D: Joel Coen; with William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter
Stormare, Kristin Rudrud, Harve Presnell.
VHS Home Video
It would be hard to find a film from 1996 as talked about as Fargo, the
Coen brothers’ (Blood Simple, The Hudsucker Proxy) twisted tale of
something rotten in the Great White North, and it would be hard to find a film
more deserving of the lavish praise it has received. Brilliantly conceived and
executed like a piece of art in motion, Fargo follows pregnant cop Marge
Gunderson (McDormand) and her bizarre case of husband (Macy)-kidnaps-wife
(Rudrud) through the eccentric, nasal-voiced, back bacon-gorging world of
Minnesota and the Dakotas. As one thing after another goes unbelievably wrong,
you begin to wonder if the “based on a true story” tag is on the level (a
question that is still open for debate), but it doesn’t really matter in the
end. The comedy’s as black as it gets, and that signature Coen brothers’ style
is all over the picture. Already the recipient of at least eight major critics’
awards and four Golden Globe nominations, Fargo is as flawless as they
come and simply has had no parallel in years. —
Christopher Null
The Flintstones
D: Brian Levant; with John Goodman, Elizabeth Perkins, Rick Moranis, RosieO’Donnell, Kyle MacLachlan, Elizabeth Taylor.
VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th St.
 |
including product placement for McDonald’s and Chevron. But when you consider
its plotline, which heavily inveighs against the dangers of embezzlement,
The Flintstones turns out to be a fully “pro” working-class flick. In
fact, you wonder after watching it whether the filmmakers actually knew what
they were up to. It’s easier to give them the benefit of the doubt, however,
when you consider the intelligence and ingenuity of the film’s visual tricks;
the filmmakers actually make Fred Flintstone float as if walking on water
whenever he screams “Yabba-dabba-do.” Though the film rests comfortably upon
Goodman’s Fred Flintstone, all the supporting actors put in nice turns,
especially Elizabeth Taylor, whose fans may or may not enjoy watching her end
up in the jaws of a ravenous dinosaur. — Clay Smith
Links LS
PC CD-ROMAccess Software
 Links LS |
playing golf, live or on a computer, then Links LS is a must-buy.
Stepping up to the ball, you can see the fairway sloping down to the green,
which is framed by sand traps on the left and dense woods on the right. The
breeze gently blows while chickadees warble their ritual poetry behind you. As
you prepare to swing, you hear dogs baying in the distance as if they are
impatient for you to finish this hole. You draw the club back, and then swing
hard and snap the ball into the air. The shot flies out over the grass, but you
know that you hooked it. It drifts left as its gravity brings the ball back to
earth, straight into the second bunker. Oh well, you can always take another
mulligan — you’re the only one who’ll know. — Kurt Dillard
Spot Goes to Hollywood
for Sony PlayStationVirgin Interactive
This action-platform game stars Cool Spot, the 7-Up mascot, who must make his
way through several dangerous worlds including a high-seas pirate scenario and
haunted graveyard. This title was originally released for the Sega Genesis, and
although the graphics and sound in this version easily surpass its 16-bit
predecessor, Spot Goes to Hollywood is considerably less impressive than
many other recent PlayStation titles. As with most such games, there are hidden
power-ups, secret levels, and multiple weapons. The isometric view makes
control a bit difficult at times, so Spot buys the farm on a pretty regular
basis. Spot Goes to Hollywood seems targeted at a very young gaming
audience, and might be worth a rental for parents whose kids think a red dot
with sunglasses is way cool. — Bud Simons
Bottle Rocket
D: Wes Anderson; with Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Bob Musgrave, Lumi Cavazos,James Caan.
VHS Home Video
 Bottle Rocket |
Rocket was about the best thing our art-starved state has come up with in
quite awhile. The brainchild of UT classmates Anderson and Owen Wilson (who
co-wrote the script), Bottle Rocket is the story of three perennial
losers who try their best to embark on new lives as rough-and-tumble criminals.
With daring heists, such as the robbery of a bookstore under their belts, the
fearless Dignan (Owen Wilson) takes the gang “on the lam” to a
middle-of-nowhere motel, where, in fine form, Anthony (Luke Wilson) falls in
love with a housekeeper who speaks no English (Like Water for
Chocolate’s Cavazos). The climactic sequence, a cold-storage center robbery
performed to get the attention of career criminal Mr. Henry (Caan, wonderfully
over-the-top here), is one of the funniest moments on film that I’ve ever seen,
and the rest of the movie is no slouch, either. Seen by far too few viewers
during its early 1996 theatrical run, Bottle Rocket is a triumph of the
old-style screwball comedy, a classy rarity in today’s age of potty jokes and
groin kicks that deserves to be seen. — Christopher Null
This article appears in January 17 • 1997 and January 17 • 1997 (Cover).