Monthly Archives: September 1996

Secrets & Lies - * * 1/2*

Posted on September 28, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Director Mike Leigh manages to capture real life family dynamics in Secrets & Lies. Timothy Spall stars as a photographer whose family is strained to the breaking point. He and his wife, Monica (Phyllis Logan) have been strangely drifting apart. … Continue reading →

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The Leopard Son - * * 1/2*

Posted on September 27, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

The Discovery Channel launches its feature film series with a rather mediocre documentary about a young leopard in the Serengeti. When the film starts, The Leopard Son is just a cub, under the protection and tutledge of his mother. The … Continue reading →

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Two Days in the Valley - * *

Posted on September 27, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

2 Days in the Valley is a jumbled hodgepodge with an excess of plot masquerading as hip thriller. The movie starts with two hitmen, friendly Dosmo (Danny Aiello) and sociopathic Lee (James Spader) getting ready to kill the ex-husband of … Continue reading →

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Extreme Measures - * * * 1/2*

Posted on September 27, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Extreme Measures is a rather literate, heart-pounding thriller about ethics and medicine. Hugh Grant stars as Dr. Guy Luthan, a physician in a New York ER. One night, a mysterious homeless man wanders naked into the ER, with even more … Continue reading →

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Big Night - * * *

Posted on September 20, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci join to direct Big Night, this rousing salute to great food and the dream of two immigrant brothers. Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are brothers who run a struggling Italian restaurant. Primo is … Continue reading →

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Last Man Standing - * 1/2*

Posted on September 20, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Last Man Standing is a bleak remake of Akira Kurasawa’s film Yojimbo (previously remade as A Fistful of Dollars). Bruce Willis stars as John Smith, a drifter in the Prohibition era wandering south through Texas on his way to Mexico. … Continue reading →

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The First Wives Club - *

Posted on September 20, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

This revenge comedy starts well, but wanders off track and never returns. The First Wives Club focuses on three divorced women: Annie (Diane Keaton) is a struggling housewife with an overbearing mother and a lesbian daughter. She is only “separated” … Continue reading →

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Grace of My Heart - * * * 1/2*

Posted on September 13, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Intriguing drama about the music world of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Grace of My Heart tells the story of Edna Buxton (Illeana Douglas), the daughter of a Philadelphia steel magnate who wins a singing contest in the 1950s, and … Continue reading →

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American Buffalo - * * 1/2*

Posted on September 13, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

Talkative adaptation of David Mamet’s play. Don (Dennis Franz) is the owner of a small time junk/pawn shop. Together with his chatty friend Teach (Dustin Hoffman), he plots a petty crime: to steal a possibly valuable coin collection. Teach is … Continue reading →

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The Rich Man’s Wife - * 1/2*

Posted on September 13, 1996 by Madeleine Williams

It’s obvious from watching The Rich Man’s Wife that it wants to be a better film…it tries hard, but just doesn’t make it. Halle Berry stars as Josie Potenza, the neglected wife of rich television bigwig Tony Potenza (Christopher McDonald). … Continue reading →

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