Boxoffice-July.1995

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JOHNNY MNEMONIC •• Stamng Kcami Reeves, Dina Meyer, Dolph Linidgien and Ice-T. Directed by Robert Lotigo. Written by wmifon Gibson. I^xxbuxd by Don Ceo-niodij. A Sony /TriStar release. SFAction/Adventiae. Rated R for strong sci-fi idole^tce and language. Running time: 97 min. Award-winning cyberpunk author William Gibson's short story on which this film is based had a lot of potential for big-screen translation, but the tale shortcircuits in its celluloid execution. The filmmakers make the most of the visual medium with incredible computer effects rendering a brilliantly inventive vision of the future Internet interface, but the plot surrounding the technology a less than imagina- prognostications is tive race-against-time actioner enacted by utterly uninteresting thespians. Keanu Reeves stars as Johnny, a courier who, for a very high price, transports valuable information by downloading it into a computer implant in his brain. To earn enough money to buy back the piece of long-term memory he had to dump in order to make room for his cranial hard drive, he accepts a file transfer that's more than double his storage capabilities, causing life-threatening data seepage. As malevolent Pharmkom Corp. baddies steal part of the download code and chase Johnny with the intenfion of decapitating him to retrieve the information, our blank-eyed hero goes online and into the streets in search of someone who can get the information out before his head literally explodes. He hooks up with Jane (Dina Meyer), a saucy would-be bodyguard suffering from NAS, a technology-induced disease that has afflicted half the world. Of course, Jane and Johnny are to fall in love, but Reeves' portrayal of Johnny is so flat it's doubtful he would win anyone's affection, and there's little in the writing or rendering of this character that makes the audience care whether he lives or dies. Ice-T plays J-Bone, leader of the Loteks, a tribe-like resistance network of ragged hackers dedicated to decrypting corporation secrets. In a hammy performance as the Street Preacher, Dolph Lundgren's turn as a killer with a messiah complex who literally crucifies his victims is so silly he's annoying rather than frightening. And the ridiculous introduction of a computer "conscience," a digital personality imprint of Pharmkom's benevolent but now-deceased founder, does little to advance the plot, and instead seems like a shoddily worked-in facilitation of the far-out concept of combining science and parapsychology. There are a lot of great ideas here, but much more work should havi; been put into developing them, instead of throwing them all together and hitting "puree." The audience can only be diverted so long by cool laser-whips and neat-o graphics. —Oinsfiwc James REVIEWS CASPER •*• Stalling Christina Ricci, Bill Pidlman, Cathy Moriaitij and Eric Idle. Directed by Brad Silberling. Written by Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver. Produced by Colin Wilson. A Universal release. Comedy/Adventure. Rated PG for mild Imignage and tlietnatic elements. Running time: 96 min. Harvey Comics' classic "friendly ghost" and his trio of devilish uncles are brought to life in this entertaining Amblin production that also features four human stars and a batde of wills for the rights to Whipstaff Manor. Christina Ricci plays Kat, the daughter of eccentric psychotherapist Dr. James Harvey ("While You Were Sleeping's" Bill Pullman), whose specialty is therapy for wayward spirits. Dr. Harvey's goal is to contact his dearly departed wife (Amy Brenneman). When the ghostbuster is hired by a greedy heiress, Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty), to evacuate haunted Whipstaff, he gets more than he bargained, as he has to take on three feisty ghosts. Eric Idle provides plenty of slapstick humor as the heiress' bungling sidekick. But the movie's emotional bedrock is the friendship that builds between Kat and Casper, both ofwhom have been yearning for a friend. Although the seasoned Steven Spielberg executive produces, there are a lot of first-timers on this film, including the director, producer and screenwriters—which might account for some of its flaws. Although the effects for the manor and the Ghostly Trio are impressive, and the sound work adds a fine realistic quality, Casper's character more closely resembles a cardboard cutout than a ghost, and Crittenden's ghost looks like an overinflated balloon. Also, although apparently a tale intended for tots, too, some none-too-mild language could be objectionable to parents of young children. The actors work well with the ghostly effects. Newcomer Malachi Pearson is splendid as the voice of Casper, as are the voices of Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso. Cameos by Clint Eastwood, Dan Aykroyd and Father Guido Sarducci add amusing touches. But in the end "Casper" falls just short of being magical.— P«f Kramer A PURE FORMALITY •• Starring Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatorc. Written by Giuseppe Toniatore and Pascalc Qiiignard. Piodnccd by Mario & Vittorio Cecchi Gori. A Sony Classics release. Drama. French-language; sublilied. Rated I'G-IA for brief shocking violence and monunlary language. Running time: lOll min. A violent storm rages as an unidentified man (Gerard Depardieu) runs frantically through woods in the French countryside. The police, investigating a murder committed that evening, pick him up and take him to an isolated station for questioning. It's "just a formality," he's told. Under interrogation by the Inspector (Roman Polanski), the mangj' stranger says he is the famous novelist Onoff, though he carries no identification. What ensues is a sophisticated, often violent game of cat and mouse as the two men match wits and wills. Is this man really Onoff or an impostor' (Depardieu fans will recall a similar theme in his "The Return of Marfin Guerre" and "Colonel Chabert.") Is he responsible for the murder? If he's innocent, why does he keep changing his story? And' why does he suffer memory lapses? Mixing shades of "Sleuth" and Kafka, "A Pure Formality'" begins as an artful psychological thriller that asks the question, Is it possible to kill and not remember? But all is not as it seems, and a surprise ending proves the unfolding murder mystery plot to be a red herring. A deeper metaphysical mystery is revealed beneath all the misdirection, i transforming the proceedings into a meditation on the subjects of identity, memory, literature, existence and death. But the" result plays like a dreary cross between an absurdist play by existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre and" an episode of "The Twilight Zone." Director Giuseppe Tornatore, best known for his Oscar-winning "Cinema Paradise," abandons the emofion and warmth of earlier character-driven work for cool conceptualism. The title is apt, for the film possesses little vitality; it opts for a formal approach in its dramatization of philosophical issues. In spite of convincing performances by both Depardieu and Polanski (making a rare acting appearance outside a film of his own direction), the movie is an overly symbolic, talky exercise in art-house intellectualism masquerading as a modern thriller. The surprise ending might startle some theatregoers, but most are likely to find it a predictable and gimmicky conclusion to nearly two hours of pretentious prattle.— Mic/irtc/ Hailc FORGET PARIS •*** Starring Billy Ciystal, Dcbra Winger, Joe Mantegna and Cynthia Stevenson. Directed and produced by Billy Ctystal. Written by Billy Ciystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. A Columbia release. Romantic comedy. Rated PG- 13 for language, including some se.x-related dicdogue. Running time: 101 min. This romantic comedy marks Billy Crystal's second foray (after "Mr. Saturday Night") into directing and is a logical sequel to his l!i89 hit, "When Harry Met .Sally...." Here, the falling-in-love is but a blip on the screen, and th(; action fast- / forwards into post-honeymoon territory, examining the trials and tribulations that can troubli- a modern marriage. Crystal plays Mickey Gordon, a muchon-the-road pro basketball referee who | R-60 BOXOFFICK
REVIEWS exits bachelorhood when he meets airhne executive Ellen Andrews (Debra Winger), an American living in Paris. Using a fullcourt-press of his charms, Mickey woos her and wins her— and then their troubles begin. Ellen gives up her beloved Paris and position and moves into Mickey's L.A. apartment [a sort of shrine to ESPN) while he continues his itinerant life working the NBA games. Left alone, her discontent and resentment build. When he agrees to take a year off from refereeing, the crisis is only delayed, because now it's his turn to burn. Some of the best shots and funniest exchanges occur on-court between Mickey and NBA stars doing cameo turns, including Charles Barkley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Isiah Thomas. Crystal and fellow scribers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel capture the strife and compromise of married life with a blend of realism and humor. Their storytelling is aided by the fine supporting cast (Joe Mantegna, Cynthia Stevenson, Ilichard Masur, Julie Kavner, John Spencer and Cathy Moriarty) who, as Mickey and Ellen's mutual friends, tell the story in flashback while sitting in a restaurant awaiting the duo's arrival. The film has the ingredients (laughs aplenty, good storytelling, fine direction— and Billy Crystal) to make it a water-cooler movie, with weekend attendees spreading the word to their office mates. —Paula Hess DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE ^^^1/2 starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Irons. Directed by John McTicman. Written by Jonathan Hensleigh. Produced by John McTicman and Michael Tadross. A Fox release. Action. Rated R for strong violence and pervasive strong language. Running time: 128 niin. 'Tort Knox— it's for tourists!" sniffs the newest "Die Hard" Germanic bad guy, Simon (Jeremy Irons, doing a human Scar). He's after the $140 billion in the New York Federal Reserve, the repository of the gold holdings of many European nations, and he doesn't care how many Big Apple department stores, subway stations, water dams and cargo ships he has to blow up to acquire it. One thing he should worry about, though, is Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis), who Simon has racing around New York in a particularly dangerous variant of the children's pastime Simon Says. The game is all a feint to draw the police forces of New York away from the real action, but McClane— now partnered with a white-hating Harlem store owner named Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson)— sees through the ruse, and the real game is on. In audience terms, this Fox/Cinergi co-production is a sequel's sequel by both definitions: This III sets at least a silver standard for other sequels to go by, and summer audiences— already roused by the likes of "Bad Boys" and "Crimson Tide" — can be expected to start Hollywood'ssummer off with abigbang. In artistic terms, though, it's less successful, as Jonathan Hensleigh's script bounces between a right-on reality that's truly frightening and stretches of believability for which there's only more frenetic action to attempt damage control. In terms of that action, the film's first half is far more successful than its second, in which one bomb turns out to be a fake and another, which seems large enough to flatten Manhattan, proves just potent enough to toss McClane and Zeus from a boat into the water. The denouement is over too quickly; unlike the satisfying length of the slow-motion fall and jetfuel-fuse bad-guy death dramatics of parts one and two, "Die Hard With a Vengeance" ends so swiftly it doesn't fulfill its title's promise.— Ki'in Williamson CRIMSON TIDE ••1/2 Starring Dcnzcl Washington and Gene Hacknian. Directed by Tony Scott. Written by Michael Schiffer. Produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. A Bucna Vista release. Action/thriller. Rated R for strong language. Running time: 115 min. Better than run-of-the-mill but not nearly as good as it might have been, the cliche-ridden "Crimson Tide" is destined to do some prettj' brisk business around the globe, largely because the films it draws so heavily on (some of which are granted a fast oral homage when crewmen entertain themselves by reeling off submarine movie titles) are so distant as to make "Crimson Tide" seem new. Viewers will no doubt be reminded of Tom Clancy novels tlianks to this film's popcorn political milieu and its emphasis on military hardware, but the real inspirations behind this Hollywood Pictures production are the platoon movies of the WWII era and Cold War sea-hunt fodder like "The Bedford Incident" and "Ice Station Zebra." Denzel Washington is the idealistic young XO sent to sea with a Queeg/Blighiike egomaniacal captain (Gene Hackman) on the U.S. nuclear submarine Alabama. Renegade Russian right-'s\'ingers have seized control of some of Russia's nuclear weapons and submarines, and the U.S. military is on its highest state of alert since the Cuban missile crisis. A renegade Akula-class Russian sub attacks our heroes, damaging their ability to receive radio messages and sending their craft plummeting toward a depth of 1 ,850 feet, where water pressure would crush their ship like an egg— but at the last possible minute the ship rights itself. That's a good thing, because Washington has relieved Hackman of command owing to a disagreement over whether or not they've been ordered to launch their nuclear missiles against Russia. Hackman counters by leading a mutiny in an attempt to fire his missiles from a location in the lower decks. He's just about to launch four nukes but at the last possible minute Washington retakes control on the bridge. This makes both men furious, so Hackman, Washington and their respective loyalists square off at gunpoint, ready to shoot each other rather than risk opposing courses of action that each man believes may result in global nuclear annihilation. But at the last possible minute... And so it goes, in a plot that, despite some surface cleverness, repeats itself endlessly (there are two scenes of commanding officers being arrested, and two armed mutinies) and never delves into the subterranean depths of possibility that its underwritten script guesses at but fails to sound. The "war of wits" between Hackman and Washington has more than a bit of untapped potential; both are fine actors in top form, but after a promising start (with Hackman needling Washington, Ahab-like, in ways that suggest ulterior and dark desires) "Crimson Tide" givesboth men little to do but shout orders and sweat profusely. Director Tony Scott is among the most enjoyable of the new generation of stylish movie hacks, and his work here (aided by wonderful underwater effects footage) is tidy and brisk. He lights a submarine the way he lights just about everything— like a blue jeans commercial, all long lenses and gritty diffusion. But it's an attractive enough look, and Scott knows how to move his plot along quickly, a necessary talent when there's this much political mumbo jumbo and military technobabble to get through. Given its intriguing premise ("under what circumstances can an executive officer relieve his captain of command?") and high level of craft, a better movie than "Crimson Tide" could undoubtedly have been made with these raw materials. But that won't keep Disney (and resurgent producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer) from laughing all the way to the bank.— Ray Greene ••• FRENCH KISS Staning Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline and Timothy Hiitton. Directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Written by Adam Brooks. Produced by Tim Sevan, Eric Fellner, Meg Ryan and Katliryn F. Galan. A Fox release. Romantic comedy. Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, language and drug references. Running time: 111 min. As in "When Harry Met Sally..." and "I.Q.," Meg Ryan here portrays another spunky charmer, the kind of role that's made her the dominant romantic comedienne of the '90s. (Make that the "early '90s," now that Sandra Bullock has arrived.) As Kate, Ryan plays a fiancee who, learning that her betrothed (Timothy Hutton) has dumped her for a young French lass, jets to Paris to woo him back. Her transatlantic seatmate is Luc (Kevin Kline), a Frenchman of questionable in- July, 1995 R-61
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Boxoffice-July.1995

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