Ray Chang Movies
- 1996
The Medavoys have split up again: Greg (Gordon Clapp) leaves home and camps out at the precinct station, while Marie (Deborah Taylor) finally meets her husband's "significant other," Donna (Gail O'Grady). A curious tattoo leads Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Simone (Jimmy Smits) to a Chinese gangster, the former boyfriend of a murdered teenage girl. And while investigating an assault case involving a wheelchair-bound woman (MacKenzie Phillips) and a man claiming to be a cop, Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) learns the truth about the allegedly gay Adrianne Lesnick (Justine Miceli). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A nervous hotel manager has all sorts of monkey business to deal with (actually orangutan business, but you get the idea) in this comedy for the family. Robert Grant (Jason Alexander) is the manager of The Majestic Hotel, a large and highly luxurious five-star facility. Grant is harried, overworked, and wants to take his two sons, Kyle (Eric Lloyd) and Brian (Graham Sack), on a well-deserved vacation, but when the owner of the Majestic, Mrs. Dubrow (Faye Dunnaway), hears that the hotel is being considered for the newly-minted and very prestigious six-star rating by the Le Monde Guide, it falls on Robert to make sure that everything is perfect when the guide's staff arrives. Since the inspectors will arrive unannounced, Robert has to chase after anyone who looks like they could be a VIP, so he finds himself giving the star treatment to new guest Lord Rutledge (Rupert Everett) when he spots Rutledge using a pocket camera to snap pictures in the lobby. However, Rutledge is actually a skilled jewel thief who has come to the Majestic to take advantage of its wealthy clientele, and he's arrived with his pet orangutan, Dunston, who has been trained to be Rutledge's partner in crime. Dunston gets lost in the hotel's air duct system; Kyle finds the friendly ape and discovers he makes a great playmate, which makes things all the more difficult for Robert. Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) also appears as a trigger-happy animal control officer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, (more)
This free-flowing feature film, marking the directorial debut of video-maker Quentin Lee, episodically chronicles the personal insights and reflections of four young men. In the first, a young director discusses his homosexuality and how it inspires his films to be interesting and different. Though the film is somewhat fragmented, Lee covers a broad array of topics ranging from condom ads, mother killers, vampires, Hong Kong soap operas, music, and Chinese food. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Network president Stan Lansing (Garry Marshall) enters the hospital after an alleged heart attack, but he's actually covering his behind while executing a series of radical changes on the "FYI" format. His most controversial move is to hire an ultra-hip MTV veejay named McGovern (Paula Korologos in her first series appearance) as an "FYI" anchorperson in order to cater to youthful viewers. Though uncomfortable at first, Murphy begins to warm up to McGovern--until she finds out a deep dark secret about the girl's political persuasion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Set in Los Angeles two days before the end of 1999, Strange Days introduces us to Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), an ex-cop turned sleazy hustler who hawks the newest underground thrill on the black market: a "squid," a headpiece that allows one to transmit digital recordings of other people's thoughts, feelings, and memories into their brain; as Lenny describes it, "this is real life, pure and uncut, straight from the cerebral cortex." Lenny deals "clips" (the software) as well as "squids" (the hardware) for this new and illegal entertainment system, and while sex and violence are the most popular themes, Lenny refuses to deal in "blackjack" -- slang for snuff clips. Lenny is nursing a broken heart after his girlfriend, punk singer Faith Justin (Juliette Lewis), left him, and he spends a lot of time with clips he recorded when they were together. Faith is now involved with Philo Grant (Michael Wincott), a music business tycoon who once managed Jeriko One (Glenn Plummer), a hip-hop musician and political activist whose murder has sent L.A. into a state of chaos. When a clip emerges that shows that Jeriko was killed by L.A. police officers, Lenny finds his life in danger, and he tries to escape possible death on both sides of the law with the help of his friend Mace Mason (Angela Bassett). Strange Days was written by James Cameron in collaboration with former film critic Jay Cocks; Kathryn Bigelow directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, (more)
