Movie Rental Recommendations -- I
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Coming in the wake of that excellent, fun movie "Scream," you may think this is a rip-off of that commercially successful movie. It isn't. It's a slicker, updated, less bloody "slasher" movie harking back to the heady days of the genre in the late 1970s, early '80s. It's a teen flick, no doubt, and it failed to grab hold of me with the story or even leave me wondering "which one did it." A solid weekend afternoon movie, but not a weekend feature.
IMDb | Other Reviews Parker Hodges
The Ice Storm
Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver and Christina Ricci all deliver career-best performances in this inexplicably overlooked by Oscar masterpiece. At first, Taiwanese director Ang Lee may seem like an odd choice for such a specifically American film, but he does a stunning job; both in attention to period detail (between this and "Boogie Nights," even the most ardent shag-carpet enthusiast is likely to be sated), and more importantly, in capturing the emotions that dwell just beneath the frozen surface. It's a quietly devastating picture.
IMDb | Other Reviews Andrew Wright
In & Out
A small-town English teacher's life is thrown into chaos after a former student tells the world the teacher is gay during his Oscar acceptance speech. On the eve of his wedding, Howard Brackett (played to comic perfection by Kevin Klein) tries desperately to convince his family, students, the media and himself that he's straight. The real story here is how a tight-knit community reacts to just the
possibility that there might be a homosexual among them. The teen actors who play Howard's students deliver funny, fresh and believable performances, unlike many of the "I Know Why Felicity Screamed At Dawson's Creek Last Summer" crowd. Unfortunately, the movie was thrown off by an out-of-place subplot about Howard's fiance's (Joan Cusack) waning self-esteem and weight issues. Still, this is a clever comedy and worthy rental.
IMDb | Other Reviews Denise Felder
In The Company Of Men
A find, this movie. It's an "indie" that's above the raw ones with solid acting, a tremendous story and sound directing. The first half hour will throw you -- the two guys don't have high opinions of the women they know -- but stick with it. The story ends up far, far from where it started and it's unlikely you'll figure out where that will be ... even if you think you do halfway through. A definite weekend feature.
IMDb | Other Reviews
Parker Hodges
In Too Deep
While eating popcorn and snowcaps, I must admit that I missed my mouth a couple of times because of some of the intense, gruesome scenes in this movie, which stars L.L. Cool and Omar Epps. L.L. plays a big-time drug kingpin named God. On the flip side, Epps plays an undercover cop, who, according to him, is the only one that can bring down God. Epps gets so deep into his undercover role, that he loses touch with reality, which puts him in conflict with not only his superiors, but causes problems in his personal life. If you're use to seeing the loveable side of rapper/actor L.L., you'll be surprised to see him in this role. This is not a good movie for small children to see, but if you have teens, they can understand this type of world and what happens if they get sucked into it.
Full Review | IMDb | Other Reviews Kim Kisner
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