Con Air (1997): review: 7/10

Convicts take over a plane which is taking them to some other prison: they behave badly except ex-soldier Cage, who probably shouldn't have been imprisoned in the first place, and a friend of his, who has health issues.

He has a pretty wife whom he has seen and a small daughter whom he i hasn't: he is sentimental about both. Although Cage is terribly dour, he is decent. He also is capabale of extraordinary feats of courage, usually involving hitting other people: in short, he is a fine American. The others on the plane are also often given to acts of violence but seem more or less totally without any consciences whatsoever. Malkovich takes charge in his usual camp-psychopath style.

On the ground, various incompetants struggle first to locate, then to recapture the aircraft: smoothy-boy Cusak manages this eventually after a considerable number of explosions, and much shouting.

All this passes the time enjoyably enough.

Singles (1992): review: 5.5/10

A soap opera of a film: a number of single people in San Francisco, many of whom live in the same, somewhat cramped building, pursue and reflect on romantic relationships.

The characters include a self-parodistic grunge rock singer, a nauseatingly self-satisfied town planner with a fixation with trains, and the heroine, who attempts to meet men by making a video. She is not that pretty, sadly, so it is all a bit of a strugglefor her.

All this is fairly slickly made, and not humourless, but it is all somehow unpleasant, mainly because the characters are all so unlikeable, possessing neither interesting nor virtuous characters, nor displaying good taste.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997): review: 9/10

As a British special agent, Austin Powers is unfrozen from the 60s to tackle Dr Evil, also unfrozen from that time. Dr Evil is trying to blackmail the UN.

Austin powers has a pretty assistant, for whom he feels a strong sexual attraction.

The film is a very funny, good natured on male sexuality, and British sixties films and culture, which it manages both to satirise and celebrate simultaneously.

Gummo (1997): review- 10/10

Entrancing film portraying mainly adolescent inhabitants of Xenia, Ohio, a town that had some few years before been hit by a tornado.

The film catalogues the curious degenerate tendencies of these characters- this alone would make the film fascinating.

However, in addition, the film is styled with great flair, even beauty, so that however grim the behaviour on display, the film almost serves as a celebration of the town.

Prince Valiant (1997): review- 6/10

Prince Valiant rescues Excalibur, gets the girl and becomes a Knight of the Round Table.

A film that doesn't take itself too seriously and has many fine fight scenes.

L.A. Confidential (1997): review- 8/10

Intelligent and well acted noir: the rites of passage of an ambitious sergeant, combatting corruption within the LAPD in the 50s.

Good Will Hunting (1997): review- 7/10

A maths professor and a psychiatrist act as surrogate mother and father to an orphan-adolescent maths genius, transforming him from an ungrateful, unkind janitor into something else- quite what is a mystery.

Overlong and sentimental but featuring some memorable exchanges.