Resurfaced Short Reviews, Part XIV

These are Resurfaced short or quickie reviews written in 2002 or earlier. For more information, please visit this link: Resurfaced Reviews.

Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman (1990)

Rating

Director

Garry Marshall

Screenplay

J.F. Lawton

Length

1h 59m

Starring

Richard Gere, Julia Robberts, Ralph Bellamy, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo, Alex Hyde-White, Amy Yasbeck, Elinor Donahue, Hector Elizondo, Judith Baldwin

MPAA Rating

Basic Plot

Edward is a rich, ruthless businessman who specializes in taking over companies and then selling them off piece by piece. He travels to Los Angeles for a business trip and decides to hire a prostitute. They take a liking to each other and he offers her money if she’ll stay with him for an entire week while he makes the “rich and famous” scene, since it doesn’t do for a man of his stature to be alone at society parties and polo matches. Romantic comedy and complications ensue.

Review

A Romantic comedy that often delights, but somteimes disappoints. Julia Roberts gives a great performance in her second Oscar nominated film. Gere does fine, but pales in comparison to Roberts. There’s not much more to this film than the Romance and Comedy of it all, so don’t expect lavish sets or brilliant costumes, sit back and enjoy an easy paced film.

Review Written

Unknown

Mrs. Brown

Mrs. Brown (1997)

Rating

Director

John Madden

Screenplay

Jeremy Brock

Length

1h 41m

Starring

Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Anthony Sher, Gerard Butler, Richard Pasco, David Westhead, Bridget McConnell, Georgie Glen, Catherine O’Donnell

MPAA Rating

Basic Plot

After her husband’s death, Queen Victoria leave public attention and travels to Balmoral. A good relation to the family is requested to bring his horse and himself with them and provide the horse for the Queen’s rides. A rather disobedient and cantankerous man, John Brown defies tradition left and right, yet eventually winds up in the Queen’s favor, trying to protect her day in and day out.

Review

Judi Dench gives a beautiful performance as Queen Victoria and the rest of cast merely sits back and watches. The rest of the cast gives suitable to above average performances, especially Antony Sher as Prime Minister Disraeli, with a few stinkers thrown in for good measure. An interesting social commentary for the time period and a sometimes sumptuous look behind the closed doors of the British Empire, even if it was over a hundred years ago. With a bizarre and sometimes boorish beginning film picks up speed and Dench herself brings life to a picture that would have been dead without her. She gives so much to the film that it actually becomes a very good film.

Awards Prospects

Almost guaranteed an Actress nod for Judi Dench, chances include: Cinematography, Art Direction/Set Decoration and Costume Design

Review Written

Unknown

Grosse Pointe Blank

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Rating

Director

George Armitage

Screenplay

Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack

Length

1h 47m

Starring

John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Hank Azaria, K. Todd Freeman, Jeremy Piven, Mitchell Ryan, Michael Cudlitz, Benny Urquidez

MPAA Rating

Basic Plot

Martin Q. Blank now has a job as a hitman. During one of his assignments, his secretary, Marcella informs him of his High School Reunion. He is also assigned an assassination in the same town as he grew up. When he arrives in town for the assassination/reunion, he runs into a lost love, Debi Newberry and soon discovers that his hit is her father.

Review

Expertly written and fashioned. The acting is quite good and the music adds a lot. There’s not much that can be said about the film that is bad, save for a pitiful performance by Dan Aykroyd, who once received an Oscar nomination for Driving Miss Daisy. Aykroyd is in low form and turns his character into a poor excuse for one. John Cusack, Minnie Driver and Joan Cusack, however all perform above expectations and bring the film back from Aykroyd’s blunders. The humor isn’t dumbed down for everyone, but is slight enough for most people to gather the more interesting jokes and the intellects to capture the others. If you’re a fan of ’80s musicn you’ll love this film.

Awards Prospects

John Cusack turns in a great performance and the writing of the film is above par, look for at least a nod for Original Screenplay, if not for acting.

Review Written

Unknown

The Myth of Fingerprints

The Myth of Fingerprints (1997)

Rating

Director

Bart Freundlich

Screenplay

Bart Freundlich

Length

1h 33m

Starring

Julianne Moore, Roy Scheider, Hope Davis, Blythe Danner, Noah Wyle, Laurel Holloman, Michael Vartan, Chris Bauer

MPAA Rating

Basic Plot

After a multiple year absence from Thanksgiving dinner with the family, Warren returns home. One of his sisters has a new boyfriend, one is into foot massaging, his brother also has a new girlfriend, his father remains distant and his mother is a warm, nurturing parent with an ascerbic wit on the side. Skeletons come out of the woodwork to make for an interesting three days at home.

Review

After a onslaught of comedies this year, some with great passion and wonderful reparte, others with stupid gags and other moronic attributes, it is refreshing to find a dramma filled with some great comedic moments. The comedy is one of the best parts of the film other is the tremendous ensemble, one of the most talented I have seen this year. Bart Freundlich is a director that I hope to see more of, if only he quits using so many exterior house shots in his films. Heading this brilliant cast are Noah Wyle, Julianne Moore, Roy Scheider and Blythe Danner. The women, of course, are the most powerful and Danner and Moore give great performances, that would be Oscar-calibre in a less crowded year. Wyle and Scheider give stand up performances, while Scheider doesn’t give it all he’s got, his screen presence is enough. Wyle continues to amaze me and I feel he’s one of the brightest up-and-coming actors of today.

Awards Prospects

Although Julianne Moore gives a great performance, all it will serve is to boost her nomination to Best Supporting Actress for Boogie Nights.

Review Written

Unknown

Men in Black

Men in Black (1997)

Rating

Director

Barry Sonnenfeld

Screenplay

Ed Solomon (Comic: Lowell Cunningham)

Length

1h 38m

Starring

Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, Siobhan Fallon, Mike Nussbaum, Jon Gries, Sergio Calderón, Carel Struycken, Fredric Lane

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Basic Plot

To prevent an alien craft from destroying the Earth, Agents J and K (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) must stop an insect from escaping with the whereabouts of the Galaxy alien ship is looking for.

Review

There are some good comic parts to the film and the acting doesn’t seem to have any problems. The plot is rather shallow at times, but plays the perfect background for the intense, sometimes childish, sometimes intelligent humor of the film.