¶N¤¢01þ02MIXED MOVIE REVIEWS!þ01 ¢02 Winter Film Reviews Film reviews by Michael John Legeros Copyright 1995 Michael John Legeros ¢03 Contents ¢01 ======== ¢02 DROP ZONE DUMB AND DUMBER HEAVENLY CREATURES IQ THE LAST SEDUCTION LITTLE WOMEN PRINCESS CARABOO READY TO WEAR SPEECHLESS VANYA ON 42ND STREET WHAT HAPPENED WAS.. ¢03 DROP ZONE ¢01 ========= ¢02 Wesley Snipes stars as a U.S. Marshall trying to ground a gang of aerial hijackers. The stunts are great, the pace is quick, and Snipes makes an agreeable action hero. When are we going to see a franchise for him? The plot is Swiss cheese, though, but that doesn't faze director John Badham (POINT OF NO RETURN). He knows that skydiving sells, so he spends most of the film throwing his stunt people out of airplanes and letting the rest of the chips fall where they may. One question: where are the Flying Elvises? Grade: B- ¢03 DUMB AND DUMBER ¢01 =============== ¢02 Yeah, it's dumb, but Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels have great chemistry together. They make even the silliest joke work--such a laxative gag with enough firepower to make Mel Brooks blush. The script has too many slow spots, though, and that's a bust. Were the filmmakers afraid of overpowering the audience? Second question: what's with the alternative rock score? Grade: C+ ¢03 HEAVENLY CREATURES ¢01 ================== ¢02 New Zealand director Peter Jackson (DEAD ALIVE, BAD TASTE) recounts the real-life story of two schoolgirls (Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynske) whose "unhealthy" friendship led to terrible, tragic results in 1954. Using excerpts from one of their diaries, Jackson follows the girls into their own breathtaking world of fantasy and denial. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking stuff, if you don't mind the frantic camera work and poor lighting. Remarkable acting by Winslet and Lynskey, as well. Complain loud enough to the management of the Chelsea (in Chapel Hill) and maybe you can even see it in focus! Grade: A- ¢03 IQ ¢01 == ¢02 Need further proof that Hollywood is not-so-secretly "dumbing down" its product? Consider IQ: a gentle, good-natured comedy that's both completely watchable and completely absurd. The cast is not the problem, nor is the direction. Walter Matthau, Meg Ryan, and Tim Robbins are all extra-charming, much more so than this film deserves. The trouble is the script, which starts out sweet but grows increasingly absurd. What were screenwriters Andy Breckman and Michael Leeson thinking? Director Fred Schepsi's hand is rock-steady, as always, but even he can't do much with a script that includes President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a supporting character! Grade: C+ ¢03 THE LAST SEDUCTION ¢01 ================== ¢02 Linda Fiorentino is *the* femme fatale of the year, playing a big-city siren who's on the lam from her husband (Bill Pullman). She's already won an acting award and her bitch queen routine is obvious Oscar material. That is, if she can get on the ballot. (The film was first released on cable, which may disqualify it from the competition. A final ruling is pending.) Unfortunately, the rest of the film isn't quite the piece of work that she is. The story is overlong and Peter Berg is too wholesome as the patsy that she, ahem, "enlists." He veers the film too close to comedy and that's no good. The story should be just as seedy as the director's previous effort, RED ROCK WEST. Grade: B+ ¢03 LITTLE WOMEN ¢01 ============ ¢02 For the third screen version of the Louisa May Alcott classic, director Gillian Armstrong (MY BRILLIANT CAREER) brings conversational dialogue and contemporary actresses (Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, etc.) to the story of four Civil War-era sisters who cheerily struggle their way through life's many struggles. This steady drama has none of the stuffiness of, say, a Merchant-Ivory production and that should be good for most audiences across America. Just as the safe screenplay assures us that nothing *too* bad will befall the characters that we grow to love. Grade: A- ¢03 PRINCESS CARABOO ¢01 ================ ¢02 Boring story of a young woman believed to be a Pacific island princess in 1817 England. Phoebe Cates is appealing in the title role and there's social commentary to spare, but how do you stay awake after the first five minutes? Stephen Rea's sad-sack narration doesn't help, nor do the wasted talents of Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Jim Broadbent, and Wendy Hughes. Butt-numbing. Grade: C- ¢03 READY TO WEAR ¢01 ============= ¢02 Nobody throws a party like Robert Altman, even if the most exciting thing at these pret-a-porter fashion shows the doggie doo under everyone's shoes. The cast includes over a double dozen of Altman's favorite actors and they spend most of the film doing nothing. Tim Robbins and Julia Roberts hop in the sack. Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren restage a scene from another movie. Stephen Rea takes some naughty pictures, and so on. READY TO WEAR has style to spare, and, maybe, a dozen laughs. The big joke is that it's all a bunch of merde, but we knew that to begin with. Grade: C+ ¢03 SPEECHLESS ¢01 ========== ¢02 Michael Keaton and Geena Davis are super-cute as rival political speechwriters ala (and written before) James Carville and Mary Matalin. Under the steady hand of Ron Underwood, the two do good for almost ninety minutes. Then the story goes too far and absurdity sets in. The last half-hour is just awful. Rent THE WAR ROOM instead. Grade: D+ ¢03 VANYA ON 42ND STREET ¢01 ==================== ¢02 Director Louis Malle turns his camera to a dilapidated 42nd street theater to capture of a troupe of actors rehearsing a run-through of David Mamet's version of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." He's joined by theater director Andre Gregory and actor Wallace Shawn, with whom he shared inconceivable success in MY DINNER WITH ANDRE. The rest of the cast includes Julianne Moore, Brooke Smith, Larry Pine, and George Gaynes. The entire film is a filmed play--nothing more and nothing less. Theater buffs should love it, though it's probably too dry for the casual viewer. Grade: B+ ¢03 WHAT HAPPENED WAS... ¢01 ==================== ¢02 Hilarious (and haunting) examination of first-date rituals from actor Tom Noonan, who directs from his Off Broadway play. He also stars as the quirky Manhattan paralegal on a dinner date with his coworker (Karen Sillias). At her apartment. We've all been through this before and the unsettling familiarity is probably one of the reasons why WHAT HAPPENED WAS... won the grand prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Catch it while you can! Grade: B+ ¢03 ------------------------------------- ¢02 Michael J. Legeros ¢02 Raleigh, North Carolina