Groovy Movie Selector
November 24, 1999
For Love of the Game
– 
Kevin Costner strikes out in this half-baked attempt at a
baseball player’s life-reflection that takes place during the best
game of his career. Not the usual movie to come out from Sam (Evil Dead
1, 2, Army of Darkness, Simple Plan, A) Raimi.
Music of the Heart –
Meryl Streep stars in this fact-based weeper that could have
been titled Mrs. Holland’s Opus. She plays a violin teacher with an
American accent who tries to teach inner-city youth the value and
rewards of playing music from instruments and from the heart. Decent,
but not utterly memorable. Not the usual movie to come out from Wes
(Nightmare on Elm Street) Craven.
Story of Us, The –
Rob Reiner manages to hold together a well-done love story
that chronicles the ups and downs of one couple’s (Michelle Pfieffer
& Bruce Willis) long marriage. Sappy but holds you till the end.
Fight Club –
The American Male, or How I Learned to Stop Sleepwalking and
Start Kicking the S#!t out of Other Guys to Feel Alive Again. Or
something like that. David (Seven, The Game) Fincher’s dark opus about
a secret club where men cast of ’90s male-sensitivity for down and
dirty fighting. A wild mixture of genres and styles combine to make this
movie completely unforgettable, if not completely disturbing. Brad Pitt
and Edward Norton star.
Bone Collector, The –
Denzel Washington plays a quadriplegic forensics expert who guides young
cop (Angelina Jolie) in tracking down a serial killer. A gutsy move
having sex symbol Washington bed-ridden for the whole film. Somehow, the
film manages to hold our attention despite retreading on familiar cops
& killers territory.
American Beauty –
This critically acclaimed film (truly one of the year’s
best) is already generating plenty of Oscar talk. Kevin Spacey delivers
a knock-’em dead performance as a husband who decides to live out life
the way he wanted it to be. Annette Benning plays the wife who is
beginning to really, really not like her hubby anymore. We won’t
reveal more. Just see this film!
Straight Story, The –
David (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) directs this sweet G (!!!)
rated true life story about Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) who
rides his lawn-tractor across many states to see his ailing brother.
Once again, not the usual movie to come out from David Lynch who usually
sticks to the unusually grotesque side of human nature. This film,
though, could be companioned well with another Lynch film, The Elephant
Man that, while very dissimilar to The Straight Story, also had heart
and warmth for its characters. Can’t wait to see what Lynch does next.
Best Man, The –
The ubiquitous Taye (Go!, How Stella Got Her Groove Back)
stars with Nia Long in writer/director Malcom Lee’s tale of college
friends who reunite for a wedding. Treads familiar ground with countless
other "reunion" movies, but nonetheless manages to stand on
its own as a charmer.
House On Haunted Hill –
Well, at least it’s better than The Haunting. That said, it
still doesn’t mean that this one is a winner though. Good effects and
a few genuine jumps make this film somewhat worthwhile for a mindless
night at the movies. Geoffrey Rush (Mystery Men, Shine) and Taye (Best
Man, see!) Diggs star along with Bond Girl Famke Janssen.
Being John Malkovich –
Whoa! This is one mind-funk of a movie. Director Spike Jonze
(acting in Three Kings), who’s only directed music videos in the past,
makes quite a wild a debut with this twisted tale of a puppeteer, John
Cusack, who ends up inside John Malkovich. That John Malkovich agreed to
be in the movie and have fun spoofing himself just adds to the absolute
crazy enjoyment of the film. Wild.
Brining Out the Dead –
Director Martin Scorsese reunites with his longtime
film-writer (Taxi Driver, Last Temptation of Christ) to take us into the
surreal world of paramedics. As is his style, Scorsese doesn’t pull
any punches with his hyper kinetic camera work in some scenes. It’s a
wild ride-along with the people who are usually the first to see our
mangled and bloody bodies and it doesn’t always sit well with them.
Although it isn’t as fresh as some of this cinematic master’s
previous works, it manages to completely captivate the viewer. (Now
where’s Goodfellas 2?)
Bats –
Guano!
Three to Tango –
As good as all the actors are on "Friends",
apparently no one has told them that they are allowed to say NO! to some
scripts. This stinker has Matthew Perry as a man mistakenly believed to
be gay by a girl. This gives him the opportunity to get close to her and
go for the big score. Remember, "Friends" don’t let
"Friends" drive their film careers down the toilet.
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