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Intensity Fizzles Down
At End of'Engagement'
Bv Lindsey Zlckerman
Staff Writer
In like a lion, out like a lamb. At least
that is how “Rules of Engagement”
works. While the film’s early scenes in
Vietnam and modern-day Yemen
depict intense batdes, the film eventual-
ly fades to a
sedate, lacklus
ter ending.
Although
“Rules of
Engagement”
has some defi-
Movie Review
"Rules of Engagement”
fit
nite flaws, it also provokes interesting
thoughts about the fine line between
right and wrong in the heat of battle.
Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel
L. Jackson, the film follows the after
math of a mission gone wrong.
The film begins in a 1968 battle in
Vietnam, where Terry Childers
(Jackson) saves Hays Hodges (Jones).
The movie then moves to the present,
where Col. Childers goes to Yemen to
protect an embassy. When the protest
outside the embassy turns violent and
three Marines die in action, he orders
his men to open fire on the crowd.
To avoid a diplomatic crisis, the U.S
government charges Childers with the
murder of the 83 Yemen men, women
and children killed during the incident.
The rest of the film follows the events
surrounding Childers’ court martial,
where his old friend Col. Hodges
defends him.
The plot of the film fails to tackle
many of the underlying emotional
issues. Childers’ single-minded dedica
tion to the Marine Corps, the National
Security Advisor’s cover-up and the
bond between Childers and Hodges
could all have produced fodder for a
film with more emotional depth.
Nevertheless, the interesting ethical
issues, impassioned acting and powerful
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imagery make the film entertaining,
even if not profound.
Both Jones and Jackson lend the film
subtlety and passion as actors. The
mundane script could have made both
main characters come off as cardboard
stoics, but the men’s acting talent saves
the film from this failure. Jones imbues
his character with an underlying sad
ness for his shortcomings as a soldier
and lawyer without seeming pathetic.
Jackson’s steely gaze and powerful
voice suggest the seething anger his
wronged character feels.
The not-so-subtle imagery of the film
contributes to its impact. In the bloody
moments after the Vietnam and Yemen
battle scenes and the overwhelming
sound of flies buzzing suggests death
and gore. This unsettling noise reminds
how vulgar death can be. A severely
injured Yemen girl seen multiple times
during the film serves as a symbol of the
havoc Childers caused.
The biggest failing of the film is its
unimpassioned ending. The courtroom
battle, while intriguing, does not possess
the same intensity as die rest of the film.
When the court martial ends, “Oh” is a
more likely reaction than “Wow.”
“Rules of Engagement” is no “A Few
Good Men” or “Platoon.” But even
without the consistent drama of these
other films, “Rules of Engagement”
entertains with its talented cast and
thought-provoking issues.
. p .
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
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DIVERSIONS Movies
All-Star Cast Drives Complex 'Black and White'
By Dave Povill
Staff Writer
In “Black and White,” writer-director
James Toback examines certain white
people’s obsession with hip-hop culture.
Actually, Toback does much more than
that, creating a
fascinating, if
somewhat
complicated
story that real
ly examines
the universal
Movie Review
“Black and White”
human struggle for identity.
Film-critic speech aside, the movie is
really amazing. With all its flaws, of
which there are a few, “Black and
White” still comes off as a freshly sharp
piece of work.
The movie has come under consider-
Driver, Duchovny Make 'Return' Sappy but Satisfying
By Ferris Morrison
Staff Writer
Alright ladies, the fantasy has finally
come to life - David Duchovny in con
struction gear!
Well, maybe not the whole fantasy,
but Duchovny does don a construction
helmet in his
latest movie,
“Return to
Me”
Starring
opposite
Minnie Driver,
H| Movie Review
“Return to Me”
iff
Duchovny plays Bob Rueland, a con
tractor who loses his wife in a car acci
dent. After a year of mourning, he final
ly meets Grace Briggs (Driver), a wait
ress and heart transplant recipient. Little
do they know that Briggs received the
heart of Rueland’s deceased wife.
Director and writer Bonnie Hunt
filled her screenplay with witty humor
and comical scenarios that kept the
audience laughing out loud.
Although she has had numerous act
ing roles in films such as “The Green
Mile,” “Kissing a Fool” and “Random
Hearts,” “Return to Me” marks Hunt’s
first significant film direction. Hunt also
plays Grace’s friend and confidante.
Driver, as always, plays her role with
charm and grace. While it’s a little hard
to believe that a heart transplant recip
ient could be so spunky, Driver lights
up the screen as a woman that doesn’t
seem to have a single character flaw.
JAKOB
THE UAR—"'®|
Friday @ 10:00pm 'Jb
Saturday @ 7:3opm
FREE with UNC
All movies shown in Carolina Union Auditorium. |
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able criticism for its winding, fragment
ed, convoluted story. In all honesty, the
movie is not hard to follow at all until
the last five minutes.
Admittedly, those last five minutes
throw you for some serious loops. But
anyone who has trouble following the
main story is probably sleeping or just
can’t get past the white characters’
painful attempts at speaking “Ebonics.”
What may confuse you is the sheer
number of characters, who all smack of
eerie familiarity. At times, it seems as
though the entire world has been cast in
this movie.
Critical roles are played by Oli
“Power” Grant and Corey “Raekwon”
Woods of Wu-Tang, Bijou Philips,
Robert Downey Jr., Brooke Shields, Ben
Stiller, Elijah Wood, Jared Leto, Marla
Maples, Claudia Schiffer and even Mike
Duchovny, far from his role on “The
X-Files,” convincingly presents Rueland
as a bashful good ol’ boy. While it might
be his enigmatic mind that makes “X-
Files” fans swoon, his role as Rueland
makes him utterly charming. Besides,
there’s nothing cuter than a man who is
completely enamored by a woman.
This definitely isn’t a film for the cyn
ical. “Return to Me” has every element
of the family movie - kids, dogs and
corny jokes. It did go a little overboard
with sappy stuff, like scenes of Rueland
crying mixed with flashbacks of his
wife. But the joke-filled plot helped the
audience move quickly past those
scenes to the movie’s brighter moments.
Sorry, boys, but there’s no cursing,
sex or violence. It sounds dull, but
there’s something charming about a
movie that can entertain a crowd with
out any of those elements.
Overall, the movie was a lightheart
ed story about love and what it takes to
find love again after you lose it.
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RETURN TO ME
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Tyson, just to name a few.
Essentially, the plot looks something
like this. Rich Bowers (Grant) is a thug
tumed-rapper who is trying to ditch his
criminal ways and make it legitimately.
His friend Dean (Houston) is a college
basketball player who gets blackmailed
by Luke (Stiller) into ratting on Rich.
Meanwhile, Charlie (Philips) and her
gang of privileged upper-crust white
teen groupies hang all over Rich and his
crew while filmmaker Sam (Shields)
makes a documentary about them and
Sam’s gay husband (Downey Jr.) fawns
over every man within a 20-mile radius.
So maybe it is a little bit complicated.
But it’s all woven together intricately,
although somewhat unrealistically.
What’s more, with this hodgepodge
of actors and non-actors, Toback man
ages to get many stellar performances.
Girls, don’t bother trying to get your
boyfriends to go to this one. You’ll enjoy
it more if you can watch it with your
girlfriends, drooling over Duchovny and
Crook’s—
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Robert Downey Jr., for one, is wonder
ful, even as he’s getting smacked around
by Mike Tyson, who plays himself
impressively as a tormented soul just try
ing to stay out of jail (although that prob
ably wasn’t much of a stretch for him).
Toback also plays around with the
camera, at times making the film look
like a Hype Williams video, then switch
ing to a Hitchcock-esque technique.
The film’s only major flaw is the end
ing, which obviously can’t be discussed
in too much detail, albeit to say it was a
bit of a cop-out.
Beyond that, “Black and White” is an
incredibly fun joyride through the world
of hip hop that even manages to carry
with it a message.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
swooning over a clever love story.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
7