Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 8, 1994 TAG: 9401080171
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Jim McBride is a director with a mixed track record. Films like "The Big Easy," "Great Balls of Fire" and the remake of "Breathless" have developed a following, though they haven't fared too well with critics or the public at large. His newest movies aren't likely to be mainstream hits either, but they certainly underscore his reputation as a filmmaker with energy and style to burn.
"Blood Ties," for example is a neatly handled contemporary vampire story with a sly sense of humor. It tinkers with the conventions of the genre, and indulges in some timely social satire. At the same time, it's a slick, sexy horror movie.
The setting is Los Angeles. That's where a young man goes to stay with relatives after his family is murdered by a group of Christian vigilantes led by Bo Hopkins. The boy's L.A. kinfolk are a curious bunch. Though Hopkins' people think of them as "the undead," they prefer to be called "Carpathian- Americans." While some keep the old traditions, others, including our hero Harry (Patrick Bauchau), think "it's time we came out of the coffin."
But his uncle Eli (Salvator Xuereb) warns that if they go public, that's "when the pogroms begin."
The rest of the story involves conflicts between the elders and the young Carpathian-Americans who live in loft apartments, ride motorcycles, engage in sexy dance numbers and in general act like refugees from "Melrose Place." The film never gets too serious, and since it comes from Roger Corman's New Horizons organization, it looks terrific. Could be the beginning of a good series.
McBride was also at the helm of "The Wrong Man," a neat south-of-the-border thriller that had its debut on pay-cable last year and arrives in video stores on Jan. 26. If crime novelist Jim Thompson and Tennessee Williams had ever collaborated on a spicy potboiler, they might well have come up with something like this.
The story begins with Alex Walker (Kevin Anderson), an American sailor who's none too bright. He's falsely accused of the murder of a smuggler in Tampico, Mexico. On the run from the law, he accepts a lift from Phillip Mills (John Lithgow) and his wife, Missy (Roseanna Arquette), the most wonderfully bizarre married couple in recent memory.
Their relationship is impossible to describe and a joy to discover. He's a complex, drunken, bigoted salesman with more than a few secrets. She's a mercurial flirt who loves to taunt her older husband. The three of them form a shifting, unstable romantic triangle that finally reaches a conclusion, of sorts, in an extended booze-soaked confrontation in a hotel room.
It's the high point of the movie - a long scene that careens from suspense to bawdy humor to sexual tension in less time than it takes to toss back a shot of mescal.
Give equal credit to writers Roy Carlson and Michael Thoma and to the actors, particularly Lithgow, for playing these screw-loose characters with absolute conviction. And give McBride credit for tying it all together into a tight package with the right ending.
McBride had nothing to do with "Heart and Souls." It's a neat romantic fantasy that's due in video stores this week where it will find the audience it missed in theaters. That's not hard to figure. In synopsis, this movie sounds terrible.
The story begins in 1959 when Thomas Reilly is born. At precisely that moment, four people played by Alfre Woodard, Charles Grodin, Kyra Sedgwick and Tom Sizemore are killed in a bus accident. They become young Thomas' guardian angels. He can hear and see them until, for reasons best left unexplained, they choose to disappear.
But when Thomas grows up to become a hard-charging young executive (Robert Downey Jr.), the four spirits return. They're destined to finish their lives' work through him before they're carried off to wherever. Yes, it's schmaltzy, contrived, overdone, derivative, and I loved every second of it.
Much of the film's appeal is due to the casting. Robert Downey Jr. is one of the best comic actors in the business, and his four older co-stars give him strong support. So does Elizabeth Shue as his put-upon girlfriend. Director Ron Underwood makes good use of the unusual special effects. Somehow, it all works. "Heart and Souls" is the kind of off-beat high-quality movie that will become a huge hit on video. Recommended.
\ THE ESSENTIALS:
Blood Ties: *** New Horizons. 84 min. Rated R for violence, strong language, sexual content, fleeting nudity.
The Wrong Man: *** 1/2 Republic. 98 min. Rated R for sexual content, nudity, strong language, violence.
Heart and Souls: *** 1/2 MCA/Universal. 103 min. Rated PG-13 for strong language, some violence.
\ New releases this week:
Menace II Society: ***
Stars Tyrin Turner and Larenz Tate. Directed by Allen and Albert Hughes. New Line. 90 min. Rated R for extremely raw language, graphic violence, some sexual content.
This is a troubling film on several levels. As a story of black teen-agers in an urban wasteland, it's bleak and virtually hopeless. As popular entertainment, it's violent and calculated to make viewers of all races uncomfortable. The first 20 minutes reinforce every negative racial stereotype that's been leveled at black people. The rest of the film tries to explain why two young men in Watts lead such empty lives. Does it cross a line and endorse the violence it describes? That's for viewers to decide.i
Hot Shots! Part Deux: ** 1/2
Stars Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Brenda Bakke. Directed by Jim Abrahamson. FoxVideo. 86 min. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual humor, strong language.
This is a loose-jointed parody of contemporary movies from "Rambo" to "Basic Instinct," and several older favorites like "Lady and the Tramp" and "Casablanca." For the serious film fan, there are some terrific moments of recognition, but there's also considerable padding. Not as consistently silly as the "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" comedies, but it delivers.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights: * 1/2
Stars Cary Elwes, Dave Chappelle, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck. Directed by Mel Brooks. FoxVideo. 100 min. Rated PG-13 for mild sexual humor, strong language.
The subtitle is the funniest part of this tepid parody of other movies. The unpredictable excesses that made "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" such memorable favorites are absent here.
by CNB