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BODY HEAT
***˝
USA
A woman seduces a Florida
lawyer and convinces him to kill her rich and older husband.
A sexy, derivative but entertaining unofficial remake of "Double
Indemnity" (1944). It's probably the best you could expect from a
remake of a classic: a dignified, stylish imitation.
dir: Lawrence Kasdan
cast: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted
Danson
CHARIOTS OF FIRE
**˝
UK
In the 1924 Olympics, a
Jewish student and Scottish missionary run for Britain.
Cultured, well-behaved and dead boring. Thanks to countless parodies,
it is now difficult - if at all possible - to keep a straight face during
the aggressively rousing climax.
dir: Hugh Hudson
cast: Ben Cross, Ian Charleston, Nigel Havers, Nicholas
Darrell, Ian Holm
CUTTER'S
WAY
***
USA
A murder mystery which has developed a limited but enthusiastic enough
cult following that may lead you to expect that the movie itself contains
more flashes of personality than it really does. It's well-acted and
admirably committed to character as far as the central trio is concerned.
But the characters in the sidelines never make a whole lot of sense, and
there isn't enough atmosphere or insight to justify the routine meandering
of the plot.
dir: Ivan Passer
cast: Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry,
Stephen Elliott, Arthur Rosenberg
DIVA
****˝
France
Tapes are accidentally switched
and a young postman as well as the opera singer he adores end up involved
with the Mafia.
An odd, moody, stylish thriller, with uncommonly, surreally beautiful visuals. Beware
of the dubbed VHS release.
dir: Jean-Jacques Beineix
wr: Jean-Jacques Beineix, Jean Van Hamme
ph: Philippe Rousselot
cast: Frederic Andrei, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer,
Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, Jean-Jacques Moreau, Chantal Deruaz, Thuy
An Luu, Dominique Pinon
THE EVIL
DEAD
***
USA
Five youths visit a haunted cabin in the woods.
A gruesome, ultra-low-budget gore-fest. First-time writer-director Sam
Raimi displays an efficiency that is reminiscent of Ed Wood, but far more
knowing. There are several effective patches that signal a talent in need
of money and a competent cast.
wr/dir: Sam Raimi
cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich, Sarah
York
EXCALIBUR
***
UK
A puffing, photogenic mess. John Boorman races through the Arthurian
legend as if checking the major events off a list (in a matter of minutes,
Arthur is conceived and grows besotted with Guinevere) and strips them of their mythical grandeur in a manner that feels more inept than
revisionist.
Merlin is a ham, Arthur is wooden, Lancelot and Guinevere
pass for softcore porn stars. As Morgana, a young, spirited Helen Mirren
snatches tiny Mordred from her own loins in what is cinema's funniest
birth sequence. Later her face is strategically positioned to disguise a
fog machine.
Ultimately however, all the wooden dialogue and misconceived
setpieces come at you so fast, it all becomes perversely entertaining.
There may not be much dramatic weight to the proceedings, but there's
plenty of swords and tits and bloodletting. And the vivid, vibrant lensing
showcases all the most flattering bits of the cheap sets.
dir: John Boorman
ph: Alex Thomson
pd: Anthony Pratt
cast: Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay,
Cherie Lunghi, Paul Geoffrey, Robert Addie, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson,
Patrick Stewart
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
***
UK
A Bond addition that has caused much debate. Some argue it's one of the
best, others are firmly opposed. And though it does slightly veer from
certain Bond conventions, it doesn't amount to anything more (or less)
notable than a functional glamour spy package.
THE FOX AND THE HOUND
**
USA
A deplorable, half-assed animated Disney feature. The studio's lowpoint.
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THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN
***
UK
Parallel romances develop
between an engaged aristocrat and a scarlet woman in Victorian England, as
well as the two actors who portray them in a modern film adaptation.
A fascinating experiment that ultimately fails because neither of the two
love stories is particularly developed.
dir: Karel Reisz
wr: Harold Pinter
cast: Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Leo McKern, Patience
Collier, Peter Vaughan, Hilton McRae
GREGORY'S GIRL
***˝
UK
In a small Scottish town, a
teenager falls in love with the girl who takes his place in the football
team.
A revelation at the time, and still quite funny and likable, even if at
times it feels a bit too much like a sitcom
pilot that accidentally stumbled onto a big screen.
dir: Bill Forsyth
wr: Bill Forsyth
cast: Gordon John Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Jake D'Arcy,
Claire Grogan
MEPHISTO
***˝
In 1920s Germany, an actor
sells himself to the Nazis.
A celebrated, reasonably compelling insight into the mind of a largely repulsive man.
dir: Istvan Szabo
cast: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ildikó Bánsági,
Krystyna Janda
ON GOLDEN POND
***
USA
Despite solid acting and the
intriguing Fonda vs. Fonda on Film pairing, it boils down to more of a
Hallmark moment than
a movie event.
dir: Mark Rydell
cast: Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Fonda,
Dougn McKeon, Dabney Coleman
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
***˝
USA
Sure, it's plenty of fun, though it could have done with a bit more of
that 30s-pulp-fiction boys-own spirit
and less of the bland, textureless,
distinctly-80s-blockbuster visual style.
dir: Steven Spielberg
cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Ronald Lacey, Paul
Freeman, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott
REDS
***
USA
A long, bold, detailed, distinguished and highly respectable biopic that is
rarely really compelling.
dir: Warren Beatty
cast: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrman, Jerzy
Kosinski, Jack Nicholson, Maureen Stapleton, Paul Sorvino
SOUTHERN COMFORT
**˝
USA
A National Guard squad gets
lost in Louisiana woods and ambushed by vengeful Cajun Indians.
A violent, occasionally intense but generally unpleasant and
alienating study of machismo under extreme conditions.
dir: Walter Hill
cast: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn
Seales, T. K. carter, Lewis Smith
THREE
BROTHERS
****˝
VERNON, FLORIDA
****
USA
Morris' second picture is probably his lightest piece of work, and his
most hilarious. It consists of a bunch of interviews with what you could
only assume are the titular town's most eccentric citizens.
Highlights include a fanatic turkey huntsman's proposed cure for all kinds
of disease, the local policeman requesting a '10-47' on his walkie-talkie,
the minister discussing his true calling as well as his delivery of a
particularly hazy sermon. A lot of these personalities (and the wisdom
they dispense) seem so incredibly far-fetched, it's difficult to believe
they really exist.
dir: Errol Morris
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