Vega, Daphne Rubin

Wild Things (Unrated Edition)

Wild Things is the kind of lurid, trashy thriller that you'll either dive into with unabashed pleasure or turn away from in prudish disgust; it's entirely your choice, but we suggest the former option since it's obviously much more fun. The plot's so convoluted it's hardly worth describing, except to say that it's set in humid Florida and involves a respected high school teacher (Matt Dillon--yes, Matt Dillon as a teacher!) who is faced with accusations of rape by a student (Denise Richards, from Starship Troopers) who had been giving him the kind of attention most people would consider improper for such a "nice" young lady. Another student (Neve Campbell) raises a similar charge against the teacher, and that's when a police officer (Kevin Bacon) begins to investigate the allegations. Just when you think the movie's gone overboard with its shameless sex and absurdly twisted plot, in drops Bill Murray as an unscrupulous lawyer (of course) to spice things up with insurance scams and welcomed comic relief. As directed by John McNaughton (who has a way of making just the right moves with this kind of film noir melodrama), Wild Things is a bona fide guilty pleasure--the kind of movie you may be ashamed to enjoy, but what the heck, you'll enjoy it anyway. --Jeff Shannon

Wild Things

Wild Things is the kind of lurid, trashy thriller that you'll either dive into with unabashed pleasure or turn away from in prudish disgust; it's entirely your choice, but we suggest the former option since it's obviously much more fun. The plot's so convoluted it's hardly worth describing, except to say that it's set in humid Florida and involves a respected high school teacher (Matt Dillon--yes, Matt Dillon as a teacher!) who is faced with accusations of rape by a student (Denise Richards, from Starship Troopers) who had been giving him the kind of attention most people would consider improper for such a "nice" young lady. Another student (Neve Campbell) raises a similar charge against the teacher, and that's when a police officer (Kevin Bacon) begins to investigate the allegations. Just when you think the movie's gone overboard with its shameless sex and absurdly twisted plot, in drops Bill Murray as an unscrupulous lawyer (of course) to spice things up with insurance scams and welcomed comic relief. As directed by John McNaughton (who has a way of making just the right moves with this kind of film noir melodrama), Wild Things is a bona fide guilty pleasure--the kind of movie you may be ashamed to enjoy, but what the heck, you'll enjoy it anyway. --Jeff Shannon

Flawless

Who could possibly be the target audience for Flawless? Walter (Robert De Niro) is a homophobic policeman who suffers a stroke while responding to gunshots in his own apartment building; for speech therapy, he starts taking singing lessons from his neighbor Rusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman of Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and Happiness), a gay drag queen who's saving up money for a sex-change operation. However, there's another story line that takes up at least as much time as that one, about a drug dealer and his goons trying to find money that was stolen from them, brutally beating up everyone in their path. Furthermore, the local gay community (in New York City) seems to consist entirely of drag queens and Log Cabin Republicans, and one of Walter's cop buddies goggles at drag queens as if he's just arrived from the middle of Iowa. All the characters--including various prostitutes, drug dealers, a hotel clerk who's a weaselly mama's boy, as well as the aforementioned drag queens and cops--are horrific stereotypes. De Niro and Hoffman, both extremely talented actors, do all they can to overcome their cliché-studded dialogue, but they never seem to be in the same movie. Written and directed by Joel Schumacher, whose eclectic career includes Batman & Robin, A Time to Kill, Flatliners, and St. Elmo's Fire. --Bret Fetzer

"One of the year's hottest surprises" (Rex Reed), this "feel-good drama" (San Francisco Chronicle) from writer-director Joel Schumacher (A Time to Kill) combines the acting talents of two-time Oscar(r) winner* Robert De Niro (Analyze This) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Talented Mr. Ripley)! Flawless lives up to its name with a story line that's full of compassion, tolerance and most of all "heart" (San Francisco Chronicle)! Walter Koontz (De Niro)once a hero cop, now a security guardlives in a rundown Hell's Kitchen tenement. One fateful night, after hearing the cries of a neighbor in trouble, his attempt to help turns into a nightmare when he suffers a stroke. Paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak clearly, Koontz, on the advice of his doctor, seeks voice lessons. But with winter holding him hostage to his apartment, he has no choice but to seek help from a musically inclined neighbor whom he vehemently dislikes an outspoken guy named Rusty (Hoffman)!

Wild Things Collection

Virgin

VIRGIN is the story of Jessie (Elisabeth Moss), a rebellious teenager who is wrestling with her own spirituality and her family's conservative Baptist tradition. After a sexual encounter that occurs while she is unconscious from drugs and alcohol, she finds herself pregnant. With no memory of sex, and having a dream in which God speaks to her, Jessie proceeds with the belief that she is carrying the next Christ child, a belief that at first enrages and then inspires her, causing violent opposition in her community.

Alchemy

Wild Things Boxed Set (Three Films)

The Occultist

Behind the lush beauty lurk powers of darkness so evil no man has ever fought them and lived. But, that was before Waldo Warren. That was before the Occultist.

Wild Things (R-Rated Edition) / Wild Things 2

Lotto Land

Lotto Land is the story of a $27 million New York lottery jackpot and the missing ticket that holds the key to four lives and a neighborhood full of dreams.