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From: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com (movies-digest) To: movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: movies-digest V2 #183 Reply-To: movies-digest Sender: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk movies-digest Thursday, April 29 1999 Volume 02 : Number 183 [MV] RE: Simon [MV] Bug's Life [MV] eXistenZ review [MV] REVIEW: THE SCHOOL OF FLESH (L'ECOLE DE LA CHAIR) [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS RE: [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS RE: [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS [MV] REVIEW: ENTRAPMENT [MV] The Movie Report#188, 4/29/99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 07:27:56 -0500 From: mgauvreau@mms.org Subject: [MV] RE: Simon Hi Movie friends: I rented Simon Birch last night at I thought it was really hilarious. (except for the ending of course). Did anyone else think so? I never thought I'd stop laughing during the Christmas Pageant scene! I'm glad I rented this one and recommend it highly. Wondered why it took so long to reach video. Maybe because of Jim Carey's appearancein it and his recent "Golden Globe" snare? Any other thoughts? Also rented "Legalese". Didn't make it to the end. Everyone has their own personal preferences, but this one was just too mindless for me. One "thumbs down" here. Have a great weekend everyone! Michelle [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 08:30:25 -0700 From: "Bruce Bridges" <Bruce@ffww.com> Subject: [MV] Bug's Life Last night I watched my DVD of Bug's Life (only $13.87 including tax and = shipping!) and it was beautiful. They did a direct digital transfer from = the source and it really shows. One of the bonuses (there aren't many) is = the inclusion of both sets of outtakes. They also include the short that = ran with the movie at the theater. =20 They also did an interesting thing with the full screen version (letterbox = and full screen are on the same disc side). Evidently they repositioned = characters that would have been lsot in Pan and Scan in certain scenes. I = haven't watched that version yet but look forward to seeing how it = compares. =20 I love DVD. =20 bb [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 00:39:37 -0700 From: "Jason Cormier" <movieman@netcom.ca> Subject: [MV] eXistenZ review If you go into this movie expecting Matrix 2 then you are in the wrong theatre - go see Matrix again. If, however, you are a smart individual who likes thing a little on the wacky side and have a pretty open mind when it comes to alternate realities - then you are in for one good mind screw with eXistenZ. It gets my vote for favourite movie of the year! A video game designer has designed the newest game and it involves plugging it into your bio-port: a port that has to be installed into the bottom of your spine. The organic game console is then plugged into your back and you become emersed into a different reality. Jude Law is great as is his character - greatly needed in this kind of film - a character that knows as much about eXistenZ as we do - nothing. Jennifer Jason Leigh is great as always - very sly and sexy. A cool entourage of costars as well - with Ian Holm, Don McKellar, Sarah Polley and Willem Dafoe. Go see eXistenZ if you are in for an intellectually stimulating time! I give it a 94%. [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 08:30:58 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: THE SCHOOL OF FLESH (L'ECOLE DE LA CHAIR) THE SCHOOL OF FLESH (L'ECOLE DE LA CHAIR) (Stratosphere) Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Martinez, Vincent Lindon, Marthe Keller. Screenplay: Jacques Fieschi, based on the novel by Yukio Mishima. Producer: Fabienne Vonier. Director: Benoit Jacquot. MPAA Rating: R (sexual situations, nudity, adult themes, drug use) Running Time: 101 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. Film stories of improbable obsession are always tricky because they're so...well, so improbable. In a novel, it's easier to delve into tangled psychology -- to understand, for instance, why a middle-aged man destroys his life for a teenager called Lolita. There is also the secondary problem of giving a face to the object of desire, creating the possibility that the obsession just won't make any sense. A film about irrational passions has to immerse a viewer in that irrationality, even as it gives you some small sense that the irrationality is based on something understandable. Benoit Jacqot's THE SCHOOL OF FLESH (L'ECOLE DE LA CHAIR) struggles in both respects. It's the story of Dominique (Isabelle Huppert), an unmarried Paris fashion executive at a point in her life when her career is the focus of her life. That changes one night when she spies a bartender named Quentin (Vincent Martinez) at a local nightspot, and becomes fascinated with him. Though Quentin's transvestite co-worker Chris (Vincent Lindon) warns Dominique that Quentin is a hustler -- indiscriminate of gender -- Dominique still invites him to dinner, and eventually to bed. Soon Dominique has made Quentin a "kept man," sharing her apartment and money with him even though he continues to lead his previous life. Their relationship twists and turns into something neither one can quite identify, though both need it desperately. Exactly why they need it is not entirely clear. The script, based on a novel by Japanese author Yukio Mishima (THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA), does a decent job of painting Quentin as a troubled man who uses his body for his personal gain, then shows disdain for anyone who wants him for that body. Dominique is a more perplexing case. Isabelle Huppert effectively conveys a confident woman slowly becoming a paranoid mess, following Quentin on his rounds through the city. Jacquot's direction, however, keeps us too distanced from Dominique's obsession for it to make sense as anything more profound than a middle-aged fling. Though the narrative toys with the provocative notion that the childless Dominique is acting out a maternal fantasy as much as a sexual one, the script is too timid to attack that subtext. THE SCHOOL OF FLESH's academic detachment makes it difficult to feel her pain, whatever it might be. It's even more difficult to understand why Vincent Martinez is the man who turns her world upside down. THE SCHOOL OF FLESH is not the first film to assert an unlikely man's attractiveness to women -- the entire Woody Allen oeuvre comes to mind -- but that doesn't make it any easier to accept this particular example. Though Martinez certainly isn't ugly, it's unlikely he'd be anyone's paradigm of masculine beauty; he most closely resembles a slightly more swarthy Joaquin Phoenix. Still, everyone in the film is smitten with Quentin: Dominique, Chris, a distinguised attorney (Francois Berleand), an impressionable teenage girl (Roxane Mesquida). Quentin's animal magnetism is central to THE SCHOOL OF FLESH's premise, yet I didn't notice enough magnetism to erase a computer disk. THE SCHOOL OF FLESH still manages to be somewhat engaging, simply because the relationship dynamics are effectively portrayed. It's rather touching watching Quentin try to make Dominique admit she'd discard him if he were ugly; it's amusing watching Dominique struggle to balance her desire for Quentin with her embarrassment to be with him in public settings. Both central characters are intriguing enough to follow, but it's hard to watch them both degrade themselves when it's not clear enough why they're doing it. Obsession makes for great drama if the "why" is as important as the "what." THE SCHOOL OF FLESH leaves you wondering "why," as well as "why him." On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 flesh dances: 6. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 15:00:20 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS IDLE HANDS (Columbia) Starring: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Jack Noseworthy, Vivica A. Fox. Screenplay: Terri Hughes & Ron Milbauer. Producers: Andrew Licht & Jeffrey A. Mueller and Suzanne Todd & Jennifer Todd. Director: Rodman Flender. MPAA Rating: R (violence, profanity, drug use, nudity, sexual situations) Running Time: 92 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. I don't think there's a time IDLE HANDS could have been released that would have made it a good film, but its unfortunate release at this particular time makes it seem even more rancid. In the wake of the April 21st shootings at Littleton, Colorado's Columbine High School, pundits and politicians have been holding forth on the desensitizing effects of violence in our popular culture, particularly that which is aimed at teenagers. The hard-core First Amendment advocate in me has approached most of this talk as conservative rabble rousing, but there's no defending something as brutally wrong-headed as IDLE HANDS. If this is what contemporary adolescents want to see in the movies, we really are in trouble. The plot, such as it is, centers on a 17-year-old named Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa), whose life's goal is to lay around watching T. V. and getting stoned with his buddies Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson). Unfortunately for Anton, the devil will find work for idle hands to do, as a malevolent spirit takes possession of his right hand and forces him to kill his parents, Mick and Pnub. Then Mick and Pnub return from the dead to provide wacky comic relief, convincing a freaked-out Anton that extreme measures are required. That involves removing the offending appendage, leaving five demonic digits free to wreak havoc at Anton's high school Halloween dance. Even on its most basic level, IDLE HANDS is either idiotic or pandering, when it isn't both. Vivica A. Fox appears as a druid priestess following the hand-possessing spirit's trail of mayhem, perhaps as some sort of misguided spoof of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The nubile lead actress (Jessica Alba) falls instantly for the slackerly Anton, naturally even finding his wayward hand kinky. Naked breasts appear because, well, that's what naked breasts do in teen-oriented films. The problem-solving powers of marijuana are lauded to the heavens. Mick and Pnub are the only two victims of Anton's to return from the grave -- even the internal logic of the film's supernatural universe is fuzzy -- only to invite comparisons to another horror comedy, John Landis' AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. And the gore, it raineth down like waters from the heavens. Only Seth Green, with his wry delivery, offers a moment's entertainment amidst the stupidity. I'll head off the rebuttals of the "dude, relax, it's just a movie" contingent at the proverbial pass: yes, it's supposed to be a horror comedy, with its absurd excesses probably intentional to a certain extent. The problem is that the horror and the comedy are not combined with a knowing wink, but sequenced in a disconcerting fashion. First, someone is killed in a horrific manner; then, someone makes a joke about the murder. The numbing nonchalance of the commentary lends credence to the harshest condemnations of media violence -- in this film, the ridicule isn't directed at the conventions of horror films, but at the deaths of teenagers. When characters in the film gather at a makeshift memorial to two of Anton's victims, it's hard to suppress a shudder when images of Columbine High School are still so fresh in our minds. Of course it's a freakish coincidence that IDLE HANDS appears as it does in the wake of that tragedy, and that any of the film's images bring it to mind. It's harder to ignore turning straightforward carnage into comedy. I'm not sure whether IDLE HANDS could have redeemed itself if it actually had made a statement about the potential destructiveness of its protagonists' lives of sloth instead of celebrating same, but at least that would have been a nod to something beyond its audience's most anti-social tendencies. This film is a bad idea at an even worse time, little more than fuel for the fires of righteous indignation which, unfortunately, are seeming a bit more righteous all the time. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 false idles: 1. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 16:03:55 +0100 From: Wade Snider <wsnider@brazoselectric.com> Subject: RE: [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS I have seen this trailer over and over now, and I think it looked as stupid as Scott says. It looks soooooooooo awful. > -----Original Message----- > From: Scott Renshaw [SMTP:renshaw@inconnect.com] > Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 4:00 PM > To: renshaw@inconnect.com > Subject: [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS > > IDLE HANDS > (Columbia) > Starring: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Jack > Noseworthy, Vivica A. Fox. > Screenplay: Terri Hughes & Ron Milbauer. > Producers: Andrew Licht & Jeffrey A. Mueller and Suzanne Todd & Jennifer > Todd. > Director: Rodman Flender. > MPAA Rating: R (violence, profanity, drug use, nudity, sexual situations) > Running Time: 92 minutes. > Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. > > I don't think there's a time IDLE HANDS could have been released that > would have made it a good film, but its unfortunate release at this > particular time makes it seem even more rancid. In the wake of the April > 21st shootings at Littleton, Colorado's Columbine High School, pundits and > politicians have been holding forth on the desensitizing effects of > violence in our popular culture, particularly that which is aimed at > teenagers. The hard-core First Amendment advocate in me has approached > most of this talk as conservative rabble rousing, but there's no defending > something as brutally wrong-headed as IDLE HANDS. If this is what > contemporary adolescents want to see in the movies, we really are in > trouble. > > The plot, such as it is, centers on a 17-year-old named Anton Tobias > (Devon Sawa), whose life's goal is to lay around watching T. V. and > getting stoned with his buddies Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson). > Unfortunately for Anton, the devil will find work for idle hands to do, as > a malevolent spirit takes possession of his right hand and forces him to > kill his parents, Mick and Pnub. Then Mick and Pnub return from the dead > to provide wacky comic relief, convincing a freaked-out Anton that extreme > measures are required. That involves removing the offending appendage, > leaving five demonic digits free to wreak havoc at Anton's high school > Halloween dance. > > Even on its most basic level, IDLE HANDS is either idiotic or > pandering, when it isn't both. Vivica A. Fox appears as a druid priestess > following the hand-possessing spirit's trail of mayhem, perhaps as some > sort of misguided spoof of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The nubile lead > actress (Jessica Alba) falls instantly for the slackerly Anton, naturally > even finding his wayward hand kinky. Naked breasts appear because, well, > that's what naked breasts do in teen-oriented films. The problem-solving > powers of marijuana are lauded to the heavens. Mick and Pnub are the only > two victims of Anton's to return from the grave -- even the internal logic > of the film's supernatural universe is fuzzy -- only to invite comparisons > to another horror comedy, John Landis' AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. > And the gore, it raineth down like waters from the heavens. Only Seth > Green, with his wry delivery, offers a moment's entertainment amidst the > stupidity. > > I'll head off the rebuttals of the "dude, relax, it's just a movie" > contingent at the proverbial pass: yes, it's supposed to be a horror > comedy, with its absurd excesses probably intentional to a certain extent. > The problem is that the horror and the comedy are not combined with a > knowing wink, but sequenced in a disconcerting fashion. First, someone is > killed in a horrific manner; then, someone makes a joke about the murder. > The numbing nonchalance of the commentary lends credence to the harshest > condemnations of media violence -- in this film, the ridicule isn't > directed at the conventions of horror films, but at the deaths of > teenagers. When characters in the film gather at a makeshift memorial to > two of Anton's victims, it's hard to suppress a shudder when images of > Columbine High School are still so fresh in our minds. > > Of course it's a freakish coincidence that IDLE HANDS appears as it > does in the wake of that tragedy, and that any of the film's images bring > it to mind. It's harder to ignore turning straightforward carnage into > comedy. I'm not sure whether IDLE HANDS could have redeemed itself if it > actually had made a statement about the potential destructiveness of its > protagonists' lives of sloth instead of celebrating same, but at least > that would have been a nod to something beyond its audience's most > anti-social tendencies. This film is a bad idea at an even worse time, > little more than fuel for the fires of righteous indignation which, > unfortunately, are seeming a bit more righteous all the time. > > On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 false idles: 1. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room > http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ > *** > Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! > See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject > "Subscribe". > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] > [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 15:36:13 -0600 From: jkrudy <jkrudy@micron.com> Subject: RE: [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS Reminiscent of Space Camp being released just after the Challenger blew up. Nobody was in the mood to see a movie about space tragedies then. James K. Rudy - -----Original Message----- From: Scott Renshaw [mailto:renshaw@inconnect.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 3:00 PM To: renshaw@inconnect.com Subject: [MV] REVIEW: IDLE HANDS IDLE HANDS (Columbia) Starring: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Jack Noseworthy, Vivica A. Fox. Screenplay: Terri Hughes & Ron Milbauer. Producers: Andrew Licht & Jeffrey A. Mueller and Suzanne Todd & Jennifer Todd. Director: Rodman Flender. MPAA Rating: R (violence, profanity, drug use, nudity, sexual situations) Running Time: 92 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. I don't think there's a time IDLE HANDS could have been released that would have made it a good film, but its unfortunate release at this particular time makes it seem even more rancid. In the wake of the April 21st shootings at Littleton, Colorado's Columbine High School, pundits and politicians have been holding forth on the desensitizing effects of violence in our popular culture, particularly that which is aimed at teenagers. The hard-core First Amendment advocate in me has approached most of this talk as conservative rabble rousing, but there's no defending something as brutally wrong-headed as IDLE HANDS. If this is what contemporary adolescents want to see in the movies, we really are in trouble. The plot, such as it is, centers on a 17-year-old named Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa), whose life's goal is to lay around watching T. V. and getting stoned with his buddies Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson). Unfortunately for Anton, the devil will find work for idle hands to do, as a malevolent spirit takes possession of his right hand and forces him to kill his parents, Mick and Pnub. Then Mick and Pnub return from the dead to provide wacky comic relief, convincing a freaked-out Anton that extreme measures are required. That involves removing the offending appendage, leaving five demonic digits free to wreak havoc at Anton's high school Halloween dance. Even on its most basic level, IDLE HANDS is either idiotic or pandering, when it isn't both. Vivica A. Fox appears as a druid priestess following the hand-possessing spirit's trail of mayhem, perhaps as some sort of misguided spoof of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The nubile lead actress (Jessica Alba) falls instantly for the slackerly Anton, naturally even finding his wayward hand kinky. Naked breasts appear because, well, that's what naked breasts do in teen-oriented films. The problem-solving powers of marijuana are lauded to the heavens. Mick and Pnub are the only two victims of Anton's to return from the grave -- even the internal logic of the film's supernatural universe is fuzzy -- only to invite comparisons to another horror comedy, John Landis' AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. And the gore, it raineth down like waters from the heavens. Only Seth Green, with his wry delivery, offers a moment's entertainment amidst the stupidity. I'll head off the rebuttals of the "dude, relax, it's just a movie" contingent at the proverbial pass: yes, it's supposed to be a horror comedy, with its absurd excesses probably intentional to a certain extent. The problem is that the horror and the comedy are not combined with a knowing wink, but sequenced in a disconcerting fashion. First, someone is killed in a horrific manner; then, someone makes a joke about the murder. The numbing nonchalance of the commentary lends credence to the harshest condemnations of media violence -- in this film, the ridicule isn't directed at the conventions of horror films, but at the deaths of teenagers. When characters in the film gather at a makeshift memorial to two of Anton's victims, it's hard to suppress a shudder when images of Columbine High School are still so fresh in our minds. Of course it's a freakish coincidence that IDLE HANDS appears as it does in the wake of that tragedy, and that any of the film's images bring it to mind. It's harder to ignore turning straightforward carnage into comedy. I'm not sure whether IDLE HANDS could have redeemed itself if it actually had made a statement about the potential destructiveness of its protagonists' lives of sloth instead of celebrating same, but at least that would have been a nod to something beyond its audience's most anti-social tendencies. This film is a bad idea at an even worse time, little more than fuel for the fires of righteous indignation which, unfortunately, are seeming a bit more righteous all the time. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 false idles: 1. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 09:23:40 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: ENTRAPMENT ENTRAPMENT (20th Century Fox) Starring: Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ving Rhames, Will Patton. Screenplay: Ron Bass and William Broyles. Producers: Sean Connery, Michael Hertzberg and Rhonda Tollefson. Director: Jon Amiel. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 114 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. At least ENTRAPMENT lets you know what your in for from its opening shot, a sweeping helicopter approach over water towards the New York skyline. It's a shot that has opened many a recent film, one of those showy mood-setters of which imagination-impaired directors are so very fond. Of course, you can't expect much more from a director when he's working with imagination-impaired writers. There are movies that repulse you, movies that enthrall you, and then there are movies that just plug away joylessly to fill a genre slot on a release schedule. ENTRAPMENT is one of those movies apparently made by people who have spent their entire lives locked away from the world watching other movies...and not even other _good_ movies. The set-up finds an insurance investigator named Virginia "Gin" Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) fascinated with the career of a legendary art thief named Robert "Mac" MacDougal (Sean Connery). Mac has cost Gin's company millions, so Gin convinces her boss (Will Patton) to let her launch a plan to reel him in. Posing as a thief herself, Gin lures Mac into a partnership to steal a priceless Chinese mask. The alliance is, of course, an uneasey one, complicated by the distrust of Mac's partner and supplier Thibadeaux (Ving Rhames) and the romantic feelings developing between the two duplicitous characters. It's possible that ENTRAPMENT could have gotten away with being just a heist thriller; the elaborately choreographed break-ins are decently crafted, and offer at least an occasional whiff of tension. Unfortunately, the script -- credited to Ron Bass and William Broyles, but actually the work of several more -- wants to cast Gin and Mac as star-crossed lovers, kindred spirits divided by their hidden agendas. It's a thoroughly failed attempt, since the characters are kept so enigmatic that it's never possible to understand their attraction, and their exchanges are so leaden that they might as well have the pages of the script on the table in front of them. Meanwhile, the pacing grows so lugubrious as Gin and Mac exchange loaded glances that you're likely to nod off between break-in set pieces. The other option for a viewer is to use that time to play Spot the Cliche. Be sure to have your pad and pen ready from that opening helicopter shot, because ENTRAPMENT appears to be the product of a Script-O-Matic. From the B-follows-A dialogue exchanges (She: "There won't be any surprises." He: "There _always_ are surprises.") to the physics-defying disappearing acts, from the ominous location-identifying on-screen titles to the training montage, the film is on auto-pilot from start to finish. Thank heaven for Ving Rhames' vaguely menacing performance, and Maury Chaykin's bizarre Sidney Greenstreet-meets-Truman Capote crime boss, or there might not have been a second of ENTRAPMENT worth remembering a day later. It's designed to be swallowed without chewing. I suppose that's partially to avoid giving anyone in the audience reason to ponder the jaw-dropping gaps in logic. ENTRAPMENT ends with one of those "betcha didn't see that coming" conclusions which, frankly, I _didn't_ see coming. I'd also long ago given up caring, especially when the behavior of the characters at certain points in the film makes no sense whatsoever when compared to what we eventually learn about them. You can only forgive that kind of laziness-disguised-as-cleverness if a film has been working hard to entertain you, to keep you engaged from start to finish. ENTRAPMENT is a film that just doesn't care. It's a film about theft, all right...of your money, your time, and the devices of a dozen other trite Hollywood star projects. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 cat bunglers: 3. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 10:23:15 -0700 From: Michael Dequina <michael_jordan@geocities.com> Subject: [MV] The Movie Report#188, 4/29/99 T H E M O V I E R E P O R T #188 APRIL 29, 1999 You can help support the MR and Mr. Brown's Movie Site by purchasing videos and DVDs from Reel.com. Please visit: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-reel.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dwelcome.htm= l Thank you very much. =3D>T H I S W E E K<=3D M O V I E S - -_Entrapment_ - -_eXistenZ_ - -_Get_Real_ - -_Idle_Hands_ V I D E O - -_At_First_Sight_ - -_Elizabeth_ - -_Happiness_ - -_Stepmom_ =3D>U P D A T E S<=3D @MR. BROWN'S MOVIE SITE - -Awards Weekend 1999 section, featuring scans of Oscar night paraphernalia: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/oscars - -Photos from the NAACP Image Awards and the _Forces_of_Nature_ premiere: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/celeb/40.html - -Over 30 photos from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, starting at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/celeb/41.html For that, the best and worst of 1998, links to the official websites of all the current films, past reviews, exclusive Hollywood event photos, movie MIDI music, movie discussion board, a comprehensive link section, and more, visit: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown or http://welcome.to/mrbrown or http://mysp.com/p/mrbrown or http://mrbrown.webjump.com Please don't forget to sign the guestbook... If you are reading this on Usenet, you can subscribe to the MR at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/moviereport.html Select reviews are available at CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com=20 ...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 I am always up for a good live chat. Feel free to message me on ICQ at #25289934 or on AOL Instant Messenger under the handle "MrBrown23." all movies graded out of four stars (****) ~~~ =3D>M O V I E S<=3D N E W R E L E A S E S _Entrapment_ (PG-13) ** 1/2 About a third into _Entrapment_, we have learned the following about Catherine Zeta-Jones: her character is an insurance investigator trying to nail a world famous thief by posing as a thief herself; she is very athletic and remarkably limber (watch her slither her way around a grid of security lasers); she struggles with an American accent (her natural Welsh lilt always creeps through); and she looks smashing in a skin-tight cat suit. In short, we have learned just about everything--except for one teensy detail: her character's name. This is a problem, but one that it easily forgiven; after all, maybe director Jon Amiel was as distracted by Zeta-Jones's magnetism--and, for that matter, that of leading man Sean Connery--as the audience is. Their combined charisma keeps _Entrapment_ watchable. What it doesn't, however, is make this action adventure terribly exciting. That's Amiel's job, and he does not appear to know quite how to approach it. Amiel does stage a particularly tense heist scene where undercover investigator Virginia Baker (yes, that is Zeta-Jones's character name) and her quarry, master thief Robert MacDougal (Connery) team up to steal a precious mask. But that's about the only thrill scene that Amiel doesn't fumble in some way. An early car chase is too abbreviated to make any sort of impression, and a high-wire climax is too contrived and conventionally staged to be very suspenseful. Amiel handles the quieter moments better, but there he is largely helped by the the rapport between his megawatt stars. Even that, however, isn't always enough; the two can't hide the fact that the manipulative, overly drawn-out resolution could have used a lot more tightening in the editing room. The many twists in the script by Ron Bass and William Broyles Jr. do not always make complete sense, but it delivers enough surprises to keep the audience on their toes and interested. But without some real zest and style on the directorial end--which ousted helmer Antoine Fuqua (_The_Replacement_Killers_) could have brought to the project--_Entrapment_ is more of a diversion than a true thriller. Hollywood Hotline Featured Review _eXistenZ_ (R) *** For all its awe-inspiring gee-wizardry, the common perception of virtual reality remains as that of a rather cold, technical concept. As seen in reality and as depicted in the movies, VR enables one to do things one would never otherwise be able to, but it pretty much boils down to doing next to nothing: just lying still, with cumbersome gear strapped onto the eyes and different places on the body. Leave it to writer-director David Cronenberg to turn conventional perception on its ear. His latest film, _eXistenZ_, is indeed part of the recent crop of VR-themed thrillers, but Cronenberg's take on the concept is truly unlike anything ever seen. _eXistenZ_ takes its name from a virtual reality system created by Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a world-famous game designer. The virtual world explored in eXistenZ--and, in turn, _eXistenZ_--is nothing particularly new or visually spectacular: more or less, it's a duplication of the actual world, except with seamless, if abrupt, shifts in time and place. Neither is Cronenberg's plot terribly ambitious. Fundamentally, the story simply has Allegra and her makeshift bodyguard Ted Pikul (Jude Law, sporting a flawless Canadian accent) on the run from assassins who want to see "the demoness Allegra" dead. Eventually, the two retreat into eXistenZ, a world that may actually be more "real" than the one they live in. Cronenberg's main concern, however, is not so much in the intentionally video-game-thin story, but in the finer details, most notably in the nature of the eXistenZ system itself. There is no heavy headgear, gloves, wires, or the like; in their place is a soft, kidney-shaped GamePod, connected to an UmbyCord, which is exactly as it sounds: long, thick, and fleshy. It would be tempting to call the eXistenZ system "biomechanical," but there's nothing "mechanical" or electronic about it; the GamePod appears to be a natural living organism in itself, undulating and gurgling as if it had a mind of its own. Further blurring the line between nature and technology is the GamePod's power source: the human nervous system. The UmbyCord is plugged into a BioPort, which is a hole drilled into a player's lower back, tapping directly into the spinal column. Making the human body part of the equipment not only adds a certain creepiness, but also a dimension of perverse eroticism. Before being inserted, both the tip of the UmbyCord and the BioPort must be moistened, and when the BioPort is penetrated by the UmbyCord--or anything else, for that matter--it gets visibly stimulated. Mere connection does not mean entrance into eXistenZ; one must also stroke the moist, nipple-like knobs on the GamePod. This sensual caressing of the GamePod goes on as one is in the game. The blatantly sexual overtones are just one bizarre detail of Cronenberg's fascinating, if unsettling, vision. There is a great deal of gore in _eXistenZ_, most of all in Allegra and Ted's game, where mutant amphibians figure prominently--or, rather, their remains. Their dead bodies are gruesomely mined for their innards, which are used to build GamePods in a slaughterhouse called a Trout Farm; they also turn up on the unappetizing menu of a Chinese restaurant. The slimy stickiness could easily be pegged as cheap sensationalism, but it plays an integral and sometimes surprising part in Cronenberg's larger picture. Playing a weaker part in that larger picture is the story, which, while superficially engaging, never adds up to much. I won't give away its conclusion, which was met with some boos at my audience, but it essentially reveals _eXistenZ_ as one big tease--which, I believe, is the point. What matters to Cronenberg is the imaginative trip on which his film takes its audience and the eerie feeling of unease it leaves with them at the end. In that sense, _eXistenZ_, like its namesake, is one big game, but it is definitely one worth playing--or, rather, one to be played _by_. IN BRIEF _Get_Real_ (R) *** "Get real" is something audiences may say in the early stages of this British drama, the inaugural release of Paramount's Classics division. It begins as sort of a gay variation on the "frumpy girl wins popular boy" high school film archetype. Hunky track star John Dixon (Brad Gorton) catches the eye of many, including Steven Carter (Ben Silverstone), an outcast who is aware of his own homosexuality yet keeps his feelings locked in the closet. By chance, Steven learns occupying the same closet is John, but he has yet to accept who he is. The two forge a friendship that quickly--maybe a bit too much so to be entirely convincing--turns to something more. But, just as quickly, reality creeps into Steven's romantic fantasy come true. John not only wishes to keep their affair secret, but their friendship as well; and Steven becomes increasingly frustrated with pretending to be something he's not. When the film takes this more serious turn and "gets real," _Get_Real_ reveals itself to be a highly involving film, anchored by a touching lead performance by Silverstone. Director Simon Shore and screenwriter Patrick Wilde (adapting his play _What's_Wrong_with_Angry?_) sometimes resort to some forced comic relief, mostly involving Steven's confidante Linda (Charlotte Brittain), but it isn't enough to dilute the power of the entire picture, which wisely eschews a tidy resolution. _Idle_Hands_ (R) ** In an industry where truth in advertising doesn't rate high on the priority list, it comes as almost a relief that this horror comedy delivers exactly what its trailer promises--the key word being "almost." Devon Sawa plays a teen whose right hand becomes possessed by an evil force of legend; in its pursuit is a Druid priestess (Vivica A. Fox), the only person who can end its killing spree. There are a few laughs and various amusements to be had along the blood-soaked way, the laughs mostly coming from Seth Green as one of Sawa's undead buddies; and a lot of the amusement coming from the stunning Jessica Alba, braving an insulting role as Sawa's often underwear-clad love interest. But director Rodman Flender too precariously straddles the line between fun and cheese, often going a bit too far over the top. In the end, amusing camp is still just camp, best typified by this memorably ridiculous line delivered by Fox: "There's evil out there, and I'm going to KICK ITS ASS!" I N C U R R E N T R E L E A S E (full reviews of the following in past MRs and at the listed URLs) - -_Analyze_This_ (R) *** <MR#180, 3/4/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt46.html#analyze =20 - -_Cookie's_Fortune_ (PG-13) *** 1/2 <MR#185, 4/7/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#cookie - -_Doug's_1st_Movie_ (G) ** <MR#184, 4/1/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#doug - -_The_Dreamlife_of_Angels_(La_Vie_R=EAv=E9e_des_Anges)_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#186, 4/16/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#dreamlife - -_EDtv_ (PG-13) *** <MR#184, 4/1/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#edtv - -_Election_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#187, 4/22/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#election - -_Foolish_ (R) no stars <MR#186, 4/16/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#foolish - -_Forces_of_Nature_ (PG-13) ** 1/2 <MR#182, 3/18/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt46.html#forces - -_Friends_&_Lovers_ no stars <MR#187, 4/22/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#friends - -_Go_ (R) **** <MR#185, 4/7/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#go - -_Goodbye_Lover_ (R) *** <MR#179, 2/25/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt45.html#goodbye - -_Hideous_Kinky_ (R) *** <MR#187, 4/22/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#hideous - -_The_King_and_I_ (G) 1/2* <MR#184, 4/1/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#king - -_Life_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#186, 4/16/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#life - -_Life_Is_Beautiful_(La_Vita_E_Bella)_ (PG-13) **** <MR#162, 10/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#vitabella - -_Lock,_Stock_and_Two_Smoking_Barrels_ (R) *** <MR#180, 3/4/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt46.html#lockstock - -_Lost_&_Found_ (PG-13) ** <MR#187, 4/22/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#lost - -_The_Matrix_ (R) **** <MR#183, 3/28/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#matrix - -_Metroland_ ** <MR#186, 4/16/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#metroland - -_Mighty_Peking_Man_ no stars; **** for camp value <MR#186, 4/16/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#peking - -_Never_Been_Kissed_ (PG-13) *** <MR#183, 3/28/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#never - -_October_Sky_ (PG) *** <MR#179, 2/25/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt45.html#october - -_The_Out-of-Towners_ (PG-13) ** <MR#184, 4/1/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#out - -_Pushing_Tin_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#187, 4/22/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#tin - -_Shakespeare_in_Love_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#171, 12/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt43.html#shakespeare - -_SLC_Punk!_ (R) *** <MR#187, 4/22/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#slc - -_10_Things_I_Hate_About_You_ (PG-13) ** <MR#183, 3/28/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#10 - -_True_Crime_ (R) *** <MR#184, 4/1/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt47.html#true - -_Twin_Dragons_ (PG-13) ** 1/2 <MR#186, 4/16/99> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt48.html#dragons O N T H E H O R I Z O N FRIDAY _Entrapment_ (R) ** 1/2 <see above review> The magnetism of stars Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones isn't quite enough to overcome Jon Amiel's misdirection of this lightweight thief thriller. _Get_Real_ (R) *** <see above review> Moving British drama about a teen (Ben Silverstone) dealing with his closeted homosexuality. _Heaven_ (R) Thriller about an unhappy architect (Martin Donovan) who becomes entangled with the psychic visions of a transvestite stripper (Danny Edwards). No, I didn't make this one up. Joanna Going also stars for writer-director Scott Reynolds. _Idle_Hands_ (R) ** <see above review> Campy horror comedy about a teen (Devon Sawa) whose hand becomes possessed by an evil force. _Three_Seasons_ (PG-13) The toast of this year's Sundance Film Festival was Tony Bui's drama following four characters in modern-day Vietnam, including a former G.I. played by Harvey Keitel (who also executive produced). _The_Winslow_Boy_ (G) David Mamet follows up last year's slick puzzle of a thriller, _The_Spanish_Prisoner_, with something completely different--an adaptation of Terence Ratigan's play about the titular 13-year-old (Guy Edwards), who is expelled from his military school after being accused of theft in 1912 England. Jeremy Northam, Nigel Hawthorne, and Rebecca Pidgeon also star. ~~~ =3D>V I D E O<=3D N E W T H I S W E E K _At_First_Sight_ (PG-13) ** 1/2 Full review in MR#174, 1/21/99; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt44.html#sight Buy at VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D44152 A story about a man stricken with an affliction, "inspired by a true story." If that doesn't sound like a premise tailor-made for the small screen, I don't know what does. Despite presence of big screen stars Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, who share a natural romantic rapport as a blind man and the woman who urges him to undergo a sight-restoring operation, respectively, Irwin Winkler's manipulative, contrived melodrama felt blown out of proportion on the big screen. On video, the film should be more at home (bad pun unintended). (MGM/UA Home Video; DVD also available) _Elizabeth_ (R) *** 1/2 Full review in MR#162, 10/16/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#elizabeth Buy at VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43968 Cut down to TV size, Shekhar Kapur's opulent Best Picture nominee loses some of its grandiose, larger-than-life allure. But this fast-paced "historical thriller" about Queen Elizabeth I's (Cate Blanchett) rise to the British throne plays well on any screen, due to its unconventional, action-oriented tone (which will probably upset those looking for meatier, statelier historical drama) and the sterling performances, led by Blanchett's Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated turn. (PolyGram Video; DVD available May 25) _Happiness_ **** Full review in MR#162, 10/16/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#happiness Buy at VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43618 Writer-director Todd Solondz followed up his bleak, Sundance award-winning portrait of junior high school, _Welcome_to_the_Dollhouse_, with this even darker film, following a cross-section of miserable adult lives in New Jersey. Perhaps the most unsettling fact about the film, however, is not the characters' misery, but the queasy laughs Solondz manages to squeeze from it. That said, the most memorable--and most controversial--plot thread is a completely serious, very evenhanded portrait of a pedophile (Dylan Baker, last year's true Best Supporting Actor). The rest of the excellent ensemble cast includes Lara Flynn Boyle, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jane Adams, and Camryn Manheim. (Trimark Home Video; DVD also available) _Stepmom_ (PG-13) *** Full review in MR#170, 12/11/98; and at: http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt43.html#stepmom Buy at VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D44390 The big "surprise" cancer wrinkle in Chris Columbus's melodrama may make the film more TV-friendly, but it doesn't make it any less of a contrived distraction in this otherwise involving and well-acted biological mom (Susan Sarandon) vs. future stepmother (Julia Roberts) tale. Ed Harris and Jena Malone also star. (Columbia TriStar Home Video) A L S O N E W T H I S W E E K _Taste_of_Cherry_ Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D40979 The Palme d'Or at 1997's Cannes Film Festival went to this Iranian drama about the spiritual journey of a suicidal man. (Home Vision; DVD available May 25) _Ten_Benny_ (R) Buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D44033 Crime drama about a shoe salesman (Adrien Brody) who runs afoul of a local mobster. (BMG Independents) _The_Thief_ Buy at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D40916 Award-winning, post-WWII-set Russian drama about a criminal who insinuates himself into the lives of a single mother and her son. (Columbia TriStar Home Video) R E C E N T R E L E A S E S (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#x Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43842 - -_Apt_Pupil_ (R) *** 1/2 <MR#161, 10/8/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#pupil Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43652 - -_Belly_ (R) ** <MR#165, 11/6/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#belly Buy at VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43967 - -_Beloved_ (R) *** <MR#162, 10/16/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#beloved Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43692 - -_A_Bug's_Life_ (G) *** 1/2 <MR#167, 11/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#bugs Buy at VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D44093 - -_I_Still_Know_What_You_Did_Last_Summer_ (R) * <MR#165, 11/6/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#istillknow Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D44032 - -_Meet_Joe_Black_ (PG-13) *** <MR#167, 11/20/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt42.html#joe Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43908 - -_A_Night_at_the_Roxbury_ (PG-13) 1/2* <MR#160, 10/5/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt40.html#roxbury Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43552 - -_The_Siege_ (R) ** 1/2 <MR#164, 10/29/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt41.html#siege Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43725 - -_Simon_Birch_ (PG) ** 1/2 <MR#157, 9/6/98> http://www.godamongdirectors.com/mrbrown/movierpt39.html#simon Buy VHS or DVD at Reel.com: http://www.reel.com/cgi-bin/nph-session.exe?COBRAND=3DMRBR&OBJECT=3Dmoviepag= e.as p?MMID=3D43338 ~~~ =3D>N E X T W E E K<=3D More reviews, including: - -_The_Mummy_ - -_William_Shakespeare's_A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream_ (delayed from this week) 'til then...=20 __________________________________________________________ Michael Dequina Chat Forum Host, The Official Michael Jordan Web Site http://jordan.sportsline.com mj23@michaeljordanfan.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com michael_jordan@geocities.com | mrbrown@iname.com >My personal WWW sites< Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown Michael Jordan Beyond the Court: http://fly.to/michaeljordan A Michael Jordan Fan's Heartbreak: http://fly.to/mj23 Personal Page: http://welcome.to/w3md >Other WWW sites I work on< CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com Albany Online: http://www.AlbanyOnline.com Eyepiece Network: http://www.eyepiece.com Film Frenzy: http://www.filmfrenzy.com "Life is knowing the toughest competition you ever face is yourself." - --Michael Jordan __________________________________________________________ [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ End of movies-digest V2 #183 **************************** [ To quit the movies-digest mailing list (big mistake), send the message ] [ "unsubscribe movies-digest" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ]