Reviews for the week starting on July 24, 1995

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MOVIES IN THEATERS

Apollo 13 (1995)

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Based on a true story, "Apollo 13" is a great movie about The 1970 Apollo accident in space that almost killed the three astronauts when their oxygen system exploded and crippled their life-support system and power. They spent four days up in space, trying to figure out how to get back. The film recreates the scenes in the small Apollo capsule with extreme suspense. The training of the three astronauts, Commander James Lovell (Tom Hanks) and civilians Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) is interesting to watch. The performances are excellent, including Hanks, who seems to be expanding his horizons a bit, after "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump". Gary Sinise of "Forrest Gump" plays the astronaut that was forced to stay behind, because NASA was afraid that he had measles. Kathleen Quinlan plays Lovell's wife, who seems to keep her head quite well in times of crisis.

Finally, there is Ed Harris who plays the head honcho at NASA, trying to guide Lovell, Swigert and Haise back to earth without killing them. The special effects are especially good in recreating the events up in space. What interested me is that nobody cared about the astronauts and their mission (since this did happen after the July 20, 1969 moon landing) until it seemed like certain death for the astronauts. But, I guess they thought of it as a real life cliffhanger. Would they get out alive or wouldn't they? That's excitement. Apollo 13 is THE must-see film of the summer.

My Rating =

Rent

MOVIES ON VIDEO

Here are three movies out on video and/or laserdisc. This week, they are movies that had a lot of controversy at the time they were released, two of them more so than the other.

Fantasia (1940)

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Amazingly enough this masterpiece, which combines classic music and animated skits, was a failure and a controversy. It was probably because people at the time thought Dinosaurs, Mickey Mouse and naked centaurs in the same movie seemed like a bit much. Yet, the animation is still wonderful after all these years. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is the funniest and the most memorable of the seven short animated films. Deems Taylor's narration seems to be the only thing that's boring in the film. He sounds like one of those old school film narrators.

You will find dancing mushrooms, demons and dancing hippos, set to classical music by Beethoven, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and Dukas. The film was a major success in the 1960's, because some of the animation seemed to be very much like LSD trips. Fantasia is a treat for the eyes and ears, and is most especially a family film.

My Rating =

Rent

Henry & June (1990)

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The first movie to be given a NC-17 rating, "Henry & June" is the story of controversial writer Henry Miller (Fred Ward), told in narration by Miller's bisexual lover and fellow writer, Anais Nin (Maria De Medeiros) in 1930's Paris. The film follows her relationship with Miller and his nagging wife June (Uma Thurman). Nin cheats on her husband and eventually Miller (with her own husband!).

The film is full of sex scenes, though it doesn't really deserve the rating it got. People were probably homophobic at the time, and wanted to make sure that their kids didn't see such "disgusting" people as homosexuals. Anyway, the cinematography and settings are very well filmed, and Thurman and Ward come off as interesting characters. De Medeiros may be the weak link, since you can't really relate to much of what she does. Plus, it's very slow in some spots. You might not be too bored, though I only recommend it for Thurman and Ward's fine performances and the fantastic Art Direction.

Writer's Note: It may be NC-17, but that doesn't mean that Teen's and adolescents can't see it. You may be surprised at how easy it is to get such things as this.

My Rating =

Rent

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1990)

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This film was more controversial than the former film. The story takes place mostly at a restaurant, where a brutal thief (Michael Gambon) and his gang hang out. Included in the group is the thief's shy, but pretty, wife (Helen Mirren) who wants to get away from her boorish and violent husband. The only person who stands up to him is the head cook (Richard Bohringer), who will take anything Gambon can dish out. The lover of the title (Alan Howard) is a quiet bookworm type, who seduces Mirren quietly and passionately. In the mean time, Gambon does some pretty brutal stuff to people in and around the restaurant (Some of which might be too brutal to even mention).

Everything about this film is fantastic, including the black humor scattered around the film. This is for people who have strong stomachs, because certain scenes are incredibly graphic in detail. The film goes along, making you think that it possibly couldn't get any more disgusting. Then comes the ending! The most interesting and disgusting film I have ever seen. In other words, my type of movie.

My Rating =

Rent

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