OPINIONS ON RECENT FILMS

An American Werewolf in Paris: As we have said previously (see our review of I Know What You Did Last Summer), if a studio refuses to send out a press kit for a film, there is usually SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG WITH THE MOVIE, and the studio knows it. In our case, our scheduled preview screening was cancelled, we were refused either the American or English press kits, and were generally treated like shit by the Walt Disney Company whenever we tried to find out anything about this film. What we CAN tell you is this: there is a gaping hole in the storyline (if the film follows its own internal logic, star Tom Everet Scott must die to free the undead soul of an innocent victim of his, but he doesn't, so by the end of the film the "hero" is responsible for not just a murder, but for the living damnation of undeath for his innocent victim). The film does have fabulous special effects, but there's a catch -- they look like crap on a television screen; they can only be fully appreciated on a theater screen, and this film (because of that huge plot hole) is NW8 -- NOT WORTH EIGHT DOLLARS. Our suggestion: if you are interested in the special effects or just want to see the star run naked through what passes for Paris, go to a super-bargain matinee for US $4.00 or less. DO NOT bother waiting for this film on video -- from what we have been able to determine, its special effects look like cheesy student animation when shown on television.
As Good As It Gets This is the "feel good movie" for obsessive uni-polar depressives. We'll be posting a full review of this soon. Its original screenplay is the only one of 1997 which we feel offers serious competition to Good Will Hunting for Oscar (r) consideration. (L.A. Confidential is an adapted screenplay.)
Batman y Robin (we saw it with Spanish subtitles): Dollar-for-dollar, the worst motion picture of all time. Read the review, but don't waste eight dollars on this thing.
Boogie Nights: Amazingly good! So far, this is our third-favorite film of the year (after Shall We Dance and L. A. Confidential). For those of you who were wondering, yes Mark Wahlberg has learned to (more or less) act, and yes he does whip out his enormous schlong at the end of the film. Prediction: Oscar nomination for Burt Reynolds (!!!). Cinematography and set dressing and make-up are all excellent, and the story is coherent and well-written, but there is one loose end which is never addressed in the film, and it is so annoying that it keeps us from ranking this with L. A. Confidential, in which all loose ends are neatly braided.

John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore (forgiven for Lost World), and Mark Wahlberg boogie down. (c) 1997 by New Line Cinema
Contact: Mostly good. Outstanding opening sequences (look for it at Oscar time). The actress playing the young Jodie Foster really needed a tight dress and lots of make-up to be believable, though. If someone can explain why Jodie's character hops right into bed with Matthew McConaughey we'd appreciate learning . . . why.
The Full Monty: Hilarious. We can't figure out where we know William Snape from, or how he got special billing, but he is excellent as Nate, the poor kid who not only has to play the tapes during the strip rehearsals of his father and his mates, but who has to finance the show, too. This rates with Shall We Dance? as one of the year's best movies so far.
The Gingerbread Man: We're not sure which version we saw, director Robert Altman's or the studio's, but . . . IT SUCKED. We kept waiting for Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway to come in and do the "my sister, my daughter" shtick. The nude scene starring whats'ername is not simply gratuitous -- it's pointless and totally contrary to the presumed storyline! (Mind you, we like nude scenes, (there are plenty of them in Boogie Nights, which we rate very highly), but there is a limit, and this flick goes waaay over the line!) Robert Duvall's role is so absurd that he could have been replaced by a reasonably intelligent chimp -- there was no need for a human; to paraphrase Stephen Dorff, he could have telephoned in his part. Robert Downey, Jr. plays a boozy private eye, which he does well, but we still liked this part better when it was played by a sober Martin Balsam (in Psycho). Stay home and watch TeeVee rather than waste money on this mess.
Going All the Way: From a script by Dan Wakefield, based upon his own novel. Think of it as "James at 24" (but James Hunter never got into these predicaments!) Shows substance abuse, so it's not for children, but adults will probably find it funny. BTW, those who still have a crush on Ben Affleck as "C.T. Granville" should get over it with this film. Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge. Say no more.
Good Will Hunting: Expect a full review of this soon. Matt Damon proves himself the star we always thought he was, and his and Ben Affleck's original screenplay should be a hot Oscar(r) contender.
I Know What You Did Last Summer: Since Ryan Phillippe is so very popular here, we had to oblige our readers by finding out about this film, so two months ago we requested a press kit from Sony (the Japanese zaibatsu which now owns Columbia Pictures and Records), and we waited. . . . and waited . . . and waited . . . and told the people at Sony that 8,000+ Ryan Phillippe fans wanted the press kit info . . . and waited . . . and SONY SENT US NOTHING. It has been our experience that when a studio deliberately refuses to send out advance information on a movie, there is SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG WITH THE FILM. In this case, there most certainly is. If you want to hear the girls scream, listen to the commercials; if you want to look at Ryan, look at the bottom of our page or wait for this thing to come out on video. I Know What You Did Last Summer definitely deserves a rating of NW8 (not worth $8.00).
Ice Storm: A pretty darn good pair of movies, one involving Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, and other adults, and a really good film starring Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood and Adam Hann-Byrd.
In and Out: We REALLY need to apologize about our failure to mention this sooner; our index page (what you're looking at) was so full that it wouldn't accept new text. We don't think that our failure to rave about this film hurt it at the box office, though -- if it's re-released for the holidays or for Academy Awards viewing, go see it. It's RW8 (really worth $8.00 admission). If it is not re-released before going to tape, DO get the tape! Special kudos to Sean Hatosy -- we expect great things from him in the future (but right now we'd settle for an autographed picture!).
L. A. Confidential: Definitely worth the $8 admission. The second scene in the Formosa Cafe is almost enough to clinch this one an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay. There is almost nothing to dislike in this film, which is the best big-budget American film we've seen all year, and (so far) the only one in a class with Shall We Dance? and The Full Monty. Despite the action elements in this color film noir, there are no exploding cars and no exploding buildings (although we think that they may have snuck in a springboard in the shoot-em-up climax). L. A. Confidential is very taut and surprising. It's not for children.
Lilies: One of the year's best films, this is the story of a Catholic bishop who goes to a prison to hear the confession of a dying convicted killer at the request of the prison chaplain, but the confession turns out to be far more than the bishop bargained for -- the inmates stage a play (shades of Marat-Sade!) as the confession, but as the play proceeds, we learn that someone other than convicted killer is most in need of confessing. This is a story of love, lust, piety, lies, arson and murder, with a surprising ending (not to mention quite a few surprises in the middle!). Direction, set dressing, costuming and cinematography are Oscar-caliber, and the ensemble cast is excellent.
Oh, Saint Sebastian! Danny Gilmore & Jason Cadieux in Lilies (c) 1997 by Turbulent Arts.
Lost World Alternate title: "Spielberg Presents Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Gorgo.'" It was better when it was in London.
Men in Black: We don't like Wil Smith, but we recommend the movie. Be advised that if you think that the saucer crash looks cheesy in the TeeVee commercials, it also looks cheesy in the film, but it is the WORST special effect -- most of the others are wonderful.
My Best Friend's Wedding: A big ten-four on this one! We'd pay to see it again. For more information, check out our Christopher Masterson page.
Picture Perfect: We didn't review this for a good reason (it's hard to be unbiased when you know the star's boyfriend), but since it has left theaters, in L.A., at least, we urge people to vote for it to Consumer Reports and to see it on video (or theatrically if they can). Personally, we were delighted to see Jay Mohr (whom we fondly remember from his Camp Wilder days with Jerry O'Connell in a major starring role. (And, NO, you silly geese, it's not Jay's boyfriend we know, he's straight. On dit. ;)
Shall We Dance?: See the Shea-man's review of this one, and be sure to see Shall We Dance? . . . often.

"Competition." (c)1997 by Miramax. All rights reserved.
Soul Food: We had to go to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles after seeing this. Never mind the good story. Never mind the good acting. Just remember to eat before seeing this one!
Starship Troopers:Wow!
Temptress Moon: We don't know who plays the male lead, but he should be considered for an Academy Award as Best Actor. The actress who plays his sister must be one of the most beautiful women in the world. We can, however, see why the Red Chinese banned it, since its main theme seems to be (shades of the Rocky Horror Picture Show!) "Vice is nice, but incest is best."
Titanic: It's big. REALLY big. And good. But . . . SPOILER WARNING!!! . . . it sinks.

O Muse With the Jaundiced Eye, take me home!