Domestic Epic
Here's one of those movies that can really kill your buzz. [2]
Stacey Richter

Movie Guru
The Movie Guru stakes out L.A. Confidential. [3]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

A Gay Deception
In & Out shows what Hollywood thinks the market will bear. [4]
Donna Bowman and Jim Ridley

Film Reviews
Reviews of currently showing films in Austin. [5]

Boys Will Be Boys
Men behave badly in In the Company of Men. [6]
Susan Ellis

Return of a Painted Lady
The 30's 'toon temptress is back! [7]
Devin D. O'Leary

Videodrome
Friday the 13th Part III and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter get the old fast forward. [8]
Scott Phillips

Videos a Go-Go
Every week we explore a movie theme for your enhanced rent 'n' view pleasure. [9]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

Beef + Cheese = Hearty TV Dinner
The new syndicated action show serves up a heapin' helpin' of sword and sorcery. [10]
Devin D. O'Leary

Now What?
What's the matter, couldn't find a review of that blockbuster film you're excited about? We certaintly don't want to leave you disappointed -- why not try some of these larger-than-life movie links? [11]

Build your own custom paper. To find out more about this feature, click here.

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.

n my ongoing quest to view every movie ever made, I had planned to see all the new movies this weekend. But being a bit of a bum, I only got around to a couple, one of which was The Peacemakers. That title, by the way, is rather ironic considering that George Clooney's ass-kicking character shoots a wounded, groaning assassin; plunges his knife into the foot of an attacker; and slams a man's face into a desk (crushing his nose) in order to get information. My friend described The Peacemakers as a Batman movie where Batman never wears his costume and Robin is played by a beautiful redhead (Nicole Kidman). I found The Peacemakers exciting but lacking any larger raison d'etre, as those zany French say. You might want to see it, however, after reading this review, which gives it the thumbs up -- as those zany Americans say.

But the zaniness doesn't stop there. I also saw Wishmaster, or Wes Craven Presents Wishmaster if you want to get technical about it. This is supposed to be a horror movie, but the real horror is in realizing you paid money to see the rotten thing. This review confirms my disdain.

Now for the movies I didn't see this weekend. A Thousand Acres turns the story of King Lear into a "domestic epic" starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfieffer, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. What a cast! But this reviewer didn't like it much, and I tend to respect her opinions, so I'll be skipping that one.

I'll probably be skipping In & Out, too, since this review ruined the movie's big surprise. Don't you just hate when critics do that? But perhaps this particular writer is doing us a favor, given the filmmakers' apparently dishonest bait-and-switch marketing tactics. Even Ellen knows better than that.

Within the same review you'll also find this well-put critique of In the Company of Men, which I saw a few weeks back. It's definitely the most accurate review of the movie I've seen so far. By "accurate," of course, I mean that it conforms to my tastes. Not like this review, which seems to have bought the picture's conceits hook, line, and stinker. Oh well, we'll give them bonus points for adding a review of Ponette at the end.

Also this week, we've got yet another evaluation of L.A. Confidential, which you'll want to compare to the two reviews that ran in last week's Weekly Wire. L.A. Confidential is not to be confused with Betty Boop Confidential, reviewed here. Other write-ups include Alive & Kicking, The Edge, The Harder They Come, Kicked in the Head, and Soul Food. I give up -- there's no way I'll ever see them all.

Might as well stay home and watch videos. What to watch, what to watch? Well, after seeing that Wishmaster thing, I think I'll cleanse your horror-movie palette by renting Friday the 13th parts 3 and 4, discussed here. (Parts 1 and 2 were reviewed in a previous issue.) Then I'll take a look at Hype, about the Seattle grunge scene. If that's too noisy, I'll just settle in and watch the new Conan show on TV. It probably sucks, but it can't be any worse than Wishmaster, know what I mean?

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.