AIR FORCE ONE
Excitement on Air Force One as the plane carrying the president,
his family and advisors is hijacked by terrorists who support a
deposed dictator of an ex-Soviet state. Harrison Ford stars as
the no-nonsense president, hiding in the bowels of the jet,
who's the only one who can fight back to save the day. Director
Wolfgang Petersen cranks up the excitement level and pulls no
stops in making you hate--hate--hate the terrorists (led by Gary
Oldman, who
spits a lot). Glenn Close makes an excellent vice president, by the
way. Pure,
if ultimately unbelievable, fun. Available in widescreen and
pan-and-scan. Day and date DVD release.
Director: Wolfgang
Petersen. Stars: Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, Gary Oldman. CC,
(MPAA rating: R, 124 min.), Action, 1997, Box office gross:
$170.000 million, (Columbia TriStar 71883), $22.95 SRP,
Available: 2/10
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, THE
Keanu Reeves plays a hotshot attorney from Florida who joins Al
Pacino's upscale New York law firm only to find out the true
meaning of the film's title. Despite being a fledgling defense
attorney, Reeves just can't lose a case, which brings him to the
attention of dynamic New York lawyer John Milton (Pacino) and his
mysterious law firm. When Reeves and his wife (Charlize Theron)
move to NYC to join the firm and get a piece of the incredibly
wealthy lifestyle offered them, weird things begin to happen --
visions and mysterious deaths -- that test the souls of even good
lawyers. Guess who ends up chewing the scenery.
Director: Taylor
Hackford. Stars: Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron. CC,
(MPAA rating: R, 144 min.), Horror-Thriller, 1997, Box office
gross: $60.000 million, (Warner Home Video 15090), No
SRP, Priced for rental, Available:
2/24
EDGE, THE
Two very different men -- an intellectual billionaire (Anthony
Hopkins) and a hotshot fashion photographer (Alec Baldwin) -- are
pitted against nature, a grizzly bear and themselves when their
plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. Hopkins is married to a
much younger woman -- fashion model Elle MacPherson -- and he has
an inkling that Baldwin and MacPherson want him dead. When
Baldwin and Hopkins are stranded in the wilds -- and hunted by a
man-eating grizzly -- only Hopkins' smarts save the day. But
there's that overriding apprehension about a sexy, younger woman
and an older, rich man being happy together that culminates in
the film's finale. Unfortunately, revenge here is not as sweet as
it could be -- and the cardboard, cut-out characters melt in the
light of the Northern sun.
Director: Lee
Tamahori. Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle MacPherson.
CC, (MPAA rating: R, 121 min.), Suspense adventure, 1997, Box
office gross: $27.721 million, (Fox 2750), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available:
2/24
EXCESS BAGGAGE
Alicia Silverstone plays a brazen teenager who locks herself in
her BMW to stage a fake "kidnapping" to get the attention of her
wealthy father -- but she gets way over her head when the Beemer
is stolen by a professional car thief (Benicio Del Toro). Now the
crook has an unwanted hostage and, when she sets his warehouse-
hideout on fire in an attempt to escape, he loses stolen cars
owned by the mob. Now the mob, the cops and her Uncle Ray
(Christopher Walken), an ex-CIA assassin employed by her father,
are hot on their trail. Naturally the two misfits fall in love --
but only after a lot of boring talk. A mis-fired road adventure
that takes too long in establishing its scenes.
Director: Marco
Brambilla. Stars: Alicia Silverstone, Jack Thompson, Benicio Del
Toro, Christopher Walken. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 101 min.),
Comedy, 1997, Box office gross: $14.069 million, (Columbia
TriStar 82303), No SRP, Priced for rental,
Available: 2/3
G.I. JANE
Demi Moore's career goes from stripping to strapping as she stars
in this action drama about the first woman to train to become a
Navy SEAL. Moore pumps herself up to join the all-male SEAL
training facility -- the most grueling in the world -- to prove
that a woman can do what a man can do -- more for a career and
political move than for equal rights. But when, for political
reasons, everyone wants her to fail, Moore makes it known that
she's not going to give up, even while stronger men besides her
are dropping like flies. In the end she has to gather her courage
in a final exercise to prove herself and save her first mission
as a SEAL. Bloodpumpin' action here as you just have to root for
the diminutive Moore against the odds stacked against her. A good
outing for Moore fans.
Director: Ridley
Scott. Stars: Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft. CC,
(MPAA rating: R, 125 min.), Action, 1997, Box office gross:
$46.910 million, (Buena Vista 10441), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available:
2/3
GANG RELATED
Two street cops/homicide detectives (James Belushi and Tupac
Shakur) have a lucrative side business knocking off drug dealers,
cleansing the city of scum, and keeping the money to boot --
writing off the murders as "gang related." One deal goes wrong
when the "scumbag" they kill turns out to be an undercover DEA
agent and in order to save their lives they have to find someone
to frame for the killing. This is an odd outing, featuring a
couple of fairly despicable characters whose motivation -- greed
-- doesn't give the viewer much to root for. There's several
twists and turns before the end, but by that time who cares.
Shakur gives a fine performance as the most guilt-ridden of the
pair. Wait for this one to hit cable.
Director: Jim Kouf.
Stars: James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Lela Rochon, Dennis Quaid.
CC, (MPAA rating: R, 109 min.), Action, 1997, Box office
gross: $5.858 million, (Orion 10003), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available:
2/3
GOOD BURGER
Buddy comedy about two off-beat high school teens (Kenan & Kel of
Nickelodeon's Kenan & Kel) who help a no frills, failing burger
joint become the hottest fast food spot in town, eventually going
up against an evil burger conglomerate. Its pretty nonsensical:
full of sight gags and pratfalls and some bathroom humor. The
silliness would have been OK save for some extremely violent
parts (accidents and physical harm) that really should have
bumped this up to a PG-13. For immature minds.
Director: Brian
Robbins. Stars: Kenan & Kel, Sinbad, Abe Vigoda. CC, (MPAA
rating: PG, 103 min.), Comedy, 1997, Box office gross:
$22.000 million, (Paramount 335523), No SRP, Priced
for rental, Available: 2/17
HERCULES
Disney's interpretation of the Greek legend of Hercules, here
watered down for consumption by America's kids; still a fun and
fanciful production that, although is no "Lion King," still
charms in its own right. The story is set into motion by Hades
(James Woods) who, naturally, wants to take over Mount Olympus.
In order to do this he must turn Zeus's kid Hercules into a human
and kill him off before he grows strong enough to fend off the
takeover. Naturally the job is botched and Hercules grows up to
be a superhuman hero. There's plenty of great moments here: the
soul-singing "Greek chorus"; the "Zero to Hero" worship as
Hercules becomes a household name, a merchandising sensation and
a heartthrob; Hades' Hollywood-mogul mannerisms; and the love
affair between Hades' henchwoman Megara and Herc.
Director: John
Musker, Ron Clements. Stars: Voices of Tate Donovan, Danny
DeVito, James Woods, Susan Egan. CC, (MPAA rating: G, 89 min.),
Animated, 1997, Box office gross: $95.564 million, (Disney
9123), $26.99 SRP, Available:
2/3
LOVE SERENADE
Two sisters vie for the affection of a slick disk jockey who has
moved to their small Australian town to take over the local radio
station. Director Shirley Barrett takes her time building up the
scenario on this offbeat tale about some of the odd people
(including the owner of a Chinese restaurant who practices nudity
and sings Glenn Campbell songs) who inhabit a very quiet, almost
idyllic village where the arrival of the new DJ disrupts the
status quo for the quirky sisters. Reality and wish fulfillment
collide as Barrett twists the surface of the story to reveal
spots of outright looniness. A sleeper to savor slowly. Director: Shirley Barrett.
Stars: Miranda Otto, Rebecca Frith, George Shevtsov, John Alansu. CC,
(MPAA rating: R, 101 min.), Comedy, 1997, Box office gross: $0.60
million, (Miramax 13294), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 2/10
MAD CITY
Set in a small California town, Costa-Gavras' grim look at the
way the media help manipulate reality left audiences gasping for
air. John Travolta plays a fired museum security guard desperate
to get his job back. Dustin Hoffman plays an ex-hotshot news
reporter desperate to get out the minor leagues and back to the
big city. Their worlds collide when the security guard demands
his job back with a gun in his hand -- and the reporter just
happens to be there to broadcast it to the nation. For fans of
Travolta and Hoffman.
Director: Costa-
Gavras. Stars: Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Alan Alda. CC,
(MPAA rating: PG-13, 115 min.), Drama, 1997, Box office gross:
$10.441 million, (Warner 15433), No SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 2/24
MATCHMAKER, THE
This light-hearted comedy stars Janeane Garofalo as a dedicated
yet jaded political aide none too happy about her current
assignment: travel to a small Irish town in order to exploit her
boss' ancestral roots for the advancement of his political
career. But once there, she finds herself in the middle of the
local Matchmaking festival and becomes an unwilling participant
in love. A pleasant and innocuous outing.
Director: Mark
Joffe. Stars: Janeane Garofalo, David O'Hara, Denis Leary. CC,
(MPAA rating: R, 97 min.), Comedy, 1997, Box office gross:
$3.376 million, (PolyGram 0478373), No SRP, Priced
for rental, Available: 2/17
MOST WANTED
Keenen Ivory Wayans is on the run in the streets of Los Angeles
after being framed for the murder of the First Lady. Wayans plays
an elite assassination squad recruit who's brought off death row
(he's innocent, of course) to help murder a seedy industrialist
who's dealing in illegal biotechnology. Naturally the
assassination goes awry and Wayans (or so it seems) shoots the
president's wife. Now on the run for his life, he gets help from
a doctor who has evidence that the whole thing is a well-wrought
conspiracy. A weak entry in the genre with not as much humor as
Wayans is capable of delivering (he also penned the story) to
offset the action.
Director: David
Glenn Hogan. Stars: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jon Voight, Eric
Roberts, Paul Sorvino. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 99 min.), Action,
1997, Box office gross: $6.0 million, (New Line 4621), No
SRP, Priced for rental, Available:
2/17
SMILE LIKE YOURS,
A
Greg Kinnear and Lauren Holly star as a happily married couple
whose passionate relationship gets stalled when she obsesses on
motherhood. Unfortunately, all attempts at procreation fail, so
the couple turns to artificial means, where much of the comedy
gets stranded. Haven't we been here before?
Director: Keith
Samples. Stars: Greg Kinnear, Lauren Holly, Joan Cusack. CC,
(MPAA rating: R, 101 min.), Comedy, 1997, Box office gross:
$3.317 million, (Paramount 334753), No SRP, Priced
for rental, Available: 2/24
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