Freeze Frames: The Monitor Movie Guide
Freeze Frames: The Monitor Movie Guide
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Here are the week's reviews of both the latest releases and current films, rated according to the key below (''o'' for forget it). The capsule reviews are by Monitor film critic David Sterritt; the one liners from a panel of at lease three other Monitor reviewers. Movies containing violence (V), sexual situations (S), nudity (N), and profanity (P) are noted.
o Forget it
* Only if it's free
** Maybe a matinee
*** Worth full price
**** Wait in line
New Releases
THE CRUCIBLE (PG-13)
*** Arthur Miller's classic drama about the 17th-century witch hunts in Salem, Mass., touched off when a group of girls are caught having a wild party, blame the devil for their crimes, and bolster their defense by accusing local women of consorting with the forces of evil. Winona Ryder, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joan Allen, and Paul Scofield head the cast. Effectively if unexcitingly directed by Nicholas Hytner. V S N
DAYLIGHT (PG-13)
** A busy New York City tunnel has collapsed on a rush-hour crowd, but a former paramedic played by Sylvester Stallone is on hand to rescue the handful of people still alive and scrambling for safety. The action doesn't make much sense, but it has a tad more inventiveness than the usual Stallone epic, and Amy Brenneman and Claire Bloom lend it an extra touch of class. Rob Cohen directed. V P
EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU (R)
*** Making his first musical, Woody Allen focuses on a lovelorn author and a wealthy Manhattan family whose members have a variety of interrelated adventures. The story and style are as catchy and carefree as any in Allen's career. But skeptics will observe that his view of human nature remains narrow and shallow beneath its beguiling surfaces. Allen stars along with Drew Barrymore, Alan Alda, Tim Roth, and Julia Roberts. P S
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN (Not rated)
** Nonfiction look at a American Army division that battled Nazi forces on skis in mountainside combat during World War II. The lively but uneven film was made by George Gage and Beth Gage. V P
JEAN LA PUCELLE (Not rated)
*** Joan of Arc's courageous career is the subject of this intimate epic by Jacques Rivette, one of France's most brilliant filmmakers. Sandrine Bonnaire combines persuasive realism with an almost mythic sense of purpose in her portrayal of the title character, aided by Rivette's elegant and eloquent visual style. V
101 DALMATIaNS (G)
*** Live-action remake of the classic Walt Disney animation about a fur-obsessed woman who kidnaps 101 pooches so she can make a luxurious coat from their silky fur. The story seems awfully far-fetched when real people play the characters, but the canines are cute and Glenn Close was born to play Cruella De Vil, the monstrous magnate who sets the plot in motion. Directed by Stephen Herek. Contains a great deal of cartoonish violence that might be too strong for very young viewers. V
**** Fun, colorful, cute.
RIDICULE (R)
*** In the time of Louis XIV, as revolutionary flames are beginning to sizzle, a French engineer enters the royal court to propose a new drainage and sanitation system that will improve the nation's life immeasurably. But he finds himself surrounded by a network of petty rivalries in which a well-timed witticism can cut down an entire career. Patrice Leconte's dark comedy is splendidly acted by Jean Rochefort and Fanny Ardant, among others. Look out for some visually jarring scatological humor near the beginning, though. S N P V
THE SUBSTANCE OF FIRE (R)
*** Isaac has devoted his life to publishing serious books in a meticulous way, but now his children want to turn the business in a more popular direction. His anger about this is worsened by encroaching illness and reawakened memories of his past as a Jewish child fleeing Nazi terrors. This sensitive, sometimes troubling family drama is one of the rare movies dealing with intelligent adults tackling lifelike problems. Daniel Sullivan directed from a screenplay by Jon Robin Baitz, based on his play. Ron Rifkin, Timothy Hutton, and Sarah Jessica Parker head the very good cast. Contains vulgar language, sexual innuendo, and graphic scenes of illness. P V
