‘The Shadow’ knows what audiences want
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Alec Baldwin is Lamont Cranston and Penelope Ann Miller is Margo Kane in
the Russell Mulcahy film “The Shadow."
The Shadow”
By Gerry Beltz
Staff Reporter
Before Kal-El had been sent to Earth from
Krypton, before Bruce Wayne’s parents were
murdered by Joe Chill, there was... “The Shad
ow.”
He knew what evil lurked in the hearts of
men. He had powers of the occult, including
being a master of hypnotism and gaining the
ability to “cloud men’s minds” so that he would
not be visible to the naked eye.
Things aren’ t any different on the big screen.
By day, The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) is million
aire playboy Lamont Cranston. But at night
Cranston lets his dark side come out from his
soul and transforms his body (and wardrobe and
overall attitude) into The Shadow.
He is chasing after Shiwan Khan (John
Lone, “The Last Emperor”), the last remaining
descendant of Ghcngis Khan. Khan intends to
detonate an atomic device, and only The Shad
ow and Margo Kane (Penelope Ann Miller,
“Carlito’s Way”) stand a chance of stopping
this diabolical plot.
Although the story and script need a bit of
work, the special effects and overall fun of the
movie make “The Shadow” highly enjoyable.
The effects when The Shadow beats the crap out
of the bad guys are particularly good.
The movie is set with a dark mood in mind
(a la “Batman”), but the superhero in this flick
at least has a chin. The sets, costumes and music
all combine for a terrific backdrop for the
Shadow’s hunting grounds.
The cast is great too. Baldwin is great both as
The Shadow and as the smart-alecky Cranston.
He manages to differentiate between the two
characters very well, and word has it that he did
the Shadow’s laugh by himself without any
computer help.
Lone isn’t bad as Khan, but at times, he
lacked a certain intensity. Miller is good as
Margo, a woman whose true powers lie latent
just below the surface, and so is Peter Boyle as
Moe,oneofthe Shadow’s many agents through
out the city.
Tim Curry (“The Three Musketeers”) shows
up as Farley Claymore, an evil scientist with the
intelligence of a furniture dolly who looks like
he combs his hair with buttered toast. His
character was a bit overboard, even for this
flick.
“The Shadow” is a film worth going to sec.
Strong acting highlights
Not-so-ordinary ‘Forrest’
“Forrest Gump”
By Anne Steyer
Staff Raportar
“Forrest Gump” is the extraordi
nary story of an extraordinary man.
Gump (Tom Hanks) is an endear
ingly simple small-town man with a
small IQ. The movie follows his story,
beginning with Forrest’s first difficult
days in elementary school, where he
meets the most important person in
his life: Jenny (Robin Wright).
Abused when she was a child, as an
adult Jenny follows every wrong path
she can, although she remains
Forrest’s friend throughout.
They arc friends through high
school and even college where Forrest
runs his way to the All-American
football team. He writes her faithfully
every day during his tour of duty in
Vietnam. And he loves her
unfalteringly his whole life.
In Vietnam Forrest meets two piv
otal people in his life — his friend
Bubba (Mykclti Williamson) and his
commanding officer, Lt. Dan (Gary
Sinise). Forrest becomes a hero in the
war, although he always only did what
he thought was right.
But Forrest does other things too,
including teaching Elvis to dance,
meeting three presidents, winning the
Medal of Honor, and playing ping
pong in China.
He consistently finds himself in
incredible situations, although he is
never himself awed.
ForrestGump is the perfect person.
He allows the small things in life to
make him happy, he follows the gold
en rule. He’s earnest and honest, a
loyal friend who keeps his word and
follows the rules. He cares about peo
ple, even when they have contempt for
him, contempt he docs not under
stand.
Obviously, Hanks carries the pic
ture — and he is perfect. He could
have played this character completely
over-thc-top. making a mockery of all
that Forrest is, but he did not. Instead,
his Forrest is real and a true hero.
The supporting cast is outstanding
as well. Wright holds her own with
Hanks in a difficult part that could
have been an unsympathetic one.
Williamson is funny and touching.
But Sinise stands out as Lt. Dan — a
man wracked with self-pity and hate,
who nevertheless becomes Forrest’s
friend and partner.
Director Robert Zemeckis (of“Rog
er Rabbit” fame) uses terrific special
effects to blend Forrest into actual
news footage of historical events. The
result is astounding.
“Forrest Gump” clocks in at over
two hours and is worth very wonderful
minute.
Stay away from ‘Trouble’
Movie’s stars do
their best with
mediocre story
“I Love Trouble”
By Joel Strauch
Staff Reporter
I didn’t love “1 Love Trouble.”
Not intended to be a summer
blockbuster, this film fills its spot
in a video library on the shelf of
mediocrity.
Peter Brackett (Nick Nolte), a
legendary columnist for the Chica
go Chronicle.matches wits with an
overzealous cub reporter from the
Chicago Globe, Sabrina Peterson
(Julia Roberts).
The two compete for the latest
scoops on an ongoing front-page
saga about a local train derailment.
Both reporters begin to find clues
that the derailment might not have
been an accident.
They put aside their differences
and decide to work together. As
they get closer to the truth of the
train wreck cover-up, they get clos
er to each other. But their equally
strong desires to get the scoop
makes any romantic involvement
almost impossible.
The two continue to try and
outwit each other and somehow
manage to outwit the bad guys.
The plot was rather transparent
and the ending sadly predictable.
The only parts that catch the audi
ence unawares are the unrealistic
aspects of the film.
There were several scenes where
the humor and the intensity rise
above mediocrity, but the Him al
ways faded back to its lackluster
storyline.
The acting by Roberts and Nol tc
is quite good, but the parts that they
are forced to play don’t leave any
room for outstanding performanc
es.
Supposedly a romantic thriller.
“I Love Trouble” was not very ro
mantic and not very thrilling. If
you’re a die-hard fan of Noltc or
Roberts, catch it at the SI.50 the
ater. Otherwise, wait for video.
©Ann Hall, Inc All Rights Reserved
Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte star in Hl Love Trouble”