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Abandon (2002) (*1/2, suspense) (3-28-05) (DW.-Stephen Gaghan; Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt, Charlie Hunnam, Zooey Deschanel, Mark Feuerstein, Fred Ward) A two year old missing person case. A police search to try to figure out what happened to him. A girl friend Katie Burke (Holmes) who thought that she had put her ex behind her. And a steadily increasing sense of dread as to what is happening or is about to happen. A promising premise. A potentially interesting set up. A miserable delivery. Overlong set up that approaches the “turn it off” level. This is a good study in how not to make a movie. The director needs a good editor and writer. The opening set up starts out well, but just goes on and on. Too many loose ends that never get resolved one way or the other. Long gaps between relevant issues. And in the end, an unrealistic conclusion. Just intriguing enough that I hung around to see where it was going – I didn’t have anything better to do that evening. Disappointing because there was a lot of potential. The young actors were especially good I thought. People unfamiliar with college age students might not recognize the dead on portrayal of very bright, but immature and insecure students. Recommendation: Give this one a pass. Review based on the DVD which had a variety of extras which, given the film, held no interest for me whatsoever.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) (***, comedy) (D.-Charles Barton; Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney, Jr., Bela Lugosi, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph, Glenn Strange, Frank Ferguson) Tooth, fang, and fur farce. For lovers of the humor of Abbott and Costello, a classic. Lou is about to find himself an unwilling brain donor; the choice of Lou makes perfect sense. We get an ensemble cast of monsters including Dracula (Lugosi), the Werewolf (Tabot), and Frankenstein (Strange) plus assorted gorgeous women who want Lou, but for very different reasons. Good sets and top of form for the two protagonists makes an entertaining evening. Lou’s phone conversation with Tabot is a gem. Vincent Price has an unbilled voice-only role.

Actually Frankenstein was played by two actors. When Strange was throwing the woman through the window, it proved more difficult than expected and he broke his ankle. Chaney replaced him for the rest of the film. Apparently, if you look closely you can distinguish the substitution. Review based on excellent AMC showing.

Ace in the Hole See The Big Carnival(1951) (***1/2 drama)

Ace Ventura Pet Detective (1994) (***1/2, low slapstick humour) (D.-T. Shaydac; Jim Carrey, Sean Young, Courtney Cox, Tone Loc, Dan Marrino) After watching The Mask I was absolutely enthralled by Jim Carrey's style. However, his recent movie Ace Ventura washow shall we put it graciouslytreated less than kindly by the critics. The survivors who managed to crawl, weak from laughter, from the theaters thought otherwise. The movie has humor so low that I would never admit to seeing it. So for the sake of my dignity, let us pretend that my review is based solely on hearsay.. It has some low, low, low, tasteless (skirting the edge of gross) moments. It also has some of the best physical slapstick comedy to grace the screen since the demise of the old silent masters. It is funny. Don't eat or drink anything while watching it. Carrey has an absolutely plastic face and mastery of body English as you might expect from The Mask. He is almost unique in being a totally physical comedianclearly a superb athlete in the same mold as the old silent film comedians. If The Mask was a tribute to Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner, Ace is a tribute to Max Sennett and the Keystone Cops. Much of the humor, pacing, and exaggerated expressions are right out of the old silents. Enjoy his fabulous mime routine as he ventures forth in search of the dolphin (set to the sound track from Mission Impossible). Watch his smug body posture as he waits to collect his dolphin. And then enjoy the collection. Further, he demonstrates unerringly that there are people other than smokers whom you do not want in your house. Just remember, I didn't go to see this. (9-19-94) Beginning

Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls (1995 (1/2*, comedy) (D.-??; Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice, Simon Callew, Sophie Okonko, Adewale) Run. Do not walk to the exit. It's bad. No... It's awful. No... It's ghastly. Actually, there isn't a suitable word in English. Nature is scatological, offensive, and never rises to sophmoric. However, the seven year olds in the audience seemed to enjoy it. I got most of my laughs out of the children trying to duplicate the film's making shadow puppets on the screen during the closing credits. Don't get me wrong. I love some of Carrey's work including the original Ace Ventura. We have tried to analyze what went wrong--a dangerous task with humor. For us there were no effective interactions with the other actors. Carrey tries to carry too much. A number of the big set pieces never gel. They steal jokes from the earlier films but can not carry them off (e.g, the nut scene on the aircraft). Ultimately, the film just lacks any sense of identity. (3-11-96) Beginning

Accident (1967) (***, drama) (D.-Joseph Losey; Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Jacqueline Sassard, Delphine Seyrig, Harold Pinter) Harold Pinter script based on Nicholas Mosley (who plays Don) novel. The name Pinter should be adequate warning. Depressing character study centered around aging sexually frustrated professor (superbly played by Bogarde) who becomes fixated on student (love is a totally inappropriate word). The opening sets the tone. Populated with a plague of nasty people who deserve each other and whom normal people would avoid. Not pretty, but well acted. (7-19-95)Beginning

Addams Family (1991, **1/2 humor) (Julia Raul, Angelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd) A pleasant little throwaway with a lot of black humor. Much of it comes directly from Charles Addams cartoons, but Raul and Huston do fine jobs as Gomez and Morticia. The child Wednesday is excellent. The school play near killed me, I laughed so hard. Beginning

Addiction, The (1995) (**, horror) (D.-Abel Ferrara; Conklin Lili Taylor, Annabella Sciorra, Kathryn Erbe, Christopher Walken) In New York City, a college graduate student Kathleen (Taylor) returning late from study is savagely attacked and bitten by a woman (Sciorra). Only later does it begin to dawn on her that the bite carried more than risk of infection. It is a sentence of vampirism. Thus begins her ceaseless quest for another fix. However, Addiction really isn't a vampire film, although it is a horror film. Addiction is an allegorical study or perhaps a cautionary tale of the devastation of addictions of any kind. Shot in gritty, stark, black and white, it shows Kathleen's descent into a living hell while she tries to hold the civilized elements of her world together at the same time that she is driven to increasingly violent acts to satisfy her needs. It is ugly, debasing, and disgusting. But then addiction is.

Addiction is disturbing, offbeat, but well made. Taylor does a fine job of conveying the helplessness, the horror, and her attempts to overcome her affliction--very similar to any addict. I think up to the end, the film maintains a realistic atmosphere and approach. However, for me the ending is a non sequitur. It seems inconsistent with the plot development and the film's message, although students may enjoy it. It does supply a violent finale. Also, I found the Holocaust images inappropriate. I didn't enjoy the film, but I think that this is one to see and judge for yourself. (10-6-97) Beginning

Adventures of Don Juan (1948) (**, adventure) (D.-Vincent Sherman; Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Ann Rutherford, Raymond Burr) Definitely not up to the standards of the classic silent Don Juan or Flynn's The Adventures of Robin Hood. Indeed, apparently some of the film clips were taken from Robin Hood. While the film occasionally has some of the fabulous tongue-in-cheek satire of these two earlier films, it fails to hold a consistent tone and tends to get bogged down in the tedious story of Flynn saving Queen Margaret of Spain (Lindfors) from assorted villains including the, even then, somewhat portly Raymond Burr. Flynn, of course, is physically appealing as he dispatches villains with virtuoso sword work, goes bounding over furniture like a gazelle, or scales a vine to reach fair maidens. Colorful sets and ocassional droll gems make it not a total loss. (4-22-96) See Don Juan (1926). Beginning

Adventures of Robin Hood The (1938) (****, adventure) (D.-Michael Curtiz, William Keighley; Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale, Herbert Mundin, Una O'Connor, Melville Cooper, Montague Love, Ian Hunter) Dated, but one of the definitive swashbuckling epics to which such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark pay homage. Fabulous action sequences without the benefit of stunt men. The quarter staff battle between Robin (Flynn) and the avuncularly lethal Little John (Alan Hale) come to mind. Tongue in cheek throughout with lots droll humor. There is also the beautiful maid Marion (De Havilland), delightfully wicked and ruthless Prince John (Rains), and the black sheriff himself (Rathbone). Rathbone apparently practiced long and hard to master the swordsmanship while Flynn depended on superb natural athletic ability. Good fun for the entire family. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's rousing score earned an Oscar, as did the art direction and editing. (4-22-96) Beginning

Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, The (2000) (**1/2, Fanatasy, comedy) (8-21-00) (D.-Des McAnuff; Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, Piper Perabo, Randy Quaid, Robert De Niro, Janeane Garofalo, Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, John Goodman, Whoopi Goldberg, Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, James Rebhorn, David Alan Grier) Fearless Leader (De Niro), Boris (Alexander), and Natasha (Russo) cross over to the real world with conquest in mind. Our stalwart heroes, Rocky (a flying blue squirrel) and Bullwinkle (an eternally dense moose), come to the rescue. The film is based on the 60s cartoon strip and is very true to the original animated show. However, it mixes live and animated characters much like Roger Rabbit. The original TV show was noted for its terrible puns (true groaners), lightning swift pacing, and countless cultural, political, legal, and human nature comments--most done so quickly that if you weren't paying attention, you missed them.

I have it on good authority that a 10 year old thought it was terrible. I can see that. Much of the humor would go right over her head, and I don't think it had enough action to compensate for the young ones. DeNiro's monologue "Are you talking to me?" would be a total bust for a young one.

Lovers of the original will miss such additions as "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Dudley Do Right".

My wife who never watched the original rates it about the same level as the 10 year old--but for different reasons. I suspect there may be a touch of nostalgia in my rating. Beginning

For lovers of the original show and for those who would like to see what the original was like, it is worth a look.

Advocate, The (1993) (***1/2, drama) (D.-Leslie Megahey; Colin Firth, Ian Holmes, Donald Pleasence, Amina Annabi, Nicol Williamson, Michael Gough, Harriet Walker, Jim Carter, Justin Chadwick, Lysette Anthony) Screenplay by Megahey. The time: 1452. The place: backwater Abbeville, France. A Paris advocate, lawyer, Courtois (Firth) and his clerk Mathieu (Carter) arrive. Courtois wants to enjoy the pleasures of the bucolic country life. Mathieu is justifiably less sanguine when anticipating the suspicious, superstitious peasants. Courtois quickly discovers a quaint custom of trying and sentencing animals exactly the same as humans--including death by hanging and strangulation. The central trial of the film is the trial of a pig accused of killing a young Jewish boy. Throw in a witch and her prophecy (as with most prophecies, wording is everything), a rich powerful merchant (Chadwick) who would like to palm off his comely 20 year old daughter (Anthony) with one undesirable feature on Courtois, and a troupe of Gypsies to complete one of the most off-the-wall plots that I have seen in a while. The acting is generally good, or at least it is appropriate for the weird characters.

Quirky, black humored, suspenseful, and very entertaining. Not as bleak as it may sound. Because the plot is so unpredictable and the characters and situations so bizarre, I will not spoil your pleasure by revealing more. Ultimately, the plot is secondary to the characters themselves. The film is R for language, sexual situations, and nudity.

Courtois is based on an actual historical figure Bartholomew Chassenee who was well known for defending animals and, later, became the greatest human criminal lawyer of his century. All of the trials presented in the film are based on actual cases. Beginning

AFI Celebrates 100 Years of Film: In case you missed the hype, The American Film Institute, as part of their celebration of the 100th year of film, will present their selections for the 100 top American films on Tuesday, June 16. There will be a three-hour special on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET where they will reveal for the first time their choices. These films were selected from a list of 400 films. At least until Tuesday, you can view the list on the AFI web site at www.afionline.org. The list starts with Richard III (1912), the oldest fully preserved full length American film and ends in 1996. Included are Bladerunner, Star Wars, Citizen Kane, Some Like It Hot, Rear Window, Pulp Fiction, National Lampoon's Animal House, Night at the Opera, Night of the Hunter, War of the Worlds, Toy Story, Stagecoach, Jerry Maguire, Jaws, Wizard of Oz, and High Noon. As a follow up, TNT will broadcast 10 one-hour specials starting on June 23 at 10:00 p.m. ET every Tuesday. (6-15-98) Beginning

AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs (2000) (****, documentary, comedy) (6-12-00) The American Film Institute, using a collection of experts, selected the top 100 American comedies from a list of over 500 films. The program showed on TV and we were treated to clips of their 100 selected films. Truly riotous. It made me want to go out and see films again, and gave me several that I have not seen but plan to rush out and view. I’ll give you a few to whet your appetite. You can find not only the list of the top 100, but the list of about 533 from which the 100 were selected at

http://www.afionline.org/home.html

#1 - Some Like it Hot. #3 - Dr. Strangelove. #10- Airplane! #14 - Bringing Up Baby. #27 - There’s Something About Mary. # 31 was Raising Arizona. #93 - Fargo. Cary Grant was very well represented as was Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn. Chaplin, Mel Brooks, Billy Wilder, Woody Allen, The Marx Brothers all had multiple entries.

Most people will agree on what is good drama, but comedy is very individualized. For me films on the list ranged from my favorites to I couldn’t sit through it. I think most people will agree. However, the AFI list makes an excellent starting point for picking your next comedy, especially if you actually saw the clips in the show to get a flavor for the films. The program will probably show again and will be out on tape in about a year, so do keep your eyes open for it. Beginning

African Queen, The (1951) (****, romantic drama) (D.-John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel) For all intents and purposes, this is a two-person movie with the few other actors merely decorating the table for Bogart and Hepburn. Bogart won an Academy Award for Best Actor and Hepburn was nominated as Best Actress. In the opening days of W.W.I., a seedy, hard drinking, but malleable captain (Bogart) of the equally disreputable riverboat, the African Queen, and a prim strong willed missionary spinster (Hepburn) form an unlikely alliance to destroy a German gunboat in the Congo. The captain, who has always lacked an emotional and moral stabilizer finds it in spades. Hepburn, who has always subjugated her own personality to her brother and his missionary work, is freed and given a new direction. The chemistry between Bogart and Hepburn is thoroughly enjoyable, although Bogart's conversion is just too easy and the romance too smooth to be completely realistic. The cinematography is excellent, and some of the rapids scenes hold their own against the best modern action films; you wonder how many "African Queens" and takes they went through. A delightful way to while away an evening. (11-2-92) Beginning

Age of Innocence (1993) (***1/2, drama) (D.-Martin Scorcece, Michelle Pfieffer, Daniel Day Lewis, Winona Ryder) Warning: Contrary to what you might expect from the previews, this is NOT a romance or what might be perceived as only a woman's movie. True, your initial impression is of visual grandeur. The ebb and flow of 1870's Boston upper crust society is presented with a grace, beauty, and elegance that the Bostonians themselves would have applauded. The absolute beauty of the cinematography, however, initially masks what is the storyline, although ultimately the plot and cinematography become integral parts of each other. In the end, this is not a tale about love but of societal control. The controls are frequently small, subtle, almost unnoticed, but the cumulative effect can be stronger than steel hawsers.The story concerns the individual adjustment to the needs of society and society's means, small and large, to achieve that adjustment. The story concerns a young man (Day-Lewis), engaged to marry one woman (Ryder), who then becomes infatuated with his fiancee's cousin (Pfieffer), a returning divorced countess. Such a simple, timeless triangle. Yet in the hands of these gifted actor, actresses, and director, nothing is simple. The time, the setting, the characters are all late 1800s, yet the society and the participants are as universal and timeless as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The acting is superb and delightfully subtle. Things are rarely what they appear to be, and yet the characters manage to skillfully convey the true depth of what is going on. All three deserve the closest scrutiny, even Ryder who appears to be simple and shallow. In my opinion one of the most masterful scenes in the movies is between Day and Ryder. Voices never rise, no one becomes excited, and yet you can feel the most massive, brooding prison gates grinding closed with absolute irresistible force and finality. Do I think their behavior believable and logical in context? Yes, although I had to think it over and argue it out with others. How many of us could or would react differently than the characters? Not many, I suspect. In my opinion, one weakness of the film is that one can never develop empathy with the characters. While I am sure this was the intent, it keeps you at an emotional distance where you can see the big picture, but never become involved with the characters. Nevertheless, I missed this involvement. (11-22-93) Beginning

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) (****, drama) (4-9-01) (D.-Werner Herzog; Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra) Original review in 3-1-92 based on theatrical release. This review has been revised based on the new DVD at Sneak Reviews. Stunning!!! In the 1560s, a band of conquistadors descend from the Andes into the green Amazon hell in search of those cities of gold. As the army becomes bogged down in the intractable swamps Pizzaro sends a group ahead to explore. The party includes the commander Don Pedro de Ursua , his mistress Inez, and Aquirre's, the second in command, daughter. The incredible hostility of the Amazon head waters causes the commander to decides to retreat the way they had come. Aquirre (Kinski) considers this suicidal, mutinies, and leads the band down the Amazon. Given the circumstances, his behavior is an amazing and masterfully believable mixture of rationality, insanity, and the purely human hunger for honor, recognition, and success. Any one of a number of Herzog's scenes is worth the price of admission. The opening as they fight their way out of the mountains is one. The swirling, and prophetic, image of the soldiers trapped in the whirlpool another. The final scene as Kinski surveys his domain and subjects, pontificates on his accomplishments, and the camera swirls about them with its own message will be branded indelibly onto your mind. Subtitled, but the actions and dialogue are so direct that you will not notice it after the first minutes. Offbeat, but a must see. The stunning marquee picture of Kinski graces the video jacket.

The DVD has an excellent transfer of the film along with a voice over commentary of the film by the director. This is truly fascinating. The film only cost $360,000. The shooting took 4 weeks and the editing 4-6. Given what you see on the screen, this is absurdly cheap. Most of the shots were done in one take. The director tells how he "liberated" the 35 mm camera used on this film and several of his later ones. They were frequently hungry and scrounging off the land as they went along. Given the low budget, the director improvised frequently. The river really did rise 15’ overnight and sweep their rafts away. The miniature sloth was a spontaneous add in. Where the raft hut roof is swept off was an accident, but they got it on film and used it. The flute player was a retarded beggar. The story line about the salt was based on reality, and the crew didn’t bring enough salt. The mummy was real and because it was so delicate, it flew as a passenger next to Herzog’s brother in a seat of its own. The bird sounds that are so prominent at different places are carefully choreographed. The entire film crew was bumped from a flight that went down in the Amazon jungle with only one survivor, a woman, who made her own film on her horrendous ordeal, Wings of Help.

The director purchased 400 monkeys for the one scene and had to fake being a government inspector to get them back when his dealer double crossed him. The monkeys bit Herzog at least 50 times. There was no mention of Kinski being bitten; my guess is that the monkeys were just too afraid of him. A lot of the extras were hard drinking and brawling so Herzog’s order of killing the soldiers off was determined by their night time behavior. Towards the end, one of the dead solders had missing teeth and swollen lips, which were not special effects but the result of the previous night’s revelry.

Kinski was every bit as unstable and difficult to work with as the rumors indicated. He and Herzog nearly killed each other. Herzog threatened to kill him (and claims he would have done so) when Kinski threatened to walk off the shoot. Kinski fired three rounds from a high powered rifle into a crowded hut of drunken revelers because they disturbed him one night. Only pure luck prevented injury or death. In one scene, Kinski smashes a sword on the head of one of his troops, and, even through the helmet, the man was badly injured.

John Okella, the name of one of the characters in the film, came from the crazed Zanzibar dictator. Some of Kinski’s crazed lines come directly from the real Okella.

At one point, the negatives were lost for 5 weeks. The ship in the tree was 120 feet off the water and took 10 days to build. The description of the flooded plains with no solid ground for miles was exactly the way it was. See if you can see where their living rafts actually arrived too soon and ended up in the background on the allegedly totally isolated river.

In spite of Herzog’s claim that there is no factual basis to the film, Aguirre was clearly a composite of two factual events. My wife researched these and her information is given below.

Taken largely from History of the Americas, Vol. 1, J. F. Bannon, 1952, McGraw-Hill, pgs. 98-101.

In Feb. 1541 an expedition led by Gonzalo Pizarro (brother of the conquistador Hernando) and made up of more than 200 Spaniards, several thousand Indians, horses, llamas, alpacas, hogs and so on set out to explore the rainforest and rivers below the settled city of Quito. In March this group was joined by Orellana and a few more Spaniards. The descent into the rainforest level brought disease and death and forced the group to build a boat to float the sick down the Coca River; the rest struggled on to the junction of the Napo and Aguarico by December. Encouraged by the Indian’s assurances that food and wealth lay further downstream, Orellana took a group of 60 and the boat to check out these stories. When he did not return in the agreed upon time, Pizarro and the rest turned back; the 80 starving and sick survivors stumbled into Quito six months later.

Orellana had proceeded to the Curaray and stayed at a village to recover. Here an argument ensued about returning to Pizarro and the men "forced" Orellana to continue downstream, where they eventually floated out into and down the Amazon (3900 miles, the second longest river in the world) and into the Atlantic in August and returned to the Spanish possessions. [According to one of my sources, this epic journey was achieved without the loss of a single man.] Orellana hurried off to Spain to receive the governorship of the Amazon Basin, but he was killed by Indians on his return.

Twenty years later Don Pedro de Ursua decided to continue that search down the Amazon for the land of gold. As a second-in-command he made the mistake of picking an adventurer with a bad reputation, Lope de Aguirre. The final group consisted of the band of ruffians that passed for soldiers, Ursua’s mistress (the widow Inez), and Aguirre’s young daughter. On Jan. 1, 1561, the band of cutthroats, presumably led by Aguirre, killed Ursua and almost certainly took a keen interest in the widow. The group, now under Aguirre’s official leadership, proceeded down the Amazon, north to the Rio Negro, on to the Orinoco, and finally to the coast of Venezuela, where they continued their rampage of murder, rape, and violence. Finally Aguirre was captured, executed, and thrown to the dogs, but not before he killed his daughter to "protect" her from being the child of a traitor. Beginning

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) (**, sci fi) (12-31-03) (D.-Steven Spielberg; . Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, William Hurt, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards, Brendan Gleeson) Based on the short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss. Before I give you my opinion, let me describe my feelings about Spielberg that will allow you to calibrate your views against mine. When he is doing taut actioners or thrillers, nobody does it better. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a gem. Jaws is one of the great terrors of the 20th century. However, I found Close Encounters of the Third Kind only marginally entertaining. The characters and the set up were good. The ending was a spectacular light show bore; the thought of the extended version of the ending was too much for me to even contemplate watching. For me, A.I. takes the worst features of Encounters and expands them to a bone crushing 145 minutes. A.I. is the most indulgent, boring film that I have managed to sit through in years. The only reason we managed was a slow Saturday night where we were mildly curious to see how he was going to play out the issues.

It isn’t because there isn’t material here. In the story, cybernetics has gotten to the point of producing a cyber toy that looks like a child and experiences love. In principle, the perfect replacement for a childless couple. He is bound to a family and for reasons that come clear during the film has a falling out. This casts him onto the whims of a society that does not always like cybernetics. The story is framed as a Pinnochio-like fable with one of the principals, Gigolo Joe (Law), as Osment’s aide. Joe is another mechanical machine, a pleasure model. Any one of a number of issues here could have made a fascinating and intellectually stimulating film. The true impact of the programming on the boy. The ethics of creating a machine with feelings. The effect on his family. The society itself. The final resolution of the boy’s plight. Unfortunately, each one of these issues is addressed at a perfunctory level, never developed fully and cloaked in a special effects show that seems more interested in the effects than the emotional and technological implications of the world created.

Osment and Jude do an excellent job with what they have. The effects are good. Review based on the DVD with lots of extras that I didn’t bother to watch.

Air Force One (1997) (action, ****) (D.- Wolfgang Petersen; Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Liesel Matthews, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell, Paul Guilfoyle, Xander Berkeley) Slick, edge-of your-seat nail bitter. Most have seen the ads. Russian terrorists lead by Ivan Korshunov (Oldman) seize Air Force One with President Marshall (Ford), his wife (Crewson), and daughter (Matthews) aboard. Marshall is a no nonsense, no negotiations with terrorist type who happens to have a Medal of Honor. Marshall's resolve will be sorely tested, and many that stand between these two intractable men will find their life insurance prematurely cancelled.

The characters and their actions are believable including the Vice President (Close). But above all, a good thriller requires good villians. The terrorists are good. Resourceful and more than willing to die if necessary. Oldman is masterfully coolly malevolent. A realist, a zealot, and a pure sociopath. He will sacrifice everyone to achieve his goal, and the suffering of others is irrelevant as long as he suceeds. Marshall is believable, but will no doubt have trouble living later with his decisions.

Peterson knows how to put an action film together with many beautifully orchestrated action set pieces. The landing of the Air Force One at the German AFB is as tense as anything that I have seen recently. The fear, the resolve, the resourcefulness of both sides is so well presented that it is easy to forget who to root for. The writer added a small, but critical tidbit. Air Force One is bullet proof. Without this detail, which may or may not be true, the gun battles would have blown the plane out of the sky by decompression. As with any good action thriller, set up is as or more important than the action. Peterson knows how to build tension slowly to the breaking point. The F/X are good, used only when necessary, and drive the plot rather than overwhelm it.

Yes, we have seen most of this before. But there is rarely anything new in this genre. Nuance and style make for success or failure. For me, Air Force One has plenty of both and works, although I may not go be able to go back to the theater after ripping the arms off the chairs. Also, as with most thrillers, Air Force One does not standup to close plot scrutiny--but I didn't worry about that while I watched it. Beginning

Airplane! (1980) (***1/2, humor) (D.- Jim Abrahams, David Zucker; Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson, Stephen Stucker) Low, sophomoric, and still very funny. Airplane! created a veritable cottage industry in this style of film. If one joke doesn't get you, you won't lament it before the next one bowls you over. A savaging of every airplane disaster movie ever made, although the basic plot of the crew being taken out by food poisoning comes from Arthur Hailey's Zero Hour. However, why stop with airplane disaster movies when counting the spoofs. How about Saturday Night Fever and Jaws to name just two? And while many of the younger generation will miss some of the allusion, TV shows and ads are used freely as the basis of the jokes with coffee commercials figuring heavily. Also, airport religious panhandlers take their knocks, although the younger viewers will not remember the gauntlet that we used to be subjected to in airports. Lloyd Bridges has a great time playing a parody of many of his serious roles. Graves has a great time as the pilot. Nielson plays an almost straight part--this seems to represent the end of his serious roles and the beginning of his new inept comic style. The autopilot is memorably kinky. (5-27-98) Beginning

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990) (**, fantasy) (D.-Akira Kurosawa; Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Mieko Harada, Chishu Ryu, Hisashi Igawa, Martin Scorsese) Kurosawa is arguably one of the world's greatest living directors. He has made some of the most breathtaking and influential films such as Ran, The Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress (the model for Starwars), Stray Dog, and a host of samurai films that formed the basis for Leone's Spaghetti Westerns. As a senior icon, he has the right to be self indulgent. However, that doesn't mean Dreams says anything to me. Visually, Dreams reminds me of Fellini's excesses and disconnection from reality. I am pretty much a pragmatist and like my films just a little more reality based. Dreams is eight vignettes ranging from the fanciful ("Crows"--where an artist enters a Van Gogh painting to meet with the master (Scorsese) and learns his secrets) to the apocalyptic end of the world ("Mt. Fuji in Red" and "The Weeping Demon"). Using cinematic excesses, Kurosawa chastises man for his destruction of the world and his failure to live in harmony with nature. While some of the stories were intriguing, I found much of his proselytizing sophomoric and heavy handed. In short, not my kind of movie. (1-22-96) Beginning

Aladdin (1992) (***1/2, animated comedy) I don't care how old you are, see Aladdin. This is a children's, a teenager's, and an adult's movie all rolled into one. Indeed, many references will pass right by young adults; for example, how many recognize Ed Sullivan? Nevertheless, a high spirited romp with glorious animation for everyone. The songs aren't even bad for one who hates musicals. One of the great things about Aladdin is that you can do somebody a favor by taking children to see it. The plot revolves around a handsome thief, a beautiful princess, her doting father the Sultan, an evil Grand Vizier and his truly disreputable parrot (Iago), and a crazy genie. The voice and insane antics of the genie are courtesy of Robin Williams. The word is that Williams just ran off the script (his version of it), which was edited for a family movie and then the animators drew the action to go with it. I can believe it. Iago makes Daffy Duck look positively altruistic and is every bit as Machiavellian as his scheming master. Whenever the genie or the parrot are on the screen brace yourself for laughter. Aladdin pays homage to many recent movies. Think of Danny DeVito in Romancing the Stone and of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not to be missed by children of all ages. (1-17-93) (8-23-93) Beginning

Alice to Nowhere (1986) (***1/2, suspense) (D.-John Power, John Waters, Rosey Jones, S. Wabik) Alice was an Australian mini series, which runs about four hours with ads. Based on Evan Green's novel, Alice again shows Australian film makers disturbing skills with sound and visual imagery. The name comes from Alice Springs, a nothing town on the way to nowhere. A trucker in the outback plows the near trackless stretches between towns and homesteads like an ancient mariner carrying supplies, companionship, and messages between islands. His truck is like some great misshapen killer shark and the terrain over which it travels is only slightly more hospitable than the far side of the moon, but surrealistically beautiful and varied. Due to a series of events the trucker, his sidekick, and a new regional nurse end up with two very undesirable stow aways--a pair of jewel thieves. The leader, Johnny, very ably played by Waters, is a hair trigger sadist-psychopath. With relentless brutal predestination, the principles are thrown together on the truck, and then things really turn nasty. In spite of the limited graphic violence, Alice is a nervously unsettling exercise in jangling nerves as the director uses sight and sound to disorient and terrorize your senses. The truck and desert are as integral a part of the terror as the humans. The extraordinary isolation leaves no doubt that our protagonists are truly on their own and no one including God, who surely has abandoned this awesome wilderness, can help them. As with much horror and suspense, there is really nothing new under the sun; what separates the good from the bad is style, polish, and nuance. Power has style to burn and his visual/aural effects continually keep your teeth on edge; you notice the chill on your spine in the first minutes even before anything happens. With the storyline, the plot does suffer from a few logical lapses for development as otherwise resourceful people stand around when they could have saved themselves or place themselves in untenable positions that a six-year old would have avoided. Also, at the end the massive psychic damage to the survivors is much underplayed. Nevertheless, an exceptionally effective piece of film making where even the length allows one to savor, anticipate, and dread. Well worth the effort to search it out. (2-22-93) Beginning

Alien (1979) (**1/2 Sci-fi horror) (D-Ridley Scott, Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Statton, Yaphet Kottot, Veronica Cartwright) A tramp space freighter takes on a very unwanted hitchhiker whose idea of a good time is eating the crew. By the end the entire cast (listed in entirety above) is gone except for Weaver. A dark atmospheric (Oscar for special effects) formula sci-fi horror movie (a la the abysmal IT! The Terror from Beyond Space and a host of other grimy 50's Sci-fi flicks). Alien is most noteworthy for the grisly dining room scene where corn bread and crew member are served, and the fact that it is the set up for the outstanding sequel. Trivia: corn bread was also a staple in Aliens. Weaver is excellent as the resourceful captain. In my opinion, the major shortcoming was the violation of the main rule of a good thriller--opponents must be well matched. After the first victim, the only reason the creature gets anybody is through galloping stupidity. Alien is probably worth seeing before Aliens for the background references and for the well done atmosphere. Weaver received $30,000 for her role. Contrast this with what she got for Alien3. Beginning

Alien Hunter (2003) (***, sci fi) (1-24-05) (D.- Ron Krauss; James Spader, Janine Eser, John Lynch, Nikolai Binev, Leslie Stefanson, Aimee Graham, Stuart Charno, Carl Lewis, Svetla Vasileva, Anthony Crivello, Kaloian Vodenicharov) I picked this one up expecting another grade Z sci fi horror evening. In one way I was not wrong. How many other movies can it rip off? Let me count the ways. To name only a few: the original The Thing, Alien, Taken, Close Encounters, ET, etc. Yet the director manages to pull off a surprisingly taut, intriguing little thriller. Given a decent script one wonders what the director could have done. The dust cover intrigued me with a set up bearing a delightful similarity to The Thing. An object is found buried in the ice near an Antarctica research station. When it is dug out it begins to thaw and is broadcasting a powerful and obviously encoded alien signal. An expert on SETI and language (Spader) is pulled in to study it just before the weather shuts down all physical and radio contact with the outside world. Deciphering the code in time may save the world or lead to its demise. Throughout, I couldn’t help saying to myself how ridiculous the plot, how full of logical holes, how hackneyed the dialogue, how trite the personal interactions. But with style and plot development that rarely followed what you expected, the director managed to keep us intrigued and guessing up to the very end. The way in which the story develops, the introduction of unexpected twists, and the little human nuances make the film. For example, I thought the behavior of the Russian ship crew perfect. Here indeed is how professionals might act as they recognize with growing dread that they may be participating in the end of the world. Similarly the interaction of Spader with his Berkeley department head has just the right touches to it as does the dawning realization of the airplane pilot. The homage to the original The Thing is a recurrent delight.

Aliens (1987) (**** Sci-fi horror) (D-James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn) Mind numbing, relentlessly growing horror. Arguably one of the best Sci-fi horror movies of all times. From the unsettling open scene of Ripley floating in suspended animation after her escape in Alien to the adrenaline pumping finale, your nervous system is in for one of the most brutal roller coaster rides of its life.

Weaver, very begrudgingly returns with a Marine contingent on a search and destroy mission to the planet of the creatures. Cameron of Terminator and The Abyss fame is noted for his strong, feminine woman leads. Weaver continues her Ripley role in spades. A fabulously effective emotional pivot point for the movie is the introduction of a sole survivor of the colony, a young girl (an outstanding performance) with whom Ripley bonds.

This is not a monster movie in the traditional sense. This is a confrontation between two very highly adapted species that have evolved independently to the pinnacle of their respective evolutionary heaps; both just take anything and everything that they want. At the top level of the movie, two highly skilled killing machines are locked in an epic battle for survival--extermination of the other. At a more human level, females of both species are locked in personal battle over their young. Under the right stress, the female of most species has always been the most dangerous. If you think a testosterone finale is something, wait until you see the estrogen pumped one here where both females are engaged in protection or revenge involving their young.

In keeping with good horror and suspense, the adversaries are well matched. The space Marines sent to clean out the infestation, "a bug hunt", are the most professional, well trained and equipped killers imaginable--men and women. Yet all are very human. The women are so tough that if they weren't interested in you, an unwanted approach wouldn't draw back a bloody stump, it wouldn't drawback anything--ever again. There were always a few like that when I was growing up. Unfortunately for the humans, the creatures have the home court advantage and use it. They are more numerous, are well established, know all the ins and outs of the colony, are cunning, and are equally efficient killing machines. In short perfect villains. Whenever someone comes up with a good idea, rest assured there is no free lunch.

In keeping with good horror, never show too much too soon. While the monsters are not seen for 45 minutes (and then only a glimpse of a caged specimen), you may not have any finger nails left by then. This movie makes some of the most eerie, effective uses of TV and other visual gimmicks that I have seen. Note in particular the reactor fly by and the motion detectors. Also, in the first battle scene, most of the action is seen from the commander watching and listening to it through his trooper's individual video monitors. While you get mostly bits and pieces, you can tell that what is happening is truly awful. This is far more effective than a graphic presentation. I am reminded of the shower scene in Psycho, and I believe that Hitchcock would have loved this scene.

The scene with them dropping to the planet is a real adrenaline raiser and is right out of Heinlein's Starship Troopers. If you have never read the book, it is a classic. You may find his philosophy offensive, but you will probably find it fascinating.

The video/TV version contains several scenes omitted from the US. theater release: Ripley's discovery of the fate of her daughter whose fourth birthday she was celebrating in Alien and the frightenly effective scene with the automated machine guns (classic Cameron): riveting, suspenseful, and at last successfu-but... There may be other insertions or omissions; let me know if you see any. The UK. release included 17 minutes not shown in the US. version, so I suspect the video and TV versions are actually the UK one. Your nerves will not appreciate their inclusion.

The only shortcoming is how closely the ending follows the original--but electrifying at a hormonal level, even while you are saying at an intellectual level, "they did this before".

Aliens is filled with many plot twists and turns and gimmicks. If you haven't seen it, don't let anyone tell you about them before you go. I give Aliens my top rating for Sci-fi horror: It doesn't get any worse than this!

Interesting point: Remember the acoustic radar? Although it cannot see through walls, Electronics Now, Sept. 1993, pg. 31 gives complete plans for a similar device with a 360o field of view. (9-27-93) Beginning

Allegro Non Troppo (1976) (*** animation, humor) (D-Bruno Bozzetto) Animator Bozetto's tongue-in-check rip-off of FANTASIA is a pure delight. Fabulous blend of live slap stick action and gorgeous, frequently very funny, animation sequences set to Ravel, Stravinsky, DeBussy, and other greats. A visual and auditory delight for children of all ages, or maybe a movie with something for all ages. When the University used to show it every year, I took my children to see it every time; we never tired of it. Not side splitting, but nearly continual smiles as the droll humor unfolds. In one sequence set to Ravel's Bolero, the complete evolution of life on a barren planet starts from a partially filled Coke bottle tossed carelessly from a departing space ship. A marvelous conceit. A cartoon take off of the seduction of the serpent by the apple in the Garden (set to Stravinsky's The Firebird) is another one of my favorites. Available in both the original or dubbed videos. (12-06-92) Beginning

Alligator (1980) (*** horror humor) (D-Lewis Teague, Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Henry Silva) Screen play by the eclectic John Sayles. A high spirited romp that doesn't take itself very seriously, and thus succeeds in being highly entertaining. Cut from the same mold, but not as good as Tremors. It uses all the standard horror formula tricks, but mixes the thrills with black humor. This movie addresses and answers the weighty question, "Whatever happened to that cute little pet alligator that your parents made you flush down the toilet into the sewer full of chemical pollution?" You didn't really want to know. Full of droll little gems such as the Great White Hunter (Silva) sent into the back alleys to eliminate this creeping nemesis, the night dive into the swimming pool, and the wedding. A not very tasteful throwaway, but for the low brow a fun evening. Be forewarned. Funny does not mean not gory. Beginning

All the President's Men (1976) (****, docudrama) (D-Alan Pakula, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, etc.) (138 min.) Based very accurately on the Woodward and Bernstein book of the same name on their investigation and uncovering of the Watergate scandal. For the young, this was the cover-up that led to Richard Nixon's fall from the presidency. Superb acting and pacing. Redford and Hoffman are outstanding as the oil and water pair of reporters who were jammed together by their editor (Robards) to cover Watergate even though each was the other's worst nightmare. Suspenseful all the way up to the end even though you know what happened. You have to keep telling yourself that this was true and a reasonable facsimile of the way it happened. The book and movies give an excellent glimpse of how a free press, when it is working correctly, helps keep government in line. Unfortunately, given the complexities of the system, how often does it fail us? Watergate, for example, was obviously a very close call indeed. If you don't see the movie, read the book. Better yet see the movie and read the book. Beginning

Alien3 (1992) (**, sci fi horror) (D.-David Fincher, Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dance, Brian Glover, Lance Henriksen) Unsatisfying conclusion of the Alien trilogy. After her escape in Aliens Lt. Helen Ripley crash lands on a penal colony populated almost exclusively by rapists and murderers, who have achieved a religious salvation of sorts. Unfortunately, she is not the sole crash survivor, and she and the unarmed prisoners soon become lizard fodder. Finscher comes from MTV and should have made note of the maxim: Never confuse motion with action. While there is plenty of motion and some decent special effects, there is little believable plot and characters with which you cannot develop any empathy--including Ripley. Recommendation: rent the superb Aliens three times and forget Alien3. After her $30,000 salary in Alien, Weaver received the highest salary every paid an actress for her role here. She didn't earn it here, but she certainly had it coming from Aliens. (4-26-93) Beginning

Amelie (2001) (***, comedy) (1-21-02) (D.-Jean-Pierre Jeunet; Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Poulain Rufus, Yolande Moreau, Arthus De Penguern, Urbain Cancellier) Charming little crowd pleaser. In French with subtitles. Don’t let the subtitles stop you. They are good, the dialogue is generally straightforward, and much of the humor is visual. Amelie (Tautou) is a young woman who has survived an emotionally starved childhood as we learn in a droll voice over at the beginning. A chance accident one day gives her a goal in life: to make others happy. However, her choices of method and subjects are anything but orthodox. As with Emma in the Jane Austen book, Amelie is so busy trying to solve others’ problems she largely ignores her own until a series of encounters with a photo booth. Even then nothing is linear, and everything must be crafted to her own warped approach to things. Offbeat and populated with a charming assortment of quirky characters and situations. Amelie is not side splittingly funny but will amuse during and long afterwards as you replay scenes. A film like this rises or falls on the star, and Tautou is perfect. A charming ethereal waif. A born survivor and optimist who will ultimately find happiness regardless of the situation. What else can I say except that what’s not to like in a film where a key character is a garden troll? Beginning

American Beauty (1999) (****, drama) (1-24-00) (D.- Sam Mendes; Kevin Spacey, Annette: Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper) American Beauty has a lot in common with Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard. It is narrated by the principal, Lester Burnham (Spacey) . As with Sunset, we know from the beginning that he is narrating the story after his death and that his death was brought about by his own actions. Wilder's film was a savagely satirical and blackly funny view of Hollywood destroying its children after they have used them up. Mendes' target is more general, but no less black and even funnier. He savages life in the suburbs in our modern society. On the surface, Lester has it all. A good job. A beautiful wife, Carolyn (Bening). An attractive teenage daughter, Jane (Birch). The immaculate house on the immaculate street. True, it isn't quite your 50s Leave it to Beaver, but it is as close as it gets today. On the surface. However, Lester has gotten there by subjugating everything in his life that he wanted, and the white paint only covers the darkness of the corners. His job bores him. His wife controls him. His daughter, a typically maladjusted teenager, considers him a wimp and hates him. A precipitating incident triggers his realization that this is as good as it gets, and the rest of the film shows how he sets about rectifying the situation. The effect on this carefully cultivated piece of suburbia and his family is worse than had the bulls of Pamplona run down his street, and we get an insider's look as the carnage unfolds.

We know how it ends, but none of the details. So we spend the movie watching complex and interesting characters, their interactions with each other, and trying to sort out how and why Lester will die. There is not a normal person in the film and since much of the pleasure is in learning about each of the characters, I won't give any more plot. I will warn you that Beauty has enormous sexual tension and a number of very disturbing images. As with much black humor, you find yourself asking how can you be laughing at "that". Spacey's performance is stellar, Oscar quality. [He got Best Actor] He did train for months to sculpt his body for the part. Bening is excellent as written, but my wife and I both think the part was written too over the top. Jane and the Ricky Fitts, the neighbor boy, are excellent.

Beauty is a complex and challenging film to watch. It generates strong and frequently powerful emotions. It has strong proponents and detractors so you are warned. However, in my opinion it is exceptionally well done. The title is perfect. I will give one hint about Lester's resolution. The film reminded me of an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem about her candle burning at both ends. Beginning

American Buffalo (1996) (***, drama) (9-23-02) (D.- Michael Corrente; W.- David Mamet; Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz, Sean Nelson) As with many of Mamet’s films, this is an emotional roller coaster. Here he again deals with society’s low lifes. Terse, brutal, profane. Masterful dialogue where the actors’ use and misuse of language ricochet around the set like a deranged super ball. Based on an old, never produced play by Mamet this involves three low lifes. Don (Franz) owns a pawnshop and is offended by someone who buys a modestly valuable buffalo nickel from him for, as he discovers with a little bit of research, too low a price. As with many having the criminal mentality, he seizes on the goal of getting even. He and his young protégée Bob (Nelson) plan revenge. Into this straightforward task, loose cannon Walt ‘Teach’ Teacher (Hoffman) inserts himself. He is as welcome as a buzzard at a wedding, but he is cunning and manipulative. I don’t believe that since Ratso in Midnight Cowboy has Hoffman played such a disreputable, dangerous character—actually Ratso has many redeeming features.

This little immorality play works itself out as the principals manipulate and misuse each other. At the end as the film rushes headlong towards the finale, you grip the chair arms in fear of how it will play out. You also discover that ever so much more was going on beneath the surface dialogue, something you suspected, but couldn’t pin down. The acting is stellar and the director opens up the set with a few placed shots of an exterior world appropriate for the characters.

If you like Mamet’s incisive dialog delivered by actors who can get into his unique style and deliver it with believable precision, check out Buffalo. Not pretty, but a fascinating walk on the dark side of human nature. Beginning

American Graffiti (1973) (***1/2, comedy) (D.-George Lucas; Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul LeMat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark) A coming of age film in 1962. College students may not enjoy this since it isn't' their coming of age. Further, to appreciate such films, we may not want to be too close; it can hit too many raw nerves. Actually, the combination may work. Since it isn't yours, you can enjoy other's travails without feeling threatened. However, if you want to give your parents a treat, rent this for them. The plot revolves around an evening before four teenagers break up to face college and life. The plot is really incidental, although it is light, airy and thoroughly enjoyable. However, it does allow Lucas to focus on the interactions between the kids and the period. Lucas has an astounding sense for the period and an extraordinary ability to capture it. He gets even the tiniest nuances just right, including things that wouldn't have any bearing on the plot development, but just make it all feel right. He captured things that I had forgotten until I saw the film and suddenly they came flooding back. The cruising scene, the drive ins, the personalities. They all existed, although the different personalities didn't always reside in the same body. A nostalgic slice of life in the sixties. Also featured were Harrison Ford, Suzanne Somers, Joe Spano and many others. Since human nature does not really change, Graffiti may well have something to say to you. Check it out. (8-30-93) Beginning

Analyze This (1999) (*1/2, humor, crime) (4-12-99) (D.-Harold Ramis; Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli) A promising premise, which, for us, was a disastrous failure. What a waste of talent. A Mafia don Paul Vitti (De Niro) begins to lose his killer instincts (panic attacks, unexpected crying) just when a crisis arises in the mob as Primo (Palminteri) contests Vitti's power. Such weakness, if detected, would be a death sentence. To help put Vitti back together in time for the big meeting, he and his cronies commandeer psychiatrist Ben Sobol (Crystal). Sobol, to put it mildly, is not delighted to be associated in any way, shape, or form with Vitti. But Vitti makes offers that Sobol cannot refuse even though Sobol is about to be married to Laura (Kudrow). Needless to say, the analysis is highly detrimental to these plans.

The film has a few good scenes, especially near the beginning. After all how will a macho mob man open up to a psychiatrist? How will the psychiatrist react as he tries to placate the boss and keep breathing by not insulting Vitti. Unfortunately, overall the plot was cliched and the humor strained or nonexistent, especially in the last half. Some of the plot lines that were carefully generated, such as Sobol's father, were just dropped. You know you are in trouble in a film when in the last half, you keep wondering wistfully when it is going to end--as we did in Analyze.

An additional problem, which did not affect my review, is the film framing at the downtown Regal. The first half of the film was almost constantly showing microphones hanging in the top of the frame--sometimes two microphones at the same time! In the second half, the top of all the heads and sometimes the complete heads were cut off. My daughter, who has worked in a theater, tells me this cutting off is likely due to an improper "build" when the theater people assembled the film as one continuous piece from the multiple reels. The microphones could be a related problem since there is always more film in a frame than you are supposed to see; the theater sets a mask on their projector to cover this. If the mask is set wrong or the film is mis-built, this portion of the film can show up on the screen with such things as microphones frequently showing. On the other hand, I found the film so bad, I could imagine them not keeping the microphones out of the viewable frame.

I want to add that some people really liked the film. They liked the droll humor, the interactions between De Niro and Crystal, and the satire of the innumerable serious earlier crime films, especially The Godfather. But neither my wife nor my son liked the movie either. Beginning

Anderson Tapes, The (1972) (***1/2, crime, drama) (D.-Sidney Lumet; Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, Ralph Meeker, Alan King, Margaret Hamilton, Christopher Walken, Garrett Morris) Based on Lawrence Sander's novel, a fine read. At first this seems like just another caper film. Newly released from prison, Duke Anderson (Connery) hatches an audacious plan to steal an entire apartment building and begins to assemble his crew. But this is a Lumet film. The real text here is covert government intrusion. I won't spoil any of the plot by giving away more than that. The film is taut, brutal, thought provoking. Connery in particular is a standout as a man who doesn't understand how the world has changed during the 10 years he was in jail. The nonlinear editing disrupts our god's eye view of what is going on and rachets up the tension as we try to sort out exactly what happened--but it clearly isn't pretty. The plot works well even when you know the story. The ending is a knock out and beautifully symbolic.

There is plenty of opportunity for post mortem. When exactly did things go wrong? What could have been done? Under what conditions would government surveillance have been appropriate? A comparison of Tapes with Enemy of the State reminds us of how much the ground rules of surveillance have changed.

Tapes is Walken's first film. However, it does not really show the pathology and quirky characterization for which he later became famous. (11-23-98) Beginning

Andromeda Strain, The (1971) (**1/2, Sci-Fi) (D.-Robert Wise, Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson) A faithful adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel. A deadly disease threatens to destroy the world while scientists work to figure out why a baby and a drunk are the sole survivors of the first outbreak. Uneven and too long for the story, but frightenly effective in places. The opening is eerily disturbing. The climax is built around their attempt to disarm the nuclear bomb designed to destroy the facility in the event of a containment breach; this is edge-of-the-seat nerve wracking. The resolution of the epidemic suffers the same weakness as the book. As an aside, the laser beam firing at the scientist is real (a pulsed green frequency-doubled neodymium YAG. Laser) and safety people were absolutely furious when the movie came out. As you cannot help but notice, the actor is not wearing laser safety glasses, and the power was potentially eye damaging. (7-6-93) Beginning

And Then There Were None (1945) (***1/2, mystery) (11-12-01) (D.- René Clair; Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston Louis Hayward, Roland Young, Mischa Auer, C. Aubrey Smith, June Duprez, Judith Anderson, Richard Haydn, Queenie Leonard, Harry Thurston) Classic little who-done-it based on the novel of the same name by Agatha Christie and the stage play. Ten strangers are invited to an isolated island for the weekend. Only their host uses a particularly lethal game of cat and mouse to wreak a little Old Testament justice on the visitors. Each demise is based on the children’s song “Ten Little Indians”. The suspense is taut, the dialogue sharp, and the characters all interesting. As the body count rises, the paranoia and suspicion of each other goes off scale. All quite believable. The film apparently follows the less bleak version of the book used by the stage play. Based on the DVD from Clemons Library. Beginning

AngelHeart (1987) (***, horror thriller, atmosphere) (D-Alan Parker, Mickey Rourke, Robert DeNiro, Lisa Bonet) A dark, brooding, violent, erotic throat-grabbing thriller--better than the book, "Fallen Angel" by William Hjortsberg. An on-the-skids detective, Angel (Rourke), takes on what looks like a simple missing persons case. Set about 1950, DeNiro wants him to locate a singer from the war who owes him a small something, and DeNiro always gets what is his. The story swings from bleak, frozen New York to steaming Cajun country. As the dark, oppressive atmosphere, Angel's increasingly frightening nightmares, and the body count builds Angel finds himself in a steadily incriminating quagmire of circumstantial evidence that sets the police on him. His only escape is to find the singer, whom he pursues with increasing, and justifiable, paranoia. A truly impressive and frightening descent into hell. Rourke's performance as he is incrementally drawn in, his dawning realization of the horror of the situation, and his increasingly frantic efforts to extricate himself from the web of deceit are outstanding. DeNiro's small, but pivotal role, is a gem. The camera work, stunning visual images, pacing, and musical accompaniment could not be better. Bonet is a weak point, but still manages a believable seductress. The plot even holds together fairly well, and if you don't know how it ends, DON'T let anyone tell you. The video version has the few seconds added that were taken out to avoid a soft X rating in the theater--but as has become standard, the video still has the original R. A must for students of atmospheric thrillers. Beginning

Anniversaries. This is the year for anniversaries and for BIG films based on the events. It is the 25th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, which ultimately brought down President Nixon. It is the 50th anniversary of the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeagers. In honor of the latter, the sound barrier was just broken on the ground and Yeagers just piloted a supersonic fighter through the sound barrier. The two outstanding films are All the President's Men and The Right Stuff. Both are long films that seem as if they would be immensely boring. Both ARE long films that are so mesmerizing that you're disappointed when they are over. Below I include previous reviews of both. See individual listings. (10-15-97) Beginning

Another Stakeout (1993) (**1/2, comedy, crime) (D.- John Badham; Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Rosie O'Donnell, Cathy Moriarty, Dennis Farina, Marcia Strassman) Uneven but with its moments. A federal witness (Moriarity) is nearly killed by the mob and goes to ground. That venerable and not too bright team of Dreyfuss and Estevez are assigned to stake out a possible hiding place, but this time under the direct control of DA O'Donnell. This tight knit little family unit of Mom, Pop, and Junior (you can fill in who is whom) forms one of the comic conflicts. Their interactions, including a disasterous dinner party with the neighbors Farina and Strassman, form the other comic element. If you like their chemistry in Stakeout, you should enjoy Another. (5-27-95) Beginning

Antz (1998) (**1/2, animation, comedy) (D.-Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson; voices by Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Sylvester Stallone, Jane Curtin, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Christopher Walken) Highly rated by the critics, so maybe we just went into it on the wrong day. There is no doubt that Antz is a superb piece of modern computer animation with fantastic synching of facial movement and speech as well as physical characteristics and mannerisms that mimic the actors supplying the voice. A modern day parable about the angst of growing up nameless in a giant society. Z (Allen) is a nerdy worker ant who lusts for individuality and recognition. The film opens with him on a psychologist's couch lamenting being the middle child in a family of five million. The plot revolves around a princess (Stone) who wants to do a little slumming, a warrior (Stallone) who discovers the joys of work rather than battle, and a type A worker (Lopez) who is impressed with Stallone's big biceps. Setting the conflict is the megalomaniac General Mandible (Hackman) and his right hand ant, Cutter (Walken), and a psychotic plan for the hive. Throw in the holy grail of Insectopia and a couple of upper class WASP wasps (Aykroyd and Curtin) and you have the basic plot.

The film certainly has it moments. Much of Allen's schtick (rewritten at times by him) is a delight. Hackman is a pleasure as he struts through the hive dispensing arrogance and disinformation with equal abandon. You will recognize countless scenes and styles gleefully pirated and fractured from other films including Star Wars, Independence Day, Star Ship Troopers, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Patton. The cast is good. However, for me it didn't seem consistently adult enough for adults or child enough for children. I think that Aladdin was the gold standard for adult/child animation. As an aside, Antz has some reasonably brutal scenes such as the assault on the termite nest that would not be appropriate for smaller children. In conclusion, I think Antz is clearly one of those films that you have to see and then make your own decision. (10-5-98) Beginning

Apartment, The (1960) (**, comedy, drama) (D.-Billy Wilder; Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Edie Adams, David Lewis, Joan Shawlee) Basically, the Academy Awards sweep winner of 1960. In my opinion, it is an excellent example of the vagaries of taste. In the 60's when I first saw it, I thought it somewhat entertaining, but not great. Now I find it boring and philosophically offensive. Lemmon is an unmarried junior executive. The senior executives use his apartment for their clandestine affairs. Lemmon, something of an opportunist, uses these favors to enhance his position, although there is also an element of fear in the consequences if he refuses. The humor revolves around the Grand Central Station that his apartment becomes, the juggling of the different executives according to their pecking order, and his trying to get enough sleep when he finds himself completely out of his apartment for the evening. While a one-shot gag, this might have been pulled off except that the director went with the Charlie Chaplin school of humor, which requires a healthy dose of pathos to accentuate humor. The pathos in this case is supplied by Shirley MacLaine as an elevator girl who is one of the women kept on the string by the boss with the usual my wife doesn't love me, etc, etc. Not realizing that she is one of the occupants of his bed, Lemmon falls hook, line and fly rod for her at work. Her being dumped by the boss provides the near tragedy used to wrap things up. Personally, I found the portrayal of men, women and their interactions uncomfortable and down right offensive at times. Even ignoring these elements, however, I just don't think Apartment was very funny; however, Lemmon manages a charming easily manipulated man on the rise and MacLaine is believable as the spacey, gullible mark. In the absence of humor, Apartment also failed as drama or as an insightful look at the battle of the sexes. (9-18-95) Beginning

Apartment Zero (1988) (***, suspense) (D.- Martin Donovan; Colin Firth, Hart Bochner, Dora Bryan, Liz Smith, Fabrizio Bentivoglio) At Sneak Reviews. Nasty little psychological thriller, but not necessily for everyone. Set in unsettled Buenos Aires where Death Squads are a way of life. Prissy, introverted film buff, Firth, takes in suave, macho boarder Bochner, who may not be what he seems. Both men in this odd couple find something in the other missing in their own life. Unbalancing, eerie, and unpredictable. However, it makes good sense in restrospect. Classic line (as I remember it) that really set my teeth on edge: "I'll go put on my mask and then everything will be like it was before." Review based on the video version shortened by 8 minutes by the director. (10-10-94) Beginning

Apocalypse Now (1979) (****, war, drama) (D.- Francis Ford Coppola; Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Larry Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin, Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, Tom Mason, Colleen Camp) is a flawed master- piece based loosely on Conrad's short story Heart of Darkness. Set to haunting Doors' pieces with the climactic finale orchestrated to The End . If you haven't read the short story, see the movie!! Any one of the exquisitely and disturbing photographed set piece scenes (including the opening) are worth the price of admission. I had an ex-marine tell me the opening hotel room scene was just the way he felt--in Vietnam, you wanted to be home, and once home, you were so out of place that you wanted to be in Vietnam. Particularly stunning are the Flight of the Valkyrie and the bridge too far (Dante would have felt right at home--the imagery is right out of his Inferno). You can interpret this movie at many levels; fire images permeate the entire movie, but are never cleansing or cathartic. Brando and the ending are weak and incomprehensible, but these don't detract from getting there. The very, very end is appropriate and rings true. The only disadvantage of a rental is that this movie demands a big screen and a dark room for full impact. Nevertheless, rent it, get the biggest color set you can find, turn out the lights, sit back, and forget about sleeping well for a while.

If you haven't read "Heart of Darkness" (even if you have), read Phillip Caputo's "Horn of Africa" which is "Heart of Darkness" done the way Conrad meant for it to be. Caputo makes crystal clear within the first page that he is retelling another "Heart of Darkness". However, you don't care whether its a take off or not: the hook is set and the line draws tightly. If you can put this one down after the first chapter, I am truly impressed. To see the real story behind the film, see Hearts of Darkness. Beginning

Apollo 13 (1995) (***1/2, docudrama) (D.-Ron Howard; Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris) Based on the book of the same title by James Lovell and Jeff Kluger. With the simple calmly spoken sentence "Houston...we have a problem." begins one of the great epics of the American space program. Apollo 13 was supposed to be a crown jewels--a nearly routine second landing on the moon. Instead due to a mechanical malfunction, Apollo 13 nearly became the bier for the three astronauts who would have had the unwanted distinction of being the first Americans to die in space. Apollo 13 is story of the men on the spacecraft as well as at Houston, who brought them home after beating one insurmountable obstacle after another. However, knowing of their safe return won't stop you from ripping the arm rests off the theater seats. Howard pulls together a superb story that never misses a beat. You learn enough about the astronauts before take off to recognize them as genuine human beings. These are not supermen, but real people with weaknesses, strengths, and feelings. You can relate to them. As the oxygen bleeds into space, the charge on the surviving batteries required for reentry falls toward zero, the ultimate chill of spaces creeps into the craft, and the absolute blackness of space presses down like dirt on a coffin lid, you are there--an intimate observer of the astronauts and scientists who grapple with and respond to this incident.

The special effects (FX) are superb and help drive the plot rather than overshadow it. Actually a lot of them are not FX, but depend in part on NASA footage. Also, most of the weightless scenes are not FX at all, but are the actors working in weightlessness. This is routine training for the astronaut in a KC-135 aircraft, which executes a complicated manuver that gives 25 seconds of true weightlessness. It is fondly known as the "Vomit Comet" because of a human's common first reaction to extended weightlessness. Over 600 arcs were required for the film including the ones necessary of the actors to develop fluid expertise in zero gravity. It looks GOOD! As an aside, at the end of each arc, the return to 1 G is abrupt and trainees experience a rather solid reexposure to terra very firma.

Apollo 13 is over two hours, but doesn't seem like it. I dont't think that it is quite as good as the even longer The Right Stuff, which was a much more sweeping epic about the earlier space program. I think this is in part due to Howard's more limited set of events and the fact that a good docudrama must remain faithful to the facts. However, Apollo 13 is a superb story that grabs you by the throat near the beginning and never lets go. Don't miss it! (7-26-95) Beginning

Apostle, The (1998) (**1/2, drama) (D.-Robert Duvall; Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Jessie Dewey: Farrah Fawcett, Todd Allen, John Beasley, June Carter Cash) Written by Duvall. A true labor of love that required years for him to get supported. Critically acclaimed by some. My weighting comes out much less positive. However, Duvall's performance is exceptional. Sonny (Duvall) is a fundamentalist preacher with a well established congregation, a trophy wife (Fawcett), and two beautiful children. He deeply believes in his faith and his good works. He is also deeply flawed with human appetites that he does not control. His wife leaving him and taking over their church ends with him running as the "The Apostle E. F." to a small Louisiana parish where God instructs him to set up a new church, which he does with all the fervor and intensity with which he has done everything in his life. Ultimately, his very success is his downfall.

Duvall is inspired as Sonny. If Duvall doesn't preach, he could certainly be very successful at it. He would be a hard man to resist. Duvall cast all the extras from real congregations, and they do respond to him. Sonny has never met a travail that he didn't feel was God's will and part of the grand scheme. In short, an indomitable spirit that will survive all. However, he never does learn humility or control of his appetites.

Whats wrong with it? Duvall shouldn't have had so much control. It lacks focus and suitably tight editing. The film would have made a nice character study and morality play at less than 90 minutes, but the story just doesn't sustain the 133 minute running time. Further, some of the subplots, such as the young mechanic, are never developed. The story concentrated egocentrically and at excessive length on Sonny's oratory skills and charisma. The final church scene could have made its point better in a fraction of the time. (5-18-98) Beginning

Arachnid (2001) (**, horror) (7-20-04) (D.-Jack Sholder; W.-Mark Sevi; Chris Potter, Alex Reid, José Sancho, Neus Asensi, Ravil Issyanov, Rocqueford Allen, Robert Vicencio, Jesús Cabrero) It looks like a Spanish, made for direct to video, but it is all in English. I watched the whole thing, got a few intended laughs, a few jolts, and admiration of how good low budget special effects can be. Therefore, I cannot rate it lower than **. It delivered exactly what I wanted on a Saturday night. Giant mutant bugs, possibly from another world (or maybe from inside the earth), on a tropical island with an isolated group of spider fodder. What more can you ask? Let’s forget about what happened to invisibility, to aliens, to continuity, to logic. I’ve seen a lot worse acting. If you like no brainer Z sci fi, rent it. A few cool ones and some boisterous companions to kibbitz wouldn’t hurt either. To be brutal, it did have far more laughs than all of Welcome to Mooseport which we watched on the same weekend. So if you must rent a video, don’t make it Mooseport. Beginning

Arachnophobia (1990) (***, horror) (D.-Frank Marshall, Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, John Goodman, Julian Sands, Stuart Pankin, Brian McNamara) For people who hate creepy crawly things, run screaming to the nearest exit. A rollicking good horror movie from Spielberg's crew. Your basic grade B horror film spruced up with style and humor. We open with some of the most absolutely stunning terrain (Venezuela) that you will ever see. Unfortunately, this scenery does not translate well to TV, so check it out in the theater if possible. A large, extremely toxic spider is transferred to a small town. Delbert (Goodman) plays a delightful exterminator ("rock and roll.") who is a marvelous parody of the futuristic Orkin man on TV ads. Daniels is a new country doctor with acute arachnophobia. If you are going to survive in this town, that turns out to be a bad failing. During the filming they had so called spider wranglers to herd the little darlings around, although spiders don't take direction very well. The main attraction in this movie is an absolutely gorgeous about one foot diameter South American giant tarantula; these little jewels treat birds as appetizers. When it was on the set, it got real respect. It wasn't poisonous, but at that size, a bite starts to represent serious meat loss. Lay in a store of insecticide, turn out the lights, and enjoy. (7-12-93) Beginning

Arlington Road (1999), (**1/2, suspense) (7-12-99) (D.-Mark Pellington; Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis, Robert Gossett, Mason Gamble) Provocative. There is probably something in here for everyone to like and to dislike. Paranoids rejoice, here is latest jolt taken in the same vein as the ultraparanoid The Parallax View. The story touches on two major hot button issues, the shooting at Ruby Ridge and the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing. It plays with our paranoid tendencies to ostracize anyone whom we decree as different. It nicely gets into the minds of domestic terrorists, who except for some of their extreme and frequently concealed views, might be our neighbors with whom we share a Saturday barbecue and whose kids play with ours. The story unfolds through the eyes of history professor Michael Faraday (Bridges) whose FBI agent wife was killed three years earlier in a botched operation. His new neighbors, Oliver (Robbins) and Cheryl Lang (Cusack) have three picture perfect children and ultrasuburban mentality. Faraday's specialty is domestic terrorism. Unfortunately, when stressed as he still is over his wife and as concerned about his still distressed 10 year old son, he is a good example of "When you are hammer, everything looks like a nail". Some slight things don't ring true about his neighbors, and he begins digging into their background using methods that would have civil libertarians, himself included normally, frothing at the mouth and chewing on the furniture legs. His downward spiral of paranoia and fear were for me believable, although my wife thought it was overdone too early. However, if he is supposed to be the hero, you have serious doubts as to his stability.

I thought the acting excellent. Everyone hits the right note including the children and Faraday's girlfriend Brooke (Davis). I really liked the end of the final meeting between Cheryl and Brooke.

The atmosphere is suitably unbalancing and disturbing. This begins in the disorienting open credits (immediately recognizable as coming from Imaginary Forces, who also did the credits for Seven). The juxtaposition of absolute normalcy coupled with the little nerve jangling details make about the first two thirds of the film a fine thriller.

So what's wrong with it? I expect a certain amount of plausibility in my thrillers. Hitchcock could get away with a lot in films such as North by Northwest by making comedy thrillers, but Arlington is a deadly serious political thriller and must be credible. After a nice set up, the last twenty minute are so unrealistic as to be ludicrous. Far too many things would have to occur in exactly the unlikely way they did to make things work. Not a chance! There is no way Faraday's friend would react to the threat in the way shown.

The ending has a vicious edge to it. Also, the one student's comment is beautifully human and certainly a complete fabrication.

As an aside, the FBI does honor their dead as indicated in the film. Their offices have boards of martyrs showing all FBI agents who died in the line of duty. Also, I have seen the automobile stop at the Hoover Building. Poetic license in the film. Beginning

Armageddon (1998) (**1/2, sci if, drama) (D.-Michael Bay; Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Will Patton) If you want a plot, logical progression of idea, acting, character development, or science, then you came to the wrong film. If all you wanted is a mindless evening with an adrenaline rush from a visual experience with a slap bang series of action sequences, then Armageddon might fill the bill. The earth suddenly finds itself a subcompact car stuck on the track in front of the onrushing limited at 120 miles an hour. An asteroid the size of Texas, a planet buster, is on a collision course with earth and in 18 days, there won't even be any beer cans left for the ground crews to clean up. What to do? How about getting Harry S. Stamper (Willis), ace roughneck oil driller and his crew of misfits up there to drill an 800 foot (not 709, not 801 feet, but an 800.0 feet) hole somewhere, anywhere on this irregular object, drop a little-old H bomb in and split it into two pieces that will skim by the earth on either side. Oh yes, this has to be done inside the moon orbit, so they can sneak up behind it--which is certainly a better idea than racing headlong at it as it comes screaming in at 25,000 mph. Of course, we have A. J. (Affleck) as Stamper's right hand man who has a hot thing going with Grace (Tyler). Who will live? Who will die? It will take 150 minutes to answer this question.

I did like some of the action sequences. The destruction of New York City and Paris were interesting and well done effects. I really did like the asteroid itself until the crew got on the surface, and then it looked a little like Star Trek left overs. I don't think a lot of the actors and some of the writers took the whole thing very seriously. For example, the preflight hospital work up, an obvious parody of The Right Stuff, was a riot, and some of the other sequences were equally laughable. So if you go into Armageddon in the right frame of mind, you could have an enjoyable evening. (10-5-98) Beginning

Armored Car Robbery (1950) (***, crime, noir) (12-30-03) (D.-Richard Fleischer; Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman, Douglas Fowley, Steve Brodie, Don McGuire) Taut, lean (67 minutes) little police procedural. We see the set up, the execution, and the subsequent pursuit. The crooks, led by the ruthless and cunning psychopath Dave Purvis (Talman), are plagued by bad luck. Talman played many heavies before making a long term mark as prosecutor Hamilton Berger in the Perry Mason series. Their worst luck, however, is to be dogged relentlessly by Lieutenant Jim Cordell (McGraw). Cordell is built like a tank with a voice to match, shoots like a marksman, has the tenacity of a bulldog, and possesses a razor sharp mind. Cordell is as ruthless and psychotic in his own way as Purvis; the only difference is the side of the law they are on; given different circumstances, one can easily envision a role reversal. Cordell’s empathy is shown in his comment to a new, grieving widow: “Tough break Martha”. It is not clear exactly how accurate the police forensics work is, but it certainly seems plausible. The atmosphere of the film is beautifully set by stark noirish cinematography. We tend to think of fancy modern forensics, but these men were clever and had bags of tricks that were fascinating. Review based on excellent Turner Classic Movies print. Beginning

Army of Darkness (1993) (***, action, comedy, horror) (11-18-02) (DW.-Sam Raimi; W.-Ivan Raimi; Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie) Roger Ebert recently gave thumbs down on a grade Z movie that he really enjoyed. His justification is that as a professional reviewer he had to maintain some standards. I don’t have that particular albatross. I enjoyed this one and will list Army under my guilty pleasures. It is bad. No, it is awful. And it knows it and revels in its own absurdity. I laughed steadily throughout.

Ashley J. 'Ash' Williams (Campbell) is the arrogant, obnoxious, not-too-swift manager of a store. A nasty brush with the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead) leaves him less one hand, in the year 1300 AD, in a society assaulted by the Army of Darkness. Oh yes, he did manage to come with a few 20th century items. He managed to quickly replace his hand with a chain saw. His Oldsmobile came through a bit battered after the aerial drop. And a double-barreled shotgun. I was really surprised the first time I saw the gun after he had pumped off 3 quick rounds. Also, an inexhaustible supply of ammunition that he keeps somewhere. How can you take seriously a film that does a three stooges routine with skeletons? Also the magic phrase will be instantly recognizable to fans of old sci fi—a hoot.

The opposition. Ugly creatures from your nightmares. The Orcs from Lord of the Rings would get along well with these beauties. And an army of skeletons.

One of the primary reasons the director made the film was to be able to do the skeleton army in a fashion similar to Ray Harryhausen in Jason and the Argonauts. It is a pretty good job considering that it is all done with puppets and real actors. For example, in one scene the marching skeletons are on backpacks of men marching along a trench. Admittedly sometimes it looks like they are throwing another skeleton onto the set, but on the balance not bad effects at all. They used a gymnast to get the visuals correct. Many of the army were women dancers because of their diminutive size, which allowed better fits to the costumes and because of their grace and stamina. The director didn’t do the film until he could afford “a field of skeletons”. However, they could only afford one horse suit.

The DVD has a nice “making of” and an alternate ending. I think the ending they settled on was definitely the correct one. The alternate was too serious and spoiled the overall effect. The one they used was just as bad as the rest of the film. Beginning

Arrival, The (1996) (**1/2, 50s sci fi) (D.-David Twohy; Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Crouse, Ron Silver, Teri Polo, Lon Rippy, Tony T. Johnson) Very uneven, but a classic 50s style sci fi that will apeal to lovers of the genre. Overall I liked it. Sheen is a hyper, paranoid type A scientific nerd (initially a bit overdone for my wife). He works at a radio observatory on the SETI project (Search for Extraterrestial Intelligence) and apparently picks up First Contact. Too bad he isn't right. However, for the consolation prize, he gets to fully exercise his paranoia. Actually, maybe it isn't paranoia. Arrival has some really nice set pieces intermingled with some rather slow sections. The hotel suspense scenes were really well done as were the use of the All Souls Day celebration; his reactions during the visit to the power plant were suitably believable. The end, in particular, is put together with high energy and no small amount of tension. As with most modern films, special effects that would have been spectacular a few years ago are now just used to drive the plot. The opening credit visual is stunningly effective. (8-12-96) Beginning

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) (***, comedy) (D.-Frank Capra, Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Jack Carson, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, James Gleason, Grant Mitchell, John Alexander, Edward Everett Horton) At Sneak Reviews. Dated but still highly entertaining comedy based on Joseph Kesselring's hit play. Grant's family are all at least three bricks shy of a full load. His uncle (Alexander) thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt and regularly leads the bugle charge up San Juan Hill (the stairs to the second floor). The apparently sane ones are two delightful little old ladies (Hull and Adair), the lethally lovable Brewster sisters--true pillars of the society. Oh, they do have one minor idiosyncrasy. Murder. But for a good reason! Teddy Roosevelt, who thinks he is currently digging the Panama Canal in the basement, buries these "victims of yellow fever" down there. Grant, the nephew, marries the preacher's daughter, discovers his Aunts' wee little problem, and then the bottom falls out. The last member of the family, a long lost sadistic, homicidal brother (Massey) shows up with a drunken disbarred doctor (Lorre). Nobody can recognize the brother, since the doctor has disguised him with plastic surgery. Too bad he did the operation drunk and made the face resemble a character that he saw and admired in a recent movie. Oh, the character and movie? Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, complete with stitches. Will Grant get everyone safely in jail or commited? Will Massey carve Grant like a Christmas turkey? Will Grant manage to keep his marriage together with all these bad genes running around? Will the poor Uncle succumb to heart failure--"The Yellow Fever is spreading; I've never seen a case as far as the window seat before!" Dated, but a lot of fun. An in joke is that the deranged brother, Massey, replaced Boris Karloff who played the part on the stage play. (8-3-94) Beginning

Art of Illusion, The (1990) (***1/2, documentary) (3-10-03) (Narrator;- Adrienne Barbeau) From the 1902 A Trip to the Moon to Apollo 13, Art gives an excellent overview of the techniques used to make us suspend belief in the theater. These techniques run from traveling matte, matte paintings, and motion control, to the most sophisticated computer techniques available in 1990. The last have only gotten better since then, but most of the principles remain the same. Beginning

As Good As It Gets (**1/2, humor) (D.- James L. Brooks; Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.) Melvin Udall (Nicholson) is an obsessive-compulsive curmudgeon. He hates everyone (gays, blacks, Jews, etc.). Even though he makes a lucrative living writing women's romance novels, his opinion of women is not very high either. In the opening scene, he is dumping his homosexual neighbor's dog down the garbage chute. In short, a totally unpleasant individual. His obsessive-compulsive disorder makes him a less than desirable customer at a diner where he brings his own plastic utensils and Carol (Hunt) waits on him. She has a severely asthmatic son and is a complex mixture of vulnerability and hard edged survival skills. As an obsessive-compulsive, Melvin must have her wait on him for his breakfast. This less than idyllic existence begins to crumble when his neighbor is beaten and Melvin must take care of his dog. In addition, Carol is not at his breakfast place since her son is sick. This ultimately leads to a reconciliation with life and those around him.

I guess that I must be even more of a curmudgeon than Melvin. While a lot of people loved it, the film had several severe problems for me. First, Melvin was absolutely and totally despicable and his transformation was too great and too unbelievable. Although maybe if you read between the lines in Nicholson's performance, he hasn't reformed after all--just look at that smile. Second, I felt the editing and scripting was weak. At 138 minutes the film did not serve the gifted actors well; it just plain drags in places and would have been greatly improved by shortening some scenes and eliminating others completely. Perhaps this is part of a disconcerting trend where film makers feel compelled to make longer than necessary movies because a ticket costs so much. Finally, while Nicolson is a great actor, he is too long of tooth for a believable romantic pairing with Hunt.

I did like much of Nicholson's, Hunt's, and Kinnear's performances. Melvin's first comment to his psychiatrist is a delight and suitably realistic. His line based on the film's title is a gem. Hunt's question concerning relationships is also bound to hit a responsive cord for many people. (1-5-98) Beginning

Asphalt Jungle, The (1950) (***, crime) (D.-John Huston; Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence, Marilyn Monroe) Crisp, taut, beautifully filmed classic film noir. Ex-con and brilliant strategist, the Doctor, (Jaffe) gathers together the resources and group for the big heist. Sleazy lawyer (Calhern) bankrolls the operation. The movie is built on learning about the principals, watching the plot caper develop, and seeing how it all unravels. Haydon is the slow witted, but honorable in his own way, heavy whose big dream is to get back the family farm in Kentucky. Whitmore is a tough hunchback and Caruso is the safe man. Lawrence is the slick, nervous bookie who helps set things up. Throw in a corrupt cop (Kelley), Hagen as Hayden's ex-girlfriend, and more double crosses than a tic tac toe game and you have the plot. The cultured Doctor was my favorite character who proves to have one fatal vice (if you exclude crime as a vice, that is). Huston gave Monroe her break here as the lawyer's mistress. (8-28-95) Beginning

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) (***1/2, crime, action) (5-31-05) (D.-Jean-Francois Richet; Screenplay by James DeMonaco; based on the film written by John Carpenter; Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, John Leguizamo, Maria Bello, Jeffrey "Ja Rule" Atkins, Drea de Matteo, Matt Craven, Brian Dennehy, Gabriel Byrne) First, the original. Capenter’s classic low budget chiller about an isolated police station under assault by a ruthless band of criminals bent on freeing their leader justly deserves its cult status. In short order it became clear that everyone in the station including the prisoners was going to have to work together if they were to survive the night. The film was populated with misfits, malcontents, odd characters, those who just wanted to survive, and all interacting at a hyperkinetic level. Taut, efficient, nail biting fare.

The remake is also a gem. It updates and does everything the original did but with modern twists. It chills, thrills and keeps you on the edge of your seat from the opening frames to the closing credits. Efficient directing, good acting, good script, and great economy make for an entertaining evening. Even if you have seen the original, there are enough twists and turns to keep you off balance throughout.

The acting is good to the extent that many of the offbeat characters can be judged by normal standards. The action sequences are taut and beautifully paced. In contrast to many modern films, the equipment and what you see on the screen is very realistic. No super heroes here.

The villains are well equipped and ruthless. In the original, the villains were anonymous shadows and shapes. The remake does this also, but it personifies the leaders, which gives them humanity and purpose. Byrne is marvelously hard boiled, but believable.

Fishburne exudes menace without saying so much as a word. Pray that he remains silent. His explanation of why he doesn’t believe in god is a gem. Hawke, as the damaged chief of the station, plays a good foil to Fishburne. The rest of the crew fills the space exactly as required.

I’m not much on remakes, but Precinct 13 demonstrates once again that you have to judge each one on its own merits. There are some good ones. This remake delivers pulse-pounding excitement. We didn’t have time to get through all the extras, especially the voice over commentary on the film, but the shorts we watched were informative and worth viewing.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) (unrated, animation) (2-25-02) (D.- Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise; Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer, Don Novello, Phil Morris) Some adults really like the film. My wife and I are not in this group. We gave it our best shot and after about 45 minutes found it terminally boring and gave up. We found the story line sophomoric, the characterizations cliched, and the animation so-so. I don’t rate films that I don’t finish, and, as I said, some adults really like it. Beginning

Attack of the Bat Monsters (2000) (***, comedy) (1-22-01) (D.W.- Kelley Greene; Michael Dalmon, Fred Ballard, Casie Waller, Ryan Wickerham, Douglas Taylor, Robert Graham, Robert Bassetti) The festival gave us our first peek at Bat Monsters. At the time of the festival Greene was still looking for a distributor and funds to clean up the film. Greene was there for the showing and gave a delightful question and answer session on the film afterwards. Greene is an avid fan of 50s and 60s horror films and has lovingly created a charming little satire revolving around the making of a 50s horror film, Attack of the Bat Monsters. Actually, satire probably isn’t right since many of the events that you see are adaptations of actual events and people. One gets the cheesy effects, the bad acting, the awful dialogue and ghastly script. Most of the scenes have direct counterparts in real films. Indeed, some of Green’s scenes are much classier. The plot, such as it is, revolves around the director finishing a shoot in a quarry with one day still left on his option. Being forever enterprising, he decides to shoot another film in one day! He has to come up with a script, a monster and shoot the entire film in this time. Sounds ridiculous? Legendary schlockmeister Roger Corman did it. For lovers of the old films, Bat Monsters is peppered with in-jokes such as names of early directors or actors.

The actor shown actually punching other actors in some scenes rather than pulling his punches is based on an extra in an early film who did just that—justifying it as method acting.

Bat Monsters was shot for about $45K on super 16 film. For me some of the funniest scenes were where the lead actress was coaching the extras. She shows the exact way to twist a leg as you are running from the monster for maximum impact. Also she delivers the classic line "How many syllables in a scream?" For those of you who can not wait for the answer: three, as she proceeds to demonstrate.

For lovers of old sci fi and horror, do keep your eyes open for Bat Monsters. We wish Kelley the best of luck in getting a distributor. Beginning

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) (**, comedy) (9-23-02) (D:- Jay Roach; W.- Mike Myers; Austin Powers, Beyoncé Knowles, Michael Caine, Seth Green, Verne Troyer, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Mindy Sterling) You can tell a franchise has reached the end of its life when a number of big stars have cameo roles. Austin Powers has reached the end. That is not to say that there aren’t a few good, even great belly laughs. There are. There is just not a consistent comedic theme that keeps you at least chuckling most of the way through. I did like the sumo match. The sustained sequence with the statue was tasteless (but if you went in there expecting good taste, you have other problems) but consistently funny. They also have a delightful take off on the unreadable subtitles. Only because of the background, you are able to read clearly parts but not all of what is said. Needless to say, what you read isn’t exactly what is meant. A possible low night at the Jefferson or a rental later. However, most likely to be interesting to avid Austin Powers’ fans. Beginning

Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1995) (**1/2, humor) (D.-Jay Roach; Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Fabina Udenio) Having lowered the level with There's Something About Mary, we might as well keep going with Powers. Written by Mike Myers. Powers spoofs just about every secret agent film made. Powers' nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers) freezes himself, planning to emerge when his plans for world domination are more likely to succeed. Super agent Powers (Myers) has himself frozen so that when Evil is thawed, Powers will be there to handle him. Now imagine the culture shock when Powers, who is from freewheeling, flower power, sexually and drug liberated London of 1967, awakens in conservative 1997 with AIDS and the demise of the cold war. He is paired with Vanessa Kensington (Hurley), the daughter of the great love of his life from 1967 (Rogers). Sex in general and with Powers, in particular, is not high on her agenda in spite of his trite attempts at seduction. However, Powers is not alone in his culture shock. Dr. Evil suffers massive traumas when confronted with the new world order and by his son. If you think teenagers are bad when you have raised them, this is nothing compared to one who has suddenly discovered a father who tries to exert control. Just because you are Dr. Evil doesn't do a thing for a rebellious teenager. Evils' ransom demands are a gem.

The humor is good natured with a few riotous sequences, the spoofs are outrageous (why not, most of the originals were anyway), and the jabs at the two cultures are amusing. The film is bawdy with the running sight gags and nudity being beautifully timed. The group therapy session is a riot. Evils' son is the only voice of reason--he must have read all of Ebert's rules on the errors of villains, but will dad listen? Hurley is good as Powers' foil. The femme fatale (Udenio) is clearly named after a villain in Goldfinger. Wagner is fine as the sorely put upon Number 2 (that is complete and only name). My brother and his wife thought the film was great. We enjoyed it, but obviously not as much. So if you are in the mood for some off the wall comedy, give it a look. (8-3-98) Beginning

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) (****, humor) (6-21-99) (D.- Jay Roach; Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Elizabeth Hurley, Rob Lowe, Robert Wagner, Vernon Toyer, Seth Green, Gia Carides) Currently making a killing at the box office (Starwars look out). You want taste? Sophistication? Subtlety? Then avoid Shagged like the plague. Shagged is low, sophomoric, bawdy Elizabethan humor. And also one of the finest concentrations of sight and verbal gags in a long time. True. A lot of them will fall flat for different tastes in humor, but they come so fast and furious that you won't have time to complain about the last one before you are run over by the next.

I didn't think a lot of the first film (**1/2). It had too much dead space. However, I have rethought my rating and moved it up to *** based on some truly marvelous bits. The humor in Shagged is lower, but you cannot claim it has dead space.

We get a repeat of Austin Powers (Myers) and his arch nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers) with the twist of time travel. Evil goes back in time and steals Powers' mojo (think about the most important trait to Powers, his libido). Again we get Evil's Number Two (Wagner) in the present and a marvelous characterization of Wagner by Lowe in the past. Number Two is also a voice of reason who shows convincingly how it would be so much more lucrative to go legally mainstream. However, Evil will have none of it; he has standards of evil to uphold. We have Evil's son, Scott (Green), who is the quintessential rebellious teenager who just happens to have a father bent on world domination. Scott also replays his voice of reason by pointing out all the classical errors that Evil is making while trying to kill Powers. We get extended and riotous stints on the Jerry Springer show with confrontations between father and son and father and other radical fringe groups--there may have been some dialogue that wasn't bleeped. CIA agent Felicity Shagwell from the 60s is the love interest and is every bit as lusty as Powers. Dissatisfied with his son, Evil has himself cloned in a 2'8" version of himself--riotously played by Vernon Troyer. Among other things the offspring now "fits into most overhead storage bins".

The film satirized probably every James Bond film and throws in bits from countless others including Back to the Future and Blowup. While reaping the benefits of showing brand names in the film, Shagged manages to satirize this trend by being so outrageously blatant. The film is full of one liners and has great fun poking fun even at itself. As Powers and Shagwell drive off into the well-labeled English countryside, he observes "England looks in no small way like southern California".

There is an absolutely marvelously designed verbal sequence concerning the description of Evil's spaceship that replays the obscuring of nudity by suitably situated objects in the first film. For those unfamiliar with films from the 60s, nudity had to be covered, sometimes by ridiculous contrivances. Also, do stick around for the ABSOLUTELY last film clip in the closing credits.

I could have done with a lot less of the henchman Fat Bastard (see closing credits for a revelation about the actor). This was frequently the low and not funny portion of the film.

Be forewarned. If you didn't like the style of humor of the first, don't go to Shagged. Beginning

Avengers, The (1998) (*1/2, action) (7-5-99) (D.-Jeremiah S. Chechik; Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Sean Connery, Jim Broadbent, Fiona Shaw) Two British agents, John Steed (Feinnes) and Emma Peel (Thurman) end up trying to stop the mad-as-a-hatter Sir August de Wynter from destroying the world with his weather machine. A replay of the TV series with the regular characters. What a waste of talent. What a waste of what must have been a great set of opening credits on the big screen. One term keeps coming to mind, soporific. You get occasional glimmers of the intended chemistry and dialogue that should have sparkled between Steed and Peel, but it never works consistently. There are a few nice effects with the weather. The action sequences are OK, but without a story and characters that you care for, they just don't gel. I cannot compare it with the 60's TV show, but the original certainly has a following. I doubt whether the movie will move fans. Some of the best moments in the film are when Connery chews the scenery, but even this isn't enough for a $2.00 video rental. Recommendation: rent something like Friday the 13^th part 400--you'll get more excitement out of it. Beginning