Movie
Reviews - C
The Cider House Rules | Career Girls | Children
of the Revolution |
Citizen Ruth | Con Air
| Conspiracy Theory | Cop Land
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Screenplay by
John Irving, who wrote the original novel |
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| Miramax Films
Directed by |
"Goodnight you Princes of Maine, you Kings of
New England!"
The movie's good enough to make me want to read the book. My companion and I found it very satisfying, visually, intellectually, and emotionally.... First set in an orphanage run by Wilbur Larch, a talented and compassionate doctor (although addicted to ether) who teaches Homer Wells (a young man raised in the orphanage) everything he knows, including how to deliver a baby and how to perform an abortion. Homer disagrees with Dr. Larch about the desirability of the latter operation. Homer leaves the orphanage to seek adventure in the outside world, and spends a couple of seasons picking apples, finding romance and friends along the way. It is with a more mature understanding of human nature that he returns to fulfill his legacy. My companion and I spent some time discussing whether this is a message movie or not. I think so, and that the message was, "Sometimes you must bend the rules." What do you think? Let us know your opinion. |
All Hannah wanted was a roommate... instead she got a best friend.
| Matrix
Film & Television Partnership Rated R for language and some sexuality. Directed by Mike Leigh Katrin Cartlidge - Hannah Lynda Steadman - Annie Kate Byers - Claire Mark Benton - Ricky Andy Serkis - Mr. Evans Joe Tucker - Adrian |
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| "Miz Bronte, Miz
Bronte, when will I get a f___?" About friendship, this film flashes back and forth between the early 1980s, when students Hannah and Annie share a flat in London above an Indian fast-food joint (currie and chips), to the present - both of the women now have jobs (maybe careers), and Annie travels back to London to spend a few days with Hannah. We share in their reminiscences (mostly about men) as Hannah looks for an apartment to buy. Most of the characters, maybe all of them, are pretty impaired or handicapped in one way or another. This movie's point may be that no matter how dysfunctional you are, you can be healed if you will allow love into your life. My guess is that this movie will appeal more to women than men. P.S. -- You'll also learn an easy way to tell fortunes! |
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What
do you do when your father is no ordinary Joe?
A red comedy about the ultimate party animals.
Children of the Revolution is a satire told through the flashback remembrances of its players. Judy Davis stars as Joan Fraser, the moving force of Australia's communist party, and Geoffrey Rush ("Shine") plays Zachary Welch, a somewhat reluctant comrade who attends meetings to be close to the fervent Joan, whose heart belongs only to Russia. Shortly after a visit from a black-gloved government spy, Joan's impassioned letters to headquarters are finally rewarded by an invitation to the Kremlin. She is greeted by a uniformed man whom she recognizes as the spy, known as Nine (Sam Neill), who turns out to be working several sides of the fence. After being extravagantly romanced by a resurrected Joseph Stalin (F. Murray Abraham - Antonio Salieri in "Amadeus"), he ends up dead and a disheveled Joan seeks solace with Nine and a bottle of vodka. Returning to Australia, the pregnant Joan asks Zachary to marry her. Zachary's arm needs little twisting, and he slides easily into the role of father to young Joe (Ben McIvor). At some point Nine shows up again and insinuates himself into the good graces of the family. Joe grows up (Richard Roxburgh) as a good activist with a fetish for imprisonment, among other aberrations, and falls in love with a sexy Latvian cop named Anna (Rachel Griffiths - incidentally, a promising young star with several film credits to her name and lots of experience as a script supervisor). From here on the film is about Joe finding his voice, and a scary, rollicking romp it is! Go to see it -- Australia
1996 Rated R for some strong sexuality and language |
| Citizen Ruth is an unusual, hilarious, and
unpredictable comedy about a very sensitive subject. Laura Dern (who won the 1996 Montreal Film Festival Award) delivers a first-class performance as Ruth, a young woman living by her wits; when her boyfriend throws her into the street (after having his way with her) she seeks refuge at her brother's house. He refuses to offer her shelter, since he's already providing a home for the two children Ruth has been incapable of caring for. He does, however, give her a few bucks to get her to leave. Ruth promptly buys some nasty inhalant from the local hardware store, finds a nice spot in an alley, plugs in her walkman and gets wasted. Soon the police (with whom she appears to have a long-standing relationship) pick her up and take her to a hospital, where it is discovered that she is pregnant. Ruth is charged criminally for endangering her fetus; the Judge, however, advises her off-the-record that he will withdraw the charge if she "takes care of it." Enter good Samaritans (played by Mary Kay Place and Kurtwood Smith) from the local chapter of "Babysavers" who pay her bail, give her a bed in their home, plenty of good food, and access to a bathtub. While they encourage Ruth to have her baby, the opposition (headed up by Swoosie Kurtz) manages to snag her and argue the opposite point of view. Soon both sides are attempting to manipulate Ruth, and when the stakes are heightened by the offer of money from both sides, Ruth's decision takes on national significance. The news crews and the national spokespersons for both groups arrive. But what will Ruth do? This is an unusual, shocking, thought-provoking comedy with many surprises, guaranteed to stimulate conversation for some time afterward. Burt Reynolds stars as national spokesperson for the Babysavers. Both sides take equal flak from writers Alexander Payne (who also directed) and Jim Taylor. Produced by Cary Woods and Cathy Konrad. Citizen Ruth is a Miramax release rated R for substance abuse, strong language and a sex scene. |
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Nicolas Cage is paroled Cameron Poe - a very buff former Army Ranger with a James Stewart accent - going home to his pretty young wife (Monica Porter) and eight-year-old daughter after doing eight years in San Quentin for protecting his wife's honor. Unfortunately he is accompanied on the flight by an assortment of psychotic criminals such as serial rapist Johnny 23 (played by Danny Trejo), "Swamp Thing" (M.C. Gainey), "Diamond Dog" (Ving Rhames), serial killer Garland Greene |
| (Steve Buscemi) and Cyrus "The
Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich) who are being
transferred to another prison. Turns out Cyrus has been
planning a hijack party, and Poe manages somehow to seem
tough to the bad guys while actually being compassionate
to the unarmed guards who are getting their behinds
kicked by all these musclebound criminals (guess they've
had lots of time to work out). The plane lands for some
kind of prisoner transfer (Cyrus orchestrates the
scenario to make everything appear legit), and Poe gives
up his opportunity to disembark in order to look after
his diabetic buddy (Mykelti Williamson, "Truth or
Consequences, N.M.") and the female guard who has
been chained up and is being constantly threatened by
Johnny 23. The plane is barely in the sky again when U.S.
Marshal Vince Larkin (John Cusack) discovers detailed
plans for the operation in Cyrus' cell. Vince and D.E.A.
agent (Star Trek's Colm Meany) argue about how to solve
the problem - blow up the plane or not. There are a lot of chills and thrills in this action adventure; lots of blow 'em up stuff, but pretty good dialogue (my favorite line was from Cyrus "The Virus", who said something like, "Drop that or the bunny gets it!"), a great bunch of characters, and unexpected plot twists. The special effects in Las Vegas are pretty stunning, too. Also starring Rachel Ticotin, Renoly, Jose Zuniga, Nick Chinlund (as Billy Bedlam) and Dave Chappelle. Rated R for violence, profanity, and suggested rape. Directed by
Simon West |
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| Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) is a New York taxi driver obsessed with conspiracy theories; he talks about it throughout his shift (maybe the chatter distracts people from his dangerous driving), then goes home to his high-security apartment (even the coffee has a combination lock on it) to print a newsletter about "them" which he mails out surreptitiously the next day to all five subscribers. He periodically visits the Justice Department to see attorney Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), who is sympathetic to poor ol' Jerry and his frantic ramblings -- he once rescued her from muggers. She's got her own problems, though; her father, a federal judge, was killed under mysterious circumstances some years ago and she has never accepted the official version of his death. |  |
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| Just when we all start to think
that Jerry is a nut case pure and simple, he's captured
by men in suits and stuffed into a dark vehicle with
tinted windows. Enter Dr. Jonas (our very own Patrick
Stewart, no less - lean and sinister), a psychiatrist who
straps Jerry into a wheelchair, tapes his eyes open and
does the routine with the bright light while sticking a
hypodermic needle in Jerry's arm, demanding that Jerry
answer the question, "Who knows about it?"
Terrified, stoned and crazy, Jerry rebels with all his
might, and biting Dr. Jonas' nose in the process manages
to escape. Back at the Justice Department Alice finally
starts to take him seriously, and the chase is on! Check out the
costuming...Jerry might be in jeans, but not |
Directed by Richard Donner Cylk Cozart as |
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Cop Land
No One Is Above The Law.
Miramax -
'R' for violence, strong language and brief nudity
| Officer Murray Babitch (Michael Rapaport), a young officer with the NYPD, hits back a few too many beers at a tavern in NYC before heading out to the parking lot. He's freaked by some strange noises, pulls a flashlight and gun and follows the sound, only to find a couple of his buddies - one of them puking cheerfully. Returning to his car, he puts his gun on the seat next to him, driving over a bottle on the way out of the lot. Going across the bridge to his home in Garrison, New Jersey - also known as Cop Land because it's a bedroom community for the force - Babitch is sideswiped by a speeding car. He hits the pedal and nearly catches up with the vehicle when he sees that the passenger is pointing what looks like a gun at him; there is an explosive sound as Babitch's tire blows, and he instinctively grabs his gun and shoots; the other car careens to a stop and Babitch slams into it. The next shot shows that both of the passengers in the other car are dead and they are surrounded by cops, one of whom is Babitch's uncle Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel). It's shown that the kid pointed a steering club, there is no gun; Babitch, who's been tagged "the boy wonder" for heroically saving some children from a burning building, stands to lose not only his reputation but his job if the press gets this story of perceived police brutality, not to mention the inevitable major investigation. Acting quickly, the cops plant a gun in the wreckage and fake Babitch's disappearance into the Hudson below. |  |
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| Garrison's sheriff, Freddy Heflin
(Sylvester Stallone, who reportedly had to put on weight
for this role and was paid scale), once had ambitions of
becoming an officer on the NYPD. Those hopes, however,
were dashed when he lost the hearing in one ear while
saving a girl whose car plunged into a lake. Although
Freddy has always loved the girl he rescued, Liz Randone
(Annabella Sciorra), she married Joey Randone (Peter
Berg), a copy on the force who abuses her. Freddy keeps
an eye on her and spends the rest of his time taking care
of local problems like stopping fights between
grade-school kids and garbage violations - not a very
stressful job, since Garrison has about the lowest crime
rate in the state. Freddy's closest buddy is Gary
"Figs" Figgis (Ray Liotta), a cop who evidently
has some resentment toward Ray Donlan and the rest of the
Garrison contingent revolving around the death of his
partner, who committed suicide in prison several years
ago. Shortly after Freddy reads in the morning papers about Murray Babitch, the missing cop, Freddy's new deputy Cindy Betts (Janeane Garofalo) stops Ray Donlan, who's driving through town with a carful of guys, and tries to give him a speeding ticket; Freddy intervenes, explaining that Cindy didn't recognize the car. As they drive away Freddy sees Babitch looking out the back window. When Donlan and his group see NYPD internal affairs investigator Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) buying coffee in the local convenience store they know there is an investigation going on. Tilden visits Freddy and asks him to keep his eyes open for what he believes is some kind of major cover-up; this places Freddy in a lonely predicament, since Ray Donlan is credited with establishing Garrison as a community for the cops and their families, arranging for their homes to be financed through his connections, and is also responsible for his own election as Sheriff. |
Freddy
Heflin SYLVESTER STALLONE Ray Donlan Gary
"Figs" Figgis Moe Tilden Cindy Betts Rucker Murray Babitch Liz Randone Detective Carson Directed by |
