THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 28, 1995 TAG: 9503280048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CRAIG SHAPIRO
LENGTH: Long : 131 lines
IT SORT OF FITS that ``Speed'' and its stars - Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock - should sweep the first Videomatic Shmendrik Awards. An edge-of-the-seat thriller that doesn't let up, the film outdistanced the pack.
The Shmendriks? Oh, they were established to honor your favorite video, actor and actress from last year. Taken from the Yiddish, it means someone ineffectual. That's only a comment about the award's place in the Big Picture, unlike the Oscars, which really matter.
We're not sure what's next - you can see here what the Shmendrik looks like - but maybe if I ply Sam Hundley, who designed it, with more CDs, he'll add some fancy lettering and run off a few copies. Then we can send them to FoxVideo so they know what Hampton Roads thinks about ``Speed.''
The competition for favorite video came from ``Jurassic Park,'' ``Dazed and Confused'' and ``The Crow,'' but it wasn't really close. Reeves got some heat from Jim Carrey (``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective''), Brandon Lee (``The Crow'') and Harrison Ford (``The Fugitive''). The real race was for favorite actress, with Bullock just squeaking by Lena Olin (``Romeo Is Bleeding'').
Other nominees reflected Videomatic readers' wide tastes:
``Hard Target,'' ``Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and ``Schind-ler's List''
Jeff Bridges (``Fearless''), Richard Harris (``Wrestling Ernest Hemingway'') and Alec Baldwin (``The Getaway'')
Susan Sarandon (``The Client''), Angela Bassett (``What's Love Got to Do With It?'') and Holly Hunter (``The Piano'')
For the record, I second the nominations of Val Kilmer and Dennis Quaid for the same role in different movies - Doc Holliday in ``Tombstone'' and ``Wyatt Earp.'' Both were terrific. And Trevor Wright isn't the least bit nuts for picking ``Shrunken Heads'' as his favorite video. The Full Moon production, equal parts black comedy and horror, is a gas.
Thanks to everyone who voted. Start making a list for next year.
TOP TAPES (in Billboard):
Sales: ``The Lion King,'' ``The Mask,'' ``The Little Rascals,'' ``Snoop Doggy Dogg: Murder Was the Case,'' ``Beavis & Butt-head: There Goes the Neighborhood''
Rentals: ``Clear and Present Danger,'' ``Timecop,'' ``Natural Born Killers,'' ``True Lies,'' ``The Lion King''
The Couch Report
With all these new titles out, Flashback is officially canned this week. A guy needs some time to eat and sleep.
``Wes Craven's New Nightmare'' (New Line, 1994). Mr. Krueger's comeback is more repackaged than new, but credit writer-director Craven for how he's pulled it off. In setting it as a film within a film and having Freddy stalk the stars of the first movie, he makes genuinely thoughtful statements about violence and our lust for it. Nor does Craven spare himself. As usual, the FX are top-notch; when the action gets down to cases, though, the deja vu is strong. B
(CAST: Robert Englund, Heather Lagenkamp, John Saxon. RATED: R for violence, gore, language; 111 minutes)
``Exit to Eden'' (HBO, 1994). More like ``Dead End to Eden.'' This aimless Garry Marshall comedy, with Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd as cops who trail smugglers to an S&M resort island, goes nowhere. In keeping with her co-stars, Dana Delany is flat and unconvincing as the headmistress. Figure in a forced love angle and O'Donnell's grating one-liners, and Mr. Roarke and Tattoo start to look real good. F
(CAST: Dana Delany, Rosie O'Donnell, Dan Aykroyd, Paul Mercurio. RATED: R for nudity, mild language, mild violence; 120 minutes)
``Love Affair'' (Warner, 1994). Score one for soft lighting. However, the sparks are missing between Mr. and Mrs. Beatty, who meet on a plane, fall in love, then agree to meet in three months atop the Empire State Building to see if they mean it. Sound familiar? While this lukewarm remake has some fun with his aging playboy image, its real lift comes from her big-star charisma and Garry Shandling's comic flair. C
(CAST: Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Katharine Hepburn, Garry Shandling, Pierce Brosnan, Paul Mazursky, Kate Capshaw. RATED: PG-13 for mild language; 108 minutes)
``Angels in the Outfield'' (Disney, 1994). Another remake, but one that gives you the feel-goods. In its update, Disney wisely leaves the timeless message - faith is what matters - intact. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is good as the boy praying for an Angels win so he can have a family again. Danny Glover is steady as the crusty manager who comes around and Christopher Lloyd makes a down-to-earth head angel. One for all ages, with sparkling FX. B+
(CAST: Danny Glover, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tony Danza, Brenda Fricker, Christopher Lloyd. RATED: PG, nothing offensive; 103 minutes)
``Camp Nowhere'' (Hollywood, 1994). On the other hand, this Disney comedy won't appeal to anyone over 12. It's the same-old same-old, with the kids pulling one on the dorky adults. Christopher Lloyd chews the scenery as the ex-drama teacher who helps with the scam. C-
(CAST: Christopher Lloyd, Jonathan Jackson, Kate Mulgrew, Burgess Meredith. RATED: PG for mild language; 106 minutes)
``A Simple Tiwst of Fate'' (Touchstone, 1994). Steve Martin gives a warm, if familiar, performance as a recluse who adopts a little girl who wanders into his home. Gabriel Byrne's role is more complex. He's the real father, a politician who abandoned her for his career and, years later, sees how empty his life is. The courtroom showdown is too predictable, but this comedy-drama makes solid points about love and family. B-
(CAST: Steve Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin. RATED: PG-13 for mild language, drug use; 106 minutes)
``Nostradamus'' (Orion, 1994). What this biopic lacks in real drama it compensates for with sheer spectacle and attention to detail. Tcheky Karyo seems curiously detached in the lead. Still, he has his moments, and the supporting cast keeps it interesting. The problem is the big church-science conflict is more than the story can handle. B-
(CAST: Tcheky Karyo, Amanda Plummer, F. Murray Abraham, Julia Ormond, Rutger Hauer. RATED: R for nudity, violence, plague gore; 118 minutes)
``It's Pat . . . The Movie'' (Touchstone, 1994). Anyone see Fox TV's ``The Critic'' with the Not Ready for Feature Film Players? Bingo. Julia Sweeney's sexually vague ``SNL'' creation and the one-joke premise - Just what is Pat? - can't cut it over the long haul. ``Wayne's World''? Try ``The Coneheads.'' D
(CAST: Julia Sweeney, David Foley. RATED: PG-13 for tone, brief nudity; 88 minutes)
``Silent Hunter'' (New Line, 1994). With Fred Williamson directing, it's no surprise this revenge tale about a cop taking out the thugs who butchered his family feels like a '70s blaxploitation flick. That doesn't mean it's good. Miles O'Keeffe leads a cast of petrified ``types.'' D
(CAST: Miles O'Keeffe, Fred Williamson. RATED: R for language, violence, nudity; 97 minutes)
Also: ``Percy & Thunder,'' a boxing drama with James Earl Jones (unrated); Olympia Dukakis in the police expose ``Dead Badge'' (R); ``Attack of the 5'2'' Women,'' the Julie Brown Showtime special (unrated), and two dramas and a historical piece from overseas: ``Enjo'' (Japan), ``Sugar Cane Alley'' (France) and ``Lancelot of the Lake'' (France, all unrated)
Next Tuesday: ``Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,'' ``Silent Fall,'' ``The Pagemaster,'' ``Younger and Younger,'' ``Illicit Dreams,'' ``Hellbound'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
20TH CENTURY FOX
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, in ``Speed,'' were top stars.
by CNB