Class Acting
Celebrating the work of Jimmy Stewart and Robert Mitchum. [2]
Noel Murray and Jim Ridley

Hollywood Babble On
Book reviews of Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood by Cari Beauchamp and Who the Devil Made It by Peter Bogdanovich. [3]
Alison Macor

Karate Kick-Off
Jackie Chan's latest flick soars. [4]
Stacey Richter

A Movie With Kick
Operation Condor is another adrenaline fest from martial-arts superstar Jackie Chan. [5]
Mark Jordan

Sleight of Chan
Jackie Chan kicks butt (but of course) in his latest, Operation Condor [6]
Noel Murray and Jim Ridley

Film Reviews
Comprehensive film reviews from the Austin Chronicle. [7]

Temptress Moon
A poetic melodrama filled with intrigue, betrayal and revenge. [8]
Mary Dickson

Movie Guru
The Movie Guru goes in search of the motherlode and finds Ulee's Gold. [9]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

King of Swing
Jay Ward's classic cartoon goes to the movies. [10]
Devin D. O'Leary

Night and Day
When a local writer signed up to assist a visiting film crew, he spent two weeks discovering more music, food, culture - and counterculture - than most New Orleanians experience in a lifetime. [11]
Lee Yates

Scanlines
Reviews of The Bicycle Thief, The Sadist, Rancho Notorious, and The Big Heat (all video). [12]

Videos a Go-Go
Each week, Jesse dissects a movie genre for your enhanced rent 'n' view pleasure. [13]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

Reel World
Local and national film news. [14]
Devin D. O'Leary

Film Clips
Check out Tucson Weekly's capsule reviews packed with links to the hottest movie home pages on the Web. [15]

Now What?
A Web link page chock full of resources, recommendations, and staff picks pertaining to the subject of this section. [16]

• Batman and Robin
• Con Air
• Designated Mourner, The
• Face Off
• Female Perversion
• Hercules
• Men in Black
• Ulee's Gold
• Wild America

eekly Wire's film section has done it again: it's impressed even its own editor. That's me, by the way. I'm amazed at the strength of the content in this week's issue. Whatever your tastes, we've got reviews and articles to match. For proof, read on:

Are you a lover of classic films? Then you'll enjoy this look at the lesser-mentioned films of Jimmy Stewart and Robert Mitchum, whom the author feels have been unreasonably lumped into blanc and noir career categories since they died. Or check out this Scanlines review of The Bicycle Thief, Vittoria De Sica's touching Neo-Realist masterpiece from 1940s Italy.

Fans of more current foreign-movie fare should enjoy this review of Temptress Moon, a Chinese film from the same director responsible for Farewell, My Concubine and Yellow Earth. The melodrama has elicited raves for its poetic emotional heights. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., purveyors of independent film should be interested in this look at Ulee's Gold, the Victor Nunez (Ruby in Paradise) picture that marks the comeback of actor Peter Fonda.

Got a more literary and historical mindset? An evaluation of two books about powerful and visionary Hollywood filmmakers explains how the works complement each other's perspectives. Cari Beauchamp's feminist biography Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood concentrates on women who succeeded in the male-dominated industry without having to "lie down," if you know what I mean; and Peter Bogdanovich's Who the Devil Made It, a vast compilation of interviews with the great male auteurs of cinema (such as Fritz Lang and Sidney Lumet), shows that it was none too easy for them, either.

But that's probably all dullesville to many of you -- especially those who prefer action to words. If you really want action, action, action, perhaps you should consider seeing Jackie Chan's new exercise in gymnastic-style conflict, Operation Condor. We've got not one, not two, not three, but four reviews of this freshly dubbed import, all of which congratulate the movie for its successful formula of muscle over mind. We've also got reviews of such mainstream releases as Air Force One and George of the Jungle.

And now for the really specialized stuff: Are you an X-Files fanatic who wants to know about the new movie? Read this. Are you fond of rap stars who make the transition to acting? Click yo' self here. And if you're the kind of movie lover who's interested in the minutiae of film shoots, this article about the travails of a New Orleans production crew provides an entertaining glimpse into the scrappy world of small-time moviemaking.

See? Not too bad....and that's just one issue. Other reviews this week include Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book, Wallace Shawn's The Designated Mourner, plus Only in America, Saint Clara, and A Single Girl.

Talk Back
If you're one of the few who didn't think Volcano blew, The Lost World bit, or The Fifth Element was one element too many, here's the forum to defend your opinion--crazy though it may be.

Curious about a particular director's work? Not sure what to rent at the video store? Enjoy reading several contrasting opinions of the same film? This is the place for you. Hundreds of reviews lie at your fingertips, sortable by genre, date or director.

The Little Tugboat That Couldn't
Speed 2: Cruise Control. [06-20-97]
Devin D. O'Leary

Tooting Your Own Horn
An interview with Brassed Off's director Mark Herman. [06-13-97]
Devin D. O'Leary

At All Hours
Staying up all night, when everyone else is fast asleep. [06-13-97]
John Bridges