Friday, 08 October 1999

WEEKEND PREVIEW

Oh yes, it's lady's night and the feeling's right. Oh yes, It's lady's night, oh what a, oh what a night!

Trying to figure out why the well suddenly dried up at the movies this weekend? Can you say "four major league baseball playoff series in addition to a full schedule of college and pro football?" So what do you want?! Chick flicks! When do you want them?! NOW!

Nothing against Molly Shannon, but if you are going to Superstar to check her out in white panties for 90 minutes, you probably need a doctor. I haven't seen the picture yet and I must admit, some people are really enjoying it. But just how much hope can Paramount have for this one-note character? Not much. And how much hope does Sony really have for Sydney Pollack's latest opus? Same answer. This weekend, Harrison Ford will try to answer the musical question, "Do they really want to see another one of these" more effectively than Robin Williams did last weekend. (My review ran last Friday.) For a look at the dollars and cents of all this, check out Box Office Extra after noon ET.

There are two really fine films hitting screens in limited release this weekend. One is Steven Soderbergh's The Limey, staring Terrence Stamp and Peter Fonda. (Click here for my comments. Just scroll down to 10:31 p.m.) The other is the real indie surprise of the year, Boys Don't Cry. See it if you have the chance.

And Romance is expanding this weekend to Albany, Boston, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Houston, Coconut Grove FL, Ft. Lauderdale, Denver, Boulder,Santa Ana, CA. I believe that the film is an absolute work of genius, but even if you don't, I promise that you and yours will have a lot to talk about afterwards, however you felt about the film.

Also hitting some cities this weekend is a Slamdance hit called Dill Scallion. The producer sent a note out to "Friends Of Dill," which I am, though I still haven't seen the danged film. Now, you too get to be an F.O.D., even if you don't want to be.

"Hey. My company made a low budget flick which is coming out on October 8th. It's called Dill Scallion. Yes, it's a strange name for a movie, but it's a comedy, so it's funny strange. Described as "Spinal Tap-ish" by some, it has made a whole lot of people laugh at film festivals, and a few have even cried. Did I mention we got "The Fonz?" DILL's playing in limited release in Chicago, Kansas City, Atlanta, Austin, Columbus, Nashville, and Minneapolis. Grass roots. Keepin it real.

If you live in one of those cities, please go see it (or at least tell everyone you know to go see it). Or if you happen to be on the phone with someone who lives in one of those cities, I would appreciate some kind words. Maybe it could go something like this:

YOU: Have you heard about this movie Dill Scallion?

YOUR FRIEND: No, I haven't. Not at all.

YOU: I heard it's the best movie ever made. Better than Tron.

YOUR FRIEND: No way. Better than Tron?

YOU: Yeah. It's playing in (insert their city here). You should check it out.

Or something like that. Tron is optional. We have very little money but a lotta love, so I'm trying to use this Internet thing to our advantage.

Well, did they use the net to their advantage? I guess that answer is completely up to you.

THE GOOD: There are a few good things I have in mind today. Andrew Sarris seemed to have gotten a little sour and cranky lately, but this week's reviews are quite wonderful. You should make a habit of checking him out and can do so today by clicking here. His thoughts on Dogma and Three Kings are balanced and salient.

I'm also happy that Thandie Newton is now the third Angel of the Charlie variety. Newton is not only one of the sexiest women on the planet, in my estimation, but she can act and deserves the break. It's been a long time coming. Let's just hope that she doesn't become "the next Jada Pinkett-Smith," but rather that she and Jada both continue to get great parts that they can kick ass with. One oddity. Last time I checked, video director McG was due to direct the film. Yet he wasn't mentioned once in Variety's coverage of the press release on the movie, which has no official start date despite the fact that people seem to be assuming that the time is near. Hmmm ...

Finally, there are a lot of people who would say that the death of Martin Davis is a good thing. This was not a well liked man. I didn't know him. I never had to work around or under him. But few bosses were more reviled and when he finally sold out to Viacom, lots of people were ready to dance on his professional grave. He will be missed, but not necessarily in a good way.

THE BAD: One step forward and two way back. Just as The Bros. Warner and Wachowski were changing the rules for the DVD revolution by selling a record-breaking 1.5 million copies of The Matrix, up rears the ugly head of every technology revolution, incompatibility. (Waaa-waaa!!! Cue the eerie music!) You think that Joe VCR was a little wary of trusting that CompuCityMart salesman who tried to tell him that RAM and hard drive were the same thing before? Now try getting Joe to believe that the salesman knows what he's talking about when he gives them the inevitable "Yeah, it'll play everything" routine just before Joe buys a new DVD player (on sale for a price more expensive that the local discounter, of course) just to watch The Matrix, gets home, sets up, pops the movie in and thinks it's an inside movie joke when he can't get the movie to run, realizes it's not a joke, rips the machine out of his wall and goes back to beat his salesman to death with the "broken" player. Joe, it's not broken. It just doesn't play DVD-Rom. And while I can't tell you what The Matrix is, you have to have a DVD-Rom compatible machine to find out for yourself. Just as HBO drove people to put cable in their houses and the NFL Sunday Ticket Package is selling more satellite dishes than anything else, The Matrix was the first "must-DVD" movie for non-geeks. And now, there is suspicion in the air that may slow the phenomena. Remember all of your friends and family who waited to get a computer until the shakedown between Apple and IBM-Compatibles was (for the most part) settled? Same here. Just ask all those folks with LaserDiscs in their garages and Sega Saturns ready to trade-in for Dreamcasts.

THE UGLY: Haven't you gotten enough ugly in the last couple of days?

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY:

Release Date: October 5, 1999 -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mexican Film Series Closes With San Diego Premiere Screening Of Midaq Alley/ Callejon De Los Milagros Starring Salma Hayek

This award-winning Mexican feature film will have its San Diego premiere screening beginning on Friday, October 15th at 8:00 p.m. at CinemaStar Theaters at 320 3rd. Ave. in the heart of downtown Chula Vista. Midaq Alley / Callejon De Los Milagros will then continue to be screened throughout the week with the following showtimes: October 16th at 7:00 and 9:00PM and October 18-21st at 7:00 and 9:00PM. Based on the writing of Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz, this juicy trio of related stories focuses on the inhabitants of a street in contemporary Mexico City.

Midaq Alley / Callejon De Los Milagros will be screened in Spanish with English subtitles. Prices to attend Cine Mexicano will be $3 for students/seniors and $5 for general audiences. Midaq Alley / Callejon De Los Milagros is recommended for mature audiences only. All tickets can be purchased at CinemaStar Theaters (320 3rd. Ave.) prior to each screening. For a complete schedule and additional information call 619.230.1938 or visit the series website at www.sdlatinofilm.com.

BAD AD WATCH: This guy Earl Dittman of Wireless Magazine is giving Wunder & Brewington a run for their quote crunching money. I'm told by multiple studios that Wireless Magazine is an independent magazine out of Houston, Texas. However, I can't get a phone number for any such magazine via directory assistance. There are only a couple of references to Dittman on the Web. One is a quote for One True Thing and the other is a bio he did for some music magazine. Whoever he is, he seems to like Paramount a lot these days. He is the lead quote whore for Superstar ... at least I think he is. He shares the page with Lloyd Gite of Fox-TV and the way the page is designed, it is unclear which genius actually coughed up "You'll Laugh, You'll Cheer!" and "A New Queen of Comedy Is Born!" But Dittman is clearly in charge of "A warm, engaging, wildly hilarious comedy like no other." And it seems that his specialty is the multi-adjective blurb. For Double Jeopardy, it's "A nail-biter that will leave you breathless and begging for more. Stylish, Sexy, Suspenseful." There he used some really complex alliteration. Just the kind that copy writers love. But seriously, if anyone knows who the hell this guy is or if you have ever seen a copy of Wireless Magazine, let me know. After all, every dog deserves his day.

READER OF THE DAY: The Kenster: "Your ROTDs said it so well there's little for me to add, I lost count of how many McMovie jibes I've made in the past few years.

But it also depends on your other forms of leisure (you're the expert, living there). Because now if your word of mouth is poor, I just don't watch movies "to make up my mind" when they cost $12 in London's City Centres, I find something else to do. Is all this crap just feeding the desire to go watch *something* for the sake of hitting the movie theatres, even if the movie is a waste of celluloid?

When I was a kid we could drink underage, play sports or see movies, and there were never enough to see. Now I've grown up, there are too many, but there's a market for all kinds of crap. I agree with the Robin Williams comment. He won that Good Will Hunting Oscar for adding acting ability to that stock-in-trade one-man-vs-the-system-and-he-loses-but-remains-the-moral-victor one-trick dead horse he's flogged during the 1980s (with help from the script) and so I gave Patch Adams a miss as well.

E ME: If you are a woman, are you susceptible to "Chick Flicks?" If you are a guy, will white panties and a plaid skirt get money out of your wallet? And what of Random Hearts? Why exactly IS Harrison Ford wearing an earring in that one?