Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 23

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC SCARE SHOW Tales from the Hood is a creative attempt to solve the horror movie's commonest problem: repetition. C3. TELEVISION Violinist Sarah Chang solos with the New York Philharmonic at 13. C5. I FIE WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 1995 Editor, Dave Michaels, 271-8123 demichaol.com (Internet) 2 Graduation parties keep seniors safe 1 II Mel Gibson scores major coup with saga of 'Braveheart' By Bob Fenster The Arizona Republic It hardly seems fair that an actor as talented and popular as Mel Gibson should also turn out to be a brilliant director.

But in only his second film behind the camera, Gibson (who also has the starring role) has crafted a historical epic, Braveheart, that stands tall among the biggest and the best: Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur, 1 xry Mel Gibson is riding high as Scottish hero William Wallace. Braveheart, which Gibson also directed, ranks among the best of filmdom's historical epics. ElCid. As an accurate depiction of a pivotal moment in history, Braveheart stands even taller. There will be some film critics who, not understanding history, will not understand Gibson's epic achievement.

But how many filmmakers have ever stayed as true to history as Gibson while turning those events into MOVIE REVIEW BRAVEHEART Director: Mel Gibson Cast: Mel Gibson, Patrick McGoohan Rated Dynamite -kirkirk Very Good -A- Worth Seeing irkir So-So kk Bomb such a powerful picture? In addition, Gibson has had the vision to bring to the screen one of history's greatest stories, the remarkable life of the Scottish hero William Wallace. The saga of Wallace and the Scottish rebellion of the late 13th century marks the rise of democracy and the common man's first strike against the power of monarchy, which culminated 500 years later in the American Revolution. The son of a Scottish farmer, Wallace (Gibson) as a boy learns the harsh lessons of English treachery as the sly, dangerous King Edward I (Patrick McGoohan) usurps the Scottish throne and subjugates the Scots. When Wallace returns as a grown man to claim his family farm, he is not looking for trouble, but he cannot avoid it either. Without support from the duplici-tous Scottish nobles, Wallace leads a ragged army of commoners in revolt against the English king.

Outnumbered and out-armed, the Scots face the combination of English longbows and heavy cavalry, against which no infantry has ever stood. How Wallace battles the English See MEL, page C3 By Julie Newberg The Arizona Republic Graduation night is not a good time to die. It is a time to celebrate, yet drunken driving has made high-school graduation a deadly event for teens closing a chapter of their lives and moving on to new challenges. Some Valley schools are taking the alcohol monster by the horns, however, throwing way-cool dusk-to-dawn parties without drink or drugs. Marcos de Niza High School graduates in Tempe will take over Arizona State University's Memorial Union after they do the cap-and-gown thing Thursday.

"They're locked in all night long," said Nancy Bowen, chairwoman of the school's graduation night. "It's basically to offer them an opportunity to gather with their friends for the last time in a safe environment that is drug- and alcohol-free." Grads will have little chance of developing a case of boredom, with dinner waiting upon arrival and any number of things to do, such as bowling, watching movies, playing video games and having a caricature drawn or a fortune read. Prizes are awarded throughout the evening, with the really good stuff a television, videocassette recorder and stereo saved until last. Parents worked with a budget of $16,000 to $18,000 to put the party on, Bowen said. Bowen's son, senior Steve Culbertson, got a taste of these kinds of parties when he helped out last year and watched the video afterward.

"It looked really cool," he said. "There's so much to do. You can't really be by yourself." Staying sober is a wise choice for graduating seniors, said senior Steve "Chato" Carrillo, who wants to "just chill with all the boys" during his last night with the graduating class. "I think it's a lot better than going to a regular party," Carrillo said. don't want to see any of my friends getting hurt doing something really stupid." Tempe's Corona del Sol High School graduates will be boarding buses for a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, after their ceremony Thursday.

A night on the bus will be followed by a day at the amusement park. 'We had lost control' But what parents thought would be a shoo-in event with graduates wasn't necessarily. About 230 graduates from a class of 400 are going on the trip. "There were a lot of kids that felt like they would have more fun going to Kiwanis (Park)," said Corona del Sol PTA President Cassandra Olmstead. "Some of the kids did not want to spend their graduation night on a bus." PTA-sponsored parties at Kiwanis Park in Tempe had gotten out of hand, with teens drinking and sneaking in and out.

Insuring the event also had become a problem. "We had lost control of the kids," Olmstead said. "You're supposed to be keeping them safe and off the streets." The California trip is also more expensive about $10,000 plus an individual $30 charge than the Kiwanis celebration, which cost about $8,000 plus a $25 fee charged to students. PTA members raise the dough necessary to put on the party through such activities as selling concessions at school sporting events, holding garage sales and selling hams. Some Corona graduates have decided they'd rather hustle the night away at a "trash disco" party held at a student's home instead of going to the amusement park.

The disco party is an organized, chaperoned affair that will lock the teens in until the wee morning hours, said graduating senior TC Ulman. Yet keeping teens in wonlt stop some people from drinking beforehand, she said. "People will drink before they go there and probably drive there drunk," Ulman said. "I think (parties) would work a lot better if adults accepted the fact that teenagers do drink." Among other celebrations: Mountain Pointe graduates are renting out Castles 'n Coasters for a night of rides, miniature golf, casino games, sumo wrestling, dancing and karaoke on Thursday. Grand prizes awarded at the end of the evening are a color TV and a trip to Disneyland for two people, said Grad Night com- See GRADUATION, page CS M5r Andrew Cooper Francine Reed wants you to love her 1st album Francine Reed has returned to Phoenix to get together with friends and family and celebrate the upswing in her career.

r. didn't put Wild Women on it, oh my So I put it on." She chuckled. "Besides, I love the song, and so many people here are so used to thinking of me as a wild woman." How so? "Wild is wild," she said. "It's stepping on the outside and doing something that you don't normally do but only for just a little while." Reed has returned to Phoenix to celebrate the album's release on the Atlanta-based label with a party Friday at the Blue Note in Scottsdale. It's not a rare visit.

After all, her mom and most of her family, including sibling performers Margo, Michael and Bucko Reed (who'll be backing her up Friday as part of the Reed-Homan Project), are based here. "Every time I come back here it's like a big homecoming, because there's always some people I didn't see the time before," she said. So the album-release party is both a commercial tool (she'll sign CDs and talk to fans) and a chance to renew old acquaintances. "I'll just sing the first two sets for sure," she said. "It's my party, and I keep reminding my- 5eeREED, pageC3 By Salvatore Caputo The Arizona Republic Singer Francine Reed used to dream of having an album in stores nationwide.

With the recent release of Want You to Love Me on Ichiban Records, that dream came true. "It's everything I hoped and then some," Reed said. "It's still kind of new for me. It still amazes me every time I hear my song played or every time I see it in the record store or something like that." However, Reed is no rookie. She was an entertainment fixture here for 18 years before moving to Atlanta three years ago.

As part of the Phoenix scene, she was among a coterie of Valley musicians who hooked up with singer-songwriter Lyle Lov-ett when he recorded his first album in Scottsdale. She recorded with Lovett (and later with Delbert McClinton) and enjoyed featured-vocalist status in his road show, including TV appearances on The Tonight Show. In Lovett's show, she usually did her tour-de-force signature tune Wild Women Don't Get the Blues, a number that a legion of Phoenix fans see as an indispensable part of any Francine Reed set, and she has included it on the album. "Too many people would say, 'Ahh! You iV'-v i COMING UP Dig bucks A Phoenix nightspot lets patrons test their mettle by bull riding real bulls. Thursday in Life.

IF YOU GO Francine Reed To hear excerpts from Want You to Love Me, call WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday. if PRESSUNE at 271-5656 and push 2240. WHERE The Blue Note, 8708 E. McDowell Road, Scottsdale.

ADMISSION: $5 at the door (946-6227). Restaurant critic Penelope Corcoran Is on assignment. Victoria BucknerThe Arizona Republic iji i ii i.