH ADAMS not only dares you not to be uplifted, it jams a forklift under your seat and slowly grinds you into the ceiling of the theater. I know plenty of viewers will be amused enough by Williams' antics to consider PATCH ADAMS worthwhile. I know plenty of viewers will be applauding Patch sticking it to Big Medicine as the end credits roll. PATCH ADAMS is a calculated, carefully constructed Response Machine, unencumbered by complexities like making the traditional doctors anything more than ogres. True story or no, this is a vehicle for Robin Williams as we've known him best and loved him most. He's the non-conformist ready to quip you into submission...except that he appears all-too-willing to conform to formulaic roles in formulaic films. Doctor, order this film up an IV of subtlety, stat. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Patch-work quips: 5. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 14:25:41 -0700 (MST) From: The Reporter <gregorys@xmission.com> Subject: [MV] Movie News - 12/17/98 The New York Film Critics Circle divided its top awards Wednesday between two films about World War II. "Saving Private Ryan" won best picture of the year, while Terrence Malick was named best director and John Toll won best cinematography for "The Thin Red Line." The awards are often seen as a bellwether of the Academy Awards, for which "Saving Private Ryan" is considered a strong contender. Nick Nolte won the circle's best actor award for his performance in "Affliction," and, in the most surprising move, Cameron Diaz was voted best actress for "There's Something About Mary." The awards will be presented Jan. 10 at Windows on the World at the World Trade Center in Manhattan. -=> * <=- * Other picks by the New York Film Critics Circle: First Film, "Love and Death in Long Island," directed by Richard Kwietniowski; Supporting Actress, Lisa Kudrow, "The Opposite of Sex"; Supporting Actor, Bill Murray, "Rushmore"; Foreign Language Film, "Celebration" (Denmark), directed by Thomas Vinterberg; Screenplay, Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman, "Shakespeare in Love"; Nonfiction, "The Farm," directed by Jonathan Stack, Liz Garbus and Wilbert Rideau. A special award was given for the newly cut version of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil." -=> * <=- 1999 is looking like a three-movie year for John Travolta, says Variety. For the spring, Travolta is considering "Family Man," a comedy about an investment banker who has the chance to relive his life as a doting father, and "Common Ground," about an elite crime-fighting force tracking a killer. In early summer, Travolta could tackle the long-gestating "Battlefield Earth," a pet project of his based on the book by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology faith that includes Travolta among its members. He's also eyeing "Shipping News," in which he will star with wife Kelly Preston. -=> * <=- * SUED: Walt Disney Pictures, by Steven Brill, who created the "Mighty Ducks" movies. He now wants a piece of the hockey team of the same name, and claims he's entitled to 5% of the gross revenues of Mighty Ducks merchandise and 5% of the team's gross revenues. "In the Disney world, life imitates art," said his lawyer. "And Steven Brill created the art." [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 09:13:10 -0700 (MST) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: PATCH ADAMS PATCH ADAMS (Universal) Starring: Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Daniel London, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton. Screenplay: Steve Oedekerk, based on the book "Gesundheit!" by Hunter Doherty Adams and Maureen Mylander. Producers: Barry Kemp, Mike Farrell, Marvin Minoff and Charles Newirth. Director: Tom Shadyac. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 115 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. We've seen this Robin Williams before, though not much recently. We saw him in GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM as the disc jockey whose unconventional approach to military broadcasting endears him to grunts while irritating The Establishment; we saw him in DEAD POETS SOCIETY as the teacher whose unconventional approach to literature endears him to students while irritating The Establishment. This is Robin Williams the crowd-pleasing riff-meister, playing the comedy-drama character arc in which he is temporarily sobered by tragedy but eventually emerges triumphant in the lives he has touched with humor. This is the Robin Williams -- the stand-up comic with the heart of gold -- that we see in PATCH ADAMS, the fact-based story of a medical student whose unconventional approach to patient care endears him to patients while irritating The Establishment. Unfortunately, we've never seen this character so compromised by such an aggressively feel-good film. It opens in 1969, where Hunter "Patch" Adams is a voluntary inmate in a mental hospital. His experience with the patients there energizes him with a desire to heal, leading to his enrollment two years later in medical school. There he becomes a top student, but angers a conservative dean (Bob Gunton) by testing his theory that laughter is the best medicine on actual hospital patients. While repeatedly butting heads with administrators, Patch and two classmates (Monica Potter and Daniel London) commit themselves to creating a place where they can treat patients not just with prescriptions, but with compassion, personal contact and big red clown noses. The first half of PATCH ADAMS certainly belongs to Williams the Clown, given free rein to do his stuff; not coincidentally, it's also the most entertaining half. He performs and pratfalls for a juvenile oncology ward, grants the wishes of the ailing and elderly, and breaks through the anger of a surly terminally ill man (ubiquitous commercial voice Peter Coyote). His rebel with the mile-a-minute mind delivers quite a few laughs through an hour of PATCH ADAMS, but then again, he has to. It's so obvious where this narrative is headed from the moment he enters medical school, Williams offers the only spark of invention. Even when contending with the hammering pathos of grinning, hairless children, he still has the ability to disarm an audience with a joke. Those grinning, hairless children do bode ill for the second half, when PATCH ADAMS gets serious on us. It's not just that screenwriter Steve Oedekerk and director Tom Shadyac (who teamed up on Eddie Murphy's THE NUTTY PROFESSOR) play to the most cliched devices of emotional manipulation, like a tearful speech over a grave and a pedantic speech in a courtroom setting. What's worse is that they don't understand when _not_ to resort to emotional manipulation. There is a particularly distasteful moment in PATCH ADAMS when a character reveals that she is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Instead of allowing the scene any sort of sensitivity or dignity, they turn it into a romantic interlude, complete with Marc Shaiman's obtrusive, syrupy underscore (Shaiman's work should be declared a health risk for diabetics). PATCH ADAMS not only dares you not to be uplifted, it jams a forklift under your seat and slowly grinds you into the ceiling of the theater. I know plenty of viewers will be amused enough by Williams' antics to consider PATCH ADAMS worthwhile. I know plenty of viewers will be applauding Patch sticking it to Big Medicine as the end credits roll. PATCH ADAMS is a calculated, carefully constructed Response Machine, unencumbered by complexities like making the traditional doctors anything more than ogres. True story or no, this is a vehicle for Robin Williams as we've known him best and loved him most. He's the non-conformist ready to quip you into submission...except that he appears all-too-willing to conform to formulaic roles in formulaic films. Doctor, order this film up an IV of subtlety, stat. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Patch-work quips: 5. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 07:13:58 -0700 (MST) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: STEPMOM STEPMOM (Columbia) Starring: Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Liam Aiken. Screenplay: Gigi Levangie and Jessie Nelson & Steven Rogers & Karen Leigh Hopkins and Ron Bass. Producers: Wendy Finerman, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan. Director: Chris Columbus. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 125 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. About forty minutes into STEPMOM, I came to a numbing realization... well, two actually. The first was that I knew exactly where this domestic drama was headed and could predict scenes and confrontations far down the road. The second was that I knew we were still 90 minutes away from the closing credits. As the film ever-so-slowly unfolded, I began to realize what five credited screenwriters can buy you: perhaps the most inefficient screenplay of the year. There's some promising human drama in the premise, which begins with conflict in an extended family. Photographer Isabel Kelly (Julia Roberts), living with divorced attorney Luke Harrison (Ed Harris), is struggling to gain the acceptance of Luke's daughter Anna (Jena Malone) and son Ben (Liam Aiken). Making the task even harder is Luke's ex-wife Jackie (Susan Sarandon), who undercuts Isabel at every turn and rails at her every parenting miscue. What Isabel doesn't know is that Jackie is battling an even tougher adversary than a potential stepmother for her children: cancer. As she confronts her mortality, Jackie also confronts her fears of being replaced in her children's hearts. That's an interesting enough twist on the complicated emotions and allegiances of extended family interactions, one that could have made a tidy feature weeper. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing about STEPMOM could be called tidy. If a situation or relationship calls for a scene to establish it, STEPMOM provides two or three. Isabel bonds with Anna over an art project (one of the film's few truly affecting moments), then bonds with her over a musical number; everyone panics over Ben when he disappears in a park, then panics over Ben when he falls off a jungle gym. STEPMOM appears to have no faith that we'll understand the significance of a character's actions unless those actions are underlined, making it both insulting and redundant. Every turn of character is so deliberately structured, you might suspect that every subsequent screenwriter came in just to add another half dozen scenes, and no one threw anything out. STEPMOM's narrative unwieldiness also makes it extremely hard to connect with any of the many plot lines. Isabel struggles with balancing career and her new family, Jackie struggles with balancing her health and her family, Anna struggles with how she should respond to the new woman in her father's life, and Ben (played by Liam Aiken with the kind of fulsome adorableness that gives child actors a bad name) struggles to find new things to giggle at. Ed Harris, meanwhile, struggles just to find a few minutes of screen time. With all the complexities involved in these family dynamics, dear old dad remains a complete enigma. "You're a great dad," Jackie tells Luke in once scene; "I just never gave you the chance to realize it." That sentiment will probably apply to the entire audience, which may forget there's a father anywhere to be found. For a film about getting your priorities straight, STEPMOM sure doesn't. Of course, it's understood that this is to be a showcase for the two lead actresses, and we shouldn't begrudge them a showcase when lead actresses generally get the treatment Harris gets here. Roberts and Sarandon are both quite good in their roles, Sarandon in particular bringing a wonderful steely maternalism. They're just stuck in the kind of film which has become director Chris Columbus' specialty: cheap comic relief which gives way to Big Messages of understanding. STEPMOM is a big emotional mess of a movie, one which grows increasingly irritating as karaoke production numbers and one tearful goodbye after another chew up minutes of screen time. Good actors deserve better than a script that -- strangely enough -- looks like pieces of the work of five different writers stitched together to form a movie. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 over-extended families: 4. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 #145 **************************** [ To quit the movies-digest mailing list (big mistake), send the message ] [ "unsubscribe movies-digest" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ]