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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1997)
The Battalion j \ I: ' w h |j i , I; ^ Page 3 Monday • March 31, 1997 he Devil's Own leaves oo many loose ends By Aaron Meier The Battalion n the new film The Devil’s Own, old meets new in more ways than one. First, the film marks the artoBrtching of two of Hollywood’s jgest stars, Harrison Ford and rod Pitt,who are talented men pre. fftiintwo different generations. liltureBSecond, the film pairs the old Idde'Wji ld of Ireland with the new world fninj'of New York City. Id locfJDespite these lad. potentially inter- |m a ;:||ing extremes, |; lit, 'Devil’s Own does little to :o f«d the raw en- ^igf By of the new iwilh the experi- W wB 6 an d pa- fcjMice of the old. ■The film's story centers around B conflict in Northern Ireland. Pitt Bys Frankie McGuire, a young Bhman who witnessed the murder Bis father, an Irish nationalist. ■Guire devotes his life to the Irish ’" {tejiablican Army and becomes one ofjthe most hated terrorists of the Bntish government. Iln an attempt to strengthen the jB, McGuire is sent to New York Bpurchase anti-aircraft missiles, Bich he hopes to smuggle back . tolreland. FP ft I While waiting in New York for the Issiles, McGuire adopts the alias CrvDevaney and lives with New York |)Tom O’Meara, played by Ford, lit | A dangerous situation erupts |Lew vhenO'Meara disi'oveis McGuire’s pet life, posing a dilemma for the bight-arrow police sergeant. - " | The teaming of Ford and Pitt of- | 3fs a potential tour de force of acting Rent, but only one-half of the team delivers. Pitt does an excellent job of giving his murderous character a heart. In spite of his merciless killing, Pitt forces the viewer to feel compassion for the crusading terroristhe por- Eiys. In the scene in which O’Meara inffonts McGuire, Pitt delivers a leart-crushing performance that iroves he is one of the most talented actors of his generation. Even Pitt’s accent is passable as Irish. Although he tends to say “arse” and “aye” too often, the accent is sol id and believable. The same cannot be said for Ford. The veteran actor does not deliver the acting goods in The Devil's Own. In one scene, Ford’s character is supposed to be incredibly drunk. However, when he gets home from the “traditional” night of Irish binge drinking, he casual ly emerges from the car and de- The Devil's Own Starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt Directed by Alan J. Pakula Rated R Playing at Hollywood 16 ** I/2(out of five) livers his lines, as if sober. The support ing actors are greatly under used, and when the movie ends, an empty feeling persists. Too often in the film, plot threads are forgotten or end too quickly and conveniendy. O’Meara’s wife, played by Margaret Colin, is simply shipped off-screen, when things get too intense. His partner (Ruben Blades) is quickly killed off. Finally, McGuire’s love in terest, hauntingly played by Natascha McElhone, is forgotten once she has served her purpose. The film offers no closure to these interesting sub-plots, making the movie incomplete. The story of The Devil’s Own is se riously flawed. In order to get the mis siles to Ireland, McGuire plans on simply sailing across the Atlantic. With no consideration given to cus toms officials or the Coast Guard, the writers envision McGuire sailing off into the sunset. This is a totally unre alistic plan for a man surrounded by the cruelties of reality. The conclusion of the film is ex tremely disappointing. The movie sim ply ends. With so many unresolved as pects in the film, the ending is sudden, abrupt and vastly unfulfilling. The Devil’s Own could have been a great movie. All the elements of blockbusterdom are present — bankable stars, an intriguing plot and a killer soundtrack featuring Do lores O’Riordan of the Cranberries — but they do not come together to Irrison Ford (far left) stars opposite Brad Pitt (far right) in The Devil's Own. Working together for Literacy Rosa Garza, a senior international studies and Spanish major, tutors Ricardo Gomez at the Workforce Center. Gomez is learning to read and write English. Students, other area volunteers teach adults to read and write By Melissa Price The Battalion F dsatr sdftjoar asr malkals jasekr ablb goursr johrmadz cljamdfjald amldgaur. This is what a newspaper may look like to an illiterate person. The problem of illiteracy, or the inability to read or write, continues to persist in the United States. Texas has one of the worst literacy levels and one of the lowest budgets for literacy edu cation in the nation. Ray George, executive director for Literacy Volunteers of America-Brazos Valley, said one in four adults in Texas is illiterate. One in three adults in the Brazos Valley cannot read or write. The Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) began a national literacy program about 30 years ago, to combat the problem of illiteracy. George said the Brazos Valley branch of vol unteers, which opened in 1984, strives to educate illiterate adults in Bryan-College Station. He said the definition of literacy has changed dramatically over the years. “In colonial times, if you could sign your name, you were considered literate,” George said. “As technology and job requirements have changed from a rural farming life to an industri al setting, requirements have changed for what skills a person needs for a job.” George said the program is fortunate to have an abundance of volunteers, many of whom are Texas A&M students, who dedicate their time to helping illiterate adults. He said volunteering with adults who cannot read or write is a rewardipg experience for the tutor and the student. A&M students involved with Aggie Literacy Volunteers, a campus organiza tion dedicated to promoting adult literacy, tutor A&M em ployees at least two hours a week. Andria Hunt, president of Aggie Literacy Volunteers and a junior biomedical science ma jor, said everyone should be concerned with the issue of adult literacy. “If we say that the children are our future, we need adults who are educated or who have been through these experiences to help mold our children into the leaders of tomorrow,” Hunt said. George said many illiterate adults are embar rassed that they are unable to read or write. “It’s like being on the playground and no one picking you to be on their team,” he said. “It does “(Illiteracy is) like being on the playground and no one picking you out to be on their team.” Ray George executive director Literacy Volunteers of America-Brazos Valley a real job on their self-esteem — these people just assume they’re not as bright.” Maston Ray Orr, a 46-year-old volunteer who is still learning how to read and write, said he has dealt with being illiterate his en tire life. Orr said his seventh-grade teacher, who used to put him in a closet because he could not read or write, treated him as an outcast. He said his illiteracy actually stemmed from his dyslexia, a reading impairment. “The teachers in the early ’60s didn’t know what I had — they thought I was retarded and I had a speech problem,” Orr said. “The other children would make fun of me, and when I did ask questions, the teachers felt like I was getting smart with them.” After a job injury left him dis abled in 1989 and he was unable to find employment, Orr decid ed it was time to seek help and began attending tutoring ses sions at LVA. Orr said he is now on a fourth- or fifth-grade reading level, and he continues to practice every day. See Illiteracy, Page 4 Jfju MSC Variety Show 4r on sale TODAY $ 8.00 at Rudder Box Office Tickets sale quickly so get yours today! For information call 845-1515 Think you may be pregnant? FREE AND CONFIDENTIAL PREGNANCY TESTS Educational Information for an Informed Decision Post Abortion counseling also available Call for an appointment 846 1097 Brazos Valley Crisis Pregnancy Service 3620 E 29th Street, Bryan fXrjSriAfJmJi? 2T rv rT ^ rS r5 • Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of our abilities. 1997-98 Student Organization Funding $$$ Applications now available in Student Finance Center (217 MSC) or Student Activities (163 Koldus) for 1997-98 Student Organization Funding. Applications due Friday April 4 by 5pm Informational meetings: March 25 1 pm 144 Koldus April 1 2 pm 301 Rudder April 2 7 pm 226 MSC Visit our Web site http://stuact.tamu.edu/stuorgs/sofrequest/ for more information