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Drive-In)
Mulan (G) Ming-Na Wen provides the
voice tor Mulan, a young Chinese girl
.vho leaves home disguised in ner
isthers armor to defend imperial China
against the Huns in this animated
C'sney aoventure. Nice animation, lousy
songs. The tunmesi character is the little
vjraaon (with the voice of Eddie Murphy)
.viio Iooks after Mulan as sue heaos to
riitiie Check it out arid bring a kid. (BLi
Mall inside)
The Negotiator iR) Samuei L. jacKSon
Pi 1 ip Fiction, jackie Brown) stars as a
Chicago ponce officer taisely accusea of
murder and embezzlement who tinaily
£maps and takes the staff ot the Internal
Affairs Department hostage. Kevin
Spacey (The Usual Suspects) is the
negotiator called in to settle the situa-
! on. Based on a true story. Directed by
F. Gary Gray (Set It Off). (ML) (Mall
inside)
Out Of Sight (R) This super-sexv film
stars George “he can crack my safe any
day" Clooney as a suave, smartass bank
robber and Jennifer Lopez as the hot-as-
a-biscuit FBI agent who falls for him.
Based on the Elmore (Jackie Brown)
Leonard novel and smartly directed by
Steven Soderbergh (sex, lies, and video
tape) with well-timed flashbacks scat
tered throughout. Great performances by
Vmg Rhames as Clooney's buddy, Don
Cheadle (Boogie Nights) as the sicko
bad guy. and Dennis Farina as Lopez's
daddy. Cameos oy Michael Keaton and
Samuel L. Jackson. Go see it! (ML)
(Alps)
The Parent Trap (PG) Disney remanes
its 1961 dysfunctional family classic
39s style, in a nual role. Linasay Lonan
plays a set of twins separatea by aivorce
wnile still infants. Dennis Quaid and
Natasha Richardson play their parents.
The movie tells the happy tale ot how
they get back together. At least the Olsen
twins aren't in it. Opens Friday. (ML)
(Beechwood)
Saving Private Ryan (R) See Movie
Pick. (Beechwood)
Small Soldiers (PG-13) It's too bad
comedian Phil Hartman had to go out on
such a tacky clunker. If they can spend
millions on computer experts to create
the “small soldiers," you’d think they
could afford some decent writers. Awful.
With Kevin Dunn, Kirsten Dumst and the
voice of Tommy Lee Jones. (BL) (Mall
Inside)
Starship Troopers (R) Director Paul
Verhoevens ridiculous sci-li flick star
ring a bunch of buff ano busty teens
(and Doogie Howser) who enter the mil
itary to blow an army of giant alien bugs
to bits. Verhoeven is best known for
smart dumb movies (Robocop) and
oumb dumb movies {Showgirls). This
one falls somewnere in between. This is
a tree show, piaymg outside. (ML, RF)
(Legion Field
There’s Something About Mary (R)
Hilarious romantic comedy directed by
bathroom humor artistes Peter and
Bobby Farrelly {Dumb ar.O Dumber.
Kingpin) ano starring Ben Stiller and the
too-good-to-be-true Cameron Diaz
Oozing with masturbation sight gags
and un-poiitically correct humor, this
flick is so tunny you’ll pee your pants.
Also starring Matt Dillor. and Chris
Elliott. With an unforgettable perfor
mance by Puffy the flaming spdif-freak
puppy. (ML) (Beechwood)
Titanic (PG-13) The boat sinks. I’m
sorry, did I ruin the ending for you?
(ML) (Alps)
MOVIE PICK
NOT SAFE
If you could hear, at every jolt, the
blood/ Come gargling from his froth-
corrupted lungs.,./ My friend, you
would not tell with such high zest/ To
children ardent for some desperate
glory/ The old Lie: Dulce et decorum
est/ Pro pcitriu mori
Saving Private Ryan (R) In this poem,
written just months before he was killed on
the battlefields of World War i. English officer
Wilfred Owen challenged the immortal
words of Horace, “It is sweet and fitting to
die for one’s country. ‘ In Saving Private
Ryan, director Steven Spielberg repeats this
challenge, presenting the audience with a
zoom-iens view of the horrors that occurred
during World War II.
War has always been a favorite subject
for filmmakers: irom the 1930 classic All
Quiet on the Western
Front to more con
temporary Yietnam-
era fiims like the har-
rowingly psychologi
cal Apocalypse Sow
and critically-
acclaimed movies
like Platoon Even
some of the greatest
love stories to ever
make their way to
the silver screen are
set against the back
drop of war. from
Casablanca to Gone
With the Wind.
Saving Private
Ryan is the story of a
troop of war-weary soldiers assembled from
the tattered remains of the D-day invasion
on the beach at Normandy. Captain John
Miller (Tom Hanks) is assigned to lead this
group deep into the German-occupied,
corpse-strewn countryside to rescue a single
soldier, Private James Ryan (Matt Damon).
Ryan’s three older brothers have all been
killed in battle and the orders from the top
are to find him, pull him out of the war, and
send him home to his grieving mother in
Iowa. Throughout the quest, the question of
whether It’s worth risking the lives of eight
soldiers to save a single one gradually
becomes moot: amidst the slaughter of war,
life is expendable and soldiers are merely
j order-obeying robots for whom emotions are
secondary to the assignment at hand.
This is where Spielberg s drama falls
short of greatness. With the exception ot
Jeremy Davies' character — a spindly, cow
ardly translator on his maiden voyage into
battle — the characters seldom seem human
or real. Even Hanks in the leading role is just
too stoic. Inter-personal relationships are
vastly overshadowed by the constant v io
lence and horror of battle.
But perhaps this is the point. The movie
is certainly unforgettable for its nightmarish
imagery. Spielberg launches the audience
into violence from the get-go much like
Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse rive opens on the
battlefield. The film’s first half-hour is a
chaotic blur of incessant screams and explo
sions. Bullets whistle into the audience, and
still-craw'ling dismembered bodies drag their
entrails through surf
stained orange from
the blood of thou
sands of slaughtered
American soldiers.
Some of these
scenes are effective
ly shot with a shaky,
hand-held camera.
During the equal
ly disturbing trek
into the countryside,
the viewer never
loses the knowledge
of the ever-present
enemy, always ready
to deliver more
death. And death is
delivered — over
and over again in the most unthinkable and
horrifying fashion. At a time when many sur
viving WWI1 vets are again facing death, I
wonder if even those who could relate to it
most need to recail such horrors. Many films
document the horrors of Vietnam, but WW1I
was a “good war” and Hollywood has spent
much more energy focusing on its glories
than its gore. It is to Spielberg’s credit that
he avoids spoon-feeding glory to the viewer;
for jaded audiences who grew up with
Vietnam films, this makes the sacrifices of
the World War 11 generation feel that much
more real.
MtHssa Link
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