Category Archives: 1997

Good Will Hunting - * * * *

Although it isn’t readily apparent before seeing the film, the title Good Will Hunting has a double meaning (made obvious by the main character’s name: Will Hunting). However, be it the intriguing story of one good man, or the uplifting … Continue reading

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Flubber - * 1/2*

In its infinite wisdom, Disney has decided to resurect The Absent Minded Professor. However, you may note that this remake bears the moniker Flubber instead. And thus begins the shift of focus away from plot and characters and toward mindless … Continue reading

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Alien Resurrection - * * 1/2*

Alien Resurrection is an appropriate title for the fourth film in the Alien franchise. Not only does it contrive to bring Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) back from the dead, it manages to wrest the entire franchise from a horrendous death in … Continue reading

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Welcome to Sarajevo - * * *

And the first War in Bosnia film makes it through the gates! Michael Winterbottom directs this messagey but good look at the troublesome conflict in Sarajevo, based on Michael Nicholson’s book. Welcome to Sarajevo follows several journalists in the war … Continue reading

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The Sweet Hereafter - * * * 1/2*

Atom Egoyan directs this stirring portrait of a small town dealing with an insurmountable grief. Based on Russell Banks’ novel, Egoyan weaves a tapestry of grief and healing that is both haunting and memorable. Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holm) is an … Continue reading

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Mortal Kombat Annihilation - [No Tickets]

What an awful film! This hideous sequel to 1995’s Mortal Kombat makes the original look like a classic in comparison. The only reason that this is not the worst film of the year is that it had the fortunate luck … Continue reading

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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - * * *

John Berendt’s popular nonfiction novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a very difficult book to adapt. Clint Eastwood’s film version might be as good an adaptation of the book as you could hope, but it is … Continue reading

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John Grisham’s The Rainmaker - * * * 1/2*

Director Francis Ford Coppola tackles a rather mainstream film for his latest outing: a John Grisham adaptation. Not the most auspicious of genres, to be sure, but Coppola actually turns out one of the best adaptations, and a rather good … Continue reading

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Anastasia - * * *

It’s ironic. Just at the time when the tried-and-true Disney formula for animated films seems to be faltering, the other studios, desperate for a share in the lucrative animated film market, have come out with their own “Disney-formula” films. Anastasia … Continue reading

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One Night Stand - * 1/2*

Director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) tries to strike gold twice with an offbeat adulterous romance in One Night Stand. However, this time, the vein has gone dry. Max Carlyle (Wesley Snipes) is a commercial director from Los Angeles who … Continue reading

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