REVIEW FILM
severely, fatally limited by his l niceness and, while it may all have ; happened just as the film depicts it, 8 Seconds seems too naive and reverential, especially for an audience ; to whom rodeo means very little.
With director John G. Avildsen - who made the first Rocky film - at the helm, the maximum entertainment is drawn out of this lightweight story i but, heroic as Lane may have been, he just seems too one-dimensional to win ‘ over the more cynical audiences out there. And, in keeping with that contrary British taste for supporting the underdog, it may be that people’s sympathies are more with the bull, that clichéd and misunderstood movie villain, than this particular all- American hero. (Anwar Brett)
8 Seconds (PC) (John G. Avildsen, US, 1994) Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, Red Mitchell. 105 mins. From Fri 21. , A. _. I, Edinburgh: llCl. Strathclyde: UCI " a " , . ,' ,~ czaaw‘i mydebank. 8 Seconds: ‘too naive'
:- 8 sscovos
Bravely playing against his teen heart- throb image, Beverly Hills 90210 star Luke Perry will undoubtedly attract many of his fans to 8 Seconds, but they may be surprised at what they find there. They won’t be the only ones, as this straightforward biopic of World Champion bull rider Lane Frost recounts his earliest ambitions to rodeo just like his dear old Bad, as well as the fulfilment of his potential with spectacular and enduring success. But personal happiness proves a little more elusive for Lane as his Dad is a hard man to please and wife Kelly (Cynthia Geary) is less than chuffed at taking second place to his sport.
Through it all he remains a nice guy, and this presents the film with its biggest problem. The drama is
'1 V J :1?“ it
V I PRINT
Hollywood demi-god or
not. there's no sense of awestruck reverence in
Minty Clinch‘s superb biography (‘linl Eastwood (Hodder & Stoughton). The films are always at the core of her assesstnent. but they're scrutinised within the relevent contexts of liastwood's politics and personality. Clinch takes the same approach to the actor's private life. making it a key part of the book but never really bringng to light details purely for their own sake. There‘s a sparkiness here. backed up by evident writing skill. that makes this a very illuminating. entertaining read.
The only way to approach the 20th century icon known as Brigitte Bardot is to balance your words with plentiful images. and that is exactly what makes Sean French's Burr/of (Pavilion £19.99) such an appealing volume. Analysing the public's fascination for this minor actress and major celebrity. French follows
‘ her from jail-bait starlet to
animal rights activist. This is more than a life story — it's a treatise on coping with the ageing process when thrust into the spotlight.
There are also pictures galore in lie/11ml 'l'lu'
.lluxk (Titan £10.99). Mark Salisbury and Alan lletlgcock's impeccably
illustrated history of film
make-up special effects in
the twenty years since The
. lirun'isl. Placing this
branch ofsfx in the longer
literary and theatrical tradition of the mask. it celebrates the Golden Age of pre-computer prosthetics by focusing on the careers of Dick Smith.
Rick Baker. Rob Bottin.
Stan Winston and Steve
Johnson.
Now that the ’Madonna conversation' has outstayed its welcome at hip parties and in pub conversations. it's time to
chemistry of their comradeship laying the foundation for the film’s darkening emotional impact. 0ugowson draws the viewer in through a fizzy, funny half-hour or so, rich in observant detail (the trauma of a bad haircut, the desolation of a crap party) to dredge up memories of all our collective yesterdays, but the film’s real intentions run deeper than sympathetic nostalgia. Dugowson’s central theme is the inescapable weight of the past; the crushing damage unwittineg inflicted by the family’s embrace; the betrayal involved when the one dear friend who’s been with you all your life suddenly isn’t there anymore. The insights here, the charge of a buried truth revealed, will surely shake you to your core. Mina Tannenbaum might start out like the most flirtatious of entertainments, but the closing credits had this particular viewer mopping back the tears. Do not miss. (Trevor Johnston) Mina Tannenbaum (12) (Martine 0ugowson, France, 1994) Romaine
Bohringer, Elsa Zylberstein, Jean- Philippe Ecoffey. 128 mins. Subtitles. From Fri 28. Edinburgh: Cameo.
i MINA TANNENBAUM
l Martine 0ugowson’s film, perceptive, l stylish and wise, is one of the most scintillating movie discoveries you’ll come across this year. Cutting a swathe through the personal histories of two young Jewish Parisiennes — aspiring painter Mina (Romaine Bohringer of Savage llights fame) and shallow media wannabe Ethel (Elsa Zylberstein, last seen in Pialat’s Van Gogh) - it chronicles a friendship formed in childhood, forged closer by the romantic yearnings of adolescence, and tested severer by adulthood’s inevitable parting of the ways. Although the mutual reliance of their teenage years has given these complementary individuals shelter from their insecurities (a lack of self- worth, the need to conform to prescriptive Jewish values), it may not survive the girls’ common interest in one man, arrogant black-clad art dealer Dana (Jean Philippe Ecoffey), whose own designs are cloaked beneath an abrasive exterior. Bohringer and Zylberstein work wonders in the central roles, the
Mina Tannenbaum: ‘perceptive, stylish and wise’
[— MAJOR LEAGUE ii
If the Japanese don’t bombard us with sumo movies, why should we put up with the Americans filling our screens with baseball flicks? That said, at least A League Of Their Own and Major League found formulas that married the action within the diamond to other entertaining elements. However, if
‘ got to flop around in new depths : before, hey, regaining the passion to ' pull up their sox and win the day. Problem number one isn’t so much the carbon copy plotting - it’s a sequel, after all - but that the backroom role assigned to Tom Berenger and the absence of Wesley Snipes and other faves from the original places much more focus on the blandness of Charlie Sheen. There’s a serious dearth of
Major League’s comic iinks and easy- going ‘no-hopers to match-winners’ structure was a hit first time round, it has struck out here on second base. Fresh from their winning season, the Cleveland Indians are back in training with a new owner, and Jack Taylor (Tom Berenger) is out of the team but taking on the coaching role. Rick “Wild Thing’ Vaughn is still the star player, but even he has opted for an image change, swapping punk hairdo for yuppy suits, a sponsorship deal and a press agent girlfriend (Alison Boody). Somehow the team has lost its newly-found skills and, hey, they’ve
imagination in the jokes department,
with an overall feeling that everyone - cast, crew, the lot — are just pulling on
the costumes and going through the motions. Out in the real baseball world, the action has been stopped by a players’ strike, but somehow this regurgitated crap goes on regardless. Something’s wrong somewhere. (Patricia Wilson)
Major League II (PC) (David S. Ward, US, 1994) Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen. 105 mins. From Fri 28: General release.
Major League II: 'dearth of imagination'
assign to memory some new Tarantino dialogue. The soundtrack album has a smattering of extracts. but real afiicionados can win friends and influence people by reading through the script of Pulp Fiction (Faber and Faber £7.99). which also includes lines cut or added during
shooting. The script of Rurz'rvuir Dogs will be published in November.
with 'l'rut' Rummu't' and Natural Born Killers following next year. (Alan I
Morrison) J
The List 21 October—3 November 1994 19