New Releases: December 10, 1999
Here, as usual, an overview of the new independent and world films opening this weekend. For more mainstream fare, make sure to stop by About.com Guide J. Sperling Reich's Hollywood site.
Agnes Browne
Anjelica Huston directs and stars in this film about an Irish mother of seven.
The
Cider House Rules
A John Irving adaptation directed by Lasse Hallström (What's
Eating Gilbert Grape). With Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron. To my mind,
Irving adaptations can turn out wonderful (Garp) or atrocious (Simon
Birch), depending on how the material is handled.
Cradle
Will Rock
If you've seen Bob Roberts, you know that it's a delight when Tim Robbins
directs. With a cast including Bill Murray, John Cusack, John Tuturro, Emily
Watson, Hank Azaria, Vanessa Regrave and Susan Sarandon, this movie promises
to be an exciting epic about a theater group in the 1930s that is shut down
by the army.
Diamonds
Another Miramax movie with a cast that nobody in their right minds could call
independent: Kirk Douglas, Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, and Jenny McCarthy. It's
a road movie--Douglas plays a retired boxer who's searching for magic diamonds
with his son, played by Dan Aykroyd.
Liberty Heights
In wider release. Rembember Diner, Tin Men, and Avalon? This is
Barry Levinson's fourth Baltimore movie, set in 1954 and with a soundtrack featuring
Tom Waits and Ennio Morricone.
Miss Julie
A Strindberg adaptation by Leaving Las Vegas director Mike Figgis.
Ride with the Devil
Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, and Jewel (!) reenact the Civil War.
Tumbleweeds
Like Anywhere But Here, only better: a mother and sister move west. With
Janet McTeer and Kimberly Brown.
Rosetta
This Belgian drama won the Palme d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. It is
a bleak look at one girl's life and her struggle to find work and security.
Wallowitch
and Ross: This Moment
Documentary about a pair of cabaret performers. Only in New York.
The
War Zone
A story of incest in an English working-class family, directed by Tim Roth.
Based on the novel by Alexander Stuart.
