|
|
Brimstone
NYPD Brimstone
 |
Brimstone
|
|
Starring Peter Horton, John Glover
|
|
Fox Network
|
|
Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
|
|
Premieres Oct. 23
|
|
|
Review by Tamara I. Hladik
 he Devil (Glover) is a better dresser than one might think. Ezekiel Stone (Horton) could vouch for that; he's chatted the Devil up a few times lately, about an embarrassing situation for the sulfurous landlord. It seems 113 of Hell's most reprobate tenants have slipped their eternal leashes and escaped into the mortal world to wreak havoc and terror.
Technically, Stone is also a ninth-ring denizen. He's dead, consigned to Hell for murdering his wife's rapist in cold blood some 15 Earthly years ago. However, he's got a second shot. If he can round up all of Hell's escapees, he'll get another chance on Earth. In life he was the most decorated cop in south Manhattan, and the Devil is hoping that being dead hasn't changed Stone's instincts.
Stone has already got a good bead on one escapee, a 19th century priest and slayer of boys who, now back from damnation, is kidnapping altar boys to sacrifice them in order to fulfill a twisted, prophetic vision. It's a bit of a hard trick to track him, even for Stone--he's been smoldering in hellfire for about 100 years and has acquired some of its qualities: a fiery touch, a demon's strength and sin's persuasive tongue.
The hunter, though, is also the hunted. In his search for the priest, Stone breezes into the crosshairs of a fellow detective, who is on the case of the missing boys. This brother in blue thinks Stone did it. Convinced Stone faked his own death to escape prosecution for murder, the well-meaning cop unwittingly endangers his own case when he captures Stone. By the time he realizes that Stone might indeed be the dead man he claims to be, the killer they're both after snatches another boy and is only one short of the number he needs to initiate the sacrifice...
Smoldering with subtlety
To be brief, but to the point: Brimstone launches with one of the best pilots filmed for television. Most pilots have a shaky start. A few smolder with promising embers. This one kicks the flames high from the beginning with a great premise that's compellingly presented. There's subtle acting and dark-but-witty writing ("You go your way, I'll go Yahweh."), quick and jerky camera work that adds nervous texture, and a scratchy, nasty soundtrack.
As Stone, Peter Horton is a smashing standout. His nonchalant, regressive delivery makes him a superb anti-hero. Aside from perfectly cast, he's a very, very strong actor. And he's well matched by just about the entire cast. No one overdoes it. They all deliver their lines with professional restraint, generously giving fellow cast members something good to work with--Horton especially could easily steal the show, but lets the genre and the premise have the lead. Ironically, John Glover, whose mercurial physical portrayal of the Devil would be reason enough to tune in every week, probably will be seen only intermittently throughout the season.
Fox needs to be wary. With this kind of archetype-laden leviathan, there are a million mediocrities that could rupture the integrity of the vessel. If viewers don't completely buy in, the show's power is diminished by an order of magnitude, for this effort isn't about relationships, coming-of-age rites or simple escapism. It's about palpable Evil in the modern world. So far, the show is mindful of the smaller as well as the larger aspects. God is in the details, after all.
This will be an instant cult hit, and may have enough draw to follow in the X-Files' footsteps. One of the best pilots I've ever seen.
-- Tamara
Back to the top.
Practical Magic
"Can magic mend a broken heart?"
|
Practical Magic
|
|
Rated PG-13
|
|
Starring Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing
|
|
Directed by Griffin Dunne
|
|
105 Minutes
|
|
|
Review by Kathie Huddleston
he Owens women have an ancient family curse that kills any man who falls in love with them. Sally (Bullock) and Gillian (Kidman) learned all about the curse when they were children, after it caused the deaths of their father and mother.
The sisters went on to live with their eccentric aunts, Frances and Jet, who are both witches. While being raised by the aunts, the sisters learn about spells and magic. Sally discovers that she has power as a witch. Not wanting to meet her mother's fate, Sally wishes for a perfect man, one she knows can't exist, with one blue eye and one green eye. He has other strange "gifts" as well, such as being able to flip pancakes in the air.
When the girls come of age, Gillian takes off with her boyfriend, while Sally stays with the aunts. As Gillian falls for one guy after another, Sally finally finds love, and she and her husband have two girls. But after several years of happiness, the curse comes true. Depressed and in anguish, Sally moves back in with the aunts. Gillian comes to help her.
As Sally starts to move on with her life, Gillian calls to tell her she's in trouble. Sally rushes to her, only to have a run-in with Gillian's abusive boyfriend, Jimmy. Jimmy kidnaps the two sisters and forces Sally to drive his car. When Sally accidentally kills Jimmy, the sisters decide to try and bring him back to life. But now they must deal with both a dead (but still dangerous) Jimmy and the cop (Aidan Quinn) who is looking for him, a man who just happens to be able to flip pancakes in the air and has one green eye and one blue eye.
Nothing practical here
Practical Magic, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman, offers up precious little that's either practical or magical in this comic-romantic-horror tale of sisterhood. Despite its big-name cast and good production values, this film is more than just a little confused. Sometimes it's a charming comedy, other times it's extremely violent and unpleasant, and at still other times it's a love story.
While the script seems to be all over the place, the one place it's not is in the '90s. The sisters seem to have no visible means of support. Sally's bath oil shop has lots of employees, but few customers, and Gillian seems to make a living as a slut. And while the entire movie is about finding and keeping a man, with all that magic in the family, it would seem the Owens women should be able to brew up a bit of success and perhaps even figure out a way to get rid of the curse. Unfortunately, none of that takes place in this story.
The talented cast puts a lot of spirit into Practical Magic, but even they can't conjure up any consistency. Bullock always does well on the screen, but it would be nice to see her stretch herself as an actress. She always seems to play the same character. Kidman breathes life into the thinly written Gillian character. Wiest and Channing should probably be in a different movie, but they are delightful as the sisters' aunts.
With all the money spent on the acting talent and the production, it would have been nice if Practical Magic had gone further with its subject matter. If these sisters are truly witches, why not show them practicing the ancient art and having a little dark fun while they're at it?
-- Kat
Back to the top.
Inferno
"LA takes the heat... one more time"
|
Inferno
|
|
Starring Daniel Von Bargen, Jonathan LaPaglia, Stephanie Niznik
|
|
|
UPN Thursday Night Movie
|
|
Premieres Oct. 29, 8 p.m ET
|
|
Review by Kathie Huddleston
 large explosion within the sun has created a super-heated gas and magnetic energy cloud that's headed toward Earth. Scientists determine that Earth has only three or four days before temperatures rise to 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above. The Earth will also be hit with an electromagnetic pulse that will wipe out satellites, telephones, radio contact and almost all electrical activity on the planet.
General Craig Maxwell (Daniel Von Bargen) rushes to Los Angeles, which will suffer the brunt of the cloud, to handle the situation. While the temperature rises, Maxwell must deal with crisis after crisis as the city's population tries to survive fires, flooding and the nasty human element brought out by such dark times.
Against this backdrop of the impending disaster, several stories intertwine. An inner city schoolteacher (Anthony Starke) challenges one of his gangbanging students, only to face him again when he is called to action as a member of the Army Reserves. A lifeguard (Niznik) tries to get rid of her violent ex-boyfriend (LaPaglia), while attempting to help a disillusioned surgeon (James Remar) through his troubles so he can heal again. Meanwhile, the ex-boyfriend has plans of his own that include bank robbery.
Even as Maxwell suffers a personal loss, he must pull together his forces to try and save Los Angeles as total disaster looks certain for the city, and perhaps the world.
Some will live and some will die...but who cares?
Inferno continues Hollywood's love affair with the threat of the end of the world, but on a television-sized scale. So far Hollywood filmmakers have thrown earthquakes, alien invasions, killer viruses, volcanoes and asteroids at the Earth. Why not a cloud of heat generated by a solar explosion?
Inferno follows the standard disaster setup, complete with typical stock characters. The only saving grace is the solid acting by such veterans as Von Bargen and Remar (Dr. West). The script is the same old story. With characters such as the stoic general, the disillusioned doctor, the caring teacher, the beautiful lifeguard and the demented ex-boyfriend, there are no fresh concepts here.
Forget the small scale, the terrible special effects and the lack of extras. No movie works without well-drawn characters and a good story for those characters to live in. The characters presented in Inferno are no more than TV people. They don't have real lives. They don't call their mothers when the crisis happens or try to get to their loved ones.
And, like too many bad disaster flicks, this one focuses on manufactured conflicts rather than letting nature be the villain. It's as if the filmmakers don't have enough confidence in their own disaster's ability to spur the story along. It also wouldn't hurt if some other cities besides Los Angeles and New York got hit occasionally.
Judging by the success of Independence Day and this year's Deep Impact and Armageddon, we haven't seen the last of the end of the world. If there's going to be a Y2K disaster flick, it better hurry.
-- Kat
Back to the top.
|
