Monday, September 22, 1997 Movies premiering in coming season
feature few surprises PREVIEW: Fall films promise big names, but
exhibit roles, plots that take no new turns
By William Li
Daily Bruin Contributor
Following the flashy movies of this summer season, fall promises
more big names and more big films. But this time the stars and
studios seem to be taking fewer risks, turning away from the
formulas that made them famous. Here’s a look at the major fall
films:
"The Peacemaker:" In this first film from the new DreamWorks
studio, an army intelligence officer (George Clooney) and the head
of the White House Nuclear Smuggling Group (Nicole Kidman) team up
to track a stolen Russian warhead en route to New York. This action
thriller combines strong creative talent with screenwriter Michael
Schiffer ("Crimson Tide") and two-time Emmy winner Mimi Leder, who
directed ER’s "Love’s Labor Lost" episode. Prediction: The plot is
certainly not original and Clooney is unproven as an action hero,
but who cares? This film promises a fun ride. (Sept. 26)
"U-turn:" After years of stirring up controversy with films like
"JFK" and "Natural Born Killers," director Oliver Stone takes a
detour into "B" moviedom with this low-budget thriller. Sean Penn
stars as eight-fingered Bobby Cooper, on his way to Las Vegas to
pay off his gambling debt. Things get interesting when he gets
sidetracked into a small desert town. Prediction: The mere mention
of Stone tends to make people either paranoid or pissed off, but
this film’s unusual premise offers something less inflammatory.
(Oct. 3)
"Kiss the Girls:" Morgan Freeman ("Seven") plays a forensic
psychologist whose niece has been kidnapped by a serial
woman-collector. He teams up with Ashley Judd, who escapes the
villain’s lair early in the film, to track down the pervert.
Prediction: Some serial killer movies, like "Silence of the Lambs"
and "Seven," have done really well. Others, like "Copycat,"
haven’t. This film’s success will hinge on Freeman and Judd’s
chemistry. (Oct. 3)
"Seven Years in Tibet:" Both the filming and plot of Brad Pitt’s
next movie have been beset with controversy and political
intimidation from China. Pitt stars as Henrik Harrer who is taken
prisoner in a British internment camp while climbing the Himalayas
and eventually escapes to befriend the Dalai Lama. Pretty heavy
spiritual stuff. Prediction: Recent revelations that Harrer had
connections with the Nazis cast the film into an insidious light.
But female fans can at least look forward to seven years with Brad.
(Oct. 8)
"Devil’s Advocate:" Think Faustus meets "The Firm." Keanu Reeves
plays a young, idealistic lawyer who lands a job with a prestigious
New York law firm and discovers his boss (Al Pacino) is actually
Satan himself. A lawyer who’s the devil? It’s a case of art
imitating life. Prediction: Other than the John Grisham franchise,
not too many lawyer films have made it big recently. If Reeves can
learn to act by osmosis, then this interestingly premised film may
be saved. (Oct. 17)
"Gattaca:" In the not-so-distant future, parents genetically
engineer their children like lab mice and something as innocuous as
a skin cell can reveal a person’s predetermined place in the lower
echelons of society. Ethan Hawke is Vincent, an "invalid" or
natural birth with a congenital heart defect. He assumes the
identity of Jerome (Jude Law), a former athlete with
state-of-the-art genes, in order to realize his dream of space
travel with the Gattaca corporation. Uma Thurman stars as Vincent’s
new girlfriend with designer genes. Prediction: Applying such a hot
topic as genetic engineering to a social critique makes for an
intriguing examination of humanity. (Oct. 24)
"A Life Less Ordinary:" The creators of "Trainspotting" making a
romantic comedy? You heard correctly. But hopefully those who
brought us last year’s innovative hit will spice up this trite
genre. Ewan McGregor stars as Robert, an unemployed janitor who
kidnaps his ex-boss’s daughter Celine (Cameron Diaz) for a road
trip. Hired by the honcho to take out the janitor, O’Reilly (Holly
Hunter) and Jackson (Delroy Lindo) are actually angels sent from
heaven to turn the two into lovers. Prediction: The prospect of
Robert and Celine bickering while falling in love has that
been-there, done-that feel to it. But with the
writer-producer-director team from "Shallow Grave" and
"Trainspotting," it’s hard to go wrong. (Oct. 24)
"Starship Troopers:" The bugs are fighting back in director Paul
Verhoeven’s return to sci-fi. Based on the Robert Heinlein novel,
this film features a cast of unknowns taking on a horde of gigantic
intergalactic insects. Prediction: So he made "Showgirls." That
doesn’t mean the director of "Robocop" and "Total Recall" has lost
his sci-fi touch. Without a marquee cast, the real stars of this
film will have to be the extraterrestrial critters. (Nov. 7)
"The Jackal:" Bruce Willis plays the bad guy this time. Willis
is an elusive killer and the FBI deputy director (Sidney Poitier)
springs an IRA terrorist (Richard Gere) from prison to catch him.
Prediction: In terms of plot, this film seems to follow the
standard cat-and-mouse formula without offering much else. (Nov.
14)
"The Rainmaker:" Fresh off the assembly line, this film is based
on John Grisham’s novel about a young lawyer (Matt Damon) taking on
an evil medical insurance company. Directed by Francis Ford
Coppola, the film also stars Claire Danes as an abused woman and
Danny DeVito as a colleague who hasn’t even passed the bar exam.
Prediction: Coming out with its seventh film in five years, the
Grisham franchise is overexposed and poised to fizzle out. This
film will probably do it. (Nov. 14)
"The Truman Show:" Jim Carrey has a lot to prove as he tackles
his first dramatic role. He stars as Truman Burbank, an insurance
salesman who is the unwitting subject of a popular 24-hour-a-day TV
show. Everyone around him, from his wife to his mother, turns out
to be an actor. Prediction: The plot has a really interesting Total
Recall-like twist to it. This film’s success depends greatly on
Carrey’s flexibility as an actor. (Nov. 14)
"Anastasia:" A fantastic mixture of adventure, romance and
legend, this animated musical relates the story of the long-lost
princess. As a result of Rasputin’s curse, Anastasia (Meg Ryan) is
the last surviving member of the Romanov family and emerges as
Anya, an 18-year-old orphan without her childhood memories. Dmitri
and Vladimir, con artist and ex-aristocrat, try to convince Anya of
her royal heritage to cash in big time. Prediction: Co-director Don
Bluth has had success with "An American Tail" and "All Dogs Go to
Heaven," but this film faces stiff competition when Disney
re-releases "The Little Mermaid" a week before. (Nov. 21)
"Alien Resurrection:" Warrant officer Ellen Ripley (Sigourney
Weaver) is back from the dead to revive a film series that had been
senselessly and prematurely cut off by "Alien 3." Thanks to genetic
engineering, a bunch of evil scientists clone her to resurrect the
Alien Queen that had died inside her body. Ripley teams up with a
space smuggler (Winona Ryder) for another dance with Big Slimy.
Prediction: This DNA scheme is just too convenient not to be the
work of Hollywood bean counters trying to cash in on a dead series.
Let’s just hope they get some really nifty weapons this time. (Nov.
26)
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
Anthony Hopkins, right, and Alec Baldwin struggle for survival
after a plane crash in "The Edge."
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
Anthony Hopkins, right, and Alec Baldwin struggle for survival
after a plane crash in "The Edge."