The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 209

ICR SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1 1992 lOH THE MIAMI HERALD INTERNATIONAL EDITION AT THE MOVIES Shining Through: War saga valentine to the 1940s Sweet -memory piece is marred by several flaws MOVIE REVIEW SHINING THROUGH (R) -kir Cast: Melanie Griffith Michael Douglas Liam Neeson Sir John Gielgud Joely Richardson Director-screenwriter: David Seltzer Producers: Howard Rosenman Carol Baum Cinematographer: Jan De Bont Music: Michael Kamen A Twentieth Century Fox release Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes Violence vulgar language sexual situation By RYAN MURPHY Special to the Herald Shining Through the new film by writer-director David Seltzer (Punchline Lucas) is very much like the lush sweeping sentimental epics that Hollywood churned out during the '40s and as overblown and treacly as any of the patriotic paeans released during those war-torn years America was at war with Japan and Germany when Seltzer trudged off to double matinees as a child It was there in the darkness with Jimmy Stewart and Maureen O'Sul-livan that he fell in love with film As a result Shining Through Seltzer's valentine to the era starring Melanie Griffith and Michael Douglas is more homage than sensible retelling of an old war fable The costumes the hairdos the four-hankie ending the Art Deco sets everything is picture-perfect and designed to goose the memory Unfortunately with all his attention to detail Seltzer has made two mistakes that poke huge holes in and ultimately deflate his glossy memory piece First he has cast Griffith who is completely wrong for the lead part and second he derails the suspense of this thriller with a flashback device that is as unnecessary as it is maddening Shining Through revolves around the blossoming of Linda Voss (Griffith) a half-Jewish working girl from Queens with the ambi- story Most of Isaacs' book takes place in America Seltzer wisely switches the emphasis to the mysterious and suspenseful Berlin Strangely however Seltzer also chooses to tinker unsuccessfully with the story using flashbacks At the beginning of the film we see an elderly Linda being interviewed by the BBC about her exploits in Nazi Germany Cut to the war story Cut back to Griffith in old-lady make-up These "later" scenes in which Linda recounts her heroic cunning are interspersed throughout rendering the suspense of Shining Through impotent A big mistake It's hard to root for a character when you already know she lives to tell the tale Then there's Griffith Her come-hither inflection and good-girl-heartbad-girl-body has juiced up many a film Working Girl and Body Double among them But in Shining Through her breathy baby voice and sexy mannerisms sink many a scene Too vulnerable to be believ-ably tough she comes off as Marilyn Monroe doing The Diary of Anne Frank It would be unfair to say Griffith isn't effective at times for she is One scene involving the revelation of her Jewish cousin's whereabouts is particularly touching But Linda the character is a warrior woman Griffith no matter how hard she tries is nothing but a grown up baby doll tion of a Harvard grad No dumb blond she Linda gradually realizes that her boss lawyer Ed Leland (Douglas) is more than what he says he is "You're a spy Mr Leland" she says licking her red lips like a cat who's cornered a mouse When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor her suspicions are confirmed: Leland is a full-ranking colonel in the Office of Strategic Services When one of his key operatives in Germany is killed by Nazis Linda begs to take his place she hopes to rescue her Jewish relatives in Berlin Leland naturally refuses Then Linda shows up at his door with expertly baked strudel How can he say no? Shining Through is based on Susan Isaacs' best-selling book of the same name but Seltzer has taken several liberties with her DANGEROUS MISSION: Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith are spies inside Nazi Germany in a scene reminiscent of Casablanca serves as a wake-up call: A movie star is born As Linda's best friend focus of a wonderfully evil plot twist she's perfect So perfect in fact that one can only hypothesize how much better Shining Through would have been if she had landed the lead role and Griffith played her in flashback generously throws each and every scene to Griffith She's not so lucky with young actress Joely Richardson daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson and the movie's one and only scene-stealer Gloriously radiant and equally talented Richardson's first appearance in Shining Through She's also too old for the part Linda is supposed to be fresh out of school but nobody seems to have told this to cinematographer Jan De Bont who time and again cruelly closes in on Griffith's time lines and fleshy eye bags As for Douglas he's fine All swagger and tough-guy bravado he Into the Sun offers lots of action but it still can't prevent the yawns Herald movie reviewers rate movies from zero to tour stars Excellent VeryGood Good Vi Worth Seeing Fair Below Average Poor 0 Worthless The reviewers are: Herald movie critic Bill Cosford Juan Carlos Coto Christine Dolen Beth Dunlop Leonard Pitts Kathy Martin Laurie Horn Tananarive Due Hal Boedeker Rene Rodriguez and Ryan Murphy Unless otherwise indicated movies are playing at muitipie theaters OPENING THIS WEEKEND Alan and Naomi (PG) (unreviewed): Lukas Haas and Michael Gross star in this World War II drama in which a 14-year-old Jewish boy's parents insist he befriend a traumatized refugee from Hitler's Europe Into the Sun (R) Don't be fooled by the slick trailer filled with explosions and gunfights this is actually a comedy and a painfully unfunny and unoriginal one at that Anthony Michael Hall plays a pampered Hollywood actor who prepares for his next role by spending time with a gruff let pilot (Michael Pare) Not even an action-filled climax will keep you from yawning Rodriguez (violence vulgar language) Korczak (U) Polish director Andrzej Wajda's Holocaust story a stark tale of one man's attempt to shield Jewish children from the jackboots is a tragedy but a triumph too of the human spirit Wajda has been more subtle than this and more artful but never more stirring First shown at the 1991 Miami Film Festival In Polish with English subtitles Cosford (adult themes) Shining Through (R) Director-writer David Seltzer's film has its moments Obsessed with getting all the details right Seltzer turns this World War II melodrama into an homage to the kind of movies they made in the '40s But the film is deflated by bad casting (lead Melanie Griffith is all wrong) and an unneccessary flashback device that renders the film's suspense factor impotent Highpoint: Joely Richardson as Griffith's best friend A movie star is born Murphy (violence vulgar language sexual situation) Two Evil Eyes (R) (unreviewed): Horror film directors George A Romero Dawn of the Dead) and Dario Argento (Suspiria team up for a gory adaptation of two tales by Edgar Allan Poe starring Harvey Keitel and Adrienne sBlfl 1 By RENE RODRIGUEZ Herald Staff Writer The television ads for Into the Sun show a rapid-fire succession of explosions gunfights swooping jets and aerial dogfights all to the tune of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' vibrant version of Higher Ground It's an effective MTV-slick attention-grabbing trailer for an action-adventure film It's also incredibly misleading Into the Sun is really a comedy or at least it purports to be It follows Tom Slade (Anthony Michael Hall) a young conceited Hollywood actor who decides to prepare for his next role by spending some time with Paul "Shotgun" Watkins (Michael Pare) a gruff Air Force pilot stationed in Sicily Watkins is forced to allow Slade to join him in a routine patrol during which of course they are forced to bail out over enemy territory where they are captured by Middle Eastern bad guys who have decidedly nasty plans for them Into the Sun rips off countless other movies from last year's The Hard Way with Michael Fox and James Woods in the roles of actor and reluctant cop mentor to Top Gun Rambo and just about eery Chuck Norris military action film ever made Every scene is familiar every joke predictable Hall a Brat Packer who made a name for himself early in his career with genuinely comic performances in Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club plays Slade perhaps a little too well: He is truly irritating Playing nerds Hall seemed self-assured and confident in Into the Sun he comes across as smug and conceited a fatal flaw for a comedian He simply isn't funny Pare is better as the by-the-numbers pilot but ever since his feature debut in Eddie and the Cruisers he has played the same stoicgood-hearted but troubled character There's no fun to his performance either he's simply the straight man to Hall's clownish antics You keep wishing he'd lighten up Only Terry Kiser in a small role as Slade's personal manager is any fun to watch Kiser who starred as the lively corpse in Weekend at Bernie's gets all the real laughs "Tom Slade the actor?" someone asks him after he announces Slade's impending visit to the military base "Well let's not push it" he replies "Tom Slade the star" Director Fritz Kiersch manages to make even the action sequences uninteresting the aerial dogfights defy all logic and near the climax become impossible to follow Into the Sun probably would be best enjoyed by kids but the filmmakers have aimed it at adults with plenty of colorful language and violence But by the time the BEFORE THE STORM: Characters played by Anthony Michael Hall left Deborah Moore and Michael Pare party before the action begins finale rolls around with all its fiery explosions and gunplay anyone over the age of 12 will be bored silly Into the Sun isayawner MOVIE REVIEW FIRST RUN INTO THE SUN (R) ing premise of this sci-fi film produced by Ronald Shusett who also gave us Alien and Total Recall Director Geoff Murphy Young Guns II knows how to film action and the futuristic special effects are good but in the end it's just a waste Rodriguez (violence profanity) Fried Green Tomatoes (PG-13) Vj: Oscar-winners Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy are squandered in the modern half of a compelling memory movie about a murder and the enduring friendship of two women in 1930s Alabama Dolen (violence vulgar language) Grand Canyon (R) If this is really Lawrence Kas-dan's answer to his earlier generation study The Big Chill then Kasdan has been through some changes and not pleasant ones either Where Chill was facile and glib Grand Canyon (it's a metaphor for man's insignificance) is somber and almost without hope at least until a wholly unconvincing upbeat ending Still Kasdan makes his points the principal one being that times are tough Danny Glover is first-rate and so is Mary McDonnell Kevin Kline seems uncomfortable but maybe he's supposed to Cosford (vulgar language brief nudity brief violence adult themes) The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (R) What happens when the nanny is obsessed with revenge Annabella Sciorra (Jungle Fever plays a mom who places her trust and her young daughter and infant son in the hands of a woman whose life is dedicated to destroying her Curtis Hanson's thriller is a throwback to the days when filmmakers led by Alfred Hitchcock knew that the key was in the set-up: Create a normal family so the abnormal has something to work on Terrifying then terrifying now Cosford (vulgar language brief nudity violence gore adult themes) Hook (PG) Steven Spielberg meets Peter Pan a long-awaited confluence of forever-young influences and it's predictably lush and buoyant and expensive-looking There's no way Spielberg couldn't have made a good movie of this On the other hand Dustin Hoffman's Capt Hook is more camp than menace and Robin Williams as Pan (now grown up and struggling to recover the memory of his youth) is unsurprising As for Julia Roberts' Tinkerbell you clap your hands in the hope that she'll go away The old Peter Pan was scary and exhilarating this one is just great to look at Cosford (mild vulgar language mock violence) JFK (R) Oliver Stone's takeon the Kennedy assassination is that it was a massive conspiracy involving thousands of plotters at nearly every level of government from Lyndon Johnson to the Dallas Police Department Stone bases his story on some suspect information including the debunked memoirs of former New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison But in the end it doesn't matter whether Stone's particulars are wrong His broader vision his brief for the agonies of his generation is clear and powerful JFK is like a slap to the face You will pay attention You will cry Cosford (vulgar language violence gore adult themes) Juice (R) Spike Lee's director of photography Ernest Dickerson directs his first movie with finesse A fast-paced story about four Harlem teen-agers who take their quest for "juice" or respect and power on the streets too far The cast of newcomers is noteworthy especially Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps Note: Avoid this if you can't stomach gunplay Due (violence vulgar language sexual situations) Kuffs (PG-13) (unreviewed): Christian Slater is a happy-go-lucky high-school dropout until his brother is gunned down in the line of duty and he inherits the family police business Love Crimes (R) Trashy muddled nonthriller about an assistant district attorney (the zombie-like Sean Young) who goes after a sexual con man (Patrick Bergin) Lizzie Borden the director takes 40 whacks at common sense with this cheesy cat-and-mouse story Boedeker (nudity violence vulgar language) The Prince ot Tides (R) Barbra Streisand's lumbering treatment of the Pat Conroy novel is too long and too saccharine by a Carolina mile and it seems entirely too devoted to showing off the director's legs Nick Nolte gives a fine performance (fighting a bad Southern accent at every step) as the head of a troubled South Carolina family who falls for his suicidal sister's therapist That's just the premise folks it only gets weepier from there Cosford (vulgar language violence adult themes) Rover Dangerfield (G) (unreviewed): Rodney Danger-field provides the voice for the title character in this animated tale about a dog who gets no respect Animated Rush (R) Vi: A cautionary tale about drugs and cops and the 70s based on Kim Wozencraft novel about narcs gone bad It's full of dread but not violence it's much more an addiction drama than a big-screen Miami Vice Cosford (vulgar language brief nudity sexual situations adult themesi In Dade: Astor Movies Hialeah in Broward: Margate II Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (PG) This is Trek VI and they say the last If so good news on two counts: The ancient crew is going out with a semi-bang and we won't have them to kick around any more The plot this time: The decline of the Klingon empire (read Soviet communism in this groaning allegory) Highlight: Kim Cat-trail is one foxy Vulcan Cosford (violence) In Dade: Movies Hialeah Kendall 9 in Broward: multiple theaters Palm Beach: Boynton 8 Cross County River Bndge Strangers in Good Company (PG) Documentary filmmaker Cynthia Scott turns the life stones of seven elderly women into languidly paced gold in this tale of resourcefulness and spirit Dolen (no offensive material) Cast: Anthony Michael Hall Michael Pare Deborah Maria Moore Terry Kiser Brian Haley Michael St Gerard Director: Fritz Kiersch Producers: Kevin Kallberg Oliver Hess Screenwriters: John Brancalo Michael Ferris Cinematographer: Steve Grass Music: Randy Miller A Tnmark release Running time: 100 minutes Vulgar language violence A wide variety of films being released VIDEO NEWS The Addams Family (PG-13) Vi: This is not your father's TV sitcom but your grandfather's New Yorker cartoons brought to life by Barry Sonnenfeld a cinematographer (most notably for Joel and Ethan Coen) here making his directorial debut It's Grand Guignol played mainly for atmospherics and droll sight gags and it's no knee-slap-per The weakest elements are the borrowings from the TV show The best? The caricatures by Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston as Gomez and Morticia Cosford (mock violence likely to frighten only the youngest children) At Play in the Fields of the Lord (R) A Peter Mat-thiessen's novel about missionaries coming apart at the seams in Amazonia makes a big canvas for director Hector Babenco (Ironweed Kiss of the Spider Woman and he splashes it with color and visions of tropical rot Still the movie drags too many ideas too little time (three hours just isn't enough but it's also too much of course) Cosford (vulgar language nudity violence) Beauty and the Beast (G) Vi: Disney's latest animated feature is its most beautiful in many years a glorious throwback to the studio's heyday The story on the other hand is a virtual clone of earlier Disney works down to the presence of chipper sidekicks and happy servants all tending to the whims of the aristocratic hero Still it's a bit of magic politically incorrect magic perhaps but splendid sorcery all the same Costord (some animated violence may be too intense for very young children) Billy Bathgate (R) The movie is actually about gangster Arthur Dutch" Schultz (played by Dustin Hoffman in a kind of sustained rage) as seen through the eyes of a boy from the Bronx who wants to follow him into a life of crime It's another of author Doctorow's rich historical conceits (remember Ragtime 7) adapted by writer Tom Stoppard and director Robert Benton It has the feeling of a protect that was waylaid en route to being something bigger but it's sleek and chilling all the same Cosford (vulgar language nudity violence) Bugsy(R)Vi: Warren Beatty as the mobster who invented Las Vegas and Annette Bening as Virginia Hill the Hollywood B-girl who became his obsession Nicely made in every way good script (by the usually florid James Toback) understated direction (from Barry Levinson) first-rate performances by the principals (Beatty's best since Bonnie and Clyde I But it's iust another mob movie At the end wrto cares1 Cosford (vulgar language sexual situations violence) Father of the Bride (PG) He Steve Martin this time (Spencer Tracy played the role four decades ago) and something's missing Invidious comparisons aside (the statute of limitations on remake-bungling ought to be something less than a half -century) there iust doesn't seem as much humor in the situation today Dad doesnt want to lose daughter and he doesn't want to go bankrupt giving her away So7 Don spend $100000 on the wedding and you're halfway there The movie which never allows for this very '90s answer is a throwback all right but not quite far back enough Cosford i mild vulgar language) Freofck (R) An incoherent script and poor acting by stars Emilio Estevez and Mk Jagger sabotage the intrigu than an average Twilight Zone episode Dead Sleep (1991 Vestron $8998 92 minutes) Linda Blair Tony Bonner Thriller: Blair is a nurse who soon comes to suspect that the renowned doctor she works for is hiding a horrible secret The Hitman (1991 Cannon $9299 94 minutes) Chuck Norris Michael Parks Alberta Watson If you're one of those folks who like Chuck Norris you may like this latest outing with Norris investigating crooked cops Otherwise forget it House IV (1991 New Line $8995 94 minutes) William Katt Terri Treas Horror: Yet another sequel to the 1986 laugher House-owner Katt (the star of the original) is now dead after a car crash but from "the other side" he still battles the evil forces threatening his Kmght-Ridder News Service Comedy drama suspense foreign films this week's list of new movies on video has a little of almost everything It's led by a thoughtful look at the British colonial period in Africa New releases include: Hot Shots! (1991 Fox 83 minutes) Charlie Sheen Valerie Golina Lloyd Bridges Cary Elwes Call it Naked Top Gun a spoof of jingo movies with Sheen the hotshot pilot Directed and co-written by Jim Abrahams who was part of the Airplane! and Naked Gun teams but it's nowhere near as funny as its predecessors Bill Cosford (vulgar language) Journey of Hope (1990 HBO $9299 111 minutes) Nec-mettin Cobanoglu Nur Surer Emin Sivas Swiss film about Kurdish refugees trying to enter Switzerland illegally seek to upgrade their lives economically The movie constantly tries to pass off pathos as tragedy and never persuades you that this trip was really necessary Its triumph last year as best foreign film at the Oscars was an absurd injustice to its rivals Life Stinks (1991 MGMUA $9499 91 minutes) Mel Brooks Lesley Ann Warren Jeffrey Tam-bor Brooks is a billionaire who winds up homeless and broke and thereby learns to Be Nice Punch-less and surprisingly well-mannered for a Brooks film Bill Cosford (vulgar language) Mister Johnson (1991 Ves- tron $8998 105 minutes) Pierce Brosnan Edward Woodward May-nard Eziashi As he demonstrated in Driving Miss Daisy Bruce Beres-ford is so adept at drawing us into the perspectives of another time that we begin to understand a world in which bigotry and racial subjugation are perceived as a matter of Christian patriotic duty While not as heavy-handed as some of those works Mister Jnhnson based on Joyce Cary's 1939 novel about the British governor in West Africa is intelligent and perceptive in its treatment and just as critical Mobsters (1991 MCAUniversal 104 minutes) Christian Slater Patrick Dempsey Richard Grieco Costas Mandylor "Young Tommy-guns" is what it is with the formula calling for brat-pack stars in wide lapels and careering sedans this time Still it works the mob is always fuu and Nichlas Sadler as "Mad Dog Col!" would have stolen the picture had Anthony Qumn not made off with it first Bill Cosford (vulgar language brief nudity sexual situations graphic violence) The Vanishing (1988 Fox Lorber $8995 105 minutes) Gene Bervoets Johanna Ter Stegge Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu Although capably made The Vanishing lacks the requisite tautness and polish to make it anything more AT last: WOMEN'S SHOES IN "OVERLOOKED" SIZE: 92-14 SLIM TO WIDE EWE aimwtism nm JU14 onERim hth or us cma ttjn F08 452-981t BETizrE.