Page 6 DTH Omnibus
Thursday November 2, 1989
DTH Omnibus Page 7
Thursday November 2, 1989
D
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Between
h, November! Ah, the
crisp, fresh air of fall! Ah,
the sound of leaves fall
ing to the tune of
Hollywood's Box Office
!t1 . .1 .1
3 tins as uney ring in mat
blockbuster money!
Well, not quite. Already some of
the surest movie bets of the season
have proved to be dismal failures.
Big guns do go "pop," even guns that
have gone "bang" before. Johnny
Handsome, the action drama from
Walter 48 Hrs Hill made a quick
exit. In Country, Norman Moonstruck
Jewison's Vietnam film starring Bruce
Willis, sunk under bad reviews and
only managed to scrape an embar
rassing $3 million. Erik the Viking has
not had the word of mouth it badly
needed to take off. Black Rain will
make over $40 million, but that fig
ure will scarcely recoup its massive
production costs. Even Fat Man and
Little Boy, the story of nuclear physi
cist Robert J. Oppenheimer starring
Paul Newman and directed by Roland
Killing Fields JofYe, has just dropped a
well-meaning bomb.
So, what have we been going to
see in droves? sex, lies and videotape
(over $20 million to date) has been
the thinking man's film of the sea
son, with audiences returning to it
for a second and third look. Sea of
Love, Al Pacino's return vehicle, has
done remarkably well breaking rec
ords in its first week of release and
going on to take almost $50 million
to date. But no, the runaway hit of
the season thus far is Look Who's
Talking, which has taken over $40
million in its first three weeks. Only
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Alan Alda steals the
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now and
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films with Stetson hats or pointed
ears and wings do better than that.
Starring Kirstie Alley, John Travolta
and the voice of Bruce Willis, Look
Who's Talking is another baby movie
(albeit with a twist) and is arguably
the most TV-like film to grace the
screen in many a diaper-change. You
might as well be at home watching a
sitcom.
All of which goes to prove that
the tastes of the public at large are
impossible to successfully gauge. Even
so, this year's record-breaking $2 bil
lion summer should have taught
Hollywood a valuable lesson in vari
ety; make something for everyone,
and everyone will come. If you could
see through the sequels this summer,
almost every taste was catered for -adventure,
fantasy, drama, comedy,
it was all there (a lot of it was darn
good, too). And if the list below is
an indication, this Holiday period
will continue the trend.
For 'tis the season to release all
the Oscar contenders (with a coupla
sequels and comedies nestled snugly
in there for good measure). 1988
proved that the Academy only goes
to see movies in December (all of
last year's contenders for Best Pic
ture were released in that month)
and, looking at the major studio's
schedules, it will probably happen
again. So pick a winner from this
smorgasbord of films that will grace
l.
show in Woody Allen's latest, 'Crimes and
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Christmas, 'tis the
the nation's screens between now and
1990. Go on, pick.
All dates, mais oui, are tentative.
NOVEMBER 3
First out of the gate is Woody Al
len. Advance word on the
Woodman's projects is notoriously
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Sally Field ('You like me!') stars
in 'Steel Magnolias'
difficult to come by, but now that
it's out, critics the country over have
been running out of superlatives to
praise the filmmaker for finally mak
ing some sense out of his unhealthy
Ingmar Bergman fixation and return
ing in part to what he has always
4
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done best; comedy. Crimes and Mis
demeanors, which opens at the Var
sity tomorrow, stars the amazing
lineup of Martin Landau, Angelica
Huston, Mia Farrow, Daryl Hannah,
Claire Bloom, Sam Waterston,
Woody himself and, apparently steal
ing the show, Alan Alda.
NOVEMBER 13
Continuing the comedy-drama
theme, Dad stars Ted Danson, Olym
pia Dukakis and, in a welcome re
turn, Jack Lemmon. The story of a
son who comes home to comfort his
father after his mother's heart attack,
is written, produced and directed for
the Big Screen by Little Screen god
Gary David Family Ties Goldberg.
It's his cinematic debut. Dad costars
youngster Ethan Hawke, recently seen
in Dead Poets Society, and gets a spe
cial sneak preview at the Ram Triple
this Friday and Saturday.
NOVEMBER 17
Thanksgiving sees the return of
what is becoming an annual event:
the head-to-head bout between the
new Disney animated feature and that
of the Don Bluth studio (who have
had notable success of late with An
American Tail and The Land Before
Time). Bluth used to work at the
Disney studios, so the competition
could get bitchy.
The Disney feature, its 28th, is
The Little Mermaid, based on the
Hans Christian Anderson story about
a mermaid who falls in love with a
shipwrecked Prince. Aaah. It stars
an array of cookie underwater per
sonalities, including a reggae-singing
crab named Sebastian (apparently a
Carribean Jiminy Cricket), a seagull
named Scuttle, and a villainess mod
eled on the late, great Divine, a hy
brid octopus by the name of Ursula.
It's Disney's first fairy tale since Sleep'
ing Beauty in 1958, and features seven
original songs from Howard Ashman
and Alan Menken, the team behind
Little Shop of Horrors.
Bluth's All Dogs Go to Heaven
appears slightly more off-beat, and ,
marks a turning point for the pre
tenders to the Disney throne, since
this is their first venture in a while
without the backing of producer su
premo Steven Spielberg. All Dogs is
also a musical, and tells of a deceased
canine who comes back to life to
discover who murdered him. One for
the kiddies. It features the voices of
Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuis.
Back in the live-action realm, there
are four other potentially enormous
Thanksgiving releases. The one most
likely to bellyflop is Steel Magno
lias, the screen version of the ac
claimed off-Broadway play by Robery
Harling, directed by Herbert Ross
(Pennies from Heaven). Magnolias stars
Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, Daryl
Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia
Roberts and Dolly Parton as six
Southern women who come together
season to
as they cope with birth, death, sex,
stuff of that nature. Hearing all those
dreadful imitations of Southern ac
cents could make it the least bear
able film of the season. It'll be even
worse if the Northerners go for it.
More likely to succeed is Valmont,
director Milos Forman's first film since
Amadeus in 1984. Valmont is another
new version of Les Liaisons
Dangereuses, also the source material
for last year's hit Dangerous Liaisons.
Far from being a rip-off, Forman's
film was into production long before
Stephen Frears's version started shoot
ing. The latest adaptation of the story
of those naughty French aristocrats
stars Meg Tilly and Colin Firth.
There are some gaurantees in Hol
lywood. Who is going to bet that
Harlem Nights, Eddie Murphy's di
rectorial debut, starring himself and
Richard Pryor as father and son, is
going to flop? He will have dollars
wherever he goes, unless, of course,
he's the worst director ever. Harlem
Nights is the story set in 1938 Har
lem of a successful nightclub (run by
Murphy and Pryor) and a crooked
cop (Danny Aiello) who wants a cut
of the profit. Murphy also wrote the
screenplay.
NOVEMBER 22
Even way ahead of Eddie will be
Back to the Future, Part II, the se-
Jack Nicholson acts and
directs The Two Jakes'
quel that, like most of late, reas
sembles the entire cast and crew of
the first: Spielberg is in the produc
tion seat; Zemeckis (Roger Rabbit) is
in direction; Michael J. Fox and
Christopher Lloyd are back in the
leads. It's something of an experi
ment, since they have filmed Parts II
and III back to back. (Hollywood's
other experiment this fall is the home
video release of Batman on Novem
ber 15, just five months after its start
ing run). Back to the Future, Part 11
will be taking off where the first left
off, and Part III will be released next
summer. Will we be sick to death of
it by then, or will we hardly be able
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release Oscar wannabes
to wait? If the trailers are any indica
tion, go for the latter.
DECEMBER 8
There's a fair share of comedies to
lighten up the heavy December load
of Oscar wannabe material. Firstly,
We're No Angels, directed by Neil
Jordan (Mora Lisa) and written by
David Mamet (The Untouchables),
stars the unlikely comedy duo of
Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn as
smalltime crooks who escape from
prison and are forced to hide in a
New England town disguised as
priests.
The War of the Roses looks hot
to trot, starring as it does the by-now
surefire team ' of Kathleen Turner,
Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito.
It's the story of the disenchanted
Roses (Turner and Douglas) who,
while agreeing on divorce, each re
fuses to leave their lovely house.
DeVito, as well as directing, plays a
divorce lawyer, and describes it as a
film "about love, passion, divorce and
furniture." If the publicity holds up,
this'll be a comedy on the black side.
Can anyone take Sylvester Stal
lone seriously anymore? (Rocky V is
said to be close to production, which
somewhat answers the question). In
Tango and Cash, previously titled
"Set-Up," he co-stars with Kurt
Russell. Together they play rival cops
who get framed and sent to prison,
only to escape and join forces to find
the real crooks. Directed by Albert
Magnoli (Purple Rain).
DECEMBER 15
Spielberg swears that Indy III was
his last kiddie picture. From now on
it's gonna get serious. Always, his
latest film starring Richard Dreyfuss
(who previously worked with
Spielberg on Chse Encounters) and "
Holly Hunter, will be our chance to
see what he means. Based on the
1944 Spencer Tracy film, A Guy
Named Joe, Always is the story of a
firefighting pilot (Dreyfuss) who is
dies in the line of duty. Does his
death separate him from his loved
one, Hunter? Ask Audrey Hepburn,
she's been cast as... but that would
be giving too much away. Always co
stars John Goodman and newcomer
Brad Johnson.
Blaze has nothing to do with fire
fighting, but should get just as much
attention if its promise to put the
tease back into stripping is true. Ron
Shelton (Bull Durham) writes and
directs the true story of 1950s gover
nor Earl K. Long (Paul Newman)
and his steamy affair with stripper
Blaze Starr (Lolita Davidovich).
At last, Jack Nicholson stops play
ing at cartoons and gets down to the
serious business of The Two Jakes,
otherwise known as "Chinatown II."
Written by the man behind the origi
nal, Robert Towne, the second film
to feature detective Jake Gittes is a
mystery concerning the postwar real
estate boom in Southern California.
It's got Oscar written all over it (es
pecially since it's directed by
Nicholson himself), and co-stars Meg
Tilly, Harvey Keitel, Madeline Stowe
and Ruben Blades.
Enemies, a Love Story is set in
1950s New York and stars Ron Sil
ver as a Jewish man romantically
involved with three women at the
same time. The unfortunate three are
Angelica Huston as his first wife (who
the man thinks has died in the Holo
caust), Margaret Stein as his current
wife, and Lena Olin (who last steamed
up the screens in The Unbearable Light'
ness of Being) as his mistress. Paul
Mazursky (Down and Out in Beverly
at jr
Matthew Broderick ('Ferris Beuller's
Day Off') stars in 'Family Business' ...
HiUs) directs from his own script. Ene
. mies is based on an I. B. Singer story.
DECEMBER 22
Driving Miss Daisy is a race rela
tions comedy-drama adapted from the
Pulitzer prize-winning play by Alfred
Uhry about the 25-year relationship
between a fussy Southern Jew (Jes
sica Tandy) and her unflappable
chauffeur (Morgan Freeman in the
role he made famous off-Broadway).
Dan Ackroyd, believe it or not, plays
Tandy's son. It's directed by Bruce
Beresford.
Glory continues the race relations
theme, but as an historical drama, it
may be a hard sell. The trailers are
trying to make the Civil War epic
about the first black fighting regi
ment in US history look as colorful
as possible. In its favor is the slightly
mixed bag cast of Matthew Broder
ick, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride),
Denzel Washington (Cry Freedom)
and the ever-present Morgan Free
man. Slightly dubious, however, is
director Ed Zwick, the man behind
About Lost Night and thirtysomething.
"What, no tearjerkers?" you cry.
Prepare to blabber with Bette Midler
at the second re-make of Stella Dallas
(the most famous version was with
Barbara Stanwyck in 1937). Here
simply titled Stella, Midler plays a
b-j
headstrong single parent who struggles
to be an ideal mother while making
sure her daughter gets the life she
never had. Pass the kleenex, I'm
crying already. From, sniff!, Touch
stone Pictures.
CHRISTMAS
And with a quick pause to shake
those jingle bells, we're off onto the
final five that alone could comprise
next spring's list of Best Picture
nominees. Firstly, Family Business,
directed by Sidney Lumet (Serpico.
Dog Day Afternoon), seems to have it
licked. With the stunning cast of Sean
Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Mat
thew Broderick, who is not going to
see it? Can there be a single member
of the moviegoing public who likes
none of the three stars? They play
three generations of a family who
plan a low-risk, high-return robbery.
Expect film acting at its finest. Let's
just hope the screenplay holds up.
She-Devil has a similarly wide, if
more peculiar, appeal. Pitting Meryl
Streep against Roseanne Barr should
capture the movie and TV audiences
both (the trailers are going for it,
even if the movie can't). The Des
perately Seeking Susan Seidelman
directed comedy is based on an award
winning British TV mini-series. Barr
is Ed Begley Jr.'s wife who is dumped
in favor of Streep, a romance novel
ist. Not being one to mope, Barr seeks
revenge. The original TV series had
an unsettling feel, but this looks like
it'll be played for out-and-out com
edy. Could be worse. (Besides, after
the summer's biggest flop, Great Balls
of Fire, Orion need the money.)
Music Box, from the hands of
controversial director Costa-Gravas
(Missing), stars Jessica Lange in the
story about a woman attorney who
defends her Hungarian father from
charges of war crimes. A similarly
difficult task is explaining the grue
some events to her 11 -year-old son,
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... as does last year's Best Actor,
Dustin Hoffman ('Rain Man')
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Elizabeth McGovern stars
the excellent Lukas Haas (Witness).
Written by Joe Eszterhas (Jagged Edge).
Also in a serious vein, Oliver Stone
returns with what he says is the sec
ond of a Vietnam trilogy, Born on
the Fourth of July. Tom Cruise plays
Ron Kovic, the young gung-ho sol
dier who comes home from the war a
paraplegic, and becomes a social
activist. Willem Dafoe (Platoon) also
stars. Stone co-wrote the screenplay
with Ron Kovic from Kovic's book.
Oscars await.
Finally the big Independent film
that could throw the whole lot for a
loop is The Handmaid's Tale, re
cently filmed in Durham. Based on
Margaret Atwood's book, and writ
ten for the screen by Harold Pinter,
it is a visionary story in which reli
gious fundamentalists have taken
power and sexism is insitutionalized.
Directed by Victor Schlondorff (The
Tin Drum) and starring Faye Dun
away, Robert Duvall, Elizabeth
McGovern and Natasha Richardson,
The Handmaid's Tale may be too sur
real and unglamorous for the main
stream audience, but it ranks as one
of the most interesting of all upcom
ing films.
nd that by no means is the complete
list of all the films scheduled for re-
A lease between now and New
Year's: look out too for The
Witches, a fantasy starring An
gelica Huston, featuring some new
Jim Henson creations and directed
by Nicholas Roeg; National Lampoon's
Christmas Vacation, starring Chevy
Chase and written by John Hughes;
Stanley and Iris, starring Jane Fonda
and Robert DeNiro in a drama with
illiteracy as its theme; Drugstore Cow
boy, a highly-acclaimed, dark drama
in 'The Handmaid's Tale'
about drug addiction starring Matt
Dillon and Kelly Lynch; Phantom of
the Opera, a re-make of the silent
classic with Robert Englund, a.k.a.
Freddy Krueger, in the lead (it opens
tomorrow at the Willowdaile in
Durham); Let's Get Lost, a contro
versial documentary of late jazz artist
Chet Baker, by Bruce Weber and;
Mountains of the Moon, about explor
ers on searching for the Nile's source,
starring Omar Sharif and directed by
Bob Rafelson (Five Easy Pieces).
Mia Farrow stars in Woody Allen's
'Crimes and Misdemeanors'
The list goes on, and although it
remains uncertain exactly what film
will be on everybody's lips come Janu
ary, what is clear (and quite reassur
ing given Hollywood's singular abil
ity of climbing on popular bandwag
ons) is that there is something for
everybody in the list above. And that,
after all, is exactly as it should be.
:;. " : wv:.