May 5, 1996
Joyeux calvaire (1996) **
One day in the lives of two homeless men from Montreal. Fine film directed by Denys Arcand.
April 4, 1996
Cadavres exquis (1996) ***
Codirected by Ruth de Launiere, Lorraine Dufour and Jean-Pierre Saint-Louis. A superb example of narrative deconstruction, consisting of three tales ("Qui va a la chasse perd la face", "Gars echaude craint l'eau chaude" and "Dans la doute obstine-toi"). They are constructed from personal stories told by twenty different people.
Ballad Of The Skeletons (1996) ***
L'Oreille de Joé (1996) **
A young man stucks his head between two balcony rails and has to endure hours of torture listening to various people complaining. A short film directed by Alain Desrochers.
Rideau (1996) **
A revealing peek behind the curtains of a theatre. This Canadian film, directed by S.Morgenstern, was nominated for a Genie Award.
Biscotti (1996) **
An elegant woman (Stefania Sandrelli) buys a package of biscuits and sits down to read a newspaper. Suddenly, a young man sits at her table, opens the package of biscuits and starts to eat them. There is a big (and hilarious) surprise at the end of this clever little film. Length: 8 minutes.
Quest (1996) ***
Dinner For Two (1996) ***
The Cora Player (1996) **
A father disapproves of his daughter's suitor. A nice cartoon co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada.
Scant Sanity (1996) **
Hallucinations of a mental patient. A rather incoherent cartoon full of vivid images.
The Menopause Song (1996) **
It's been a while since a bouncing-ball cartoon appeared on screen, but here it is. It's a silly little ditty ranting against the tyranny of the menstrual cycle and yearning for the serenity of menopause.
The Legend Of The Flying Canoe (1996) **
Lumbermen make a pact with the Devil, who allows them to travel in a flying canoe to visit their families.
How Wings Are Attached To The Backs Of Angels (1996) **
Weird cartoon about a creepy scientist performing suspicious experiments with skeletons. A strange and disturbing film.
The Hapless Child (1996) **
A mean little girl would like to be an only child, so she disposes of her siblings one by one. That's the family values for you.
Marylou (1996) **
Seduced by a mysterious femme fatale, our hero travels through different realms. A parody of "The Wizard Of Oz", full of perverse innuendos. Directed by Todd Kurtzman and Danny Shorago.
Garden Of Ecos (1996) **
Plants and animals living in a peaceful garden find themselves under assault from evil predators. A puppet-animation film that uses figures made out of cotton fibre, coloured with vegetable dyes.
Die Hard In Under Two Minutes (1996) **
This cartoons is quite violent, but it manages to temper its gory excesses with some humor and intelligence.
Wat's Pig (1996) **
A claymation cartoon set in the Middle Ages. The twin brother of a prince is raised as a peasant. An Aardman production from United Kingdom, directed by Peter Lord. An Academy Award nominee.
West Of Eden (1996) *
Yves Laferriere composes music for films. Daniel Langlois is a computer graphics designer. Together, they created this impressionistic film full of symbolic imagery.
March 3, 1996
Une Fille de la campagne (1996) ***
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Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Postmoderna i pokropek (1996) ***
"Malkontent" ("I po balu") **
"Cyniczna uczta etnografow TZG" *
"Gdzie slusznosc" ("Ku pokrzepieniu serc") **
"L'Amour malade" *
"Na naszej parafii" **
"Nie wystarczy" **
Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Zmiana na lepsze (1996) ***
"Wiosna" ("Ryba brzana kielbik") ***
"Nie ubrana" **
"Piaskownica" ("Skumbrie w tomacie") **
"Tele mele ideolo" **
"Za stolem" **
"Ach bum cyk cyk" *
February 2, 1996
Primal Fear (1996) **
Edward Norton gives an excellent, Oscar-nominated performance as a young man accused of savagely murdering an archbishop.
One Fine Day (1996) **
Charming little romantic comedy starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney. Dialogues are weak, but the cast is very strong.
Mother Night (1996) **
An American spy pretends to be a Nazi sympatizer. Or is that the other way around ?
Mother (1996) **
Debbie Reynolds is surprisingly sexy and sympathetic playing Albert Brooks' mother.
Kansas City (1996) **
Superb jazz music greatly enchances this otherwise cliched Robert Altman's film about a kidnapping in Kansas City during mid-term elections in 1934.
Across The Sea Of Time (1996) **
An IMAX 3-D film about the history of New York City. A visually marvelous film.
Abusers: A Film About Incest (1996) **
Testimonies of real-life pedophiles, who had intimate sexual relations with their daughters. Unusual documentary film, very shocking.
Dragonheart (1996) **
A valiant knight (Dennis Quaid) forms an alliance with a brave dragon (voiced by Sean Connery) to defeat an evil king (David Thewlis). It's an uneven film. The dragon is fantastic and there are some amusing situations, but the story leaves much to be desired.
The Craft (1996) **
Four high-school girls learn about witchcraft and get even with their mean schoolmates.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) **
There is an intriguing premise (inspired by Luc Besson's "Nikita"), but action scenes are unremarkable. Boring villains.
Lone Star (1996) **
Sheriff of a small Texas border town investigates a murder that occured almost forty years earlier.
Jingle All The Way (1996) **
Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking for an elusive Turbo Man in this amusing, fast-paced film about Christmas, toy merchandizing and hero worshipping.
Jerry Maguire (1996) **
A sport agent (Tom Cruise) is fired from his job and falls in love with his secretary (Renee Zellweger).
I'M Not Rappaport (1996) **
Herb Gardner's ode to an old Communist (Walter Matthau), still faithful to the cause, still causing trouble, still fighting against oppression. A wry comedy set in the Central Park.
Ghosts Of Mississippi (1996) **
Yet another film about a white lawyer bravely fighting against racism. But since it's based on a true story, it's arguably less objectionable than, say, "A Time To Kill". James Woods gives an excellent performance as a racist murderer finally convicted after more than three decades.
Get On The Bus (1996) **
Didactic, often unnecessarily melodramatic film about a group of black men travelling by bus from Los Angeles to Washington for the Million Men March in 1995. Director Spike Lee's approach lacks subtlety - too much is spelled out, rather than being suggested or implied.
Manny and Lo (1996) **
Funny film about two young girls who kidnap an older woman. One of Scarlett Johansson's first films.
Looking For Richard (1996) **
Half an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Richard III", half a documentary about Al Pacino adapting that play. Self-reflexive, but not as good as Richard Loncraine's 1995 version.
Unhook The Stars (1996) **
Nice film about a widow (Gena Rowlands), her two grown-up children and her friends.
2 Days In The Valley (1996) **
A clear rip-off of "Pulp Fiction". Similar violence, similar plot twists, similar sense of humor. All it's lacking is a talented director.
The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) **
Michael Lehmann's most conventional film. It's a romantic comedy about two friends, one smart, but plain, the other gorgeous and dumb Janeane Garofalo and Uma Thurman) who fall in love with the same man. Garofalo gives a great performance, but it's absurd to consider her as a plain girl (she's as gorgeous as Thurman).
Trees Lounge (1996) **
Steve Buscemi stars in and directs this bittersweet comedy about a sympathetic looser.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) **
The first "Star Trek" feature without the original cast. The magic is gone.
The Spitfire Grill (1996) **
Until the last half an hour, it's a deeply moving, beautiful film about a young girl trying to find her place in the world. Unfortunately, an overly dramatic ending betrays the spirit of the film.
Sleepers (1996) **
"The Boys Of St Vincent On Mean Streets". Sexually abused in a reform school, four friends plot revenge.
Rowing Through (1996) **
Aspiring to be another "Personal Best", the film combines sports with sex. A sado-masochistic angle is mentioned, but never followed through. In any case, rowing is hardly a cinematic sport. Still, the film is far better than it has any right to be. Quite watchable.
Ransom (1996) **
Mel Gibson plays a millionaire whose son is kidnapped, but who refuses to pay the ransom. Instead, he puts a bounty on the kidnappers' heads. Suspenseful thriller, severly undermined by many plot inconsistencies. Why, for example - SPOILER ALERT - Gibson's son doesn't recognize the kidnapper's voice during the rescue, but does recognize it a few days later at the penthouse ?
Beautiful Girls (1996) **
Natalie Portman steals the movie with her touching portrayal of a precocious 13-year old girl who flirts with 29-year old Timothy Hutton. This charming little film also features Rosie O'Donnell, Michael Rapaport, Mira Sorvino, Lauren Holly, Martha Plimpton and Uma Thurman.
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