The Basketball Diaries. This autobiographical retelling
of Jim Carroll's teenage slip into heroin-addicted oblivion during
the mid-'60s invests too much effort in gritty realism and not
enough into rounding its character or forming a narrative. We
basically see the addict fail to redeem himself over and over,
until one day, miraculously, he does. As directed by Scott Kalvert,
a verteran of MTV videos, the movie is a stylish late-night lark
with all the insight of a one-note after school special. Tough,
naked performances by Leonard DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco and Ernie
Hudson only accentuate the film's shortcomings.
Batman Forever. This summer's Batman has a new face (Val
Kilmer), a new girlfriend (Nicole Kidman), a new sidekick (Chris
O'Donnell, playing Robin), and two new villains (Jim Carrey and
Tommy Lee Jones) to battle. He's also got a new director, Joel
Schumacher, who directs the spectacle with a glossy light touch
that seems altogether more appropriate than the self-consciously
moody approach Tim Burton took during the first two outings. Though
the series has never been worthy of the hype it has generated,
this one's pretentious aspects are transparent enough that you
can enjoy the movie for the slick, stupid, self-referential commercial
that it is. For once, nobody will believe the lie that a film
about a comic book character adds up to a grand artistic vision;
that's a blessing that makes this picture the lesser of the three
evils.
Braveheart. Writer-director Mel Gibson clobbers the audience
with three hours of blunt storytelling about a rebellious Scottish
clansman who led soldiers into effective battle against British
tyranny. Much of the movie's violence is grippingly effective,
especially a couple of well-orchestrated fight sequences that,
though aesthetically closer to the limbless knight scene in Monty
Python and the Holy Grail than the poetic violence of Sam
Peckinpah, are still quite powerful. But Gibson's relentless chant
of "Freedom!" and the film's overtones of romantic martyrdom
don't really stick; mostly, the movie leaves you with a dispiriting
sense of human brutality.
The Bridges Of Madison County. Based on the popular Robert
James Waller book, this Clint Eastwood tearjerker glorifies an
affair between a neglected housewife (Meryl Streep) and a worldly
photographer (Eastwood, who at age 64, is starting to look like
a turtle). And oh, what a lovely fantasy for lonely middle-aged
housewives it is: The sex is great, the encounter is brief, and
there are no consequences afterwards. It's about as passionate
and tough-minded as a Hallmark card, but Streep's expert performance
renders many of the scenes touching enough to draw out a tear
or two.
Casper. That friendly little dead kid from the comic-book
'50s has been resurrected for the computer-generated '90s--and
though a bit pale, he's looking good. So is his movie, which unlike
last summer's The Flintstones, has the quick pacing and
good cheer necessary to get audiences past a typically slim, gadget-ridden
storyline. Actors Bill Pullman (likable as always) and especially
Christina Ricci (who has become eye-catchingly lovely since her
days in The Addams Family) are responsible; playing an
afterlife researcher and his lonely daughter, they provide the
movie with just enough soul to get by. Casper doesn't do too bad
in that department, either. Also starring Cathy Moriarty and Eric
Idle.
Congo. After being spoiled by Jurassic Park, you can't
help but feel that something's missing from this summer's Michael
Crichton thriller. Where are the moral issues? Where are the scientific
tangents? Where are the dinosaurs? Following a handful
of differently-motivated explorers into the heart of an African
jungle, this Frank Marshall-directed spectacle feels hollow every
misstep of the way. Marshall transparently uses the plot as a
chassis for a series of action set-ups, and the characters as
vehicles for one-liners. There's no wonderment to fill in the
gaps. Amy, the gorilla who talks via computerized bodygear, has
more heart than anyone else in the picture.
Die Hard With A Vengeance. The third Die Hard film
is as good as you could hope, given that most "three"
films are usually only one-third as good as the original. But
this one is at least half as good as Die Hard, thanks
to loads of Speed-style chases and bombings in downtown
New York City and director John McTiernan's deftness with cartoonish
action. And while the European conspiracy-plotting and Bruce Willis'
working-class hero routine are turning into shtick, Samuel Jackson
has been effectively added to the mix as a reluctant, cynical
buddy who is a welcome foil for Willis' tired one-liners.
DON JUAN DEMARCO. As best-lover-in-the-world performances
go, Johnny Depp does surprisingly well in this frivolous ode to
the pleasures of giving love. With his Spanish accent and confident,
soothing manner, you almost believe he could make women melt at
his touch. Marlon Brando, meanwhile, does not convey such charisma.
Playing the psychiatrist who tries to understand Depp's fantasy,
Brando appears to be walking through the movie to pick up a paycheck.
Fat and lackluster, Brando does his best to make sure all his
scenes (even with Faye Dunaway, who tries her best) fall embarrassingly
flat.
Fluke. A businessman (Matthew Modine) dies in a car accident,
comes back to life as a cute dog, and remembers enough of his
past to track down his wife (Nancy Travis) and son and try to
love them again. This misguided children's movie has enough heartwarming
doggy scenes to fill a dozen Disney flicks, but underneath all
the fur lies a very adult story of karmic redemption that few
kids are likely to appreciate. What starts off as a children's
mystery gives way to a rather painful tale of lost human ideals,
with oddly perverse scenes where the protagonist whimpers while
watching his wife go to bed with his best friend. It's an unwittingly
subversive little picture, curiously inappropriate but strangely
effective.
Forget Paris. Director-actor Billy Crystal has created
a new, rather bland concoction: Woody Allen Lite. In this all-too-formulaic
tale of the ups and downs of a relationship, Crystal tries, with
occasional success, to turn the banal disappointments of marriage
into comic fodder. Co-starring with Debra Winger (who comes across
as attractive but oddly unsympathetic), Crystal's livelier gags
soon give way to masturbation jokes and mediocre, forced melodrama.
It's sort of like When Harry Almost Divorced Sally. And
oooh, somebody turn down that saccharine lite-jazz score.
Judge Dredd. Sylvester Stallone's futuristic summer offering
is a comic-book hybrid of Blade Runner, Robocop
and The Terminator, with parts of Star Wars and
other films thrown in for good measure. At first the picture holds
promise, with luxuriant effects, welcome support by Max Von Sydow
and Rob Schneider and inspired, self-mocking comedy by Stallone.
But that doesn't last. The movie's biggest action scenes feel
like video games, and the filmmakers throw away the story's wildest
possibilities--including the prospect of a battle with slimy,
half-baked human clones. At the end, the picture feels unfinished.
Pocahontas. In their depiction of the Native American woman
who helped forge peace between indians and colonists, Disney delivers
everything you'd expect: a tasteful message of anti-bigotry and
environmental harmony, cute animals, competent songwriting and
a heroine who looks like an animated supermodel. A few of the
key sequences are charming, but most of the film is so calculated
as to lack any viewing joy whatsoever.
GREAT MASTERS SERIES. Series continues with Cries and
Whispers (1972), by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Two
women return home to comfort their sister, who is dying of cancer.
The film's extraordinary visual beauty won Sven Nykvist an Academy
Award for cinematography. Cries screens at 7:30 p.m. Friday,
July 7, at the UA Modern Languages Building auditorium; and 3
p.m. Sunday, July 9, at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St.
KIDS' FILM FEST. The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St.,
continues with Greentoons, a collection of humorous, pointed,
beautiful and environmentally aware animated shorts from across
North America, screening at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday, July 8. Series
continues through August 5. Single admission is $2 for kids, $3
adults. Call 622-2262 for information.
VIDEO TENSIONS. Series continues at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays,
in the UA Modern Languages Building auditorium: July 6, VideoNATIVE,
selections on Native Americans; July 13, VideoCOLLECTIVE,
works by visiting artists Cyrille Phipps and Cathy Scott; and
July 20, VideoOUST, a series on "throwaway kids."
Series continues through August 3. Admission is a suggested $2
donation. Call 621-7352 for information or a complete schedule
of screenings.
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