The Cider House Rules (1999)
DIRECTOR: Lasse Hallström
CAST:
Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Erykah Badu, Jane Alexander, Kathy Baker, Kate Nelligan, Kieran Culkin, Heavy D, J.K. Simmons
REVIEW:
The Cider House Rules, based on the same-named novel by John Irving, is a low-key subdued film but one with grace and emotional depth. Labeling it an ‘abortion movie’, as some have, is an unfair oversimplification in the same way that Brokeback Mountain, another slowly-unfolding, quietly powerful drama, is pigeonholed as a ‘gay cowboy movie’. Continue reading
The Green Mile (1999)
DIRECTOR: Frank Darabont
CAST: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, James Cromwell, Patricia Clarkson, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Gary Sinise, Dabbs Greer, Harry Dean Stanton, William Sadler
REVIEW:
For the second convergence of Stephen King and Frank Darabont, following 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption, lightning has struck twice. The two films stand tall together as not only the best book-to-film adaptations of King’s prolific works, but also as great motion pictures period. It’s only Darabont’s second film since his impressive debut with Shawshank, but it demonstrates that the previous movie was not a one-hit wonder. Like Shawshank, The Green Mile is a well-crafted, emotionally powerful drama that requires a sizable commitment of time and attention, but the rewards are worth the effort.
Continue readingRide With The Devil (1999)
DIRECTOR: Ang Lee
CAST:
Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jewel, Jeffrey Wright, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Jim Caviezel, Simon Baker, Tom Wilkinson, Zach Grenier, Jonathan Brandis, Mark Ruffalo
REVIEW:
At first glance, Taiwan native Ang Lee seems a director who defies any discernible genre or common thread linking his films; he has directed everything from the Jane Austen romance Sense and Sensibility to the searing ’70s drama The Ice Storm (also featuring Tobey Maguire) to the martial arts extravaganza Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, to the comic-book flick The Hulk, to the ‘gay cowboy’ drama Brokeback Mountain. Continue reading
The Mummy (1999)
DIRECTOR: Stephen Sommers
CAST: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Kevin J. O’Connor, Erick Avari, Jonathan Hyde, Omid Djalili, Bernard Fox, Patricia Velasquez
REVIEW:
While some hyperbolic reviews comparing it to Raiders of the Lost Ark are overstating the matter, Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy is a lot of fun as long as one doesn’t go in expecting much serious horror (the movie is too campy and semi-comedic to ever get very scary). It’s not the most substantial experience—-nor is it trying to be—-but it’s an ideal big summer diversion, with a lot of action, comedy, big splashy special effects, and a dollop of romance.
Continue readingApt Pupil (1998)
DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer
CAST: Brad Renfro, Ian McKellen, Bruce Davison, David Schwimmer, Joshua Jackson, Ann Dowd, Elias Koteas, Michael Byrne, Joe Morton, Jan Triska
REVIEW:
WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL REVEAL “SPOILERS”
Apt Pupil is a morbidly engrossing psychological thriller crafted with enough professionalism and ability to sometimes persuade us to overlook its questionable taste, even if the bad aftertaste lingers. An adaptation of a novella by Stephen King (a previous attempt at filming it was mounted in 1988, starring Ricky Schroder and Nicol Williamson, but fell through), it uses that ever-convenient go-to-guy of villains—Nazis—as a launching pad for a psychological character study. Those seeking a conventional “thriller” might be disappointed. Apt Pupil is disturbing, sometimes chilling, but the horror is not of the “boo!” variety. Apt Pupil is a slow-burn foray into the heart of darkness that resides within two seemingly very different men, and how they feed each other’s worst impulses. Continue reading
Elizabeth (1998)
DIRECTOR: Shekhar Kapur
CAST: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough, Christopher Eccleston
REVIEW:
The reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England began in 1558, when at the age of twenty-five, she succeeded her half-sister Mary I. Over the course of the next forty-five years, she ushered in the so-called Golden Age and became one of the longest-reigning and most popular and successful monarchs ever to sit on the British throne. Director Shekhar Kapur’s lavish period costume drama Elizabeth, however, focuses on the early years of Elizabeth’s reign, when the young queen was surrounded by enemies and plagued with uncertainty, and facing the prospect of losing her throne—and her life—so soon after taking it.
Continue readingEver After (1998)
DIRECTOR: Andy Tennant
CAST: Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott, Megan Dodds, Melanie Lynskey, Patrick Godfrey, Lee Ingleby, Timothy West, Judy Parfitt, Richard O’Brien
REVIEW:
Remakes are a dime a dozen, but among the unnecessary and superfluous variations of the same old story, Ever After—a take on the oft-told Cinderella story—proves that occasionally one comes along that’s fresh and irreverent enough to still have spunk and energy, to stand on its own and justify its own existence. A costume romantic comedy, Ever After is a frothy delight that demonstrates that it is possible to put a fresh spin on a classic just when it seems the premise has run out of anywhere interesting to go.
Continue readingLes Misérables (1998)
DIRECTOR: Bille August
CAST: Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Claire Danes, Hans Matheson, Peter Vaughan
REVIEW:
Those wanting the musical numbers of the popular stage musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables—a mainstay onstage since its debut in 1985—may be disappointed, but among non-musical film adaptations, Bille August’s interpretation of the oft-told tale is a handsome adaptation, picturesquely-filmed, well-cast (at least in the two lead roles), and finding an effective balance of condensing Hugo’s sprawling epic into a coherent abridged film version that—while some of its omissions will not sit well with purists—retains the novel’s key themes and heart. The result is not only one of the better examples of the assorted Les Mis adaptations, but a handsomely-crafted period drama in itself accessible to Hugo neophytes. Continue reading
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
DIRECTOR: Stephen Hopkins
CAST: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, John Kani, Brian McCardie, Bernard Hill, Om Puri, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Mortimer
REVIEW:
The Ghost and the Darkness is obviously an attempt to do for the African tall grass what Jaws did for the water, with two lions in place of a great white shark, but it falls far short of Jaws’ classic status for a few reasons. One, director Stephen Hopkins is no Steven Spielberg. Two, Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer are not playing characters nearly as well-delineated as those played by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. Prolific author and screenwriter William Goldman (who’s written titles as diverse as The Princess Bride, Marathon Man, All the President’s Men, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) does not churn out one of his stronger works. As an example of the general level of subtlety, the big game hunter is named Remington, and it’s the kind of movie where people say painfully earnest wannabe profundities like “you build bridges. You have to go where the rivers are”. Continue reading
Michael Collins (1996)
DIRECTOR: Neil Jordan
CAST: Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, Alan Rickman, Stephen Rea, Ian Hart, Brendan Gleeson, Charles Dance
REVIEW:
Irish director Neil Jordan isn’t one to shy away from controversy (The Crying Game), and his latest film, a biopic of IRA (the so-called Irish Republican Army) founder Michael Collins, is sure to generate it again, both from those who feel it overly glorifies a man who, depending on who you ask, could either be labeled a freedom fighter or a terrorist, and from those who object to its negative portrayal of former Irish president Eamon De Valera. Taken on its own merits, however, Michael Collins is a well-crafted, compelling historical drama anchored by a forceful lead performance by Liam Neeson. Continue reading