ARLINGTON ROAD
Widowed when his FBI agent wife is killed during a botched raid
on a family of gun sellers, a college history professor (Jeff
Bridges) becomes obsessed with the culture of extremists,
especially when his new, All-American neighbors (Tim Robbins and
Joan Cusack) begin to act suspiciously. Is there a conspiracy
afoot -- or is the professor just paranoid? Disappointing
thriller takes too long to get going: By the time the excitement
begins to mount we've already lost interest in the possibility
of intrigue, giving the apocalyptic ending a hollow resonance.
Director: Mark
Pellington. Stars: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope
Davis. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 117 min.), Thriller, 1999, Box
office gross: $23.800 million, (Columbia TriStar), No
SRP, Priced for rental, Available:
10/26, DVD: Day & Date.
BLAIR WITCH
PROJECT, The
Very scary mock documentary about three students who travel to
the remote hills of Maryland to investigate the legend of a
witch who has plagued the community for two centuries.
Ostensibly the filmmakers disappeared in the woods and this
film, "discovered" a year later, is a document of their final
days. Made on a shoestring budget -- shot on 16mm and High-8
video, with herky-jerky camera movements and offscreen terror --
"Blair Witch" has become the darling of the Web set and has set
boxoffice records for a film of this type.
Director: Daniel
Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. Stars: Heather Donahue, Joshua
Leonard, Michael Williams. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 88 min.),
Horror, 1999, Box office gross: $102.000 million, (Artisan),
$22.98 SRP, Available: 10/26, DVD: Day &
Date.
ELECTION
Very funny high school satire about overachieving co-ed (Reese
Witherspoon) who has her sights set on the student government
presidency and the teacher (Matthew Broderick) who opposes her
run for the office. At the center of the film is the school
election -- but the peripheral events (including illicit sexual
affairs) are what mold the black comedy into a cohesive whole.
More important than the action are the characters' interior
choices, intents and desires, making this stand out from
run-of-the-mill teen romps.
Director: Alexander
Payne. Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Matthew Broderick, Chris Klein,
Jessica Campbell, Delaney Driscoll, Colleen Camp. CC, (MPAA
rating: R, 104 min.), Comedy, 1999, Box office gross: $14.813
million, (Paramount), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/19, DVD: Day &
Date.
eXistenZ
A computer game creator (Jennifer Jason Leigh) develops a
virtual reality game that gets her in big trouble with unknown
assassins. Barely escaping with her life, she convinces a
corporate friend to escape with her in the alternate world,
entering another universe of espionage, duplicity and double
agents as the film shifts between different realities and
fictions. A return to sci-fi roots for David Cronenberg, who
here embellishes on one of his recurrent -- and powerful --
themes: the transcendence of the flesh and the desire to be made
into machine. Co-stars Jude Law and Ian Holm.
Director: David
Cronenberg. Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm. CC, (MPAA
rating: R, 110 min.), Science Fiction, 1999, Box office gross:
$2.840 million, (Miramax), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/19, DVD: Day &
Date.
GOODBYE, LOVER
Talented cast and director couldn't save this muddled affair
about pair of ad-agency brothers (Don Johnson and Dermot
Mulroney), the younger brother's wife (Patricia Arquette),
murder, sex, double and triple crosses and a serial killer named
The Doctor. Ellen DeGeneres is terrific as a cop investigating
the murders. Directed by Roland Joffe and co-starring Mary-Louise
Parker.
Director: Roland Joffe.
Stars: Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Don Johnson, Mary-Louise
Parker, Ellen DeGeneres. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 102 min.), Thriller,
1999, Box office gross: $1.923 million, (Warner), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available: 10/12, DVD:
Day & Date.
LIFE
Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence play a pair of losers -- Murphy
a small time hustler, Lawrence an aspiring bank teller -- who
get involved in bootlegging in 1932 Mississippi and are wrongly
convicted of murder. The film follows their 60-year jail term as
they witness hardship and kindness, cruelty and forgiveness,
life and death, through it all deepening their friendship and
never losing hope that someday freedom will be their's.
Director: Ted Demme.
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 108
min.), Comedy, 1999, Box office gross: $63.844 million,
(Universal), No SRP, Priced for rental,
Available: 10/19, DVD: Day &
Date.
LOST AND FOUND
This low-key version of "Something About Mary" -- an off-kilter
young man (David Spade) chases a beautiful woman (Sophie
Marceau) but another suitor gets in the way -- has only a few
moments of genuine humor. The plot is so contrived --
restaurateur Spade tries everything in his power to meet sexy
French neighbor Marceau, even going so far as to hide her
wayward dog to set their romance in motion -- and the story line
is so full of Screenwriting 101-created misunderstood intentions
that the film telegraphs its ending before it's half over.
Director: Jeff
Pollack. Stars: David Spade, Sophie Marceau, Patrick Bruel, Artie
Lange. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 99 min.), Comedy, 1999, Box
office gross: $6.545 million, (Warner), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available: 10/5,
DVD: Day & Date.
MUPPETS FROM
SPACE
This latest installment in the Muppet adventures (can it be 20
years since "The Muppet Movie"?) has Gonzo believing aliens --
who seem to be like him -- are bent on invading Earth. With a
little help from his friends -- Rizzo the Rat, Kermit and Miss
Piggy -- Gonzo goes up against an unfriendly government agent
(Jeffrey Tambor) and a flock of UFO kooks. There's also live
appearances by Andie MacDowell (as a Miss Piggy-hating
newscaster), F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette and Ray Liotta.
Director: Tim Hill.
Stars: Voices of Dave Goelz, Steve Witmire, Bill Barretta, Frank
Oz. CC, (MPAA rating: G, 88 min.), Children, 1999, Box office
gross: $16.000 million, (Columbia TriStar), $21.95 SRP,
Available: 10/26,
DVD: Day & Date.
NEVER BEEN
KISSED
Drew Barrymore plays a cub newspaper reporter who goes back to
high school eight years after she graduated to do an undercover
story on today's teens, reliving her own high school geekhood in
the process. This very pleasing comedy is basically another
Cinderella story for the adorable Barrymore: With the help of
her older brother she's transformed into a chic chick, joining a
"Heathers"-like clique of "hot" girls. There's plenty of high
school humor -- mostly revolving around kids making fun of
geeks -- but there's also plenty of heart, too, as Barrymore
learns to accept herself, not her label.
Director: Raja
Gosnell. Stars: Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Molly Shannon,
John C. Reilly, Garry Marshall, Leelee Sobieski. CC, (MPAA
rating: PG-13, 107 min.), Comedy, 1999, Box office gross:
$55.094 million, (Fox), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/26, DVD: Day &
Date.
PUSHING TIN
Talky drama about the stressful lives of air traffic controllers
with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton as rival controllers in
the busy New York Terminal Radar Approach Control Tower. It's a
case of intense one-upmanship as the two men try to best each
other in everything they do -- from sports to womanizing. The
film never comes in for a landing, though: Its never clear what
motivates the pair, and the unsatisfying ending doesn't leave
its mark on the characters. More interesting by far are Cate
Blanchett and Angelina Jolie as the boys' dutiful wives.
Director: Mike
Newall. Stars: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett,
Angelina Jolie. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 123 min.), Drama, 1999,
Box office gross: $8.406 million, (Fox), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available: 10/5,
DVD: Day & Date.
RAGE: CARRIE 2,
THE
Weak sequel to Brian De Palma's classic 1976 horrorfest, here
with newcomer Emily Bergl playing Carrie's sister (same father,
different mother), with telekinetic powers that allow her to get
even with nasty high school kids pulling an elaborate hoax on
her. This Carrie follows the plot progression of the original --
with only a few differences between the two -- so much so that
even the modern trappings and slightly more sophisticated
apocalyptic ending can't save it from its plodding path (helped
by inane dialogue and improbable characters) to
self-destruction.
Director: Katt Shea.
Stars: Emily Bergl, Jason London, Amy Irving, Dylan Bruno. CC,
(MPAA rating: R, 104 min.), Horror, 1999, Box office gross:
$17.759 million, (MGM), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/12, DVD: Day &
Date.
10 THINGS I HATE
ABOUT YOU
High school comedy about a high school newcomer who can't date
the girl of his dreams until her older, ill-tempered sister, a
social outcast, has a date of her own. He hatches a complicated
plot that ends up in total mating confusion. Kind of a teen
version of "The Taming of the Shrew," down to the possessive
father (Larry Miller in a typically understated role) who sets
the plot in motion with his dating edict. This film is just
right for its demographic -- 18 to 24- year-old males. Anyone
else will fall asleep.
Director: Gil
Junger. Stars: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz, Larry Miller. CC, (MPAA rating:
PG-13, 97 min.), Comedy, 1999, Box office gross: $37.741
million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/12, DVD: Day &
Date.
THIRTEENTH FLOOR,
THE
Sci-fi mystery thriller about computer visionaries who create a
living simulation of 1937 Los Angeles on a computer located on
the 13th floor of a downtown office building. When one of the
men turns up dead, the other is accused of the murder, and must"
enter" the computer and travel to the virtual world to solve the
crime. It's a kind of Raymond Chandler meets Bill Gates
scenario, with enough twists and turns and plot convolutions to
keep most sci-fi fans busily trying to figure out the story --
an effort amply rewarded with a true sci-fi ending.
Director: Josef
Rusnak. Stars: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol,
Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 100
min.), Science Fiction, 1999, Box office gross: $11.722
million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/5, DVD: Day &
Date.
WALK ON THE MOON,
A
A 31-year-old housewife (Diane Lane) travels to the Catskills
during the summer of 1969 for a vacation with her mother and
daughter, leaving behind her TV repairman husband. There she
meets a free-living traveling salesman (Viggo Mortensen), who
strikes a chord long-buried in her dutiful housewife's heart.
Soon she's having an all-out affair with him -- which brings out
her existential freedom -- as well as tie-dyed clothing, drugs
and a trip to Woodstock. When her daughter (Anna Paquin) -- also
off on her own -- spies her there -- the betrayal comes to the
surface. A deep, probing, sensitive look at yearnings and
longings, with fine acting turns throughout.
Director: Tony
Goldwyn. Stars: Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber, Anna
Paquin, Tovah Feldshuh. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 105 min.), Drama,
1999, Box office gross: $4.741 million, (Miramax), No
SRP, Priced for rental, Available:
10/19, DVD: Day & Date.
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