Movie Audiences

"The Craft," which opened with some favorable reviews but not much advance attention, jumped ahead of the pack in the box-office race over the weekend, leaving behind highly promoted newcomers such as "Last Dance" starring Sharon Stone, "The Pallbearer" with David Schwimmer and "Barb Wire" featuring Pamela Anderson Lee.

Four patrons watching "The Godfather Part III" in a Valley Stream, N.Y., theater, were shot Tuesday night, one fatally, by two groups of young men who argued over noise. Nassau County police described the groups as "heavily armed gangs" of from five to 10 each, one group sitting in the front row and the other near the back of the Sunrise Cinema Multiplex, located on Long Island near the New York City border.

In "Body of Evidence," movie audiences are asked to believe that a woman played by Madonna uses sex to murder a string of lovers who have weak hearts. In "Sommersby," audiences are asked to believe that a wife played by Jodie Foster doesn't recognize her husband (Richard Gere) six years after he goes off to the Civil War--not even when they make love. In "M.

"Please don't write that I'm old," said Pola Negri. "Just say that all my dear friends are dead." Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "I hope to go to California soon on vacation in July or August." She was never to make the trip alive. She died here Aug. 1, at what is believed to be age 87, of pneumonia. On Wednesday, she was entombed in Los Angeles' Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum and a memorial Mass was said at Bright Mount Catholic Church, which she had helped to establish.

Turan voices concerns about Hollywood rape scenes that I have been feeling for quite some time. But the rising "wave of rape chic" that Turan sees as "depressing and dehumanizing" could also numb movie audiences to the true horror rape victims experience. The increasing intensity and frequency of motion picture rape scenes can desensitize moviegoers to a frighteningly vicious and demeaning crime. Movie audiences should take a step back and consider the more insidious effects the gratuitous rape scenes current filmmakers like "Showgirls" director Paul Verhoeven and writer Joe Eszterhas employ as cheap plot devices, and think about what the $7.50 they shell out for tickets is really supporting.

Sylvester Stallone's new movie "Lock Up" is sinking like a stone at theaters, renewing speculation that the actor--among Hollywood's highest-paid stars--may be losing some of his appeal with American audiences. "Lock Up," in which Stallone plays a prison inmate trying to outwit a cruel warden, opened Aug. 4 to ticket sales of about $6 million. Last weekend, ticket sales for the $24-million film dropped an ominous 45%.

"The Lion King's" animation dazzles. It has the golden G rating. But most important for parents seeking wholesome entertainment, "The Lion King" carries the ultimate blessing: the Disney name. So why would parents hesitate?

Earlier this year, research audiences were shown a new thriller in which a brainy billionaire and a stylish fashion photographer are stranded in the Alaskan wilderness. They are forced to rely on each other for survival despite the rich man's suspicion that the photographer is plotting to kill him--not for his money, but for his beautiful wife. According to producer Art Linson, the recruited moviegoers gasped and thrilled in all the right places.