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Features I Wednesday. July 15. 1987 3 |--|p Kubrick re Review By ANDY IIMC IIII I. Features (<?r Seven years is a long time between films, and director Stanley Kubrick knows it. Kubrick, the mastermind behind classic films such as 2001: .1 Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, has built a reputation for greatness. / //// Metal Jacket. his first film since 1980's compelling but ultimately flawed The Shining, presents Kubrick's vision of the Vietnam War. his' when it seemed the subject of American involvement in that country was becoming a weary warhorse, Kubrick brings a fresh perspective, one f hrif I r:invi*<*iwl v i^f lipr Vintiisim filtnc ciwli ac Apocalypse Sow and The Deer Hunter. lull Mela! Jacket (the title refers to a kind of bullet) differs from previous Vietnam films; it does not attempt to cleanse America's collective cons{ffe cienee as other films have. Directors effectively ^ played up the sympathy, as Michael Cimino did in The Deer Hunter. Always one to buck the trend, Kubrick shuns this now-hackneyed approach, creating a detached, clinical view of the war. The tone of Full Metal iw ii'V t Til ill hnc f 4Vw?l nf o r\ i m nn 1/ u v r\v I II ,?\? I v t , i i IV I Mill I Iti.l l 1 IV, I VVI V / I CI U V/\- UII1VII" tary. I lie result is a gripping portrayal of war, thanks to Kubrick's fluid direction. Divided, but it doesn't fall Kubrick splits lull Metal Jacket into two sections. The first documents the training of Marine recruits at Partis Island, S.C. The sadistic drill instructor. brilliant 1 \ played by Lee Ermey, wastes no time stripping the recruits of their previous identities, turning them into combat-ready troops. l-rmey portrays the drill sergeant with the same intensity Dennis llopoer had in Blue Velvet. While Hopper's character used a non-stop barrage of 'Innerspace' ; r^w ' WKBBBKBJ ' SPiilSpi^ MHL JL > - | ? Jack Putter (Martin Short) tries to escape from the ^ Rvan) in Inncrspacc. i ' Journalism profe ?> VAO SI 11)1 Sial'f Reporter Rounding a mountain beiul at 20 mph and having an unexpected meeting \sith a 200-pound deer in the middle of the road didn't deter him. Neither did eight flat tires, freezing temperatures or the theft of a programmable watch. I his past summer, Bruce Konkle, an assistant professor ot adseitising and public relations in USC's College of Journalism, rode his bicycle from Portland, Ore., to Portland, Maine. He made the f Don't Get Left ( I in 1 he Kain !! Now Leasing For Fall Semester: miTjrm cmm jnnrn v iffl J:|! m ei-di E - B3S=9^ SSSH ; |t| p I For Best Selections in 5 Pts., USC & Shandon Ci The Weston Company, Inc / \Y* PROPERTY MANAGEMEN1 254-2663 turns with obscenities and insults to keep Isabella Rosellini's character in line, Ermey's drill instructor uses brutal r*ww*r\lfw?iir?c t tnnlH lnv r????riiif c into M 11IV/IIVIV/^UV J IV/ IIIV'IVI III* I VV.I III l.l I I I I V/ .?UII IIIV ?. Erincy should receive an Oscar nomination tor his performance. Making light of the training is a recruit (Matthew Modine) the drill instructor calls "Pvt. Joker." Mis cynical sense of humor recalls the dark humor of Kubrick's classic 1964 black comedy about nuclear war, Dr. Strangelove. Joker, who serves as Kubrick's mouthpiece, laughs at everything around him, treating the training and the war as a piece of absurd theatre. N/tr?rtinf? onr> of thr? hi?0 of lod:iv\ vniinii iii'inrt makes the most of his smart-aleck role. The other grunts don't have Joker's recipe for survival, and the crux of the first chapter of lull Metal Jacket is one recruit's gradual mental decay. Despite its problems. The Shining was a superb examination of insanity, and Kubrick once again does a masterful job of portraying a slow slide into madness. Showing war's real horrors The film's second chapter finds Joker in South Vietnam as a correspondent for war newspaper Stars and Stripes. Ho is as cynical as ever, responding to massive Vict Cong attacks with the remark, "Does this mean Ann-Margret isn't coming?" The second part of f ull Metal Jacket evolves into an allegory for the entire war. A Marine squad's harrowing encounter vvith a sniper in the burned-out rubble of a city characterizes America's involvement in the region. The Marines have superior weaponry, but they can't find the sniper. They radio for tank support, but the rear echelon is reluctant to provide help. And one by one they storm the sniper's hideout, but only to be shot. gives Short rc MHHHBHHUMHW i: MM H m|M|M|,il bad guys with a little help from Lydia Maxwell (Meg >ssor prepares to t 3,6(X)-mile trip in 27 days. As an encore, Konkle is planning to ride 1,600 miles from Boston to Canada, then pedal back to Boston. Konkle will begin that journey later this month. Cross-country bicycling provides a great way to see North America, Konkle said. "You see it slowly, inch by inch. What makes bicycling so interesting is the people," he said. While on his trios. Konkle usually stons ridinu about 7 p.m. to spend time with people in the area, - w\ WHAT IF YOU DON'T GET B INTO THEGRADSCHOOL OF YOUR CHOICE? QIl Surr. there <ire other schools Hut why - -j -aMI k*' K.ipl.m helps students raise1 hen i Mores.irul llu'ir chancesof hemt> admit ted into then first choice schools hid is, no one has helped students s( ore higher1 AKAHLAN ;^r?v-"vrvv'--1 STANLEY H KAPLAN EDUCATIONAL (ENTER ITO all: 1419 Pendleton St. Columbia, SC 29201 - (803) 256-0673 r I MCAT CLASSES NOW FORMING % CALL FOR CLASS STARTING DATES Vietnam rm . /?OA Not the same as *Platoon' Comparisons of hull Metal Jacket to Platoon arc inevitable, but the two are separate entities, effective fill tllmr own Icvoll flliwnr ^Inn.i 1-Vi/Mvo/l tU.? %. . *. v/.. v.. M .V ?VI.J. v/11 ?vi ?n vuv. :>nwv*v\J IIIV. typical platoon in the typical jungle, fighting typically fierce battles. The typically unorthodox Kubrick shows the flip side of the war ? the vicious urban fighting that had been shamefully ignored by filmmakers until now. The scenes of Vietnam's bleak urban landscape of fi.e and rubble exhibit Kubrick's flair for great visuals. Kllbrii'k i?i ,'lUn I hi' firvt in hrino L iiirJ <\f >om to delivei Review By PATRICK JEAN and his wimpy Editor in Chief him to the do For a moment, ponder hi- plaints of ulcers, nerspace: an astronaut is The miniaturi miniaturized to be injected into a cess, but villains rabbit as part of an experiment, that run the e: but bad guys try to steal the pro- plan to kill Tin ject, forcing a scientist to in- thinking scicntis noculatc the little guy into a jects him into .hi supermarket clerk. An audio-visui Sounds stupid, right? So forget l uck to speak w the plot and have fun. That's through his eyes what the cast and director of this accept his con comical adventure do, and the screaming, "I'm result is an unexpected riot. Hut both men The drunken, daring luck each other, fuel Pendelton (Dennis Quaid) be manly; Jack volunteers for the experiment. be caring. The\ Courage is ms strength, humanity trio of villains, ii his weakness: his behavior costs four with an art him girlfriend l.ydia Maxwell enough attach (Meg Ryan). Master Bong St Jack Putter (Martin Short), a lucky /tied A supermarket cashier, is Tuck's shame. opposite. He leads a boring life, Innerspace\ t s~~Ji -m c//ve seLunu epiu u he said. He camps out, stays with friends and occasionally checks into a hotel. "People are generally very nice," he said. "One old guy saw me riding on the road and followed me. w ncn i imisneci the clay s ride, lie took me home with him to have dinner with him and his wife." The wife even washed his clothes, Konkle said. A constant hazard of cross-country bicycling is the weather, Konkle said. "One morning, it could be freezing. The afternoon could be in the 90s, and in between, you could have rain. The object is to I TIT A TVTm A TTT I W AIM I A IIH The Ga Freshman A 7 /* 7 7 1 reaches jresnmen oe Call Gamecoc 111 For Mo w_^ fV\/i Tii (J U Publication I i isterpiece I luimor to the subject. All previous Vietnam epics have been dreary, solemn affairs. Placing jokes in a Vietnam film obviously requires a deft touch, but Kubrick has that touch. The dark humor of Full Metal Jacket complements the film's serious elements, making it all the more intriguing. This film shows Kubrick as a true master. While hacks such as John Hughes and John Landis might be more prolific, Kubrick remains the superior filmmaker. He bides his time, striving for perfection. With f ull Metal Jacket, he rewards his patient followers with a film that stands well next to his previous efforts. big laughs ? 1 humanity forces was also responsible tor etor with com- (iremlins: executive producer headaches, etc. Steven Spielberg and director Joe /.ation is a sue- Dante. The scattered script mainsteal microchips tains interest without losing . Th.?. u?wl ? .u . : ~ i -rr \|)>.| iiiivi;i . I m. \ iiil\ l'UU> , ill 111 IIIC" >.) 1 il 1 ITUIX'IS :k. but a quick- arc fascinating. The comedy is i escapes and in- sometimes silly, but there's none ick. of the sappiness of the Spielberg;il hookup allows produced Harry and the ith Jack and see Hendersons. . Jack refuses to Quaid and Ryan are great, but lpany at first, it's Short's film. In Three possessed!" Aminos, he was stuck with eventually help humorless scripting and co-stars, v teaches Jack to Nothing holds him back here; he leaches Tuck to gi\es the kind of madcap perfor fight a bi/arre manee I'ddie Murphy gave in lcluding a chauf- Heverlv ////A Cop. iticial hand wuh Inncrspacc has the same hit ments to put potential as the 1985 Spielberg>o Han of A en- produced mega-hit, Back to the lovie fame to future. It's hip, humorous ? and one of the summer's best production duo films. ?/cycling journey slay dry and not get sunburned." | V/ll Jll> JUUI III > UU> JJcIM Villi, IL JIIJJCI ill 111 ItUlgcd from 30 degrees in Montana's Yellowstone National Park to 98 degrees in the Oregon mountains, he said. But weathei is not the only obstacle Konkle has faced. While in ()regon on the third day of his 1986 trip, Konkle had his encounter with the deer in the road. "I barely missed a buck," he said. "We came within two inches." ? ? :ad start? imprnrk lailout Issue 'fore they reach USC. k Advertising 4249 re Details ly 29 Deadline )ate: August 1 . ? ?A .?.** *- . ? \