|
|
2 Days in the Valley: ****; Before renting this, I had heard that "if you likedBack to Main Movie Page Back Home
6th Sense ****1/2 - Tale of a boy who's seen as a freak
by his classmates
because of his ghoulish obsessions. Bruce Willis is a
psychologist who trys to
help him, and soon finds that the obsessions aren't just
hallucinations. The
acting, lighting, sound, and camera work are all first
rate. Please try to
avoid any detailed reviews of this one, otherwise you
may have it ruined for
you (as it almost was for me).
Dead Again ***** - Kenneth Branagh is a detective who takes the case of a woman with amnesia (Emma Thompson). They enlist the help of a hypnotist, who helps Thompson discover that she and Branagh may be the reincarnations of a composer and the wife he murdered 50 years ago. The implications of this reunion have potentially explosive consequences. One of the best suspense thrillers I've ever seen.
"Donnie Brasco: ****; A less stylized gangster picture
than many are probably
accustomed to seeing since "The Godfather" was released.
Johnny Depp is the
title character, an FBI agent with the unenviable task
of infiltrating the
Mafia. Al Pacino is a gangster named Lefty, an enforcer
who befriends Brasco,
thereby providing the needed entry into the gang. As
Donnie becomes more an
accepted member, he becomes more distant from his family.
At the same time, he grows fond of Lefty, and feels guilty that his successful
under cover job will
certainly cost Lefty his life, since Lefty was the one
who vouched for him.
While this film didn't do anything particularly unique,
it had a magnetic power
that made it enthralling. Perhaps this was due to the
phenomenal performances
by Depp and Pacino. Or perhaps it was partly due to the
fact that this was a
true story. In any case, this one belongs on the same
shelf as "The
Godfather"and "Goodfellas", though it's not nearly as
spectacular as either.
Warning: while the level of voilence is mostly stuff
you've seen before,
there's a shocking scene where the gangsters kill and
then do away with the
bodies of rival gang members.
Eye of the Beholder - ** - Ewan McGreggor is a British Intelligence agent sent to follow a minister's son. It seems that the son is having a fling with an American (Ashley Judd), who proceeds to kill him. Is she an assassin or just a lunatic? The latter is certain, but the former is never revealed. McGreggor - rather than turning her in - instead is apparently bewitched by her beauty, so much so that he later quits his job so he can follow her full-time. Judd turns out to be a serial killer who does away with all manner of schmuck as she changes wigs and identities. All the while, McGreggor follows her, and even goes so far as to cover up evidence she leaves at the crime scene. During this, McGreggor has visions of his daughter, who was stolen away by his mother years ago. Likewise, Judd is apparently so scarred by her father leaving her at an early age that she has no choice but to kill every man she meets. Is there a connection between these two father-daugher stories? I'm not sure that watching the movie is worth answering that question.
Fargo: *****; (review to be provided as time permits)
Feeling Minnesota: ****; violent, bizarre story of two
rival brothers (one is
Keanu Reaves, the other is someone who's name escapes
me now), the
woman(Cameron Diaz) who they both want, and a bunch of
money that everyone
wants. Dan Ackroyd turns in a surprisingly evil performance
as a corrupt town
law enforcement officer. Stay with this one, as the seemingly
horrifying turns
that the plot seems to make are not always what they
seem. Despite all the
violence and greed, there's a fair amount of black comedy
here. If you liked
"Pulp Fiction", you'll probably like this.
Nick of Time: ****1/2; What would you do if someone you
loved more than
anything in the world was kidnapped, and you were told
that you had to commit
an unthinkable crime if you wanted to see them alive
again? This is the very
question that Johnny Depp faces in this non-stop thriller.
Depp arrives by
train with his daughter in Los Angeles; within minutes
his daughter is taken
hostage by people posing as police (led by Christopher
Walken, at his
diabolical best). Depp is given a gun, and told that
he has to kill the
governor in the next 80 minutes, or his daughter will
be killed. The suspense
is accentuated by the fact that the movie is shot in
"real time," with a minute
in real life equaling a minute in the movie. Frequent
shots of the clock remind
us of how quickly time is running out. To make matters
worse, whenever Depp
attempts to notify the *real* police, Walken appears
on the scene to keep him
focused on his forced mission. We can feel his frustration
as he tries totell
people who either don't want to get involved, or who
are in league with Walken.
With the movie lasting only 90 minutes, we're kept in
suspense until literally
the last possible minute. All the supporting characters
are likewise excellent
in this (sorry about the cliche, but) heart-pounding,
high speed thrill ride.
The Net: ***
The Omega Code - ** - slightly cartoonish look at a search for the fabled "Omega Code", which is said to be the code that will unlock the gates of heaven. Done in a "Made for TV" style that's only entertaining if it's actually done with commercials so you can miss half of it while you go to get a snack. On second thought, go get that snack during this movie, anyway.
The Player: ****; for film buffs, this movie is an absolute
must. But, for
people who want a straight-ahead story, "The Player"
will probably have you in
a tizzy at the frantic pace of the beginning, and the
rest of the time asking
questions like "Why does that woman wear white all the
time?" Tim Robbins is a
Hollywood producer in this look at the dark underbelly
of movie deal making.
When he starts getting death threats from a disgruntled
writer who's script
he's rejected, he investigates the matter on his own...with
startling
consequences. This movie is loaded with symbolism (such
as the woman who always
wears white), and has cameo appearances by dozens of
movie stars. And, just
when you think you've got it all figured out, a sudden
turn of the plot keeps
you guessing. A view at the making of the movie follows
the movie itself
(including scenes that were cut or changed), and is well
worth a look. Some
places file this under COMEDY (it's
a very dark comedy), while most properly
file it under SUSPENSE.
Ransom: ***1/2; (review to be provided as time permits)
Seven: ****1/2; This is the very dark, stylish tale of
a highly intelligent
psychopath (Kevin Spacey) who manages to stay a step
ahead of young detective
Mills (Brad Pitt) and brilliant retiring veteran Somerset
(Morgan
Freeman).While Mills and Somerset don't get along at
first, Mills' wife
(GwynethPaltrow) gets the two to put aside their initial
friction and work
together. Mills' first assignment with Somerset involves
the murder of an
extremely obese man who's apparently been forced at gun
point to eat himself to
death. When a prominent attorney is murdered, and the
word "GREED" is spelled
out in his blood, Somerset re-examines the first crime
scene and finds the word
"GLUTTONY" written in grease. Suddenly, the two apparently
unconnected murders
become only the beginning of a serial killer's rampage,
each crime involving
are presentative of the "Seven Deadly Sins." Part of
the terror is in the
excruciating detail put into the forensic investigations:
we find out not only
how each person died, but also the extreme lengths the
killer went to in
torturing them. And don't think for a moment that anyone
or anything is safe
from the killer and his sense of "morality." The inevitable
comparison to
"Silence of the Lambs," which also had a literate, highly
intelligent serial
iller, sells "Seven" short: this is a powerful film in
its own right and is,
quite simply, one of the most frightening movies I've
ever seen.
Sleepers: ***1/2; Four kids grow up on the streets in
the Hells Kitchen part of
New York City. They end up going to reform school and
are tormented by the
guards there, led by a creepier-than-usual Kevin Bacon.
They get out, and -
13years later - grow up to be Brad Pitt, Chris O'Donnell,
and other people you
may have seen on TV or in the movies. It then turns into
a revenge flick, with
some interesting twists. Seeing a bunch of relative unknowns
(as kids) early in
the story made it seem more real to me than the later
part with big-name actors
Pitt, O'Donnell, Dustin Hoffman, and Minnie Driver. The
notable exception is
Robert DeNiro as a tough priest, who, along with the
sinister Bacon, had the
real stand-out performances in the movie.
Back to Main Movie Page Back Home