A lot of ink has been shed in the press lately about the “seriousness” of the new Robert Zemeckis film Contact, starring Jodie Foster as an astronomer who receives humankind’s first extraterrestrial message. Forrest Gump made Zemeckis a guru; now he’s being primed as a philosopher king. Is it rude…
At first glance, the new Japanese comedy Shall We Dance? appears to be an Asian remake of the Australian hit Strictly Ballroom–but, in fact, the similarities are only surface-deep (and just barely that). Part of the difference is rooted in the cultural gap between the two countries, but wider yet…
thursday july 10 Mark Curry: Basketball coach Mr. Cooper, of the five-season ABC-TV show Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, was more than just a character for comedian Mark Curry–it was an alter ego. Witness Curry’s three-year stint hosting The Jim Thorpe Sports Awards, or his recently completed feature film with Ed…
I’ve long ago gotten over people’s surprised (and sometimes disdainful) reaction when I argue at parties and dinner conversations that Dallas maintains a fertile theater scene despite neglect from the city at large. I’ve come to understand that there are two kinds of people who ignore plays in this city–those…
When I was 12 years old, I went to my first rock concert–at Reunion Arena. My sister and I bought tickets for seats against the back wall of the first balcony–undoubtedly one of the worst deals you can get at Dallas’ almost-dormant downtown arena. Yet the assault of funny-smelling smoke;…
It’s late in the day on June 9, and I’m due to talk to John Woo about Face/Off, his new action film with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. We are meeting at a sound facility in Los Angeles, where the director is only now finishing the final touches. Woo’s still…
One speech and one prop from Men in Black combine to sum up the movie. An alien in four-legged Earthly form delivers the speech: “You humans, when’re you gonna learn that size doesn’t matter? Just ’cause something’s important, doesn’t mean it’s not very, very small.” The most refreshing thing about…
thursday july 3 Sherman: Video Association of Dallas, the acclaimed arts organization dedicated to the notion that TV doesn’t have to destroy your brain cells, kicks off a series called “Frame of Mind” that will take place on the first Thursday of every month. Dallas filmmaker Bob Stevenson’s documentary Sherman…
“I know how the story goes,” says Angus (Michael A. Corolla), a perpetually hopeful if not always realistic Englishman who spent his childhood watching adventures on the movie screen. “They tell each other deep secrets, and the power relationships begin to change.” Angus is talking to three co-workers with whom…
The Van is being billed as “the final chapter in the Barrytown Trilogy,” Irish author Roddy Doyle’s group of novels set in a fictional north Dublin suburb that also consists of The Commitments and The Snapper. That “final chapter” label, courtesy of the production notes, gives The Van the aura…
The title of John Woo’s Face/Off is meant to be taken literally. John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play adversaries who swap faces. Here’s how: FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) has been single-mindedly tracking terrorist nut Castor Troy (Cage) ever since Castor’s botched assassination attempt six years earlier, in which he…
Slapstick decadence is the dominant style at the Disney studios this summer, reaching all the way from Touchstone Pictures’ action hit Con Air to the 35th Walt Disney animated feature, Hercules. It’s a moviemaking mode that weds anything-for-a-laugh to anything-for-a-jolt, leaving imagination and authenticity in the lurch. Instead of creating…
thursday june 26 Darrell Kreitz: Leave it to Austin, the Texas city that’s in many ways so unTexas-like, to come up with a festival competition that’s different from practically every other festival in the country. The Austin Heart of Film Competition was founded on the notion that the page is…
My poor planning occasionally triggers a situation that every critic should experience–I sometimes actually pay for admission to the shows I review. When I don’t have time to make the advance call necessary for comps, I just dig into my own pocket. Tragic as this scenario is, do hold your…
Bring earplugs to Batman & Robin. A pair of noseplugs wouldn’t hurt either. The fourth installment in the Batman franchise is one long head-splitting exercise in clueless cacophony that makes you feel as though you’re being held hostage in some haywire Planet Hollywood while sonic booms pummel your auditory canal…
To get into a good-lovin’ mood before each date, a college housemate of mine croaked along to Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” while blasting it through his stereo. My fondness for the song survived. So as the end credits for Ulee’s Gold unrolled against the robust lyricism of Morrison belting out…
Nothing against My Best Friend’s Wedding, but it’s a sign of just how vacuous things have become in Hollywood when folks start getting excited about a movie with a handful of partially engaging characters, a fairly intriguing storyline, and a smattering of clever lines. Look, that’s what movies are expected…
thursday june 19 National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America: Unfortunately, the history of human civilization has been one ethnic/religious/sexual group repressing and exploiting another, weaker one. But can we distinguish between garden-variety atrocities and atrocities with a capital A? Here’s a handy guide: Your group’s suffering is an…
You say your company is doing a play about the intersection of the sacred and the sexual? Protagonists whose myopic love challenges centuries of religious dogma in a foolhardy but passionate stand for the transcendent power of eros? Well, you’ve got this critic’s undivided attention and best wishes for success…
British filmmaker Peter Greenaway sits near a window in the dining room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; he indicates with his eyes a man walking along the sidewalk toward Hollywood Boulevard. In trying to explain his use of multiple imagery in his new film, The Pillow Book, and separating it…
First, the good news: Unlike most action film sequels, Speed 2: Cruise Control is not a mere retread of the original. Now the bad news: Better it had been. Director Jan De Bont made a dazzling debut with the 1994 Speed. His riveting direction of action triumphed over a hackneyed,…
thursday june 12 Taming of the Shrew: Fort Worth beats Dallas to the “Shakespeare in the Park” punch with a production of Willie’s ultimate battle-of-the-sexes comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. The question is, will actress Theda Reale–who has worked extensively in theater and film on both coasts–deliver Katerina’s final…
