That’s Entertainment
The Reel Thing
Movie Reviews
By Casper Jetson
"Gloi^" (R) **** 4 stars
This panoramic profile and account of
the first black union regiment in the Civil
War has everything going for it: right-min
dedness, gripping battle scenes, powerfully
stunning acting performances and mag
nificent directing by Edward Zwick (TV’s
"Thirtysome thing").
Matthew Broderick portrays the 23-year-
old white colonel, Robert shaw, the
regiment’s leader, and Denzel Washington
(who looks like Michael Jordan) is the hot-
tempered self-serving soldier who fights his
own private war, and Morgan Freeman
adds a touch of genuine leadership as a dig
nified older recruit. (All of these perfor
mances exceed expectations).
The novelty of this subject and fascinat
ing details of the era make the film consis
tently interesting. This film has already
been nominated for several Academy
Awards and rightly deserves those nomina
tions...and with any justice, this picture will
be remembered as one of the best of 1990.
"Stella" (PG-13) **** 4 stars
"Stella Dallas" was one of the great
weepies of the 1930’s with Barbara Stan
wyck as a disreputable mother who steps
out of her daughter’s life to avoid spoiling
her chance of a good marriage. This time,
Bette Midler plays Stella, a single mother
who has a child out of wedlock with a hand
some doctor (Stephen Collins). She forms
a strong bond with her daughter (Trini Al
varado). The sacrifice involves giving her
up so the girl can live with a better wage-
earner. John Goodman does a wonderful
job of playing Stella’s long-time semi
suitor, and Bette Midler brings Stella’s
character to life and our emotions as well.
MONEY
MACHINE
"Always" (PG) **** 4 stars
This is a tribute to the soft-hearted, soft-
focus movies of the ’40’s and it’s a remake
of "A Guy Named Joe" (a 1943 Spencer
Tracy vehicle). Richard Dreyfuss plays a
daredevil pilot who dies fighting a forest
fire in the northwest but comes back as the
Guardian Angel to a younger pilot (Brad
Johnson). Holly Hunter is Dreyfuss’ griev
ing girlfriend, who’s attracted to the
younger man.
Which director would be the most logi
cal choice for this combination of high ad
venture, honor, fantasy and romance?
Steven Spielberg of course! This is one of
the best "feel good" movies since "Field of
Dreams".
"Internal Affairs" (R) 2 1/2 stars
Mike Figgis, who directed the ominous
ly atmospheric "Stormy Monday", is at the
controls again with a more stereotypical
script. A detective of the Internal Affairs
Department of the L.A. County Police
(Andy Garcia) investigates Dennis Peck
(Richard Gere), a respected street cop in
volved in myriad criminal activities. Peck
retaliates by drawing the detective’s wife
(Nancy Travis) into the struggle between
the two. Gere is well cast for his creepiness;
Garcia wears a mask of solid hate through
most of the movie. Since Peck’s motives
are never explained, and we know he’s a
psycho from the start, the movie provides
only a few surprises...and the few surprises
do the job as well as Figgis’ more than ex
ceptional visual work.
"Tremors" 2 1/2 stars
A fun, elemental battle between the 14
residents of Perfection, Nevada, and giant
worms that crash through the earth to kill
them. Nobody explains the presence of the
worms, so the movie doesn’t make sense.
But the characters talk and act realistically-
-reliable Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are
the leads—and humor is interspersed
among the shocks. This is also one horror
movie in which nobody gets killed for being
romantic (or thinking about it), and we
don’t have to watch people being ripped
apart bloodily. "Tremors" is a low-budget,
fun picture that earns 2 1/2 out of 4.
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I MATTHEW BRODERICK ■
FERRIS
BUELLER*S
DAYOFF
One man’s struggle to take It easy.
MARCH 23 9:00 PM
'At
^ ^ r\ (HIGHEST RATING)
“ Always’ Is As Close To
Perfect As A Mm^E Gfts”
“Always’Is In The Same League With
‘Close Encounters’And ‘E.T.’”
“ A LWAY S ’A WIN N E R! ”_ TODAY
u^lwaus
RICHARr. GERE ANDY GARCIA
Your deepest secret
is his most
dangerous weapon.
INTERNAL
AFfAlRS
1MM0RS
A UNIVERSAL RELEASE
|PG-13|
MATTHEW
BRODERICK
PROJECT X
Fallowing orders Isn't the only way
to become a hero.
MARCH 31 9:00 PM
SCHWARZENEGGER DEVITO
Only their
mother tan
\ V tell them
MARCH 2 9:00 PM