ENTERTAINMENT
Boyz N the Hood’ painfully real
★ ★ ★ V 2
Boy? N tha Hood Playing at ara* lhaa
tars
* '(kr t ho#<i * * 'aril la iw*t
* * * fa lm* » * » * 'i auM aaa
l or most ot c.infr
nialir history, the
true stories of him k
Americans have
ix-en totnllv negle* t
(si Now, in an a<:< i
denl ciuG to typieal
Hollvwrxxi self-ser
vicing, African-American movies
an: fining made.
I say it's an accident because
movies don't gel made unless
similar movies that came befon'
make money Films bv black
directors have been profitable
recently, turning them into the
"flavor-of-the-month,’’ so to
speak.
Obviously, there’s a lot of
ground to make up in relating
the black experience in Ameri
ca.
The stories have ranged from
showing the events leading to a
racially motivated riot (Do the
Right Thing), to the effects of
drugs and the mafia in ghetto
communities (New !<k k City).
to how blacks are treated in the
movie business (Hollywood
Shuffle) Now comes a film per
flaps more effective in bringing
its message across than unv of
the others
The enormous power of Hoy/
N the Hood comes from the fai l
that it is a simple story derived
from a complex set of sociologi
cal conditions It is those con
ditions which shape the world
the lead characters am forced to
function in The world is South
Tro (Cuba Gooding Jr.) clings to his girlfriend, Brandi (Nia Long) in
despair over the seemingly endless violence in South Central L A in
Boyz N the Hood, a movio written and directed by 23-yoar-old film
maker John Singleton.
(Antral Los Angolos
I wuntv -ihror your-old novieo
writor/dirw lor John Singlolon
knows from wlmrii hu spunks
Ur grow up in tho miiiin struots
hr v\ rilrs .ihoul Tho dorp risil
od knowledge he has about the
people, their station in life,
their desires ,ind tiie tilings he
believes are tier essary to Mir
Turn to BOYZ Page 6
‘Henry’ sentimental but flawed
★ ★ 'h
Regarding hanry Playing at araa the*
tart RatadPG-13
• I botw * * *•#! to -to'V
Kt'Kiirtlirif; Urnry is .1
new film written l>v
24 veer-old Jeffrey
Abrams and veteran
din* lor Mike Ni< h
ols (C~iUhJH. Thf
Gmdutilr, I’uslcunls
I'mm the bulge, among others)
The film depicts tin- life of
top lawyer, Henry Turner. (Har
rison lord) and his downfall af
ter he suffers from a bullet
wound to his head In the style
of Charles Dickens' A Christ
mas Carol, the film focuses on
the change in a person as he or
she goes from bad to good, with
a negative message about a dili
gent work ethic as well.
A highly stylized court se
quence sets up Henry as a vic
toriously successful lawyer
used to having things go his
wuy.
At home, he whines to his
wife, Sarah (Annette Banning),
about their new dining room ta
ble. "It looks like a God
damned turtle!"
His harshness is made more
apparent when he encounters
his daughter. "Hi. 1 was angry
... but with a reason. My piano
is very important to me ... the
fact is if you can't be responsi
ble. don't take food out of the
kitchen We finished a real big
case today, honey Daddy
won."
His daughter sits emotionless
on the lard during this conver
sation. unable to relate to her
father's admiration for cold
Courtecy ^ lolo
Harrison Ford plays altornoy Henry Turner, who changes his attitude
alter a near-latal shooting in Regarding Henry He is pictured hero
with Mikki Allen, who plays his daughter Rachel
hearted success iirui perfection.
But Henry’s obnoxious be
huvior proves fatal for him Af
ter demanding cigarettes at the
local corner store during a
bold-up, he is shut in the head
A doctor explains to Sarah
that Henry suffers from anoxia
to the brain, which causes a
loss of memory and minor
brain damage, but reassures her
that he will recover.
"If you're gonna get shot in
the head, that’s the way to do
it.” he says to a teary-eyed Sa
rah. This is one of the many
sarcastic lines inherent in the
script.
Unfortunately, sarcasm has
become an overworked conven
tion in some movies, and, in
most cases, it is inappropriate
in this one.
Henry is sent to a rehabilita
tion center for therapy. A typi
cal montage of recovery shots
recounts Henry’s metamorpho
sis trum someone in a vegeta -
tivii state In a walking, talking
Turn to HENRY, Page 6
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i ** i 1st m —l
Oh. lovely — just the hundredth time you ve
managed to cut everyone s head oft
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