CD-ROM for Mac* or PC
D: Chris Roberts; with Mark Hamill, Tom Wilson, John Rhys-Davies, Jason
Bernard, Robert Rusler, Malcolm McDowell.
Origin Systems
First, the “movie” part of this humongous six-disc interactive adventure: The
sets are incredible, the Dolby Surround sound is first rate, and the visuals
pass somewhere beyond Deep Space Nine; in short, this thing starts off
looking like a $50 million Hollywood blockbuster. Then comes the “game” part
during which you fly around and shoot stuff. I’ll admit I’ve never been much
good at flight-simulation-type games, but neither I nor any of several friends
with me could get the hang of hitting anything, and pretty soon the
effort of going through uninspiring “missions” to see where the slow-moving
plot was going to take us next became a chore and we went downstairs to watch
Deep Space Nine instead. — Ken Lieck
Mighty Aphrodite
D: Woody Allen; with Helena Bonham Carter, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rapaport,Jimmy McQuaid, F. Murray Abraham, Claire Bloom, Olympia Dukakis.
VHS Home Video
Waterloo Video, 1016 W. Sixth
In his latest movie, a romantic comedy, Woody plays a New York sports writer
who sets out to find the true mother of his adopted son. As the title suggests,
the gods have an interest in his quest, and apparently a sense of humor as
well, since unsolicited comic appraisal flows freely from those age-old
commentators, the Greek chorus. Even though Allen seems sluggish at the start,
he gets his timing back and appears more his old self by the middle of the
film. And as if to compensate for the failure of some of the chorus’ humor,
Mira Sorvino’s performance as Linda, the callgirl/wannabe-actress with whom
Allen develops an unlikely friendship, is a delight. Yet, overall, it’s hard to
imagine that what the director had in mind for Mighty Aphrodite was the
Blazing Saddles effect. Or is Woody just becoming Mel Brooks? — Jen Scoville
Cinemania ’96
CD-ROM for Mac* or WindowsMicrosoft Home
Film aficionados will rejoice with Cinemania ’96, the multimedia
interactive guide which hosts over 20,000 reviews from renowned critics Leonard
Maltin, Roger Ebert, and Pauline Kael; an ample supply of all-encompassing
articles on the nuts and bolts of the movie industry; and filmographies, bios,
and recommendations from the editors whose plethora of finely tuned categories
include such labels as “Pure Testosterone” or “Critters in Peril.” In addition
to the goldmine of textual reference available, you can access a media gallery
equipped with movie clips, portraits, stills, dialogue, and music. If you still
crave more bytes to chew, an additional feature includes information for
accessing their website to download info about new releases and updates.
Suggested memory is 8MB RAM on at least a System 7 Macintosh. However, running
certain lengthy movie clips caused frequent interruptions and system freezes
despite following Cinemania‘stips on how to allocate efficient
memory usage. — Stephany Baskin
Organized Crime and Triad Bureau
D: Kirk Wong; with Danny Lee, Anthony Wong, Cecilia Yip.VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th
Made in between the big-budget star vehicle Crime Story (with Jackie
Chan) and the intense, slightly campy thriller Rock and Roll Cop,
Organized Crime and Triad Bureau is the most personal of director Kirk
Wong’s “Cops and Robbers Trilogy” — a film that pays as much attention to its
characterization as it does to its gritty action sequences. Tai Sing Video,
long the leading import source for Hong Kong movies, has bravely chosen Wong’s
fine, underrated film as their first release aimed specifically at the Western
market. This version is a considerable improvement over their previous Chinese
release, which saw this 91-minute feature inexplicably spread out over two
tapes and lacking the crisp, bright-yellow subtitles that are found here. The
movie is also available as a laserdisc. — Joey O’Bryan
What Happened Was…
D: Tom Noonan; with Karen Sillas, Tom Noonan.VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th
You know that clumsy feeling you get when you meet someone you like and don’t
know what to say? This picture punishes you with that awkwardness until you get
fidgety and bite down all your nails. In a slow crescendo from embarrassing
conversation to social disaster, two neurotic office mates get to know each
other over wine and microwaved scallops. When the seemingly shallow Jackie
reads Michael a “children’s book” she’s been writing, both characters crack
open like a couple of overripe melons, spilling their rotten insecurities all
over each other. Winner of the 1994 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, What
Happened Was… is a painful exploration of two lonely hearts. — Kayte
VanScoy
This article appears in August 2 • 1996 and August 2 • 1996 (Cover).