NEW FILMS FRIDAY
DRUNKEN MASTER II - Jackie Chan's latest is a sequel to the 15-year-old original, with Chan doing his patented comical and wildly choreographed kung fu fighting, this time battling English smugglers just before World War II. Reviewed in this section today.Not rated, probable PG-13 (violence, profanity). (Exclusive, Tower.)
LATCHO DROM - A plotless, wordless documentary tracing Gypsy life - and more specifically, Gypsy music - through its many incarnations in Eastern Europe. Reviewed in this section today. Not rated, probable G. (Exclusive, Tower.) STREET FIGHTER - Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in this big-budget film version of the popular video game, battling bad guy Raul Julia (in his last film role before his untimely death earlier this year). Reviewed in this section today. PG-13 (violence, profanity). (Century, Holladay, Midvalley, Reel, South Towne, Trolley Corners, Trolley North.) NEW FILMS SUNDAY I.Q. - Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins co-star in this romantic comedy that has Albert Einstein's mathematician niece being pursued by a starry-eyed auto mechanic. Walter Matthau co-stars as Einstein. Reviewed in this section today. PG (mild profanity, mild vulgarity, mild violence) (Century, Creekside, Flick, Gateway, Plaza 5400, Sandy 9.) LITTLE WOMEN - This sixth adaptation (if you count two obscure silent versions) of Louisa May Alcott's novel stars Winona Ryder as Jo, the feistiest of the four March sisters, growing up in Concorde, Mass., during the Civil War. Susan Sarandon is their mother. Reviewed in this section today. PG (mild violence). (Creekside, Gateway, Midvalley, South Towne, Trolley Square.) NELL - Jodie Foster stars in (and co-produced) this drama about a woman discovered in the Tennessee woods who speaks a strange, indecipherable language. Liam Neeson and his real-life wife Natasha Richardson co-star. Reviewed in this section today. PG-13 (violence, nudity, profanity, vulgarity). (Centuy, Holladay, Midvalley, Sandy 9, Trolley Corners.) READY TO WEAR (PRET-A-PORTER) - Filmmaker Robert Altman has gathered an incredible all-star cast (Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Kim Basinger, Sophia Loren, Lauren Bacall, etc.) for this comic look at the fashion industry's annual soiree in Paris. Reviewed in this section today. R (nudity, sex, profanity, vulgarity, gore, drugs). (Broadway, Cottonwood, Sandy 9.) RUDYARD KIPLING'S THE JUNGLE BOOK - A new live-action version of the famed Kipling tale from Disney, with Jason Scott Lee ("Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story") starring as Mowgli. Cary Elwes, Sam Neill and John Cleese co-star. Reviewed in this section today. PG (violence). (Cottonwood, Crossroads, Gateway, Plaza 5400, Reel, South Towne.) SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS A CHRISTMAS STORY - * * * 1/2 - Hilarious adaptation of Jean Shepherd's "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" (with Shepherd himself doing the narration), as a young boy in the 1940s begs his parents for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Funny, charming and very well cast (Peter Billingsly, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon). PG (profanity). (Murray, Friday and Saturday only.) (Nov. 22, 1983) SCROOGE - * * * - Albert Finney plays the title character in this rousing 1970 musical version of the classic Dickens tale, "A Christmas Carol." And Alec Guinness is fun as a rather fey Marley. Not all the songs are great, but Finney is so energetic that he makes it an enjoyable ride all the way. G. (Avalon, Friday and Saturday only.) CONTINUING FILMS CAMP NOWHERE - * * - This summer camp spoof isn't too bad, as a group of subteens deceive their parents so they can organize their own camp. Naturally, chaotic freedom reigns, complete with the expected mudbaths and food fights, and the only adult in the vicinity is wacky Christopher Lloyd. Predictable and runs out of steam before it's over but kids will enjoy it. PG (vulgarity, profanity, comic violence). (Kaysville.) (Sept. 7, 1994) CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER - * * * 1/2 - Harrison Ford is terrific in this sequel to "Patriot Games" (which was a sequel to "The Hunt for Red October"), reprising his role as CIA agent Jack Ryan. This time, he travels to South America to expose a drug cartel that has a link to the U.S. presidency. A bit too "Indiana Jones"-ish toward the end but quite thrilling. PG-13 (violence, profanity). (Kaysville, Sandcastle, Sugarhouse.) (Aug. 3, 1994) CLERKS - * 1/2 - Amusing but far too raunchy independent production, a "garage" flick about a day in the life of a pair of slackers who work at adjoining shops, one a convenience store and the other a video store. An extremely low-budget, black-and-white effort that won an award at the Sundance Film Festival in January. R (vulgarity, profanity, violence, drugs). (Exclusive, Trolley Corners, Friday and Saturday only.) (Dec. 2, 1994) DISCLOSURE - * * 1/2 - Michael Douglas is a hapless, aging yuppie in a Seattle computer firm whose old flame (Demi Moore) becomes his boss and tries to seduce him at the close of her first day on the job. He pulls away but she charges him with sexual harassment. The sex scene is extremely graphic and the first third is stilted but the film does get better as it goes along. Based on Michael Crichton's best-selling novel. R (sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, violence). (Broadway, Century, Holladay, Plaza 5400, South Towne, Trolley North.) (Dec. 9, 1994) DROP ZONE - * * - Spectacular aerial sequences, with parachutists doing some amazing stunts, are the only reason to see this routine thriller. Wesley Snipes stars as a suspended U.S. Marshall who is tracking down sky-diving criminals that plan to break into the Drug Enforcement Agency's computer system. R (violence, profanity, vulgarity). (Century, Cottonwood, Plaza 5400, Reel, Sandy 9.) (Dec. 9, 1994) DUMB & DUMBER - turkey - "Gross & Grosser" is more like it. This crass farce, filmed in Utah and Colorado, stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as a pair of dimwits who make a cross-country trip to return a briefcase to its rightful owner. The cast is game but the material is just gamey. PG-13 (violence, partial nudity, profanity, vulgarity). (Century, Crossroads, Holladay, Midvalley, Reel, Sandy 9, Trolley North.) (Dec. 16, 1994) EROTIQUE - Three short movies about sex by female filmmakers from various parts of the world - "Let's Talk About Sex," a phone-sex story from American filmmaker Lizzie Borden; "Taboo Parlor," about two bisexual women who pick up a man in a Hamberg sex club, by German filmmaker Monika Treut; and Chinese filmmaker Clara Law's "Wonton Soup, which has a Chinese-Australian man reunited with a long-lost love. Not rated, probable NC-17 (sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, violence, drugs). (Exclusive, Tower.) FORREST GUMP - * * * 1/2 - Tom Hanks gives a brilliant performance in this technically dazzling, episodic look at three decades in the life of a slow-witted man who inadvertently makes history and subtly affects the lives of those he encounters. An ambitious, sprawling comedy-drama with plenty to say and some huge set pieces, though at its best during quiet, reflective moments. Hanks should have a lock on another Oscar nomination. PG-13 (violence, sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, drugs). (Cinemas 5, Olympus; starts Monday, Avalon.) (July 6, 1994) INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES - * * 1/2 - The long-awaited film adaptation of Anne Rice's popular novel is an uneven, over-the-top mix of comedy, melodrama, flourish and gore, as adapted by Rice herself and directed by Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game"). Brad Pitt is extremely low-key as Louis, a vampire telling his story to a modern-day journalist (Christian Slater). In flashbacks we see he was turned into a creature of the night 200 years earlier by an even darker predator named Lestat (Tom Cruise). Cruise is terrific but when he's off-screen for the final third, the film sags badly. R (violence, gore, nudity). (Broadway, Creekside, Sandy 9; starts Sunday at Trolley Square.) (Nov. 11, 1994) JUNIOR - * * 1/2 - Amusing one-joke comedy about a stiff-necked scientist (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his obstetrician partner (Danny DeVito) who decide to test a new fertility drug using Schwarzenegger as a guinea pig. The experiment is only supposed to go through the first trimester, but then Schwarzenegger decides he wants to experience childbirth! Seeing the musclebound hero getting in touch with his feminine side - and, at one point, in drag - is the big joke, though the film gets a lift whenever the hilarious Emma Thompson is on screen. PG-13 (profanity, vulgarity). (Century, Crossroads, Holladay, Midvalley, Reel, South Towne.) (Nov. 23, 1994) THE LION KING - * * * 1/2 - Disney's 32nd animated feature is loaded with dazzling artistry, with a story loosely based on "Hamlet." A lion prince in Africa inherits the throne only to be deceived and banished by his evil uncle, who then takes over. Top-flight voice talent includes Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin. G. (Creekside, Gateway, Sandy 9, Trolley Square; starts Sunday at Murray, Cinemas 5, Olympus.) (June 24, 1994) LITTLE GIANTS - * 1/2 - Lame comedy for kids has Rick Moranis ("Honey I Shrunk the Kids") and Ed O'Neill (TV's "Married . . . With Children") as small-town brothers who compete with pee-wee football teams. Parents should bring a book and a flashlight. PG (violence, profanity). (Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (Oct. 14, 1994) LOVE AFFAIR - * * * - Warren Beatty produced, co-wrote and co-stars with real-life wife Annette Bening in this remake of the 1939 comedy-drama about a shipboard romance, which was itself remade as "An Affair to Remember" in 1957. Bening really shines in this faithful update, though the film is not as witty as its past incarnations. Comic relief is supplied by Garry Shandling and there's a wonderful extended cameo by Katharine Hepburn. PG-13 (profanity, vulgarity). (Family Center, Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (Oct. 21, 1994) A LOW DOWN DIRTY SHAME - turkey - Dreadfully unfunny and unexciting "comedy-thriller" written and directed by and starring Keenan Ivory Wayans (TV's "In Living Color") as a private eye who goes up against a drug lord. Wayans wants to be "Shaft" but the movie is a sexist, overly violent mess. R (violence, sex, profanity). (Creekside, Sandy 9.) (Nov. 24, 1994) THE MASK - * * * - The summer's wildest movie has wacky Jim Carrey ("Ace Ventura, Pet Detective") as a mild-mannered bank clerk who dons a mysterious mask and becomes a green-faced superhero, part Tasmanian Devil, part Bugs Bunny. Special-effects-driven comedy boasts hilarious computer animation but Carrey's performance makes it click. His dog Milo is also hysterical. PG-13 (violence, vulgarity, profanity). (Sandy Starships, Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (July 29, 1994) MILK MONEY - turkey - This dreadful, wrong-headed coming-of-age comedy is a real mess, with a trio of preteen boys pooling their savings and heading for the big city to see a naked woman. They are picked up by a hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold (Melanie Griffith) who moves into a treehouse while one of the boys tries to fix her up with his widowed father (Ed Harris). Ridiculous, tasteless, offensive and unfunny. PG-13 (sex, profanity, vulgarity). (Family Center, Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (Sept. 7, 1994) MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET - * * - Colorful but bland remake of the 1947 classic, with Richard Attenborough quite good as the man who believes he is Santa Claus and young Mara Wilson ("Mrs. Doubtfire") matching him as the darling girl who doesn't believe. But Elizabeth Perkins, as her cynical mother, is too cold and the film throws out the original's laughs to instead wallow in sentiment. Written and produced by John Hughes (the "Home Alone" pictures). PG (mild vulgarity, mild profanity, violence). (Cottonwood, Gateway, Midvalley, South Towne, Trolley Corners.) (Nov. 18, 1994) MIXED NUTS - * 1/2 - Disappointing farce about a group of eccentrics who gather at a suicide hotline center in Venice Beach, Calif., on Christmas Eve. Steve Martin heads the cast, which includes Madeline Kahn, Juliette Lewis, Rob Reiner, Adam Sandler and Rita Wilson. But director/co-writer Nora Ephron, eschewing the gentle comedy of her hit "Sleepless in Seattle," goes for knockabout, door-slamming farce and it all falls flat. Rated PG-13 (profanity, vulgarity, violence, sex). (Broadway, Century, Holladay, Plaza 5400, South Towne.) (Dec. 21, 1994) ONLY YOU - * * * - Enchanting romantic comedy from director Norman Jewison, who is obviously trying for another "Moonstruck." This one's not that good but it's a most enjoyable yarn, as Marisa Tomei leaves her fiance at the altar to search for her written-in-the-stars true love in Italy. But is it really Robert Downey Jr.? The stars are very good but Bonnie Hunt, as Tomei's wisecracking sister-in-law, steals the show. PG (violence, profanity, partial nudity). (Kaysville, Sugarhouse.) (Oct. 7, 1994) THE PAGEMASTER - * 1/2 - Enjoyable animation can't make up for the fact that this feature-length cartoon is a pointless, laughless exercise. Macaulay Culkin and Christopher Lloyd star as live-action characters in the wraparound story of a young, timid boy seeking refuge from a storm in a library. Then they provide voices as the cartoon Culkin finds courage in magical books that come to life. G. (Cinemas 5, Family Center, Sandy 9, Sandy Starships, Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (Nov. 24, 1994) THE PROFESSIONAL - * 1/2 - Stylish but very violent melodrama about a lonely hit man who finds an unlikely friend, a young girl whose family has been killed by a corrupt DEA agent. Despite bursts of violence, rather dull - and training a 12-year-old girl to be a killer is in questionable taste at best. An English-language thriller from French filmmaker Luc Besson ("La Femme Nikita"). R (violence, profanity, sex). (Plaza 5400, Friday and Saturday only.) (Nov. 18, 1994) PULP FICTION - * * * - Quentin Tarantino ("Reservoir Dogs") shows off his remarkable filmmaking skills with this arresting gangster yarn, a three-act melodrama (running 2 hours, 40 minutes) that is laced with dark humor and graphic bloodshed. It also features superb performances from Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, John Travolta, et. al. The big winner at the Cannes Film Festival in May - but be advised that the wall-to-wall foul language and gory violence are jarring. R (violence, gore, sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, drugs). (Olympus; Trolley Square on Friday and Saturday only.) (Oct. 14, 1994) QUIZ SHOW - * * * * - Superlative filmmaking from director/producer Robert Redford, based on the true story of the television quiz show scandals in the late 1950s, focusing on contestants for the program "Twenty-One," who were given answers in advance. Knockout performances, especially from Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield and John Turturro. PG-13 (vulgarity, profanity). (Cinemas 5, Friday and Saturday only.) (Sept. 23, 1994) RICHIE RICH - * 1/2 - Boring, overly violent adaptation of the comic book character, the richest kid in the world, who tries to make friends with a sandlot baseball team while foiling his father's evil employee (John Larroquette), who is attempting to steal the Rich family fortune. It turns into "Home Alone 3" toward the end, but even that doesn't help. Playing with the film is a new Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote cartoon from Chuck Jones - "Chariots of Fur" - which is much better. Rated PG (violence, profanity, vulgarity). (Century, Creekside, Gateway, Midvalley, Plaza 5400, Sandy 9, South Towne, Trolley Square.) (Dec. 22, 1994) THE RIVER WILD - * * * 1/2 - This incredible thrill ride gets a major boost from Meryl Streep, playing a former guide who takes her family white water rafting, only to encounter desperate thieves (led by Kevin Bacon) who manipulate her skills to get them down river. Chilling fun, with terrific direction by Curtis Hanson ("The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"). PG-13 (violence, profanity, vulgarity, brief veiled nudity). (Family Center, Kaysville, Sandcastle, Sandy Starships, Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (Sept. 30, 1994) THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE - * * - Some big laughs and a rousing first half-hour aren't enough to save this cheerfully vulgar comedy, a one-joke movie - and a very vulgar joke, at that. Anthony Hopkins stars, with a Bugs Bunny overbite and John Huston's voice, as turn-of-the-century health guru John Harvey Kellogg. Top-notch supporting cast (Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Dana Carvey) tries, but writer-director Alan Parker's heavy-handed approach quickly wears out its welcome. R (violence, sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity). (Sugarhouse.) (Oct. 28, 1994) THE SANTA CLAUSE - * * 1/2 - Tim Allen is funny in his big-screen debut and the first half of this overblown sitcom is pretty good, as a toy company executive inadvertently finds himself turning into Santa Claus. But halfway through, the movie gets overly sentimental and seems to forget that it's a comedy. PG (mild vulgarity, mild profanity, violence). (Flick, Gateway, Plaza 5400, Reel, South Towne, Villa.) (Nov. 11, 1994) THE SPECIALIST - turkey - Dour Sharon Stone seeks out brooding explosives expert Sylvester Stallone to get him to blow up three hoods who killed her parents. This amazingly awful thriller is like the Bad Acting Olympics, with Stone, Stallone, James Woods and Eric Roberts delivering over-the-top performances - but the winner is Rod Steiger as a Miami godfather, complete with ridiculous Hispanic accent. R (violence, sex, nudity, profanity). (Family Center, Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (Oct. 7, 1994) SPEECHLESS - * * * - The ending is unsatisfactory, but most of this witty, intelligent romantic comedy is so winning that you probably won't mind, as two political speechwriters (Michael Keaton and Geena Davis, who demonstrate remarkable chemistry) for opposing candidates reluctantly fall in love. Christopher Reeve, Bonnie Bedelia and Ernie Hudson co-star. PG-13 (profanity, sex, violence). (Broadway, Century, Gateway, Holladay, Midvalley, Reel, South Towne.) (Dec. 16, 1994) SQUANTO: A WARRIOR'S TALE - * * - This good-natured Disney family film has its heart in the right place but is nonetheless a disappointment, with muddled plotting and silly "Indiana Jones"-style heroics. The story has an American Indian being captured by English traders who put him on display for public amusement. When he escapes, he is taken in by a group of monks who nurse him to health and help him return home. PG (violence). (Kaysville.) (Oct. 28, 1994) STAR TREK: GENERATIONS - * * 1/2 - Enjoyable passing of the baton from Capt. Kirk to Capt. Picard but if you haven't watched the "Next Generation" TV series, you will likely wonder what's going on. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and crew try to stop mad scientist Malcolm McDowell from destroying a planet and get unexpected help from Kirk (William Shatner). Excellent special effects and Brent Spiner as Data steals the show, but there's nothing here that fans of the TV program haven't seen before. PG (violence, profanity, Klingon cleavage). (Century, Cottonwood, Flick, Gateway, Plaza 5400, Sandy 9.) (Nov. 18, 1994) STARGATE - * * 1/2 - This extrapolation of the "Chariots of the Gods?" theory, that ancient civilization was established by space aliens, has mild-mannered Egyptologist James Spader and suicidal military officer Kurt Russell traveling millions of light years to a planet on the other side of the universe, where they encounter slaves and their god, actually a power-mad alien (Jaye Davidson). A sci-fi biblical epic, with flat characterizations and a murky storyline - but fun if you accept it as a big-budget B-movie. PG-13 (violence, profanity). (Cinemas 5, Sandy 9, Trolley Square.) (Oct. 28, 1994) THE SWAN PRINCESS - * * * - Delightful first solo cartoon feature from former Disney animation director (and Ogden native) Richard Rich ("The Black Cauldron," "The Fox and the Hound"), a fairy tale about a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer (voiced by Jack Palance). John Cleese, Steven Wright and Sandy Duncan also provide voices, as does local actor James Arrington; Salt Laker Lex de Azevedo wrote the music. Great fun. G. (Family Center, Kaysville, Plaza 5400, Sandcastle, Sandy Starships, Sugarhouse, Valley Fair.) (Nov. 18, 1994) TIMECOP - * * 1/2 - Jean-Claude Van Damme exhibits some genuine charisma in this high-tech sci-fi thriller with some terrific effects and well-choreographed fight scenes. Van Damme is a cop in the future, where the government has time-traveling cops chasing criminals who try to profit from historical knowledge. Over-the-top violence, plot loopholes and exploitative sex mar the proceedings. R (violence, sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity). (Valley Fair.) (Sept. 16, 1994) TRAPPED IN PARADISE - * 1/2 - Horribly unfunny farce with Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey as brothers who rob a small-town bank on Christmas Eve - then, when they can't get out of town, the local residents welcome the trio into their homes. Some amusing ideas but there's no chemistry or comic rhythm and everything falls flat. PG-13 (violence, profanity, vulgarity). (Cinemas 5, Cottonwood.) (Dec. 2, 1994)