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Volcano virtually erupts with action
By Gerry Beltz
Film Critic
■ ■■ i n ■ ■ i — ■ _
Following in the tumultuous wake
^jiiui .a of voleano-thriller “Dante’s Peak” is
the eruptive, action-packed “Volcano”
Both films had originally been set
for release dates close to one another,
but Universal Pictures rushed “Dante”
through post-production to beat 20th
Century Fox’s “Volcano” to the the
aters in an effort to get the early worm.
They bit the early worm, and the
film sucked. 20th Century Fox exer
cised the virtue of patience, cleaned
up the special effects a bit and came
out with a slicker, more intense film.
Also helping “Volcano” erupt so
highly is the ever-watchable Tommy
Lee Jones as Mike Roark, the director
of the Office of Emergency Manage
ment for the city of Los Angeles.
Jones’ subtle character changes
from concerned father to determined
problem-solver in the Mink of an eye,
and Jones’ screen magnetism is as hot
as the magma he is fighting against.
One of Jones’ finest moments in
the film occurs when he realizes his
grand proMem-solving techniques
may have sealed the fetes of more than
2,000 people.
Director Mick. JAckson (“The
Bodyguard”) keeps the moviemoving
• - - * « f -
' ' • • • * ;
along mree pains ai once, siowmg
down here and there for a mini-plot
snippet here and there, but doesn’t
stop theentire film to get too in-depth.
Granted, some of the “mini-plots”
have “Velveeta*’ written all over ‘em
(the overdone racial-unrest-tiurtted
partnership bit was particularly barf
worthy), but the real star of “Volcano”
is the special-effects work.
Subway cars melting, people dan
gling from a fire ladder over a river of
liquid death and (most difficult of all)
making Los Angeles look EVEN
WORSE than it does in reality all
come courtesy of some top-of-the-line
special-effects work, as well as some
excellent computer graphics.
Jackson receives further kudos for
avoiding the temptation to start up a
romance between Roark and seismolo
gist Dr. Amy Barnes (Anne Heche),
and the subplot involving Roark and
his daughter Kelly (Gaby Hoffman,
“The Man Without A Face”) evolves
very well, despite the brief time that
is spent on it.
The plot? Oh yeah, an earthquake
cracks open the tectonic plates under
the La Brea Tar Pits in downtown L.A.
and all hell breaks loose from there.
(You want realism? Go back to Jer
sey!)
The true enemy in “Volcano” —
the molten magma —is almost given
- - - ....’' * X *■"•'■ ' !*• \^^*?8By0HS5FMffllM • :*
-The Facts—
Film: "Volcano" ....
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Anne
% H&b$, Dkn btj&idle j
Director: Mick Jackson f ~ ~
Rating: PG-13 (Language, Violence)
Grade: B+
Five Words: Disaster film erupts
on screen
a life of its own; it oozes down the
street with the ease of water, but has
the deadly destructive power of Uncle
Tyrone’s infamous Spam-in-cream
sauce casserole.
Nothing can stop it. Only Tommy
Lee Jones stands a chance, even if he
has to destroy the city to do it.
(Controlling the magma, not the , \
casserole.)
Don Cheadle (Roark’s right-hand
at OEM) and Jacqueline Kim (Dr. Jaye
Calder) turn in decent performances
as well, and it’s particularly cool
watching Calder get in Roark’s face
with the truth and making him accept
it. Gold stars to both performers.
“Volcano” is a disaster flick, but it
isn’t a disaster to watch. Check it out.
Sci-fi movie
becomes pick
of the week
By Gerby Beltz
Film Critic } '*•
Akin with dead week, the week of new re
leases is a little bizarre. We have elephants,
angels and adoptions; and the pick-of-the-week
is a sci-fi classic that you either love or hate.
“Larger Than Life”—Bill Murray inherits
an elephant and must take it across the country
to sell it to a zoo.
Ouch. My belly is hurting from laughter
already. Ouch.
Actually, Murray’s dry wit is rather in place ,
for this type of movie, and look for appearances
by Matthew McConaughey and Janeane
Garafolo.
“Secrets and Lies”—this Oscar-nominated
film comes home to video.
Crisis after crisis erupts in an overly tense
British family, but with all the thick British
accents and subplots, it is difficult to sort out
everything going on. Important notes: We have
a young white girl who has been virtually ig
nored by members of her family, and a black
woman who discovers her birth mother was
actually white. >?
Still, great performances abound, particu
£ larly from Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean
Baptiste, uive it a try.
“The Preacher’s Wife” — Ifs a remake of
: “The Bishop’s Wife’j^idjt^fk^s some of that j
2 U ^^refeefie^GbUftSyViVance, “The Hunt !
For Red Oetober”) fmda himself in danger of ?
losing his wife (Whitney Houston), plus there
is additional danger from a greedy landowner
(Gregory Hines). The preacher prays for help,
but gets Dudley (Denzel Washington), who is
both a blessing and ... isn’t.
Very enjoyable with some wonderful, touch
ing moments, “The Preacher’s Wife” is the
snuggle-up movie of the week.
PICK-OF-THE-WEEK — Fine, the book
version “Dune” may have been better, and the
movie may be a wee bit long, but the grand
scale of this flick is worth the price of rental
alone.
Thousands of years into the future, worlds
and kingdoms fight over an incredible spice,
and (as one character so aptly phrases) ‘Tie who
controls the spice controls the universe.”
The story has about 15 billiori subplots, and
about twice that many stars, including Kyle
MacLachlan, Patrick Stewart and Sean Young.
This movie is just too cool for words: people
using their voices to blow people up, Sting run
ning around in his undies and (best of all)
Patrick Stewart using the words “cattle” and
“loveplay” in the same sentence.
You just can’t beat this. Check it out, but
don’t take any prescription drugs beforehand;
the spice sequences get pretty weird.
By Patrick Kellt , ;
y Film, Critic '
—4—
Big hair, neon clothing, New Coke and syn
thesizer pop music make you nostalgic fpr the
’80s, don’t they? > r ': r
That is the sentiment that “Romy and
Michele’s High School Reunion” hopes to
achieve. The movie has the recurring ’80s
thane (“16 Candles,” “Weird Science,” etc.)
of the socially outcast underdogs making a last
attempt at popularity.
The story centos on the light-headed mis
adventures of Romy (Sorvino) and Michele
(Rudrow). The two come to accept the cruel
reality that they weren’t exactly the “coolest”
kids in their class. To redeem themselves they
plan to attend their high school reunion and
show what successful people they have become.
i iic uuui is, moy reauy aren i uiai success
ful. They scramble fervently in the last two
weeks before the reunion for jobs. But all they
find is ah opening at a discount clothing store.
They lode for men everywhere from bars to
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to an audi
tion for “SihglediOut” (for which they were
too old to be eligible).
So finally they decide to fabricate a success
story of inventing the Post-It Note. They bor
row an expensive Jaguar, design executive-style
suits and they are off.
And of course, there is the moment where
the two go their separate ways, only to realize
that they need each other, especially when their
story starts to fall apart.
The format is familiar, the jokes aren’t re
ally too funny and the plot — with the excep
tion of a rather bizarre dream sequence — is
preaictaoie. bui me aitsy auo ao ineir jod tairiy
well.
Their “like, whatever” valley girl accents
begin to annoy; but then, that’s why they do it.
Most scenes are stolen by Janeane Garofalo, *
who plays Heather, the sharp-tongued and anti- -
social “bad girl,” with cynical excellence. One 1
particularly amusing scene finds Garofalo
drooling champagne during the “where are they
now” segment of the reunion ceremonies.
Also amusing are the flashback scenes and
the subtle use of ’80s music by artists like
Bananarama, Robert Palmer, Tears For Fears
and Culture Gub.
The movie does touch on issues of alien
ation and friendship rather well. Sorvino and
Kudrow have a certain on-screen chemistry that
creates a level of believability. Unfortunately,
!
-The facts
Film: "Romy and Michele's High
Reunion''
Stars: Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudmw and
Janeane Garofaio ' * ■
1 Director: David Mirkin \ :
Rating: R (Language, Sexual Content}
Grade: C+
Five Words: Don 1 get mad, get even
they aren’t given the strongest material to work
with.
What “Romy and Michele’s High School
Reunion” lacks in originality it makes up for
with heart.