Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090032
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
This year is no exception. Between now and Christmas, more than 100 movies are scheduled for release. Here's a quick preview of some of them, complete with semi-fearless predictions of winners and losers.
Advance word has been strong for director Robert Redford's "Quiz Show," about the scandals surrounding Charles Van Doren and the TV game show "Twenty-One" in the 1950s. It has a top-notch cast - John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes - and an effective evocation of the period. "Star Trek: Generations" brings together the casts of both television series and has generated a lot of talk among science-fiction fans. Some insiders are predicting that "The Shawshank Redemption" will become a September sleeper. Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, it's a prison film based on a non-supernatural Stephen King short story/novella. Might be another "Stand By Me."
Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" won the big prize at the Cannes film festival and might well be just as popular with ticket buyers. It appears to be a mix of violence and quirky humor following three storylines and an ensemble cast.
For those who didn't get their fill of action this summer, Meryl Streep faces white water and bad guys in "The River Wild"; Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski jump out of airplanes in "Terminal Velocity"; so does Wesley Snipes in "Drop Zone"; Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone blow things up in "The Specialist"; Jean-Claude Van Damme saves the future in "Timecop."
"Disclosure," Michael Crichton's novel about sexual harassment, comes to the screen with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore in the leads. Barry Levinson directs. "The Road to Wellville" is an historical farce-satire, with obvious contemporary relevance, about health and fitness fads. It's based on T. Coraghessan Boyle's novel and features an ensemble cast led by Anthony Hopkins and directed by Alan Parker.
After a long absence, George Lucas returns to feature films as producer of "Radioland Murders," a comedy-thriller set in the 1930s. It stars Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson and was directed by Mel Smith ("The Tall Guy"). Woody Allen works with similar material in "Bullets Over Broadway," a comedy about gangsters and actors in the 1920s. Robert Altman sets his satiric sights on the fashion industry with another star-studded, multicharacter epic, "Pret-a-Porter."
Two lavish horror movies will hit the screens soon. Anne Rice's hugely popular "Interview With the Vampire" is anything but a sure-fire hit despite an all-star cast topped by Tom Cruise. Are his fans ready to see him with long blond hair and a quasi-British accent in a story of ambiguous sexuality? "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" actually looks more promising with Kenneth Branagh as star and director and Robert De Niro as the Monster. According to advance publicity, this version is true to the original story of creation and betrayal.
If it's faithful to the source material, the film of "Robert Heinlein's Puppet Masters" could be brilliant s-f, along the lines of the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Who can say what will happen when director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp recreate the life and career of "Ed Wood," the legendary alternative auteur of "Plan 9 From Outer Space"? "Star Gate" is a big-budget space opera with the curious casting of Jaye Davidson, from "The Crying Game," as the Egyptian sun god Ra or something to that effect.
The season's mysteries are an odd lot. Richard Dreyfuss plays a psychologist trying to solve a murder witnessed by a child in Bruce Beresford's "Silent Fall." John Dahl, who directed the cult hits "Kill Me Again" and "Red Rock West," aims for a larger audience with "The Last Seduction." Writer James Lee Burke's detective Dave Robicheaux finally comes to the screen with Alec Baldwin starring in "Heaven's Prisoners."
Among the more conventional vehicles for established male stars are "The War," with Kevin Costner as a 1970s veteran who finds Vietnam being refought over a tree house in his neighborhood; "Love Affair," a remake of "An Affair to Remember" with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening; "The Crossing Guard," in which Jack Nicholson deals with his daughter's death; Sean Connery as a doctor in "A Good Man in Africa"; and "Cobb," with Tommy Lee Jones playing the famous baseball player.
For women, the starring roles sound more intriguing. Jodie Foster plays an autistic Appalachian woman in "Nell"; Geena Davis is a "Speechless" speech writer who falls for her opposite number (Michael Keaton) during a political campaign; Meg Ryan is Albert Einstein's (Walter Matthau) niece in "I.Q."; Jennifer Jason Leigh plays writer and wit Dorothy Parker in Alan Rudolph's "Mrs. Parker"; Kathy Bates goes back to Stephen King territory as "Dolores Claiborne."
Fearless Predictions:
Can't Miss Hit: "Junior." The comedy team that made "Twins" - director Ivan Reitman, stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito - brings in co-star Emma Thompson to tell the story of the world's first pregnant man.
Sleeper Hit: "Nobody's Fool." This blue-collar comedy, starring Paul Newman and directed by Robert Benton, could well become the "Grumpy Old Men" of 1994 if the chemistry is right.
Major Flop: "Miracle on 34th Street." Does the world really need a remake of this sugar-coated 1947 Christmas movie? Particularly with heavy-handed John Hughes producing?
First Runner-up Flop: "Richie Rich." Does the world really need another screen version of a second-rate comic book? Particularly with the irritating Macaulay Culkin starring?
Best Short Subject: "Chariots of Fur" is Chuck Jones' first Roadrunner cartoon in years. Unfortunately, it will be playing with "Richie Rich."
by CNB