St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 43

http:www.stlnet,com ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH EVERYDAY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1997 E3 Reviews Film Weaver plays it smart and sexy in latest 'Alien' Disney flubs up with remake of 'Absent Minded Professor r1'1' 'y-r -'w L000 A'. v. A 'Alien Resurrection' kVi Rating: violence, language Running time: 1:49 At the Belleville Quad, Chesterfield, Des Peres, Eastgate, Esquire, Eureka, Halls Ferry, Kenrick, Mid Rivers, Northwest Square, Regency, Ronnie's. St.

Clair, West Olive By Ellen Futterman Post-Dispatch Critic-at-large Some things are better left dead. Ellen Ripley, for example. Sigourney Weaver gave Ripley intriguing life through much of the "Alien" series. But she did the hu-Jnane thing the last time out in "Alien3," and decided Ripley should die. Enough is enough.

This was a good decision. Resur-' recting her for a fourth installment was not. Although "Alien Resurrection" offers some chills, it's low on thrills and even lower on creating any emotional center to hold the story together. And what about the story? There's not much to that other than it evolving into a chase fest. The action takes place 200 years after "Alien3," and begins with Ripley (Weaver) giving birth to a slimy, people-eating baby alien By Ellen Futterman Post-Dispatch Critic-at-large Obviously, remaking "The Absent Minded Professor" seemed like a good idea to Disney.

After seeing the result, I can safely say that's where the good idea ended. For parents who remember the original 1961 classic starring Fred MacMurray, be prepared to be severely disappointed should you take your children to see this version. "Flubber" is utterly charmless and despite attempts by Robin Williams, utterly dull. Your kids, on the other hand, might enjoy some of the slapstick, reminiscent of the "Home Alone" series. Frankly, the humor in flying bowling balls hitting bad guys in the head eludes me.

But apparently it doesn't escape John Hughes, who is partly responsible for the screenplay (and what do you know, who also wrote the "Home Alone" series). Williams plays professor Phillip Brainard, a guy so engrossed with his scientific experiments that he forgets his wedding day not once, not twice, but three times. He's hard at work concocting a new form of energy and is aided by a talking computer that looks a lot like a flying hamburger. That new energy, of course, turns out to be flubber, a green gelatinous blob that looks like hair mousse and flies like rubber. And of course it's just the thing to save the college where Brainard works, and where his finacee (Marcia Gay Harden) is president, from dire financial straits.

Yup, folks, we're talking big-time drama here. Special effects are the stars of 'Flubber' Rating: PG Running time: 1:33 At the Belleville Quad, Clarkson, Crestwood, Cottonwood, Des Peres, Eastgate, Eureka, Galleria, Halls Ferry, Keller, Mid Rivers, Northwest Plaza, O'Fallon, St. Charles, West Olive the movie. To that end, they, too, are rather lifeless, with the flubber morphing into a dancing green dough boy, bopping about the stratosphere wreaking havoc and helping the college basketball team win a game. And I suppose in a nod to the original, there's also a flying To keep the action moving, the filmmakers throw in a few bad guys trying to get their hands on the flubber and a rival colleague (Christopher McDonald) of Brain-ard's, hoping to woo his fiancee.

It's pretty goofy stuff and does little to develop any story. And what little story there is has more to do with getting revenge and using shortcuts to succeed than any redeeming message. Williams, who usually can make chicken salad out of a lot less, comes across as rather stiff, without his usual off-handed quips. But wait, was his stiffness intended in contrast to the bouncing offspring his character creates? Is there some inner meaning here that I just am beginning to see? Nah, "Flubber" is about as deep as a flat tire with as much ability to make an impact. Sigourney Weaver as Ripley is transformed in "Alien Resurrection.

or is that of one b-a-d mama. Pretty soon a group of renegades enter the picture (among them, Winona Ryder). After a clash between this group and the spaceship crew, the movie turns into a fairly predictable action drama as Ripley and the renegades try to flee to safety while being pursued by a growing number of aliens. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet aboard a spaceship. Scientists plan to raise this baby Queen and other aliens in captivity for purposes that obviously aren't all that kosher.

Oh, and it seems Ripley has been cloned through some blood process, which included alien samples, so that she is not entirely human. She has some memory of her past life but her strength is bionic and her demean story is infiised with humanity "I 4 "City of Lost keeps the pace moving and occasionally achieves an uncomfortable eeriness with some creepy alien-human clones. But much of what this nonsensical story (by Joss Whelon, "Toy offers is strictly ho-hum, with shoot-em'-up overkill, folks getting eaten by aliens and dialogue that alternates between trying to be funny and being exquisitely bad. Other problems: The aliens aren't particularly scary they blow smoke and exude goop more than they do any real frightening. And mucking things up further is the fact that Ryder seems totally out of place, and that little-to-no chemistry exists between her character and Weaver's.

Clearly the movie's high point is Weaver, whose half-human, half-alien Ripley embodies strength, humor, brains, sexiness and miles of attitude. For any woman harboring 40 or slightly beyond, seeing the buff and tough Weaver (she's 48) should convince you it's not too late, join that gym now. (That's about the only reason I see to go.) Ripley is confused as to who and what she is, dogged by past memories, and yet she's encouraged by an iron will and sense of connection to two worlds. If only the filmmakers concentrated more on fleshing out her character and using it to anchor the rest of this muddled mess. Perhaps the biggest of disappointment here is that "Alien Resurrection" lacks heart.

The whole time we're watching a pack of humans fight to preserve humanity, and no one actually displays any. Parents not allowed at combat flick that only kids will enjoy Coming-of-age BYJOEHOLLEMAN Post-Dispatch Film Critic Every so often, a movie strikes so many emotional chords that we skip past its minor flaws and simply embrace its honesty and humanity. "Telling Lies in America," with Kevin Bacon and Brad Renfro in great performances, is such a movie. It is a bittersweet look at a young immigrant's coming-of-age in the early 1960s the promise for which America stood and the greedy scams for which it sometimes falls. Joe Eszterhas wrote the screenplay for this semi-autobiographical tale of teen-ager Karchy Jonas (Renfro), who moves to Cleveland with his father after spending the first six years of his life in Hungary.

Karchy has a language barrier that separates him from his schoolmates and the co-workers at his ter-school job. His salvation is rock 'n' roll, Top 40-style on the. A.M. dial, and the remember. He also has a bit of an ethical problem: He takes under-the-table payments from record promoters payola.

So Billy enlists Karchy as his assistant, mainly because Karchy lied with a straight face when Billy accused him of forging the contest entries. When federal investigators come down on the pair, each has to decide where they stand in terms of loyalty and honesty. Bacon and Renfro are a perfect team. Renfro plays this young man with the ideal blend of teen-age cockiness and young-boy uncertainty. Bacon is the perfect counterpart the young, but getting a few wrinkles, ladies' man with a few divorces, disappointments and, now, federal agents behind him.

This is his finest role. Eszterhas has written a number of high-profile movies Instinct, but he has never done better work. The ending is a bit too pat and contrived. But there is so much right that the flaws don't matter. Telling Lies In America' Rating: PG-13 Running time: 1:40 At the Tivoli disc jockeys who epitomize cool with perfect American voices.

Karchy signs his own name to hundreds of entries to be the radio station's student of the day, with the biggest prize being the fact that the student's name gets mentioned all day on the air. What better way for Karchy to get back at those who make fun of him. Or to impress the girl he works with at the market. The top DJ is Billy Magic (Bacon), a drifting, burned-out-before-his-time jock who has been worked at so many stations he has a handful of radio names he can't even BYJOEHOLLEMAN Post-Dispatch Film Critic "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" is not just a movie based on a video game, it is a sequel to a movie that was based on a video game. That pedigree should tell you all you need to know about the quality of this movie, the story of martial-arts experts who fight to save the Earth.

These battles' are needed because someone (or something) left some portal (or something) open between the real world and the vil lainous Outworld. This is a bad thing, apparently, because it creates earthquakes, electrical storms, bad acting and stupid dialogue. A positive note: I did not see anyone over 25 who was not with at least one boy between the age of 6 and 14. If an adult with no parental or similar duties simply chose to attend this movie, I would be sleepless with the fear that the Outworld was winning. See Movie, Page E6 "They add a whole lot more to my health except cost7 "I knew Advantra had many of the area's finest doctors and hospitals.

What really amazed me were the benefits allowances for eyeglasses, routine dental, and annual prescriptions up to $500. .00 Nobody else does all that in a plan with no monthly plan premium! 4 i Discover the Medicare plan that's got more than the others but with a $0 monthly plan premium. To get the facts or to get enrolled, call 1-800-533-0362 ext. 106. Ask about our exclusive Member Satisfaction Guarantee.

vantra The coverage you need. The benefits you want. That's your Advantra. You must continue to pay your Medicare Part premium Advantra is a product of Group Health Plan, a federally qualified HMO with a Medicare contract 1.