SPLICEDwire 1998 Archive

REVIEWS

Released in DECEMBER:
**........"Celebrity"
**........"Elizabeth"
**........"The Faculty"
***1/2..."LITTLE VOICE"
***......"MIGHTY JOE YOUNG"
**........"The Prince of Egypt"
***......"PSYCHO" (1998)
***1/2...."RUSHMORE"
****....."SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE"
**........"Star Trek: Insurrection"
**1/2...."Stepmom"
**........"You've Got Mail"

Released in NOVEMBER:
no stars.."Babe: Pig in the City"
***1/2..."A BUG'S LIFE"
*1/2......"Enemy of the State"
***......"GODS & MONSTERS"
*1/2......"Home Fries"
*1/2......"Meet Joe Black"
*........."The Rugrats Movie"
***......"THE SIEGE"
***1/2..."VELVET GOLDMINE"
*1/2......"The Waterboy"
*1/2......"Welcome to Woop Woop"

Released in OCTOBER:
***......"AMERICAN HISTORY X"
***1/2..."ANTZ"
**1/2...."Apt Pupil"
***1/2..."BELOVED"
**1/2...."Happiness"
no stars.."Holy Man"
**........"The Impostors"
**........"John Carpenter's Vampires"
**1/2...."Lolita"
**1/2...."The Mighty"
*1/2......"A Night at the Roxbury"
**........"One Tough Cop"
1/2*......"Practical Magic"
**........"Shadrach"
**1/2...."WHAT DREAMS MAY COME"

Released in SEPTEMBER:
***......"CLAY PIGEONS"
**........"Firelight"
*........."Let's Talk About Sex"
***......"ONE TRUE THING"
***......"PECKER"
***......"PERMANENT MIDNIGHT"
***......"RONIN"
**1/2...."ROUNDERS"
**........"Rush Hour"
*........."Simon Birch"
**........"A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries"
****...."TOUCH OF EVIL"

Released in AUGUST:
*1/2......"The Avengers"
*1/2......"Blade"
*........."Broadway Damage"
**1/2...."DANCE WITH ME"
**........"54"
**........"Halloween: H20"
**........"How Stella Got Her Groove Back"
***......"NEXT STOP WONDERLAND"
***......"RETURN TO PARADISE"
**1/2...."Safe Men"
**........"Slums of Beverly Hills"
**........"Snake Eyes"
***......"WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE"
*........."Wrongfully Accused"

Released in JULY:
no stars.."Armageddon"
**........"Baseketball"
***......"BILLY'S HOLLYWOOD SCREEN KISS"
****....."BUFFALO '66"
****...."EVER AFTER"
***1/2..."THE GOVERNESS"
**........"Lethal Weapon 4"
**........"Mafia!"
***1/2..."MARIE BAIE DES ANGES"
***......."THE MASK OF ZORRO"
***1/2..."THE NEGOTIATOR"
**1/2...."THE PARENT TRAP"
****...."PI"
***......"SAVING PRIVATE RYAN"
***......"THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY"
***......"Whatever"

Released in JUNE:
*1/2......"Can't Hardly Wait"
**........"Cousin Bette"
***......"DR. DOLITTLE"
****...."GONE WITH THE WIND" (re-release)
***......"THE LAND GIRLS"
**1/2...."Out of Sight"
***......"A PERFECT MURDER"
**1/2...."SIX DAYS, SEVEN NIGHTS"
***1/2..."THE TRUMAN SHOW"
**1/2...."The X-Files"

Released in MAY:
***......"BULWORTH"
***......"CHINESE BOX"
**........"Deep Impact"
**1/2...."Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas"
**........"A Friend of the Deceased"
**........"Homegrown"
***......"THE HORSE WHISPERER"
***......"THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO"
***......"LES MISERABLES"
***1/2..."MULAN"
***1/2..."THE OPPOSITE OF SEX"
***......"QUEST FOR CAMELOT"
***......"SHOOTING FISH"
**1/2...."Son of Gascogne"
no stars.."Sour Grapes"
***......"WILDE"

Released in APRIL:
***......"THE BIG ONE"
***1/2..."CHARACTER"
***......."CITY OF ANGELS"
*........."Lost In Space"
***......"NIAGARA NIAGARA"
***......"NO LOOKING BACK"
**1/2...."The Object of My Affection"
***1/2..."SLIDING DOORS"
***......"SUICIDE KINGS" (no review)
***1/2..."TWO GIRLS & A GUY"

Released in MARCH:
***......"THE BIG LEBOWSKI"
**1/2...."The Gingerbread Man"
*........."The Man in the Iron Mask"
**........"Mr. Nice Guy"
***......"THE NEWTON BOYS"
**........"The Real Blonde" (no review)
**1/2...."WILD THINGS"

Released in FEBRUARY:
**........"Dangerous Beauty"
***......"DARK CITY"
**........"Palmetto"
***......"THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS"
**........"The Wedding Singer"

Released in JANUARY:
***......"THE BOXER" ('97 in NY/LA)
**........"Great Expectations"
**........"Hard Rain"
***......."KUNDUN" ('97 in NY/LA)
****....."OSCAR & LUCINDA" ('97 in NY/LA)
no stars.."Phantoms"
**........"Star Kid"
***1/2..."THE SWEET HEREAFTER" ('97 in NY/LA)
***1/2..."WAG THE DOG" ('97 in NY/LA)
**........"The Winter Guest" ('97 in NY/LA)
**........"Zero Effect" (no review)

YEAR-END 1998

1998 Oscar Score Card
The Best & Worst of 1998

The BEST of 1998

"BUFFALO '66"
"SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE"
"PI"
"EVER AFTER"
"THE GOVERNESS"
"VELVET GOLDMINE"
"THE TRUMAN SHOW"
"TWO GIRLS & A GUY"
"MARIE BAIE DES ANGES"
"THE OPPOSITE OF SEX"
"CHARACTER"
"LITTLE VOICE"

The WORST of 1998

"Babe: Pig in the City"
"Armageddon"
"Sour Grapes"
"Phantoms"
"Holy Man"
"Broadway Damage"
"Practical Magic"
"Wrongfully Accused"
"Lost In Space"
"The Avengers"
"The Man in the Iron Mask"

Critic-to-human rating translation:

*........Don't say I didn't warn you
**......Coulda been but isn't
***.....A good way to spend 2 hours
****...WOW!
Recommended films are IN CAPITALS

FEATURES 1998

Interviews

November 1998
CREATING A WORLD OF 'GODS & MONSTERS': Writer-director Bill Condon passionately praises the subject of his biopic
Eventual Oscar winner for his adapted screenplay, the James Whale enthusiast talks about adapting the legendary director's own style to bring him to life in "Gods & Monsters" starring Ian McKellen.

August 1998
DAVIS IN WONDERLAND: Breaking-up again on screen, 'Next Stop, Wonderland' star Hope Davis is all smiles in real life
A happy Hope Davis revisits tapping into divorce stress for her role as a dumped nurse in "Next Stop, Wonderland," relives her least favorite role (remember the human barbell in "Kiss of Death"?) and recalls producing a childhood play with neighbor Mira Sorvino.

August 1998
PERIOD DEPARTURE: 'Governess' director aims for a new kind of Victorian drama
Writer-director Sandra Goldbacher discusses deliberately dodging "Masterpiece Theater" pitfalls for her fresh, complex, sexy and intelligent English period drama "The Governess".

July 1998
'WHATEVER' WOMAN: Writer-director Susan Skoog revisits teen angst in the '80s
Writer-director Susan Skoog addresses the surge of female coming-of-age indies like her own "Whatever," and the Brat Pack backlash of emotionally authenticity.

July 1998
GOING 'BILLY' WITH TOMMY O'HAVER: Writer-director mocks melodramas with "is he or isn't he" comedy
"Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" creator talks about growing up gay in Indiana, the penchant for melodramas that spawned his "is he or isn't he" comedy and why he thinks Jennifer Lopez is the new gay femme de jour.

July 1998
'BILLY' BOY PLAYS IT HARD TO TELL: Straight talk with "Screen Kiss" co-star Brad Rowe
Q&A with the "is he or isn't he" guy from "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss". He ISN'T (gay, that is), but he has been hit on by closeted Republicans, danced the night away at gay clubs and been compared to Brad Pitt an awful lot.

June 1998
'OUT OF SIGHT' & SHORT ON SLEEP: George Clooney & Don Cheadle
Up at 5 a.m. to fly to San Francisco for interviews, the slightly groggy stars of "Out of Sight" chime in on working with author Elmore Leonard and indie director Steven Soderbergh on this character-driven caper picture...when they're not taking good-natured pot-shots at each other.

June 1998
A WEIR'D EXPERIENCE: Interview with "Truman Show" director Peter Weir
Why cast Jim Carrey in a drama? How far did they take the TV show atmosphere on the set? How did the actors prep for their twisted roles? The director of the most daring American film of the decade tells all.

May 1998
'SHOOTING' STAR: Interview with "Shooting Fish" actor Dan Futterman
From Robin Williams' son in "The Birdcage" to his first starring role, Futterman talks about his filmmaking experiences and how he prepared to play a con man in this slapstick English comedy.

April 1998
'LOOKING BACK' FOR INSPIRATION: Interview with director Edward Burns
With his first drama in the can, indie film sensation Burns discusses what he's learned about filmmaking since "The Brothers McMullen," his penchant for working class Joes and why he knew Lauren Holly and Jon Bon Jovi could give good drama in "No Looking Back."

March 1998
Visions of Strangers dance in his head: 30m w/ 'Dark City' writer-director Alex Proyas
The reigning visionary trendsetter of dark future movies, Proyas ("The Crow") has become a hip Terry Gilliam with the release of "Dark City", a Gothic paranoia/sci-fi/noir picture that harks of "Metropolis" and "Brazil." Talks about his talented cast, his unique visaul fabric and why The Strangers fly like Mary Poppins.

March 1998
Unrecognized 'Beauty': The surprising off-screen Catherine McCormack
The ill-fated wife in "Braveheart," braving her first leading role as a 16th Century courtesan in "Dangerous Beauty", comes to San Francisco with a whole new look and stories about what was and what wasn't glamorized in this Hollywood biography of prostitue with political pull and Protestant problems (namely, the Inquisition). Also: Full 30 minute Q&A.

March 1998
Different views of 'Beauty': 30m w/ 'Dagerous Beauty' director Marshall Herskovitz
Argumentatively passionate about his movie, Herskovitz speaks like he must have while pitching "Beauty," the glamorized biography of a 16th Century Venetian courtesan, to the studio heads, honestly using all kinds of 50-cent words to describe what he was trying to accomplish with this film, and actually made me revisit my modest opinion of the movie.

February 1998
Playing with pulp fiction: Neo-noir 'Palmetto' a departure for director
Volker Schlondorff, the German art house director of "The Tin Drum" and "The Handmaid's Tale," discusses the fulfillment his career-long dream of directing a pulpy film noir thriller just for the sake of entertainment and the obscenity-and-censorship issues surrounding the Oklahoma City seizure of "The Tin Drum." Also: Full 30 minute Q&A.