Larry H's Movie Reviews for 1997
Index of Movies:
The Boxer | Wag the Dog | Good Will Hunting | The Postman | Jackie Brown | For Richer Or Poorer | Titanic | As Good As It Gets | Home Alone 3 | Amistad | George of the Jungle | Air Force One | Conspiracy Theory | Ulee's Gold | Cop Land | Flubber | Starship Troopers | The Man Who Knew Too Little | Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | Rainmaker | Mr Bean | The Jackal | Mad City | Boogie Nights | Most Wanted | Seven Years in Tibet | Kiss the Girls | Peacemaker | In and Out | L A Confidential | The Full Monty | The Game | GI Jane | Money Talks
The grading system99 - the highest grade ever given ("To Kill A Mockingbird") there has never been a 100 yet
95 - the highest grade available on first viewing
69 - means the movie was so bad that I want my money back
65 - is even lower than 69, but is the lowest available grade
W - after a numerical grade means that I could not stand to finish the movie and "walked" out
S - after a numerical grade means that I went to sleep during the movie due to lack of interest
God Bomb Theory - kicks in when I start praying for God to send down a bomb to blow up the characters and/or the scene so I can leave the theater and get on with my life.
January 17, 1998 Saturday at AMC First Colony Theatre #2. Audience - 2. Start time 11:15am. This is the last official movie for 1997 for Larry H. The First Annual Sugar Awards will be coming out shortly. Please note that I was unable to attend a movie yesterday due to illness. I've been sick for over a week and I am not happy about it, but I am better, thank you. Not well enough to make this morning's pistol match in Friendswood, but well enough to participate in an indoor sport. That's why I am a 2-sport guy. Many of you people only have one sport. But I have an outdoor sport (shooting) and an indoor sport (moviegoing); What a Country!
"The Boxer" is Daniel Day-Lewis and the whole IRA complicated Protestant, Catholic, Belfast, Brits, we hate you and we will never give up, but we might try for a peace settlement but you gotta let the IRA soldiers out of prison - never gonna happen - oh yeah then a lot of innocent people will die - so be it. The Boxer has just gotten out of a 14 year prison sentence for his past IRA involvement, but now he would rather fight in the ring than in the streets. Some of the locals think that such a "nuetral" act as boxing against a Protestant is treason and the tension and love interest become very complicated and contrived with Daniel Day-Lewis semi-innocently involved and in the center of controversy. Fear, courage, revenge, hatred, love, historical, forbidden fruit, blood, bombs, guns, cops v. citizens, generational distrust, loyalty, betrayal.
Daniel Day-Lewis is the Euro Dustin Hoffman. His acting is monumental and honed to near perfection. His screen presence is awesome. He's got it. Some are now saying that I look a lot like Daniel Day-Lewis (not Brad Pitt). Both of us are tall and Irish with long arms and...... hmmmmm. Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 89. Larry H.
January 9, 1998 at AMC First Colony 24 in Sugar Land, TX. Six folks in attendance for the 11:00 am showing. Director is none other than the man himself - Barry Levinson. Presidentail race is in two weeks and the Prez is alleged to have sexually assaulted a teenager while she was touring the White House. Ouch. Better get a Spin Doctor and a Hollywood Producer to create the appearance of a war with Albania and change the headlines and save the presidency. Let's dupe the American public; there're easy. We'll approach it just like producing a movie. We can do the entire film on this premise with no love interest and do some funny and silly takes on this spoof and it will work and besides we got all these great stars and Levinson. Can't miss. Can. too.
Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Andrea Martin. Cast good. Show bad.
The God Bomb Theory is alive. Oh well, you pays your money and takes your chances.
Rock 'n Roll.Grade 75. Larry H.
On Oscar night which is March 23rd, the camera will constantly scan the crowd as usual and there will be a bunch of fresh faces surrounding Robin Williams sitting together hoping to win because, by then, some of them will no doubt know that they have a good shot at Oscar. Best bet is screenplay by Matt Damon (Will Hunting) and Ben Affleck (Chuckie) and Williams who plays a burned-out therapist/Sean teaching at Bunker Hill Community College. However, there will also be nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor/Damon, and Best Supporting Actress/Minnie Driver. The Producer Lawrence Bender and Guy Van Sant will be with these young lions, but will have to wait another time while Titanic's James Cameron sweeps.
"Good Will Hunting" is a spectacular film and is the thing of legends because Damon and Affleck wrote the script for themselves and showed talent that will be with us for a generation. Will is a 20 year old janitor at MIT with the brain of Einstein and the street sense of a kid from South Boston that can drink beer and smoke cigarettes with vigor and get into fistfights to settle a revenge that has been festering since kindergarten. Will is our hero and has been orphaned and abused by foster parents and is the least likely person hanging around MIT that could solve a mathematical problem that no other student can conquer, so the award winning math Professor decides to save Will from himself so the world can enjoy his gift. Will ain't so sure about that.
The plot deepens with the love interest of Skylar (Diver) the Harvard student who inherited her money but likes our boy Will for what he is even though Mr Einstein does not have a clue about what he wants. Until Sean, who is also from South Boston, creates a trust and barrier- breaking atmosphere that begins to heal the scars of Will that include physical as well as emotional. Don't worry ladies, you still get ample closeup shots of Will's physique which is impressive. He's the new Tom Cruise with more hair and vulnerability. Next film - his salary will be in the $15 million range.
During the character development stage of the film, we are treated to the boyish pranks and tough talk that can only come from the comradarie of blue collar 20 year olds that think they have the world by the tail and everybody else can kiss their ..... His buds are his rock of loyalty that has been so lacking in his life. Will is "scared shitless" about abandonment and guilt of his past. This intense fear makes the relationships with Skylar and Sean all the sweeter.
You may have noticed that this review is being written on a Thursday afternoon. I am decadent, what can I tell ya. I slipped off to Loew's for the 11:25 start of this 125 minute picture and was back on the street while some of you people were just finishing your second martini. I even got my favorite parking spot which is at the light pole near the back entrance of Loew's. AMC 24 did not have "Will" showing and I am glad because I want to maintain dual citizenship at both theatres. When at Loew's, I start getting excited about the film I am about to see, sitting in my rocking seat full of anticipation, and it cresendos when the music is full and loud and the camera swoops down on the beautiful people walking into a Loew's theatre on a red carpet. It doesn't get any better than that.. Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 95+. Larry H.
December 31,1997 at AMC 24 First Colony in theatre #24. New Year's Eve afternoon.
A good time to see this almost 3 hour movie (177 min) if you have seen all the other hot movies in town. I have, so I went. I am a professional. Please remember the I liked Costner's "Waterworld" and it was a flop at the boxoffice and ripped by the critics. And yes, I stayed the entire flick and did not "walk". It was too long and Costner is too self-absorbed in a film that he stars in and directs so I take that into account. Me and Costner got big egos so we understand such grandiosity. In the film, his character the "Postman" is called a "godsend" and "warrior" and a beautiful woman describes him as a person that hands out "hope like its candy in his pocket". Now who can pass up a role like that if he can get the financing. Did I mention that Costner in his "awshucks I'm just a pretty boy trying to stay alive and do the right thing," persona and excuse me if my actions save the Western Hemisphere from self destruction?The setting is the "United States" or what is left of it in post war 2013 and the people that survived the "bugs, plagues, and the three year winters..." . "Survived" is the operative word because these folks were beaten down by the local warlords who had horses and guns. Desparation made them open to The Postman and his tattered uniform of the US Postal Service reminded them that when they could recieve a letter from another downtrodden village that they were not alone and there was hope. Hope and desparation breeds revolution against the mean 'ole General Bethelhem who commanded a band of thugs/soldiers and kept the local citizenery in their place because the good guys "had no guns". During the movie I was reminded that in England in October 1997, the government banned all handguns except 22's. Pay attention folks, or we're next!
Will Patton played a wonderful bad guy in the form of General Bethlehem and Olivia Williams was a winning love interest and local beautiful person. I remained interested in the story throughout the movie because I could not anticipate the next move and I cared about the characters. As you know, if I care about the folks in the flick, then I am focused and you can " count me in coach". I'm glad I went to this film, but I do not think it will have broad appeal. But there's something special about a movie that has soldiers riding horses and carrying M-16s. This is movie #61 for me for 1997. Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 89. Larry H. Note: have a New Year's Eve date with the wife to see "Titanic" for the second time and hope to answer the question: "Is Rose's granddaughter also Jack's granddaughter?" What do you think and why?
December 26, 1997 at AMC First Colony. Theatre #5. Friday afternoon after Christmas and the parking is pretty full. Appears that "our" Sugar Land theatre is going to do OK. What's going to happen to The Fountains/Loews 18 only ten minutes away? Perhaps there is enough business for both. Hope so.
The opening scene of JB immediately reminded me that I was about to start a ride on a vehicle driven by Quentin Tarantino and that it would not be an ordinary experience. First impressions are correct. There is no other director that comes even close to the inventiveness and freshness of Tarantino. Sure, he's a sicko and wierd in real life and his productions are reflections of that, but who among us could not use a little therapy. During the opening scene as Jackie Brown walks in the airport to get on a plane for her job as a flight attendant is a work of art and typical of Tarantino's ability to take the mundane and make it into a bold statement and set the stage for his next brazaar revelation. Hello Samuel L. Jackson. Jive turkey that has a heart of understanding and compassion unless he has to kill you due to business conflicts and a need to terminate your employment with him and he therefore is forced to "let you go". Jackson is a styling gun runner/salesman that has his money stashed in Mexico and he needs Pam Grier/Jackie Brown to get it out of Mexico and into his hands before Michael Keaton and the Feds get their ATF hands on it. Other employees of Jackson are : Robert De Niro - slow witted and just out of prison with tattoos to prove it; Bridget Fonda - lies around the house in short cutoffs smoking dope and watching TV; Chris Tucker picked up for DWI and carrying a concealed weapon; a refugee from Alabama that is mentally defective, and a rather full figured woman that likes to give "table dances". Typical Tarantino characters for his story of crime and well laid plans that comically blow up real good. Robert Forster plays a wonderful part as a bails bondsman.
Acting: Grier - A Jackson - A De Niro - A Fonda - A Keaton - A Forster - A
Downside - the story is driven by the quirky characters and I did not care how it ended because they were equally silly, irresponsible, and uninspiring. Of course, to change the ending would have taken away from the movie. Its a risk one takes in a Tarantino flick. I am glad we have Tarantino on our side. Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 92. Larry H.
Christmas Eve 1997. The Fountains. Seating capacity 100. Very intimate setting. So I thought I'd catch a light-hearted movie while Monique and Eric were out doing some last minute stuff. Starring Tim "Tool Man" Allen and Kirstie "Cheers and some other sitcom that escapes me" Alley, and Wayne "I've been in more movies in the last several years than Sienfeld and Allen put together/aka Newman" Knight. Well I hit the jackpot for "light-hearted" and you can add "dumb as a board", but I enjoyed every one of the 94 minutes. I do not know who to give the credit to: Director Bryan Spicer, the writers, or the actors, but this silly, farsical movie works for me.
You know the drill - a socialite couple is ripped off by their accountant "Bob" (Wayne Knight) and the IRS comes after them with guns loaded, so Brad and Caroline do the only sensible thing they could do; go underground and rediscover themselves and love while working like slaves/pigs in an Amish community. Hard work and tilling the soil is always good for what ails ya. Don't get me wrong - I did not discover some hidden meaning in this film and now I want to reveal it to you. This film is about Tim and Kirstie being cute and endearing. Good casting. Twice I got goosepimples and teared up 2 or 3 times. I was shocked at my emotinal investment in the story, but it happened so I have to fess up. Which means one of two things: either I am a sap and/or the movie is well done. This movie never tries to be anything other than " let's make some money off a couple TV stars so the masses will come see it" so we can make more movies with other TV stars and we will all live happily ever after. I can dig it.
Soon this movie will be on video and the wife will say "hey, I'd like to stay home tonight and rent a really funny, silly movie - I just want to laugh and be entertained and not have to think." And you reply, "....don't worry, Pumpkin, just wait right here and I will go to Blockbuster and be back in a jiff." Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 89. Larry H.
Merry Christmas
Sunday afternoon December 21,1997, at the same AMC theatre that I saw "As Good As It Gets" three days ago. I am writing this review within thirty minutes of seeing the film, as is my custom, and I am still overwhelmed by the experience and feel inadequate to capture the essence of the story, but that will not stop me. "Titanic" is first and foremost a love story. The young lovers are Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), a 17 year old aristocrat, and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), an artist from Wisconsin who has $10 in his pocket and barely gets on the ship due to a lucky hand of poker. The narrator of the film is Rose at age 101 as she tells her story to a modern day exploration crew that has been searching the "Titanic" with the subs that we have all seen on TV. The backdrop of the love story is the compelling human drama of the ship that "couldn't sink" superbly captured by writer, director, and producer James Cameron.
This movie is a combination of "Love Story" and "Shindler's List".
I am tired from the emotional ride (194 minutes) of the movie, so I am not going to try to improve on my desription in the previous sentence. Nominations will abound. Best Picture. Merry Christmas. Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 95+. Larry H.
December 18, 1997 Grand Opening of AMC 24 First Colony/Sugar Land. 6:30-8:00pm. After I paid $25.00, it was all the food (steak from Outback Steakhouse) soft drinks and popcorn one could eat. Much of the money for tickets was for the Fort Bend ISD Education Foundation. AMC has built a magnificient theatre with all the updated stuff including stadium seating with orthopedic supports for the lower back. The chairs do not rock as they do at The Fountains. While I watched the movie I could continually smell the new carpet and chairs. Very pleasant. There was a big turnout from the community and its the first time I ever went to a movie and saw 150 folks that I knew. After the opening speeches and ceremonies ("ticket tearing"), about 15 movies began at 8:00pm. Everybody took off to the theater of their choice.
A big crowd packed in for "As Good As It Gets". Starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Jack is Back! He plays the central character of Melvin Udall, a writer, who suffers from classic symtoms of an obsessive-compulsive disorder. His character will be the 90's measurement for bigotry and obnoxious behavior. He hooks up with Carol/Helen Hunt because she is the only waitress that will tolerate his rude and insensitive behavior at the neighborhood New York restaurant. Melvin eats there regularly, but he also insults Jewish, women, and Black customers and brings his own sealed white plastic eating utensils because of germs. His "fag" neighbor is Simon (Kinnear) who's friend and protector is Cuba Gooding Jr. Melvin has no friends because he is mean and a loner, but he desparately wants love and companionship just like normal folks. This movie is all about love and compassion as developed between Melvin, Carol, and Simon. The operative word is "developed". Director James L. Brooks who also co-wrote the screenplay allows us to get to know the soft spots and hot buttons on these characters and it dishes out just the right amount of romance, sadness, tears, sweat, laughter, fear, rejection, and reconciliation.
The acting and dialogue are superb. Melvin's mannerisms and facial expression are presented by a Hall of Fame artist that has once again shown us that given the right part Jack Nicholson is still the man. Watch how Jack uses his hands while having dinner with Carol and utters the soon to be memorable line of "You make me want to be a better man." Notice his right thumb when he's on the phone. Its classic Jack ("Pritzi's Honor"). Nobody on the big screen can match Jack's hair, teeth, eyes, forehead, nose, and yes his sunglasses. If there was not a Jack Nicholson, we would need to invent one. Melvin would not step on a crack in the sidewalk or on a floor and the gyrations that he goes through to keep from "breaking his mother's back" are legend.
I laughed fifty times if I laughed once. This is a very emotional story. Carol is a single parent that has an asthmatic child that is subject to a trip to the ER 5-6 times a month. I do not like "Mad About You" and did not like Ms. Hunt in "Twister". I loved her in this movie. And not just because she takes off all her clothes for a very sensual scene on the side of the bathtub, but because she exhibited a range of feeling and depth that is usaually reserved for a Meryl Streep. Helen will get serious consideration for a nomination.
Greg and Cuba are perfect for their parts: hard bodies and pretty faces. Simon is an artist and suffers serious injuries that require help from everyone, yet he maintains his dignity and "shares" with us a tale of woe as a child. Simon is an appropriate catalyst for Melvin and Carol.
Many nominations are on the horizon for AGAIG including best actor, screenplay, director, and movie. I can't wait to go see it again. Rock 'n Roll
Grade 95+. Larry H.
December 12, 1997. Opening Day at The Fountains/Loew's. Eric, age 11, has been planning this day of going to HA3 for months. Having seen "Amistad" earlier in the day, I am game-ready. Eric loved the story and "tricks and traps" used to fend and foil the band of bad guys and gal that were chasing Alex to retrieve the "chip". Director John Hughes updates his gags and keeps on ticking. Well done. Good kids show. Rock 'n Roll.
Grade 84. Larry H.
December 12, 1997, at The Fountains, opening day for "Armistad" directed by Steven Speilberg. Starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, and Matthew McConaughey. Music by John Williams. Produced and distributed by Speilberg's Dreamwork$. Speilberg is a genius. He has no equals. He's done it again. This movie is monumental. "Roots" slide over and make room for this based on fact story that begins in 1839 on a slave ship owned by Spain the 'La Amistad" that is overtaken via mutiny by the slave from ..... Well that's part of the mystery, so we will wait on that verdict. McConaughey plays a lawyer who demonstrates the courage and conviction that made me want to be an attorney when I grow up. His character as an unknown and unsuccesful barrister Roger Baldwin and the interaction with the leader/chief of the slaves during the litigation phase is a thing of beauty. Spielberg's use of captions is used sparringly to allow us to share the frustration in the language and culture barriers. The music and choirs throughout the movie are emotional. There are enough wonderful, intiguing characters and themes in the story to fascinate and entertain everyone. Anger, blood, sadness, triumph, fraud, muder, cruelty, love, respect, courage, intelligence, desparation, Christians, North v. South, politics, civil war, integrity, and irony and shock is rampant.
The new star will be the leader of the slaves who may be a surprise nomination. In one scene in the courtroom, the "Chief" raises goosepimples with the cry of "Give us Free". Hopkins as John Quincy Adams is spectacular in his scene before the US Supreme Court and probably will get yet another nomination. Freeman is solid. This film and Speilberg will get many nominations and has overtaken "Midnight in the Garden" as the front runner as Best Movie. Rock 'n Roll
Note: Going to the VIP Grand Opening of the neighborhood AMC 24 next Thur Dec 18th.
Grade 95+ . Larry H.
George, George, George of the Jungle
Friend to you and me
Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Watch out for that tree
Watch out for that aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh TREEEEEEEEEEEEEGreat song. Cute Tarzan. City-girl Jane ok. Monkey outstanding. Bad Guys charming. Plot is