Movie Reviews
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Mars Attacks! (1996)
Producer-director Tim Burton ("Beetlejuice" 1988) recruited numerous big name actors to star in his hilarious science fiction comedy picture "Mars Attacks!" This spoof of 1950's scifi B films was expertly assembled by Burton with the screenplay by Jonathan Gems, based on some Topps trading cards that began [..]
Feeling Minnesota (1996)
Low-brow comedy fully describes the film "Feeling Minnesota." Inexperienced director-screenwriter Steven Baigelman did a terrible job on this box office bomb, propped up by money from producer Danny DeVito; the plot and storyline are not even worth describing here. Bad news for Jersey Films and Fine Line Features. [..]
The Cable Guy (1996)
"The Cable Guy" is a dark comedy about an unstable cable installer who becomes obsessed with a customer. The cable guy even resorts to stalking the man, with the tone of the film deteriorating from there. The dark themes (such as obsession and stalking), uneven plot [..]
Emma (1996)
Gwyneth Paltrow is definitely in her element as matchmaker Emma Woodhouse in director-screenwriter Douglas McGrath's "Emma." McGrath is faithful to the 1815 novel by Jane Austin in his debut at the helm of a motion picture for theatrical release. Good production values abound, proof being the [..]
The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
Barbara Streisand continues her self-indulgent style of filmmaking with "The Mirror Has Two Faces." In her third producer-director attempt, Streisand casts herself in yet another ugly-duckling-turns-herself-into-a-beauty vehicle that admittedly has great production values. Fantastic music (by Marvin Hamlisch and herself), great sets (indoor and outside), wonderful [..]
Dallas: J. R. Returns (1996)
"J. R. Returns" is a made-for-television movie revisit to the television series "Dallas" after a five year absence. Most of the cast from the final year of 1991 are reassembled here, along with producer-director-teleplay writer Leonard Katzman of Lorimar Productions. (He passed away [..]
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
The "Star Trek" film franchise keeps humming along at warp speed with the eighth in the series. "Star Trek: First Contact" features Jean-Luc Picard's Enterprise traveling back in time to the 21st Century to prevent the Borg from interfering with human civilization's first contact with alien species, [..]
The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas (1996)
"The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas" is an entertaining made-for-television movie that does provide some laughs, and is faithful to the series that ran on CBS for three seasons (1964-1966). Director Ian Emes and teleplay authors Ed Ferrera and Kevin Murphy did a passable job constructing this project. Producer [..]
The Late Shift (1996)
There have been many movies made about show business over the years, but few have been as revealing as "The Late Shift." This HBO original motion picture shows the behind the scenes maneuvering and jockeying to replace Johnny Carson as host of "The Tonight Show." [..]
The English Patient (1996)
The Best Picture of 1996 is....."The English Patient," a romantic drama telling the story of an English soldier laid up in a hospital during World War II recounting his life story in flashbacks. Director-screenwriter Anthony Minghella ("Mr. Wonderful" 1993) did an excellent job of piecing together the man's [..]