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Film Clips
AMERICAN PIE. This is like a traditional teen-sex comedy with a real film trying to break through its sticky surface. Unfortunately, the real film only manages to produce the occasional speech that is quickly contradicted by the action of the teen-sex film. The story focuses on a group of male high-school friends who vow to lose their virginity before the prom. Then at the prom, they make speeches about how that's maybe not such a cool idea. Then they do it anyway. On the way there one of the boys secretly films a female high-school student as she undresses, and broadcasts it over the Internet. And of course there are no repercussions for this--at least not for him. I found that pretty creepy. While this is basically an amoral version of Diner for horny teenagers, it's reasonably funny (thanks in part to a hilarious performance by Eugene Levy). -- DiGiovanna
ARLINGTON ROAD. This is exactly the kind of movie that New York Times critic Janet Maslin (who is probably America's worst movie critic) loves: it has an unchallenging and unoriginal plot that can easily be compared to some pre-existing format ("A Hitchcockian thriller!" "A Parallax View for the '90s!") and features a mediocre, older male actor in romantic scenes with a much younger actress (Maslin loves anything with Sean Connery or Clint Eastwood rubbing their flabby man-flesh against women who are too young to be their granddaughters). Arlington Road is ostensibly about the new wave of American terrorists, but it's less a political thriller than an action film. The ending is pretty good, but as it came after 90 minutes of cinema that sucked hard enough to draw a piano through a straw, it hardly seemed worth the wait. -- DiGiovanna
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB. Often information withheld from a film is just as telling as what's present, and that's certainly true in Wim Wenders' documentary about a group of older, accomplished Cuban musicians assembled to cut a record. Wenders' visual talents are on display as the camerawork and editing tightly weave stories of men and one woman and their enthusiasm for their instruments. On one level, it's a feel-good movie about musicians who'd lived in relative obscurity until a London record company and guitarist Ry Cooder rediscovered them. At the same time, however, the fragmentation of the characters and the overly colorful portrayal of their public lives underscores their existence for viewers merely as performers marketable to white, Western culture. Excellent music, beautiful cinematography and subtle clues to the musicians' trying off-screen lives in Cuba combine for a thought-provoking historical document, and experimentation with audience positioning. -- Higgins
DEEP BLUE SEA. An extended version of the old Saturday Night Live "Landshark" routine, Deep Blue Sea features one of the longest explosions in cinema history. It tells the story of a beautiful research scientist whose lipstick is completely waterproof. Meanwhile, sharks want to eat her. It's kind of Alien meets Jaws with lots of unintentionally funny dialogue. Definitely worth watching when it comes to the cheap theaters, but unless you must see a movie about super-intelligent homicidal sharks this very minute, I'd save my $7.50 for something else. -- DiGiovanna
DROP DEAD GORGEOUS. As I watched this black comedy about a small town obsessed with its annual beauty pageant, I was constantly reminded of the superior 1996 movie Waiting For Guffman. Not only are both of these films "mockumentaries," but they also share a distinctly mean-spirited view of Middle America. Though Gorgeous can't pull off the effortless artifice of Guffman (the "interview" scenes with Kirstie Alley are particularly ham-fisted), it generates a few yuks through its liberal use of cruelty and crudity. If you're the kind of person that can laugh out loud at the expense of anorexics, pedophiles and retards, then I urge you to see this film. -- Petix
EYES WIDE SHUT. Rex Shallit says: "My eyes were wide open for Eyes Wide Shut! You won't be able to peel your eyes away from Eyes Wide Shut! No doubt Oscar has his eyes on Eyes Wide Shut! The "ayes" have it with Eyes Wide Shut!" I have to agree with him on this one. Eyes is a visually stunning, dream-like adventure into an unreal but cohesive sexual underworld. Ranking right up there with Kubrick's best, it forms a fitting end to one of the finest careers in film. And, of course, you can compare and contrast Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's nipples. -- DiGiovanna
THE HAUNTING. Wow--a horror movie without any scary parts. Could it be that millions of dollars' worth of computer-generated imagery just can't scare you as effectively as a low budget movie with a smart concept and strong performances (i.e. The Blair Witch Project)? If you're looking for a thrill, see that movie; if you merely want to experience the horror of watching Lili Taylor act, check out the corny Haunting, which is at least laughably bad. -- DiGiovanna
AN IDEAL HUSBAND. In this period piece based on Oscar Wilde's play, a ne'er-do-well (well-played by Rupert Everett) and a young parliamentarian are drawn into a web of evil by the cupidity of the lascivious and mendacious Mrs. Chevely (played with delicious wickedness by Julianne Moore). The film begins strongly and finishes well, but bogs down a bit in the middle. Still, lots of good fin-de-siecle style quips and decadence make this a reasonable divertissement, although it would probably be more fun to just sit around your drawing room drinking absinthe and engaging in witty banter with your cadre of illicit lovers. -- DiGiovanna
INSPECTOR GADGET. Unlike the cartoon, Gadgetthe movie tries earnestly to create a retroactive plot for the spring-loaded crime fighter of TV fame. The result is a long wait before the villains and Gadgets get down to business. Matthew Broderick bravely fills Disney's cartoonish requirements for family entertainment in the dual role of Inspector and evil twin, pitting his bumbling innocence and lost-puppy appeal against an "evil" Gadget who seems more non-conformist than malicious. After 45 minutes of cloying cuteness and contrived dialogue usually ending in some rejection of sincerity and goodness, it's hard not to root for the "evil" robot who intimidates corrupt public officials and starts blowing things up. The kid audience seemed to get more mileage out of the precocious 12-year-old heroine, the dog, and the talking car; but adults expecting a feature-length festival of go-go-Gadget effects will likely be disappointed. -- Wadsworth
LAKE PLACID. Big alligator eats people in lake in Maine. Do you think the snooty, New York scientist will fall in love with the rustic, New England forest ranger? Do you think they'll be able to capture the alligator before it kills again, or is killed by the heartless Feds? Do you think there are any ideas left in Hollywood? I know--let's combine Jaws, Born Free, Scream and The African Queen and make a thrilling, animal-rights horror movie about how opposites attract. Yes, do that. -- DiGiovanna
LIMBO. Decidedly not about the dance, director/editor/writer John Sayles' latest effort investigates the stunted growth of residents of a fishing town in Alaska. The first third of the film aimlessly introduces the emotionally crippled main characters and a number of inconsequential and overly symbolic others. Joe (David Strathairn), an ex-fisherman, and Donna (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), a nightclub singer, attempt a love connection, while Donna's daughter (engagingly portrayed by Vanessa Martinez) exists largely in a self-created fantasy world. The three are stranded on an island for much of the film, and this physical isolation from civilization underscores the confining solitude each feels. Maddening folk music adds to a New-Agey feel, but the unexpected and satisfying ending helps level out the limbo bar. -- Higgins
THE RED VIOLIN. Perhaps in response to the vast amounts of dead wood in many Hollywood films, director Francois Girard casts a violin as the star of this Canadian production that follows an instrument through various owners. The violin is cleverly animated through the voice of a 17th-century tarot card reader who tells its future and lets it serve as tour guide across four centuries and five countries. The narrative structure is similarly engaging as a contemporary auction is the touchstone from which flashbacks of its travels emerge and converge. Also, sound and image are harmoniously fused together as the score dictates and justifies much of the pacing. Kudos to you, Red Violin, and also to your supporting actor, Samuel L. Jackson, who courts you without shame. -- Higgins
RUN LOLA RUN. Perhaps because Hollywood films are so plot driven, this style-heavy German film is being incorrectly marketed in the U.S. as a thriller. It's not. It's an amazingly beautiful 83-minute music video which reduces story to a simple premise so that visuals and soundtrack serve as catalysts for the characters. Techno music, quick edits and a fast pace accompany Lola as she runs frantically to get money to her boyfriend, with this scenario playing out three times with varying outcomes. The people she encounters on her jog, as well as Lola herself, are merely components manipulated to interesting effect by engaging camerawork that emphasizes the aesthetic capabilities specific to the cinematic medium. -- Higgins
SUMMER OF SAM. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "to sam" as "verb, transitive: to join together, as two pieces of wood." I have no idea what that has to do with this meticulously crafted re-creation of the Bronx in the late '70s, but there is a lot of love, including that which dare not speak its name, in this psychological drama. John Leguizamo turns in a career performance as Vinny, the womanizing husband of Mira Sorvino's Dionna, who gets caught up in the hysteria surrounding the Son of Sam serial killings. As the summer heats up, Vinny's neighborhood goes crazy and a group of vigilantes begins to suspect everyone of being the deranged killer. Most notable for director Spike Lee's unerring visual sensibility, Summer of Sam stands out amongst the blockbusters and cartoons as the most adult movie of the summer. -- DiGiovanna
THE WOOD. MTV Productions hopes to cash in on those who listened to rap and R&B artists in the 1980s, rather than the New Wave music defining most recent films about the decade. This mildly entertaining fellowdrama about three teenage boys who grew up in Englewood, California, is narrated in flashbacks by Mike (Omar Epps) as he and Slim (Richard T. Jones) attempt to get their commitment-weary friend Roland (Taye Diggs) to the altar on his wedding day. The contemporary sequences adequately establish their ties, but those set in the past are poorly paced, awkwardly acted and simplistically written. Thankfully, this male bonding film is true to the genre and includes the obligatory naked group showering sequence. Though Mike assures us that "the Wood" refers to his hometown, I know what I saw. -- Higgins
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