for July 2005
Leon (aka The Professional) (1994, 136 min, R) *** - Directed & written by Luc Besson, starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and Natalie Portman. A young girl (Portman) enlists a sad-eyed assassin (Reno) to help her kill the rogue DEA agent (Oldman) who murdered her parents. A lot of time is devoted to the key relationship between the girl and the assassin, but it never quite adds up. Still, the movie is envigorated by director Besson’s superslick, hard-hitting European approach, Oldman’s scenery-chewing mania, and Reno’s utter weariness.
Medicine Man (1992, 106 min, PG13) *1/2 - Directed by John McTiernan, starring Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco. Heavy-handed white liberalism at its most annoying: one white character tells another white character how great other cultures are while members of that other culture stand around in the background as decoration with nothing to do. This meandering movie follows a professor (Connery) who “immerses” himself in rain forest culture while searching for the cure for cancer and has an uninteresting relationship with a new colleague (Bracco). Protecting endangered environments is cool, but “Medicine Man’s” preachy style is not. A more daring and interesting movie would have presented the peoples of the rain forest on their own terms, without giving us a Western guide.
The Pelican Brief (1993, 141 min, PG13) ** - Directed & written for the screen by Alan J. Pakula, starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. Another movie about someone who knows too much, on the run from both crooks and the law. This time around it’s a blah law student (Roberts) and a blah newspaperman (Washington) who don’t know who to trust. The movie is flavored by assassinations in high places and author John Grisham’s pedantic legal mumbo-jumbo.
Rising Sun (1993, 125 min, R) ** – Directed & co-written by Philip Kaufman, starring Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. Uninspired outsider’s view of the Japanese world of business, as seen through the eyes of two murder investigators, one a wary newcomer (Snipes) and the other a grating, cryptic, and condescending know-it-all (Connery). The mystery is not especially interesting and the filmmakers seem much more concerned with making “exotic Orientals” than actually letting us into their world. At least “Rising Sun” makes the black guy the dynamic, interesting character and the white guy the aged know-it-all, reversing the “Magic Negro” stereotype of an aged black supporting character helping the young white hero.
Two Days in the Valley (1996, 104, R) ** - Directed & written by John Herzfeld, starring Danny Aiello, James Spader, Teri Hatcher, and Charlize Theron. “Pulp Fiction” knock-off that is all surface. We admire the filmmakers for making such a large web of pulp caricatures—hitmen, cops, brothels, treacherous wives, etc.—and linking them together so well. But the result is just an exercise and we don’t care about anyone. “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” may have been this shallow, but it had more wit, verve, and style.
Aladdin (1992, 90 min, G) *** - Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, featuring the voices of Robin Williams, Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, and Jonathan Freeman There’s a fine line between tapping icons and myths and just being cliché; each Disney “classic” of the 1990s finds a new way to straddle that line. We also have “Aladdin” to thank for the totally anachronistic pop-culture quoting motormouths that seem required in every big budget animated film nowadays. In this particular film he is the genie voiced by Robin Williams. If you like Williams running off at the mouth and screaming like a mile-a-minute maniac—I like him in teeny-tiny doses—then you’ll have a blast. Still, the movie is quick, bright, and energetic, with a tone of pure, unadulterated fun. Any logical inconsistencies are swept under the rug by streamlined and efficient storytelling. A poor thief (voiced by Weinger) in the days of the sultan falls for the princess (Larkin), finds a genie, and is caught in a plan by the fiendish vizier (Freeman) to rule the world. It’s a tribute the pervasiveness of Disney animation that it is the definition of normal and neutral to those of us who grew up with it. What was groundbreaking in 1992 looks a little jerky now, but it is the yardstick by which we measure all other animation as better or worse. And isn’t everyone who loved the pop song over the ending credits kind of embarassed now?
Eraser (1996, 115 min, R) ** - Directed by Charles Russell, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan, and Vanessa L. Williams. Another loud, glossy flick about a man and a woman on the run from the law, the crooks, and the crooked law; sometimes movies like this are “The Thirty-Nine Steps,” but mostly they’re just “Eraser.” He’s a federal marshal (Schwarzenegger), she’s a Woman Who Knows Too Much (Williams). Stunts and shoot-outs galore, but nothing special. The full two hours won’t really hold your attention.
The Firm (1993, 153 min, R) ** - Directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. As with so many John Grishman movies, a brief examination of an interesting facet or loophole in the law is used as an excuse for boring characters being chased by dull conspiracies. An up-and-coming lawyer and his wife (Cruise and Tripplehorn) are lured into a rich and suspicious law firm. Gee, d’ya think the other lawyers are up to no good? Decent supporting performances by Hackman, Ed Harris, Gary Busey, and Wilford Brimley.
The Hurricane (1999, 145 min, R) *** - Directed by Norman Jewison, starring Denzel Washington and Vicellous Reon Shannon. Formulaic but reliable biopic about real-life boxer “Hurricane” Carter and the struggle to free him from prison for a murder he did not commit. We see his life and ambitions in segregated America, details of the murder trial, and the efforts of those out to free him. Washington’s fireworks performance—Oscar nominated and Golden Globe Winner—elevates the picture.