The Battalion • Page 3
Thursday • July 6, 1995
ION • P A q
July 6,
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHI
LLO 13
Howard uses powerful cast to
capture NASA’s ‘finest hour’
inicki, Theban
Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan) holds her children and
waits with friends for the final word as the Apollo 1 3
crew re-enters the Earth's atmosphere
Apollo 13 takes
off at box office
LOS ANGELES <AF) — Tom Hanks has outdone
Forrest Gump, and moviegoers have outdone them
selves.
Led by a $38.5 million debut for Apollo 13 - Hanks’
best opening weekend ever — audiences spent a record
Si64.6 million at the box office over the five-day holi
day weekend.
Apollo 13, which recounts the near-tragic 1970
space flight, easily defeated the other new films in
J wide release, Sylvester Stallone’s Judge Dredd and
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
The other Top 10 holdovers were Congo, The
I Bridges of Madison County, Casper, Braveheart and
Hard With a Vengeance.
The Independence Day take surpassed the previ
ls five-day record of $140 million from Thanksgiv-
ig in 1992. The last time the Fourth of July fell on
m five-day weekend, in 1989, film patrons spent
3 million.
ore Apollo 13, Hanks 5 best opening came from
t’s Forrest Gump, which made $24.4 million in its
. weekend of wide release. Counting only the first
phree days of the holiday weekend, Apollo 13 beat that
: record, making $25.4 million.
By Michael Landauer
The Battalion
Everything went wrong aboard Apollo 13. But
immortalizing the near-disaster
in film has proven to be a
much smoother and
more successful
mission.
It would seem
impossible to
recreate the dra
ma of the Apollo
13 mission. No
film could be ex
pected to capture
what people were
feeling when they
faced NASA’s worst
nightmare. But it ap
pears that director Ron
Howard has done it.
The story has been
told before. Jim Lovell
(Tom Hanks), the space
program’s most experi
enced astronaut, was in
command of the ill-fated
Apollo 13 which was travel
ing to the moon to collect rocks
and scientific data. After an
oxygen tank explodes, Lovell has
to give up his dream of walking on
the moon and focus on how his ship
is going to get back home.
We should know how the story ends.
NASA has touted the “successful failure” as
its brightest moment. But somehow Apollo 13
doesn’t seem predictable.
This film offers more than a great story.
Audiences that have flocked to the film since
it opened last Friday may have expected to see
Howard’s trademark flag-waving sappiness. The
fact that it opened over the Fourth of July week
end also would seem to prepare audi
ences for a dose of patrio
tism. But that is not what
this movie is about, and
what could have been
a major problem is
avoided.
Howard
puts
the
au
dience
in the
story. In
such a heroic
tale, sappiness
was never need
ed. Rarely can a di
rector keep a film
based on history so fo
cused.
“I think real life delivers better sto
ries than anybody could possibly think up,” Han
ks said in a press release.
Movie Review
Apollo 13
Starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and
Bill Paxton
Directed by Ron Howard
Rated PG
Playing at Hollywood 16
★★★★ 1/2 tout of five)
Since the incredible story was already there,
this film focused on the people who lived
through seven of the most tense days the space
program has ever seen. Howard does a good
job showing every perspective. Whether the
audience is seeing Lovell’s son hold vigil
with his military school peers or the
mission control director, Gene Kranz (Ed
Harris), take out his frustration on engi
neers, the audience can actually feel
what the people must have been feeling.
Although this film could have slipped off its
focus with scientific jargon, Howard kept sim
ple the complicated reasons for the mission’s
failure.
The film makers actually trained like astro
nauts for the use of NASA’s weightless train
ing plane, and their experience made the
movie run smoothly.
Although no actor outshines the others, the
entire cast was believable. From the looks on the
faces of extras to the frustration in every NASA
employee’s voice, this film captured the moment.
Lovell’s words — “Houston, we have a prob
lem” — made the Apollo 13 mission stand out in
America’s history in space. But it is the absence
of problems in this film that will make Apollo 13
stand out in the minds of summer audiences.
Head West, a local alternative
band, is playing at The Tap.
Ty and the SemiAutomatics, a local
alternative band, is playing at
Northgate Cafe. Bobby Hall is also
playing.
EP*
EP*
SWING'
SWING
Crystal Sea, a local jazz band, is
performing at Sweet Eugene's
House of Java.
Extreme Heat, a funk band, is
playing at 3rd Floor Cantina.
Peeping Tom, a local cover band
with a few original songs, is
playing at The Tap.
Ken Ryan and Crossover, a country
band, is at The Texas Hall of Fame.
Soma, a local alternative band, is
playing at Northgate Cafe. God-like
Animals and Battlecow, two local
bands, are also playing.
Mike Cancellare, an acoustic
musician from Lockhart, is
performing at Sweet Eugene's
House of Java.
The TAMU Caribbean Association
and the TAMU Puerto Rico
Association are sponsoring a
Caribbean party at 3rd Floor
Cantina. A Jamaican and Puerto
Rican D.J. will alternate every 30
minutes.
Jesse Dayton, a country performer
from Houston, is at The Dixie
Theatre. See related story.
Fondue Monks, a local rock band,
is playing at Northgate Cafe.
Opening is local rock band Cain
Wolf.
Spin F/X, a cover band from
Austin, is playing at The Tap.
The Texas Playboys, a country
band, is playing at The Texas Hall
of Fame.
Lacking direction, First Knight is no first choice
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
The problem with First Knight is
that it can’t decide which way it
wants to go. This film is stuck be
tween being a historical epic and 1
putting a new spin on the tale of
King Arthur and Camelot.
Set against the backdrop of war
between Camelot and the forces of
the evil Prince Maligant, First
Knight focuses on the love triangle
between Arthur, the legendary king
of England, his queen Guinevere
and the rogue knight Lancelot.
The story begins as Maligant
(Ben Cross) raids a village in
Leoness, Guinevere’s small kingdom
caught between the two warring par
ties. Shortly after the raid, Guinevere
(Julia Ormond) agrees to marry
Arthur (Sean Connery) in order to
protect her kingdom.
But on her way to a rendezvous
with the king, Guinevere’s convoy is
Movie Review
First Knight
Starring Richard Gere, Sean Connery
and Julia Ormond
Directed by Jerry Zucker
Rated PG-13
Opening at Hollywood 16 Friday
** 1/2 (out of five)
ambushed by Maligant’s troops.
Guinevere is saved by Lancelot
(Richard Gere), a swordsman who
wanders through the countryside and
fights for money.
The sparks start to fly between the
macho Lancelot and the future
queen. Lancelot returns Guinevere to
her escort and disappears into the
forest, but not before promising her
that they will meet again before
she becomes queen.
After Lancelot impresses both the
king and his future queen with his
skills, the rest of the film spends its
time on the characters’ irmer battles
between loyalty and true love.
The acting in First Knight is sol
id, if not memorable. Connery car-
— ries the same regal quality that he
brings to every role, and Gere plays
a strong, perhaps overly sensitive,
Lancelot. Julia Ormond delivers a
performance as strong her portrayal
of the love interest in Legends of the
Fall, complete with the crying.
First Knight ‘s plot has some
amazing shortcomings. Director Jer
ry Zucker seems a bit confused about
which direction he wants to take the
story. At times he makes everything
a fairy tale, going so far as to make
all the bad guys wear black.
At other times, he wants to pump
new life into the weary Arthurian
legends, turning Lancelot into a
rogue that few stories ever approach.
This confusing lack of direction
takes away from the film’s enjoyment.
First Knight shifts back and forth be
tween the two directions, leaving audi
ences scratching their heads.
Zucker should have decided on one
motif or the other. But he didn’t and
his film suffers because of it.
Sean Connery