Spring Brake

I don't get paid to write reviews. Which is the reason why this space
has been (relatively) empty over the last couple weeks. So sue me, but I
haven't been able to muster the energy to go see EIGHT SECONDS, ABOVE
THE RIM, D2: THE MIGHTY DUCKS, LIGHTNING JACK, MOKEY TROUBLE, NAKED,
SIRENS, THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS, JIMMY HOLLYWOOD, MAJOR LEAGUE II, or
THUMBELINA.  (No comment regarding a forthcoming review of CLIFFORD.)

The two sequels-- D2 and MAJOR LEAGUE-- have been bringing in the bucks.
But to watch those, I'd have to rent the originals that I never saw in
the first place.  Three to four hours of preparatory work for two films
with, at best, run-of-the-mill reviews?  With another five to six hours
of writing time?  I don't think so, Tim.

NAKED intrigued me. Reviews were mixed and, in some instances, *very*
enthusiastic. But getting NAKED required a trip to Chapel Hill to a
theater with a screen the size of The Studio in Raleigh. The joke's on
me, of course, because SIRENS-- a film that I *do* want to see-- is
*only* playing at the Studio. Sigh.

ABOVE THE RIM is a basketball film that doesn't interest me any more
than THE AIR UP THERE did. Get Billy Friedkin back on the court and then
we'll talk. Yes.... we.... will.

THUMBELINA, an animated musical from Don Buth, has a trailer that looks
only marginally better than standard Saturday morning fare.  Songs by
Barry Manilow intrigue, but I think I'll hold out for THE LION KING.

(My official MONKEY SHINES excuse?  Well, how good can it really *be* if
 Harvey Keitel stays clothed?)

Mostly, I've stayed away from the current crop after reading bad review
after review after review. I know, for instance, that I should ignore
the buzz and go see JIMMY HOLLYWOOD and better my background of Barry
Levinson, Joe Pesci, and Christian Slater. But it's tough to want to see
a movie with more pans than a restaurant supply store.

I guess I'm on a vacation, of sorts, until the summer movie season.
There's *some* promise in the coming weeks and maybe we'll get a glimpse
of SERIAL MOM, LITTLE BUDDA, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, or, even,
THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III.

.newpage
Then, in late-May, the Parade of Entertainment begins with new films
from Garry Marshall, Richard Donner, John Landis, Oliver Stone, Andrew
Bergman, Stephen Hopkins, Russell Mulcahy, James Cameron, Lawrence
Kasdan, Rob Reiner, Peter Hyams, Phillip Noyce, and Michael Ritchie.

And then I go to work.

Copyright 1994 by Michael J. Legeros
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros