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 Celluloid Closet. This terrific documentary traces
both the overt and covert portrayal of lesbians and gays in the
movies from the freedom of silent era, to the middle of the century
(when same-sex relationships in the movies usually ended in death),
to today, when a gay character actually has a chance of surviving!
This movie is full of wonderful clips and intriguing, behind-the-scenes
glimpses from actors and screenwriters. Learn all about the secret
love-plot embedded in Ben Hur from Gore Vidal; hear about
the obsessive lesbian yearning of the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers
in Hitchcock's Rebecca from Susie Bright. Best of all,
hear Susan Sarandon talk about the triumph and trials of bedding
Catherine Deneuve.
Dragonheart. Not since the Star Wars trilogy have
we seen an otherworldly creature this "realistic" and
lovable. Unfortunately, the quality of the storytelling is light
years away from that cinematic masterpiece. The plot (and the
occasional quip) err at times on the contemporary side considering
the 18th century setting; but Dragonheart overcomes its
weaknesses to deliver an action-adventure-comedy that's perfect
for bored, young audiences out-of-school with nowhere to go. The
moral for insolent teenagers-in-training may alone be worth the
price of admission. Dennis Quaid plays the dragon-slaying knight
and Sean Connery is wise, clever Draco, the last dragon. Overall,
this is a marvel of special effects with plenty of comic relief
to make the cloying sentimentality bearable. On an unlikely yet
appropriate scale, it's better than First Knight but not
as good as Princess Bride.
Flower Of My Secret. Famed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar
takes a stab at melodrama in his most earnest work to date. The
film is dotted with delightful high points and disappointing lows
as Leo, a middle-aged romance writer, negotiates the loss of the
love of her husband. Almodovar is best known for his comedies,
and sometimes it's hard to tell if this movie is satirical. The
illogical script is also sometimes annoying, but when things are
working in this movie, it has the quality of life being portrayed
as it really is, instead of all chewed up and processed like in
Hollywood movies.
Heaven's Prisoners. This long, sweaty look at cops and
robbers in bayou country never really coalesces into much of a
movie. There are lots of stylish shots and the atmosphere is so
thick you could eat it with a fork, but beneath this is virtually
nothing! Alec Baldwin plays a tough homicide detective who's
trying to retire, but bad guys keep literally falling out of the
sky and landing on top of him, and he just can't resist chasing
them. Not only is he addicted to fighting crime, he's also battling,
unsuccessfully, to stay on the wagon. A bevy of babes, both good
and evil (including Teri Hatcher as a clothing-impaired villain),
come to soothe and tempt him. The characters run around for two
and a half hours, then it's over.
Mission: Impossible. Rather than having a plot, this movie
features an accretion of random events arranged next to each other
on film. If you're confused during this movie, join the rapidly
expanding club. On the other hand, Brian DePalma is a genius at
directing action scenes, and you will almost certainly gasp involuntarily
when Tom Cruise hangs above that white supercomputer by a thread.
Those who consider Cruise to be a babe will certainly find him
in top form here. But if you were a fan of the Mission: Impossible
TV series, or if you expect your movies to have coherent plots,
you will be disappointed.
THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS. Janeane Garofalo stars as
Dr. Abby Barnes, a veterinarian with the title call-in radio show
for distraught pet owners. The plot thickens when, amidst the
daily grind of callers with finicky basset hounds and rashes from
three-hour cat tongue baths, a mysterious photographer with a
European accent has a crisis with a Great Dane on roller skates.
When the grateful caller, Brian (Ben Chaplin), talks Abby into
meeting him in person, she inexplicably describes herself as her
supermodel neighbor, played to dippy perfection by Uma Thurman.
It's an insipid premise--smart-but-unattractive woman chooses
beautiful-but-dumb proxy to win the man of her dreams. But from
start to finish the movie is so damn cute--cute animals, cute
actors, cute lines--you might not even notice. Not recommended
for those afraid to laugh out loud in public.
Twister. After a tornado kills Helen Hunt's father, she
becomes obsessed with revenge in this incredibly stupid Michael
Crichton thriller. Every plot point is explained at least three
times in dialogue before being realized in action, and the actors,
especially Bill Paxton, appear to be truly embarrassed by the
script. In an interesting twist, while the good guys in this movie
are weathermen, the bad guys are also weathermen--Bad Weathermen,
in black vans. Nevertheless, there is something to be said for
watching cows, trucks and cars sailing through barns.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Badlands. A stunning film about a boy and a girl who go
on a senseless killing spree in the Badlands of the Dakotas and
Montana by Terrence Malick, the critically revered director who
has made only two films in 20 years. Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek
make a haunting young couple--hollowed-out, affable and detached,
they drive around visiting friends and murdering, demonstrating
a warped misunderstanding of the nature of morality and the American
dream. Beautiful shots of barren landscapes and the spare, elegant
script combine to create one of the most evocative and intimate
portraits of emptiness and alienation since the paintings of De
Chirico. Badlands plays at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress
St., Friday through Sunday. Call 622-2262 for show times.
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