New movie bonanza

Press, 23 September 1988, Page 28

New movie bonanza

By

HANS PETROVIC

Christchurch moviegoers are in for one of the sporadic outpourings from film distributors this week, and several critically praised movies are among them. They are a mixture of action, comedy and down-and-out romance, with such stars as Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken and a newcomer, Steven Seagal. NICO In “Nico,” starting at the Avon today, Steven Seagal plays a tough street cop with whom he shares several things in common in real life. Seagal is an expert marksman and weaponry master. He is also a sixth degree black belt master of aikido and holds belts in other martial arts. Nico is a Chicago police detective and former C.I.A. agent who helps

fight official complicity in narcotics trafficking.

IRONWEED Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep star as two down-and-out characters in “Ironweed,” which starts at the Midcity today. Francis Phelan (Nicholson) lives a life that is haunted by his past. He was a great baseball player, but now he is a has-been. Helen (Streep) was once a singer on the radio. They are both shadows, almost ghosts, with no hope, no home and no money. “Ironweed” is the story of Francis’s and Helen’s discovery and acceptance of themselves for what they were and what they have become. Separately, they find their answers. Full of tragedy, wry humour and ultimately renewed hope, “Ironweed” sees Nicholson and Streep create two moving, vividly memorable characters. “Ironweed” is adapted by William Kennedy from his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel,. A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY “A Month in the Country,” starting at the Westend today, is a beautifully photographed and acted period piece set in England in the summer after the end of World War I. A nerve-shattered, soldier named Birkin (Colin Firth) comes to the tiny village of Oxgodby in the Yorkshire Dales. He has

been employed for a few weeks to uncover a plastered wall in the local church, behind which is supposed to lie a medieval painting. . This unusual commission was arranged by the trustees of a local estate. His appointment, however, was opposed by the local vicar (Patrick Malahide), an austere and clearly troubled man with a beautiful young wife (Natasha Richardson) for whom Birkin feels an immediate, strong attraction. THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR “The Milagro Beanfield War,” starting at the Savoy today, invites us into the humorous and magical world of the Milagro Valley with its spirited cast of characters — a place where fantasy mingles with reality and any-thing-can happen. Based on a John Nicholas novel and directed by Robert Redford, the film tells .the tale of Joe Mondragon, a lone Chicano handyman who illegally irrigates his parched beanfield using water that was earmarked for a major development. This tiny act snowballs, setting in motion a chain of events that have major consequences for both Joe and the people of his town; "The Milagro Beanfield War” stars Ruben Blades, Sonia Braga, Melanie Griffith and Christopher Walken.

WEEDS In “Weeds,” starting at the Academy today, Nick Nolte plays Lee Umstetter, a man trapped in the depths of a prison who has the courage to change his life and live his dream. The drama and the fulfillment of the dream are personified by the Barbed Wire Theatre acting troupe whose members have been convicted of crimes including murder, embezzlement, drug dealing, shoplifting and armed robbery.

Their leader (Nolte) is a playwright who was originally in San Quentin prison serving a life sentence. Every night, on stage, they now re-enact life in jail with songs, sketches and sudden outbursts of furious humour. TIME “Time Stands Still,” made in 1981 by a Hungarian director, Peter Gothar, will be screened by the Canterbury Film Society at the Sociology Theatrette, University of Canterbury, on Tuesday at 7.30 p.m., and at the Youth Centre, 111 Worcester Street, on Thursday at the same time.

The film follows the life of Denes, a Budapest youth who struggles with the problems of adolescence. His father left the country in 1956 after the Soviet takeover.