This week, Siskel and Ebert review Pierce Brosnan taking over as secret agent James Bond in Golden Eye.
Jack Nicholson stalks an ex-con in The Crossing Guard.
And the little boy's playthings compete for his affection in Toy Story.
I know the Russian fail-safe systems. Just don't walk in and ask for the keys to the bomb. You need the access codes.
Pierce Brosnan becomes the fifth actor to say those magic words.
Bond, James Bond in the new 007 thriller Golden Eye, one of six new movies we'll be reviewing this week on Siskel and Ebert, along with Jack Nicholson's latest film and Toy Story, a very different kind of Disney animated feature, one drawn by computer.
I'm Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune.
And I'm Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Our first movie is Golden Eye, which is the 18th James Bond adventure in a series going all the way back to 1962 and starring this time Pierce Brosnan as the fifth agent 007.
And with this film, he seems to evolve into a kinder, gentler Bond.
The movie opens, as always, with a spectacular stunt as James Bond bungee jumps from the top of a dam in order to infiltrate a top secret Russian weapons installation.
The women in Bond movies often have extremely suggestive names, and the villainess in Golden Eye is no exception.
She's played by Fomke Janssen.
Xenia Sergeevna on the top.
On the top?
On the top.
That's a familiar note for Bond fans, but now consider this scene, in which 007 has fallen for a friendly Russian computer operator, played by Isabella Skorupko.
What else do you call your button?
What?
It's Boris' password. He plays word games. It's what I sit on, but I don't take it with me.
Chair.
Like I said.
A little of that talk goes a long way, and the movie's strong points, as always, are the stunts, special effects, and action scenes.
Oops, I see I neglected to describe the plot of Golden Eye. Well, it pits Bond against a criminal mastermind from the old Soviet Union, whose plan is to seize control of a secret satellite and use it to destroy earthbound communication systems, thus giving him global domination.
In other words, this is more or less the plot of every James Bond picture. I enjoyed Golden Eye for what it was, though, and I give it thumbs up.
Well, that thumbs up comes as a surprise, because I don't get a sense at all that you enjoyed this picture.
I'm sorry.
I certainly didn't.
No, I didn't. I think that he isn't an interesting Bond. I like Connery, and everybody else has been nothing compared to Connery. Frankly, Roger Moore has a more commanding physical presence than this guy. I thought this was an average picture. It's a routine story, just like you said.
Well, they're all routine stories.
No, let me tell you.
Most of them are.
No, no, the classic ones, the early Connery ones.
The first three.
Of course. Those are classic, and those are the ones that I recommend. I can't recommend this picture at all.
What I'm saying is, it did have some amazing shots in it.
Only the beginning.
When the guy is free-falling after that airplane, that's kind of amazing.
Only at the beginning. Roger, you're talking about 30 seconds. If a good friend of yours asked you whether they should go see it, you would say yes?
What about the chase scene? What about the chase scene with the two cars? What about the tank? That was pretty neat.
If I asked you, should I go see it, would you tell me yes?
You know what I tell you? Do you like James Bond? Then you'll probably like this one better than some of the others.
No, if you like James Bond, you won't like this. Okay, next movie. And our next film is It Takes Two, about, as formula, a children's film as it gets,
using the old Prince and the pauper fantasy of a rich and poor person trading places.
In this case, a little girl from an orphanage and an almost identical-looking girl from a rich family.
In another hackneyed bit, her father, a widower played by Steve Guttenberg, is about to marry a snotty gold digger.
What?
You're finally going to have a real family, and she's going to be your new mother.
As for the poor girl, well, while her orphanage is staying at a summer camp,
she wanders into the mansion across the lake and is mistaken for the rich girl.
The Olsen twins from TV's Full House play the girls.
What in the name of God is going on here?
Hi, Benny. I mean, Vincenzo. I got distracted.
Oh, you don't have to apologize.
Really? Cool.
Of course, something must be done about the snippy woman Steve Guttenberg is about to marry.
Enter Kirstie Alley, looking kind of blousy in this film, by the way.
The two girls conspire to bring the adults together.
How many fingers are you, cowboy?
Six.
Close enough. Can you stand?
Yeah. Oh. Oh. I'm not sure which is more bruised, my butt or my ego.
Boy, that is lame. It Takes Two has been written like a TV sitcom, a bad TV sitcom.
I can't say that young kids won't buy into the fantasy of switching places.
I think they always will.
But there is such lethargy to the direction of this picture, to the writing, to the comedy,
that I can't recommend it. I can't think of a single fresh moment in It Takes Two.
You know, the only bright spot for me was the fact that they used the Olsen twins as the two girls.
Because whenever they have one person playing two characters,
I'm always looking for the trick photography and the special effects.
And here I knew there were two girls so I could relax.
And then once I relaxed, that was it. There was nothing else to look for.
Maybe they should have just used one person.
You know, I didn't know it was twins. And so I did look for the seam in all the seams.
And then I realized there's nothing in this story.
It's utterly, totally, completely predictable in every detail from beginning to end.
And I always love it when key plot points are developed by having people accidentally see things through telescopes.
Oh yeah, that's always good.
When we come back, the inventive new animated movie Toy Story about toys that come to life.
Maybe once in my life.
Ah, come on.
Alright, twice.
Never.
How often do you change long distance companies?
What's the point?
They're all the same.
Now there actually is something worth changing for.
How's that?
Sprint cents.
On top of ten cents a minute, you'll get cash back every year you're with Sprint.
This is called money.
Ten cents a minute and some cash back?
Great, thank you.
Good idea.
Yeah, I would like cash back.
Who wouldn't?
It pays the thing.
Sure beats making money the old fashioned way, doesn't it?
Call for ten cents a minute evenings and weekends.
Now with cash back.
This holiday season, don't let a fortune pass you by.
The Discover Card Big Payback is back.
Awarding eight winners a quarter of a million dollars each.
Just shop with your Discover Card and you're automatically entered in our holiday sweepstakes.
The more you do, the more chances you have to win.
Who would want to miss that?
It pays the Discover, the card with the big payback.
Use it where you see the novice sign.
To apply for your Discover Card, just call 1-800-DISCOVER.
Value, service, and friendliness.
That's what you get at Janet Leigh Shops.
Janet Leigh buys and sells only clothing that's in style, in season, and like new.
The buyers at Janet Leigh carefully select the merchandise to assure that you get top quality in new and near new clothing.
Because we know you want the best.
The Janet Leigh Shops are particular in what they buy and sell.
They're particular because you're particular.
There's a Janet Leigh near you.
A commitment for life in Colorado.
Rocky Mountain Nature Bow.
A commitment to make each day better than the last.
With a caring touch that's good for everybody.
What more can you ask?
A commitment for life in Colorado.
Rocky Mountain Nature Bow.
No, not now, Slink.
I got some bad news.
Bad news?
Just gather everyone up for a staff meeting and be happy.
Got it.
Be happy.
A cowboy named Woody with a voice by Tom Hanks is the king of the other toys in the bedroom of a little boy who owns them.
When the kid is out of the room, the toys come alive and they have some terrific adventures in Toy Story.
Kids will probably enjoy it on that level, but for grownups, the movie may be even more amazing because this is the first feature length film made entirely by computers, every single frame.
Look at the detail and the sense of three-dimensional movement through space in this scene as the toys send out a reconnaissance patrol to report on new toys arriving for a birthday party.
Okay, come on kids.
Everyone in the living room, it's almost time for the presents.
Woody now has competition from a new arrival, Buzz Lightyear, who doesn't know he's a toy and thinks he's a real space ranger.
Tim Allen provides the voice of the space cadet and look here at the texture of the bedspread and the details of the movement here.
Who goes there?
Don't shoot.
Okay.
Friends, do you know these life forms?
Yes, they're Andy's toys.
All right, everyone, you're clear to come up.
I am Buzz Lightyear.
I come in peace.
Oh, I'm so glad you're not a dinosaur.
And now look at the freedom of spatial movement in this animation where Buzz tries to prove he can fly.
The story of this movie is not really the equal of its technique, turning into a combination of a buddy movie and a chase picture, but look here at the convincing glimpses of the street racing pass.
This really looks good.
We're almost there.
Rock, the ramp.
I was reading in Wired magazine this week that Toy Story took 800,000 hours of work on 300 powerful sun computers, so forget about the theory that computer animation is cheaper than the traditional kind.
What really caught my attention in the movie was the illusion of three-dimensional space as the characters turn and move and the backgrounds reflect that.
I like the look of the film, which conventionally created a world that was new and fresh and intriguing, and I liked all the little side jokes like when Mr. Potato Head finally gets married and we can look forward to some tater tots.
Well, I think it's absolutely dazzling, and it was dazzling in a way that caught me by surprise.
Here's why.
I had seen the ads, and I'm sure everybody's seen the ads, where you see Woody the figure and you see Mr. Potato Head, and they look great and bright and all that.
I liked the people, and that's the toughest thing I'm sure to draw electronically with computers, and I thought that the people and the houses all looked good.
And as you said, the street rushing by in the chase sequence, terrific, so I was caught up in it visually.
I love the way they did the animation. They even went to this extent. Buzz, the spaceman, has a plastic shield across his face.
You see all the reflections. Now, that's very expensive. They didn't have to go to that level.
Little details like, for example, the door has little fingerprints on it, so it doesn't look all perfect like animation sometimes.
This technique is going to probably revolutionize animation in the future, and I think there's just almost nothing that they can't do.
I think there will always be a room for traditional cell animation, but I think this is another way, and it really looks great first time out of the box.
I mean, I'm as excited about this picture as I was about Who Framed Roger Radd in terms of developing new animation techniques.
Coming up, Jack Nicholson's latest film directed by Sean Penn. The Crossing Guard is next.
Life doesn't always treat you right. Make sure you have a health care plan that does. Sloan's Lake, health care plans for everyday life.
Have you read her memoirs? Outlandish. Imagine putting your own nephew in a school taught by yogis. It's no wonder the authorities came. And all those parties.
She never was exactly conserved to you. But really, naked fish spawning dances. Pity about her late husband. Yes. How does one fall off the matricle exactly?
Maine. An evening with her is a lifetime. Sponsored by Channel 7. Showing at the Arvada Center. Let yourself go.
Colorado. You may not be able to ski like a member of the U.S. Ski Team. But this winter, you can drive like one in the official truck of the U.S. Ski Team.
Your Colorado's best Chevy Geodeaters have just received 1,000 limited-edition U.S. Ski Team Blazers. Equipped just right for Colorado, including a Thule ski rack at no extra charge.
When Colorado roads are at their worst, Blazer is at its best. Chevy. The most dependable, longest-lasting trucks on the road.
What's your great news? He's out. John Booth is out. I'm gonna kill him.
Jack Nicholson plays the distraught, actually crazed, is more like it. Father of a little girl who was killed in a traffic accident some years ago.