September 9, 1995

Good Men Good Women (1995) ***

Taiwanese film about an actress who plays a role of a resistance fighter persecuted by the Kuomintang government.

Wild Side (1995) ***

Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight (1995) ***

Living In Oblivion (1995) ***

Leaving Las Vegas (1995) ***

Fresh Acconci (1995) ***

Four Rooms (1995) ***

The Doom Generation (1995) ***

Showgirls (1995) ***

Kids (1995) ***

Desperado (1995) ***

A Midwinter's Tale (1995) ***

Some desperate actors are preparing a theatrical performance of "Hamlet" in an old country church. Released as "In The Bleak Midwinter" in United Kingdom.

A Little Princess (1995) ***

An excellent adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children novel about an orphan girl mistreated by a evil schoolmistress. Superb in every respect.

Latcho Drom (1995) ***

Musical ethnographic film about the Gypsies. ***

Judge Dredd (1995) ***

Sylvester Stallone plays a vigilante cop in this s-f action film, based on a popular comic strip. It's quite violent, but also very humorous.

La Haine (1995) ***

Hard-hitting drama about race riots in France.

Grajacy z talerza (1995) ***

Bajkowo-klechdowy swiat Jana Jakuba Kolskiego przedstawiony jest w tej surrealistycznej komedii o starym wiesniaku (Franciszku Pieczce), ktoremu nie spieszno umierac.

A Goofy Movie (1995) ***

Papa Goof wants to spend some quality time with his teenage son. Songs:

"After Today" *
"Stand Out" *
"On The Open Road" **
"Lester's Possum Park"
"Nobody Else But You"
"I & I" *

GoldenEye (1995) ***

A fine James Bond film with spectacular action sequences. Pierce Brosnan's first, and best, 007 movie. Izabella Scorupco is the smartest Bond girl ever (a computer expert) and one of the most beautiful as well, but it's Famke Janssen who steals the movie as Xenia Onatopp, one of the best Bond villains of all time.

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill, But Came Down A Mountain (1995) ***

Hugh Grant is an English cartographer, who perturbs a calm Welsh village by announcing that their beloved mountain is in fact only a hill. But the faith can move mountains and the villagers find a way to correct this grave injustice.

Denise Calls Up (1995) ***

Witty and very original comedy that consists entirely of phone conversations. A calls B, C calls A, A puts B on hold, C tells A to say hello to B. A puts C on hold to tell B that C said hello. And so on and so forth. Boring ? Never. The film pulsates with energy. Dialogues are brilliant. Until the very last scene, there are never two people in the same frame.

Crumb (1995) ***

Excellent documentary about the famous underground cartoonist.

Crimson Tide (1995) ***

High-voltage action film about a mutiny aboard a US nuclear submarine during an international crises.

Before Sunrise (1995) ***

A romantic drama starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as two young tourists in Vienna who spend a night together visiting the city. Seen alone, it's a cute little film, but it becomes much more than that after seeing its two sequels, "Before Sunset" (2004) and especially "Before Midnight" (2013).

Muthu (1995) ***

Pretty crazy Bollywood epic mixing martial arts and musical comedy

Under The Domim Tree (1995) ***

A sequel to "The Summer Of Aviya" (1988), set in an Israeli orphanage circa 1953. The children are mostly Holocaust survivors dealing with deep traumas.

Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern (1995) ***

Directed by Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher. Banks versus Iowa farmers, the 1990's.

Toy Story (1995) ***

The first computer-animated feature is a winner. It has a great story, memorable characters, exciting action scenes and amusing gags. Songs:

"You've Got A Friend In Me" **
"Strange Things" *
"I Will Go Sailing No More" *

Swimming With Sharks (1995) ***

The year 1995 belonged to Kevin Spacey. He won an Oscar for "The Usual Suspects" and was equally memorable as the creepy villain in "Seven". But he gave his greatest performance in "Swimming With Shark", playing a tyrannical film executive.

Something To Talk About (1995) ***

Excellent comedy about marital tensions. Dennis Quaid plays Julia Roberts' philandering husband. Kyra Sedgwick steals the film as her groin-kicking sister.

Smoke (1995) ***

William Hurt, Harvey Keitel, Stockard Channing and Forest Whitaker star in this low-key, very profound drama set in New York City.

The Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995) ***

Stephen Chow stars in this absolutely crazy comedy from Hong Kong that parodies everything from "Pulp Fiction" to "Terminator 2".

Shanghai Triad (1995) ***

A lush period drama about Chinese gangsters.

Cold Comfort Farm (1995) ***

Wonderful British comedy about an effervescent flapper girl straightening out her hopelessly backward country cousins. Imagine a Jane Austen heroine (an overconfident and compulsive matchmaker) in the world of D.H.Lawrence or Thomas Hardy.

La Cité des enfants perdus (1995) ***

Bizarre drama about an old man stealing little children's dreams. Breathtaking visuals, mind-boggling script, superb sets, brilliant direction, bizarre performances, erratic pacing, weak continuity - an uneven and very flawed masterpiece.

The Brothers McMullen (1995) ***

Very witty and intelligent film about three commitment-shy brothers. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Batman Forever (1995) ***

Riddler (Jim Carrey) and Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) join forces to defeat Batman (Val Kilmer), but the caped crusader can count on help from Robin (Chris O'Donnell) and sexy Dr Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman). Jim Carrey easily steals the film from everyone else.

Assassins (1995) ***

Sylvester Stallone, Julianne Moore and Antonio Banderas star in this action movie about professional hit men trying to knock each other off. Sly's cool, understated performance contrasts sharply with Banderas' manic overacting.

Apollo 13 (1995) ***

Excellent drama based on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission in 1970. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton play the three US astronauts stranded in space.

The American President (1995) ***

Delicious comedy about a widowed President of United States (Michael Douglas) falling in love with an environmental lobbyist (Annette Bening).

Amateur (1995) ***

Cold and calculating black comedy about a nymphomaniac nun (Isabelle Huppert) and a porno actress (Elina Lowensohn), who are chased by vicious mafia killers. Weird, often brilliant film.

Salaam Cinema (1995) ***

An Iranian director is holding auditions.

Peace Hotel (1995) ***

Powerful, allegorical film from Hong Kong. It begins as a black comedy, and ends as an existential drama.

Nixon (1995) ***

Controversial film about Richard Nixon.

Nine Months (1995) ***

Hugh Grant is an expectant father in this modest, but amusing comedy. The film also stars Julianne Moore, Robin Williams, Tom Arnold, Jeff Goldblum and Joan Cusack.

Les Misérables du XX siècle (1995) ***

A loose adaptation of Victor Hugo's greatest novel. Its action takes place during World War II.

Mighty Aphrodite (1995) ***

Enjoyable film starring Woody Allen as a sports writer befriending the biological mother of his adopted son.

Land And Freedom (1995) ***

A young British Communist comes to Spain to fight against Franco, but soon finds out that Stalinists are more eager to slaughter fellow Marxists and anarchists than defend the Republic against fascism. A fascinating history lesson.

Il Postino (1995) ***

Bittersweet film about an Italian postman who befriends a famous poet, Pablo Neruda.

Rhythm Thief (1995) ***

Excellent indie pic about a street vendor.

Les Rendez-vous de Paris (1995) ***

French comedy about innocent and not-so-innocent flirting among attractive young Parisians. Great dialogues.

Priest (1995) ***

Controversial drama about a gay priest. The film presents a confrontation of two visions of Christianity: the hard, dogmatic and unforgiving religion of the Old Testament and the compassionate, loving and forgiving faith of the Gospel.

Pocahontas (1995) ***

A Native American princess falls in love with a dashing English settler in 1607's Virginia. Pocahontas is the sexiest Disney heroine ever (Tinkerbell included). Songs:

"The Virginia Company" *
"Steady As The Beating Drum" *
"Just Around The Riverbend" **
"Listen With Your Heart" *
"Mine, Mine, Mine" **
"Colors Of The Wind" ***
"Savages" **

Persuasion (1995) ***

A faithful adaptation of Jane Austen's last novel. A quiet, very understated comedy of manners.

Angela (1995) ***