HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: egnilges@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Edward G. Nilges)
Subject: Re: Coppola's DRACULA
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 14:48:44 GMT

In article <C0H3AB.C6v@news.iastate.edu> s1mbm@isuvax.iastate.edu writes:
>In article <1993Jan7.022056.10619@Princeton.EDU>, egnilges@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Edward G. Nilges) writes:
>
>Ed, thanks for a heartfelt, and in my view, rather sensible post.  Am I to
>infer, though, that you think *Apocalypse Now* is crap?  I *hope* not!
>
>michael mcdonald

Apocaypse Now certainly lacks the focus of the Godfather, and even in
this rather early movie Coppola shows his inability to deal with his
will-to-power.  This movie popularized a scene of an American air attack
and set it to the music of Wagner; one would suppose that the North
Vietnamese, subject to Nixon's "mad bomber" attacks of Christmas 1972,
would be less amused.  It could never decide, as a movie, whether it
opposed the war in Vietnam or supported it as a crusade against "the
horror!"  As such, it is disjointed.

I KNOW that I don't love the smell of napalm in the morning, and to me
it's not the smell of victory.  Coppola needs to grow up.


Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: brand@rtsg.mot.com (Robert W. Brand)
Subject: Need Drew Barrymore title
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 18:34:10 GMT



I don't usually read this group, but I was wondering if any of the
motion picture gurus could help me out.  

I need the title of a film starring Drew Barrymore in which she 
supposedly has an "intimate" scene with a female co-star.  I don't
know anything about the film except that it was probably made for 
1992 or 1991.  I remember only a brief interview on a talk show where
she was discussing the movie. Any help would be greatly appreciated.  
Don't ask why I need it :).

(Email reply is prefered over a posting).
                               
(brand@rtsg.mot.com
 bobb%isdgsm@rtsg.mot.com)

-- 
Bob Brand
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
From: barrus@cod.nosc.mil
Subject: re: HERO
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, CA
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 15:59:34 GMT


In article <C09Aoo.7yK@news.udel.edu> usenet@news.udel.edu writes:
>Why has there been so little discussion of this movie?  I thought this was
>a GREAT film.  In fact, I hereby nominate it for the best film of 1992
>(well, Howards End was pretty good so how about best _American_ film :-).
>Here is something I wrote up about it back when I saw it in November:
>
>
>This is my kind of movie.  And this is the kind of movie I would like to
>make.  This movie is trying to teach people something about our culture.
>One problem I had with this movie, believe it or not, was I think it didn't
>take itself seriously enough. 

Please, Hollywood doesn't need anymore encouragement
in  this regard


Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews
From: leeper@mtgzy.att.com (Mark R. Leeper)
Subject: REVIEW: SCENT OF A WOMAN
Reply-To: leeper@mtgzy.att.com
Organization: AT&T, Middletown NJ
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 16:36:32 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01680
Keywords: author=Leeper

                              SCENT OF A WOMAN
                      A film review by Mark R. Leeper
			Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper

          Capsule review:  SCENT OF A WOMAN is slick and well-
     made, making 157 minutes seem like a lot less.  It makes the
     audience feel all the right emotions at the right turns.  But
     ultimately there is less here than meets the eye.  While the
     last fifteen minutes will please some, the same segment will
     strike others as pat and contrived.  Rating: high +1 (-4 to
     +4).

     Curiously, SCENT OF A WOMAN is a film of a man's journey from childhood
to adulthood.  Charlie Simms (played by Chris O'Donnell) goes to a very
upper-class private prep school where the nicest kids are super-snobs and
most others are worse.  Charlie has two problems over Thanksgiving weekend.
In the days just before Thanksgiving he saw some students setting up a prank
that went very wrong.  Now the administration is using both a big carrot and
a big stick to pry out what Charlie knows.  His other problem is Lt. Colonel
Frank Slade (played by Al Pacino).  Charlie has been hired to care for Slade
over the weekend.  Slade is very much like the Jack Nicholson character in A
FEW GOOD MEN, but now a blind alcoholic who hates the world.  What makes the
story curious is that it is Slade who must make the journey to adulthood.
Charlie learns a different lesson, that of seizing opportunity.

     Charlie's job is just simple baby-sitting, but Slade has other ideas.
He drags Charlie to New York City on a mission of Slade's own planning.  As
you could predict, the two men who start by hating each other have
adventures together and learn to respect and admire each other.  Their
togetherness is just what each turns out to need, to nobody's surprise.

     Much has been said about how good Pacino's acting is in SCENT OF A
WOMAN, but in fact he seems to overpower every sentence he speaks.  Like his
character, he forces himself to be the center of attention in every scene
where he appears.  If Chris O'Donnell is remembered for the film, it is for
the scenes where Pacino did not appear.  Incidentally, this film also
exploits the myth that blind people seem to develop their other senses to
super-human levels.  Pacino's Slade can judge the quality of a salute
without actually seeing it.  He also can identify the perfume and even the
soap a woman uses, hence the title of the film.  Bo Goldman's screenplay has
good dialogue but ultimately falls into the not uncommon cinematic irony of
pulling all the familiar strings and pushing all the familiar buttons to
tell the audience not to let themselves be manipulated nor should they
manipulate others.  I give this SCENT OF A WOMAN high +1 on the -4 to +4
scale.

					Mark R. Leeper
					att!mtgzfs3!leeper
					leeper@mtgzfs3.att.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews
From: webb+@CS.CMU.EDU (Jon Webb)
Subject: REVIEW: SCENT OF A WOMAN
Reply-To: webb+@CS.CMU.EDU (Jon Webb)
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 16:36:49 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01681
Keywords: author=Webb

			    SCENT OF A WOMAN
		       A film review by Jon Webb
			Copyright 1993 Jon Webb

     Al Pacino plays a blind former Lieutenant Colonel who, being
depressed and irascible, has been left in the care of an impoverished
prep school boy for Thanksgiving weekend.  The Colonel plans a trip to
New York City to experience the best life offers and brings the boy
along.

     I read a review that pointed out that this film was intended to be
a sentimental holiday heart-warmer--both the old Colonel and the young
boy learn from each other, etc.--but it turned into a much better film
because of Al Pacino's performance.  That is exactly right.  Pacino
refuses to give the Colonel the one-dimensional nature that would have
made this a superficial film.  His portrayal gets to the heart of the
character of the Colonel, who is not all bad and not all good, and not
completely healed at the end of the film.  He mouths the lines given
him, turning the good ones (about women) into poetry, and keeping the
bad ones (concerning the subplot of the boy's problems at the prep
school) from being totally sentimental trash.  He makes this film
entertaining and worth seeing.

     The prep school boy (played by Chris O'Donnell) is also pretty
good.  Perhaps it is just in reaction to Pacino's performance, but I
thought he'd captured the character of such a young man very well,
particularly in the early scenes.

     That said, there are numerous flaws in this film.  The script is
bad, and the editing often gives one no impression of time passing --
e.g., at the Thanksgiving Dinner they seem to sit down and have pie, and
when the boy is waiting in the car Pacino seems to take about five
minutes, which is something of a disappointing climax after such a big
buildup.

     Even worse, the direction of the Thanksgiving Dinner family is so
bad you don't have any idea what's going on.  Pacino shows up, and
everyone seems constipated.  What's going on there?  The film is best
when O'Donnell and Pacino are alone; at least then they seem to have
some idea of what they're doing.  Martin Brest, the director, doesn't
have a clue.

-- J

Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews
From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Subject: REVIEW: AMY FISHER: MY STORY
Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Organization: ?
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 21:56:24 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01654
Keywords: author=K.Johnson

                           AMY FISHER: MY STORY
                       A film review by Ken Johnson
                        Copyright 1993 Ken Johnson

99 min., not rated, Drama, 1992, Made-for-television
Director: Bradford May
Cast: Noelle Parker, Ed Marinaro, Boyd Kestner, Pierrette Grace,
      Lawrence Dane, Kate Lynch, Kathleen Laskey

     I am sure that everybody has heard the story by now, but will
briefly go over it just in case somebody missed it.  Long Island
teenager Amy Fisher (Noelle Parker) met Joe Buttafucco (Ed Marinaro),
who worked at an autobody shop.  Fisher and Buttafucco started to have an
affair with, in the end, will have Fisher attempting to kill Joe
Buttafucco's wife so she can have Joe to herself.

     AMY FISHER: MY STORY is the first of three television films that
are being aired about the Amy Fisher story.  AMY FISHER: MY STORY is
told from the side of Amy Fisher.  The film is supposedly based on facts
as stated by Amy Fisher.  How much of the film is fact and how much is
fiction, I don't know, but the film makes good watching.  This film was
very well done and even if very little is actual fact, I enjoyed
watching it.  On a scale of zero to five, I give AMY FISHER: MY STORY a
four.

     After the Amy Fisher story became known in May of '92, three of the
four major television networks rushed to film the story first.  NBC won,
with this film, the other two networks ABC, with BEYOND CONTROL: THE AMY
FISHER STORY starring Drew Barrymore, and CBS, with CASUALTIES OF LOVE:
THE 'LONG ISLAND LOLITA' STORY starring Alyssa Milano, will be airing
theirs on the same night a week after NBC ran this film.  I will attempt
to view the other versions as well and do reviews on them.

     The actors and actresses in the film do a good job.  Noelle Parker
(ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS, TWISTED) does an exceptionable job as Amy
Fisher.  As well as doing such a good job, Parker looks more like Amy
Fisher than the other two actresses that have been picked.  Her
performance as Amy Fisher was completely convincing, and the backbone to
the film.  Ed Marinaro gives an outstanding performance as Joe
Buttafucco.  Even though his character is a complete sleaze, Marinaro's
performance gives him some humanity.

     The film seems rather well written.  However, from what I have read
in articles and heard on the news, Amy Fisher was not exactly as she was
written.  She evidently had more bad habits than the film showed, but
the film might have been trying to be nice to her (it is giving her side
of the story).

--------
Ken Johnson
blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Subject: REVIEW: TRESPASS
Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Organization: ?
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 16:01:15 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01670
Keywords: author=K.Johnson

                                 TRESPASS
                       A film review by Ken Johnson
                        Copyright 1993 Ken Johnson

105 min., R, Action, 1992
Director: Walter Hill
Cast: Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler, Ice Cube, Art Evans,    
      Bruce A. Evans

     While fighting a fire, firemen Bill Paxton and William Sadler are
given a treasure map by a man who then commits suicide.  The map shows a
floor of an abandoned factory in East St.  Louis.  Bill Paxton and
William Sadler go to the factory to search for the treasure.  While they
are searching, drug dealer Ice-T and his gang show up and Paxton and
Sadler witness a murder.  Paxton and Sadler end up trapped in one of the
rooms at the factory with Ice-T's brother as a hostage.  They try to
find a way out, while Ice-T tries to get his brother back.

     Being a fan of Ice-T (both the music and acting there of) and
director Walter Hill, I went out to see TRESPASS at the first chance I
got.  This is more of a young adult film, than an adult film, but that
is not to say that all adults will dislike it.  I did enjoy watching
TRESPASS, and recommend it if you tend to enjoy Walter Hill's films.  On
a scale of zero to five, I give TRESPASS a five.  TRESPASS is rated R
for violence and explicit language.

     This is certainly a time for music artists to start acting.  
Whitney Huston has a film out, THE BODYGUARD; Phil Collins was just
recently in HOOK; rap artists Ice-T and Ice Cube are continuing their
film careers in TRESPASS.  TRESPASS was originally scheduled to be
released during the summer under the title THE LOOTERS, but the timing
was too close to the L.A.  riots.  TRESPASS is written excellently.  It
is exciting and the action sequences are great.  The soundtrack for the
film is great.  The music fits the film perfectly.

     There are several levels to the characters, some are good (Bill
Paxton, William Sadler) and others are bad (Ice-T, Ice Cube).  But
within those levels, there is still more, Bill Paxton is a good guy,
whereas William Sadler is a semi-good good guy.   The same is shown with
Ice-T and Ice Cube, Ice Cube is definitely a bad guy, but Ice-T is a
semi-bad bad guy.

     I have enjoyed Ice-T's acting career so far (NEW JACK CITY,
RICOCHET) and I think that he is a powerful screen presence.  He has
played the good guy (NEW JACK CITY) and now he plays the semi-bad guy
(the same as he did in RICOCHET, I believe).  He does an excellent job
in this film, and he alone makes the film worth going to see.  Ice Cube
(BOYZ N THE HOOD) is very good as one of the bad guys.  William Sadler
and Bill Paxton were great as the firemen.  The two people who I enjoyed
the most in this film were Ice-T and the person who played the black man
who was living in the factory.

--------
Ken Johnson
blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu

Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews
From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Subject: REVIEW: LOONEY TUNES HALL OF FAME
Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Organization: ?
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 22:04:18 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01678
Keywords: author=K.Johnson

                         LOONEY TUNES HALL OF FAME
                       A film review by Ken Johnson
                        Copyright 1993 Ken Johnson

85 min., G, Animated/Comedy, various years
Directors: Fritz Freleng, Chuck M. Jones, Robert McKimson
Voice of: Mel Blanc

     This film is a collection of some of the Warner Brothers "Looney
Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" shorts from the late 1940's to the early
1960's.  The characters in the shorts include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck,
Elmer Fudd, Wyle Coyote, The Road Runner, Leghorn, Sylvester the cat,
Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, and many others.

     LOONEY TUNES HALL OF FAME is a great way to spend an hour and a
half.  All of the cartoons were from before my time, and I had seen none
of them before.  I enjoyed watching this film very much.  I recommend
this film to anyone who can go watch a cartoon without feeling guilty or
stupid for it.  I don't know what the availability of this film is.  It
showed up for about a week at one of the theaters in my area at matinee
times.  On a scale of zero to five, I give LOONEY TUNES HALL OF FAME a
five.

     The animation in this film is great, and unlike many of the
Saturday morning and weeknight cartoons of today.  The cartoons are
designed with several levels of humor so that children will love them,
and so that adults will also enjoy them.  I enjoyed every one of the
cartoon shorts very much.  I think that the cartoon shorts that I
enjoyed the most were those with Elmer Fudd hunting Bugs Bunny and Daffy
Duck.

--------
Ken Johnson
blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu

Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews
From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Subject: REVIEW: AMANTES
Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Organization: ?
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 22:05:48 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01665
Keywords: author=K.Johnson

                                  AMANTES
                         (American title: LOVERS)
                       A film review by Ken Johnson
                        Copyright 1993 Ken Johnson

105 min., R, Drama, 1991, In Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Vincente Aranda
Cast: Victoria Abril, Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdu, Enrique Cerro,   
      Mabel Escano, Alicia Agut

     Ex-soldier Jorge Sanz moves into the town where his girlfriend
Maribel Verdu lives.  As soon as he gets a job and money, they will get
married.  Sanz rents a room from Victoria Abril.  She seduces him, and
Sanz finds that he is falling out of love with Verdu, and into love with
Abril.

     AMANTES is a rather sad film and is based on a true story.   I
don't recommend this film for everybody, although if it comes to a
theater near you for a cheap enough rate, you might be interested in
going to see it.  If the film sounds interesting to you from the review
I have written, I suggest that you do attempt to see this film at a
theater as I don't know if it will ever be released on video cassette.
On a scale of zero to five, I give AMANTES a four.  AMANTES is rated R
for strong sexual content, explicit language, adult situations, brief
female nudity, and brief male nudity.

     The actors/actresses in this film do a very good job.   Victoria
Abril is excellent as Jorge Sanz's landlady.  She is seductive, yet you
can see the evil behind what she does.  Jorge Sanz is great as the poor
man who is deeply in love with Maribel Verdu.  As he gets to know
Victoria Abril he starts to fall in love with her; or is it just the
sexual things that she does with him?  Maribel Verdu is excellent as
Jorge Sanz's girlfriend who sees herself losing him.  She has to convert
to Victoria Abril's tactics if she wants to keep Jorge Sanz for herself.

     This film reminded me a lot of the Pamela Smart case that happened
in New Hampshire last year.  It is almost the exact story, except
instead of a husband, the third person is a girlfriend.  The film is
quite well written.  The end of the film is rushed and a little
confusing.  There are a few slow spots, and I vaguely remember one place
that moved along too quickly, but other than that I don't remember any
problems with the writing.  The film presented the material rather well,
not making it too depressing, especially considering the content.
However, at some points, especially towards the end, the film does get
depressing.

--------
Ken Johnson
blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Subject: REVIEW: MEDUSA: DARE TO BE TRUTHFUL
Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Organization: ?
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 16:01:56 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01671
Keywords: author=K.Johnson

                        MEDUSA: DARE TO BE TRUTHFUL
                       A film review by Ken Johnson
                        Copyright 1993 Ken Johnson

51 min., not rated, Comedy/Documentary/Music, 1992, B&W/Color,
Made-for-cable-television
Director: John Fortenberry
Cast: Julie Brown, Chris Elliot, Bob Goldthwait, Tom Kenny, Carol Leifer

     This film is comedienne Julie Brown's spoof of Madonna's
documentary MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE.  Brown, a ditsy singer, films her
"Blonde Leading the Blonde" tour and makes it into a movie.   The film
follows Madonna's almost exactly, except the events are comical.  Like
Madonna's, this film is filmed in black and white, except for concert
footage, which is in color.

     MEDUSA: DARE TO BE TRUTHFUL was originally aired on Showtime and
has just been released onto video cassette.  I, who happened to like
MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE, fully enjoyed this film.  I only recommend this
film to people who have seen Madonna's film, because otherwise most of
it will not be as humorous as it could be.  I recommend that if you
haven't seen MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE, then rent the two films on the same
night and watch Madonna's then Julie Brown's.  On a scale of zero to
five, I give MEDUSA: DARE TO BE TRUTHFUL a four.  MEDUSA: DARE TO BE
TRUTHFUL is not rated and contains explicit language and adult
situations.

     This is a great film for those who are fans of the comedienne Julie
Brown, or those that think Madonna is over exposed and riding on a high
horse.  Unfortunately for those of you, who like me, are fans of Bob
Goldthwait, he is not on for very long in this film.  I was a little
disappointed with that, but Julie Brown made up for it.  Chris Elliot
(of the canceled FOX sitcom "Get a Life") does a better job in this
than he did in "Get a Life", but that doesn't say much.  He is not the
main attraction in this film, and I don't think that he adds anything to
it.

     This film is excellently written.  The similarities between this
and MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE are plentiful, except in this film all the
events have been twisted around until they meet Brown's wishes.  This
film is extremely stupid, but I didn't find myself noticing that until I
was finished.  This is certainly not a film that has great significance,
but it is a enjoyable way to spend an hour.

--------
Ken Johnson
blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu

Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews