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 Angels And Insects. A semi-creepy tale of lust and romance
between perpetually uptight Victorians. A poor naturalist is taken
in by a wealthy benefactor and eventually marries his beautiful
but distant daughter. At first, all seems well, but a sense of
corruption and decay is stalking the not-so-happy clan. Apparently
Tolstoy was wrong about the variety among unhappy families--they
all seem to be alike these days. (See Mary Reilly for bad-family-of-origin
cross references.) There are fascinating shots of bugs throughout
this film serving a variety of metaphorical purposes, but mostly
they just look cool. Based on the novella by A.S. Byatt, this
is an intelligent, literate film that unfortunately relies on
an "unexpected" and completely predictable "secret"
for its energy.
Broken Arrow. It's good guys against bad in this zippy
action flick from acclaimed Hong Kong director John Woo. John
Travolta plays an appealingly evil nuclear weapons thief trying
to waste the world for fun and profit while Christian Slater and
Samantha Mathis do their spunky best to stop him. Travolta's giddy,
over-the-top performance along with Woo's creative, reckless directorial
style raise Broken Arrow above the humdrum predictability
of most action flicks. (The opening boxing sequence alone is worth
the price of admission.) Once the initial dose of characterization
is administered, the plot just whizzes along, punctuated by regular
explosions. Don't expect to have your moral and intellectual horizons
broadened; do expect to be entertained.
City Of Lost Children. Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro,
the dynamic duo who dreamed up the award-winning Delicatessen
four years ago, delve into a retro-future fantasy world that is
such a visual and narrative feast, you won't even mind the subtitles.
Their cinematic Cirque de Soliel is a surreal journey through
a dark, dank harbor town populated by genetic mutants, a cult
of Cyclops kidnappers and a scrappy band of street-wise orphans.
It harkens back to traditional (un-Disneyfied) fairy tales: untamed
flights of fancy that are equal parts funny and fearsome. Miette
(a haunting nine-year-old femme fatale) and One (a simple-minded
circus giant) band together to save One's adopted brother from
the clutches of Krank, a horrible scientist who's slowly dying
because he lacks one vital function: the ability to dream. From
his laboratory on a remote, mist-shrouded rig, Krank invades the
dreams of his stolen children in a desperate attempt to make them
his own...until One and Miette penetrate Krank's sinister fortress
and challenge him on a level playing field--within the world of
a little boy's dream.
Mary Reilly. The tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde told from
the point of view of Jekyll's house maid, Mary Reilly (played
by Julia Roberts). The film is essentially a character study of
Reilly, and the question is Why? Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a strange, intelligent story that has
a point. The story of Mary Reilly (based on the novel by Valerie
Martin) is slow, predictable and empty. Half of the movie is taken
up by shots of Julia Roberts walking around in the fog, or wandering
around the stunning sets by Academy Award-winning production designer
Stuart Craig. The sets are pretty, Roberts plays the pretty victim
to perfection, and even John Malkovich is kind of good-looking,
but the question is, what's the point?
A Midwinter's Tale. The latest dose of Shakespeare from
writer/director Kenneth Branagh, who doesn't actually appear in
the film. This black and white, low-budget offering chronicles
the rehearsal and performance of Hamlet by a band of idealistic,
misfit actors. The players are all quite self-consciously kooky
and they all have personal "issues" that are miraculously
dissolved on opening night. The catalogue of things that go wrong
in the course of the production is exhaustive, and sometimes watching
these things go wrong can be kind of funny. The claim made on
the poster, that this is "Spinal Tap for the Shakespearean
set" is probably overly optimistic, but at times this film
does manage to succeed in pulling off a little highbrow humor.
Unfortunately, recurring waves of sentimentality and a few annoying
performances rob this film of its clout.
Mr. Wrong. Ellen DeGeneres plays the straight man (so to
speak) in this horrific romantic comedy about a 30-something career
gal fending off attacks on her status as single older sibling.
Bill Pullman plays the boyfriend turned stalker with such convincing
psychosis it's hard to decide where the humor ends and the horror
begins. Far from a simple romantic comedy about exploded expectations,
this twisted tale exploits every fear you've ever had about intimacy.
And if you never had any, it'll give you a few to consider before
ever again saying, "I just want you to be yourself."
A hilarious black comedy that starts on the set of a San Diego
morning show and ends in a Tijuana jail.
Rumble In The Bronx. Jackie Chan, the Buster Keaton of
Hong Kong, is one of the most engaging action stars of all time.
He's credited with inventing the kung fu comedy and is famous
for choreographing and performing all his amazing stunts himself.
Rumble In The Bronx has the impish underdog protecting
his uncle's grocery store in the bad South Bronx from a coed band
of marauding motorcycle thugs. Thrill to one breath-taking stunt
after another of Roadrunner-and-Coyote-style action come to life!
Marvel at the campy coolness of the production values! The English
voices of the Cantonese-speaking actors are overdubbed and the
whole thing is charmingly out-of-synch. Plus, the plot seems to
have been dreamed up by someone whose primary contact with American
culture is '70s action movies. What could be more delightful?
Up Close and Personal. This B-side to Broadcast News
stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford as earnest TV journalists
struggling to lead meaningful lives in a trivialized profession.
Up Close and Personal chronicles the rise of a tough-but-unseasoned
trailer-park Cinderella (Pfeiffer) and her sexist but savvy Prince
Charming (Redford). What's more, the movie is a Cinderella story
unto itself: What appears to be the makings of a sappy and clichéd
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