January 1, 1995
Canadian Bacon (1995) *
Lame comedy about American rednecks invading Canada. Michael Moore's only fiction film (and his worst picture ever).
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) *
Even the bad guys agree that Kimberly the Pink Ranger (Amy Jo Johnson) is cute. She looks great in shorts, but when she wears her power ranger uniform, her face and legs are hidden. Another sexy dame is a bikini-clad warrior woman from a distant planet.
The Crossing Guard (1995) *
A jeweller (Jack Nicholson) wants to kill the man responsible for the death of his daughter.
How To Make An American Quilt (1995) *
A cross between "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991) and "The Joy Luck Club" (1993), starring Winona Ryder.
Higher Learning (1995) *
Slightly hysterical film about racial violence on a college campus. Director John Singleton deals with many important and sensitive issues in this film, but his approach lacks subtlety.
Frank And Ollie (1995) *
A documentary about two great Disney animators - Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.
A Walk In The Clouds (1995) *
Director Alphonse Arau tried to follow his 1992 hit "Like Water For Chocolate" with this movie. It's weaker in every respect, though the Napa Valley setting is lovely.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995) *
Rich kids returning from a prom night are attacked by crazed country folks. A ridiculous, badly made horror flick starring Renee Zellwegger and Matthew McConoghey.
Sabrina (1995) *
A rather pointless remake of Billy Wilder's classic 1954 film, replacing Audrey Hepburn with Julia Ormond, Humphrey Bogart with Harrison Ford and William Holden with Greg Kinnear.
Nadja (1995) *
An artsy and tedious film about Dracula's daughter and her lesbian flirtings. Produced by David Lynch.
Boys On The Side (1995) *
Friendship among women is the subject of this film starring Drew Barrymore, Whoopie Goldberg and Mary-Louise Parker.
While You Were Sleeping (1995) *
Sandra Bullock stars in this romantic comedy about a young girl mistaken for a fiancee of a comatose patient.
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) *
Disappointing sequel to the Andrew Davis' 1992 hit. Steven Seagal is fighting the terrorists again, only this time, he's fighting them aboard a speeding train. Spectacular crashes and explosions, but nothing else.
December 12, 1994
Top 10 Films of 1994
1. "Pulp Fiction" (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
3. "Four Weddings And A Funeral" (Mike Newell, UK)
4. ''Interview With A Vampire'' (Neil Jordan, USA)
5. "Speed" (Jan de Bont, USA)
6. "Barcelona" (Whit Stillman, USA)
7. "The Shawshank Redemption" (Frank Darabont, USA)
8. "Trois couleurs: Rouge" (Krzysztof Kieslowski, Switzerland)
9. ''Cemetery Man'' (Michele Soavi, Italy)
Other great films:
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (Australia)
Stargate
Through The Olive Trees (Iran)
Widows' Peak
Wolf
Yes Sir! Madame (Canada)
Top 10 Guilty Pleasures of 1994:
2. "Pret-a-Porter" (Robert Altman, Miramax)
5. "Killing Zoe" (Roger Avary, USA)
7. "Dias contados" (Imanol Uribe, Spain)
9. "The Castle" (Aleksey Balabanov, Russia)
1. "Da Viss" (Didier Flamand, France)
2. "Une Rose entre nous" (Francois Ozon, France)
3. "Emilie Muller" (Yvon Marciano, France)
89 mm od Europy (Poland)
Alicia (Spain)
Bridge (Canada)
Cartoon Top 3:
1. "Bob's Birthday" (Alison Snowden, David Fine, NFB, Canada)
2. "Sortie de bain" (Florence Henrard, Belgium)
Other great cartoons:
Animastress (Canada)
Artiste (Canada)
The Big Story
Ex-enfant (Canada)
2. ''Heavenly Creatures'' (Peter Jackson, New Zealand)
10. ''Burnt By The Sun'' (Nikita Mikhalkov, Russia)
Other great films:
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (Australia)
Jancio Wodnik (Poland)
Lamerica (Italy)
Mario und der Zauberer (Germany)
The Mask
Maverick
Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision
Muriel's Wedding (Australia)
The Mask
Maverick
Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision
Muriel's Wedding (Australia)
Le Parfum de Mathilde (France)
Les Patriotes (France)
The Rapist (Hong Kong)
Red To Kill (Hong Kong)
La Reine Margot (France)
Les Roseaux sauvages (France)
Star Trek GenerationsStargate
Through The Olive Trees (Iran)
Le Vent du Wyoming (Canada)
Vive l'Amour (Taiwan)
When A Man Loves A WomanWidows' Peak
Wolf
Yes Sir! Madame (Canada)
Top 10 Guilty Pleasures of 1994:
1. "New Love In Tokyo" (Banmei Takahashi, Japan)
Short Top 3:
1. "Da Viss" (Didier Flamand, France)
Other great shorts:
89 mm od Europy (Poland)
Alicia (Spain)
Bridge (Canada)
Wet
Top 3 Music Videos:
1. "Buddy Holly" (Spike Jonze, Weezer)
2. "Closer" (Mark Romanek, Nine Inch Nails)
Other great music videos:
Crazy
Liberation
Top Commercial:
"Donkey" (Visa)
TV Top 3:
1. "Frasier: The Matchmaker" (David Lee, NBC)
2. "The Kingdom" (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
3. "NYPD Blue: Abandando Abandoned" (Gregory Hoblit, ABC)
Other great TV shows:
Johnny Carson: The King Of Late Night
Johnny Carson: The Master Of Laughs
Top 3 Music Videos:
1. "Buddy Holly" (Spike Jonze, Weezer)
3. "Sabotage" (Spike Jonze, Beastie Boys)
Other great music videos:
Crazy
Liberation
Top Commercial:
"Donkey" (Visa)
TV Top 3:
1. "Frasier: The Matchmaker" (David Lee, NBC)
Johnny Carson: The King Of Late Night
Johnny Carson: The Master Of Laughs
Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: I po balu (Poland)
Cartoon Top 3:
1. "Bob's Birthday" (Alison Snowden, David Fine, NFB, Canada)
3. "Gary Larson's Tales From The Far Side" (Merv Newland, Canada)
Other great cartoons:
Animastress (Canada)
Artiste (Canada)
The Big Story
Ex-enfant (Canada)
Triangle
The Wooden Leg (UK)
Weak films of 1994:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Adamski (Germany)
Les Anges gardiens (France)
Ashes Of Time (Hong Kong)
Bab El-Oued City (Algeria)
The Beans Of Egypt, Maine
Before The Rain (Macedonia)
Blue Sky
The Bodyguard From Beijing (Hong Kong)
Bye Bye, America (Germany)
Canadian Bacon
Cancion de cuna (Spain)
Clean, Shaven
The Client
Le Colonel Chabert (France)
The Wooden Leg (UK)
Weak films of 1994:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Adamski (Germany)
Les Anges gardiens (France)
Ashes Of Time (Hong Kong)
Bab El-Oued City (Algeria)
The Beans Of Egypt, Maine
Before The Rain (Macedonia)
Blue Sky
The Bodyguard From Beijing (Hong Kong)
Bye Bye, America (Germany)
Canadian Bacon
Cancion de cuna (Spain)
Clean, Shaven
The Client
Le Colonel Chabert (France)
Color Of Night
Cross My Heart And Hope To Die (Norway)
Dark Side Of Genius
Daydreams Of Miss Cazibe
Double Happiness (Canada)
Embrasse-moi, c'est pour la vie (Canada)
Farinelli: Il Castrato
Faust
Faut pas rire du bonheur (France)
Federal Hill
La Fille de d'Artagnan (France)
The Final Option (Hong Kong)
The Flintstones
For The Moment (Canada)
Grosse fatigue (France)
The Hudsucker Proxy
I Love Trouble
I.Q
It Could Happen To You
Junior
Kabloonak (Canada)
Ladybird, Ladybird (UK)
Lato milosci (Belarus)
Legends Of The Fall
Little Odessa
Love And Human Remains (Canada)
The Madness Of King George
Magic Hunter (Hungary)
Mesmer
Mina Tannenbaum (France)
Mon amie Max (Canada)
Mouvements du desir (Canada)
Mrs Parker And The Vicious Circle
Murder In The First
Mustard Bath (Canada)
Nastazja
Nell
The New Age
Nobody's Fool
North
Nous, les enfants du XX siècle (Russia)
Once Were Warriors (New Zealand)
The Pagemaster
Pamietnik znaleziony w garbie (Poland)
Panna z mokra glowa (Poland)
The Paper
Pepe And Fifi (Romania)
Princess Caraboo
The Promise (Germany)
The Ref
The River Wild
Romeo Is Bleeding
The Rook
Samowolka (Poland)
The Santa Clause
Sh'chur (Israel)
Les Silences du palais (Tunisia)
Spanking The Monkey
The Sum Of Us (Australia)
Suture
The Swan Princess
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey
To Live (China)
Totor (Cameroon)
Vanya On 42nd Street
La Vie d'un héros (Canada)
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Whale Music (Canada)
What Happened Was
Wing Chun (Hong Kong)
Wyatt Earp
Yamato Takeru (Japan)
Weak shorts:
Action verite (Canada)
Alpsee (Germany)
My Sweet Peony (Canada)
The Passion Of John Ruskin (Canada)
Scratch Ticket (Canada)
Untouched (Germany)
Weak cartoons:
Au bord du lac (France)
Automania (Canada)
The Barber Of Seville (UK)
Baroque'n Roll (Canada)
Carmen (UK)
Cave canem (Belgium)
Divine Fate (Canada)
Garden Of Regrets
I Love My Work (Canada)
Jonas et Lisa (Canada)
Le Moine et le poisson
My Boyfriend Gave Me Peaches (Canada)
Odeur de ville (France)
Overdose (Canada)
Printemps (Bulgaria)
Sleepy Guy
Switchcraft (Russia)
Tournoi (Canada)
Watching TV (Canada)
Cross My Heart And Hope To Die (Norway)
Dark Side Of Genius
Daydreams Of Miss Cazibe
Double Happiness (Canada)
Embrasse-moi, c'est pour la vie (Canada)
Farinelli: Il Castrato
Faust
Faut pas rire du bonheur (France)
Federal Hill
La Fille de d'Artagnan (France)
The Final Option (Hong Kong)
The Flintstones
For The Moment (Canada)
Grosse fatigue (France)
The Hudsucker Proxy
I Love Trouble
I.Q
It Could Happen To You
Junior
Kabloonak (Canada)
Ladybird, Ladybird (UK)
Lato milosci (Belarus)
Legends Of The Fall
Little Odessa
Love And Human Remains (Canada)
The Madness Of King George
Magic Hunter (Hungary)
Mesmer
Mina Tannenbaum (France)
Mon amie Max (Canada)
Mouvements du desir (Canada)
Mrs Parker And The Vicious Circle
Murder In The First
Mustard Bath (Canada)
Nastazja
Nell
The New Age
Nobody's Fool
North
Nous, les enfants du XX siècle (Russia)
Once Were Warriors (New Zealand)
The Pagemaster
Pamietnik znaleziony w garbie (Poland)
Panna z mokra glowa (Poland)
The Paper
Pepe And Fifi (Romania)
Princess Caraboo
The Promise (Germany)
The Ref
The River Wild
Romeo Is Bleeding
The Rook
Samowolka (Poland)
The Santa Clause
Sh'chur (Israel)
Les Silences du palais (Tunisia)
Spanking The Monkey
The Sum Of Us (Australia)
Suture
The Swan Princess
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey
To Live (China)
Totor (Cameroon)
Vanya On 42nd Street
La Vie d'un héros (Canada)
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Whale Music (Canada)
What Happened Was
Wing Chun (Hong Kong)
Wyatt Earp
Yamato Takeru (Japan)
Weak shorts:
Action verite (Canada)
Alpsee (Germany)
My Sweet Peony (Canada)
The Passion Of John Ruskin (Canada)
Scratch Ticket (Canada)
Untouched (Germany)
Weak cartoons:
Au bord du lac (France)
Automania (Canada)
The Barber Of Seville (UK)
Baroque'n Roll (Canada)
Carmen (UK)
Cave canem (Belgium)
Divine Fate (Canada)
Garden Of Regrets
I Love My Work (Canada)
Jonas et Lisa (Canada)
Le Moine et le poisson
My Boyfriend Gave Me Peaches (Canada)
Odeur de ville (France)
Overdose (Canada)
Printemps (Bulgaria)
Sleepy Guy
Switchcraft (Russia)
Tournoi (Canada)
Watching TV (Canada)
November 11, 1994
Pulp Fiction (1994) *****
Exciting, surprising, ingeniously plotted and magnificently directed gangster film with an all-star cast (John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Rosanna Arquette, Amanda Plummer, Eric Stolz, Harvey Keitel and many others). The film presents a series of overlapping intrigues involving bible-quoting hit-men, double-crossing boxers and dope-sniffing gun molls. It's gory, violent, gritty, very clever, very funny and endlessly inventive.
October 10, 1994
New Love In Tokyo (1994) ****
There is something very special about this beautiful Japanese film about two friends: a call girl (Reiko Kataoka) and a dominatrix (Sawa Suzuki). Directed by Banmei Takahashi, it eschews all the usual clichés of the genre and delivers a perfect slice-of-life erotic drama, in which any notions of shame or inhibition aren't just ignored, but seem literally non-existent. A minor masterpiece, quietly understated and visually stimulating; it was the first Japanese film to be shown in theaters uncensored and with full frontal nudity unfogged. "New Love In Tokyo" slightly resembles Lizzie Borden's "Working Girls" (1986) in its realism, but goes far beyond it in terms of eroticism and excitement.
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