Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 25

4C DETROIT FREE PRESS. FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1994 'Shadow' doesn't know if it's spoof or thriller TOP 10 MOVIES For weekend of June 24-26 1. The Lion King (G) Locations Gross: $40.9 million The Shadow 5. The Flintstones (PG) Locations Gross: $6.1 million ttp311 6. City SUckers II (lG-13) Locations Gross: $4.6 million 7.

Mawrick (PG) Locations Gross: $3.6 million firGetting Even VTth Dad (PG) Locations Gross: $3.1 million 1.955 9. Renaissance Man (PG-13) A Gross: $1.9 million 10. The Cowboy Way (PG-13) Locations Gross: $1.3 million ttl 1,043 ft 1 mi mi ma ii 2. Speed (R) Locations Gross: $12.4 million 2,103 Slii 3. Won (R) Locations Gross: $12.1 million fag .1 4.

Wyatt Earp (PG-13) Locations Gross: $7.5 million Source: Associated Press By, Frank Brum Free Press Movie Critic 3 latest but undoubtedly not the last superhero to arrive on film, "The Shadow" shows up exquisitely attired but with no charm or spark. It looks great, and that's pretty much the end of it. Alec Baldwin stars as the mythic crime fighter first created for radio in "the 1930s, then given subsequent lives in pulp novels and comic books. can vanish at will, mesmerize people with his voice and creep into their minds to eavesdrop on their thoughts. He has foot soldiers all around New York City, each wearing a special red ring.

They send messages to him through an intricate network of pneumatic tubes that feed into his secret headquarters. This is vintage secret-agent stuff, but "The Shadow" doesn't manage to find much fun in it Nor does it find much suspense in its broadly rendered plot about the last descendant of Genghis Khan (John Lone) coming to New York City to begin his conquest of the globe. Must these villains always threaten all of mankind? Can't we have a superhero movie in which a mere Girl Scout troop or busload of senior citizens hangs in the balance? 1 Rated PG-13; fairly graphic violence. 4: Outstanding 3: Worthy effort 2: So-so 1: A bomb really interesting to do with Penelope Ann Miller, introduced early on as a potential love interest for Baldwin, then left for the most part to wander around in fabulous dresses and boas that sweep the floor. Even for archetypes, the characters in "The Shadow" are uniquely thin and uninteresting, doing nothing to draw you into the story.

Toward the end, when a big, round atomic bomb rolls toward Miller like a bowling ball homing in on a pin, you're not sure whether you're supposed to be laughing or biting your nails. You feel more like crying for your lost time. As a consolation, "The Shadow" offers eye-popping art deco sets, coat-racks of period costumes, and moody, kinetic cinematography. It glistens like a shiny toy one that turns out to be broken. (WHEN IN ORLANDO VISIT UNIVERSAL ONLY IN THE FREE PRESS HGuindon H'Shoe If a character has special powers, count on someone to describe them aloud, as when Baldwin marvels of Khan: "He's hypnotized the entire city!" That line would look fitting in a bubble over a comic strip's character head but just sounds silly here.

The jokes are bad and inserted in strange places, lending a tongue-in-cheek aspect to "The Shadow" that never meshes with its chaotic, tedious action sequences and copious special effects. Koepp and director Russell Mul-cahy also never figure out anything 11 in the Metropolitan Detroit area. Call 222-6500 tor convenient home delivery. 1 if Mine iKiii-Meiito Sing 'Indiana Jones The Shadow' is a spellbinding, runaway entertainment ride." The Shadow' Will Astonish most dazzling looking movie since 'Go Fish' is tender look at lesbian romance (C ih Alec Baldwin plays the mysterious superhero in "The Shadow." I suppose not, because exaggeration is the essence of this genre. But dopiness isn't, and "The Shadow" wallows in it.

The screenplay by David Koepp, the hot young talent behind "Jurassic Park," "Carlito's Way" and "The Paper," is inexplicably clunky this must be one he tossed off on a lark. It conveys information in obvious, unimaginative ways. If a character's history is important, count on the character to announce it, as when Khan bluntly spells out his lineage and intentions. Guinivere Turner, left, and V.S. Brodie play two women whose romance gradually blossoms in "Go Fish." Go Fish 3 Unrated; lesbian sex scenes.

4: Outstanding 3: Worthy effort 2: So-so 1: A bomb "Go Fish" does a terrific job of capturing the diversity of the lesbian community in a big city such as Chica go, where the story is set, without seeming even remotely like a self-conscious primer on gay women. Indeed, this is a film made from the inside out. Rose Troche, its director, is lesbian, as is Guinevere Turner, who cowrote the screenplay with Troche and stars as Max. They initially assumed the low- budget "Go Fish" would play in very brief, very limited release to gay audi' ences, but the enthusiastic reception for it at the Sundance Film Festival early this year gave it a larger and longer life. To be sure, it's not for everyone.

Its candor will unsettle some filmgoers, while others will be put off by its artsy pretensions, including stylized cut away shots of tops spinning, water falling or limbs entwining. Nonetheless, "Go Fish" provides a refreshing, welcome alternative to movies that treat homosexuality pri marily as a political issue and carry a pointed message. This quiet, witty charmer doesn't feel any need to justify or validate its characters. It totally unencumbered and therefore genuinely progres sive. and Special Events presented by: BY FRANK BRUM Free Press Movie Critic If only for its candid and knowing look at lesbian lives, "Go Fish" would be a noteworthy film.

But it goes one better than that. It's also witty and, in the end, subtly heartwarming, a lurching-toward-love story for anyone who's ever felt a romantic matter what kind, and not known how to proceed with it. "Go Fish" reveals its tender side and unabashed romanticism right off, when its main character, Max, speaks in a wistful voice-over to the lover she hopes to find someday soon. "I want to borrow your T-shirts," i Max says, "and wake you up when you I have bad dreams." But for most of the movie, Max sleeps alone. She can't seem to meet anyone she likes, and she refuses to acknowledge her attraction to a new acquaintance named Ely, who seems a bit too much of a granola girl for Max's tastes.

I "Regular, crunchy, or extra crunchy?" Max asks a mutual friend about Ely. Assured that Ely isn't poised to take off into the woods with a sack of 'gorp and a pottery wheel, Max in-l dulges her crush just a little, sneaking short, blushing conversations with Ely whenever their paths cross. Meanwhile, "Go Fish" digresses occasionally to take in the lives of the women around Max and Ely. There's Kia, an African-American academic with a ready opinion on everything; her lover, Evy, a Latino beauty who is hiding her homosexual-1 ity from a mother who wouldn't under-; stand; and Daria, a tough-talking wise-t acre whose promiscuity offends the sensibilities of some of her lesbian peers. KRT Eftoonesbury Brjalvin Hobbes J.Hr.y lyonl, SNEAK MEVIEWS lYON'S DEN RADIO AMC BEL AIR 10 AMC WONDERLAND QUOVADIS SHOWCASErlffic NO PASSES OR COUPON! ACCEPTED STUDIOS FLORIDA) (CALL (407) 363-8000) TODAT 1 MC STERLING CTR.10 8fNEEMAsLN0VI TOWN SHOWCASE dearborn STAR TAYLOR FORD WYOMING The jt mm AMCABBEY8 I AMC MAPLE 3 BEACON EAST RENAISSANCE 4 SHOWCASE SBfflW1! STAR Winchester Saturday July 2 6:00 PM ON SALE NOW REGGAE SUNSPLASH STEEL PULSE MAXI PRIEST MARCIA GRIFFITHS BERES HAMMOND TERROR FABULOUS RED FOX JUNIOR TUCKER A-TEAM TOMMY COWAN AS M.C.

Young Country 99.5 presents: THE BUDWEISER YOUNG COUNTRY TALENT SEARCH FINALS WITH A SPECIAL NATIONAL ARTIST TO BE ANNOUNCED Friday July 8 7:00 PM ADMISSION FREE mmm rnmm mmw mm O'JAYS WHISPERS DELLS Friday July 29 8:00 PM ON SALE NOW STYLISTICS DRAMATICS CHI-UTES Friday August 12 8:00 PM ON SALE NOW Qnm Pvt it ImiM tt Chut tut E. JiflniM, tut nNc imi fll tti Rn Cm. TteM sito vNI Nntet ibirtt FWw Tkutrt la Oftlev; It Clww Put ftu OfflM By 4 nni Hhr. Ml TkMMattr wtlrti Onnjt ftum (W))t4MtM. Ht mem MwimUm all HMOM, call tkf Mrolt RtcrtatiM Fx Wont, I Ctttftffl Comet MftotflmrlMihtiina.

Tout fan, it 252 2200 touct 3502. Nf wmiiMi it Ian cwbiun; cnmm rttwdlni inlm A city ft Mrt foerutiN Dnntnmt DmlopnMtt, Dtmit Arcatr, Mtyar. STARTS amcSOUTHFIELD CITY cinneemasl CANTON SHOWCASE STAR gratiotat Km tIstsWESTRIVERI Chene Park Free Concerts tarjrax bWIIU MMJilM.