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Reviews
Magnolia (1999)
**** out of ****; Grade: A
Long, detailed film about a dozen or so characters attempting to make connections in a world governed by chance. Brilliant script, direction and acting make this a must-see event, both funny and touching. Aimee Mann contributes hauntingly beautiful music, and Anderson again displays the depths of his talent. Two sequences, the "singalong" and "storm", are classics, and Cruise, Moore, Walters, and Hoffman offer supremely excellent work in a film piled high with inspired acting.
The First Wives Club (1996)
*** out of ****; Grade: B
Underrated comedy about three divorced women getting even with the men who left them. Hawn, Midler, and Keaton are a perfect trio, with great timing and delivery. Ridiculous set pieces are nevertheless fun, and the film actually has a few serious comments about modern divorce and society's treatment of age and women. Overall, though, a very enjoyable and funny film, with three lovely actresses displaying their considerable talents very well.
Baby Boom (1987)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
Powerful, ambitious career woman inherits a baby, which causes her to rethink what's important in her life. Sentimental film is really a yuppie fantasy, but an effective one, with Keaton appearing in nearly every scene and carrying the film with ease. Adorable baby and some fine passages of dialogue make this an extremely appealing diversion from "real-life".
Boomerang (1992)
*** out of ****; Grade: B
Murphy plays a suave ladies' man who loves them and leaves them, until a chic executive captures his heart, only to stomp on it as he has stomped on many others. Witty, bright film is overlong and has some stale patches, but boasts a remarkable cast and lots of laughs. Givens and Berry are very good in their yin-yang type female roles; Kitt, Holder, and Jones steal scenes with little effort. Murphy is playing new notes here - he's refined and graceful - and is quite good at them.
Hanging Up (2000)
**1/2 out of ****; Grade: C+
Three sisters cope in their own ways with their sick father and his impending death. Luminous cast is somewhat wasted on a scattershot script and poor pacing, and criminal underuse of Keaton and Kudrow. Ryan and Matthau (in his last film role) do quite well in a film that is far more serious than it may initially appear to be, but certainly has a small handful of interesting comments about family life and death. Keaton is competent behind the camera, with a good sense of style, but at least one rewrite would have been necessary to elevate this above a near-miss.
The Negotiator (1998)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
Fantastic action film about two hostage negotiators trying to outwit and then help one another out of a dangerous police conspiracy. Jackson and Spacey once again prove themselves to be actors of exceedingly high quality, and the pairing of them simply exponentiates that effect. Stylish direction, solid pacing, and some terrific dialogue and action scenes elevate this far above the routine.
Hurlyburly (1998)
** out of ****; Grade: C
Collection of late 80's L.A. trendies sorting through a sea of unhappiness, attempts at love, and drugs. Talented cast gathers for an exercise in nothingness, with Penn, Spacey, and Ryan making the most favorable impressions. Palmintieri deserves an award and a blow to the head for creating one of the most insufferable characters ever to grace the big screen. Stunning passages of delivered dialogue fail to cohere, creating an experience that occasionally exhilirates but mostly drags.
Boys on the Side (1995)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
Three women leave unhappy lives behind them and move out west, with nothing but friendship and apparent savings accounts to keep them safe and warm. Horrendously cliched idea translates surprisingly well, with a smart, funny script deftly handled by three premiere actresses. Barrymore is pure sunshine and energy, Parker is quiet and affecting, and Goldberg is somewhere in between. Enjoyable film becomes quite serious, which is all the more apparent due to the strong character development that precedes the sadness. Best film Ross has made in five years.
A Few Good Men (1992)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: A-
Riveting stage adaptation about honor and murder, as hotshot young lawyer Cruise works with Moore and Pollak to uncover the truth about a mysterious death within the US military. Nice performances all around, particularly from Cruise and Nicholson, whose handful of minutes onscreen create an indelible impression of noble misdirection. A tense, involving script and wonderful work from Reiner make this a highly entertaining and affecting film.
Ghost (1990)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
Wonderfully affecting comedic/romantic thriller about a man killed who remains on this planet, trying to warn his living fiance about danger with the help of a con-artist who happens to hear the dead. Gauzy romance, huggable humor (complements of Goldberg, who won a deserved Oscar for this role), and moments of tension and wonder blend surprisingly well, and create a satisfyingly varied experience. Swayze and Moore are charming together.
Road Trip (2000)
**1/2 out of ****; Grade: C+
Raucous comedy about four college students on a "wacky" (note the quotation marks) road trip to recover a mistakenly sent sexual videotape. Filled with nice sight gags and a few hilarious set pieces, but lacking much in the way of character or depth. Granted, this film was made to garner laughs, which it does, but the characters are so transparent they make the four males in "American Pie" look like pinnacles of character development. The lack of a true rooting interest reduces this film to a handful of disconnected smiles and not much else.
American Pie (1999)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
For a comedy to work, the characters in it must either be very sympathetic or very unsympathetic, with little space between. This film chronicles a couple months in the lives of four likable high school seniors, desperate to experience sex before finishing high school. The lack of originality in the idea is more than compensated for with loads of humor, a truly appealing cast, and an unexpected sweetness amid all the vulgarity. Funny, witty, and certain to contain many future stars.
Never Been Kissed (1999)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
Cheerful, funny film about a twenty-something reporter going undercover in a high school. Unexpectedly brave work from Barrymore, who heads up a very talented cast. Manipulative in the best possible way, with moments of hilarity, embarrassment, and sadness somehow mixing to create a vivid and lovable entertainment.
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
** out of ****; Grade: C
An unnecessary sequel to DePalma's superior "Carrie" (1976) where yet another young woman is capable of telekinetic mayhem, inflicting much pain and death on her cruel classmates. A truly appealing protagonist and some nice moments can't compensate for an utterly predictable story arc. Well made trash, but still trash.
Scream 3 (2000)
**1/2 out of ****; Grade: C+
Disappointing conclusion to this horror trilogy features too few jokes and too many cliches to be on par with its predecessors. The story follows the same group of characters to Hollywood, which would seem to be ripe for the kind of treatment these filmmakers are capable of. Alas, stupidity reigns supreme as the corpses pile up. The entire production feels hurried and disjointed, lacking in the surprising cohesion and solid pacing of the first two films. A great affection for this particular cast of characters makes the film more enjoyable than it should be.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
**** out of ****; Grade: A
Spielberg's rightfully lauded WWII masterpiece gives war several faces, both ugly and beautiful. A wonderful cast, led by Hanks in a career-best performance (not an easy claim to make), gorgeous cinematography, and a hauntingly realistic script make for a shattering experience to be appreciated, studied, and educated with. The opening sequence has rightfully already become a classic. Unnecessary bookends are a minor flaw in this major accomplishment.
Scream 2 (1997)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
Rare sequel that nearly matches it's predecessor, as the survivors of the first film experience more slayings and in-jokes when they go off to college. Just as witty, and almost as scary as the original, with meatier character development and a razor-sharp performance from Cox. The conclusion is purposefully overwrought, and stands as the only noticeable flaw in an otherwise surprisingly enjoyable sequel.
The Relic (1997)
*** out of ****; Grade: B
Ridiculous sci-fi horror tale about a monster running wild in a Chicago museum. Terrific special effects and well-rounded performances from Miller and Sizemore elevate this to a highly entertaining popcorn film. Gory, fast-paced, and perversely funny at times, this is mainstream fare at it's best.
Scream (1996)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: A-
Rightfully imitated revival of the teen slasher flick follows a group of high school students through the usual threats and deaths, with a twist: they have seen many films just like the one they are starring in, and comment incessantly about what is happening. Terrific film features a multi-talented cast, a witty, starmaking script by Williamson, and tense, perfect direction from Craven. Very funny and very scary. Followed by two sequels.
Carlito's Way (1993)
***1/2 out of ****; Grade: B+
Offbeat mob epic about a gangster trying to come clean after years of incarceration, and the myriad levels on which he must accomplish this. Too lengthy, but exceedingly well-played by Pacino, Penn, Miller, and Leguizamo, in a menacingly squirrelly performance. DePalma brings freshness to a recycled story, with stunning period recreation and exciting camera work. Melodramatic and involving; a vastly underrated effort for all involved.
Casualties of War (1989)
*** out of ****; Grade: B
One of DePalma's first forays into "serious" filmmaking is this war story set in Vietnam, involving assorted cruelties perpetrated by a group of American soldiers on a female Vietnamese POW. Awkwardly staged and told at times, but containing scenes of genuine power and terror. The actors acquit themselves nicely, with Penn somehow maintaining a tight grasp on his hyperactive performance. Breathtaking location work and a "happy" ending nevertheless create a numbing, sad experience that one chooses to subject himself to rather than enjoy.
Secret Admirer (1985)
** out of ****; Grade: C-
Very typical 80's teen flick about mistaken romantic identities complements of a misplaced love letter. A somewhat talented cast can't paper over an insultingly thin script. The entire production has the feeling of 80's teen cheese and cheapness, aside from the movie's score, which is really quite good.
Gods and Monsters (1998)
*** out of ****; Grade: B
Soft, elegiac film about the last days of Hollywood director James Whale and the loves (film, men, art) that have drifted in and out of his life right up to his suicide. Well-made film is uneven and occasionally inexplicable in some of its flashback and fantasy scenes, and McKellan is a little over-the-top. However, Fraser and Redgrave acquit themselves very nicely, and the film is ultimately a heartbreaking account of endless longing.
Apt Pupil (1998)
*** out of ****; Grade: B-
Disturbing film about a high schooler's obsession with Nazism and the old man down the street who is blackmailed into reliving his Nazi experiences with the young man. Exceedingly well acted by Renfro and McKellan, with good pacing and creative visuals. However, the Holocaust is used as a simple way to make a man and his lifetime evil; it may have been less morally ambiguous to make McKellan's character a retired serial killer instead. This still would have been tense, disturbing stuff.
The Haunting (1999)
**1/2 out of ****; Grade: C+
A group of people inhabit a haunted house for a weekend, with unexpectedly real haunts tormenting them for the bulk of the stay. Absolutely ludicrous story, inane dialogue and laughable performances can't sink the house itself, which is a marvel of imaginative set design. The house alone, its non-scares aside, almost makes it worth seeing, with the film a monument to "bad" Hollywood - a glittering trashpile of special effects and sets and little else.