ANGUS and Other Films
Film reviews by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1995 Michael John Legeros
Contents ========
- ANGUS - HACKERS - SAFE - SEVEN - SHOWGIRLS - UNSTRUNG HEROES - Recent Ratings
ANGUS =====
The title character in this coming-of-age flick is a very large (and very smart) high schooler with two primary problems: a tremendous crush on a cheerleader and a lifelong feud with her boyfriend, the school's star quarterback. In a plot twist reminiscent of CARRIE, fat boy and blondie are unexpectedly named King and Queen of the prom and you can guess what's planned to happen next.
Though as lumpy as its hero, ANGUS has a soft heart and an even sweeter message. Newcomer Charlie Talbert, who plays the lad, is an affable presence, even if he lisps a bit much. Also on hand is Kathy Bates, as Mom, and George C. Scott as the narcoleptic grandfather whose sole advice to his `son is "screw `em." Great soundtrack, too.
Grade: B-
HACKERS =======
"Hack the world!" That's the credo of a gang of young cyberpunks who find themselves doing damage control after one of them steals-for-fun a sensitive corporate file with potentially ecologically disastrous results. As one character in the movie notes, "there is no right and wrong, only fun and boring." [The pocket-protected audience nods in silent approval.]
Director Ian Sofely (BACKBEAT) gives the film a grungy, lived-in look that's very inviting. As are the fresh faces in the cast, including Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie. (Look closely and you can see the resemblance between Jolie and her father, Jon Voight. What a find! And, yes, that's Alberta Watson of SPANKING THE MONKEY fame playing the mother!)
The "hacking" sequences are unusual. Sofely opts for imagery instead of explanation; dazzling VR instead of a line-by-line (or window-by- window) demonstration of the craft. Sure, there's not a byte of believable technology here--the story is set some not-too-far-future where laptops can do *anything*--but the characters are strong. What a concept, a character-driven "computer movie."
Grade: B-
SAFE ====
Writer/director Todd Haynes' intriguing drama about a woman suffering from "environmental illness" is maddening for two reasons. First is the pace, which is s-l-o-w. SAFE moves at about half-speed. More time to reflect? Perhaps. More chances to become restless? Yes. The second method for my madness is Hayne's relentless ambiguity towards his subject. We're given the facts of the case--a housewife (Julianne Moore) becomes increasingly "allergic" to her surroundings--and nothing more. Haynes invites us to draw our own conclusion, but just a *little* bit of opposing viewpoint would be nice. At least *one* character who could stand up and say "what a bunch of New Age bunk!"
Grade: C+
SEVEN =====
Three years after his underrated directorial debut on ALIEN 3, music-video whiz David Fincher is back with an equally engaging thriller about an ingenious serial killer stalking a nameless American city. The detectives on the case are played by Morgan Freeman (the veteran) and Brad Pitt (the rookie). Their quarry is a sermonizing killer who's preaching through imaginative variations on the seven deadly sins.
Atmosphere is everything in Fincher's house of horrors. Constant rain, dismal lighting, and amplified sound effects all work to weary effect. As does the queasy subject matter. (Though the gore is kept to a minimum, you'll know very early if you have the stomach for this.) The methodical pace may also be off-putting to some. SEVEN requires patience. Anxious viewers may find themselves straining their chains much in the same manner that Pitt's gung-ho character does.
Grade: A
SHOWGIRLS =========
Though it certainly doesn't aspire to any lofty ambitions, SHOWGIRLS is still a failure. The problems start in the opening scene, where the liabilities of actress Elizabeth Berkley are exposed even before her breasts are. She has spunk and little else. (Though some might argue that she *needs* little else in a movie that wants to give new meaning the term "titillate." Forget the rating--the worst you'll see here are a few female frontal shots.)
Drawing from the Bad Actors Guild is only part of the problem. The director, Paul Verhoeven (BASIC INSTINCT, ROBOCOP), can't decide if he's presenting a strip show or a morality play. So he tries for both. What he ends up with is $40M of Vegas glitz that's neither erotic nor dramatic enough to be interesting. A long sit.
COMPARATIVE WORTH: Screenwriter/MPAA taunter Joe Eszterhas was paid
over $3 mil. for his supposedly "tell all" story.
How much does that translate to, on a per-boob
basis?
Grade: D+
UNSTRUNG HEROES ===============
Los Angeles, circa 1960. A young boy (Nathan Watt) is struggling to cope with his dying mother (a graceful Andie MacDowell), his distant inventor father (John Turturro), and two mentally ill uncles (Maury Chaykin and Michael "Cosmo Kramer" Richards). The first dramatic feature directed by actress Diane Keaton didn't move me in the least, so I can't advise on the story's emotional core. *I* didn't find it. Still, this is an admirably well-restrained weeper, with a polished period look that's easy on the teary eye. From the memoirs by Franz Lidz.
Grade: C
Recent Ratings ==============
ANGUS : B- CLOCKERS : B- HACKERS : B- SAFE : C+ SEVEN : A SHOWGIRLS : D+ THE TIE THAT BINDS : F TO WONG FOO... : C- UNSTRUNG HEROES : C THE USUAL SUSPECTS : A-
-- Michael J. Legeros - Raleigh, NC legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
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