Color of Night is yet another Maltin Bomb that I found entertaining. Seems I am the only one who likes this film. This is my second run at it -- the first was the VHS version, and it produced some very nice images this time. Let me get a start at the plot. Bruce Willis is a fancy New York psychologist who watches in horror as a patient he has just been a little hard on jumps from his top story window. He, of course, blames himself, and is so shaken that he becomes color blind (her blood on the pavement faded from red to grey as he looked down).

He abandons his practice, and heads out to California to visit his colleague/best friend/school chum hoping to heal. When he first arrives, his friend introduces him to a Monday night therapy group full of characters. The next day, his friend is murdered, and the therapy group becomes suspect. Willis is enlisted to take over the group and try to find the killer. Meanwhile, Jane March enters his life, and they move from hello to heavy moaning in record time.

The detractors of this film mention that it is full of cliches, that the viewer knows who the killer is long before the "stupid characters," and that the directing is lose giving a slow pace. They also complain about excessive nudity and boring dialogue. I must be as stupid as the cast, as I did not figure out the identity of the killer ahead of Willis. I thought the acting was good to very good, the art direction was strong, and some of the character development was good. There is subtlety to the film that I think most people miss. I think the real reason for the bad reviews is that people are expecting Die Hard and get Agatha Christie with a lot of nudity. It would certainly not be as entertaining without the 17 minutes of exposure added to the director's cut. The DVD transfer is very well done.

This film is certainly not a ten, and probably could have been directed and cut better, but I didn't hit fast-forward once. To me, that means it is watchable. Then again, I don't expect every film to be an Oscar contender, and don't detest those that aren't.

I usually leave the reviewing of new releases with no exposure to Scoopy, but, after watching The Book of Stars (1999), I couldn't help but comment. First a warning. The Book of Stars is to tear-jerker as Niagara Falls is to water. If this type of film is not your idea of cinema, forget this film. For the rest of you, it is the story of a young woman who has given up on herself, and is supporting herself, her drug habit, and her terminally ill sister with prostitution. Mary Stuart Masterson gives her best performance to date as the young prostitute, and Jena Malone gives an equally outstanding performance as the 15 year old sister with Cystic Fibrosis. Based on this and Jena's performance in Bastard Out of Carolina, she is going to be doing a lot of great work.

Very strong supporting performances were turned in by Delroy Lindo as The Professor (a neighbor who befriends them), Karl Gary as an Eastern European immigrant ("my country doesn't exist now.") who also befriends them, and D. B. Sweeney, a prisoner who has read a book of poetry written by Masterson before she sunk into drugs and prostitution, and begins a pen pal relationship with the younger sister, believing it to be the older one.

A universally stellar cast is a pretty good way to assure that a character driven drama will work, but the cast is only one of many strong points in this film. The score is perfect, as is the art direction and scenery. They are simply, yet reinforce the mood and emotions of the film. The story is told as a flashback, using as a device a "Book of Stars" created by the younger sister, which is a personal history told primarily in illustrations and symbols. As the film starts, Masterson says that through the book, her sister taught her how to turn the pages of her own life. In addition to providing some continuity for the story, the symbolism in the book enhances the understanding of the younger sister, and her relationship with Masterson. It is this relationship, and the way every element of the film is used to show the relationship that makes this yet another great Indie.

There are not many reviews on-line. There are a few from Austin newspapers (Tasca Shadix, the screenwritter is from Austin), and a handful of comments from IMDB readers. Every one of them is positive. Also interesting is that 50% of those voting gave it 10/10.

This is probably the most highly acclaimed movie of the year so far, but I couldn't quite get why people think it is so spectacular. I didn't find it roll-on-the-floor hilarious, or grab-your-heart moving. I think it's a good movie, but somehow I didn't connect with it the way so many people did. It seemed to me that it thought it was wiser and funnier than it really was.

The fundamental premise: record store geek with no life gets dumped by his girl, and reviews why in minute detail.

Ummm ... OK. That's pretty lame, but three things redeem it and make it excellent.

The first big plus is that the geek in question is played by John Cusack, who continues to do what he has always done best - to be a normal likeable guy in a crazy insensitive world. It's Lane from Better Off Dead, except now he's grown up. And Cusack also contributed as a writer, so it is custom-tailored to his world view.

The second big plus is that the movie treats the break-up subject with honesty and even a touch of poetry. Most touching was Cusack's "Top Five Things I Miss Most About Laura", a soliloquy as notable for Cusack's performance as for the words he speaks. (By the way, the top five lists are a running theme in the movie)

The third big plus is a succession of great minor characters, especially Jack Black as the ultimate elitist passionate know-it-all music geek.

No nudity at all. Not even close. Rated R for language and subject matter.

Box office: not a blockbuster, but a moderate success in selected theaters (1231 screens.) Domestic box of $27 million on a $20 million budget.

Consensus: about three and a half out of four. I guess that's about right. I'd place it a hair lower, but it's a good movie.

IMDB summary: 8.0 out of 10. (In the top 200 of all time)

Rotten Tomatoes summary. 86% positive, and 94% from he top critics.

DVD info from Amazon. The DVD has plenty of extras. About a dozen deleted scenes, at least two of which are absolutely great and should have been left in. Plus conversations with Cusack (also a co-writer), and the director, and two versions of the film. This is worth owning.

The two deleted scenes I loved:

1. A great dialogue between John Cusack and Beverly D'Angelo as a woman selling her despised husband's record collection. I won't explain, because that would spoil it. Just watch it.

2. A Cusack monologue. In the scenes which stayed in, we find out that Cusack said and did some pretty ugly things in the relationship, and he touchingly admits them directly to us over a beer. In the scene they cut, immediately after the confession, he gets up from the bar and says "Ok, I said and did those things, and you probably think I'm an asshole, but if you haven't already made up your mind about me - here's a top five list for you. Write down the worst five things you ever did to the person you've loved the most. It's especially good if they don't know about them. Don't try to explain or rationalize them. Just write them down honestly and factually." Cut to the outside of the bar. Cusack resumes his monologue coming through the bar door. "Ok, time's up. Pencils down. Read your list. ...

...Who's the asshole now?"

I guess this is pleasant enough entertainment for the brain dead. Scott Caan and David Arquette are hardcore rasslin fans who help their fallen idol regain his lost glory.

Oliver Platt takes the lead, and the rest of the wrestlers are real wrestlers from the past and present. The WCW obviously co-operated with the producers, and all the old familiar WCW faces are around, including the announcers.

It's basically a self-contained wrestling plot, so if you like the rasslin' itself, you'll probably get a kick out of it.

Scott Caan provided the only nudity, but Rose McGowan showed a little cleavage as the Head Nitro Girl.

Box office: Not a great success, it grossed $12 million. That was extremely disappointing, considering it had a $24 million budget, and received wide distribution (2585 screens).

Consensus: about 2 stars. That's reasonable, but you may like it better if you like the subject matter.

IMDB summary: 6.1 out of 10.

DVD info from Amazon.

Like John Cusack, Sandra Bullock is invariably human and vulnerable. She's also generally charming and cute.

Unlike Cusack, she doesn't seem to have any eye for spotting a winning script, and this must be about her zillionth consecutive turkey since Speed.

This one isn't as bad as some of the others..It's a human film about alcohol rehab, and it is filled with what I assume are accurate portrayals of the typical characters and trials in this process. It would be OK as a movie of the week or a docudrama. But it's lightweight and superficial, and I can't imagine why anyone paid theatrical prices to see it.

Surprisingly, Sandy was briefly naked behind some frosted glass OK, and showed the side of her hip as she got out of bed. It isn't much, but it's quite a bit for Sandy.

Box office: $37 million domestic gross on a budget of $43 million. The movie was placed into general wide-spread distribution. (2523 screens). Even though it was in twice as many theaters, I am still amazed that this puppy took in so much more than High Fidelity.

Consensus review: about two and a quarter stars. I'd say that's about right.

IMDB summary: 6.4 out of 10.

Rotten Tomatoes summary. 28% positive, and 43% from the top critics.

DVD info from Amazon.

This isn't a new release, and isn't on DVD. But it has some nudity in it, and that from foxy Lysette Anthony, so it was a change of pace from this week's new releases.

It is an erotic thriller which is about average in both the eroticism and the thrills. It does at least have some effort at a plot and a surprise ending to justify the sex scenes. Worth watching only to see Lysette get topless several times.

Although you have to admire any movie that uses Kato Kaelin not once, but twice, in two different unrelated roles. (A security guard and a bond trader)

IMDB summary: 6.3 out of 10. Too high (only 25 votes). That score implies two and a half stars our of four, and the movie isn't that good. With more votes, the score will probably fall down to the 5.0 range.

VHS info from Amazon.