Daily Archives: September 3, 1996

Killer: A Journal Of Murder

A rather thoughtful and curious period drama from writer-director Tim Metcalfe, based on the published journal of Carl Panzram (played here by James Wood), an early-20th-century serial killer improbably befriended in the 1920s by a Jewish guard at Leavenworth. The guard, Henry Lesser (Robert Sean Leonard), encouraged him to write about his life. Oliver Stone served as one of the executive producers here, but apart from a hyperbolic moment or two there’s little of his bombast. The period details are well handled, and the performancesby the two leads and by Cara Buono, Robert John Burke, Ellen Greene, and Steve Forrestare solid. (JR) Read more

Fly Away Home

At a time when so few American movies believe in anything, it’s cheering and satisfying to see one that believes in geese. Carroll Ballard (The Black Stallion) directed this 1996 feature, based on the autobiography of Bill Lishman, about a father and daughter (Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin) bonding after a long separation as they teach an orphaned flock of geese first how to fly and then to migrate; the digitally created spectacle of the birds in flight is glorious to behold. Written by Robert Rodat and Vince McKewin; with Dana Delany (as the father’s girlfriend), Terry Kinney, Holter Graham, and Jeremy Ratchford. PG, 108 min. (JR) Read more