The Addams Family (1991)

The Addams Family (1991)

[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…
Flirting (1991)

Flirting (1991)

[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…
Hudson Hawk (1991)

Hudson Hawk (1991)

[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…
Dogfight (1991)

Dogfight (1991)

[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…
Grand Canyon (1991)

Grand Canyon (1991)

[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…
Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

[8] Disney goes Broadway in the first animated motion picture ever nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (in the days before they rolled out a separate category for the medium). This version of the classic fairy tale is fueled by…
Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)

Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)

[6] This made-for-cable fantasy/noir yarn features Fred Ward as a private detective searching for a book of spells in an alternate 1940s Hollywood where monsters and magic are part of everyday life. Think Who Framed Roger Rabbit with magic instead of…
Mystery Date (1991)

Mystery Date (1991)

[4] Ethan Hawke stars in this action comedy about a shy high school boy whose older brother sets him up on a date with the girl next door. While Mystery Date starts out like a John Hughes movie, it quickly…
Naked Lunch (1991)

Naked Lunch (1991)

[3] I want to be nice to this movie because so many of my friends adore it. But I've pondered this review for over a month and can't put it off any longer. I don't like this movie. Like, at…
The Dark Backward (1991)

The Dark Backward (1991)

[3]

In a dystopian world full of garbage and stained walls, an unfunny comedian (Judd Nelson) starts growing a third arm out of his back. His super-annoying friend (Bill Paxton at his worst) sees the aberration as his ticket out of hell and exploits it for all its worth. A smarmy talent agent (Wayne Newton) decides to rep them, and an even bigger agent (Rob Lowe) decides to bring them to Hollywood. But then the arm disappears and the poor unfunny comedian learns who his true friends are. Spoiler alert: he hasn’t any.