PAGES
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
DECEMBER 3,1992
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
C
CINEMA
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■ HOT SOUL .
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MALCOLM X’S
RESURRECTION
by Phyllis Jeffers
Whether or not Spike Lee
adequately tells the tale of
Malcolm X word for word or
detail for detail will be a never
ending debate.
His portrayal of women and
the Nation of Islam shall raise
eyebrows for years to come.
Lee’s ego and insistent need to
be in each one of his movies
will be discussed for quite a
while. The cinematography
and soundtrack will be cri
tiqued until the end of time.
But these issues seem trivial
and overemphasized. Instead,
I’d rather share the experience
of having my hero raised from
the dead. No one can under
stand what it is like to have his/
her hero resurrected and to have
him relive his life in three and
a half hours. As the character
grew - Malcolm grew. As the
action became more intense the
inevitable became clearer.
Malcolm had to die. He had to.
He’s been dead for years. But
in witnessing the assassination,
I was devastated—not shocked
or even appalled, but devas
tated. I saw the man I want to
be so much like riddled with
bullets. Then when the moving
collage of his face splattered
the screen and Ossie Davis
began his eulogy the pain I felt
was like the bullet that ended
his life.
Spike manages to paint a
picture of the Malcolm that has
resided in my heart since 12th
grade. I was reminded of all I
had left to accomplish in the
struggle for African-American
liberation. I was taunted with
the fact that I could not let my
hero die in vain. The X film
conjured up all the hopes and
dreams I had for myself and my
people. Malcolm’s resurrec
tion forced me to evaluate my
life and the battles I have and
will choose to fight. Ultimately
a mirror was held up to me; and
a torrential out pouring of tears
was evoked from all the depths
of my soul.
BRAM STOKER'S
DRACULA:
A LOVE STORY
by Anthony R. Cooper
Francis Ford Coppola’s inter
pretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula
proved to be a big success. Unlike
the other movie-makers who used
Stoker’sgothiccreatureof the night
to promote gore and horror,
Coppola stuck to the plot of the
book to recreate the gothic love
story in its true form. Those who
had problems with the movie
probably didn’t read the book
and are use to the stereotypical
evil caped fiend roaming the
countryside “vanting to suck
your blod”. Also, if the movie
seemed to jump from plot to
plot, it was because the novel
is epistolary, written in letters.
Coppola also used great cin
ematography. One particular
effect I liked was the way he
used the shadows when
Jonathan visited Castle
Dracula.The way the three fe
male vampires appeared from
the sheets also displayed great
special effects. Another inter
esting thing Coppola did was
to give the folkloric back
ground to the creation of
Drrcula. From this back
ground, moviegoers under
stood why he hated the cro^s,
where he acquired his strength
and longevity of life, and why
he loved Mina so much. With
the love story, I noticed that in
this movie Mina not only sub
jected herself to his trance but
also faintly remembered
knowing Dracula from another
time; thus imploring the image
of reincarnation. Gary Oldman
added an extra twist to the
character Dracula. Oldman’s
Dracula was young and attrac
tive to the eye, unlike the
weathered,wrinkled
“Vitalisized” Bela Lugosi that
we were used to seeing for so
many years. His character
added suspense as well as
sexuality to make the love story
more vivid and true to text.
Winona Ryder did an excel
lent job as playing Mina. She
displayed the needed sensual
ity, and sexuality to make this
love story function wholly.
Their characters complimented
each other well. Anthony
Hopkins’character Dr. Seward
deserves praise. He added a
bit of lunacy and comedy to
the doctor’s character. One
Character who should have
been replaced is Keanu
Reeves’Jonathan. He couldn’t
seem to keep his British accent
throughout the movie. Reeves
made a valiant attempt to com
pliment his colleagues, how
ever, he didn’t appear to be as
strong a character that
Jonathan should have been.
The movie, on a scale of one to
five, gets a four. It is one of
this years best and long-
awaited films. The plot and
special effects are superb. The
movie would probably be en
joyed more by those who read
the book first or those who
remove the stereotypes from
mind and realize that "Dracula”
is gothic love story.
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PORTRAIT
PORTRAIT
CAPITOL RECORDS*«l/2
If you’ve heard the lat
est single from newconers.
Portrait, you know that can
deliver a jam for you to rove
to. “Here We Go Again” i the
slammin’ debut single froi the
quartet who comes to us rom
South Central, L.A.and Povi-
dence, Rhode Island. Thelead
single captures the sweet har
mony of the group blended with
the catchy beat from Digital
Underground and a sample from
Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t
Help It.” The question is, does
the album have any tunes that
stand up to the debut? Unfortu
nately, the answer is definitely,
no.
The guys are talented.
They wrote, arranged, and
produced the entired album. But
the album is just to mediocre to
be considered good. The hype
tunes are nothing compared to
“Here We Go” and could barely
stand up on their own. The best
of which is probably “Honey
Dip” which is probably best be
cause of its connection to “Here
We Go.”
The ballads should save
the album from its mediocrity,
but there are not enough of them
to balance the Ip. They also are
not the most original sounds
we’ve ever heard. “On and On”
and “Yours Forever” sound too
on the House Party 2 soundtrack
with Keith Washington on
“Candelight and You.” Earlier this
year, Moore teamed up with El
DeBarge for his In The Storm Ip.
Together they brought us the
hit “You Know What I Like.”
Finally the debut album from
Chante’ Moore is available for
those who have come to appreci
ate her voice. Moore is an in
credibly talented songstress. She
co-wrote seven of the eleven songs
on Precious. She sings with the
loveliness of Minnie Ripperton
and Mari ah Carey. Precious is a
batch of ballads and mid-tempos
that easily relax the listener. The
lead single, “Love’s Taken Over”
introduces us to Moore’s exem
plary one woman harmony. She
sang almost all the background
vocals for the album.
“Finding My Way Back,” “As
If We Never Met” and “Sexy
Thang”
are memorable tunes. All pro
duced by George Duke, these tunes
stand out from the monotone of
the album.
BeBe Winans lends his vocals
and producing talents for the in
spirational “Because You’re
Mine.” The tune is one of the best
and even with its faster tempo
Moore and Winans voices soothe
and relax.
“Candelight” and “Love’s
Taken Over” remain the best songs
on the album and hopefully the
next effort from Ms. Moore will
contain a few more hits. Never-
Go With Me” gets the al
bum off to a great start and
should be a single. Its funk
with a touch of hip hop
Brian McKnight wrote
produced and lended vocals
on the album’s best ballad
by far entitled, “Love All
The Hurt Away.” The two’s
voices blend together quite
nicely. Though Miner
sounds like McKnight on
other tunes, McKnight’s
production and vocal ar
rangement are eminent on
throughout this song.
Miner will be one to look
out for in the near future.
His sound and style give him
a staying quality unlike
many young artists today.
Collaborations with artists
such as McKnight only add
to what is already an excep
tional artist.
even being fairly new they
should take this one to the top
ten.
Men At Large “So Alone”
The big boys from the
Trevel(Levert) family tree
bring to us a tune in memoriam
of their parents who died ear
lier this year. The song sounds
very much like a love ballad,
but it was written by Gerald
LeVert and Joe Little from the
Rude Boys for Men at Large.
This one is a tear jerker once
you realize its inspiration.
TevinCampbell "Confused”
Sixth single from the gold
T.EV.LN. Ip. Produced hv Al
B. Sure and Kyle West it fea
tures background vocals by
Sure!. K-Ci and Jo Jo Hailey.
m
Singles:
CeCe Peniston “Crazy
Love”
Fifth single from the gold
Finally Ip. Producer Daniel
Abraham gives the song a
sound that mirrors Lisa
Stansfield. The track shows
a cool R&B side of Peniston
and will be receiving much
airplay.
much alike and the former use5^theless, Jhe^aJihqnj Js^i^la;cing,
one of the most tired drum
tracks in R&B today. The album
does score with “Precious Mo
ments” and “Day by Day.” They
sound much newer than the
others and remind us that the
group does have something to
offer.
Portrait does not utilize
its talents to the fullest extent.
The lead vocals are not evenly
divided between the members.
Irving Washington leads only
one track when his voice is the
most dynamic in the group.
Portrait may yet have a bright
future, but their debut is far
from picture perfect and they
will have to do much better with
their future projects.
CHANTE’ MOORE
PRECIOUS
SILAS/MCA RECORDS***
piece of material quit4(Mnamend- n^eharts.
able for her first effort.
Hi-Five “Quality Time”
Smash ballad from the
Keep It Coin* On Ip. It is
produced and narrated by
R. Kelly. Little Tony sings
about making time for the
ones we care about. This is
a tune that the ladies will
appreciate. The track is
.Jlestined for the top of the
KWANZAA, from page 1
anitcus and housekeepers,” said
ieshman class pimknt Chrisaian
XiBoise.
Qjodkforacomplete sdieduileon
)age3)
‘'nris is a holiday that can be od-
^lated with family andlhends,’4 said
Fleming. “Its an Afiican-America
loliday that pays tribute to Afiican
leritage, its roots and ridi culture;'
The Campus Echo The Best
News On Campus
TIM MINER
TIM MINER
MOTOWN RECORDS***
For 1992 Louil Silas intro
duces a new label with super
songbird, Chante’ Moore.
Moore was introduced in 1991
Cross Michael McDonald with
Brian McKnight and you’ll come
up with a sound very similar to hot
new Motown recording artist, Tim
Miner.
Miner’s voice is soft but pow
erful and very impressive. He
doesn’t let the softness of his voice
lock him into ballads. Miner’s
uptempos are just as good or bet
ter than his ballads. Miner wrote(oi|
co-wrote), produced, and played
instruments for the entire Ip.
Uptempo tunes “Come and Goi
With Me” and “Make It Rain” are
exceptional jams that bring this
artist much acclaim in the area oi
voice and production. “Come and
Shomari “Let It Be Me
(Say You Love Me)”
The trio that brought us
“If You Feel The Need”
come a little softer with this
tune. Raphael Wiggins of
Tony! Toni! Tone! produced
this one. The vocals are tight
and sweet making this tune
simply irresistible. If the
group’s name was a little
more known the song would
be a guaranteed smash but
Hof Soul The Heart of Ihe
Campus Echo
Look for our next edition
Jan. 14
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If Interested Please
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544-0100
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JLIlDmONS
Paramount Parks, formerly Kings Productions, is holding
auditions for our 1993 season at Paramount's Carowinds in
ChaHolte, North Carolina. A variety of positions are available
including singers, dancers, comic actors, instrumentalists,
technicians, and specially acts of all types! Come join the fun!
The Burner in Town
CD S QUICK SHOP AND GRILL
Call-In and Pick Up Services
Grill Hours Mon-Fri 10 am-9 Pin
Sat 11 atn- 8pm
RALEIGH, NC
Saturday, January 16, 1993
North Carolina State University,
Thompson Theatre
2-3 p.m. Instrumentalists, Technicians
2:30-3:30 p.m. Singers, Dancers,
Specialty Acts, Actors
GREENSBORO, NC
Salurdcy, January 23, 1993
University of North Carolina,
HPERD Building, Dance Theatre
2-3 p.m. Instrumentalists
2- 4 p.m. Singers, Specially Acts,
Actors, Technicians
3- 4 p.m. Dancers
919-682-8067
1619 Fayetteville St.
Breasted Chicken
All Beef Hot Dogs
For additional dates and informotion call:
Paramount's Carowinds 1 -704-588-2606 ext. 2400
Paramount Porks 1 -800-544-5464
PARAMOUNT'S CAROWINDS •
PARAMOUNT’S KINGS DOMINION
PARAMOUNT:?5-:IGREAT AMERICA.
iji'ttPARAMOUMt'S-, KINGS,TSUND.