 |
Metro Pulse
OCTOBER 26, 1998:
APT PUPIL (R)
16-year-old Tom, played by Knoxville's own Brad Renfro, becomes obsessed with the Holocaust. As luck would have it, Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander—the incomparable Ian McKellen—lives just down the street. And you thought your neighbors were scary.
Prediction: Director Bryan Singer scored in a big way with The Usual Suspects. Ian McKellen scored in a big way with Richard III (to name just one). Brad Renfro scored with The Client (as well as allegedly on a Knoxville street corner). Hopefully, all these scores will lead to Apt Pupil winning the game.
Probable Entertainment Value: A
BUFFALO 66 (NR)
Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo) was named after his mother's favorite team, the Buffalo Bills. Our boy Billy, a veritable paragon of mental stability, decides to kill the Buffalo Bills place-kicker—the very same one who was responsible for their first Super Bowl loss. But first, Billy must revisit his boyhood home with his kidnapped "wife" in tow. I suppose the only way his life could be more dysfunctional is if his mom named him Buffy.
Prediction: While this may not be high art, it should be freshly creative, judging from its magnetic trailer and glowing reviews. Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara, and Anjelica Huston give ferocious performances. But you should avoid this film if you are—God love ya—a Bills fan.
Probable Entertainment Value: A
THE MIGHTY (PG-13)
Kieran Culkin (yes, another of the crazy Culkins) is Kevin Dillon, a boy with a degenerative disease that leaves him smaller and more fragile than the rest of his peers. He teams up with Maxwell Kane, a kid who can easily be mistaken for a giant. Sharon Stone plays every male teenager's dream mom in this adaptation of Rodman Philbrick's award-winning young adult novel.
Prediction: It's an altruistic My Bodyguard, but with more schmaltz.
Probable Entertainment Value: C
PLEASANTVILLE (PG-13)
Without pain, there can be no pleasure—especially if you live in Pleasantville, a black and white '50s sitcom world. Nineties teens Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon, however, inject some technicolor in the drab lives of the Pleasantvillians and we all get to celebrate the rainbow of colors that brighten our lives.
Prediction: Screenwriter/Director Gary Ross also penned the touching Big and delightful Dave. Will audiences be able to grasp Ross' hard-to-describe concept? Without big name talent, this Truman Show-esque flick may die with nary a whimper.
Probable Entertainment Value: B
SOLDIER (R)
Kurt Russell's glory days are over and he is slowly being replaced by a faster, stronger breed of warrior—ironically that's the plot of Soldier as well. Talk about fiction echoing real life...
Prediction: It's mindless crap. But is it good mindless crap? No, I didn't think so either.
Probable Entertainment Value: C
|
|
