[8] Sally Field leads a spectacular ensemble in Soapdish, a comedy that lampoons daytime TV melodramas, or ‘soap operas’. Field plays an insecure soap star who fears her career may begin to wane as she enters middle-age. Little does she realize that her own life story is about to become more over-the-top than the scripts for her long-running program, The Sun Also Sets. Field is …
[6] Holly Hunter stars as the youngest daughter in a tight-knit Boston family that’s eager to see her married. But when she finally brings a man home to meet them, he’s not quite who they expected. Richard Dreyfuss plays the boyfriend, a wealthy salesman who seems to mean well, even if he often rubs people the wrong way with his crass humor and over-eagerness to …
[4] Kevin Costner headlines this big summer popcorn muncher about the legendary archer-turned-rebel who rallies his outcast merry men to battle the greedy Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) and fall in love with the fair maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). The script covers the familiar plot markers, the sets are grand, the score rousing, and many of the supporting cast give it their all. Yet …
[4] Bruce Willis stars as a private eye trying to protect a stripper who thinks she’s in danger. When she ends up killed, her boyfriend, a disgraced football player (Damon Wayans), ingratiates himself to Willis to help discover who’s responsible for her murder. The story ends up involving corruption at the highest levels of government and professional football. The Last Boy Scout is a cookie-cutter …
[6] What if Peter Pan grew up? Steven Spielberg explores the question in his lavish production of Hook, the story of an adult Peter Pan (Robin Williams) who must return to Neverland to rescue his children from the dastardly Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman). But at first, Peter doesn’t even believe in Neverland anymore, or that he is the famous character in J.M. Barries’ books. He’s …
[5] Barry Sonnenfeld makes the leap from established cinematographer (Misery, Raising Arizona) to first-time director with The Addams Family. Screenwriter Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas) creates a feature scenario around Charles Addams macabre cartoon characters, popularized in the ’60s by their TV adaptation. In Thompson’s script, beloved Uncle Fester has been missing for years, leaving a hole in the dark heart of …
[8] Writer/director John Duigan (The Year My Voice Broke, Lawn Dogs) takes an earnest and engaging stab at the ‘boy meets girl and falls in love’ narrative with Flirting. Noah Taylor stars as an ostracized Australian boarding school student in the 1950s who becomes infatuated with a new Ugandan student (Thandie Newton) from a nearby girls’ school. As the two avoid their headmasters for clandestine …
[3] Bruce Willis stars in this ill-conceived action comedy that’s neither exciting nor funny. Willis plays a master thief who’s hired to steal priceless artifacts created by Leonardo Da Vinci, so some bad guys can use Da Vinci’s secret technology to turn lead into gold. Isn’t that some shit? Along the way, he’s aided by his buddy Danny Aiello, and kinda falls for a vatican …
[6] Lili Taylor and River Phoenix star in this ‘all in one night’ drama about a marine who participates in a dirty game where men try to win a betting pool by bringing the homeliest woman to a dance. Taylor has a juicy part and makes the most of it. Her character goes from innocently optimistic, to angry, to forlorn, and back again — and …
[8] This ensemble drama from Big Chill director Lawrence Kasdan is perhaps the most metaphor-laden movie I’ve ever seen. The screenplay (cowritten by Kasdan and his wife, Meg) gets pretentious and overreaching at times, but a well-meaning message and a strong cast do a lot to compensate for it. Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Mary McDonnell, Steve Martin, Alfre Woodard, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jeremy Sisto are …
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