Monthly Archives: October 1996

Trees Lounge - * * 1/2*

In his directoral debut, Steve Buscemi creates a bleak portrait of a young alcoholic in a small town in this bitter comedy. Steve Buscemi stars as Tommy, the young alcoholic on a downward spiral. He’s lost his girlfriend to his … Continue reading

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Michael Collins - * * * 1/2*

Michael Collins is a brilliant epic tale whose implications are felt even today. Liam Neeson stars as Michael Collins, the Irish revolutionary in the early 20th century. After a series of unsuccessful conventional warfare attacks, the Irish Republican Army, under … Continue reading

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Looking for Richard - * * * 1/2*

What is Shakespeare? Why are his works so reknowned, and why is it so difficult to successfully deliver one of his plays to an American audience? These are a few of the questions Al Pacino poses and attempts to answer … Continue reading

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The Grass Harp - * * 1/2*

The Grass Harp is a lightweight but well performed coming of age tale set in a small southern town. A young boy, Collin (played at various ages by Grayson Fricke and Edward Furlong), is orphaned, and left to be raised … Continue reading

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The Long Kiss Goodnight - * * *

The Long Kiss Goodnight is a surprisingly witty action-comedy. Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is an amnesiac schoolteacher who was found pregnant and memoryless on a beach eight years ago. Several private investigators have attempted to find out who she is … Continue reading

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The Ghost and the Darkness - * *

The Ghost and the Darkness is a partially thrilling adventure tale that needed to go through the rewrite machine at least one more time. The year is 1898, and the setting of this true story is East Africa. Val Kilmer … Continue reading

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The Chamber - * *

A mostly well acted John Grisham tale can’t hide the fact that it doesn’t really have anything to say. Adam Hall (Chris O’Donnell) is that everpresent staple of Grisham works, the eager young lawyer who tackles a big job. In … Continue reading

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Bound - * * 1/2*

Bound is a Hitchcockian piece of film noir (that’s good), mixed with an Eszterhasian piece of lesbian chic (that’s not so good). Corky (Gina Gershon) is a lesbian ex-con fresh out of prison. She lands a job renovating an apartment … Continue reading

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That Thing You Do - * * *

Tom Hanks directs this gleeful salute to rock-and-roll, innocence and fame. Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) is an ordinary guy who works in his father’s appliance store by day, and plays drums and listens to jazz albums at night. When … Continue reading

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The Glimmer Man - 1/2*

The Glimmer Man is a truly disgraceful outing that amounts to little more than an unbelievable Steven Seagal self-love fest. Steven Seagal is Detective Jack Cole, a special forces operative in Vietnam who went native, and is now working under … Continue reading

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