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The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 57

Publication:
The Tampa Tribunei
Location:
Tampa, Florida
Issue Date:
Page:
57
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

7-D Art SuppliesPicture Framing New Friedkin film is tasteless, violent "-5 1 I THE TAMPA TRIBUNE. Friday, November 1 1 985 cv.l i7 4 XV Iff Movie Review i 40o-SO 0FF AT OUR HARVEST SALE Friday -Saturday Nov. 1 2 TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. Critic's rating: ir'i (The Tribune rates films from zero to four stars.) Movie board rating: (violence, profanity, nudity, sex) Stars: William L. Petersen, Wil-lem Dafoe, John Pankow Director: William Friedkin Location: (Hillsborough) Britton, Horizon Park, Northdale Court, University Square; (Pinellas) Countryside, Gateway and Tyrone Square Plot summary: Secret Service agents stoop to crooks' level in effort to catch counterfeiters Running time: 116 minutes NALISA A.

FT advertising architectural engineering art supplies custom framing 4524 w. kennedy boulevard tampa, florida 33609 phone (813) 877-4024 or (813) 877-1 153 9-6 p.m. Sat. By BOB ROSS Tribune Film Critic Among the less offensive flaws in "To Live and Die in L.A." is its slightly misleading title. This violent, amoral adventure movie depicts dozens of deaths, but there's precious little living being done.

The unheroic protagonist gets his jollies jumping from bridges with a rope tied to his feet. Otherwise, the characters in this chase-and-shoot fiasco are preoccupied with such distasteful activities as grand theft, murder, hanging out in sleazy bars and double-crossing their colleagues. And those are just the good guys. Indeed, if this bloody, feature-length rock video has a message, it is that professional criminals have stronger ethics than the so-called public servants assigned to catch them. But "To Live and Die in L.A." is not about the realities of nabbing criminals.

Director William Fried-kin seems to be interested only in arousing strong reactions. Suspense, along with shocking and disgusting violence, are his tools, and in that manipulative sense, he succeeds. But the film's non-stop cinematic cheap thrills come at the expense of credibility and taste. The crude plot of "To Live and Die in L.A." has more loose ends than a discarded hair net. The tale revolves around the bridge-jumping Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William L.

Petersen in his film debut). Chance is even more reckless about the law than Popeye Doyle, the hero in Friedkin's Oscar-winning "The French Connection." Chance blackmails informants for information and sexual favors. He violates procedural rules almost gleefully, his foul-ups always making matters worse for the forces of law and order. After an irrelevant prologue with an exploding Arab terrorist, the story begins when Chance's partner and best buddy is caught snooping Willem Dafoe and Debra Feuer are featured in "To Live and Die in LA." UEiY home del istered with firearms at close range. Two features of this movie well-executed, if you'll pardon the THE around the funny-money factory run by world-class counterfeiter Eric Masters (Willem Dafoe, the splendidly ugly villain from "Streets of Masters and his bloodthirsty sidekick Jack (Jack Hoar) resent the intrusion: They graphically splatter Chance's partner and leave his corpse to gather flies in a trash bin.

Naturally, Chance swears vengeance. He unwillingly acquires a new partner, idealistic John Vukovich (John Pankow). John quickly learns that Chance's investigative techniques are not by the book and that his only choices are to go along with corrupt practices or become "a snitch." And, in perhaps the only moral code remaining to these men, a snitch is the lowest form of life. Evil-featured Masters shows more competence and coolness than his enemy does. He lives on a higher level, although that's like saying that a snake lives better than a rat.

Counterfeiter Masters, it turns out, is a frustrated artist. He takes pride in his "play-dough," and he doesn't spread it around promiscuously. He wholesales the stuff at 20 With each new day there dawns a new experience. Begin your morning informed and enlightened, with The Tampa Tribune. call to stage an exciting chase.

His tended auto race through the dry Los Angeles River basin, leading to a wrong-way dash down a crowded Long Beach Freeway, is a true heart-thumper. And, in the growing tradition of modern shoot-'em-ups, Friedkin makes fine use of contemporary music. The sound track, primarily by the group Wang Chung, pumps energetic rhythms into a film that is percent of face value, dealing only with selected clients. In his off hours, Masters works out at an expensive gym. He drives a black Ferrari.

(Shades of "Miami Vice," the rock music-driven success of which has not escaped Friedkin's notice.) Masters' girlfriend-accomplice Bianca (Debra Feuer) is a lithe, provocative professional dancer. By contrast, Chance's favorite liaison is with parolee Ruth Lanier (Darlanne Fluegel), who works as a receptionist in a topless go-go dive. Except for one humorous chase through the L.A. airport, the movie is relentlessly heavy. Subplots include a middleman who rips off his supplier, a hit-man who botches a prison job and a courier who betrays Chance's trust.

For these characters, retribution is vicious, usually admin TRIB rm 272-7422 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE paced like a two-hour MTV selection. "To Live and Die in L.A." contains high levels of adrenaline and absurdity. Those seeking anything deeper in their movies should look eisewnere. Got something to sell? Call Classified 272-7500. Bravo gives film buffs some real treats Bob Ross those who do not subscribe to Bravo (see story above).

On Nov. 16, it's Bortrand Tavernier's "Sunday in the Nov. 23, the highly ac- i i 1 1 r-i i Ha Film 'A naiuicu nusu auau 111111 xuai Lay, about a famous, heroic horse; and on Nov. 30, Tampa Theatre offers the family classic "The Yearling," with Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman. 7 All these Saturday shows start at ft Arimiccinn Ic frao frr TCP Dali's help), his Oscar-winners "Tristana" and "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie," and such acclaimed works as "Diary of a Chambermaid," "Los Olvidados," "The Milky Way" and "That Obscure Object of Desire." Imagine seeing (or taping) 11 Bunuel films and a one-hour Bunuel biography, all from Nov.

17 to 21 (with some films repeated once or twice during the month). It's a film fanatic's dream. Bunuel (and Bravo) would bomb if forced to compete for ratings in the mass market. So say what you will about Tampa Cable: Its el-cheapo remote control units are inconvenient. Its switching system renders cable-ready TVs and VCRs useless.

But at least It's among the 232 cable companies in the United States that offer this movie-lovers' channel. Bravo for Bravo. Full Service Eye Exams by Qualfied Eye Specialists. members, and $2.75 buys you "a monthly membership. Children 13 and under get in for $1.

Making movie magic The PBS series "Nova" visits -movie-land this week with a one- hour program titled "The Magic of Special Effects." The show examines such complex cinematic trickery as the intergalactic battle la "Return of the Jedi," the mine chas? scene in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and the space-' walk sequence in "2010." As Tampa Cable slowly spreads its electronic web, local film fans are gradually getting chances to see uncut movies on the tube. There's a price, of course each pay channel costs about $10 monthly over the basic cable rate. To a film buff, most of the available "premium" channels Showtime, Home Box Office, Clnemax, Home Theater Network and The Movie Channel have limited appeal. Most of their programs are mainstream Hollywood releases that have played local theaters within the last year and have already been on videocassette for several months. These services also tend to duplicate each other's feature schedules.

When, for example, "City Heat" arrives on pay TV this month, it will be shown on all five of the channels mentioned above, for a total of 23 airings. No matter how much one adores Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, a single viewing of "City Heat" is ample. So when the white truck finally hooked this film fan's hovel into the cable system three weeks ago, he was pleasantly surprised by Bravo, the most obscure offering among pay channels. Bravo is the smallest of Tampa Cable's premium channels in terms of public awareness, number of subscribers (350,000 nationwide, compared to 14.5 million for HBO) and broadcast hours (it's only on from 7:30 p.m. until 6 a.m., with a 5 p.m.

start on weekends). But for a movie lover who thirsts for material not available elsewhere, that station numbered "61" is a bright spot on NO LINES IN YOUR BIFOCALS! Make you look and see better. For eye exams, INVISIBLE SCOOO call for appt. BIFOCALS D9hh.) Offer good these PROGRESSIVE $nQ00 location only INVISIBLE 39lknNt tw 13 Daily Wear Extended Wear Contacts Large Selection of Fashion Frames Lenses Eye Exams the tuner. (On Clearwater's Vision Cable system, it's Channel 32.

Other local cable systems, including Group do not yet offer Bravo.) Tonight, for example, Bravo begins the month with the television premiere of "A Nos Amours," one of France's finest films of 1983. A November series of "famous lives on film" includes biographies of Lola Montes (directed by Max Ophuls), Oscar Wilde, Brigltte Bardot, Oskar Schindler and the great dancer Nljinsky. (Granted, "Nijinsky" wasn't such a hot movie, but it does fit into the concept.) Local audiences have not had a chance to see the restored, 4 -hour version of Abel Gance's silent masterpiece "Napoleon." Bravo subscribers get three chances to catch it this month. But this month's pieces de resistance are a set of 12 programs erroneously titled "The Complete Bun-uel." The festival is hardly a complete set of the Spanish master's works: Among the missing titles are "L'Age d'Or" "Robinson Crusoe" and "Viridlana." But the schedule includes Bun-uel's surrealistic, 17-minute debut, "Un Chien Andalou" (made with The program airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on WEDU, Channel 3.

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877-9405 Movie music, Celtic style This month, WUSF (89.7 FM) is offering a Saturday night series called "Thistle and Shamrock," devoted to the music of Scotland, Ireland. Wales and other Celtic ml- Tampa Theatre treats The Tampa Film Club offers a splendid selection of Saturday night movies this month, starting this weekend with "Allonsanfan," the 1974 comic melodrama by Paola and Vlttorio Tavianl. Marcello Mas-troiannl stars as an aristocrat who isn't sure where his loyalties lie after Napoleon's empire collapses. The Tavianl brothers also made "Padre, Padrone" and "The Night of the Shooting Stars," so "Allonsanfan" sounds promising. The rest of TFC's Saturday night specials this month are: "A Nos Amours" on Nov.

9 especially for 7851 N. 56th ST. 985-2498 Spanish spoken here tures. The first show In the series is devoted to Celtic music of "Stage and Screen." The series runs all month, Saturdays at 8 p.m. TY-Oes em tbe llsme! ANNUAL FACTORY DIRECT (0N LY NOVEMBER 1,2, 3 Z3 i Z7 1,.

1 0 Jfjh, Am-o km 3 We Do Not Normally Sell To The Public. This Is A3 Day Only Sale 3420 W. MAIN 2 Blocks East of Dale Mabry 275 (Behind The Old Montgomery Word Shopping Center) 877-7913 ALL SALES FINAL "AS IS" Enter the Quincy Limerick Contest tad us all live lines the poem In the Quincy Limerick Content and we'll send one Grand Prise Winner en a Caribbean Cruise for two send Eighty-eight Winners IOO each! Here's how It worksi Watch lor the limerick line that appears on your screen during Quincy, weekdays on V-i from 1:00 to iOO. You'll see the first line Monday, the second Tuesday and so on. After Friday's show, you'll know all five lines.

Mall the complete limerick on a postcard with your name, address and telephone number toi Quincy Limerick Contest, P.O. Box S8S, Tampa, Ft 9301. It must be received by p.m. Tuesday, November 11, if or 14 to qualify for the preceding week's contest. Don't fluff your lines! need all five to be eligible to win.

The first correct card drawn at random gets the grand prise, with the nest eighty-eight entries drawn each receiving Sioo. There's new limerick, with a new ehance to win, every week lor three weeks. We're laying big cash and prises on the line (seen on Quincy every Monday through Friday). Don't miss It! 1st COME, 1st SERVED ON SELECTIONS! INVENTORY REDUCTIONS OVER-RUNS CANCELLED ORDERS ODD LOTS HUNDREDS OF PIECES TO CHOOSE VARIETY OF COLORS STYLES MATCHING SETS or INDIVIDUAL PIECES STRAPPED or CUSHIONED DISTINl T1VF. CtlsTFMrNTftANY IX ABLE HANIX RAP IMXK OCTIKK FURNISHINGS VVtnrg will rtoftwj tft wrfftno hy WXH Lit of w' wiM prwtexl VVXFL toWy W'nri rMpnrwhw any eVXl taiga) WKfL-Tv McfsejneytfBfoe) Qroupor NATIONAL MANUFACTURER OF TOP QUALITY OUTDOOR CASUAL FURNITURE fw eXTvevhejoo aoanciM awe noi Wynea irmti mi ifl yeta'i of age OKtor I gMssngfl EnfraWt Intrant wnart proTMOWKj t)y iw ire tm' houirt pew.

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Pages Available:
4,474,263
Years Available:
1895-2016