Over Hill and Dale
Johnny Hardwick's career takes off as the voice of Dale on "King of the Hill." [2]
J.C. Shakespeare

Movie Guru
The Movie Guru makes Contact with SERIOUS scientist Jodie Foster and wishes he'd stayed home. [3]
Zak Weisfeld

From Insult To Injury
While at times it seems more like a made-for TV drama, "Hollow Reed" manages to bring important social issues to the big screen with haunting, intelligent performances. [4]
Stacey Richter

Moral Ambiguity
Mother Night is a thought-provoking exploration of morality, love and despair. [5]
Mary Dickson

Crime of the Century
Review of the film Nothing To Lose. [6]
Devin D. O'Leary

Ulysses' Odyssey
The quiet virtues of Victor Nunez's Ulee's Gold; going nowhere fast in Nothing to Lose. [7]
Jim Ridley, Noel Murray, and Donna Bowman

Film Reviews
The Chronicle's comprehensive film listings. [8]
compiled by Marjorie Baumgarten

Film Clips
Check out Tucson Weekly's capsule reviews packed with links to the hottest movie home pages on the Web. [9]

Watch This Space
Ted Turner's latest TV show Rough Riders. [10]
Devin D. O'Leary

TV Eye
The old re-runs can be a safer bet than the new stuff. [11]
Christopher Gray

Videos a Go-Go
Each week, Jesse dissects a film genre for your enhanced rent 'n' view pleasure. [12]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

Videodrome
Two must see 'B' horror films. [13]
Scott Phillips

Scanlines
Reviews of Sling Blade, The Horror of the Blood Monsters, The Forbidden Zone, and 4 for Texas (all video). [14]

Reel World
Film news. [15]
Devin D. O'Leary

Now What?
A Web link page chock full of resources, recommendations, and staff picks pertaining to the subject of this section. [16]

• Batman and Robin
• Con Air
• Designated Mourner, The
• Face Off
• Female Perversion
• Hercules
• Men in Black
• Ulee's Gold
• Wild America

f there's one regret I have about the Weekly Wire film section, it's that I don't have time to see all the movies receiving praise here. In fact, thanks to modern technology, filmmakers can now turn out movies faster than people can watch them. This temporal imbalance between auteur and audience means I spend a lot of time feeling woefully left out. It's like arriving late at Life's Rich Pageant and realizing that the Collective Unconscious float has already passed by. Whoops.

Luckily, the reviews contained herein have enough details to make you feel you've seen a movie even if you haven't. A review of Contact describes the appearance of the alien who shows up at the end to say hi to Jodie Foster; a review of Hollow Reed gives away the perpetrator of an abused child's bruises; and a review of Nothing to Lose doesn't hold back on the reason Martin Lawrence's character turns to carjacking. Let's face it -- reading reviews allows you to keep your Collective Unconscious muscle nice and plump. Weekly Wire is nothing if not economical.

But there's more here than revelational plot details, my cinephilic little friend. An interview with Johnny Hardwick, the voice behind King of the Hill's conspiracy nut and one of the show's writers, provides a glimpse into the workings of TV's kookiest cartoon since The Simpsons. Our Videos-A-Go-Go column reviews the recent spate of films about abortion, and our TV Eye column takes a couch potato's multi-eyed look at all the new summer programs competing with stale old reruns.

Other reviews this week:

• Ulee's Gold, Nothing to Lose, Out to Sea, and Love! Valour! Compassion!

• Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night

• Ponette, George of the Jungle, Gray's Anatomy, Nothing to Lose, A Simple Wish, The Van, and The Watermelon Woman

• Videos of Sling Blade, The Horror of the Blood Monsters, The Forbidden Zone, and 4 for Texas

• The four-hour miniseries Rough Riders, from manly director John Milius

Talk Back
If you're one of the few who didn't think Volcano blew, The Lost World bit, or The Fifth Element was one element too many, here's the forum to defend your opinion--crazy though it may be.

Curious about a particular director's work? Not sure what to rent at the video store? Enjoy reading several contrasting opinions of the same film? This is the place for you. Hundreds of reviews lie at your fingertips, sortable by genre, date or director.

Grecian Formula
Hercules follows Disney's Grecian formula; My Best Friend's Wedding shows the state of screen romance. [07-02-97]
Donna Bowman and Jim Ridley

Latex & Lace
Film review of Batman & Robin. [07-08-97]
Devin D. O'Leary

Videos a Go-Go
Jesse Fox Mayshark rewinds a film genre for your rent-and-view pleasure. [06-13-97]
Jesse Fox Mayshark