Mike Leigh's new Career Girls is compact and minor. I don't mean that as a slam, exactly. After the dawdling expansiveness of last year's Secrets... More>>
First-time writer/director Neil LaBute's In the Company of Men is about Chad (Aaron Eckhart) and Howard (Matt Malloy), two thirtyish white-collar... More>>
In Picture Perfect, Jennifer Aniston tells a whopper of a lie partially to win the attentions of a guy who has heretofore ignored her, interrupts... More>>
On the big screen, Spawn is as flat as a comic book page
By Elvis Mitchell,
July 31, 1997
John Leguizamo is lithe and full of juice -- he's like the shy boy who suddenly discovers he can dance and can't keep still. Given his need to... More>>
187, a number favored by adolescent thugs, is the California state penal code number for homicide -- and a harsh sentence for all involved in... More>>
With Operation Condor, Jackie Chan continues his campaign to conquer the U.S.
By Andy Klein,
July 24, 1997
It's no secret that the "new" Jackie Chan releases in the U.S. aren't really new at all. In fact, they're not even showing up in chronological... More>>
Mrs. Brown fails to interest us in Queen Victoria's grief
By Michael Sragow,
July 24, 1997
Mrs. Brown (a Cannes hit and Miramax release) is dignified to the dead max -- brownish-gray in mood and look and spirit. It's based on the true... More>>
In Shall We Dance?, a midlife crisis resolves itself in the ballroom
By Andy Klein,
July 17, 1997
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,... More>>
Robbins and Lawrence make something out of Nothing
By Elvis Mitchell,
July 17, 1997
What must those poor guys in Insane Clown Posse be thinking? After all, the sad white rap act only made a record that included profanity, and... More>>
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,... More>>
Slapstick decadence is the dominant style at the Disney studios this summer, reaching all the way from Touchstone Pictures' action hit Con Air to... More>>
Travolta and Cage make Face/Off more than skin-deep
By Peter Rainer,
June 26, 1997
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... More>>
Wedding smothers the romantic comedy -- by embracing it hard
By David Kronke,
June 19, 1997
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... More>>
In Ulee's Gold, Victor Nunez's sticky-sweet direction lacks sting
By Michael Sragow,
June 19, 1997
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... More>>
Speed 2 runs aground before the ship starts its engine
By Andy Klein,
June 12, 1997
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... More>>
A film about no less than an entire century, Theo Angelopoulos's broodingly majestic Ulysses' Gaze, the Grand Jury Prize winner at Cannes two... More>>
