Wolf (1994)

Director: Mike Nichols

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Christopher Plummer

Have I Seen It Before: Never. A monster movie starring the Joker and Catwoman? The movie absolutely fascinated me from the far distance of a movie poster or VHS cover at a Blockbuster or other rental venue. But it was one of those uniquely grown-up (as opposed to adult, which has a different connotation) films that was just out of reach, and somehow got a little more than forgotten by the time I had freedom to come around to it.

Did I Like It: The opening credits unfurl, and I know I can’t be in for a bad time, and this doesn’t even take into account the fact that the Nicholson+Pfeiffer+Mike Nichols equation should be more than enough to guarantee a good time. James Spader? Screw you, I thought he was great on The Office. David Hyde Pierce? Who has had a bad time when he is on the screen? Ennio Morricone? Slow down, movie. You already had me at Jack Nicholson!

And the movie that follows fulfills that promise, for the most part. When it shifts the mythos of the werewolf into a commentary on toxic masculinity of the 1990s*, it moves the monster movie into something more interesting than it might be on its own. When it is Columbia’s big summer movie, complete with the complicated real estate of two of the biggest stars at that moment respectively growling and arching their back in grey scale, it ultimately doesn’t quote move beyond being just another monster movie whose special effects had little hope of not aging past their sell-by date by the time the 90s were over.

*Don’t worry: It hasn’t changed that much in 30 years. Also, worry: It hasn’t changed that much in 30 years.

Stargate (1994)

Director: Roland Emmerich

Cast: Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Alexis Cruz

Have I Seen it Before: For someone who only very recently and casually got into the vast television franchise this film launched, the VHS of this film was on regular rotation during my childhood, so much so that while watching this Director’s Cut for what I think is the first time, I was able to figure out what scenes had been rearranged and added in.

Did I Like It: As my wife and I have started our way through the long (too long? I assume we’ll find out) multiple television series, I can’t help but be consumed with one overwhelming thought:

This needs a little more James Spader*.

And the movie is more than willing to provide. It’s ultimately a B-movie that would have felt right at home with a z-grade budget produced by the studios of yesteryear, but with Spader’s unpredictable, sort of slithering movie-star quality, the film unfurling is more interesting to watch than the standard sci-fi fare of the era. 

The special effects don’t age exceptionally well, but that can hardly be held against the film as the more time passes the more films produced in the 90s are going to look like garbage graphics from a local news station. The shimmering water of the Stargate itself, or the slightly hypnotic screensaver quality of the transit between gates, and the shifting nature of the villains masks are just a couple of things that make the film a relic of its era. It’s strengths lie elsewhere. With sweeping epic desert shots that couldn’t be faked with CGI—and, admittedly were yanked directly from other, better films like Lawrence of Arabia (1962)—the film has a more interesting visual sense than you might expect from other big budget films, especially these days. It may derivative, sure, but at least it reaches for something a little more than its trappings.

*In case you’re wondering, as far as television series needing a certain degree of James Spader included, Stargate functions better with some Spader, Boston Legal cannot function at all without wall-to-wall Spader, and The Office would generally be better without Spader. It’s not a universal constant.