Let's get it straight: Our Fall Movie Preview gives comprehensive rundowns of all films coming out through December, while our Holiday Movie Preview offers in-depth stories on a few select films. Well, some readers didn't appreciate the difference in formats. ''You tried to fix something that ain't broke,'' complains Bob Sloat of Pasadena, who was looking for the full-slate treatment. Maybe he should dig up his copy of the Fall Movie Preview again. Elsewhere in the issue, some of our critical reviews elicited criticism of their own. Toni Stenvall of Grover Beach, Calif., protests, ''B-? You gave Jewel a B-??'' Looks like it. And Melissa Conard of Brownsburg, Ind., writes, ''Am I the only one who got the point of Meet Joe Black?'' No comment.
Get the Picture?
Congratulations on the Holiday Movie Preview. I love your format. The Grand Openings list was great for trying to find movie listing at a glance. Keep up the good work.
Meghan Anne Smith
Ashland, Ohio
Your article on the upcoming Prince of Egypt suggests that DreamWorks is coveting an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. This brings up an interesting point: Animated movies, like Babe and Beauty and the Beast, competing with live-action films makes little sense. Given the growing number and quality of animated features, the time would seem to be right for the Academy to create a category for Best Animated Feature.
John Holderried
Brooklyn
I just read your movie preview issue. What a disappointment. We get articles on Babe, a film about a pig, and Jerry Springer, but nothing on the new Star Trek movie. Is your editor a Klingon?
Lou Gutenburger
Reno
X-Posed
I almost jumped out of my seat when I finished EW's article about the special X-Files episode. It isn't very often that we get such a good look behind the scenes of The X-Files. I was thrilled that the article acknowledged the cast and crew on their amazing work.
Yael Peres
Potomac, Md.
Polished Gem
Jewel in need of an ''editor''? Unfortunately, you missed the most amazing thing of all in Jewel's music — the lyrics. In a world of ''MMMBop''s and ''Wannabe''s, Jewel's lyrics are a fresh reality. Spirit is one of the best albums to come along in a long time, and I will consider those people who buy it some of the luckiest in the world.
Jeremy Falcone
Madison, Conn.
Worth the Wait
Bruce Fretts was dead-on-balls accurate with his observation that Can't Hardly Wait ''should attain cult status on video.'' However, his main detraction from the film was one of its greatest selling points: the soundtrack. Fretts seems to have forgotten that we, the members of the class of '98, grew up in the '80s with hits like ''Funky Cold Medina'' and ''Paradise City.'' Whenever songs such as these come on at parties, they're the ones that get the biggest reactions, since they remind us of our formative years!
Roger Gill
Washington, D.C.
Survey Says...
I've got my own take on why The Waterboy raked 'em in while What Dreams May Come put us to sleep. With all the excess money that gets bandied about Hollywood, you'd think someone would start producing movies we actually want to watch. Where does all that money go? To fund the useless market research that leaves execs scratching their heads wondering what went wrong when all their star-powered films go toe up.
Bryan Malong
Atlanta
Deconstructing Dorothy
The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I had to laugh at Owen Gleiberman's pseudo-intellectual analysis of the film as a surreal nightmare of gender-role reversal. Put down your Bruno Bettelheim, Mr. Gleiberman, and watch the movie. The Wizard is a fable whose moral is ''there's no place like home.''
Mary M. Albanese
Fort Lauderdale
CORRECTION: Ali is the wife of U2's Bono, not his daughter (Multimedia).
