A spunky white woman (Rhea Perlman) becomes coach of an inner-city basketball team and eventually wins the players’ hearts, in another example of the sort of feel-good liberal Band-Aid for racial inequality that Benjamin DeMott exposed recently in a valuable book. (Other examples in this burgeoningor should I say bludgeoning?cycle include Dangerous Minds and The Substitute.) I don’t deny the sincerity of such a movie, but it’s questionable whether it accomplishes much beyond flattering the audience for its goodwill. Steve Gomer directed a script by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld and Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, and the costars include Fredro Starr, Carol Kane, Terrence Dashon Howard, Camille Saviola, and De’Aundre Bonds. (JR) Read more
An odd kettle of fish, though a pretty alluring one. Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) directs a Pete Dexter and Floyd Mutrux script, a noirish crime story set in Los Angeles during the 50s; thanks in part to gorgeous cinematography by Haskell Wexler and a yearning Dave Grusin score, the lyrical style often recalls Chinatown. An elite police unit nicknamed the Hat Squad (Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, and Chris Penn) finds a routine murder investigation leads to the Atomic Energy Commission, and the troubled personal involvement of Nolte in the case makes matters even more vexing. The cast includes Melanie Griffith (as Nolte’s wife), Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Daniel Baldwin, Andrew McCarthy, John Malkovich, and an uncredited Bruce Dern. If some of the plot twists are predictable, the performances and dialogue do plenty to make up for them. This has craft, feeling, and atmosphere you can taste. (JR) Read more
