Newspapers / St. Andrews University Student … / Dec. 11, 1991, edition 1 / Page 4
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The Lance • St. Andrews Presbyterian College /Utp, litter, & Dec. 11, 1991 Screen Demon Express Elevator to Hell Would Be Quicker Well here’s somediing you don’t see everyday — a sequel to a film that has become a cult classic. In the case oi Hiahlanderl: UeQuickening, its presence on die silver screen has safely proven diat diere are never enough glass wmd(^ to explode and that there are now four levels of Dante’s SAGE 222 HeU. . ,, , u u- Like many cult films, the original Highlander, has this realm of fantasy and phantasmagoria that separates it from the likes of mainstream features. And 1 have to admit that within this cult genre, it has its own strengths of‘peculiarly — mainly plot structure — that make it an interesting movie. Highlander 2 screenwriter, Peter Bellwood, has taken this structure and squeezed impossible and unnecessary factors into the story. My main concern in this review is the use of a far away planet, Zeist, as the home of Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) and the rest of the Immortals. If Connor and his pal Ramirez (Sean Connery) were banished from Zeist togedier, then how could Connor say in the original that he was born “of die clan MacLeod in 1518 r’ Perhaps I’m caught widi my kilt down, but how could Connor be zapped to Earth as a man and then be born into Scottish royalty.^ This plot is structur ally unsound. In addition to this Planet Zeist thing, we’ve got an aging Connor MacLeod who was chosen to live a mortal life and nearing the end in this year of 2024. By this time, the Earth had almost completely lost the ozone layer. But thanks to Connor and some of his buddies, they developed a force field that encompassed the Earth which protected it from danger ous ultraviolet radiation. Now, die Earth is suffering from heat, humidity, the tyrannical rule of the company in charge of the “Shield,” and basically an all-round bad attitude of the population. In waltzes ecological Wonder Woman, Louise Marcus (Virginia Madsen) who claims that the Shield is no longer needed and must be destroyed. And back on Planet !^ist, the evil ruler. General Katana (Michael Ironside) has decided that Maclxod must finally die. Out to Earth go two bizarre, frog- looking assassins and after a ten-minute fight complete with exploding windows, decapitations, and a tanker truck fire — MacLeod emerges looking fresh and handsome like we all knew he would. And it’s a good thing that Lambert’s accent didn’t clear up — I might have been able to understand what he was trying to say. Veteran character actor/bad guy Michael Ironside makes his appearance as the diabolical General Katana. He’s a great actor, but I think that this time, he took too many cues from Alan Richman’s movies. And also his character makes too many jokes that are obviously inconsistent for a guy who just popped in from another planet. Watch for die continuity problem with his gloves! Did I mention ^ of the exploding glass ? And never fear— a few neon signs also bite die dust in this sequel. Aside from the structural problems, director Russell Mulcahy, director of photography Phil Meheux, and Produc tion Designer Roger Hall pull off a better visual look for the H^hland^ sequel than seen in the original. There is a lot of great camera work going on, along with some outrageous sets — all of them in Buenos Aires. The fight scene that I mentioned before had some really neat tech niques — guys flying around on mini-surf boards. And hey, I only saw the wires twice. Sean Connery puts in another one of his great f)erfbrmances with arched eyebrows in tow. But his re-death scene really sucks oudoud — destroy the giant fan with his life- force? Fd rather see his head go flying off again than diat lame scene. Ninety-one minutes of good visuals and too- stupid storylines — Highlander 2: TheQuick- eninji gets the finger. Don’t even bother when it comes out on video. MPAA Rating; R Westwood Six — Carmike Cinema, Fayetteville A Screen D5 Angela A. Lynch Columnist [Editor’s Note: All releases are compiled by Angela A. Lynch. ScreenDemon,Lynch’sre£iular column, features two reviews for this special Holiday issue. Double truck design by Heather Lyn Gupton and Steve Cohn.] took for cartoon artists slav ing away to make this picture — big deal. Here’s the inter esting stuff: The Little Mer maid songwriters. Ashman and Menken, have contrib uted six new tunes. Vocal talents include Angela LansburyasMrs. Potts, Jerty Orbach as Lumiere. David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H’s Major Winchester) as Cogsworth, Jo Anne Worley as The Wardrobe, and Robby .Benson? as the Beast. (Walt Disney) There comes a time at the end of Fall Term when classes are finally completed and we all return home to work meaningless part-time jobs for meager minimum wages. Many refer to it as the Holi day Season, but Hollywood usually calls it Open Season on your wallet. And this year is no exception, so grab onto your money and hold on tight because the TinselTown elves have over twenty-five feature films aimed at your pocket. N^j^ber Cape Fear That GoodFellas directa, Martin Scorsese remakes the 1962 thriller that starred Gre- gory Peck and Robert Mitchum. This time around we see Nick Nolte and Scorsese favorite, Robert DeNiro, in die starring roles. DeNiro’s ex-con character stalks lawyer Nolte’s family because of fabricated evi dence which sent him to jail. With this version, look for a shift in emphasis to a theme on moral guilt and punish ment, DeNiro with a South ern accent — and lots of tattoos. (Universal) An American Tale: Flevel Goes West What else can you say? Perhaps producer Steven Spielberg should call itDances with Cartoon. I doubt if Polk’s call for Manifest Destiny is supposed to stretch this far — but it’s for the kids. (Uni versal) Beau^ and the Beast I think that if you square the number of Walt Disney ani mat e d films you’ll arrive at — infinity. Anyway, you’ll soon be hearing re ports of how many months it 1 i Beauty and the Beast \ Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner Joel Silver, has teamed up with Bruce Willis for another ammo-adventure. Perhaps Willis is still embarrassed about this summer’s mega bomb, Hudson Hawk and has decided to stick with a producer that knows what he is doing. TV’s, “In “Living Colcr’ Damon Wayans co- stars. Top Gun direcj tor, Tony Scott, steps once again into the ac tion genre as director' (Warner Bros.) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country WTiat’s this ?! A really cool allusion to death and Hamlet’s puzzled will for existence? ISot quite, the crew of the Starship Enterprise suit up again (and for the last time? Say it ain’t so, Jim) to explore a strange, new world: peace with the Klingon Em pire. Look for a contempo rary allegory paralleling the Communist Soviet Union of yesteryear Bruce Wtllu & Damon Wayans De^^ber The Last Boy Scout Once again, the producer of action hits Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and their sequels. and the strides to peace with America. Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the rest are back. Nicho las Meyer (Star Trek II) re turns as director. (Paramount Pictures)
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