Nothing to Lose
B
8/5/1997 7:30pm Secaucus
Tim Robbins plays an overworked ad executive who comes home to find his
wife in bed with his boss, and so he freaks out.  Martin Lawrence plays
a would-be carjacker who becomes a kidnap victim as Robbins ignores the
gun to his head and takes off for the desert.  The movie is an amusing,
light-hearted character study that doesn't take itself very seriously.
So, this isn't another "Falling Down"; although I'm sure Robbins would
have been up to it.  He just didn't get the right team.  So instead it
turns into more of a feel-good movie.

Conspiracy Theory
B-
8/8/1997 9:45pm Edgewater
Mel Gibson plays a mentally disturbed individual (imagine that), a writer
of a conspiracy theory newsletter that apparently got the attention of
"them".  The sugar level is just a tad too high in this movie, which
can be attributed to Julia Roberts's character.  I fail to see why she
is so popular.  Patrick Stewart plays the leader of the bad guys, "them",
the unnamed agency or whatever they are.  We never really learn for sure.
The movie starts out very choppy, like an epilectic fit, and as it calms
down, there are a few holes left unfilled.  What remains is an ordinary
action film, which Mel does very well.

Copland
B-
8/16/1997 1pm Secaucus
Sylvester Stallone plays an overweight, dull, half-deaf sheriff of a sleepy
New Jersey town that was created by New York cops on the take.  The story
never gets interesting, and neither do the characters, but it was exceptionally
interesting to me to witness the creation of a new city in Edgewater.  Parts
of the film are filmed in Edgewater and in Fort Lee.  The name of the town
they created was "Garrison".  Garrison, Fort Lee, hmmm... anyway, it was
just neat because I live near that area.  Oh, the story?  Sleepy sheriff
in sleepy town wants to be a "real" cop, a New York City cop, but isn't
qualified, so he does the hero thing in his sleepy little town.

Kull the Conqueror
B+
8/31/1997 8:25pm Secaucus
Kevin Sorbo stars in the role of Kull, in a movie that has a great similarity
to "Conan the Barbarian".  Of course, both are based on novels by Robert E.
Howard, but it is more than that.  Both movies have the same level of action,
the same style, and level of special effects.  Personally, I think it would
have been better with more T&A, but what are ya gonna do.  Sorbo, of course,
is well-practiced for the role, thanks to his Hercules TV series.  A great
movie if you're in the mood for medieval fantasy.