Search for 1997

As "survival in the wilderness" films go, The Edge is a strange example. Leaving the theater, I didn't quite know what to make of it. In fact, I'll even admit to enjoying it on a certain level. I laughed frequently, but the problem is that I'm n...

Wim Wenders' The End of Violence offers the same type of experience one could expect from sitting through a David Lynch film with a reasonably-coherent narrative (unlike, for example, Lost Highway). Arguably Wenders' most disjointed film to date, ...

The bayous of Louisiana are a strange and wonderful place -- a world unto their own, overflowing with a wealth of story and thematic possibilities. Whether it's the heated mystery of The Big Easy, the nonstop action of Hard Target, or the gory sca...

Face/Off, the third English-language feature from acclaimed Hong Kong director John Woo, isn't the best movie of the summer, but it certainly features some of the best action. Woo, who is known and appreciated for his unique stylistic approach to ...

Fathers' Day simply has to be seen to be believed. It's beyond my comprehension how a motion picture with so much talent associated with it -- actors Robin Williams and Billy Crystal, super-producer Joel Silver, and director Ivan Reitman -- can be...

Anyone who has missed Basil Fawlty since the end of the BBC TV series Fawlty Towers need look no further than Fierce Creatures. Although age had mellowed him a little and he's going by a different name, there's no doubt that John Cleese's ...

The Fifth Element uses one of the newest tricks in the science fiction motion picture handbook: perform a visual and aural assault on viewers in the vain hope that they won't notice the lack of substance, logic, and intelligence. For a few recent...

The Full Monty is the third recent dramatic comedy to emerge from the United Kingdom to illustrate the effects of unemployment on the individual and the family. Like Brassed Off! and The Van, The Full Monty combines humor with light drama to e...

With a title like G.I. Jane, it would be easy to dismiss Ridley Scott's latest effort as exploitation fare. Such a reaction, however, would do the picture an injustice. On the other hand, the movie lacks the thematic depth that the film makers wo...

Alfred Hitchcock used the term "refrigerator movie" to describe certain films. According to the great director, refrigerator movies are well-paced thrillers that work effectively while being watched, but fall apart upon later examination (whil...