
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, December 30, 1994                   TAG: 9412300096
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE HITS AND MISSES AT THE MOVIES IN '94

For films, 1994 was a good year - not a great year, not an excellent year but a good one. The movies certainly did better than professional sports. Here are the high and low spots, one reviewer's choices for the best (and worst) that played in area theaters this year in alphabetical order.

"Belle Epoque" won an Oscar for best foreign film in 1993. In any year, it's a delightful romantic comedy about love, sex and marriage. The setting is Spain, 1931. The cast, largely unknown in this country, is attractive and talented.

"The Crow" is a moody Gothic action film. The untimely death of star Brandon Lee during its making adds another layer of meaning to this story of resurrection and revenge. Though certainly not to all tastes, this one has an odd staying power.

"Eat Drink Man Woman" is about food and love, all kinds of food and love. Forget the Taiwanese setting and subtitles. Director Ang Lee ("The Wedding Banquet") is telling a universal story about parents and their adult children. The ending is letter perfect. Of all the films on this list, it's the one I'd like most to see again.

"Ed Wood" is director Tim Burton's affectionate look at alternative filmmaker Ed Wood's early career. Johnny Depp is excellent as the auteur with a taste for angora. So is Martin Landau as the aging star Bela Lugosi. Crisp black-and-white photography with a well-realized sense of the times.

"Forrest Gump" zoomed out of nowhere to become the sleeper hit of the year. Director Robert Zemeckis has had a string of commercial hits. On the strength of Tom Hanks' remarkable performance, Zemeckis may get some official respect from his own industry.

"The Lion King" has been accused of sexism, racism and insensitivity of every stripe, but it remains a textbook example of traditional storytelling with a strong plot and some remarkable achievements in animation.

"The Paper" is one of the smartest and most entertaining films ever made about the newspaper business - 24 crazed hours in the life of a New York tabloid - but that's not the reason to see it. Michael Keaton has one of his best roles leading a strong ensemble cast that includes Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Glenn Close and Marisa Tomei.

"Pulp Fiction" has been so wildly overpraised (and damned) that a lot of moviegoers are having seconds thoughts. It remains to be seen whether director Quentin Tarantino is the next wunderkind or another flavor-of-the-month, but this complex story of low-level gangsters is genuinely surprising and inventive.

"Quiz Show," Robert Redford's exploration of the first primetime scandal of the 1950s, is told with an intellectual coolness that's rare in American movies. Still, it's an interesting story about colorful, unusual characters.

"Short Cuts" is Robert Altman's best and most ambitious effort since "Nashville." His adaptation of overlapping Raymond Carver stories is built on dark comedy and a curious kind of tragedy.

And the 10 worst:

"Angie": Geena Davis at her unrestrained worst.

"Bad Girls": Blazing Desperadettes.

"Cops and Robbersons": Chevy Chase and Jack Palance try to out-ham each other.

"The Cowboy Way": Buddy picture without chemistry.

"Dumb and Dumber": Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels live down to the title.

"Exit to Eden": Makes kinky sex boring.

"House of the Spirits": The "Mommy Dearest" of magical realism.

"On Deadly Ground": Steven Seagal on ecological awareness.

"Radioland Murders": Comic misfire of the year.

"True Lies": Schwarzenegger's "Last Action Hero, pt.2"

Of the 10-best, "Belle Epoque," "The Crow," "The Paper" and "Short Cuts" are available on videotape. So are several of the 10-worst, but so what?

by CNB