Reel In The Holidays This Film Season Holds A Little Something For Everyone Romance, Adventure, Aliens And Animation

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Wednesday, November 6, 1996): Correction Milos Forman directed the film “The People vs. Larry Flynt.” The wrong director was credited in a Tuesday IN Life story.

Holiday movie-going once was limited to those few weeks bookending Christmas and New Year’s.

These days, not only is Thanksgiving included in the schedule, but so is nearly the entire month of November. When it comes to movie-watching, clearly there’s no such thing as too much.

The 1996 holiday season may not promise as many thrills as, say, the summer season did. But there should be a little something for everyone, from action to animated adventures, aliens to romantic attitudes.

The following schedule outlines the first-run films scheduled to hit Spokane theaters. As always, the dates are tentative.

Friday

Ransom

Plot: When a successful businessman’s son is kidnapped, he pledges to use the ransom money as a bounty on the kidnappers. Stars: Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise. What its chances are (of being around for more than just a weekend): Good. With Ron Howard directing and Gibson starring, this remake of the 1956 Glenn Ford drama should prove suspenseful.

Secrets & Lies

Plot: A young black woman seeks out her mother, who turns out to be a poor, working-class white not particularly anxious to admit that she gave birth to a mixed-race child. Stars: Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Chances: Good. British director Mike Leigh’s film was a favorite at Cannes, and its family feel should strike a chord with fans of foreign films.

Nov. 15

The Mirror Has Two Faces

Plot: Two inhibited college professors struggle not to let love ruin a good friendship. Stars: Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall, Pierce Brosnan. Chances: Questionable. Streisand directed, which could be a problem, but Bridges typically is an appealing presence, especially in light comedy.

Space Jam

Plot: When aliens threaten the Earth, the Warner Bros. gang of animated characters recruit America’s basketball Dream Team to help. Stars: Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny, Bill Murray, Tweety Bird and others. Chances: Good - as long as they play to Murray and limit Dennis Rodman’s screen time.

Nov. 22

Star Trek: First Contact

Plot: Aliens have stolen Earth’s future, and Capt. Picard and his “Star Trek: The Next Generation” crew must come to the rescue. Stars: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis. Chances: Great. This is the eighth “Star Trek” movie, the second featuring the “Next Generation” crew. Inertia cannot be denied.

Jingle All The Way

Plot: With Christmas around the corner, a harried father struggles to buy his son the action toy he wants. Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad. Chances: Questionable. Big Arnold has a sense of humor, but his fans prefer him as a Glock-wielding enforcer.

Nov. 27

101 Dalmatians

Plot: When a malevolent rich woman is told she cannot buy 101 Dalmatian puppies (to make them into a coat), she decides to kidnap them instead. Stars: Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson and Joan Plowright. Chances: Good. And this is despite the trailer that suggests Disney has updated its charming 1961 animated feature by incorporating the more disturbing aspects of “Home Alone” into this live-action comedy.

The English Patient

Plot: As a horribly wounded soldier is tended by a loving nurse, he reminisces back to happier times. Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristen Scott Thomas and Willem Dafoe. Chances: Questionable. Adapted from Michael Ondaatje’s acclaimed novel, it could prove too much of a downer for holiday audiences.

Dec. 6

Daylight

Plot: New York commuters, stranded in a tunnel under the Hudson River, struggle to survive as the water rushes in. Stars: Sylvester Stallone and a bunch of nobodies. Chances: So-so. The special effects promise to be thrilling, but haven’t we seen this before?

Dec. 13

Jerry Maguire

Plot: An agent for high-priced athletes starts to question the meaning of his life. Stars: Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr. Chances: Good. Cruise has the perfect screen personality for this kind of role, and newcomer Zellweger is a talent ready to bloom.

Mars Attacks!

Plot: Aliens from the Red Planet try to take over. Stars: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Rod Steiger, Danny DeVito, Pierce Brosnan, Annette Bening, etc. Chances: Great. Tim Burton, whose demented sense of humor has brightened everything from “Batman” to “Ed Wood,” directed this comic variation on “War of the Worlds.”

The Preacher’s Wife

Plot: An angel helps out when money problems threaten the marriage of a religious couple. Stars: Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington. Chances: Questionable. Directed by Penny Marshall, this remake of 1947’s “The Bishop’s Wife” will depend on the chemistry of its two stars, who assume roles originally played by Loretta Young and Cary Grant.

Dec. 20

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America

Plot: The MTV cartoon characters take their nose-picking act to the big screen. Stars: No one you likely know. Chances: Dismal. Then again, P.T. Barnum made millions offering “entertainment,” too.

One Fine Day

Plot: A pair of single parents struggle with the dueling demands of career and day care and end up in a romance. Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney. Chances: Good. Clooney is hot and Pfeiffer has her fans. It all depends on whether director Michael Hoffman (“Restoration”) can put it all together.

My Fellow Americans

Plot: Two ex-presidents discover chicanery committed by the sitting chief executive and brave killer agents to inform the public. Stars: Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd. Chances: Good. Garner and Lemmon project the same kind of comic relationship that Lemmon has enjoyed with Walter Matthau. If only they have a decent script to follow.

Scream

Plot: A serial killer terrorizes Santa Rosa, Calif. Stars: No one worth shouting about. Chances: Questionable. Two words: Wes Craven.

Dec. 25

Michael

Plot: Checking out a rumor, journalists discover a real angel living in Iowa. Stars: John Travolta, William Hurt, Jean Stapleton. Chances: Good. Travolta can do no wrong.

Evening Star

Plot: An eccentric and difficult woman tries to bend life to her will and in the process creates a perpetual love-hate relationship with those who come close to her. Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Miranda Richardson, Ben Johnson, Juliette Lewis. Chances: Good. As a sequel to 1983’s multiple Oscar-winner, “Terms of Endearment,” this MacLaine/Nicholson vehicle shows plenty of promise.

Undated maybes

Surviving Picasso

Plot: For 10 years late in his life, the world-renowned Spanish artist carries on with a much-younger woman who, tiring of his abuse, ultimately leaves him. Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore and Natascha McElhone. Chances: So-so. Few mainstream filmgoers can spell Picasso, much less summon up the desire to see a film about him.

January

The People vs. Larry Flynt

Plot: Oliver Stone directed this film biography of the man who publishes the adult magazine that glories in its reputation as the grossest skin-rag in America. Stars: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love. Chances: Questionable. First reports are that Stone has created another hard-to-watch, uncompromising and ultimately artful near-masterpiece.

The Crucible

Plot: Several women are accused of witchcraft in late 17th-century Salem. Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. Chances: Good. Playwright Arthur Miller adapted his own stage play to the screen, and Day-Lewis is being given early Oscar attention. The only question mark is Ryder.

Early 1997

Evita

Plot: The wife of Argentine dictator Juan Peron overcomes her sordid past to become the country’s beloved symbol. Stars: Madonna, Antonio Banderas. Chances: Good. Andrew Lloyd Webber provides the music, Allen Parker the direction, and Madonna pretty much everything else. This might be the film that demonstrates there truly is material to the girl.

Hamlet

Plot: The Prince of Denmark, suspecting his uncle killed his father to marry his mother, mulls over what to do about it. Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Gerard Depardieu, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Julie Christie and Robin Williams. Chances: So-so. Director Branagh, brilliant with “Henry V” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” may have gone a bit overboard by refusing to cut even a line from the 3-1/2-hour play.

The Ghosts of Mississippi

Plot: Decades after he was murdered, civil rights leader Medgar Evers’ accused killer is brought to trial. Stars: Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods. Chances: So-so. A heavily made-up Woods looks terrific as Byron De La Beckwith, but this could be just another exercise in exorcising liberal guilt.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 7 color photos