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Film Clips
JUNE 1, 1998:
 BULWORTH. In the final scene of Godzilla, after
the monster and all his offspring have been killed, the camera
zooms into the secret nest where one Godzilla egg remains alive,
threatening to hatch into a sequel as the credits start to roll.
There, now that I've ruined the ending of that pathetic non-film,
you have no excuse for going to see it rather than Bulworth,
Warren Beatty's hilarious and intelligent new film that successfully
resurrects the political comedy. The fast-moving plot follows
Senator Jay Bulworth through the final weekend of his campaign
to win the democratic primary for California. Having hired someone
to kill him so that his daughter can collect a large life insurance
policy, Bulworth is suddenly liberated from his need to win and
begins saying what's on his mind. The script is full of extremely
funny and politically astute commentary by the increasingly demented
Bulworth, and it doesn't lose steam throughout its 107 minutes.
Everything about this movie seems to run contrary to the current
style of filmmaking: There's a plot which unfolds and deepens
throughout; the hip-hop soundtrack is fresh and adds mood, rather
than emphasizing what is already obvious; there's a rhythm to
the pacing that keeps things moving without pandering to an imaginary
attention-deficit disordered audience; the comedy is cerebral
and profanity is used only in service of the larger theme. And
instead of giant reptiles, the villains are insurance companies.
Just like in real life. --DiGiovanna
DEEP IMPACT. With a massive comet coming to destroy the
Earth, everyone tries to mend their childhood traumas by producing
the most maudlin speeches ever heard. What happened to the good
old days when the end of the world meant marauding gangs of leather-clad
bikers and violence in the street? In Deep Impact it seems
like everyone is too bored to go out looting and rioting, so they
just hang out watching the skies and waiting for the special effects.
After 90 minutes of watching these whiny losers you'll be rooting
for the comet.
--DiGiovanna
GODZILLA. In the original pictures, Godzilla was like an
overgrown child throwing a tantrum, and I don't know about you,
but that's why I loved him. In the new Godzilla, he exists
on a purely biological level, motivated only to eat and to breed.
With neither political themes nor anthropomorphism to sustain
him, the sole reason to root for Godzilla is to see him destroy
things while protecting his territory. Even then, this over-marketed,
under-scripted special-effects vehicle doesn't deliver enough;
in fact, director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin eliminate
the big lizard from the movie's entire second act! Instead, we're
introduced to Godzilla's spawn, several dozen man-sized babies
who move, cast shadows, and produce visual puns exactly, and I
do mean exactly, like Steven Spielberg's velociraptors. Yes, this
is the Jurassic Park 3 you didn't know was coming. Sure,
Godzilla turns up again, but his revival can't save the movie
any more than that last-minute blue, singing alien could save
The Fifth Element. As for the actors, Matthew Broderick
and Maria Pitillo star in a wimpy love story that has no business
being in a Godzilla picture. Fortunately, Jean Reno was thrown
in to liven up the mix. He's the movie's one saving grace: a sleepy-eyed
action hero who cusses in French. --Woodruff
THE HORSE WHISPERER. In spite of the fact that you'd expect
us to lambaste this film as Robert Redford's Mirror With Two
Faces; and even though anyone vaguely sentient would peg The
Horse Whisperer as the quintessential chick flick (the principal
characteristics being horses, mother-daughter relationships, and
an English Patient-esque love story involving Robert Redford,
Kristen Scott Thomas and Sam Neill); and even taking into account
the extremely long running time and sentimental cinematography...this
is an unabashedly sincere film with some terrific performances,
particularly by young Scarlett Johannsen and her equine co-star.
The story? After a tragic accident, a troubled upstate New York
career mom packs her damaged daughter and her damaged horse into
a trailer, leaving behind her faltering marriage to drive the
Range Rover to God-forsaken Montana where a mystical cowboy fixes
everything with a piece of string and very few lines. Sounds simple,
but you'd better bring a box of Kleenex. You'll need it...Unless
you have real estate in Montana or quarter horse stock, in which
case you'll be laughing all the way to the bank. --Wadsworth
LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND. Distinguished British actor
John Hurt teams up with not-so-distinguished pretty boy Jason
Priestly in this at first quirkily comic, then sublimely haunting
film. Hurt plays a reclusive old novelist who accidentally catches
a Porky's-like teen movie called Hotpants College II
and finds himself obsessed with its star, who, in an amusing case
of art imitating life, is a none-too-talented heartthrob played
by Priestly. Because Hurt's character is so nervously out of touch,
you're never quite sure whether his is an uncovered Lolita
complex with a homosexual spin, or simply high culture falling
(hard) for pop culture--and that makes the film funny. Cute gives
way to disturbing, though, during the second half, when Hurt journeys
to Long Island to actually meet Priestley. Fantasy and reality
aren't supposed to butt heads, especially for someone as desperate
as Hurt's character. But the conclusion, while inevitable, is
both surprising and touching. Director Richard Kwietniowski owes
most of the film's success to Hurt's richly great acting, but
he also uses Priestly very well here, gently mocking his position
in the acting world and getting the most out of his looks. The
expression on Priestley's face at the end will stay with you long
after the dialogue has faded away. --Woodruff
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