Let's hope the poultry metaphor doesn't extend to quality, but this year's schedule of cinematic holiday treats is so filled with rehashed ideas that it feels a bit like the turkey sandwiches we consume on the day after Thanksgiving.
Chief among the movies scheduled to entertain us through Christmas and New Year's are sequels, follow-ups, remakes - and even a sequel that is also a remake!Familiar faces abound, with the return of Ace Ventura, James Bond, Richard Nixon, Othello, Dracula and Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn.
As well as:
- Two animated features, one drawn entirely by computer (and with voices provided by superstars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen).
- Two crime thrillers starring Robert De Niro, one reteaming him with Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci and the other putting him in scenes with fellow-former "Godfather" Al Pacino.
- A crime/horror combination, pitting Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney against vampires in a Mexican bar.
- A pirate epic that allows Geena Davis and Matthew Modine to play like Maureen O'Hara and Errol Flynn.
- A fantasy with Robin Williams popping out of a magical board game (no, not as a genie).
Is the suspense killing you?
"Grumpier Old Men" is a sequel to Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau's 1993 hit, "Grumpy Old Men."
"Sabrina" is Sydney Pollack's update of the 1954 Billy Wilder classic, with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond ("First Knight," "Legends of the Fall") and television talk-show host Greg Kinnear ("Later") filling in for Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Hol-den, respectively.
And "Father of the Bride II," with Steve Martin heading the same cast as the 1991 version of "Father of the Bride," is a sequel, of course. But it's also a remake of "Father's Little Dividend," the 1951 sequel to the original 1950 comedy "Father of the Bride."
"Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" brings Jim Carrey back to his starmaking role, Pierce Brosnan takes on the coveted character of James Bond in "GoldenEye," Anthony Hopkins stars in Oliver Stone's "Nixon," Laurence Fishburn is "Othello" to Kenneth Branagh's Iago, Mel Brooks is Van Helsing to Leslie Nielsen's "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" and young Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro are, respectively, "Tom and Huck" in a new Disney version.
Meanwhile, the cartoons are the computerized "Toy Story" and a more traditional animation feature from the Steven Spielberg factory called "Balto," the two De Niro pictures are "Casino" and "Heat," the Tarantino thriller is "From Dusk Till Dawn," Davis' pirate epic is "Cutthroats" and the Williams fantasy is "Jumanji."
And that just scratches the surface.
After what is perceived as a lackluster summer and an even weaker fall, theater owners are looking forward to a boost in business over the next couple of months. And the buzz on "Toy Story," "GoldenEye," "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls," "Jumanji," "Father of the Bride II" and some others is quite hopeful.
But with some 30 movies scheduled to hit Salt Lake theaters between now and New Year's Day, along with a number of movies that may or may not arrive locally before the end of the year, it's going to be highly competitive.
And that's not figuring in all those end-of-the-year "platforms," movies that will open in Los Angeles to qualify for Oscar consideration but won't open here until sometime after the new year.
So, here's the holiday schedule, which is, as always, subject to change:
NOV. 17
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT - Michael Douglas is a widowed U.S. president who falls for an environmental lobbyist (Annette Bening), which his aides (Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox) fear may destroy his image. Rob Reiner ("A Few Good Men") directed this romantic comedy-drama.
GOLDENEYE - After a six-year hiatus, the James Bond series resumes with a new 007 (Pierce Brosnan) and promises a '90s, high-tech look, as the world's favorite spy tracks down a former KGB agent who is selling illegal arms and answering to a new boss, the first female M!
IT TAKES TWO - The Olsen Twins (Mary-Kate and Ashley) star in what appears to be a reworking of "The Parent Trap," playing an orphan and a rich kid, respectively, who switch identities while trying to bring Mary-Kate's case-worker (Kirstie Alley) and Ashley's father (Steve Guttenberg) together.
LIVING IN OBLIVION - This wild comedy about low-budget moviemaking was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, with Steve Buscemi as a put-upon director whose cast and crew seem to be conspiring to drive him crazy.
NOV. 22
CASINO - The "GoodFellas" gang (director Martin Scorsese, screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci) tackle a sprawling story of corruption in Las Vegas during the 1970s. Casino partners De Niro and Pesci become rivals for Sharon Stone in this three-hour epic. James Woods, Alan King and Don Rickles co-star.
MONEY TRAIN - That "White Men Can't Jump" duo, Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, play foster brothers working together as New York transit cops when they get the bright idea of robbing the train that transports daily collections.
NICK OF TIME - Johnny Depp stars in this Hitchcockian thriller as an accountant who is rushing to a job interview when he is suddenly drawn into a political assassination plot. The gimmick here has the film taking place in "real time" after Depp is given a terrifying 80-minute deadline. Christopher Walken, Charles Dutton, Peter Strauss and Marsha Mason co-star.
TOY STORY - The first full-length computer-animated feature, this Disney comedy focuses on two sparring toys - a pull-string cowboy (voiced by Tom Hanks) and a superhero action-figure (Tim Allen) - as they form an uneasy alliance when they become separated from their owner.
NOV. 24
DOUBLE HAPPINESS - A comedy-drama about a Chinese-American woman who tires of romantic interference from her old-world parents and strikes out on her own to search for romance. A hit at the Sundance Film Festival.
DEC. 1
THE CROSSING GUARD - Sean Penn wrote and directed this melodrama about a jeweler (Jack Nicholson) who is obsessed with getting revenge on the drunken driver (David Morse) who killed his young daughter. Anjelica Huston costars.
WHITE MAN'S BURDEN - This "Twilight Zone"-ish "what if?" melodrama switches the racial balance of power in America, as John Travolta plays an angry worker oppressed by the predominant black culture, represented by affluent businessman Harry Belafonte.
WILD BILL - Jeff Bridges steps into Hickok's boots, challenging the lawless frontier with support from Ellen Barkin as Calamity Jane, Diane Lane as a woman from his past, Bruce Dern as a wheelchairbound gunslinger, Marjoe Gortner as a preacher, Keith Carradine as Buffalo Bill Cody and Christina Applegate ("Married . . . With Children") as a hooker.
DEC. 8
FATHER OF THE BRIDE II - The cast of the first film returns for this sequel, which finds Steve Martin and Diane Keaton about to become grandparents when they suddenly discover that Keaton is also pregnant! (Based on the sequel, "Father's Little Dividend," which starred Spencer Tracy.)
WILD REEDS - This French coming-of-age yarn tells of four teenage boys living together in a boarding school in the '60s who find ways to connect with one another, despite disparate views on politics and morality.
DEC. 15
HEAT - Ex-cons Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer plot a heist while edgy cop Al Pacino is hot on their trail in this cops-'n'-robbers thriller. Directed by Michael Mann ("Manhunter," "Last of the Mohicans").
JUMANJI - Robin Williams stars in this adaptation of the popular children's novel, about innocent kids who stumble upon a magic board game and unwittingly unleash a bevy of exotic animals into their neighborhood.
SABRINA - This remake of the classic 1954 romantic comedy stars Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear in the roles made famous by, respectively, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden.
SPIKE AND MIKE'S 1995 FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION - Another collection of the best in international cartoon shorts over the past year or so.
THE STUPIDS - John Landis ("Coming to America," "An American Werewolf in London") directed this "dumb" comedy based on the children's books about a blundering family. Tom Arnold stars.
DEC. 20
NIXON - Oliver Stone ("JFK," "Natural Born Killers") courts controversy once more with this epic biographical film about Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins.
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY - Emma Thompson wrote and stars in this comedy about two sisters (Thompson and Kate Winslet) whose romantic pursuits are overshadowed by their social station when their father dies and leaves them poverty-stricken. Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant co-star.
DEC. 25
BALTO - Steven Spielberg is an executive producer on this animated feature, the story of a dog trying to get to the isolated populace of Nome, Alaska. Voices include Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins, Bridget Fonda and Phil Collins.
CUTTHROAT ISLAND - Geena Davis and Matthew Modine star as ruthless pirates who attempt to beat an even nastier pirate (Frank Langella) to the buried treasure in this epic, action-packed swashbuckler, directed by Renny Harlin (director of "Cliffhanger," and Davis' hubby).
DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT - Mel Brooks tries to recapture some of that old "Young Frankenstein" magic with his latest farce, starring Leslie Nielsen as the caped count and Brooks himself as Van Helsing. Brooks also co-wrote, produced and directed.
FROM DUSK TILL DAWN - Writer-director Quentin Tarantino ("Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction") and George Clooney (TV's "E.R.") tackle their first feature-starring roles in this thriller (written by Tarantino) about brothers on the run in Mexico who encounter vampires. Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis co-star; Robert Rodriguez ("Desperado") directs.
GRUMPIER OLD MEN - Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau return as the sparring title characters, longtime feuding neighbors in suburbia, this time becoming rivals over Sophia Loren instead of Ann-Margaret.
RESTORATION - Robert Downey Jr. stars as the young court physician of King Charles II (Sam Neill), who agrees to enter into a marriage of convenience with the king's mistress but then makes the mistake of falling in love with her. Meg Ryan and Hugh Grant co-star.
SUDDEN DEATH - "Die Hard" at a hockey game (the Stanley Cup finals, no less), as the U.S. vice president and a sports center full of fans are held hostage by madman Powers Booth, unaware that security guard Jean-Claude Van Damme is also in the crowd.
TOM AND HUCK - Jonathan Taylor Thomas ("Man of the House," TV's "Home Improvement) stars as Huck Finn and Brad Renfro ("The Client") is Tom Sawyer in this adaptation of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
WAITING TO EXHALE - Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett topline this ensemble comedy-drama about the romantic misadventures of four friends in Phoenix, the other two being played by Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine. Gregory Hines, Dennis Haybert and Mykelti Williamson co-star; actor Forest Whitaker makes his feature-directing debut.
DEC. 25
FOUR ROOMS - Four independent directors discovered by Sundance Film Festival audiences - Quentin Tarantino ("Reservoir Dogs"), Allison Anders ("Gas Food Lodging"), Alexandre Rockwell ("In the Soup") and Robert Rodriguez ("El Mariachi") - contributed to this dark, comic anthology film, with Bruce Willis, Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Beals and Tim Roth.
DEC. 29
OTHELLO - This latest adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tale of jealousy and treachery stars Laurence Fishburne in the title role, with Kenneth Branagh as the scheming Iago.
NO FIRM DATES
(MAY OPEN IN DECEMBER)
THE ADDICTION - Abel Ferrara ("Bad Lieutenant") directed this black-and-white, modern-day vampire yarn, with Lily Taylor as an innocent who is drawn into the world of bloodsuckers. Christopher Walken costars.
CARRINGTON - The true story of the unrequited love of androgynous painter Dora Carrington (Emma Thompson) for gay writer Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce) in post-World War I England.
THE DOOM GENERATION - Gregg Araki ("The Living End") wrote and directed this dark on-the-road satire about a young couple who pick up a dangerous drifter.
LEAVING LAS VEGAS - Nicolas Cage stars in this downbeat melodrama as an alcoholic who goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death and then meets equally fatalistic hooker Elisabeth Shue.
LES MISERABLES - This French adaptation of the oft-filmed Victor Hugo novel transplants the story to Occupied France in 1939, with Jean-Paul Belmondo as the Jean Valjean. Directed by Claude Lelouch.
THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD - Forty-eight hours in the life of a reformed mobster (Andy Garcia) who pulls his old gang together for one last job. Christopher Walken, Christopher Lloyd and Treat Williams co-star.
PLATFORMS
(OPENING AFTER DEC. 31)
AMERICAN BUFFALO - The Tony Award-winning play comes to the big screen as a vehicle for Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz (TV's "NYPD Blue"), who play a pair of hoods trying to con a friend.
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY - James Earl Jones, Richard Harris and Charles S. Dutton star in this adaptation of Alan Paton's book about reconciliation and racial harmony, the first movie to come out of democratic South Africa.
DEAD MAN WALKING - Tim Robbins ("The Shawshank Redemption") wrote and directed this drama about the death penalty, as a nun (Robbins' significant other, Susan Sarandon) corresponds with a death-row inmate. Sean Penn co-stars.
FEAST OF JULY - This period romance has a young woman setting out to find the lover who abandoned her until she is taken in by a compassionate family and finds herself pursued by two brothers.
FRANKIE STARLIGHT - This modern fairy tale (based on Chet Raymo's novel) is the story of a dwarf who turns his mother's colorful life into a novel, which brings unexpected celebrity. Matt Dillon and Gabriel Byrne co-star.
GEORGIA - Jennifer Jason Leigh plays a punkish bar-singer whose sister is a famous folk singer in this exploration of their love-hate relationship.
THE GRASS HARP - Set in the '40s, this comedy-drama has a young orphaned boy being taken in by his wealthy aunt (Sissy Spacek) and befriended by her eccentric sister (Piper Laurie), who is married to a retired judge (Walter Matthau). Co-stars include Jack Lemmon, Edward Furlong, Nell Carter, Mary Steenburgen, Roddy McDowall and Charles Durning.
HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF - Juliette Binoche ("Blue") stars in this period melodrama, set in 1832 France, about two people who have different reasons for traveling from village to village during a cholera epidemic.
I'M NOT RAPPAPORT - Walter Matthau is an elderly activist and Ossie Davis is an aging janitor on the verge of losing his job in this adaptation of Herb Gardner's Tony Award-winning Broadway hit.
THE JOURNEY OF AUGUST KING - In 1815 North Carolina, a mountain man (Jason Patric) comes across a young runaway slave (Thandie Newton) and defies the law to help her escape.
MARIETTE IN ECSTASY - Based on Ron Hansen's novel, this drama explores the divisions in a convent where a young novice (Geraldine O'Rawe, of "Circle of Friends") claims God has spoken to her. Rutger Hauer, Mary McDonnell, Eva Marie Saint and John Mahoney co-star.
MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS - Richard Dreyfuss stars in this variation on "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," as a music teacher who continually sets aside his aspirations to compose a great opus while spending his life attending to the needs of his students.
PERSUASION - Jane Austen's novel is adapted (actually for British television) in this costume drama about a woman who fears becoming a spinster.
RECKLESS - Mia Farrow stars in this adaptation of the offbeat play about a homemaker who finds herself on the run, moving from town to town and constantly changing her identity to elude a tenacious hit man hired by her husband. Scott Glenn co-stars.
RICHARD III - Shakespeare's tragedy is transplanted to 1930s London in this adaptation, with Ian McKellen (who also co-wrote the script) in the title role, supported by Annette Bening, Robert Downey Jr., Maggie Smith and Nigel Hawthorne.
SHANGHAI TRIAD - Zhang Yimou ("Ju Dou," "Raise the Red Lantern") takes aim at unfamiliar territory in this thriller about Chinese gangsters in the 1930s. Gong Li stars as a singer who is also a high-class call girl.
TOTAL ECLIPSE - Two 19th-century French poets, Rimbaud (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Verlaine (David Thewlis) are the focus of this drama, written by Christopher Hampton ("Dangerous Liaisons").
TWELVE MONKEYS - A post-apocalyptic future hangs in the balance when Bruce Willis reluctantly agrees to leave his own time (2035) and travel back to 1996 in search of the source of a deadly virus that is wiping out mankind. Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt and Christopher Plummer co-star; Terry Gilliam ("The Fisher King," "Brazil") directs.