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Costner Dances toward Oscars
Directorial debut worthy of length
b Flo
The Collegian
Dances With Wolves has all
the makings of a Western: a
decorated Civil War hero, Lt.
John Dunbar (Kevin Costner),
volunteers for a deserted post on
the Mid-Western frontier of 1863
America. Sioux indians and the
U. S. cavalry have violent
battles, with more and more land
taken by the White man.
But this is where the
similarities between the Westerns
of old and Dances end. This is
Costner's first attempt at
directing a full length movie and
is based on the novel and
subsequent screenplay by Michael
Blake.
"I avoided the studios because
I needed final cut, at least two and
a half hours, and subtitles. All
of which spells death for them,"
said Costner about the artistic
freedom he enjoyed while creating
Dances.
The beginning of the film
shows the traditional allegiances
the White man has had with
cowboys, the cavalry and "John
Wayne" like characters. Paving
the way for civilization and
society, these frontiersmen view
the indians as savage beasts,
anxious to scalp, pilage and
destroy the White man's world
Dunbar meets with the Sioux
holy man, Kicking Bird (Graham
Home Alone succeeds in spite
of corny script
Young actor ingeniously defends his home
b Christi Luden
The Collegian
What would you do if you
were a young boy accidentally
left behind while your family
flies off to Paris?
Party? Panic? Protect
yourself?
Smart-mouthed kid Kevin
McCallister (Macaulay Culkin)
does all of the above and more in
Home Alone.
After being ridiculed by every
member of his family, Kevin
wishes they would all go away.
He'd have a much better life by
himself.
In a rush to get to the airport
Kevin's family forgets about him
and leaves him behind. When
Kevin awakens to realize his
wish has come true, he begins
his single life.
Kevin's new life revolves
around junk food, movies, and
jumping on the beds. Life is as
good as he dreamed until... The
Possessed Basement, The Killer
that Lives Next Door, and The
Wet Bandits step into his perfect
world.
Green), and the two awkwardly
attempt to communicate, which
eventually leads to Dunbar's
introduction into the tribe as a
neighbor and friend.
The scene showing seven
indians standing around with tin
coffee cups as Dunbar grinds the
coffee beans is hilarious.
Director Costner effectively
builds the story line so that we
Although this is a
long film, the
scenes mesh
together, full of
discoveries and
excitements
are curious about what is
happening with this intercultural
relationship. Although this is a
long film, all of the scenes mesh
together, full of discoveries and
excitements. Having the audience
identify with Dunbar and then
with the indians eventually
exposes the White man for who
is: "A people without value and
without soul," says Dunbar.
Most of the White man's
Kevin's boyhood fear of the
dark and dreary basement comes
alive when he must face it alone.
The evil furnace snapping on and
off and the clanging of it's metal
jaws is enough to send anyone
racing up the stairs to safety.
Then, while taking a walk,
Kevin comes face to face with his
next-door neighbor, the Snow
Shovel Killer. Throughout the
movie he has confrontations with
this "psychopath" until a meeting
in church sets them both at ease.
Finally, the Wet Bandits come
to Kevin's neighborhood. The
thieves strike one house, then
turn to the cream of the crop - the
McCallisters'.
Kevin learns of their plans and
holds them off for two nights
with ingenious plans. When the
men finally realize the boy is
home alone, they find it amusing
and think it will be quite easy to
take advantage of the situation.
Little do they know...
Kevin is preparing for his full
scale defense attack complete
with toy cars, Christmas
ornaments, water, an iron, and a
blow torch. He successfully
The Collegian
violence against the indians is in
the name of land, travel and trade,
but sometimes just for the
pleasure. Dunbar's reversal of
loyalties made this filmgoer
disgusted at our ancestors'
senseless genocide of an
honorable people.
By the end of the movie, it is
the bond between Dunbar and the
Sioux which erodes the White
man's stereotypes of the
American indian and likewise for
the Sioux.
Dunbar reflects on the
friendship with the indians:
"Nothing about these people is
correct. They are not beggars and
thieves. They are not the boogey
man. These people are so eager
to laugh, so dedicated to family
that only word comes to mind:
Harmony."
The Sioux fight because they
are struggling to preserve their
culture in the face of the
imposing White man.
Not enough can be said about
the performances of the cast,
mostly made of unknowns,
except for Costner. Many wide
angle shots really give an
accurate picture of the western
frontier, which gives credence to
seeing Dances while it is still in
the movie theatres.
Dances is a compelling and
entertaining film; one worthy of
honor during the Oscar
nominations.
maims and captures the robbers
before his mother arrives home
for Christmas.
This comedy isn't as funny as
it's been made out to be. Culkin,
who was hilarious in Uncle
Buck, does a great job with what
he's got to work with. His
deviousness and his innocence
combine well to bring the
character of Kevin McCallister to
life.
Director John Hughes has
interjected a few corny scenes that
make the film less funny than it
could have been. Close-up shots
of Kevin screaming and flailing
his arms aren't so funny after the
first time around. The inclusion
of John Candy, a Polka band
member who drives a frantic Mrs.
McCallister home to her son, is
also a bit stupid.
As a whole, the movie is
average. The main comedy theme
got bursts of laughter at times,
while the meaning of Christmas
is also brought out. Kevin helps
his "killer" neighbor find his
family again and the McCallisters
realize they all love each other no
matter what.
Ratt uninspired on
Detonator
b Jon Flick
The Collegian
Rau's latest release, Detonator
(Atlantic Records), is good - not
great, but good. It contains some
hot tracks and excellent guitar
work. The band is trying to steer
away from their original heavy
sound toward a lighter, easier
feel. Most of those songs come
across quite well, but a couple are
musical cliches.
I recommend borrowing the
album from a friend before
running to the record store.
"Shame Shame Shame" gives
the album a promising start. This
track has the distinctive Ratt
sound, with strong rhythm and
percussion featuring Bobby
Blotzer.
The band's current hit, In my opinion, Ratt is an
"Lovin' You's A Dirty Job", is excellent band. This album
another tune which keeps the brilliantly displays their talent.
Ratt style, and serves as an However, listening to the band
awesome showcase for Warren perform those uninspiring songs
DiMartini's lead guitar talent. is almost like listening to
Unfortunately, Detonator has another cover version of
a couple of uninspiring songs "Dancing In The Street".
that lower the overall quality of I've heard better albums from
the album. "Scratch That Itch" Ratt, and I think there are better
was a letdown for me. If Stephen ones coming. Right now,
Pearcy had not sung this track, I Detonator merely fills the time
would have guessed that Skid gap between Reach For The Sky
Row or maybe Slaughter had (Atlantic, 1989) and some future
performed it, and that isn't like release.
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Another loser in my book is
"Heads I Win, Tails You Lose."
Even Jon Bon Jovi's • backup
vocals didn't help this song,
which I wish I could throw away
like a Milli Vanilli record simply
because it lacks an original
sound.
Three nice surprises found
their way onto this album. "One
Step Away" uses a classic hard
rock rhythm, and the result
sounds beautiful. "Hard Time"
has a beat reminiscent of a
younger Ratt, like on the 1985
release Invasion of Your Privacy
(Atlantic). Pearcy briefly brings
his voice down an octave in
"Givin' Yourself Away", a lovely
slow tune.