Subject: Reviews: Contact (1997), Men In Black (1997), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997).

From: "Max Scheinin" <[email-masked]>
Date: 1 Aug 1997 16:30:35 GMT

**** = perfection
*** = Good, not great
** = Not good, not bad - merely acceptable
* = Not acceptable but not unbearable, merely very bad 
ZERO = Horrid - avoid at all cost. 
1/2 = icing on the cake.

Contact: ****
Men In Black: *
My Best Friend's Wedding: **1/2

Black. A moment's hesitation and then we see the word in simple white
lettering:

CONTACT.

Real movie buffs will know that I am quoting the third draft of THE
GODFATHER,  except that the title we see isn't CONTACT. In a moment we are
staring into a familiar corner of the earth rather then the face of
Bonasera. We look on for a moment - the theater is utterly silent. You can
almost feel the collective awe. Then we begin to pull back. Still silent.
Galaxies fly past us slowly, spiralling into oblivion. They look less like
galaxies then like big puffy clouds. And then we realize what the movie is
trying to communicate; that the universe is a huge place that streches back
and back ... farther then we can see or even imagine. That we will never
reach into these strange corners, and meet or find those that inhabit it.
It's well communicated. And when we are sure that we can't go back further,
we do. It's an amazing unbroken shot, far more effective then - say the
opening shot of last year's STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT. But how can the movie
top such a wonderful opening? I wasn't sure myself.  But, it does. And it's
quite a feat. The sublime shot - practically a bliss out - is broken. It
hasn't even happened - it took place in the mind of a young girl, Ellie
Arroway. After a short introduction we cut to Ellie as
an adult. She is everything we want to be - confident, attractive, Jodie
Foster. To be honest, we also suspect that she is a little stupid. Later on
she goes to bed with Palmer Joss ( Matthew McConaughey ) so we think "Yes,
she is stupid. Just a little." But we are wrong. She's smart - we realize
that when she finally contacts aliens ( in a thrilling scene ). Through a
series of beautifully staged events she finds herself in a space ship (
well, sorta ) about to be transported to the star Vega. And she is ... oh
yes, she is. When she arrives there you are struck by the beautiful vision
of a far away planet, in all it's glory. Gentle waves lap on the shore ...
you are awe struck. How can director Robert Zemeckis live up to all of our
excpectations when he finally shows us aliens?  He does. The film is
glorious.
I have now seen Contact twice, and I loved it both times. It's not quite
2001: A Space Oddessey, E.T, or Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Who
cares? Do we mark it down because of that? Rarely has a film astounded me
on so many rare and diverse levels. Contact is a masterpiece and an
achievement. The last shot tops off everything else and brings the picture
to a wonderful and amazing conclusion. Intelligently scripted ( gasp! )
with characters we ( gasp again! ) identify with, understand and like.
Contact is a most remarkable film. It is also a spectacle - be sure to see
it on the big screen.
The greatest films - The Godfather, Casablanca, Singin' In The Rain,
Vertigo, Citizen Kane, Psycho,
The World Of Apu, - cast spells. But the 90s has been a bit short on films
like the ones I decsribe. Contact breaks the trend. 

I can't say that about Barry Sonenfield's MEN IN BLACK, which is pretty
bad. The first scene is probably the best; the credits sequence is
spectacular and good fun, and the special effects are dazzling. I saw Men
In Black twice, ( an accident - it's not the kind of film you would like to
see more then once. The second time was at a double feature with the
mediocre Julia Roberts comedy, "My Best Friend's Wedding" which has a
review below ) and I found comparing my reactions more interesting then
thinking about the movie. The first time I liked the movie, but was
dissapointed by Danny Elfman's score. The second time I found the movie
stupid and sappy - just barely watchable - made more so by the score which,
this time, I liked. Yet the score is never as overwhelming as it is in his
Tim Burton films ( the best of his scores can be found in Batman, Edward
Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas which was not directed by
Burton but was concieved by him. Blah, blah, blah ).	 
Sonenfield is, undoubtedly, the wrong choice for director. So if I you are
gonna keep  talking who would YOU elect? My candidate is Tim Burton who
would have made this a masterpiece ( as Steven Spielberg would have made
Contact one of the best films ever. Pity he didn't direct that rather then
The Lost World - which was entertaining and accomplished what it wanted to
). I'm also a bit sorry to say that the sense of humor  this film
celebrates doesn't apeal to me. I would have preffered a spoof of old alien
movies of the 50s with the aliens invisible, yet causing mayhem. 
To be fair, there are two excellent scenes/shots. The first is when Will
Smith is first transformed into Agent K. I won't say how it is done, but I
will say that is a comic moment, and it is truly inspired. The second is
the films last shot, a remarkable pull back that is a fancy -  less magical
and mysterious, but still fun - take on the last shot of Contact. If the
rest of the film had been that good, and had that impact, we would have
been on to something.     

I loved Contact. I disliked Men In Black. I have no feelings towards My
Best Friend's Wedding. It is a Julia Roberts comedy. It is what you would
excpect a Julia Roberts comedy to be, only a little better. It isn't that
bad - it's a bit of fluff. If you are sick of event movies then see it now.
 Julia Roberts is good - very good, - and it begins wonderfully. Then it
degenerates into a formualic mess. It has the best scene of the year,
featuring the dazzling vocal talents of Cameron Diaz. It has another great
scene which involves a musical number that takes place inside of a
resteraunt. Otherwize it's the kind of film that is pleasent and fun. To
snooze through. But, hey - it could have been worse.

It is worth noting that apart from Contact, Hercules is the only other
really good film I have seen this year. It is far more sophisticated then
your average Con Air. Naturally it's doing dismally at the box office.
Frankly, I'm not suprised at all. Just depressed.

I also think that 1997 will be remembered as one of the great years for
movies. Not for new movies but for old ones. Reissue galore! The films
being released are mostly bad, but this is a movie lover's dream! 

Coming soon, reviews of three classics seen on the big screen: The
Neverending Story ( well it SHOULD be a classic ), The Godfather, and
Vertigo.
Also: The greatest American comedy ( not counting Chaplin ), Some Like It
Hot.

Check out Max and Micah's movie page <a
href="http://www.garfieldlib.com/yanews/july97/max/max.html> here.