FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| VIDEO This week the creator of Fritz the Cat brings to home video the worst film I've seen in a long time. Ralph Bakshi's 1981 cartoon classic American Pop tells the story of four generations trying to make it in the musical side of show business. The animation is substandard, and considering Bakshi's animating style is to trace over top of live action film, you'd think he would try to offer more detailed work. My only alternate recommendation is the Comic Book series Red Rocket 7, which combines the history of rock 'n' roll with space aliens. Twilight Of the Golds starring Brendan Fraser and Jennifer Beals isn't much better. Although it poses interesting questions regarding DNA and knowledge - making us realize that we're not far from Gattaca - it suffers from sentimentality and weak stereotypes. Originally made for television, it tells the story of one family attempting to deal with two different instances of homosexuality in their lives - one in a family member, the other in an unborn child. The resolution is just a little too neat to be believed. Also released is Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie. If you haven't seen it and are a fan of Rowan Atkinson's Bean character, you might not be as disappointed as people have warned you you would. It uses gags we've seen in the television sketches, but they are concentrated into one plot where Bean is sent to Los Angeles from his job at a museum/gallery in London. The supporting cast is great and includes Canadian actress Sandra Oh from Double Happiness. The action is silly, but totally fun. And finally, perhaps one of the best films of 1997 is Oliver Stone's U-Turn starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Claire Danes and Joaquin Phoenix. A lone drifter enters a small town only to become involved with a femme fatale and her incestuous relationship. All the while he's tortured by a sweet young thing and her volatile boyfriend. Also thrown into the mix is commentary from an old "gringo" and beautiful scenes with a greasy car repair man. A tribute to the best suspense and noir films of the last 40 years, not only is U-Turn a great story, it's funny, too. Also released this week: The Little Mermaid, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Hijacking Hollywood and Fairytale: A True Story. |