The Postman
B+
1/1/1998 4:30pm Secaucus
Kevin Costner directs and stars in this post-apolaclyptic vision of the future
that is very loosely based on the characters and events of David Brin's
classic novella of the same name.  The book, of course, is superior in many
ways, but it is not fair to compare the two because they are essentially
different stories.  Costner plays a wanderer in Oregon, several years after
third world war, where society has been reduced to fuedalism.  He happens
upon a postman's uniform and inspires people to have faith in a fictionalized
restored United States, which encourages people to give him room and board.
Unfortunately, the local survivalist/fascist lord takes offense at this and
seeks to have him killed.  As an action/adventure movie, it's pretty good,
and as an inspirational movie, it's decent.  In places though it's a little
over-the-top.

Wag the Dog
B
1/11/1998 5:45pm Secaucus
This is a farce about a White House "fix it" man who is tasked with saving
an election when a story leaks out that the president may have had sex with
an underaged girl.  In order to direct public attention away from that story,
he develops an even more dramatic story, by hiring a Hollywood producer to
create a minor war with Albania.  The spooky part of the movie is that one
wonders just how much of it could happen in real life.  Starring Robert DeNiro
and Dustin Hoffman, as well as an all-star supporting cast, there is a lot
of entertainment to be had just from the actors.

Hard Rain
B
1/17/1998 4:50pm Wayne, NJ
Christian Slater produces and stars in this film about a town that is being
flooded out by an overrun dam.  Slater plays the role of an armored truck
driver that is carrying three million dollars in cash.  As the water level
in the town rises and rises, various people turn into bad guys and chase
after the cash.  The special effects are pretty good, except for the first
ten minutes, where the computer generated flood is a little too obvious.
The action is good, but the flood is a bit inconsistent.  Still, it was really
neat to see a whole town slowly sink into the depths.  Bonus: the movie is only 
half the length of Titanic.