Movie Rental Recommendations -- CA-CO
Can't Hardly Wait
Anyone who misses the John Hughes movies of the 1980s will relish this return to the teen party movie. The gang's all back: the overachieving Anthony Michael Hall-type geek; the too-cool-for-this Molly Ringwald-type girl; the John Cusack boy-next-door type; and the pretty-boy Tom Cruise-type dumb jock. Also back is the carefree (but realistic) representation of teen drinking and the parent-free party. What's updated for the 90s is the introduction of the white-boy hip hop Marky Mark-type character, taking the place of the punk/biker Judd Nelson type, and the addition of an actual personality to the Jami Gertz prom queen type.
IMDb | Other Reviews Denise Felder
Carried Away
CARRIED AWAY features revelatory performances by Dennis Hopper and Amy Irving in a film directed by Irving's life partner filmmaker Bruno Baretto. Hopper plays Joseph, a schoolteacher in a tiny Texas town. Irving is Rosalie, a fellow schoolteacher with whom he has had a safe and comfortable affair. But when a 17-year-old nymphet named Catherine moves to town, Joseph finds himself getting carried away and really living for the first time. This is a Hopper performance you've never seen before-- An unattractive broken man who is devoted to his dying mother, who doesn't want to take chances. And this is probably the best role Amy Irving has had -- a repressed woman with a desperate need to get carried away with the man she loves. The details of small town life are pretty accurate, but there is very little joy in this tale till the very end. Its rated R.
IMDb Other Reviews Debra Scott
Casper
Casper the friendly ghost is the friendliest ghost I know, and that you will know too. The big-budget super-dooper movie version of "Casper" is sure to delight youngsters and oldsters alike. It's chock full of sweet characters, thrill park rides, and special effects by Industrial Light And Magic that will make you believe in ghosts. Fun for the kids comes in cute little Casper and his odious uncles, sorta of like Cinderella and the wicked stepsisters. For the adults there's groaner puns, eye popping special effects and sets, and special celebrity cameos. Special kudos to the hilarious comic timing of Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle as the villans. There are some problems, like an unnecessary subplot about jealous classmates, and Bill Pullman tries a bit too hard to play a convincing eccentric. But in the end this bewitching tale of a ghost and his girl will leave you enchanted. Its rated PG.
IMDb Other Reviews Debra Scott
Celebrity
I'm a Woody Allen fan, usually making allowances for his occasional egocentric indulgences. But "Celebrity" features an unforgivable one: making poor Kenneth Branagh spend the whole film doing a Woody Allen impression. No doubt Woods would have done the role himself if it hadn't looked preposterous to have a 63-year old dude who looked bizarre when he was 20 leaving the beautiful Famke Janssen for the more-beautiful-than-anyone-else-in-history Winona Ryder. There is still a lot to like to the film (did I mention Winona Ryder?), including some interesting characters and plots that only show up in movies that have real pros doing the writing.
IMDb | Other Reviews
Ed Dykhuizen
Chasing Amy
One movie that I wanted to watch again right after I saw it. It is the best movie I've seen all year. It deals with difficult relationship situations and does a great job. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next and what the characters were going to do. To top it off the movie is hilarious. I had tears in my ears I was laughing so hard. A solid Friday or Saturday night date movie.
IMDb | Other Reviews Jon Errickson
Bad-boy filmmaker Kevin Smith (of "Clerks" and "Mallrats" infamy) grows up a bit with this sincerely heartfelt portrayal of a romance besieged on all sides. (Viewers of a sensitive nature should be warned, however, that the director's notorious case of potty mouth has, if anything, intensified.) Stars-on-the-rise Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams (Smith's real-life paramour during filming) are both utterly charming in the leads. But the real story here is Smith mainstay Jason Lee, who effortlessly steals every single scene he's in. This movie, which Smith obviously based on personal experience, gets so many of the little things about relationships right that it's easy to overlook the few missteps along the way. Flaws and all, this is one of the best films of the year.
Andrew Wright
China Moon
Here's one of those that slides by with little attention, toward the end of the '80s I think, but is a good
film noir movie. Good, but not great. It has Ed Harris in the lead, playing the good man trapped in the bad circumstances and trying to do right by everyone, even though he doesn't know who to trust. He doesn't know who is telling him the truth. A Friday, Saturday night feature in a pinch, otherwise this one is good for a steamy summer evening after a barbecue, the windows open, the welcome breeze coming through. The last 20 minutes or so comes out of left field.
IMDb | Other Reviews
Parker Hodges
City Hall
I'd seen this one twice before and it was just as good the third time. You think this is a thriller, and the story has those elements. You think it's a mystery, and it has those elements. You think it's a big city political review, and it has those elements. But, at its core, this is a story about a mentor and protege and the two actors -- Al Pacino as the New York City Mayor and John Cusak as his deputy mayor. The story is awesome, well-written and anything but predictable and the acting is first rate. A good Friday or Saturday night feature.
IMDb | Other Reviews Parker Hodges
CITY HALL reminds me of that old saying, "You can't fight city hall." Well in this film you can't fight the fact that Al Pacino and John Cusack represent some of the finest actors in the movies today. Pacino plays the mayor of New York City and Cusack is his deputy mayor. When a 6-year-old boy is gunned down in the streets, a victim of gun play between a drug dealer and an off-duty cop, the city is outraged and Pacino's Mayor Pappas is out on the front lines making a public display of his concern for the victims and the moral fiber of the city. But the ensuing investigation shows the big apple is rotten to the core. Pacino is in rare form and Cusack is memorable as the man who doggedly pursues justice. Unfortunately the story could use some fresh writing, and Bridget Fonda's role as an advocate for one victim's wife is pretty much a throwaway. But if you want to see Al Pacino in a role he was born to play "City Hall" is a must see. Its rated R.
IMDb Other Reviews
Debra Scott
City Of Angels
If Hollywood must persist in cranking out big-budget retreads of classic films, then this is the way to do it -- as a subtle, intelligent reimagining of the source material (in this case Wim Wenders' ethereally lovely 1987 "Wings Of Desire"), rather than a slavish frame-by-frame duplication. It's hard to imagine Nicolas Cage hasn't used all his different facets as an actor, but he delivers another inspired performance here as an angel who falls in love with Meg Ryan. The plot come close at times to shifting into "Touched By An Angel" style hokum (the spirits interact with humanity more than in the original film), but director Brad Silberling does a superb job of keeping the narrative grounded. (He also makes his L.A. locations look almost as fresh and new as Wenders' Berlin.) On its own terms, this is an unusually resonant romantic drama; as a remake, it's borderline miraculous.
IMDb | Other Reviews Andrew Wright
A Civil Action
The movie is based on a true story about an attorney (played by John Travolta) and his greed. It actually did a pretty decent job of making you feel sorry for the lawyers. But because the movie focused on the attorneys, it didn't do a very good job of making you feel for the families affected by the factories. I understand the movie is based on a real court case, and without a doubt it was an important one for the history law books. But as a movie for the silver screen, it was a waste of precious time. I think we've gotten used to compelling court scenes or riveting closing arguments in John Grisham-like films. You will see none of that here. I did think Robert Duvall did an excellent job with his character. He was quite amusing. Overall, it was only slightly better as a TV movie.
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Garmen Shiu
Clueless
On the surface, the spoiled Beverly Hills high school students at the center of this film seem as shallow as the title suggests. And its easy to assume the movie would follow suit. But what this comedy actually turns out to be is a satirical look at today's teens and how they apply old-fashioned values to their overindulgent lifestyles. Amy Heckerling's vision of Alicia Silverstone's Cher and her clique provide an outrageous pallet to showcase the vernacular and high fashions of the 90s mall teen. An interesting and entertaining modern interpretation of Jane Austen's "Emma."
IMDb | Other Reviews Denise Felder
The Color Purple
This is the best film adaptation of a novel I've ever seen. And the ending makes me cry every time I see it. The ultimate chick flick.
IMDb | Other Reviews Denise Felder
Con Air
If you enjoyed the edited-in-a-blender mass of explosions and one-liners that was "The Rock," producer Jerry Bruckheimer's even more chaotic follow-up is definitely the movie for you. The plot itself is no great shakes -- it's basically an reprisal of the Legion of Doom from the old "Superfriends" cartoon, with a chrome-domed John Malkovitch as Lex Luthor. But an occasionally witty script and a first-rate collection of slumming actors (including John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, and Nicolas Cage, reprising his "Raising Arizona" accent) manage to keep this flick airborne for a surprisingly long time before it finally collapses under the weight of its own testosterone.
IMDb | Other Reviews Andrew Wright
CON AIR has the shear audacity to lift from movies like Mission Impossible, and Silence of the Lambs and leave you marveling at it's take-no-prisoners attitude. Don't try to make sense of the plot -- you'll end up missing the best stuff. The story concerns a bunch of the meanest convicts around who are being transferred to a new maximum-security prison; and a recently paroled con, played by a pumped-up Nicholas Cage hitching a ride. Of course the cons hijack the plane, and Cage plays along till he can get help. Inconsistencies abound, but taken as a comedy-thriller it flies on by. Standouts in the cast include John Malkovich, playing his patented smart-talking lunatic-- named Cyrus the Virus, Steve Buscemi as a Hannibal Lechter-like serial killer and Ving Rhames as Diamond Dog. Of course, any movie with a line like "Don't move, or the bunny gets it," can't be all bad. Hang on for the ride of your life because CON AIR is in flight. Its rated R.
IMDb Other Reviews
Debra Scott
Conspiracy Theory
In CONSPIRACY THEORY, Jerry the cabbie, played by Mel Gibson, is the ultimate paranoid. He harangues his customers with all his wacky ideas of machinations. Like director Oliver Stone working for George Bush spreading disinformation! A quirky and mesmerizing performance by Gibson sets the pace for this uneven thriller that at once seems to be a hallucination and a comedy. Julia Roberts is the Justice Department lawyer who Jerry is obsessed with-- both personally and as a way to get his warnings to the proper authorities. But do they have a previous connection? What significance does Jerry's obsession with Catcher in the Rye have? And who are those men in black? CONSPIRACY THEORY is beautifully shot with terrific music to enhance the surreal experience. Its rated R.
IMDb Other Reviews Debra Scott
Contact
CONTACT tries to put a scientific face on the question: Is there life in outer space? It starts out beautifully, but then switches into hyper drive and loses its way from reality. Jodie Foster is one of our finest actresses, with stunning features that can be glamorous, or girl-next-door cute. She scores again with this film based on a novel by the Carl Sagen. She's an astronomer working on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence program. But her work is the joke of serious scientists-- until she finally hears a transmission from deep space, which ends up being blueprints for an intergalactic transport. Eventually she gets to be the one to try it out and the machine propels her into a world where she can talk to her dead father. But was it real or just a dream? CONTACT is rated PG.
IMDb Other Reviews Debra Scott
Copland
This movie isn't what I expected. I thought it would be a gritty, police corruption shoot-'em-up but I was definitely tossed a curve ball. The corruption and violence is nearly all unseen, left in the background. Sylvester Stallone is the central character and is top notch. His performance will really surprise you. The rest of the cast is superb, too, as is the writing, and especially the story. A pack of NYPD cops moves to a small, New Jersey town for privacy and hire a patsy sheriff to keep it that way. Until ... This is definitely a solid weekend feature movie.
IMDb | Other Reviews Parker Hodges
I rented this based on Parker's review, it and didn't disappoint (the movie or Parker's review). You might be thinking "Stallone as a cop, how many people does he kill?" This movie will surprise you. Sly does a great job playing the role of a sheriff who is a little slow in a small town just across the river from New York. It is a haven for corrupt cops. There's a lot of big names in this one. I'm with Parker, solid weekend rental.
Jon Errickson
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