D: Jan Bucquoy; with Jean-Henri Comp�re, Isabelle Legros, Sophie
Schneider, No� Francq.
VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th St.
Beginning with the line, “My mother had nice tits,” The Sexual Life of the
Belgians is one filmmaker’s frank yet amusing sexual catalog of the years
1950-78. We follow Bucquoy (Comp�re) from a pitiable adolescent
relationship with his mother through his first marriage and on to many
in-between lovers — prompting the all-inclusive title. Though reasonably
unified, the entirely autobiographical film (part one of a planned series), is
best viewed as a grouping of vignettes that inform the other sketches but still
stand comfortably on their own. Much of the film’s action centers around the
figure of director Bucquoy’s austere mother (Legros), whose reigning principle
is, “Life is so expensive.” Bucquoy draws telling parallels between his mother
and first wife, both of whom have a marked penchant for slapping Bucquoy at the
drop of a pin. You decide whether he deserves it. — Clay Smith
Natural Born Killers:
The Director’s Cut
D: Oliver Stone; with Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr.,Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones.
Laserdisc
Encore Movies & Music, 8820 Burnet
With over 150 cuts restored in this long-promised, finally released
“director’s cut” of the wildly controversial Natural Born Killers,
Oliver Stone’s delirious satire is now packed with even more sex, more
violence, and more pretentious style. Beyond the extended feature, this bravura
package also includes 30 minutes of highly entertaining scenes that were
excluded from the final assembly, as well as a refreshingly candid documentary
on the making of NBK. Those without laserdisc players will be happy to
hear of this title’s letterboxed release on VHS, but Pioneer’s gorgeously
packaged Special Edition disc set is still the best way to experience the
picture, since it offers the viewer still-frame access to every second of the
subliminal image-filled epic. Another bonus is the wild audio commentary from
Stone, whose comments range from genuinely thoughtful to outrageously
hyperbolic. Would you expect anything less.
— Joey O’Bryan
Floundering
D: Peter McCarthy; with James LeGros, Ethan Hawke, Steve Buscemi, JohnCusack.
VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th St.
 Ethan Hawke and James LeGros in Floundering |
Against the burning backdrop of the Los Angeles riots, John Boyz (LeGros) is
busy slacking off and pondering the meaning of the universe. It’s hard to
decide if this film is desperately pretentious or profoundly modern in its
reflection of the inertia that has defined Generation X. When a teenage thug
holds a gun in John’s face he just stares ahead blankly, neither panicked nor
angry, just confused. That’s this whole movie in a nutshell: Why are we here?
Peter McCarthy, co-producer of Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, and I’m Gonna Git You, Sucka isn’t trying to give us any answers in his 1994
directorial debut, but he does at least offer an incongruous happy ending.
Great cameos by Ethan Hawke, indie poster-boy Steve Buscemi, John Cusack, and
other lesser-known film stars lighten the mood a little, but despite its
“comedy” billing, this ain’t no feel-good movie. — Kayte VanScoy
Gulliver’s Travels
D: Charles Sturridge; with Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, James Fox, NedBeatty, Geraldine Chaplin, Graham Crowden, Edward Fox, Sir John Gielgud, Omar
Sharif, Alfre Woodard, Peter O’Toole.
VHS Home Video
I Luv Video, 4631 Airport Blvd.
Gulliver’s Travels filled a mega-million-dollar television time slot
during an earlier sweeps month, rivaling only Ross Perot’s talents for
occupying expensive airtime with political hoopla. And now this four-hour,
two-part, TV miniseries, based on Jonathan Swift’s 1726 historical epic, is
available on video. Rooted in political satire, this version of Gulliver’s
Travels is an extravagant exercise of fantasy mixed with a compelling
story. A triumphant star-studded cast (veterans O’Toole and Sharif perform like
fine wine) entertain splendidly amidst magnificent panoramic settings —
castles filmed on location in Portugal and England — and state-of-the-art
computer-generated special effects. Appropriately timed for video release, it’s
refreshing to finally take leave of the land of big-eared, “Bozo-nosed,”
one-armed “Yahoo” politicians, and instead sail with Gulliver (Danson) to lands
of imaginary political satires. — Stephany Baskin
Destruction Derby
PsygnosisPC CD-ROM
 |
couple laps around the Destruction Derby track to vent your
frustrations. This game is a couple years old, but the simplicity of its idea
goes a long way. It’s just a car race, except that victory is determined by
cutting off your opponents while avoiding too much damage. With a choice of
tracks (including a demolition derby bowl) and cars, and features including
adjustable camera angles and replays, there is plenty to keep this game
interesting well after you’ve taken the championship cup. — Carl Bacher
This article appears in November 22 • 1996 and November 22 • 1996 (Cover).