The Screening Room -- What Other Critics Are Saying

`RANSOM'

Jack Garner, Gannett News Service: "When was the last time you were captivated from beginning to end by a thriller - caught up in its suspense, fascinated by its characters, and jolted by its twists and turns? Has it been too darn long? Well, the wait is over. Ron Howard's `Ransom,' starring Mel Gibson, pays off handsomely. . . . (it's) likely to be the best thriller of 1996. . . . (Gibson) has never been better. . . . " Chris Hewitt, Knight-Ridder Newspapers: "It would be well-nigh impossible for (it) to live up to its dynamite, `Givemebackmyson!' trailer. It doesn't, but it's still a taut thriller, designed for maximum nail gnawage. . . . It isn't easy to make a smug gazillionaire sympathetic, but Gibson does . . ."

`TWELFTH NIGHT'

Henry Sheehan, Orange County Register: " . . . The play itself is a good choice for modern film audiences, touching playfully on gender issues within a larger context of romantic tomfoolery and rampant self-delusion. But (director Trevor) Nunn may have outsmarted himself here. While his movie moves briskly along at a hair over two hours . . . it's emotionally adolescent and intellectually superficial. . . . a pretty condensation, touching in its way, but missing much comedy and meaning." Marshall Fine, Gannett Suburban Newspapers: " . . . Nunn plays this story for realistic emotions, using Shakespeare's comedic setups to explore the way real people would respond to similar circumstances. The result is less comic than you'd expect . . . This is a solid `Twelfth Night,' not to be dismissed as wrong-headed. Still, Nunn too often sacrifices humor for sincerity and seriousness."

`THE FUNERAL'

Desmond Ryan, Knight-Ridder Newspapers: " . . . (Christopher) Walken and (Chris) Penn, who has become a master of the volcanically disturbed, take us far into this life-and-death quandary of two troubled men. Moviegoers who have found (director Abel) Ferrara too much to take in this idiom before will be surprised by the accessibility and cool intelligence of `The Funeral.' "

`HYPE'

Chris Grygiel, Associated Press: " . . . filmmaker Doug Pray skillfully documents how a sleepy port city (Seattle) was turned into the rock music capital of the world. . . . `Hype!' includes excellent live footage . . . that shows what distinguished Northwest bands from their counterparts elsewhere in America: a raw, self-deprecating style. Pray's documentary of the Emerald City scene is an irreverent, often hilarious ride."

`SET IT OFF'

Jack Garner, Gannett News Service: "an equal-opportunity movie: It shows that women can rob banks as well as men. Big deal. . . . the film is a less-convincing, distaff version of `Dead Presidents.' . . . The fact that this decision (to rob a bank) is never seen as wrong or immoral is `Set It Off's' most obvious flaw. Terry Lawson, Knight-Ridder Newspapers: " . . . Neither serious enough to be taken as a social lesson or warning, a la `Menace II Society,' nor exciting enough to make us suspend moral judgment, a la `Dead Presidents,' its only novelty is that it has females doing its dirty business.

`LARGER THAN LIFE'

Christine Dolen, Knight-Ridder Newspapers: "Here's a suggestion for Bill Murray, Janeane Garofalo, Matthew McConaughey, Pat Hingle, Lois Smith, Anita Gillette and Linda Fiorentino: Pool your salaries, buy up the prints of `Larger Than Life' and torch them. Terry Lawson, Knight-Ridder Newspapers: " . . . it begs only one question: What were they thinking of?"

`BAD MOON'

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: " . . . When (the) canine gives the film's most moving performance, it's time to call the pound. . . . (`Bad Moon') should be rising soon in a video bin near you."