Summer Capsules
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1994 Michael John Legeros
SUMMER MOVIE CAPSULES - PART DEUX
WHERE THE RIVERS FLOW NORTH ===========================
Mildly engaging indy drama about a crusty Vermont logger (Rip Torn) who won't surrender (i.e., sell) to developers who are planning a dam that'll flood his leased land. Beautifully photographed by Paul Ryan and underdirected by Jay Craven, film is notable for an absence of *any* ecological stand and for the one-two punch of leading pair Rip Torn and Tantoo Cardinal (as his mate). Forget the what-passes-for-chemistry between Bridget Fonda and Nicholas Cage in IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, here's a summer-screen couple that *sizzles*. Oscar may notice.
>From the novel by Howard Frank Mosher.
Grade: B-
THE LITTLE RASCALS ==================
Terminally inoffensive update of the classic Hal Roach shorts--from unlikely choice Penelope Spheeris (WAYNE'S WORLD, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES)--that stars a cast of unknowns as "Our Gang." The kids can barely act, the editing is a mess, and the plot has more holes than 60-year-old film stock. That said, the whole thing has a breezy, infectious charm that (almost) overpowers the technical demerits.
Kids should love it, though adults may groan at gags that are older than they are. A half-dozen well-placed celebrity cameos help, as does the blooper reel over the end credits.
Grade: C+ (just otay)
BARCELONA =========
Tart, well-written comedy from Will Stillman (METROPOLITAN) about two American cousins (Taylor Nichols and Chris Eigeman) living in said Spanish city in "the last decade of the cold war." The former is a salesman, the latter is a Naval officer and, together, they spend most of the film trying to avoid anti-American sentiment while wooing the wild women of Barcelona. Watch for some great, low-key gags about shaving, ants, and underwear.
Not hilarious, but *very* amusing. Keen political edge, too!
Grade: B+
FRESH =====
Small but powerful inner-city drama about a 12-year-old Brooklyn boy (Sean Nelson) who sets-up a scheme to get himself and his sister away from drugs (he's a courier, she's a junkie) and out of the projects. The well-written script--by first-time filmmaker Boaz Yakin--is the draw here. The premise may not be entirely believable, but Yakin's crisp characterizations more than compensate for any occasional lag in narration.
Nelson is a find, a tough cookie who'll break your heart by the end. Samuel L. Jackson plays the father, a speed chess player who injects enough life lessons into the game to make FRESH feel like a companion piece to SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISHER. Too bad the sound enginnering is awful. Don't expect to hear all the dialogue in this one.
One question: where's Harvey Keitel?
Grade: B+
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