Chungking Express
Lovelorn street cops in Hong Kong find romance amid explosions of color and rushes of impressionistic motion
Mulholland Falls
Mulholland Falls 1996, R, 107 min. Directed by Lee Tamahori, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Jennifer Connelly, Treat Williams, Daniel Baldwin, Andrew Mccarthy, John Malkovich, Bruce Dern. From the New Zealand director of the powerful Once Were Warriors comes this Nineties noir take…
I Can’t Sleep
I Can’t Sleep 1994, NR, 110 min. Directed by Claire Denis, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Katerina Golubeva, Richard Courcet, Vincent Dupont, Laurent Grevill, Ira Mandella-Paul, Alex Descas, Irina Grjebina. I Can’t Sleep is an eerie, edgy slice of contemporary French life, seen as though through a cracked window. A protegé of both…
The Celluloid Closet
This award-winning 1995 movie, based on Vito Russo’s 1981 book, delightfully debunk the widely held belief that images of gays and lesbians were absent in Hollywood movies.
The Flower of My Secret
This florid film comes across like Almodóvar riffing on Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant and Douglas Sirk’s (Imitation of Life). The story about a writer who is dissatisfied with her life marks the return of Almodovar’s dark, delicious humor.
The Truth About Cats and Dogs
The Truth About Cats and Dogs 1996, PG-13, 96 min. Directed by Michael Lehmann, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Janeane Garofalo, Uma Thurman, Ben Chaplin, Jamie Foxx, James Mccaffrey, Richard Coca, Stanley Desantis. An intriguing title is about the only thing The Truth About Cats and Dogs has going for it. Let’s start…
Rome, Open City
Rome, Open City 1945, NR, 101 min. Directed by Roberto Rossellini, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Aldo Fabrizzi, Anna Magnani. A new 35mm print has been struck of this 1945 hallmark in Italian neo-realism. Though part of this movie’s enduring appeal is its gritty look and catch-as-catch-can filmmaking style and we fear that…
Mrs. Winterbourne
Mrs. Winterbourne 1996, PG-13, 106 min. Directed by Richard Benjamin, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Ricki Lake, Shirley MacLaine, Brendan Fraser, Loren Dean. The improbabilities pile up on top of each other in Mrs. Winterbourne, an anxious-to-please romantic comedy about mistaken identity that sounds vaguely familiar. Let’s see: A lonely young woman with…
The Substitute
The Substitute 1996, R, 110 min. Directed by Robert Mandel, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Tom Berenger, Ernie Hudson, Diane Venora, Glenn Plummer, William Forsythe. The Substitute can only hope to capitalize on the inexplicable success of last year’s Dangerous Minds, despite being an even sillier white bread fantasy. Like that film, The…
Celtic Pride
Celtic Pride 1996, PG-13, 91 min. Directed by Tom Decerchio, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Damon Wayans, Daniel Stern, Dan Aykroyd, Gail O’Grady, Christopher McDonald. Although this movie is called Celtic Pride it’s clear that the filmmakers haven’t the slightest idea what the word “pride” means. The movie is a throwaway sports comedy,…
