D: Jan de Bont; with Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes.
Laserdisc
Encore Movies & Music, 8820 Burnet
The days when it took years for blockbuster movies to make the transition to
video seem to be, well, gone with the wind. Twister, the early
box-office smash during the summer ’96 season, has made its way to store
shelves only a few months after its theatrical release. Despite the fact that
the story is an exercise in predictability and the main characters do virtually
everything that would get a person killed in a real tornado, Twister still manages to provide an enjoyable ride. The visuals and audio were the
film’s strong points and are well-presented on disc. Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton,
and Jami Gertz are fairly engaging in their roles, but the tornadoes are the
real star. If you missed it in the theatres or are thrilled by the sight of
funnel clouds wreaking destruction, you might want to give Twister a
whirl. — Bud Simons
Heaven
D: Diane Keaton.VHS Home Video
Welcome to Heaven. Meet Estes Perkle, a religious king of kitsch who
attempts to convey heaven’s grandeur to his congregation by comparing its size
to Manhattan. Listen to a testimonial asserting that Jesus visited a household
room by room and eventually rested on the family’s ottoman. Don’t get me wrong;
this 1987 Diane Keaton documentary which I found in the “Offbeat Comedy”
section of the video store, is not entirely a freak show. Although Keaton has a
quality in common with the best documentarians — she allows her subjects to
speak for themselves — she is so occupied combining old film footage both
campy and classic with the thoughts of her subjects that at times the
eccentricity and clear simplicity of their responses to questions like “Are you
afraid to die?” and “Have you ever had a vision?” get lost in the process.
Really more a postmodern fantasia than a “documentary,” this film, despite its
occasional clutter, is certain to entertain, particularly in light of the more
recent actor-turned-filmmaker ventures that do not risk as much as this
engaging headspin does.
— Clay Smith
Muppet Treasure Island
D: Brian Henson; with Tim Curry, the Henson Muppets, Billy Connolly,Jennifer Saunders, Kevin Bishop, Frederick Warder, Peter Geeves, Danny
Blackner, Harry Jones.
VHS Home Video
I Luv Video, 4631 Airport Blvd.
Forty years later and no matter how you dress ’em, they still fit the movie.
The infamous stock of adored Muppet characters dons resplendent pirate attire
(by the veteran Muppet costume designer Polly Smith) to breathe new life into
Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale. After ol’ pirate Billy Bones turns over
the treasure map to young Jim Hawkins, the lad, along with his dish- washing
mates Gonzo and Rizzo, leave their drying towels behind to set out on the high
seas with the level-headed green Captain Smollet (Kermit). Swashbuckling
adventures with the shifty one-legged cook Long John Silver (Curry), a crew of
mutiny-hungry, cross-dressing pirates, and the “maroooooned” Queen of the Wild
Boars (Miss Piggy), certainly outweigh the promise of riches. The movie itself
is a treasure with its witty screenplay (bountiful in its tickling
anachronisms, rousing dialogue, and meta-fictitious slants), a gold mine of
“human” comedic actors, hand-picked gems Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil as song
composers, and Hans Zimmer (The Lion King‘s very own) to score the
music. Miss Piggy’s musical entrance as Boomchakalaka is a riot.
— Stephany Baskin
Time Lapse
GTE EntertainmentCD-ROM for Windows & Mac
Think of Time Lapse as Myst cubed. It’s a puzzle game in which
you travel through time to explore parts of Egypt, Maya, Anasazi, and Easter
Island in order to discover the lost city of Atlantis where you can solve the
final riddles and win the game. The graphics are attractive and plentiful, but
not quite as stunning as some of its competitors. The puzzles are often
obvious, but occasionally quite tough. If you’re a fan of games such as
Myst, 7th Guest and their ilk then you might enjoy Time
Lapse. Otherwise you ought to steer clear.
— Kurt Dillard
A Fatal Inversion
D: Tim Fywell; with Jeremy Northam, Douglas Hodge, Rachel Joyce, PhilipBowen, Jane Wymark, Shirley Dickson.
VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th
This 1992 television adaptation of the gripping Ruth Rendell novel is
tantalizingly terrifying. Two college-age men plan to spend a summer of
debauchery in a recently inherited baronial mansion. An innocent enough summer
progresses, but the tease of horror and mystery lurks just beneath the surface.
When the men take in the beautiful but mentally ill Zosima as their lover,
their well-planned futures are already permanently changed. As life at the
sunny mansion dissolves into a nightmare, the story races to a jaw-dropping
finish. You’ll hardly notice that the movie was produced for television. In
fact, you’ll hardly notice anything as you get entirely caught up in Rendell’s
compelling suspense. — Kayte VanScoy
This article appears in October 18 • 1996 and October 18 • 1996 (Cover).