Holiday Films: An Overview

Ealasaid/ December 3, 1999/ Movie Reviews and Features

Originally written for The Occidental.

Well, faithful readers, that time is upon us: finals, and then the long-awaited Winter Break. And, lucky for us, Hollywood has produced a great crop of movies to catch up on once finals are over! Here’s the bottom line on a handful of the newest holiday releases.

Dogma

Take two renegade angels, an unwilling crusader, the unknown thirteenth apostle, and a pair of prophets whose primary interest is chicks, blenderize ’em with a healthy dose of Kevin Smith style humor, and you’ve got “Dogma.”

Linda Fiorentino, as the faith-challenged heroine, gets charged by Metatron (Alan Rickman, dry and British as ever) with a holy crusade – stop two renegade angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, showing a wonderful feel for the humor and pain of their characters’ situation) from re-entering heaven through a loophole and negating all of existence. The plot may be simple, but the film itself is not.

“Dogma” is a very dialog-heavy film, but Smith’s lively sense of timing and his superb cast make it work. The religious questions it raises are time-honored ones, and there are no easy answers. It’s easy to see why so many Catholics are up in arms about it, but if one has a sense of humor about Christianity, it’s actually a very interesting and thought-provoking film.

And it’s really, really funny.

The Bottom Line is: if you’re looking for action/adventure, go see “The World is Not Enough.” But for intellectual as well as lowbrow humor, go check out “Dogma.”

End of Days

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest film is pretty cool, but (sadly) not quite as cool as its previews. The premise is simple enough: Satan (Gabriel Byrne) has to get it on with Christine York (Robin Tunney) to bring about the end of the world. Jericho (Schwarzenegger), a security specialist with problems of his own, has to stop him. Pretty simple, right? Well’ not entirely. There are, of course, plenty of great fight scenes, cool effects, and explosions.

Byrne is deliciously evil as The Man, managing to be at once incredibly attractive (Lucifer was the most beautiful angel before he fell, remember) and remarkably frightening. Schwarzenegger is long-suffering as ever as Jer, and Tunney is equal parts virgin and feisty 90s woman as Christine.

Where “End of Days” falls apart is in its attempts to surpass the classic Schwarzenegger action flick pattern and its tendency to get a bit gut-wrenching with the physical violence. Nothing out of the ordinary for Hollywood, but it’s much more personal than the usual Schwarzenegger explosions and gunfire. Other than that, of course, it’s pretty neat.

The bottom line is: “End of Days” may not be as terrific as the previews make it out to be, but it’s still pretty cool.

Sleepy Hollow

Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) has a problem. He’s been sent to Sleepy Hollow to solve a series of beheadings using his unusual detective methods. But all is definitely not what it seems, and his devotion to logic has left him completely unprepared for what he’s going to find.

Tim Burton’s reworking of the old Washington Irving story isn’t particularly faithful to the original tale, but it’s entertaining, and very Burton-esque. The atmosphere of both New York (Ichabod’s hometown) and the isolated village of Sleepy Hollow itself is painstakingly built, and the characters are fleshed out in classic Burton fashion. Depp is wonderfully skittish as Ichabod, and Christina Ricci flexes her acting muscles as Katrina Van Tassel, the young innocent who is both a love interest for Ichabod and at the center of the mystery.

“Sleepy Hollow”‘s only real problem is a lack of plot. Although a few twists have been added to the original tale’s idea, there still isn’t quite enough story. Burton’s deft hand with visuals and characters makes up for it, but unfortunately, if you don’t like Burton’s cinematic style, this probably won’t help much.

The bottom line is, if you like Burton’s films (“Edward Scissorhands,” “Batman,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”), then you’ll love “Sleepy Hollow.” But if you don’t, skip it. Oh, and a warning for the faint-hearted: there are beheadings. Lots. You have been warned.

Toy Story 2

“Scream 2” may have gone on at length to explain (and demonstrate) that sequels suck. But “Toy Story 2” has proved it wrong.

“Toy Story” brought Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) and Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) together, and showed their journey into friendship. “Toy Story 2” takes off from there, building on what went before. Woody saved Buzz in “Toy Story” – now it’s Buzz’s turn to return the favor. Add to the well-plotted rescue story an examination of what it means to be a toy, and you’ve got a movie that’s great for kids (who will enjoy the excitement of the rescue) and older folks alike.

The voice actors of the first film are back in their old roles, from Allen and Hanks to Wallace Shawn as the lovably insecure Rex and Jim Varney as Slinky. A few new characters and talented voices have joined the old crowd, as well – Joan Cusack and Wayne Knight, among others.

The animation is as wonderful as one would expect Pixar’s work to be (indeed, Pixar’s first short film, a delightful look at the private life of office furniture, is attached to the beginning of “Toy Story 2”), and the whole film comes together beautifully.

The bottom line is, if you’re looking for a wonderful regression to your childhood without the sappiness of a generic Disney flick, “Toy Story 2” is your film. But if you want action or gore, go somewhere else.

The World is Not Enough

“Bond. James Bond.”

Does that phrase send a tingle of excitement up your spine? If it does, and you by some miracle haven’t seen “The World is Not Enough,” Agent 007’s newest adventure, run – don’t walk- to the theatre and see it. Pierce Brosnan is back as Bond, and joined by a number of both familiar and new faces. Q (Desmond Llewelyn) and M (Judi Dench) are back, as is Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane).

As with any Bond film, the plot is mainly an excuse for beautiful people to run around in improbably expensive clothing blowing things up, but here’s a summary anyway: Bond has to protect the daughter of a banker (Sophie Marceau) from a nasty terrorist (Robert Carlyle, looking nothing like he did in “The Full Monty”). Along the way, he meets a surprisingly young a beautiful nuclear physicist (Denise Richards) and Q’s apprentice, R (John Cleese, a delight as always).

There’s nothing particularly startling in “The World is Not Enough.” The bottom line is, if you like Bond films, you’ll like it. But if you don’t, you’d be better off catching “End of Days.”

That sums it up, folks! See you next semester!

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