Boxoffice-July.1997

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SPECIAL FORMATS
REVIEWS
FOUR MILLION
HOUSEGUESTS •••1/2
Starring Charlotte Sullivan and
C. David Johnson. Voice work by
James Garner. Directed by Paul
Cox. Produced by Mitey Cinema,
Sally Dundas, Barbara Kerr and
Lome Orleans. An Imax Corp. release.
Documentary/drama. Unrated.
Running time: 45 min.
Format: IMAX 3-D.
JUMPIN' JIMINY: A leaping spider
(viewed via electron microscope) in
IMAX's "Four Million Houseguests.
Four million houseguests sounds like the
kind of intrusion that could occur before a
wedding or during a natural disaster. In
this case, it's a new IMAX 3-D offering.
This kind of movie can deliver at least two
things: eye strain and hat hair. Its images
are made three-dimensional via a relatively
new technique: An infrared light is sent from
36 transmitters at the top of the giant screen
to sensors on audience members' 3-D
gbsses. This sets off the "opening" and
closing" of left and then right virtual shutters
in the glasses. The shutter effect is created
by liquid crystal lenses that become black
and clear. Tnis, of course, all happens very
quickly: 95 times per second.
At a recent California screening at the
Edwards IMAX 3-D Theatre at its Irvine 2
Megaplex, director Paul Cox was on
hand to answer the important questions of
children in the audience, such as, "Where
did you get oil that stuff?"
"All that stuff" includes time-lapse photography
of molding fruit, Schlieren photography
revealing patterns of heat in the
reptiles and insects changing color,
air,
and the star of the show: fantastic riigh (up
to 40,000x) magnification, high-contrast
black-and-white images from an electron
microscope that made moths and spiders
kjok like film noir actors. But the film conveys
great sense of wonder and whimsy.
Through the use of high-tech microscopes
and low-tech mechanical toys, it encourages
children and adolescents to explore.
C^x reminds that "3-D goes in, not just
out. It embraces you, brings you in."
This movie deserves a tremendous
kudos for its heavy use of synch sound
and an emphasis on character over scenery.
The director describes it as "a small
film on a very large screen." The tone is
purposeful, the movement unhurried. The
movie's personae ore calm and caring.
Contrasting his characters with others.
Cox states, "So many people in films are
not the kind of people I like to
spend my life with." This is true enough.
You just wish that one of these nice people
would toss you on aspirin.
Ann K'wmn
MEXICO •••
Narrated by Martin Sheen (in English)
and Enrique Rocha (in Spanish).
Directed and produced by
Lorena M. Parlee. Written by Carlos
Fuentes, Carlos Blanco Aguinaga
and Lorena M. Parlee. A Sol films
production. Documentary. Unrated.
Running time: 43 min.
Format: IMAX.
Vivid and fast-moving, "Mexico" is a
colorful montage exploding with color,
music and legend. From the tall, futuristic
skyscrapers in its modern cities to the
3,000-year-old ruins of its ancient civilizations,
"Mexico" weaves together the
country's many diverse cultural aspects in
presenting an elaborate 70mm mosaic. It
was selected for Oscar consideration in
1 995, and it was the first IMAX film chosen
to screen at the annual Montreal fest.
Technically, the film is a visual masterpiece:
Award-winning documentary producer/director
Lorena M. Parlee (who
made Showscan's "Concerto for the
Earth" and the Emmy- and CINE Golden
Eagle-winning documentary "Ballad of an
Unsung Hero") has assembled on impressive,
internationally recognized team
of feature and documentary filmmakers.
Three cinemotogrophers contribute bold
shots—veteran tMAX DP David Douglas
("Blue Planet," "Rolling Stones: At the
Max"), Oscar winner Haskell Wexler
("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,"
'Bound for Glory") and Ariel-winning
Mexican cinematographer Alex Phillips
("Evito," "Murphy s Law")—and James
Neihouse provides beautiful, sweeping
aerial photography. To that, composer
Daniel Voldez {''la Bombo," "Zoot Suit")
odds an original score of music integrating
ancient rhythms with modern life
sounds. Actor Martin Sheen provides a
poetic recitation of Mexican novelist Carlos
Fuentes' inspiring text.
The result: "Mexico" is a gorgeous film
to watch. For those unfamiliar with the
country's sights, however, it falls short by
failing to idientify many locations it fleetingly
visits. In creating an aura of mystique
about the country, "Mexico" has
inadvertently contributed to keeping it in
the dark. With the simple addition of titles,
this film could be a useful vehicle in
promoting the many resources that Mexico
has to offer.—Pof Kramer
His music here—as always, rather like assembly-line
machinery come to life after
hours and riffmg the night away—is so
integral to the progression of each scene
that one could imagine the script and the
score being written at the same time, note
after word, note after word. As for Besson,
the talented Frenchman here stripmines
rather than excavates his usual dark concerns.
In "The Fifth Element," the blackest
he gets is beige. Kim Williamson
FATHERS' DAY ••l/Z
Starring Robin Williams, Billy Crystal,
Charlie Hojheimer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
and Nastassja Kinski. Directed by Ivan
Reitman. Written by Lowell Ganz and
Babaloo Mandel. Produced by Joel Silver
and Ivan Reitman. A Warner Bros, release.
Comedy. Rated PG-13for some sexrelated
humor and drug references.
Running time: 101 min.
This farcical comedy, based on the
French film "Les Comperes," is really — just
a set-up for two star comedians "The
Birdcage's" Robin Williams and "Forget
Paris"" Billy Crystal—to riff and roll off
each other while they steer moviegoers
through a simple story about two very different
men on the road together searching
for a teenage runaway, Scott ("Boys'
Charlie Hofheimer), who one of them might
or might not have sired 17 years earlier.
This is not the successful translation that
"The Birdcage" (based on French film "La
Cage aux Folles") was for Williams.
"Fathers" Day" lacks the unique and classy
mix of hilarious physical comedy churned
with charmingly emotional sentiment. Williams
and Crystal are funny, but the sheer
nature of their personalities overwhelms
this mild-mannered movie, and neither ever
completely settle into his role.
Director Ivan Reitman ("Junior") gets
sidetracked by his stars and forgets to make
the story believable, real or understandable.
Nastassja Kinski ("Faraway, So Close!") is
wasted in an inexplicable role as Collette,
the former amour who sets the wheels in
motion. Apparently, this mom is able to
track down two long-lost lovers and set
them on the trail of Scott, but she's completely
incapable of even trying to find her
son on her own; that's some kind of maternal
parenting. No wonder "Fathers' Day"
opened on Mother's Day. Susan Lambert
BREAKDOWN •••1/2
Starring Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh and
Kathleen Quinlan. Directed by Jonathan
Mostow. Written by Jonathan Mostowand
Sam Montgomery. Produced by Martha
De iMurentiis and Dino De iMurentiis. A
Paramount release. Thriller. Rated Rfor
strong violence and terror, and for language.
Running time: 95 min.
The gutsv. cathartic "Breakdown" mercifully
avoids the smug, arch quirkiness of
such pseudo-thrillers as "Fargo" and "Lost
Highway." As did such makers of classic
"B^' movies of the 1950s like Phil Karlson
and Don Siegel, writer/director Jonathan