The August 1996 issue (Volume 28, Number 10) features a cover story on the making gof THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS, including interviews with the actors, director, screenwriter, and special effects team, plus a look back at the J. O’Barr graphic novel that inspired the film franchise. Other feature articles include THE FRIGHTENERS (from Peter Jackson), ESCAPE FROM L.A. (from John Carpenter), and the anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL.

The contents for this issue are as follows:

3 Cinemagination by Steve Biodrowski

4 Release Schedule: The Month’s Genre Films Continue Reading »

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By Steve Biodrowski 

Have you ever wondered about those quotes you see in movie ads - you know, the ones from critics singing praises of glory as if the film were a major event in cinema history? Well, there is reason to wonder, as you will see if you turn to the capsule reviews page this issue and examine Dan Cziraky’s commentary on BARB WIRE. You will notice that it doesn’t conform to the quote that appeared in Gramercy Pictures’ newspaper and television ads, attributed to a writer at Cinefantastique. Continue Reading »

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By Dan Cziraky

Is there some law that only DC Comics can make decent film adaptations of their comic books? After striking out with DR. GIGGLES and TANK GIRLS, Dark Horse Comics tries again, this tiem with futuristic female mercenary BARB WIRE. David Hogan’s film stars Pamela Anderson Lee’s breast, derriere, legs, and face. There are some other folks in it, too - a supporting cast of familiar faces, in fact: Clint Howard (Ron’s brother), Udo Kier (ANDY WARHOL’S FRANKENSTEIN), and Steve Railsback (LIFEFORCE).

Chuck Pfarrer’s so-called script is basically a distaff version of CASABLANCA (!) with Lee playing the Humphrey Bogart role in 2017, when America is controlled by the neo-fascist Congressionalist Army. Barb Wire (Lee) runs a bar in Stelle Harbor, the last “free” city in the country. Back into her life comes former lover Axel (Morrison), a resistance fighter now married to rebel leader Cora D (rowell), who carries the cure to the government-crated super-HIV virus in her blood. Axel asks Barb to help him recover a pair of contact lenses that will allow Cora to get past the government’s retinal scanners and into Canada, where they can synthesize the vaccine. Wire tells him to get lost but changes her mind when her blind brother (Jack Noseworthy) is killed by Railsback’s insanely evil Congregationalist officer. Continue Reading »

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“intense depiction of very bad weather”* 

Well, the film is out, and the reviews are in. Predictably, the critics carping over TWISTER’s alleged failings have proved that they don’t appreciate the wonders of cinema magic, for this movie is a wonder to behold. Working from a simple premise (storm chasers pursue tornadoes in the hope of gaining information to build a better warning system), the film builds itself up almost solely out of action surrounding its title phenomenon. As one would expect, DeBont directs the affair almost exactly as he staged SPEED: the action starts in the opening frame and never lets up. What’s surprising is that, after an overwhelming opening sequence that stuns its audience into silence and then appreciative applause, the film actually manages to sustain this intensity level (unlike CLIFFHANGER, which opened with its best scene and fell downhill from there). Continue Reading »

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