All reviews are by Jay Carr unless otherwise credited.
In video stores this week:
"The Tempest" Derek Jarman's imaginative 1979 Shakespeare adaptation. It's nearly as eccentric as the most recent "Romeo and Juliet," yet it remains faithful to the drama's essence. Actor-playwright Heathcote Williams (from the radical '60s theater fringe) stars as Prospero, with punk singer Toyah Wilcox as Miranda. (Unrated) (Betsy Sherman)
"Institute Benjamenta" The Brothers Quay move from their spooky, spindly animations to their first live-action feature with all their visual prowess intact. The dramatic payload, though, isn't up to the level of the visuals: ghostly, surreal black-and-white images keyed to sexual anxiety in a cobwebbed and catacombed turn-of-the-century school for butlers. (Unrated) (Full review).
"Conspirators of Pleasure" Renowned Czech animator Jan Svankmajer's freaky rumination on the sexual proclivities of a seedy sextet in modern-day Prague serves mainly as a bludgeoning reminder that the less we know about what our neighbors do behind closed doors, the better. (Unrated) (Renée Graham) (Full review).
"Bats" Lots of computer-generated bats taking out a Texas town. But they're no scarier than those rubber bats dangling from strings in '50s sci-fi potboilers. This cheeseball movie has all the guano you could hope for - in the bat cave and in the screenplay. (PG-13) (Full review).
On premium cable tonight and tomorrow:
"Wild Things" Satisfyingly twisted double-crosses and triple-crosses in this thriller about two high school girls who accuse their high school guidance counselor of rape. Matt Dillon, Denise Richards, Neve Campbell, and Kevin Bacon (as a suspicious cop) cook slowly in the heat of the story's rich Florida enclave. But character takes a back seat as the plot becomes the star. (R) On HBO tonight. (Full review).
"Cruel Intentions" Call it "Bratty Liaisons." Remaking the story of "Dangerous Liaisons" with young stars (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair) makes for a mildly entertaining but inconsistent youth-audience flick. The story of sexual manipulation and emotional coldness becomes a mean-teen romp-around. (R) (Paul Robicheau) On HBO tonight.
"The Last Action Hero" A user-friendly Arnold Schwarzenegger shuttles between movies and real life at the bidding of a fatherless 11-year-old boy who hero-worships him. The action is noisy and hectic, but empty. What makes the film enjoyable is its smart kidding of the action-movie genre and Schwarzenegger's tough-hero image. (PG-13) On HBO tomorrow night. (Full review).
"Baby Geniuses" Like the animals in "Babe," babies talk to each other - but the "wise" babies' dialogue is as vapid as the adults'. The formula plot pits dastardly researcher Kathleen Turner against compassionate researchers Kim Cattrall and Peter MacNicol. But the real protagonist is rebel 2-year-old Sly, a catchphrase-spewing nightmare. (PG) (Betsy Sherman) On HBO tomorrow night.
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" More ambitious than the usual Hollywood biopic, and filled with snazzy musical numbers, this easy-to-take film nevertheless misses getting under the skin of single-hit doo-wop sensation Frankie Lymon as it tells the story from the vantage points of the three women claiming to be his widow, all wanting the royalties piling up since his death. (R) On Cinemax tonight. (Full review).
"Saving Private Ryan" The war movie to end all war movies. Slamming us down with a bunch of grunts on deadly Omaha Beach on D-Day, Steven Spielberg's masterpiece plunges us into the moment-to-moment horror and chaos and heroism of war with a completeness and immediacy that no previous film has. A Ranger detachment led by Tom Hanks improvises its way behind the lines to yank Matt Damon's last survivor among four brothers from the carnage and get him home. It does what no Hollywood movie has done before, namely convince us that war is no movie. (R) On Cinemax tonight. (Full review).
"Office Space" "Beavis and Butt-head" mastermind Mike Judge gives nine-to-fivers something to cheer about in this comedy about three drudges who decide to break out of their cubicles and stick it to the corporate viciousness that's ready to chew them up. The satire on bottom-line ruthlessness is fun, the other stuff less so. (R) On Cinemax tomorrow night. (Full review).
"The Replacement Killers" Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat's first American film is an atmospheric tale of a hit man's moment of truth. The killer's refusal to pull the trigger when a child is in the crosshairs brings the wrath of a mob boss. Chow is affecting in the role of the modern disillusioned samurai, and Mira Sorvino is sensational as the tough forger who becomes his sidekick in fighting the terminator-like replacement assassins. (R) (Betsy Sherman) On Cinemax tomorrow night.
"Braveheart" Mel Gibson makes an old-fashioned swashbuckler, directing and starring in the tale of a 13th-century hero rallying his Scots against English oppression. Gibson studied the great battle scenes, and it shows in his marshaling of convincing (and often inglorious) mayhem. Sparing love scenes add the final touch of romance and costume drama. (R) On Cinemax tomorrow night. (Full review).
"Very Bad Things" Actor Peter Berg's filmmaking debut isn't a very bad movie, just a relentlessly tiring one about a bachelor party that goes murderously wrong. The one bright spot is Cameron Diaz's maniacal bride-to-be, who is determined to let nothing interfere with her wedding. (R) (Renée Graham) On Showtime tonight. (Full review).
"Back to School" Rodney Dangerfield as a nouveau riche businessman gets plenty of respect but deserves not a bit of it when he enrolls as a middle-aged freshman at his son's college to help the boy get some fun out of life. Lacks the concentrated mania of the bug-eyed comic's stand-up routines, but if you're a fan of Rodney's you'll get some laughs. (PG-13) On Showtime tomorrow night.
"The Faculty" This hyperkinetic "Bodysnatchers" variation set in a high school is a superb outlet for director Robert Rodriguez's distinctive blending of action and tongue-in-cheek comedy. What's more, copious special effects take screen time away from writer Kevin "Scream" Williamson's signature annoying dialogue roundelays. (R) (Betsy Sherman) On Showtime tomorrow night.
