Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January, 7, 2000
Every Friday at 2 p.m. EST, Washington Post movie reviewer Rita Kempley comes online to talk about the films you love, the ones you hate and the ones you haven't seen yet.
It's Friday afternoon and you can almost taste the popcorn. Whether you're planning to hit the theater or your local video store, Rita's here to help you wade through the sea of choices.
This is also your chance to be a movie critic. Share your picks and pans, and tell us how things would be different if you ran Hollywood. Would there be more movies like "Being John Malkovich"? "The Matrix"? Who would you cast in your movies and why?
Here is a transcript of today's discussion.
EraserheadGuy, DC: I would like to start this first chat of the new year by offering an invocation to the one who makes it all possible...Amanda, our chat’s producer. Please bow your heads.........CyberGoddess Amanda is great; CyberGoddess Amanda is good. Thank you, CGA, for this chat that we are about
to receive. May your beneficence fill our screens throughout the year with
only a minimum of technical glitches. Watch over our chats and keep them harmonious and free of unnecessary rancor, especially that directed at me. Give us the fortitude
to go back to our stupid, boring jobs afterward without pulling a Kevin Spacey a la "American Beauty." CGA bless Rita and ArtMovieLover and Buscemi-fan and Greg and Laurie and London Calling and Ranter and Steve and all others known but by their locale. Bless ArlingtonSweetie, for she knew not what she did. Bless Tom Shales, may he
fully recover from osteopsoriasis so he can chat with us soon. Bless even
Hampton Fancher, who needs it since his movie tanked at the box office. CGA
bless us everyone. Amen......Good afternoon, everyone, and Happy New Year! Good to be here as always!
Rita Kempley: Dear EraserheadGuy: I have some sad news for us, but not for CyberGodess Amanda, who has abandoned us for CNN or PBS.The good news is CyberGodess Rebecca has joined us and swears to treat us in the manner to which we have become accustomed. We must go on. Arlington Sweetie knew not what she misseth, but Somewhere sounds interested.
Chevy Chase, MD: So Rita, since I've already seen "Shortcuts", should I bother seeing "Magnolia?" I gotta say, although I thought "Boogie Nights" was well done, I felt like there was no need to sit through it after having already seen "Goodfellas." Is there really some original stuff in "Magnolia?"
Rita Kempley: The are really very different. I think "Magnolia" has more in common with "Dogma." There are no angels, but it is a spiritual piece in its own strange way. Tom Cruise really is amazing, though he shares certain unmentionable-on-a-family-hour type blab fest with Markie Mark in "Boogie Nitghts." It's an imaginative mess, but it's not dull.
WDC: Know anything about the new General Cinemas at Mazza Gallerie? Is this their first weekend of operation or has anyone tried 'em out yet? Not that Wisconsin doesn't already have about 15 screens in a half-mile stretch, but it'd be nice to have one more place to go.
Rita Kempley: I know they were having some sort of opening wingding Wednesday, but I don't know if they're opening this weekend. Maybe somebody out there can help. Like Rebecca.
Rockville, MD: Rita, we saw Toy Story 2 over the holidays and enjoyed it very much--adults and kids alike. However now looking for a grownup movie to see this weekend. What's your pick? By the way, I call em grownup movies, not adult movies, ever since my son blurted out some years back in video store: "Hey mom, are you and dad gonna watch adult movies again tonight?"
Rita Kempley: I'd go with "The Talented Mr. Ripley" if you want drama, "Magnola" if you want a challenge, "Galaxy Quest" if you're a Star Trek fan and you want a comedy, and "The End of the Affair" is you're looking for old-fashioned romance.
Laurie: Rita,
Happy New Year!
I thought Tom Cruise's role in Magnolia was strictly cameo? Wasn't it something he snuck in while S. Kubrick held him hostage?
When is T.Shales making that promised visit?
Rita Kempley: Hi Laurie: Happy New Year! No, Tom Cruise is one of nine protagonists in this ensemble piece. It looks like doing time with Kubrick did him good. This is a thank God Almight, I'm free again performance. I will see if I can get a hold of TS in the next 30mins or so.
Chevy Chase, MD: Rita--this is off-topic, but just FYI: Amanda is now at PBS, not CNN. And she misses this chat terribly.
--her husband
Rita Kempley: Thanks Mr. A.
Alexandria: Queen Rita and Princess Amanda:
Thought I would lob a hand grenade into today's discussion by asking: What is the deal with Gwyneth Paltrow? The woman cannot act to save her life. In "Talented Mr. Ripley," I found myself almost laughing out loud at her pathetic attempts to show fear, anger, joy, etc. Cate Blanchett shows more talent in five minutes of screen time than Gwyneth does in the whole movie. I realize Hollywood values screen presence, looks, and marketability more than talent, but am I alone here? Or am I just a bitter, vengeful Emily Watson fan who still can't believe she didn't win last year's Oscar for "Hillary and Jackie"?
Dan
Rita Kempley: Dear Alex: Thanks for the lob. I don't think Gwyneth had much to do really, but I agree she wasn't setting the world on fire. When I was interviewing Matt Damon, I couldn't help noticing that he praised Jude Law and Cate Blanchett, but not Paltrow.
washingtonpost.com: Mazza Gallerie cinemas opened today at 11a.m. Check out this site for more info. http://yp.washingtonpost.com/E/V/WASDC/0047/72/25/cs1.html
Washington DC: I read your review of THE END OF THE AFFAIR and I couldn't figure out whether you liked it OR didn't like it OR wanted to like it better than you did...
A spoiler question: You allude to a COUGH possessed by Moore's character. Please don't tell me she dies of consumption! I always think that consumption is a namby-pamby way for authors to kill off their characters.
Rita Kempley: Well, you caught me. I like Ralp Fiennes and Julianne Moore and I wanted to like it more. Have you ever noticed that characters never cough unless they're going to die of consumption?
Dupont Circle: We missed "Boys Don't Cry" the first time around -as my fiance' is a little scared of the Karate Kid-ette as a boy-...is there any chance of it coming around again??
Rita Kempley: If the leading lady gets an Oscar nomination, it'll be back. But believe me, this is no "Karate Kid." This is heavy-going drama.
Albany, NY: Hi Rita,
Love reading your reviews and your chat each week.
I have a question about the movie-going experience. My wife and I went to a 9:30PM show of "Any Given Sunday" on New Year's Day. Generally we have had good luck in our movie experiences -little talking, no cell phones, an occasional crying child-. No longer. There were several children -under the age of 5- at this showing, one infant who screamed through the first half hour. Another patron went to get security just before I was going to, and they proceeded to escort mother and child outside. -Sidenote: When we saw Blair Witch earlier this summer, there was a couple there with a 7-8 year old boy, which I found odd...not exactly family friendly material there. That poor child probably never wants to go camping again.-
These two experiences -mainly the most recent one- lead to my question: Do you think theaters should impose some kind of age restriction on movies after a certain time? Do you know of any that do this? I think common courtesy should reign here -if you can afford to go to the movies, you can afford a babysitter-, but more often than not, people seem to disregard everyone elses "right".
Thanks...
Rita Kempley: Hi Albany: Thanks for the kind words. I'm always horrified when I see parents bring kids to gruesome, R-rated movies, but I see this all the time. Once I saw a cop usher a group of kids from a boys and girls club into a sccreening of Conan the Barbarian 3. I think there are already age restrictions, G, PG etc., but some parents are too dim to follow them. They have crying rooms in Seattle, for parents whose little ones start wailing in the middle of a movie. I think that's a great solution.
Laurie: We will wait for Mr. Shales with baited breath.
What is the deal with Mike Leigh's new movie? Is it going to be the Oscar dark horse?
Rita Kempley: I just got Toms answering machine. He's probably hiding out today. Topsy-Turvy seems to have a shot.
WDC: Checked the link describing the new Mazza Galleries. Buyer beware: an adult ticket is just a quarter short of 10 bucks. Yes, it's stadium seating and apparently a state-of-the-art sound system, but 2 bucks more than any other venue? C'mon. And the special "Club Cinema," with leather seats and sandwiches, is listed at $12 for a single adult ticket.
Rita Kempley: Thanks for the report. Club Cinema, harumph.The class system rears its ugly head.
London Calling: Hi Rita
A happy mill to you, EraserheadGuy and the rest of the loyal court! Isn't it awful - in a few years kids will be saying "Oh you were born in the last century". That aside, being a Liverpool lad, if I ran Hollywood I would stop any movie stereotyping all English people as sounding like the Queen -that's the other one, not you- with a poker up her tiara. Oh and I'd send Robin Williams to be de-saccharinized.
Rita Kempley: High London,
I think we should just start calling him St. Robin. Re the Queen's English: Many of your yankee kinfolk can hardly understand Cockney, Liverpudlian and other accents. I've seen some imports with subtitles. And the Scots, who knows what they're saying. I have an easier time with Swedish and I don't speak a word of it.
herndon, va: Queen of Y2K and Y3K, and, of course, your every-charming producer: It's time again for a diatribe update - movies are too long!! This non-brilliant thought came again to my mind after reading about the reissue of "Grand Illusion," which runs for less than 2 hours, and watching "Stagecoach" for the umpteenth time on AMC. Glad "Magnolia" looks like a good bet, BUT, 3+ hours?? It's not just the critics who need iron butts and strong bladders. The Bun-o-meter returns!! - Copyright 2000, Queen Rita Inc. Happy New Year!! Sir Steve
Rita Kempley: Sir Steve: One we be pleased if you would get working on a prototype this minute. ("Magnolia" probably would have been better for couple of nips.) We would like to have the Butt-O-meter ready before "Titus" and "Angelas Ashes," both three hours plus.
DC: re: Damon and Paltrow - perhaps his non-praise has more to do with her breakup with Damon's best friend Affleck. Damon has been known to make nasty comments about his own ex-girlfriends -including Minnie Driver and Clare Daines-; it would surprise me if he was overly enthusiatic about his best friend's ex.
Rita Kempley: Hi DC:
That's possible, but he might also have just forgotten to mention her name. I didn't know about Affleck and Paltrow. I'm getting out my handkerchief right now.
Mt. Rainier: Too right about the Brit accents - even tho I love a lot of Brit films. The Scots do seem to be the hardest to understand. Maybe the Liverpudlian could tell us if you ever get used to it?
Rita Kempley: Let's ask?
Downtown DC: Along the lines of London Calling's post, I would get rid of movies set in foreign countries where everyone speaks either the King's English or with an American accent. Dreadful!
Rita Kempley: Here here.
Fredericksburg, Va.: Dear Rita-- In a recent foray to New York, I took in two films that have yet to grace area theaters with their presence. Here's the lowdown: "Topsy-Turvy," which the N.Y. critics loved, is fun at times but visually and dramatically flat. "Titus," Julie Taymor's Shakespeare film with Anthony Hopkins, is a gruesome masterpiece--I'd say the best Bard adaptation since Branagh's "Henry V." Have you seen either of these? Agree-disagree? If not, I thought the chatters would appreciate the advance word -EraserheadGuy in particular would probably love "Titus"-.
Rita Kempley: Dear Frederick: Thanks for the lowdown. I have managed to miss all the "TT" screenings, but have heard all the raving. My pod mate Lloyd Rose saw it yesterday and despised it. But you know Lloyd. I thought "Titus" was intriguing, but I confess, the violence made me ill.
ArtMovieLover, VA: Before we embrace the new century, a comment on the century just passed. Specifically, a comment on your colleague's Sunday Arts section article about movies that typify their decade. I know you don't speak for Mr. Hunter, whom I admire, but how can excoriate "Sleepy Hollow" as typical of soulless 1990s-style filmmaking, then list it as the seventh-best movie of last year? Was it that bad of a year at the movies, or am I missing the point? Wouldn't be the first time...
Rita Kempley: I'm sure Steve wouldn't mind it one bit if I spoke for him. He's pretty laid back about that sort of thing. I don't think you're missing the point. There may not be one. No it wasn't that bad a year at the movies at all. Maybe he was making a worst least and they got all smooshed up. Or maybe he was just trying to push some buttons. Lots of critics like to do that with there 10 best lists.
West Hollywood, CA: Rita-
If Hilary Swank does not WIN the academy award -not the lame golden globe-for "Boys don't Cry", I will simultaneously tear my SAG card into shreads while jumping off a really high cliff, somewhere. Anyway, why oh why, isn't the movie itself and the director, Kimberly Pierce, getting any nods or nominations? Why must we be subjected to the torture of anything with Julia Roberts' mug on it? Oh the pain.
Rita Kempley: Hi West Hollywood. Remain calm. There are no cliffs in West Hollywood, thank heavens. I'm sure Hilary Swank will get a nomination. If the DGA taps Kimberly Pierce, that will probably assure her an Oscar nomination, too. But best picture, no way.
Former Cyber Goddess: Rita! Everyone! It's Amanda, former cyber goddess -FCG-. I miss producing Film Talk, but promise to keep in touch! And actually, I'll be working with a lot of filmmakers here at PBS Online, so if I hear of any films or festivals I think the Film Talk crowd would be interested in, I'll be sure to keep you posted!
Happy New Year!
Rita Kempley: I'll best the folks at PBS don't refer to you as a goddess. Good luck on your new job.
San Francisco: Should there be more movies like The Matrix?
Please, no. It was muddleheaded and pointless, another excuse for special effects. Question: if the bad guys were just computer programs, why could you shoot them with bullets? -if this was such a groundbreaking and original movie, why did they resort to the old ducks-popping-up-in-the-shooting-gallery shootout at the end?-.
This weekend I'm going to see Orson Welles' "The Trial" - apparently the original negative was found and the print is complete and beautiful. Sunday afternoon will find me, joyfully, at the Castro Theatre in SF, no doubt enraptured by what Welles claimed was his finest film. Toodles.
-Dexter
Rita Kempley: Toodles, Dexter. I wish more people said that.
EraserheadGuy, DC: Re: Steve Hunter and "Sleepy Hollow." I, too, was confused by the article-Top 10 list. Maybe SH thought "SH" was so spot-on indicative of a repugnant zeitgeist that he just had to cite it. Rita, I had written “Sleepy…” off after reading your pan and others; now I’m wondering whether it has qualitiEs that might make it worth checking out.
Rita Kempley: EG: I don't think it has enough EqualitiEs. They're too obvious, though you might put it on your guilty pleasures list.
Vienna, VA: Just saw "The Thomas Crown Affair" in theaters -ok, the Foundry- for the 5th time last week...and saw the original on Wed. I thought the original version -from the late '60s- with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway was horrid, whereas the newest version was superb. One thing that intrigued me was the ending; the ending of the original was so bleak, and the ending to the new one was much more promising. A sign of the times, perhaps? My question is: what makes a remake good or bad? How come some remakes -like this one- are terrific, while others flop?
Rita Kempley: Vienna: The same reason some productions of "The Glass Menagerie" work and some do not, knowing what aspects of the material will play best with modern audiences. Talented directors, cast and all that, too.
Laurie: Rebecca -- it is your mission as the new girl to bring us Tom Shales for an hour with the Rita.
Rita Kempley: Then I'm sure you'll be elevated from mere cyber plebe toa cyber Godess in your own right.
EraserheadGuy, DC: It’s time once again for Coot-Babe Update! Rita, what’s the buzz on new movies that appear by the poster-trailer to romantically link aging studs Ed Harris and HarvEy KEitEl with, respectively, sweet young things Anne Heche and Kate Winslet. Is any on-screen nekkidness only of Heche and Winslet, or will we have to watch this one with our hands over our eyes and a barf bag at the ready? I still haven’t recovered from the Harvmeister baring all for his art in “Bad Lieutenant.” Also, toward the end of its run, there was a print ad for “Flawless,” which featured RobErt DeNiro’s visage stylized to look not that much older than Travis BicklE and JakE LaMotta. Didn’t DeNiro just split with his latest lady love? Is this Hollywood’s way of helping him scare up some babe action?
Rita Kempley: I'll never forget Harvey dusting Holly HUnter's piano in the altogether. I'm sure he won't miss his chance to take it all off one more time. Maybe they were trying to make DeNiro look as young as Philip Seymour Hoffman to make "Flawless" look like some kind of kinky romance.
Rockville, MD: I was glad to see your story a few weeks ago about the future of movies and how technology could-will change them. I like the minor renaissance occurring on the internet right now with all the movie shorts. Have you seen "George Lucas in Love"? It's terrific, and a fine example of what independent and creative movie makers can cheaply produce and distrubute. While I don't think the studios are going to be toppled anytime soon, do you think that the internet could ultimately change the way the industry works?
Rita Kempley: Thanks, Rockville. NO I haven't see it, but I would love to. Yes, I'm sure it will, probably in terms of distribution. Thanks to you and the rest for joining in this week. We can get back to geezers, the Butt-o-meter, handicap the Oscar nominations, bitch and moan some more next week. See you then.
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