A BIT OF SCARLET

A BIT OF SCARLET (1997). Director: Andrea Weiss.

Taking its cue from The Celluloid Closet, this documentary looks back at depictions of queer characters in older British movies, with various sections on such subjects as "unrequited love," suicidal characters, and the like. It counts down the rules that gay characters seemed to have to adhere to in the British cinema if they were to appear at all. A Bit of Scarlet takes a while to get going, but eventually it turns into an interesting compilation, consisting primarily of unidentified clips put together in such a way as to create an amusing or thematic juxtaposition. Many of the clips, of course, present faux homosexuality as well as a lot of silly cross-dressing. I recognized clips from such films as Victim, The Family Way, The L-Shaped Room, The Naked Civil Servant, and Staircase, among others, but there's no way to tell what the other films are just because they're all listed at the end. (Flashing the title of each film as the clip is shown would have certainly made sense.) A Bit of Scarlet is entertaining enough, but it's a minor LGBT documentary. Ian McKellen "narrates" the film, but there is actually very little commentary.

Verdict: Okay survey of LGBT images in the British media. **3/4.

NOTORIOUS: THE LIFE OF INGRID BERGMAN

NOTORIOUS: THE LIFE OF INGRID BERGMAN. Donald Spoto. HarperCollins; 1997.

Donald Spoto gives Bergman the bio treatment and it's largely a sympathetic look at her life and career. As usual, Spoto claims some sort of friendship with his subject, beginning with his interviewing her for a book on Hitchcock. Spoto covers all of her films made in Sweden, Hollywood, and Italy; her first marriage to Petter Lindstrom (whom apparently came to see her as rather self-absorbed and negative even after he was happily re-married); her affair, marriage and collaborations with Roberto Rossellini; her third marriage to a theatrical producer which ended up as a loving friendship but a failed romantic union; her assorted relationships with a variety of men; her comeback in Anastasia; and her emergence as a star and talent of the first rank even as she eventually battled cancer. Spoto perhaps tries too hard at times to cover up for his subject's obvious flaws as a person, and some of the things he writes are a little inexplicable, such as how the gay/bi Tony Perkins was "frozen in terror at the touch of a woman" [!] when he appeared with Bergman in Goodbye Again. This is ridiculous, considering Perkins did numerous love scenes with women during his career, and eventually married and had two children. Spoto, like most biographers, talks over and over and over again about Bergman's "beauty," but she was actually rather average-looking and certainly no sex symbol, although she apparently had no trouble making herself available and attracting men.

Verdict: Solid, engaging, and very well-written, if imperfect, bio of Bergman. ***1/2.

CAGNEY

CAGNEY. John McCabe. Knopf; 1997.

John McCabe was actually the ghost writer for Cagney's memoirs, Cagney by Cagney, and herein fills in some of the gaps based on his knowledge of and conversations with the star and icon. There's Cagney's early days growing up in a tough neighborhood, his early stage career and his dissatisfaction with movie assignments and the money he was making, his hiring his actor-brother William to be his manager, his long-term marriage to wife "Willie," and so on. Apparently his relationship with his two adopted children was far from perfect, perhaps stemming from the fact that they were put in a separate house and didn't receive that much nurturing from their parents. There's just a little gossip -- Merle Oberon allegedly coming on to Cagney and being rebuffed -- and lots of information about Cagney's career. McCabe doesn't love every Cagney performance, and dissects his mannerisms and acting approach to certain roles, right or wrong, but considers him one of the three greatest American actors. While this is a solid and substantial book, one senses that a lot of has been left on the "cutting room floor," so to speak; sometimes being friends with your subject is not the best idea. With lots of illustrations and a filmography.

Verdict: Good, but something's missing ... ***.

ROUND UP OF NEW AND RECENT FILMS PART THREE

Blown Away: Nicole Eggert, Corey Haim

Here we are again, with reviews-in-brief of movies that are less than twenty-five years old.


Blown Away (1997). Director: Brenton Spencer. Predictable thriller about a young man (Corey Haim) caught in the spell of a young woman (Nicole Eggert) who wants to kill her father. Corey Feldman makes more of an impression as the man's older brother. There's a fairly good final twist. The Canadian film almost approaches porn at times. **.

Red Eye (2005). Director: Wes Craven. A young Miami hotel manager (Rachel McAdams) meets a seemingly nice guy (Cillian Murphy) at the airport only he turns out to be a creep involved in a terrorist plot, and threatens her father's life during the flight unless she does as he demands. The two leads give notably effective performances and the film is suspenseful and exciting. Oddly, the last third of the movie and the climax itself take place on the ground. ***.

Scoop (2006). Writer/director: Woody Allen. In this whimsical black comedy a magician (Allen) and an aspiring reporter (Scarlett Johansson) are contacted by a dead journalist (Ian McShane) and team up to find out if a prominent Britisher (Hugh Jackman), son of a lord, is the notorious Tarot card serial killer. Cute and suspenseful, with some very funny dialogue and good performances, the movie is basically just an entertaining throwaway for Allen. ***.

State of Play (2009). Director: Kevin Macdonald. Based on a BBC mini-series, this follows a reporter (Russell Crowe, looking like something the cockroaches dragged in) who teams up with a blogger (Rachel McAdams) to investigate the death of a congressional aide who was also the mistress of his friend (Ben Affleck), and butts heads with his editor (Helen Mirren) as more murders occur. The leads all give very good performances, as do Robin Wright, Jeff Daniels, and Jason Bateman in smaller roles. Suspenseful, but somewhat predictable. ***.

The Social Network (2010). Director: David Fincher. The movie tells the more-or-less true story of the founding of Facebook and the behind-the-scenes legal battles that went on when the social media site promised to turn into a real money-maker. The movie is well-acted by a mostly youthful cast, and it certainly gets points for making an entertaining film out of something that (in certain instances) can be as dull as Facebook. ***.

Thin Ice (aka The Convincer/2011). Director; Jill Sprecher. An insurance salesman (Greg Kinnear) and a psychotic locksmith (Billy Crudup) wind up in a deadly situation together when the former decides to cheat an elderly client (Alan Arkin) out of a valuable violin. This black comedy is quite entertaining and unpredictable, although it turns out to be quite far-fetched as well. Bob Balaban scores as a violin dealer. ***.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012). Director: Brad Peyton. This sequel to the less effective Journey to the Center of the Earth  (2008) suggests that Jules Verne's books are actually non-fiction, so a young man and his stepfather manage to journey to the island of Verne's Mysterious Island. This in no way compares to the 1961 version, but it has its own charms, including good performances (especially from Michael Caine), excellent special effects featuring an assortment of colorful creatures, and superb scenic design. If only it didn't have that "cutesy" tone throughout. This has even less to do with Verne's book than the 1961 film. ***.

Jersey Boys (2014). Director: Clint Eastwood. Based on the Broadway show, this traces the rise and fall of the singing group The Four Seasons. Initially the sound these young actors reproduce sounds much like the originals, but then you realize (especially when you hear the real group over the closing credits) that the Four Seasons can't really be duplicated. The acting in this is okay; producer- lyricist Bob Crewe is played as a gay stereotype, and there are tiresome Italian-American cliches as well. The best scene in this long movie happens just as the closing credits begin: a terrific production number with great dancing set to "Oh, what a night!" Not a great movie, but entertaining enough. ***.

Before I Go to Sleep (2014). Director: Rowan Joffe. As in Memento, a young woman (Nicole Kidman) has a condition in which her memories disappear overnight and she has to be reminded of her own life every morning. She has a loving husband (Colin Firth) and a caring doctor (Mark Strong), but is frightened to learn that she was nearly beaten to death some years earlier and that she had a son who died. Things get more sinister and twisty after that. Well-acted by all, this is a rarity: a poignant thriller. ***.

Meadowland (2015). Director: Reed Morano. A couple's little boy completely disappears at a gas station. The movie isn't concerned with an investigation into the crime or even what happened to the child, but rather reveals the emotional unraveling of the two parents as they try to deal with their grief. By trying too hard not to be a "mere" thriller or suspense film, Meadowland -- another of these "minimalist" pictures -- doesn't become much of anything, and while well-acted, is never as moving nor as riveting as it should have been. **1/2.

Self/Less (2015). Director: Tarsem Singh. In a variation of the vastly superior Seconds, a billionaire (Ben Kingsley) buys himself what he thinks is a new young body that was grown in a lab. But complications ensue when it turns out said body actually belongs to a soldier (Ryan Reynolds) with a wife and child, and whose memories are slowly returning. Nice conclusion, and some interesting developments, but the movie tries too hard to be an action movie with a high body count and isn't all that it could have been. **1/2.

Hello, My Name is Doris (2015). Director: Michael Showalter. Doris (Sally Field), a woman of a certain age (Field was about 70), falls for a much, much younger colleague (Max Greenfield) and hopes for a real relationship with him, to the consternation of her best friend (Tyne Daly) and the delight of said friend's grand-daughter. Frankly, you have to take this likable comedy-drama with a grain of salt, as a lot of it doesn't ring true, but Field gives an outstanding performance and the others are all terrific. The film does explore the fact that seniors can fall hard for much younger people and still hope to find that certain someone. ***.

The Program (2015). Director: Stephen Frears. The rise and fall of Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, seven time winner of the Tour de France, and a complete phony and cheat who used drugs (and pressured his teammates into same) to help him win. This operates on the level of a TV movie, with little depth or psychological probing, but Ben Foster is quite effective in the lead. ***.

Confirmation (2016). Director: Rick Famuyiwa. Fictionalized film about the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for conservative Judge Clarence Thomas (Wendell Pierce) and the charges of harassment made by former co-worker Anita Hill (Kerry Washington). This whole she said/he said scenario remains fascinating and controversial after all of these years. The movie suggests objectivity, but seems slanted in favor of Hill. 50% of the American public thought that both Thomas and Hill weren't telling the whole truth, and that's the impression I got as well. In any case, the film is well-acted and completely absorbing. ***.

Sacrifice (2016). Director: Peter A. Dowling. Tora, an American doctor (Radha Mitchell), moves back to her husband's childhood home, an isolated island, where she discovers a corpse on their property and new ties to an ancient sect with murderous capabilities. This nominal horror film/thriller is well-produced and acted, even if it's plot is fairly obvious and TV-movie like. However, it does have a suspenseful and exciting climax. **1/2.

Inferno (2016). Director: Ron Howard. This second sequel to Da Vince Code has Tom Hanks rather wasted in a thriller that has him hopping around Europe to some admittedly interesting and colorful locations in order to stop a deadly plague from being unleashed by a psychotic billionaire (Ben Foster). The picture has some exciting sequences, but it just misses being a really excellent suspense film. **1/2.

The Girl on the Train (2016). Director: Tate Taylor. Rachel, an alcoholic (an excellent Emily Blunt) who can't deal with her ex-husband dumping her for a new wife, begins to bond with another woman she sees from a train window. When this woman -- who resembles the ex's new wife -- disappears, Rachel wonders if she herself may have been somehow responsible. The bouncing around in time may have worked in the source novel, but it doesn't work that well in the movie, which eventually becomes tedious. The only halfway likable character is a lady detective played by Allison Janney. The "sisterhood is powerful" sub-text doesn't quite work considering how unsympathetic most of the characters are. **.

ALIEN RESURRECTION

Isn't she pretty: an alien-human hybrid

ALIEN RESURRECTION (1997). Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

"I used to be afraid to dream, but no more. No matter how bad the dream gets, when I wake up it's worse."

"I should have known -- no human being is that humane."

Hundreds of years after the events of Alien and Alien 3, a crew of rather rambunctious technicians bring a certain sinister cargo to a humongous U.S. military medical research vessel, where the Army has taken over research into the strange alien species that so bedeviled Ripley. The "cargo" turns out to be kidnapped humans who are deliberately exposed to the alien parasite in an attempt to create more monsters that the military can control. But they make one big mistake: when some of the aliens turn against one of their number, tearing it apart, its acid-blood burns through the floor and releases the aliens! Now it's a fight for survival for the cloned Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who turns out to be part-alien; General Perez (Dan Hedaya); and the technicians, including Call (Winona Ryder); Johner (Ron Perlman of Pacific Rim); Elgyn (Michael Wincott), among others; the nasty Dr. Wren (J. E. Freeman); and the terrified Purvis (Leland Orser of The Guest), who is one of the poor souls with an alien egg implanted within him. Now the ship is about to crash land on earth with all those nasty critters on board! There is not much attempt to create any kind of realistic "future," with the characters using twentieth century slang, and there are other borderline campy moments and dumb dialogue that work against the movie -- no wonder, the screenplay was written by Joss Whedon [Marvel's The Avengers], who did the silly Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- and the pic is terribly cold-blooded to put it mildly, but it is also suspenseful and exciting. The acting is very good from all concerned. Relentlessly downbeat even to the infinitely bleak conclusion. Attempts to create erotic tension between Ripley and the alien queen don't really work.

Verdict: Can't keep those aliens down! ***.

MARIE DRESSLER: THE UNLIKELIEST STAR Betty Lee

MARIE DRESSLER; THE UNLIKELIEST STAR. Betty Lee. University Press of Kentucky; 1997.

This is another fine biography of the woman who became a top box office attraction even though she was old, fat and homely in a Hollywood full of young and pretty faces. The Unlikeliest Star records Dressler's triumphs and failures, her long stage career and in vaudeville, her silent and sound pictures, and her final days which combined pinnacles of success and Oscars with the terrible illness that eventually took her life. This book has more on the relationship between Dressler and her friend and companion, actress Claire Dubrey [actually Du Brey], as author Lee had access to the latter's unpublished manuscript on Dressler. If we're to take the ms. on face value, Dressler snatched away opportunities for Du Brey to continue to advance as an actress just so she could remain as her companion, and even objected when she wanted to go off and visit her sick mother [Dressler thought she was really going to see some man]. Whether this merely indicates the possessive, overbearing quality of the Celebrity towards one of her sycophants, or something deeper, is up to the reader to decide. After their split, Dressler worked on some of her most famous movies while Du Brey stayed in touch with the former's friends. Dressler's final days are well-documented. [Claire Du Brey actually had a long list of movie credits both before and after her period with Dressler, such as the Jones Family film Everybody's Baby.] NOTE: Mathew Kennedy also wrote an excellent tome on Dressler.

Verdict: Highly interesting account of the life and career of Marie Dressler. ***.

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

Al Pacino

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997). Director: Taylor Hackford.

Coming to realize that his accused pedophile client is guilty, Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) proceeds with his defense [as if he had any other choice] and wins him an acquittal. This brings him to the attention of a certain New York City law firm that is less concerned with ethics than it is with winning. Kevin accepts a large fee to participate in a jury selection, then is offered a position with the firm with lots of perks, including a fabulous Manhattan apartment and a huge salary. But his wife, Mary Ann (Charlize Theron of Prometheus), is soon feeling neglected as he spends all of his time preparing for a case, and she is having very disturbing hallucinations as well. Even Kevin wonders if there's something -- strange -- about his boss, the charismatic John Milton (Al Pacino of The Son of No One), who figures in one of Mary Ann's more unpleasant nightmares. As more and more disturbing evidence piles up, will Kevin look the other way, or face the consequences of dealing with the devil... ? The Devil's Advocate is an entertaining and well-acted horror film that is perhaps at times too influenced by films that came before, but it has its moments, even if it's ultimately a kind of silly picture. It might have been better or at least just as interesting without the supernatural overtones.

Verdict: Pacino is always fun to watch. **1/2.

INSOMNIA (1997/Norwegian)

Stellan Skarsgard

INSOMNIA (1997). Director: Erik Skjoldbjaerg.

"I have to acknowledge you really lived up to your reputation."

Two Swedish detectives are sent to a Norwegian city where the sun never sets to investigate the murder of a young woman, Tanja (Maria Mathiesen). Sleep-deprived and disoriented, Detective Engstrom (Stellan Skarsgaard) accidentally shoots his own partner, Erik (Sverre Anker Ousdal) during a chase, then covers it up; later he even plants evidence to try and frame the dead woman's boyfriend for her murder. Will the real killer take advantage of Engstrom's actions? Insomnia holds the attention and has its ironic moments, but it never quite grips the way it should -- the American version of the same name with Al Pacino in the lead is more effective. Enigmatic Skarsgard is strangely compelling in the lead. At least he's a lot better in this than he is in Thor: The Dark World.

Verdict: You may not sleep through it. **1/2.

HERCULES

Meg and Hercules

HERCULES (1997). Directors: Ron Clements; John Musker.

"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength but the strength of his heart."

While this Disney film makes a lot of changes to "accepted" mythology, it is a charming and entertaining tale of the demi-God, Hercules (Tate Donovan), son of Zeus, half-mortal but with prodigious muscles, and his epic struggle to win his place in Mount Olympus. Danny De Vito is the voice of Phil, the satyr who counsels and trains Hercules, and James Woods is Hades, Lord of the Underworld. There are titans, monsters, the hydra and other exciting sequences brought vividly to life by solid direction and very fluid animation. Hercules' gal pal Meg (Susan Egan) is sort of a bad girl with attitude, but she grows on you. The songs are pleasant if forgettable, although Hercules' ballad isn't bad. Good for children and most adults won't be too bored, either. For a very different take on Hercules, see Hercules, Samson and Ulysses.

Verdict: Actually kind of sweet. ***.

JEAN ARTHUR: THE ACTRESS NOBODY KNEW

JEAN ARTHUR: THE ACTRESS NOBODY KNEW. John Otter. Limelight; 1997.

This excellent biography of the star of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and many other films not only examines Arthur's famous and not-so-famous roles, as well as her early life and career, but goes behind the scenes of her movies and delves into the personal life of this very private individual. Otter, who obviously admires Arthur, reveals the actress with all her good points and bad without ever being unbalanced or relentlessly negative. The bio is bolstered by many interviews with those who were close to Arthur and knew her well, or who worked with her, and were witness to her often contradictory nature. Arthur was on the short list to play Scarlett O'Hara, was an early feminist and individualist, but she also suffered from almost pathological stage/camera fright and could be difficult to deal with, to say the least. Otter offers interesting explanations for the woman's behavior. Arthur is another star whose sexuality was been called into question, and the author examines rumors of an alleged affair with Mary Martin. [Apparently many people think Martin modeled herself on Arthur, but to me they were so different -- and Martin was basically a musical stage star and singer whereas Arthur was a film figure  -- that I've never seen the connection.] Otter theorizes that Arthur's husband wouldn't have stayed with her for so long [they eventually did divorce] if he knew she supposedly preferred the ladies, but mixed marriages of that type often last for decades, especially if one partner gets something out of the alliance. In any case, the author doesn't uncover any lesbian liaisons so the verdict is still out on Arthur, and who cares? More importantly, this book gives her her due as a unique screen presence and a highly talented actress.

Verdict: Informative, authoritative, and highly readable. ***1/2. 

THE SAINT

THE SAINT (1997). Director: Philip Royce.

Simon Templar AKA the Saint (Val Kilmer), a man with many identities and faces, becomes embroiled in intrigue concerning a lady scientist, Emma (Elisabeth Shue), who has invented some kind of cold fusion device, and a corrupt Russian named Tretiak (Valery Nikoleyev), who heads a new party and wants this device. Or something like that. While Kilmer is likable and effective as the Saint, the film has no real style or panache, and it's easy to see why there weren't any sequels. Nikoleyev has a certain charm and flair as the villain of the piece, and Shue is fine as the nominal heroine (but now that she's taking assignments like Piranha 3D it will be hard to take her seriously). An anti-climactic finale doesn't help matters.

Verdict: Watch the old TV show instead. **1/2.

MOUSEHUNT

MOUSEHUNT (1997). Director: Gore Verbinski.

Two brothers (Nathan Lane and Lee Evans, both of whom are excellent) inherit a ramshackle mansion from their father, who owned a string factory. The boys discover that the house is actually a lost manor by a famous architect, and may well be worth millions, so they set about renovating it. The only trouble is the manse's sole resident, a cute, abnormally intelligent, and amazingly aggressive mouse who is not about to be put out or deprived of his supper and cozy bedroom. Eventually the fellows become obsessed with getting rid of the mouse and try everything from pest controllers (a very amusing Christopher Walken) to a nasty feline known as "Catzilla " -- with ironic and devastating results. This dark comedy is not for every taste -- I watched it with a friend who did not laugh once while I found it hilarious -- but those who are game will find it inventive and very, very funny. The mouse -- played by a real mouse and what appears to be an animatronic version -- is delightful. Good supporting cast [William Hickey, Eric Christmas, Vicki Lewis etc.] and a lively musical score by Alan Silvestri add to the fun.

Verdict: Even if you "hate meeses to pieces" you may enjoy this. ***1/2.

THE EX (1997)

THE EX (1997). Director: Mark L. Lester. Screenplay by Larry Cohen.

Nutty Deidre (Yancy Butler) has never gotten over her ex-husband David (Nick Mancuso) so she befriends his new wife Molly (Suzy Amis), and pretends to be her own psychiatrist, Lillian (Babs Chula), so she can bond with the couple's adorable youngster, Michael (Hamish Tildesley), who has anger issues. Talk about anger issues! Deidre convinces nearly everyone that she's having an affair with David and that he tried to kill her. Reasonably entertaining entry in the "psycho bitch" film sweepstakes isn't badly acted and has an exciting finale, even if it seems a little over-familiar. The bit with the possibly lesbian shrink Lillian is awkwardly, even offensively, handled.

Verdict: Another devious sociopath on the loose. **1/2.

BATMAN AND ROBIN

BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997). Director: Joel Shumacher.

Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) have their hands full with the crazy Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), when he teams up with the equally crazy Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and her silent confederate, Bane (Jeep Swenson). They hope to flash-freeze the entire planet so that the world can start anew, and Ivy's mutant plant-animals can overrun the globe. Alfred's niece Barbara (Alicia Silverstone) becomes Batgirl so she can help the boys overcome the threat. Absurd but colorful Batman feature is too silly, too campy, illogical, and way, way too long, but it has its exciting and amusing moments. The stand-out bit is a thrilling moment near the opening when the boys are aboard Mr. Freeze's runaway rocket; the climax also has its share of exciting stunts and last-second saves. George Clooney isn't bad as an ultra-cool, reign-in-the-emotions Batman, O'Donnell is perky, Silverstone is adequate, and Michael Gough is excellent, as usual. Schwarzenegger walks off with the picture, however. As the fragile Dr. Isley AKA sexy Poison Ivy, the attractively homely Thurman acts as if she's seen one too many Mae West movies and sometimes seems to be in a different movie from everyone else, but she's acceptable as a camp-villainess. The true stars of the picture are those responsible for the special effects (especially Arnold's amazing freeze gun) and for the stunning art direction and scenic design (the observatory building is something to behold). Script-wise, the movie sort of seems thrown together, and despite all the action, it seems three hours long. Former super-model Elle Macpherson makes little impression as Bruce Wayne's girlfriend, Julie Madison. Batman and Robin resembles the comic book from different time periods, with a bit of the TV show and cliffhanger serials thrown in for good measure. Very different from The Dark Knight.

Verdict: Kind of exhausting but fun if you're game. **1/2.

CURE

CURE (1997). Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

Detective Takabe (Koji Yokusho) of the Tokyo police force is not only dealing with an ill wife (Anna Nakagawa), but with a series of gruesome murders that have a couple of things in common. An "X" was carved into the bodies of the victims, and the various murderers all encountered a strange man named Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) -- who first shows up as an amnesiac on the beach -- shortly before they went on their killing rampage. No one has any real motive for their slayings so Takabe wonders if Mamiya, who studied the work of Austrian "mesmerist" Mesmer, was somehow able to hypnotize people and force them to commit ghastly crimes. Takabe's friend and colleague Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) tries to help him unravel the mystery. Although it holds the attention for the most part and seems to be well-acted, the problem with Cure is that it's very deliberately-paced, and is, truth told, merely a stretched out Tales from the Crypt episode with, annoyingly, no real resolution. Director Kurosawa, who also wrote the screenplay and the novel it was based on, is no relation to the more famous Akira Kurosawa.

Verdict: Intriguing at first but ... **.

EVENT HORIZON

EVENT HORIZON (1997). Director: Paul Anderson.

It's the year 2047 and the spaceship Lewis and Clark has gone off to find out what happened to the deep space research vessel, the Event Horizon, which disappeared seven years before, past Neptune. Now they are receiving signals from the ship, which turns out not to have been a research vessel, but the site of a secret government project attempting a kind of faster-than-light speed which employs gravity cores and manufactured black holes. What really matters to the fascinated viewer of course is the fact that the Event Horizon went somewhere and has come back with its crew missing and the ship turned into some kind of hateful living organism. As the crew of the Lewis and Clark try to find out what became of the Event Horizon crew, they experience terrible hallucinations, and one poor fellow (Jack Noseworthy) has a harrowing experience in an airlock. Laurence Fishburne is Captain Miller; Sam Neill is Dr. Weir, who is taken over by the evil of the ship; and Kathleen Quinlan (who is terrific) is medical technician Peters. The movie has perhaps too many climaxes, but it is a very interesting and creepy combination of science fiction and the supernatural with an excellent premise. Good special effects.

Verdict: Stay out of the airlock! ***.

TITANIC (1997)

TITANIC (1997). Director: James Cameron.

James Cameron's Titanic sort of combines the first two films about the disaster (Titanic; A Night to Remember), but doesn't add a blessed thing to them except even more harrowing detail of the final moments, and eye-popping special effects work. There is little suspense or atmosphere and the long love story is never that compelling because these are not people whose relationship has a lengthy, interesting history (as is the case with Webb and Stanwyck in the original), and -- let's face it -- Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are not in the same talent league as the first picture's stars. (And, to be honest, Gloria Stuart is no Katharine Hepburn.) In the final moments they never register the kind of terror they would have been feeling, only the alarm they probably experienced being hung up on whatever wobbly device the FX department cobbled together for the sequence. The effects are marvelous, but a picture about the Titanic tragedy is not supposed to be The Poseidon Adventure -- "Wow! Watch The Ship Flip Over And People Die!" -- but a moving human document. The problem isn't just the screenplay, but that director Cameron, a very capable action/FX helmsman, is not the kind of filmic genius who could have turned this picture into a masterpiece. He muffs a lot of sequences, such as when the ship's officer shoots at the crowd and then commits suicide -- imagine what Jean Negulesco could have done with that! And why did he allow Winslet and other actors to wade around through supposedly frigid water without reacting to it (until DiCaprio finally says something about it in a later scene.) Titanic certainly isn't a bad film, and it does hold the attention for more than three hours, but considering that forty years have gone by since the last Titanic movie, you would think we'd have something that improves upon its predecessors in more than just special effects (which were actually perfectly good in the earlier pictures). On that horrible night in 1912, 1500 people died terrifying deaths in what must have seemed to them like Hell on Earth. It's doubly awful that they seem to have died just so James Cameron could declare himself "King of the World" and an utterly mediocre singer like Celine Dion could have herself a hit record.

Verdict: One can only imagine what the victims would think of all this "Titanic" exploitation. **1/2.

THE FULL MONTY

THE FULL MONTY (1997) Director: Peter Cattaneo.

It's easy to see why this likable movie with some semi-serious undertones became a big hit. Admittedly, it gets off to an inauspicious debut, introducing us to a couple of losers in a small British town, one of whom has a small boy he's in danger of losing contact with. To make extra money – and having noticed how big a sell-out the Chippendale's male strippers were at the local club -- he comes up with the idea of taking a bunch of ordinary fellows in this impoverished working class hamlet and putting on their own strip-tease act, going the Chippendale's boys one better by doing “the full monty” -- showing what they got in full. The picture borders on losing all credibility – don't these guys realize that the Chippendale's dancers with their muscular bodies and handsome faces are fantasy objects for women who want to see something different from their husbands' pot bellies? – but somehow their struggle to pull together an unlikely dance troupe and overcome their individual insecurities begins to interest and take hold of the viewer. In its own way the film deals with the fact that this generation, like no other before, has turned men into full-fledged “sex objects,” that ordinary men now have to compare themselves with these “hunks” the way women have had to deal with airbrushed playboy bunnies and Kewpie doll images for decades. And it isn't that unrealistic that the women in town would be good sports and show up to root for these fellows in their oddball moment of “triumph.” No, this isn't a “great” movie nor is it a true classic, but it is unusual and quite entertaining. Very well-acted by a terrific ensemble cast.

Verdict: Fun and different. ***.

BOOGIE NIGHTS

BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997). Director: Paul Thomas Anderson.

Mark Wahlberg is excellent as an academically disinclined young man who does have one enormous asset, and uses it to become a famous porn star named Dirk Diggler. This is clearly inspired by the story of John Holmes [aka Johnny Wadd], who was also the subject of a far superior biopic a few years later. Although it's hard to dislike the movie, the lack of a moral focus, while initially refreshing, eventually becomes a problem, but even worse is the fact that the movie meanders along for too long a length and doesn't do enough to develop any of its characters. The film is essentially a comedy that throws in moments of violence and then erupts into brutality in the film's true climax – three incidents at once – but ultimately offers no true drama. Along the way there are some nice bits – such as a scene when Dirk's friend Scotty expresses unrequited love for him [this, too, goes nowhere] – but the movie is poorly edited, with tedious tracking shots and uneventful scenes that go on for too long. This could only be considered powerful stuff by the unsophisticated. Along with Wahlberg, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Don Cheadle are stand-outs in a fine cast, but Burt Reynolds is given no real character to play. He's just the porn maker and is never developed beyond that; the limited Reynolds isn't able to add anything to his portrayal. Wahlberg, however, is quite impressive, unafraid to show emotion and vulnerability along with angst and anger. This is a good showcase for the actor; if only it were a better movie. Some viewers may overdose on the picture's disco soundtrack long before it's over.

Verdict: Interesting failure. **.