Roger Ebert reviews four new movies and one that was just Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. He also discusses the nominations themselves. He begins by noting that Gene Siskel will be taking the rest of the season off to recuperate from surgery. His first review is for the romantic drama,
Message in a Bottle (1999), which tops an unconvincing love story with a contrived and arbitrary ending: thumbs down. He also gives thumbs down to
My Favorite Martian (1999), a kiddie film based on the 1960s sitcom that children may like, but adults won't. Next, he discusses the Oscar nominations, paying special note to the surprises, and says that despite
Shakespeare in Love (1998) getting more nods than
Saving Private Ryan (1998), the latter is still the front-runner for Best Picture. The following segment is about Oscar snubs, in which he lists the titles and names that surprisingly were shut out. Next, he gives thumbs up to
Blast from the Past (1999), a charming comedy with Brendan Fraser. And finally, he gives another thumbs up to the movie of Julia Sweeney's funny, tear-jerking one-woman show,
God Said, 'Ha!' (1998).
—J. Spurlin