Movie Reviews

By John S.

Practical Magic

Raised by their aunts (Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing), Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) are taught skills in practical magic and served chocolate cake for breakfast. Their childhood is anything but ordinary. Their family history is even more unusual. It began in 1690, with Maria Owens. Some people claimed she was a witch and others said she was cursed in love. In fact both were true and that curse has remained with the Owen women to this day. For generations, the women in this family have lost the men they love to untimely deaths. Sally and Gillian are determined to break the curse that has haunted their family for generations and that now threatens their lives.

Antz

As the long, orderly lines of bugs invade our kitchens and yards we may stare and wonder and never feel quite as comfortable calling the exterminator. In Antz, Woody Allen plays a nervous, nerdy…. Well, he just plays himself in the form of an animated ant named Z-4195, a misfit, non-conforming ant in a regimented world longing to become an individual and gain the affections of the unattainable princess ant, Bala (Sharon Stone). Featuring the voices of stars such as Dan Aykroyd, Sylvester Stallone, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman and Jane Curtin, this computer animated call for individualism also flaunts the state of the art technology which promises to give audiences the smoothest and cleanest animation that they have ever seen!

Rush Hour

When the daughter of the Chinese ambassador is kidnapped, the ambassador calls on his friend, Detective Lee (Jackie Chan) of the Hong Kong Police Department, to find her. The FBI is already on the case and doesn't want Lee in the way. They assign new agent James Carter (Chris Tucker) to assist. His job: to baby-sit Lee and keep him out of the FBI's way. Matters are further complicated when an LAPD specialist (Elizabeth Pena) is called in to help. Seeing this as his chance to break through the ranks of the FBI, Carter joins forces with Lee to covertly solve the case.

What Dreams May Come

Chris and Annie (Robin Williams and Annabella Sciorra) are more than a husband and wife - they are soul mates. They plan on spending the rest of their lives together in matrimonial bliss until fate steps in and Chris dies tragically. Chris finds himself in Heaven, where his afterlife guide, Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr.), makes the transition from a mortal existence easier. But life behind the pearly gates leaves Chris feeling empty. He misses his wife desperately and finds that his soul feels incomplete without her. In an attempt to reunite with Annie, he enlists the help of a 'tracker' (Max Von Sydow) and travels to the very depths of the Underworld in search of her. This movie sets a new definition to the meaning of love.

A Night at the Roxbury

Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan are the Roxbury Guys, Steve and Doug Butabi. These two men about town want nothing more than to get into the best clubs and be a part of the ultra hip nightlife in the big city. Their goals in life don't stray too far from their nightly pursuits either; they dream of one day opening their own club. Their flashy behavior attracts the attention of Vivica and Cambi (Elisa Donovan and Gigi Rice) two gold-digging supermodels that try to work the Roxbury Guys for their money, only to find out that there isn't much more to the Butabi men than appearances. Steve and Doug are broke!

Urban Legends

Alicia Witt plays the beautiful, assertive Natalie, a student at Pendleton College in New England. When classmates start dying under bizarre circumstances, Natalie is convinced that the deaths are related to Urban Legends and an abnormal psych professor that killed six students and committed suicide when he got a little abnormal himself thirty years ago. Why should the past stay dead when movie formulas don't? Rebecca Gayheart plays Brenda, the disbelieving supportive best friend. Jared Leto plays the dreamy journalism major, Paul, functioning as "Doubting Thomas." Robert Englund is the poor man's Vincent Price as the professor of Urban Legends. Hey! Maybe he? Nah! What's a heroine in a horror movie to do when no one believes her? Watch people die until the killer comes her way. That's one of the problems with a homicidal maniac, when he figures out you're after him, he'll try to get you first.

Ronnin

In a Paris warehouse, six international covert operative experts meet for the first time after being hired by an unknown employer to steal a mysterious briefcase. Their assignment will require them to carry out the most deadly and mysterious mission of their lives. These field soldiers all served during the Cold War and some hold secrets that could overthrow governments. An American named Sam (Robert De Niro) is a leader in strategic battle and may be their only hope. Or, is he? As director John Frankenheimer puts it, "Ronin is a movie where things are not what they appear to be."

Psycho

A lonely motel on a rainy night. A sandwich in the parlor. And of course, a shower. On December 4th, Universal Pictures is releasing a "recreation" of the original horror film that has terrified audiences for nearly forty years. Psycho (1960), made at the height of Alfred Hitchcock's career, was a low budget black and white thriller that became an instant hit with audiences across the country. Now, thirty-eight years later, a group of filmmakers will try to duplicate that success with a faithful adaptation. Director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) is directing the film using the original shooting script (with only minor modifications from the film's original screenwriter Joseph Stefano) in an effort to perfectly recreate the feel of the original. Composer Danny Elfman (A Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands) is supervising the re-recording of Bernard Herrmann's legendary all-string score.

Wizard of Oz on ice is worth seeing

By Ericka H.

The Wizard of Oz on ice is a spectacular production by Kenneth Field that follows the story line of the movie Wizard of Oz with a few extra scenes. Though the story is the same as the movie, I'll summarize it to refresh your memory. It starts out with Dorothy having hateful feelings toward Miss Gulch because she took Toto, Dorothy’s dog. Dorothy of course does not like this idea so she cries and cries. Toto, however, escapes and jumps through her window and this makes Dorothy VERY happy. She decides to run away with Toto to a fortuneteller who tells her what pain her family is going through without her. So she goes back home. On the way she is caught in a twister, and since the shelter is locked she goes in her room and puts her head under a pillow.

Before long Dorothy arrives in the Land of Oz where she encounters many munchkins and Glinda the Good witch of the North. Glinda tells Dorothy that the only way to get home is by following the yellow brick road to the wizard in the Emerald City. On the way Dorothy encounters many things including the scarecrow, the cowardly lion, the tin man, evil monkeys, the wicked witch, and Jitter bugs. Until finally she gets to Oz where she finds out the wizard is all he is cracked up to be. But, he does pull through and they all receive what they need.

This production was put together very well and I do recommend that you go and see it whenever you can. All in all I would give it 3 stars.
* * *

By Mike M.

With paint spattering, cereal spewing and marshmallow masticating you are experiencing "Blue Man Group." This show is celebrating its first anniversary at Briar Street Theatre. There are performances daily, and tickets are available through March 3, 1999.

The performers are from Scotland, Vermont, and California. These three men are dressed in blue, are non-verbal, and beat drums with paint that splatter into the audiences of the first five rows wearing hooded plastic ponchos. If your clothes are dirtied, they will clean them for you. The Blue Men even pick volunteers out of the audience to go on stage and be part of a Twinkies scene.

These shows are consistently sold out and very messy. The secret of the show’s success is they bring people together. All different people get a chance to drop their barriers with a laugh. You must experience the Blue Man Group in order to appreciate their artistic style.