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If you can't relate to those so-called "youth" films of the past few years, then catch a look at this sleeper hit. It involves the title kid (Charlie Talbert), who feels he's one of the most unpopular (and unfortunate) kids in his school. He's good at science and an excellent football player, but that doesn't stop him from being humiliated by the school football heroes. Then one day, Talbert is set up by his enemies to go out with the girl he has the biggest crush on (Jurassic Park's Ariana Richards). Will Talbert be humiliated? Or will he triumph over his foes, with a little help from his best friend, Troy (Chris Owen)?The extremely talented Talbert, leads an outstanding cast, which includes Kathy Bates and George C. Scott as Talbert's mom and grandfather. Talbert and Owen make a splendid team, giving both funny and realistic performances. The basic message of this film? As Talbert says, "There is no normal". The message is a good one, as this film shows that whether you're fat, skinny, tall, short, black, white, female, male, etc., you don't have to be what everyone tells you is their idea of "normal". If I have to name the only flaws, then it's about the sermons at the end. I think the film could have been really great, if it hadn't resorted to the cheesy cliches at the end. Other than that, you should definitely not pass this fine film up.
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The last film Director John Woo made in Hong Kong before coming to America to make Hard Target, this film is destined to become an action classic. Undercover cop Yuen (Chow Yun Fat) and hit-man Alan (Tony Leung) form an uneasy alliance, in an attempt to stop a major crime syndicate dealing in arms. Leung and Fat do almost anything to stop them, as they wage a two man war on them. What follows is some very exciting stuff.Woo, one of the great directors of films, presents a story with suspense, themes of honor and loyalty and some moments of good humor. Plus there are some of the best scenes in the history of action cinema, that will make your heart pound and blood race. Woo presents his sequences in the same bloody, hypnotic way that Sam Peckinpah used to do. Woo's movie is a lot more fast-paced. There are good performances by Leung, Fat (Woo's regular action star) and Cheung Jue Lin as the cold-blooded super-killer, Mad Dog. Not even his later American films (Hard Target, Broken Arrow) can match up to this movie. Arnold and Sly's films seem small by comparison.
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Most of the reviews I've read on this film have heavily panned it. Mainly for all the incredibly disgusting sight gags. When I finally sat down and watched it, I had serious doubts. When the film was over, I couldn't help but continuously replay all the hysterical moments that happened in the film. It involves an aging bowling player (Woody Harrelson), who lost his good bowling hand in a rather bizarre accident (which I won't tell here). He believes he has found his salvation from a hopeless life, when he comes across the talents of a plucky Amish kid (Randy Quaid). So Harrelson, a hustler, decides to take Quaid under his wing and use him in all types of scams. Things, as they always seem to do in comedies like this, do not go according to plan.By this time, I'm sure some of you are saying "Come on", but the two stars are actually quite good and funny. The supporting cast doesn't have as much luck. Vanessa Angel is in a painfully thankless role as the female member of Harrelson's hustling team. Bill Murray is even more annoying and badly used as Harrelson's sleazy competition. Still, the outrageous assortment of gags will keep you in stitches and rolling on the floor. And Harrelson, despite what some of the reviews say, proves that he can act up a storm with the best of them.
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One of the more talked about films of the past few years, I'd say all the talk is much ado about nothing. Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore star as a couple, down on their luck and going nowhere fast. They go to Las Vegas, hoping they can win a huge amount of money to pay off some debts. They meet up with a charming millionaire (Robert Redford), who asks if he could spend a night with Moore for one million dollars. They reluctantly agree, but it causes some major strain on the relationship. Harrelson becomes increasingly jealous and Moore is becoming worried about the turnings in her relationship with Redford. What's a young couple to do?Interesting idea!?! Lousy job of pulling it off! The direction by Adrian Lyne is dreary, the acting (by Redford especially) is lukewarm and the script is just plain stupid. At least Harrelson gives an interesting performance. However, if this doesn't put you to sleep (because it's FAR
Of many documentaries, there are two particular ones at the top of my all-time greatest list. Woodstock and Hotel Terminus. Marcel Ophuls (The Sorrow and the Pity) introduces us to the people who knew, hated and feared Klaus Barbie, the butcher of Lyons. Barbie, a master torturer in Nazi Germany, was part of special U.S. intelligence forces after the war and kept up his torturer's trade all the way to Bolivia. The film deals with his crimes during WWII, his time in hiding and finally, his expulsion from Bolivia and his return to France for trial.Without even having to show gruesome war footage, we can practically feel the pain and horror pour out of the souls on film. Many concentration camp survivors and ex-Nazi soldiers reveal much about the man they consider a hideous human monster. Ophuls has to deal with the repetitive folk, who talk about leaving the past behind, because it happened "over 40 years ago". Perhaps, but their are many people out there who do not forgive and forget so easily.
This particular chapter in history is close to my heart in a way. My grandmother, an Austrian Jew, left her country during the Aunchlauss and moved to France. When it was invaded, she joined the French Resistance. French Resistance workers were a particular group, whose members Barbie, when he had them in his grasp, loved to torture . I am glad that my Grandmother never came upon this man, but I have heard the stories of others, including the ones in this film. I do not wish him dead, for it does no good, but I have wished justice done and was glad to know that it was done with Barbie.
Despite the oppressive length (four hours and a half), this movie is never boring! Ophuls brings heartache, happiness, rapture, hatred and joy to a documentary that is thought to have only one such emotion: Horror! Ophuls has done more with his films on WWII, then any other filmaker could ever dream of doing. He captures the horror, agony and triumph of the will under chaos, by simply sitting down and talking with the people who lived such moments.
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One of the most heavily panned films of 1992, this fountain-of-youth fantasy is much better than one imagines. A vain movie star (Meryl Streep), worried about aging more than about her useless life, is given a potion by a modern day witch doctor (Isabella Rosellini). The potion promises to keep Streep young and never age her one day older than she already is. Her milquetoast husband doesn't discover this until he attempts to kill her, being that he hates every moment of his life with her. But when Streep comes back with her head twisted all the way around, you can bet that he doesn't take this lightly.A delightful black comedy, which is (pardon the old cliche) more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. Streep proves once again that she can play anything, while Willis is strangely convincing as a wimp. Goldie Hawn has the most fun as the woman scorned by Streep and Willis. Her character is certainly different from anything she's ever done before. The Academy award winning effects are outstanding, as is the frantic pace set by director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future). The only thing wrong is that they could have done a little more with the screenplay. Take some huge jabs at Beverly Hills lifestyles, plastic surgery and so forth. But even if the screenwriters could do such things with it, they'd be heavily overshadowed by the superb effects. Still, you can't say that they didn't try.
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A remake of a 1955 Bogart classic, the story seems very much stuck in the time it takes place: 1935. Robert De Niro and Sean Penn play two escaped convicts, who are trying to make it across to Canada. Through a strange series of mishaps, they are mistaken for two famous priests. They decide that the best thing they can do is try and pull off the ruse, until they make it across the border. The results are less than unsatisfying.A predictable comedy, that is redeemed only by the performances by De Niro and Penn and some marvelous production design. Demi Moore, in a supporting role as a poor single mother, seems especially out of place with the proceedings. Neil Jordan's scattershot direction and David Mamet's lukewarm script make the story seem incoherent with every passing minute. The next time you see this film, I think you better make a run for Canada.
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