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Film Clips
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cinematography and subtle clues to the musicians' trying off-screen lives in Cuba combine for a thought-provoking historical document, and experimentation with audience positioning.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 cinematic history. The film 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 theatres, 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
DICK. Mostly I'm upset that such a great title was wasted on such a lame movie. The premise of two 15-year-old girls who find themselves on the receiving end of information that ultimately implicates Nixon and his staff is clever, but unfortunately any potential for political satire is lost on this flaccid comedy and its sloppy script, which relies too heavily on dialogue and a random barrage of all-things-'70s. The protagonists, Arlene (Michelle Williams) and Betsy (Kirsten Dunst), are so stupid that only coincidence and hot pants can propel them from one scene to the next. The only reprieve comes from some of the lesser characters, such as the ever-wonderful Teri Garr as Arlene's lipstick-stained mother. -- Higgins
THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER. An older, fatter, but still damn sexy John Travolta stars in this well-paced, misogynist murder mystery set on a Southern army base. Madeline Stowe, James Cromwell, James Woods and Timothy Hutton all do face-time as more-and-less corrupt army officers, and Leslie Stefanson does beautiful naked-dead-body-raped-and-staked-spread-eagle-to-the-ground time as the exploitive and sleazily titillating element of the movie. If it weren't for the fact that so much of this film is about the graphic, visual depiction of the abuse of a young woman, this would be one of the year's better thrillers, but as it is it's more of a gussied-up anti-woman porn film. -- 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 only want to be horrified by how awful Lili Taylor can be, 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, Gadget the 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
THE IRON GIANT. I was devastated to learn that this film was tanking at the box office. Listen up, people: an animated film doesn't have to have the Disney trademark attached to it to be worth watching. In fact, the mouse ears are closer to one of those biohazard signs than to a welcome mat. The Iron Giant is not only a great animated film, it's one of the year's best movies. Based on a short story by former poet laureate of England Ted Hughes, its pedigree ranks high; and it pays off in extremely well-motivated characters and a moving story that has left those few who saw it teary-eyed. If it helps to bring you in, you should know that it's got lots of politically correct themes, like that McCarthyism was bad and that you shouldn't blow up sensitive robots from space because they might want to be your friend. -- DiGiovanna
MUPPETS FROM SPACE. Don't be surprised if this latest muppet caper is next in line for denouncement by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, as its existential opening scene portrays Noah in a rather unsympathetic light: he hands the purple, crook-nosed Gonzo an umbrella and slams the arc door in his face. What's worse, the film's star is a heathen alien who shares a suburban house with two inseparable old men (former art critics, no less), plus a gaggle of monsters, hippie rock stars and barnyard animals; and his best friends are a frog, a rat, and a cagey Creole crawfish. Hardly a role model for our nation's precious youth! But if you're either a 6-year-old or a longtime fan of the muppets, you'll likely enjoy this Great Muppet Caper meets Close Encounters adventure about Gonzo's search for his true identity. Only the muppets could turn government conspiracy, animal experimentation and the least trusted profession in America (i.e., news media) into a lighthearted romp culminating with a cat fight between Miss Piggy and Andie McDowell. Best of all, there's lots of funky music which nevertheless features very little singing by the muppets themselves. -- Wadsworth
MYSTERY MEN. Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo and Paul Reubens star as a band of makeshift superheroes out to rescue the great Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) from the clutches of the doughy Frankenstein Casanova (Geoffrey Rush) in this send-up of the comic-book movie. While it aims at that audience of notoriously virile media consumers who like anything featuring potent men in codpieces and women whose over-inflated breasts form the backing for their personal logo, sadly, it only succeeds intermittently at being funny. -- DiGiovanna
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
RUNAWAY BRIDE. If you consider the romantic comedy is a genre in need of therapy, Runaway Bride is one step closer to epiphany. Just shy of a decade after Pretty Woman, Richard Gere once again appears in a convertible to rescue Julia Roberts from a lifetime of choices hindered by low self-esteem. This time, instead of a lonely rich guy who meets a hooker with a heart of gold, we have the more pedestrian Ike, a divorced and cynical USA Today columnist from NYC who takes on the charming and misunderstood Maggie (Roberts), whose four dramatic flights from the altar are the story's centerpiece -- call it Four Weddings Without A Funeral. It's a pretty typical Prince Charming tale, with the one delightful twist that the fair maiden flees at every moment of imminent princely rescue. The Hollywood love story still has a long way to go, but Runaway Bride is one fantasy film refreshingly free of stalking, obsession, revenge and other psychotic behaviors. That's progress. -- Wadsworth
THE SIXTH SENSE. A lot of contemporary "actors" actually have only one facial expression: Michael Keaton does "confused," Harrison Ford does "perplexed" and Hugh Grant does "sheepish." Bruce Willis' specialty is a kind of gentle, supportive, avuncular smile -- a smile that says, "Hey, you're okay, champ." Here, he uses that smile as child psychologist Malcolm Crowe, who is helping a little boy who lives in fear. The boy, it seems, can see ghosts. Meanwhile, Willis can't communicate with his wife ever since one of his former patients shot him in the stomach. Hmmm. You might want to skip the boring first hour and come in late to check out the groovy undead people and the weird ending. -- DiGiovanna
XIU XIU:THE SENT DOWN GIRL. First-time director Joan Chen strikes a blow for free speech by smuggling in this piece of thinly veiled child pornography. As part of a widespread program implemented during China's zany Cultural Revolution, a young girl name Xiu Xiu (Mo-shu ingenue Lu Lu) is relocated to the countryside and forced to live with a middle-aged castrated cowboy (Toshiro Mifune look-alike Lop Sang). The latter develops a paternal yet unsettling crush on his young tent mate. Tragedy, lewdness and tedium ensue as naive Xiu Xiu becomes the Communist party girl for the local administrative council in a vain attempt to get sent back to the city. Xiu Xiu is a perfect example of the type of vapid art-house film that beret-wearing fuckwits will fawn over because it has subtitles and pretty shots of sunsets. What I found interesting was that this dull movie drew the largest crowd I've ever seen at The Loft, made up mostly of silver-haired senior citizens who wouldn't be caught dead at Adult Expectations renting Nearly Legal Presents: Hot Maoist Jailbait. -- Petix
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