From: frankm@microsoft.com (Frank R.A.J. Maloney)
Subject: THREE NONREVIEWS: LITTLE NEMO; RAPID FIRE; STAYED TUNED
Date: 07 Sep 92 17:20:44 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Windows/DOS Users Ed Group

Following are three non-reviews:

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LITTLE NEMO: ADVENTURES IN SLUMBERLAND is an animated
feature film, directed by Masami Hata and William Hurtz and
written by Chris Columbus and Richard Outten. The voices are
provided by Mickey Rooney, Rene Auberjonois, and Gabriel
Damon. Rated G.

Little Nemo was the great, landmark creation of Winsor
McCay, who was one the most popular, most influential
cartoonists in American history. McCay can also be
considered the father of animation due to his pioneering
animated cartoon "Gertie the Dinosaur." "Little Nemo" ran in
newspapers for two decades and was immensely popular. Today,
we can only look at those strips in wonder and amazement
and with no little sadness at the degradation of the medium
in our niggardly times.

It was because of my admiration for McCay (who also authored
the surreal strip "Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend") that I had
to see this animated film. The film successfully recreates
much of McCay's art style, eerie, monumental dream imagery
full of surprise, wit, and irrational juxtapositions.
Unfortunately, despite the presence of some important
talent, the filmmakers hedged their bet with a number of
non-McCay intrusions. Little Nemo himself is too cute; the
mischief making trickster too nice; there's a flying squirrel
buddy; there's a major steal from the "Night on Bare
Mountain" sequence in FANTASIA; and there is a throw-away
score of songs by the same Sherman Brothers who wrote the
songs for MARY POPPINS. Unfortunately, the filmmakers
ignored the Victor Herbert Broadway version of Little Nemo,
a smash hit of the 1908 season.

Overall, I found the film charming and engaging, probably
not entirely appropriate for the youngest children, and can
recommend it to you at matinee prices or as a future video
rental or purchase.

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RAPID FIRE is a film directed by Dwight Little and written
by Alan McElroy. It stars Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, Nick
Mancuso. Rated R, for chopsocky violence. This is, of
course, the vehicle meant to launch Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's
son, as a film star. While the film is never going to be the
pet of filmschools, it does deliver its promise of a
presentable action film. And it is less gross, less gruesome
than most of the present generation of actions films, such
as those of Van Damme or Seagal. In style and mood, it is
closer to the older Lee's swashbuckling, kidding movies. The
story is perfectly predictable, and the addition of
Tienanmen Square and a call to political responsibility are
not meant to be taken too seriously. However, McElroy's
script does attempt to make the hero human and likeable. The
character actors are fun to watch, too: Tzi Ma as an Asian
godfather; Powers Boothe as the good cop; and especially,
Nick Mancuso as the psycho heavy. I think Lee does have a
future; he has presence and some competence as an actor; he
is not so intense as his dad, but rather laid-back, slightly
yuppified, non-arrogant.

I can recommend RAPID FIRE at matinee prices or as a winter
video treat.

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STAYED TUNED is a film directed by Peter Hyams and written
by Tom S. Parker & Jim Jennewein. It stars John Ritter, Pam
Dawber, Jeffrey Jones, and Eugene Levy. Rated PG. This is
one of those supremely dumb movies that I am a sucker for.
Of course, TV is too easy a target of satire. Of course,
having former TV personalities in the cast is obvious. But
then, again, why not, it's summertime and the living is
easy. This is, obviously, not a film to take seriously, but
it's fun enough while it lasts to justify a matinee ticket,
especially if like me one has an irrational fondness for
John Ritter, despite his willingness to appear to total
dreck like the PROBLEM CHILD flicks; I concentrate on his
other, better kind of films, the ones no one goes to, like
THEY ALL LAUGHED and that theater farce he did with Carol
Burnett et al. at the beginning of the summer. This is
somewhere in between, mostly harmless, and that's high
praise these days. Jeffry Jones is always fun to watch, too,
and his track record is possibly even worse than Ritter's. 

Probably, you should save this one for a really dreary
winter day and rent the video.

-- 
Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney
	"Well, I'm a little muddled." -- Glinda
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies