"Airplane"-* * * *-1980-Written and dir. by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker.  Cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc.  Starring Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lorna Patterson.

Plot:  A spoof of the airport disaster flicks.  An entire plane is stricken with some kind of virus, and it is up to an ex-war pilot to land the plane safely.

Review:  This is arguably the greatest comedy ever made.  At least Entertainment Weekly thinks so.  It comes from the progenitors of the hilarious screwball comedies, the "Naked Gun" movies and TV show.  The supporting cast (Bridges, Nielsen, Graves, Stack, and Abdul-Jabbar) are riotously funny but in a deadpan way.  They deliver all of their ludicrous lines in the most serious method which makes the comedy that much more outrageous.  "Airplane"'s brand of comedy relies heavily on character traits that one would not even hope to expect from each individual person, as clearly evident from the weird bunch of people flying the friendly skies. Simply because nothing can be anticipated, the film works on another level;  it holds the viewer in suspense, even though it is a predictable comedy.  It's not a nail-biter at all, but it's hard to ever guess what the hell is going to happen next. 

Plot:  A hard-core team of deep drillers are chosen to go into space to destroy an asteroid the size of Texas that is headed toward earth.

Review:  This is THE popcorn movie of the summer.  Corny as anything but twice as fun.  Michael Bay continues the in-your-face style of directing that springs from his days making commercials, presented before in "The Rock" and "Bad Boys".  However, this time Disney gave him a lot more money to work with and he definitely used it.
"The Big Lebowski"-* * * 1/2-1998-dir. by Joel Coen. Written by Ethan and Joel Coen. Cinematography by Roger Deakins. Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, John Turturro.

Plot:  Jeff "Dude" Lebowski is approached by two mobsters who want repayment of a loan about which he knows nothing.  He becomes involved in a complex kidnapping plot involving a millionaire with the same name as him and his nymphomaniac daughter.

Review:  This film is chock full of hilarious acting performances, most notably Steve Buscemi as The Dude's laid-back, constantly ridiculed friend and John Goodman as Walter Sobchak, the guy who is constantly, vehemently picking on Buscemi's character.  And Sam Elliot's cameo performance as the aptly-named "Stranger" is great.  The best acting job is turned in by John Turturro who plays Jesus Quintana, an ex-child molestor who bowls with a bizarre Latin fury.  "The Big Lebowski" on the whole is a very funny movie with a number of memorable scenes, including a surreal dance which takes place in The Dude's dreams (including Saddam Hussein and a bowling ball bra) and a burial at sea which are both riotously funny.  However, this is not one of the Coen brothers' better movies.  "Fargo," "Barton Fink", "The Hudsucker Proxy," and "Raising Arizona" are all much more involved and interesting.  "The Big Lebowski" never really seems to take off; it just reaches its plateau early and never really climaxes into anything wonderful.  It is quite funny, and Joel Coen shows that he is one of the premiere directors of our time, but it is not their best.

Plot:  Martin Scorsese tells a tale of the duplicitous nature of Las Vegas; its glamorous side and its brutal, cruel side.  Ace Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) and Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) are complements of each other and through their eyes, we see mob involvement of casinoes in the 1970s and 80s.  Rothstein runs the Tangiers Casino and tries to lead a civilized life, and Santoro arrives in town with his own agenda which begins to disrupt Rothstein's life.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Roy Neary (Dreyfuss) experiences a strange phenomenon in the sky when he goes to investigate a power outage.  He and some other citizens are mysteriously drawn to a location where government agents are trying to conceal a meeting with beings not of this earth.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is being sent home from prison on a plane with an assortment of felons, including Cyrus the Virus (Malkovich).  The felons take over the plane in an attempt to escape to non-extradition treaty country, and the federal agents make plans to destroy the plane.  But U.S. Marshall Vince Larkin (Cusack) wants to try to save innocent lives and try to get Poe to help defuse the situation.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Radio astronomer, Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), discovers a signal from outer space which offers the world instructions on how to build a device.  This triggers a battle between those whose faith is grounded in science (Arroway) and those who are more religious (McConaughey/Palmer Joss).

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  A huge comet threatens to destroy the earth and cause massive extinction.  The president (Freeman) has devised a network of caves to house one million people.  The film tells the tale of three stories as they come to understand that some of them will arbitarily live while the others will perish.

Review:  "Deep Impact" is different from anything you have ever seen in the summer. It is a huge disaster epic that actually has a brain. The plot is similar to "Armageddon"; a 100 km comet(?) is heading toward the earth and an elite team of astronauts must destroy it with bombs before it reaches earth. I shall first discuss why the film works. It is amazingly intelligent for a summer flick. In the very beginning when Leoni's character, a reporter, stumbles across evidence of this catastrophe, she must put together a gigantic jigsaw puzzle to understand what it means. This part alone is more intelligent than all of "Independence Day" and "Godzilla" combined. The directing is very good to excellent, and most of the acting is top-notch. However, the film fails for a number of reasons. It cannot make up its mind what it wants to be. Oftentimes it tries to be a touching human drama while sometimes, it is simply an eye-popping special effects explosion. Anyone who has seen previews for the film essentially knows how it ends. Just because of one shot in the trailer, the hour and a half leading up to the finale is obsolete. I said before that the acting is for the most part good. However, like "The Godfather III" the film is seriously flawed because of one acting performance, that of Elijah Wood. He is the one who originally spots the huge comet (?) and thus gets the option to live because he is suddenly a FAMOUS SCIENTIST. But he is torn between his love of a girl and the chance to live. It's not entirely his fault; the writing for this subplot screams USA Pictures, but his horrible boyish acting does nothing to help it. BOTTOM LINE: This is an enjoyable film, but no matter how hard the filmmakers tried to make it intelligent, this duplicity is ultimately the film's demise.

Plot:  Three young factory workers from Pennsylvania are drafted to fight in the Viet Nam War.  They fall into the hands of the Viet Cong who force them to play a game of Russian Roulette which alters their life forever.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  A biopic on the life of easily the worst director of all time, Ed Wood (Johnny Depp), focusing on his most active period when he made "Glen or Glenda", "Bride of the Monster," and "Plan 9 from Outer Space."  Deals with his tranvestism and his touching relationship with aging monster actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau).

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Gilliam leads us into a fantasy world inside the heads of Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo (Depp and del Toro) who are constantly strung out on virtually every drug known to man, even some that are not. They buy these drugs and their transport, a rental convertible dubbed "The Red Shark", with an advance from a magazine for them to cover a racing event in Las Vegas. In Vegas they try to find something they elusively call "the American Dream", while all they really find is the insanity of the American Midwest.

Review:  Terry Gilliam returns to the big screen following the hit "Twelve Monkeys", and his direction is even more bizarre this time around.  The movie itself seems like one long drug trip with Gilliam's frenetic camera movement, and the over-the-top acting of Depp and del Toro, both of whom do a trememdous job in the film. If you are able to stomach some fairly gratuitous vomiting scenes and much drug-induced weirdness, the movie is very enjoyable. It is an outrageous mix of comedy and sociological commentary on the crazy days of the 1970s. It's even fun for a guy who never got to experience it.

Plot:  Nuclear testing in the Pacific spawns a horrible HUGE mutant lizard, Godzilla, who ventures to Manhattan, where he destroys everything in his past.  It is up to a select group of people (Broderick, Reno, Pitillo, and Azaria) to figure out a way to stop it before he destroys New York and possibly all of the world.

Review:  The summer of 1998 has officially begun. The film that costed over 170 million dollars including production costs, i.e. commercials, and has been more highly anticipated than the second coming of Christ finally opened to huge crowds this Memorial Day weekend on over 7,000 screens. The beginning of the film is absolutely terrible. The set-up of the story requires much better acting than the filmmakers had present; even Matthew Broderick, who is usually pretty good, leaves a lot to be desired here, and Maria Pitillo is one of the worst actresses I have ever seen, excepting of course, Elizabeth Berkeley. However, there is a turning point. When Hank Azaria, one of the finer points of the film, is nearly crushed by the beast, the film goes from horrible to amazingly fun. It is still not good by any stretch of the imagination, but it IS one hell of a ride. The huge action sequence with the baby 'Zillas, who are clear rip-offs of the raptors of "Jurassic Park", is very taut and suspenseful, even though the outcome is never really in question. "Godzilla" is the quintessential summer film; when you see it in theaters, you are blown away but when it is viewed on video you realize that it really is only eye candy.

Plot:  A hit man (Cusack), after five years on the job, is beginning to develop a conscience.  He is sent back to his hometown where he is to do a hit, and while he is there his high school reunion is occurring.  Hot on his tail are a team of federal agents, another hit man, and an old friend, Grocer (Aykroyd) who is trying to get him to join a union of assassins.  Along the way he meets up with the girlfriend he dumped on prom night ten years ago and a slew of mixed personalities from his high school days.

Review:  "Grosse Pointe Blank" is a trip into the strange world of a hit man, oftentimes action-packed, sometimes touching, and always hysterical.  A remarkable performance is given by one of Hollywood's new great leading men, John Cusack, and Minnie Driver proves her worth in her last movie before being nominated for a Supporting Actress award in "Good Will Hunting".  Armitage directs his first movie in seven years (his first real movie EVER) and does an admirable job.  The music is one of the finest elements of the film, a retrospective into the better parts of the '80s, featuring classics like A-Ha, the Specials, Violent Femmes, the Clash, and English Beats.  It is a remarkable film with a great sense of its own style and a rare breed of humor, and it works on every possible level.  People who grew up in the '80s will find it a wild flashback to their childhood while others can simply enjoy it for the outrageous comedy.

Plot:  Jesus Shuttleworth (Allen) is the most highly sought-after high school basketball player in the nation, and his father (Washington), who pushed him tremendously when he was young, is in jail for killing his wife.  The elder Shuttleworth is given a chance at redemption if he can convince his son to play for Big State, the governor's alma mater.

Review:  I must say that I have never really liked Spike Lee. I have never been truly enthralled by anything he has ever done (with the exception of "Do the Right Thing"). I guess Spike would say that's because I'm a white guy and wouldn't understand. Whatever. I just haven't really enjoyed his work. Until "He Got Game". All I can say is "Wow". This film is simply amazing. True, it has its flaws, but everything seems to come together perfectly. Spike Lee's direction is very scattershot. He frames his shots very interestingly and the composition can be very meaningful at times, but often the shots do not flow well when edited together. In slow dialogue scenes the camera tends to move around quite unnecessarily, and his shots would be much more solid with some kind of tripod. Apparently, he enjoys hand held camerawork, but this only makes sense if the camera is supposed to be moving. Denzel Washington and Milla Jovovich are both great as characters who are well-meaning but have had a troubled life: Washington "accidentally" murdered his wife while Jovovich is a prositute with an abusive pimp. Ray Allen is not a good actor by any stretch of the imagination but he is very effective in his part of a young man who is suddenly thrust into immense fame. He must learn to deal with the world of professional sports and with his father who has suddenly come back into his life. It is a very difficult role, and while he doesn't seem to act well, he somehow fits. In retrospect the plot does not really make any sense.  What kind of a backwards town would try to pull something like putting a convicted murderer on the streets so his son will play basketball for the governor's alma mater? Oddly enough, it works well and is believable while you're watching it, so we'll run with it.

Plot:  New Orleans DA Jim Garrison (Costner) reopens the investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, following the controversial Warren Commission report.  The film details the first and only case that was ever brought to trial against anyone for conspiracy against Kennedy.  The movie takes a opinion-heavy stance as to who Stone and Garrison feel were behind the assassination.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  A corporation has discovered a way to clone dinosaur DNA, which they use to build a biological preserve wherein these dinosaurs are displayed.  A team is invited to view the park and give their reaction, but the dinosaurs escape from their pens in large part because of a competing corporation who looks to quickly catch up on research.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Roy Munson (Harrelson) is an ex-bowler who lost his hand after hustling the wrong people.  He is trying to bring an Amish prodigy, Ishmael (Quaid), to the bowling championship to get his life back on track and take home the prize money to save Ishmael's family's land.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Mobsters are smuggling guns into Hong Kong. The police orchestrate a raid at a teahouse where the ace detective loses his partner. Meanwhile, the two main gun smugglers are having a war over territoriality, and a young new gun is enlisted to wipe out informants and overcome barriers to growth. The detective, acting from inside sources gets closer to the ring leaders, and
eventually must work directly with the inside man. (by Ed Sutton)

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  A comedy that tells how the life of low-budget movie making really is.  Everything that can go wrong to Nick Reve (Buscemi) in one day does including his crazy mom coming for a cameo, the leading lady having a disastrous one-night stand with the leading man, and  a midget with an attitude.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Based on the cheesy television show, the Robinson family ventures into space to find a way to save humanity, but when an evil genius (Oldman) hijacks the trip, they must fight to find a way to live long enough to get home.

Review:  Yet another totally brainless summer film. But what more could you expect from the writer of "Batman and Robin"? Akiva Goldsman is the spawn of Satan as far as I'm concerned, but I digress. There is only one reason to see this film: the special effects. They are absolutely stunning. As far as I can tell, they were the most flawlessly done effects I have ever seen. WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM ON VIDEO!!! This is the kind of movie that must be seen on the big ol' silver screen, where you're blown away by the sound and huge effects. The acting sucks (yes, even Oldman), the story is lame and derived (they even try to work in some idiotic social commentary about what we are doing to the earth), but it is still enjoyable simply because it is such a wild ride.

Plot:  Three very different stories come together in this tremendous crime drama, peppered with witty dialogue and superb action.  One involves two hit men (Travolta and Jackson), one of whom witnesses a miracle that changes his outlook on life.  Another story is that of a boxer (Willis) whose pride will not let him throw a fight.  And yet another story involves two seasoned thiefs (Roth and Plummer) who suddenly decide to do things differently and hold up a restaurant.  These tales are told not in a linear fashion but by jumping around different times and places.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Nice-guy graduating high school senior Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) finally meets the girl he's had a crush on, Diane Court (Ione Skye) and attempts to win her heart despite the objections of her father (Mahoney) before she leaves for England on a scholarship.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  An intense thriller about two cops (Morgan and Pitt) with very different styles who are desperate to catch a determined serial killer who kills his victims because they have committed one of the seven deadly sins before he finishes his cycle.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a successful banker, is sent to prison for murdering his wife and her lover.  Inside he meets the prison's entrepreneur "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman) with whom he develops a meaningful friendship as he gains acceptance with his prison mates.  His hope begins to grow, and he strives to prove his own claimed innocence.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  A mentally retarded man, Karl Childers, just released from a mental hospital, befriends a child who has a very troubled childhood with an abusive stepfather (Yoakam) and is faced to face his own father who never cared for him.

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  A story of a forbidden love between two people on board the "Titanic", Jack Dawson (DiCaprio) and Rose Dewitt Bukater (Winslett), as retold by the older Rose (Stuart) to the greedy Brock Lovett (Paxton) who is after the massive diamond Rose's fiancee was in possession of.

Review:  This is one of the films that affirms my belief that America is fundamentally retarded. Not that it was not good; it had its moments.  But BY NO MEANS did this film deserve even half of what it made.  Hell, $300,000,000 should have been the take.  I guess I should start with what is good about it; better to get the short stuff out of the way first. The direction is amazing. James Cameron has always been great, and this is definitely one of his most solid works. The directing award was the only one that "Titanic" deserved. The sets are amazing and everything about it is very realistic, but, seriously, any idiot can copy something for $230 million dollars. The entire movie is very slick and produced, very "Hostess Twinkie", if you will, and I guess it's cool if you're into that kind of thing. Now for what's bad. First of all, the acting. Even the Academy granted this, in that it received no acting awards at all, very rare for a best picture winner. Leonardo DiCaprio is way too much of a pretty boy for anyone to take him serious as an actor and Kate Winslett is just plain bad. However, the minor actors were amazing, especially Bernard Hill, the captain of the ship, and whoever played the designer of it. The best moments of the film were when these individuals were allowed to shine. The screenplay was absolutely wretched. The Academy backed this one up, too, in that this was the first movie since "The Sound of Music" to win Best Picture and not even be nominated for a screenplay award. The dialogue ranged from acceptable to brain-dead, and Cameron apparently didn't know when to quit, as evidenced by that fact that the film clocks in at over 3 hours and 15 minutes. Many of the characters, i.e. Rose's mother, Cal Hockley, and Molly Brown were so one-dimensional that it didn't really feel like there was an actor behind them, just a bunch of recited lines. But these elements are basically minor. They can be overshadowed by a good plot. For me, this is the most disturbing part of the movie. Instead of showing the horrible disaster in the whole scope of what happened, Cameron chose to instead focus on two people and how their love was multiplied by this accident. The viewer becomes so wrapped up in this that they begin to forget how many people actually died in this tragedy because they only care about two people. Cameron has essentially trivialized 1500 lives which becomes very apparent in the final scenes when one is overwhelmed by the mass of dead bodies in the ocean. One suddenly remembers about all of them and should be disgusted that they could forget about this terrible loss of life.

Plot:  Truman Burbank (Carrey) is a mild-mannered insurance adjustor with a very happy life.  However, this life has been built for him on a sound stage, and everyone he knows are actually actors, working for the most popular show on television--life.  Weird things begin to go on his life, and his search for the truth behind the lies he lives commences.

Review:  "The Truman Show" is probably the first truly outstanding movie of 1998, with the possible exception of Spike Lee's "He Got Game". Fans of Jim Carrey's other movies will be very impressed with his newest effort because it is outrageously funny, and people who found his previous comedy too base and slapstick for their taste will find this film a breath of fresh air. Carrey never once opens his buttcrack or mugs with asparagus in his teeth; he is simply acting in this, and the script is what makes it funny, not Carrey's face-making. This movie is what we all hoped that Carrey could do, especially after the disastrous "The Cable Guy". For probably the first time in his life, he has relied on subtlety rather than extravagance and it is absolutely sublime. On top of this, the premise is wildly original. Everyone has wondered what it would be like if his life were broadcast to the entire nation, and this movie answers that. Moments of the film are absolutely hysterical, but on the whole, the movie has more of a dramatic feel, of a man coming to understand what his life is really all about. The supporting cast, too, does a very admirable job; Laura Linney overacts a little in the part of Truman's wife but is still believable, and Noah Emmerich is great as Truman's best friend.

Plot:  James Cole (Willis) is sent back to the past after a virus has killed 99 percent of the world's population.  He kidnaps the shrink who thinks he's insane in a daring attempt to find the true meaning of the "Army of the Twelve Monkeys" and a lunatic who seems to be behind the whole thing (Pitt).

Review:  Not yet available.

Plot:  Sailor (Cage) is just out of prison and he visits his love Lula (Dern).  His mother is horrified by this, and when they run away, breaking parole, she sends a hit man after them.  Their escape receives a bad omen when they find a dead woman on the side of the road.

Review:  Not yet available, but MAN it's gonna be fun when I do it.

Plot:  Agents Mulder, a believer in the paranormal, and Scully, a skeptic, work together to find out why a building in downtown Dallas exploded, destroying the bodies of 4 people who were already dead.  While investigating, they stumble upon secrets that the government has been trying to keep secret for decades as their plans begin to fall apart.

Review:  An absolutely terrific action film.  True, I may be prejudiced because I am a die-hard fan of the show, but anyone who loves a really good scare and some smart writing will love this film.  The film continues the show's story line of the black alien oil stuff and the alien's plan of colonization.  The trick for the filmmakers was to make a film that would not be too confusing for viewers who were not all that into the show while not insulting the avid fans (such as myself) by making them pay for what they get every Sunday for free.  They pulled this off perfectly.  Chris Carter wrote into the show that the X-Files division of the FBI is closed, and thus he starts the new viewers off at a new beginning.  They are reassigned, so we get reintroduced to what it is that they do.  The agreement that the secret government has been working out for most of the 5 seasons of the show are devolving as the aliens are taking the upper hand, so the new viewer gets thrown into it in the middle of the action.  But since Mulder does not yet know the scope of it, he has to become acquainted as the new viewer does, which works very well.  Bowman's direction, while very striking for a director who has only previously done TV, gets a little hectic sometime, but that helps to heighten the films scariness, which definitely makes you jump right out of your seat.  Ward Russell, the director of photography (cameraman) does a remarkable job of retaining the sombre attitude of the show in the film by using sparse lighting and sheer darkness to heighten the viewer's sense of fear.  The acting is solid, nothing special, but nothing teeth-gridingly bad.  Chris Carter's screenplay, however, is the main star of the film.  The characters really seem to live and not just be lines thrown together.  This, of course, comes from 5 years of living and breathing and developing the same characters, but it makes for some very intelligent and witty banter between the two characters.  The film can be very scary for some, but nothing that warrants anything greater than the PG-13 rating it received.  On the whole, it is a very entertaining summer film; huge apocalyptic plot, tremendous explosions, clever dialogue, and a great sense of its own style.