February 2, 1990
Creative Process: Norman McLaren (1990) **
Directed by Donald McWilliams. A documentary about Norman McLaren, Canada's greatest animation artist.
Kill Me Again (1990) **
A routine film noir. Director John Dahl's film debut is clearly a warm-up before his two masterpieces, "Red Rock West" (1994) and "The Last Seduction" (1994).
Presumed Innocent (1990) **
Interesting adaptation of a bestselling novel about an uptight DA (Harrison Ford), who's accused of murdering his former mistress (Greta Scacchi).
Pretty Woman (1990) **
A modern fairy tale starring Julia Roberts as a vulnerable hooker who falls in love with a rich business executive (Richard Gere). Manipulative and conventional. Cleverly ridiculed in "Romy And Michelle's High School Reunion" (1997).
Quick Change (1990) **
Three sympathetic loonies (Bill Murray, Geena Davis and Randy Quaid) manage to pull off an expert bank heist, but their desperate attempts to get to the airport are constantly frustrated by imbecilic road workers, fire hydrants, post-Woodstock vigilanties, foreign cabbies, ruthless mafia bosses, junkie musicians and pedantic bus drivers (the "exact change" sequence is hilarious).
The Bonfire Of The Vanities (1990) **
A perplexing adaptation of Tom Wolfe's bestselling novel about a rich New Yorker involved in a nasty racial controversy. Tom Wolf's "Master of the Universe" hero should have been played by someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but director Brian DePalma has cast Tom Hanks instead, and turned everything into a wacky black comedy, seriously distorting the author's original message. Still, it's quite a startling film in its own right.
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