Hollywood Heroine
Actress Anne Francis still shines after 60 years in show business. [2]
David D. Duncan

The Star Maps Hustle
Filmmaker Miguel Arteta had to do four years of wheeling and dealing to get his feature on the screen. [3]
Marc Savlov

Tempest Tossed
Star Maps is one of those movies that makes perfect sense once you swallow one difficult-to-believe fact. [4]
Stacey Richter

Exquisite Things
Peter Greenaway's erotic new experiment is a must see. [5]
Devin D. O'Leary

Ridiculous Favoritism
Queen Victoria's "friendship" with John Brown is a poignant tale of love. [6]
Mary Dickson

Movie Guru
Chaney Rankin joins the elite Guru ranks with a Picture Perfect review. [7]
Chaney Rankin

Summer Searches
In two current comedies. When the Cat's Away and Picture Perfect, the females leads find more than they expected. [8]
Hadley Hury

A World Without Heroes
Spawn bites it. [9]
Noel Murray, Donna Bowman, and Jim Ridley

Elvis' Fantastic Voyage
Showtime's Elvis Meets Nixon retraces the King's path to the White House. [10]
Susan Ellis

Page Two
Summertime, and thoughts turn to Good Burger. [11]
Louis Black

Videos a Go-Go
Each week, Jesse Fox Mayshark takes apart a movie genre for your increased rent 'n' view pleasure. [12]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

Reel World
Gossip and news from the local and national film scene. [13]
Devin D. O'Leary

Scanlines
Reviews of Feeling Minnesota, Gal Young 'Un, A Flash of Green, and Ruby in Paradise (all video). [14]

Short Cuts
News from the film and multimedia world. [15]
Marjorie Baumgarten

Film Clips
Check out Tucson Weekly's capsule reviews packed with links to the hottest movie home pages on the Web. [16]

Now What?
What's the matter, couldn't find a review of that blockbuster film you're excited about? We certaintly don't want to leave you disappointed -- why not try some of these larger-than-life movie links? [17]

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e don't always get interviews in the Weekly Wire's film section, but when we do, they're unusual choices. Take this interview with actress Anne Francis. Unknown to younger audiences, Francis' credits include great '50s films like Forbidden Planet and The Blackboard Jungle, not to mention her sexy (or so I've heard) private-eye role on the '60s TV show Honey West. She may be out of the Hollywood loop now, but that makes her interview the kind I love to read, because she's not selling something.

Director Miguel Arteta, whose movie Star Maps has been enjoying critical acclaim lately, may have something to sell, but he interviews well anyway. Maybe that's because this first-time filmmaker, who spent four years struggling to fund his tale of Latino debasement in L.A., hasn't bought into the Hollywood schmooze machine. In any case, his is an independent-filmmaking success story worth hearing, and this review confirms that his effort paid off brilliantly.

Speaking of independent filmmakers basking in newfound success, Victor Nuñez's Ulee's Gold recently kickstarted Peter Fonda's long-suffering acting career and earned the director a honeypot full of respect. But what about his other films? A summary of three past works points the way for those still abuzz from Nuñez's meditative, beekeeper-with-a-heart-of-gold narrative.

Nuñez is one of the rare few whose career actually benefits from having his old efforts dredged up. Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughy aren't nearly so fortunate: An embarrassingly crappy film they made together before they were famous, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, will soon enjoy full-scale distribution thanks to their popularity. You can read all about the carnage here or here. Why are journalists falling over themselves just to write about some dumb horror flick? I suppose it's some sort of cosmic revenge for having hard-to-spell names.

We've got a superb selection of foreign-film reviews this week, so dig in if you're an overseas-celluloid buff:

• Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book (England)

• Mrs. Brown (England)

• Shall We Dance? (Japan)

• When the Cat's Away (France)

We never neglect Hollywood product, though, because where else can you see your favorite TV star's famous hairdo tower 20 feet overhead? I'm talking, of course, about the new Jennifer Aniston vehicle Picture Perfect. If these three reviews (1, 2, 3) are any indication, Aniston's film career may be as short-lived as Anne Francis'. It's not easy being perky.

Other Hollywood films critiqued this week: the evil Spawn and the greasy Good Burger. Oh, by the way, there's an Elvis article hidden among the reviews somewhere. Can you find it? The editor of the Weekly Wire news section told me to give you a message: "brand new Cadillac." I'm not sure what that means, but it does sound enticing.

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.

Videos a Go-Go
Jesse's weekly dissection of a movie genre for your enhanced rent-and-view pleasure. [07-14-97]
Jesse Fox Mayshark

Scanlines
Reviews of The Bicycle Thief, The Sadist, Rancho Notorious, and The Big Heat (all video). [07-28-97]