The American President. A film that aims to prove the adage
that behind every successful man is a woman, with an emphasis
on the behind. This sexist vision of America serves up images
of men with political power and women with sexual power as the
President of the United States (Michael Douglas) braves the perils
of dating. If you can crowd the sexism out of your head, The
American President has some funny moments, though much of
it's of the I'm-the-Commander-in-Chief-and-you're-not variety.
Not for the impressionable. (Postscript:
The critic's mother would like to register dissatisfaction with
this review. She thinks The American President was romantic,
charming and as enjoyable as When Harry Met Sally. She
argues that the role of the film critic is to steer moviegoers
to good entertainment, not to raise their consciousness, and suggests
that the two are incompatible. Thanks for the input, Mom!)
Belle de Jour. Catherine Deneuve is fascinatingly vacant
in this re-release of Lois Buñuel's 1967 portrait of a
woman's erotic imagination. The film was racy in its time and
it's racy now--in fact, since the clothes are back in style it
hardly seems dated. Deneuve is the bored wife of a handsome doctor
who doesn't turn her on. She lies chastely beside him, having
elaborate degradation fantasies, which she tries to live out by
secretly working as a prostitute. Fantasies, dreams and reality
intertwine as Deneuve glides through it all on cruise control,
her make-up perfect, her icy surface concealing a knot of contradictions.
The film, like Deneuve, has a formal coolness that masks an active
imagination. Here as in many of his films, Buñuel gives
equal time to dream and waking life. But for all its naughty pleasures,
Belle de Jour is only a teaser compared to Buñuel's
surrealistic classics like The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.
Casino. A film that lodges midway between The Age of
Innocence and Taxi Driver on the Scorsese scale. DeNiro,
Joe Pesci and a bunch of jowly Italian guys have returned from
Good Fellas to screw, bash and plug one another again as
the director continues his romance with the Mafia mystique. DeNiro
plays a Casino chief who has everything: money, prestige and a
fox (Sharon Stone), which in Scorsese's world means he has everything
to lose. Set over more than a decade and thick with narration,
Casino is an uncannily alienating movie. It's hard to sympathize
with any of the characters and it's so long that sometimes you
just want it to be over. Still, no one has as much style as Scorsese;
the camera lurches and rolls through this film like the entire
town of Vegas is a sinking ship. Totally violent, but where else
can you watch silver-haired old men beating each other to a pulp?
Goldeneye. Sorry to disappoint, but this is the most lackluster
Bond movie in years. We can forgive 007 his sexism, his archaic
cloak-and-dagger ways, and those ridiculous one-liners; but we
simply can not forgive him for being boring. The opening scene
does boast the highest freefall in history, which was probably
a real adrenaline rush for the stunt-double. But from there, Goldeneye
continues on a downward spiral, in spite of the spirited vileness
of Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp, the Russian archbabe with the
lethal-weapon thighs. Pierce Brosnan is not to blame: It's the
script that's tired, not the acting. And there aren't nearly enough
gadgets. With all the obscene sums of money they're willing to
spend, we think the next one should be an IMAX production. Now
that would be something worth $7.50.
Nick Of Time. Yes, it's 90 minutes of screen action shoe-horned
into one 90-minute movie. The only other film I know of set in
real time is the first half of Ingmar Bergman's 1962 Winter
Light. Winter Light is the existential tale of a priest
confronting his lack of faith. Nick Of Time is the thrill-packed
story of a man forced to attempt a political assassination to
ransom his kidnapped daughter. Winter Light observes subtle
nuances between frustrated characters. Nick Of Time has
Johnny Depp in it. Both movies have a lot of clocks. Which is
the better film? You decide.
Toy Story. In real life, you probably wouldn't enjoy listening
to Tom Hanks and Tim Allen argue over who's more exciting to play
with. But in Toy Story, the familiar voices take us on
a giddy ride into the Brave New World of computer animation. This
may be the best Disney film in years, with a feel-good story that
takes its cue from The Velveteen Rabbit rather than some
glib socio-ecological scenario. The result is a full-length animated
feature that's refreshingly original. This, no doubt, is in large
part due to Joel Cohen's involvement with the story. Best of all,
none of the characters sing.
Special Screenings
STUDENT FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL. Count your lucky stars
that one of the most aggressively international and independent
student film festivals in the world stops in Tucson this weekend,
with award-winning works from Australia, Israel, Mexico, Argentina,
Canada and the U.S. The University Film and Video Association
(UFVA) festival offers free screenings of short works starting
at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2, in Room 150 of
the Harvill Building, 1103 E. Second St., on the UA campus. Call
322-6465 for information.
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