Conte D'Ete - 1996 ****

A recent graduate takes a holiday before starting his first job and meets not one, but two women, both with different qualities. One is quiet and thoughtful and the other is loud and beautifully aware of her own allure. The only trouble is he also has a girlfriend who's a bit of a pain. Who should he choose?

Rohmer has a beautiful knack of showing off character studies to the maximum, each one is totally individual and captivating. He delivers this all in sumptuous surroundings that make you want to drop everything and leave for France immediately. 

The Birdcage - 1996 *****

The Birdcage is screamingly funny, and to be honest the laughs from Robin Williams and his super camp partner (Nathan Lane) are regular and bounteous. 
Armand (Williams) enjoys his life as the owner of a popular drag club called 'The Birdcage' where his partner Albert performs as 'Starina' on a regular basis.
Apart from their occasional hissy fits, the two live happily together. That is, until Armand's son Val announces that he is getting married. His future father-in-law is a Republican Senator and has very old-fashioned and narrow-minded views about homosexuality. With this in mind, Val suggests that Albert 'disappears' for a few days so that the impression can be given of a 'normal' family when the bride-to-be's parents come to visit. Agreeing to this, Armand decides to track down his ex wife to play the role convincingly, not counting on Albert upstaging the whole evening.
Very funny, enjoyable, easy going and entirely good-natured. Must be watched.

The First Wives Club - 1996 ****

After the suicide of their dear friend over her failed marriage, 3 women decide to get together and form a club based on women who are dumped by their husbands for younger models. Wanting at first to get even, they realise soon after that the best way they can make their ex spouses suffer is to become successful and happy.

A feel good film, with three great actresses all bumping shoulders (and singing too!) 

She Cried No - 1996 ***

A young freshman is date raped at her first frat party by the most popular 'jock' at school  and vows not to go quietly without letting people know what sort of person the rapist is.
Its quite a powerful film about a topic that is sadly all too common in today's society of overindulgence and sexual freethinking.

(HORROR) The Frighteners - 1996 **

'The Frighteners' is a very silly film. You can tell its an early Peter Jackson vehicle which shouldn't be taken very seriously. Michael J Fox plays a widowed architect who develops psychic powers after his wife is killed. This enables him to speak and listen to all the spirits floating around and at first he uses his powers to con people out of money, then has second thoughts when he begins to be haunted by a terrifying mass murderer.
A bit of fun, but there is no way it can be placed in the same annuals as Jackson's masterpieces.

Indecent Seduction (For My Daughter's Honor) - 1996 ****

Another hard-hitting true story, this time about a young and innocent 14 year old student who falls for the popular sports coach leading to a disturbing affair.
Gary Cole plays a horrible part, and plays it well. You can never tell if he is on the brink of obsession or whether he's just a pervert intent of luring a young girl into a torrid relationship behind his wife's back.
Nicholle Tom (whom I remember from 'Beethoven') is excellent in her part. You feel frustration, anger and sympathy for her throughout.
A taboo if not familiar story by now.

The People Next Door - 1996 ***

I think this film must be every parent's nightmare. You trust your children to someone and they betray you.
Nicollette Sheridan plays struggling single mother Anna, who leaves her abusive husband and moves into a rented property with her three young children. Soon after arriving she befriends the next door neighbours Donna and Garrett to the extent that they sometimes babysit her children when she is doing late shifts at the bars she works in.
After a while however, the couple start to become rather personal, and rather pushy, demanding to look after the children even when Anna wants to have them at home with her. On an outing to the park one day Anna turns her back to purchase tickets to one of the rides for the six of them, and when she looks back finds that Garrett, Donna and two of her children have disappeared.

No One Would Tell - 1996 ***

This was a surprisingly hard hitting movie. I really resonated with the lead star, who falls in love with an abusive guy who treats her hideously but will not let her go.
Stacy is a shy and innocent 16 year old student, who finds herself in a relationship with the school's most popular 'jock' Bobby who appears to take a shine to her.
Thing start off well, and at first Stacy is flattered by Bobby's constant attention. But soon it becomes uncomfortable and his possessiveness leaves a trail of mental and physical abuse behind it. When Stacy's closest friend notices the tell-tail signs of violence on Stacy, she convinces her to break things off. Stacy can't resist going to meet Bobby one more time however...
Tragic waste of life. Based on a true story. Very sad.

Lying Eyes - 1996 ***

This was quite a good storyline. Usually the plots of these Lifetime films follow the same type of formula and I was no different here.
A young and attractive cheerleader becomes the obsession of an older man that she meets at one of her performances. Little does she know that he is married with children, and once their relationship has become intense she also falls prey to an unnamed stalker, intent on cutting the affair off once and for all.
Worth a watch.

A Friend's Betrayal - 1996 **

On contrast to many other lifetime films I have seen recently this doesn't really come up to scratch.
Brian Austin Green becomes infatuated with the recently divorced best friend of his mother and they start an affair.
It's quite poorly acted, and in some scenes almost embarrassing. Nothing much happens really except for this drawn out romp that doesn't even last that long.
Give it a miss.

An Unfinished Affair - 1996 *** 1/2

Not a bad film at all, especially considering all the actors are practically unknown. Explores the lengths of obsession that one woman will go to when the married man she is seeing breaks off their affair. She will do anything to have her revenge, even seducing his younger son.
Good performances. Jennie Garth should be more famous.

The Rich Man's Wife - 1996 ***

What started as a very good taut thriller was ruined by such a pathetic ending that I almost burst out laughing.  Halle Berry plays a woman distraught when she finds out that her rich husband has been brutally murdered by an 'unknown assailant.' The thing is, Berry has recently met a man in a bar who may have a darker streak than had first been imagined and she is starting to be implicated in her husband's death.

Tesis - 1996 **** 1/2

I think that the first part of this film was superb, I was totally gripped to it and couldn't tear my eyes from the screen.

However the last 20 minutes or so lagged just a bit which was a shame because I was enthralled into finding out what the outcome would be.

A young student working on her thesis about AudioVisual Violence on the screen (it took me over 5 hours to realise that the title was actually thesis in Spanish....) unwittingly uncovers a snuff film involving a girl who used to be at her university but mysteriously disappeared several years beforehand. With the help of her slightly sadistic friend who has his own collection of violent and pornographic films, she tries to figure out the connection between the film and the camera that is used.

It's a really excellently made film. A good storyline and very watchable, although Ana Torrent gets a bit annoying after a while.