The Battalion
:lass
TUESDAY
|une 11,1996
GGIE
Solid as a Rock
By David Winder
The Battalion
ieBattaii<» Twister had action but no
I Dr Roi^ - Mission: Impossible had ac
tion but a confusing plot. The
Rock has action, a plot, Sean
Connery and Nicolas Cage, mak-
mg it the best action-thriller
siDce the original Die Hard.
Brig. Gen. Francis Hummel
|(Ed Harris) is tired of being
is moder s CreW ed around by the U.S. gov-
tolerant ernmen t. He has continually
ie had i i 08 t men in covert military oper-
e. He iiations and petitioned the gov-
t consid ernment to honor them.
:ourt th After being continuously de-
the paraied by the government, Hum-
Republimel decides to take action.
! debate. Hummel and his commandos
his presi capture Alcatraz Island—“The
iry 1995Rock” along with a group of
mmitte'tourists, to grab the govern-
“It was i men t’ 8 attention and SlOO mil-
njoyed i lion ransom,
comes i
ey said i
vision t
Just in case the
government chooses
to ignore them, rock
ets loaded with VX
gas, the most lethal
gas in the world, are
set to destroy the
San Francisco Bay
area.
Enter FBI chemi
cal expert Stanley
Goodspeed (Cage),
and federal prisoner
Patrick Mason (Connery). Good-
speed is needed to disarm the
rockets, while Mason, the only
man to ever escape from Alca
traz, is needed to get a Navy
SEAL unit on the island. From
there, it’s kill or be killed.
That’s it. That’s the whole
plot. No special effects being
played over and over. No asking
your neighbor every five min
utes who the bad guys are now.
The Rock is just action-filled
fun, thanks to the performances
Starving Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage
Ed Harris *1*
of Connery and Cage.
Connery depicts Mason as a
loose-cannon James Bond. He is
suave but a little crazy after be
ing locked up for the last 30
years for stealing U.S. govern
ment secrets. Mason knows
who killed John F. Kennedy and
whether aliens really landed in
Roswell, New Mexico.
Goodspeed is a FBI agent
who would rather be listening to
The Beatles than doing any
thing else. He doesn’t even carry
a gun.
So when he’s told he has to go
to Alcatraz to disarm the lethal
rockets, he’s not exactly willing.
In fact, he pukes his guts out
like he has been on a drinking
binge for a month.
Harris is excellent as the gen
eral who truly believes killing
over a million people is justified
by what the government has
done to him. His men died with
honor, and he wants the world
to know about it.
The scene in which Harris
and Connery appear together
shows there can be excellent
acting in an action-thriller.
Watch out Arnold, Sly and Jean-
Claude. Neither Connery, Cage
nor Harris will be nominated for
Academy Awards for their work
on The Rock.
They should get an award for
making one entertaining film.
Watch out Arnold, Sly and Jean-
Claude.
Page 3
FBI chemical expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) and federal prisoner Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) enter Alcatraz Island to stop Brig
Gen. Francis Hummel (Ed Harris) from destroying the San Francisco Bay Area.
Strong performances
drive Once Upon a Time
By James Francis
The Battalion
The life experience of African
Americans living in the South,
during the time of segregation,
has been a subject of filmmakers.
There has not been a movie
since The Color Purple that
embodies the spirit and soul of
the African-American family in
such detail.
Once Upon A Time When We
Were Colored is a touching fami
ly drama which spans 16 years
of a young boy’s life.
The film begins in 1946 in the
Mississippi Delta, where a fe
male field hand lies between the
rows of unpicked cotton prepar
ing to give birth.
In her frightened state, Ma
Ponk (Phylisha Rashad) rushes
to her aid and assists in the
baby’s delivery.
A boy
is born
and this
begins the
story of
his life in
what is la
beled ‘Col-
o r e d
Town.’
The
film
evolves
into a magnificent tale of
southern living for African
Americans when ‘White Only’
and ‘Colored’ signs adorned
bathroom doors and water
fountains—when working in
cotton fields was the only way
to make money and families
were often split apart.
There were numerous other
situations African Americans
faced then, but the film does not
spend a lot of screen-time wast
ing away audience interest on
subjects which have been pro
filed time and time again.
The film does touch on one
of these situations when the
Ku Klux Klan makes its way
into a neighboring town, but
the audience is never brought
Onc& Upon A Time When We Wem
Colored
Starring Phyfisha Rashad and Isaac
Directed by Tim Reid
back into any Klan activities.
Many movies suffer from not
venturing into the various
themes and subplots, but Once
Upon A Time When We Were
Colored uses themes and sub
plots to strengthen its hold.
One hearty stronghold ac
credited to the film is the
award-caliber performance de
livered by Phylisha Rashad.
Her role deals with the common
complexities of life involving
the young boy she helped deliv
er, her own son and mother,
and finding her inner strength.
More commonly known for her
portrayal of Claire Huxtable on
the TV series The Cosby Show,
Rashad gives a dramatic perfor
mance stronger than any other
commercially-known actress.
Along with great perfor
mances, the backdrop of a film
is becoming more important
these days. Although there are
no high-
tension
action se
quences,
the cam-
e r a
works
magic
. of five)
with au
thentic
scenery.
Classic
c i n e -
matogra-
phy depicts billowy-white cotton
fields, comparative views of dirt
and paved roads and the overall
essence of small-town life in the
South.
Once Upon A Time When We
Were Colored features excel
lent direction, moving perfor-
jtaances and believable cine
matography that is not overly
exaggerated.
It is a film, unlike others,
.showing Black and White op
position. It focuses on African-
American evolution as a peo
ple, no different from other
culture, and Once Upon A
Time When We Were Colored
harbors a unique strength that
makes each individual special.
i 5
:re
rt
JO-
3b-
Llt
n
ild
m
ill
ly
n,
it
Id
is
t.
?7
or
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