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Starring: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, James Woods
Directed by: Richard Donner
Released: Warner Brothers, 1997

From the director of Forrest Gump comes this adaptation of Carl Sagan's best-selling novel and a very intellectual look at God and science. So intellectual, in fact, that it seems out of place as a summer release, sandwiched between pyrotechnics and testosterone. Nevertheless, the beauty of the film is not to be denied -- from the computer-generated journey through the solar system to our final glimpse of the abyss two and a half hours later, Zemeckis, writers James Hart and Michael Goldenberg, and stars Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey keep us spellbound. The casual viewer may find this a bit too long or thoughtful to be entertaining, but the fact remains that it raises several interesting questions (a feat so rarely accomplished in Hollywood today) and ponders several difficult issues. Zemeckis continues to proove himself as one of the finest contemporary filmmakers with one of 1997's best.