‘Stone,’ ‘Greystoke,’ two solid choices By J. Dana Haynes Of The Print While The Print was on its recent month-and-a-half hiatus (he grumbled under his breath), a passel of motion pictures appeared all over town. The following is a review of two of them. “Romancing The Stone”: I went to this adventure flick expecting a rip- off of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and, in fact, the popularity and accessibility of the cliff-hanger genre is due in large part to “Raiders.” However, “Stone” is its own movie, taking only as much as it needs to draw an audience and supplying enough wit and romance to enthrall anyone. Like “Raiders,” “Stone” is whiz-bang fast, involves two yanks, one man and one woman (the man wears a wide-brimmed fedora, a la In diana Jones), evil military types and a quest through barbarous terrain for a mysterious treasure. Unlike “Raiders,” this movie is not a period piece (it takes place in the present) and keeps tongue pressed firmly against cheek throughout. Michael Douglas (“It’s My Turn,” “Star Chamber”) plays Jack Colton, an expatriot American prowling around Colombia awaiting his “short cuts” in life. Douglas is a fine actor, handsome enough and charming enough to carry the swashbuckler role well. He’s also savvy enough to play the character differently than Harrison Ford’s Dr. Jones, about whom com parisons are inevitable. However, this is not Douglas’ flick. The story line belongs to Kathleen Turner (“Body Heat,” “The Man With Two Brains”) as Joan Wilder, a timid, lonely and highly suc cessful author of romance novels. Turner is thrown into the adven ture when she receives a treasure map from her recently murdered brother-in- law and a phone call from her sister, who is being held captive by heavies in Colombia. THE DUALITY OF MAN—Actor Christopher Lambert as Tarzan, a.k.a. Lord Greystoke. Highly improbable? A bit con Westgate and Rose Moyer theaters) is trived? Sure it is. The movie has its fast and funny. It’s light weight faults and, rather than covering them material, to be sure, but well worth see up with special effects, plays upon ing for all that. them for laughs. “Greystoke: The Legend of Tar One of the bad guys is played by zan, Lord of the Apes”: Now there’s a Danny DeVito (“Terms of Endear title for you! ment” and my hero, Louey DePalma “Greystoke” is another adventure of TV’s “Taxi”). DeVito is marvelous flick, based on Edgar Rice Burrough’s ly campy and treats the material about famous masterpiece. Note: This is not as seriously as the audience is supposed your average Tarzan movie. It is to. definitely not “Me Tarzan, You All told, “Romancing The Stone” Jane,” nor is it Ron Ely in his pin (currently playing at the Southgate, striped, three piece loin cloth looking like something off the cover of “Gentlemen’s Quarterly.” The main character (he is never called Tarzan in the movie) is played (as an adult) by Christopher Lambert, who portrays our hero as a feral wildchild, living and thinking like the apes that adopted him. Those apes, incidentally, are ac tors in the best costumes (courtesy of designer Rick Baker) since the pro logue of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” This is not the movie you may be expecting. It’s not a thrill-a-minute adventure, nor does it all take place in Africa. Half the story is told in Scotland and London. However, what it lacks in slam-bang, comic book ac tion it more than makes up for in top notch acting and superb writing. The cast includes Andie Mac- Dowell as Jane Porter, Tarzan’s (John Clayton is the character’s real name) love interest and Ian Holm (“Chariots of Fire”) as Capitaine Phillippe D’Ar- not, the Belgian explorer who finds Clayton in Africa and educates him. Both MacDowell and Holm give solid performances and carry their roles well. However, the show may belong to Sir Ralph Richardson, as Clayton’s grandfather, the Sixth Earl of Greystoke. This was Richardson’s last movie. He died a few months ago, rob bing the stage and screen of a wonder ful actor. It seems fitting that his last movie performance is such a powerful character as the elderly, slightly balmy Scots gentryman. The role is meaty (thanks to writers P.H. Vazak and Michael Austin and director Hugh Hudson—“Chariots of Fire”), and Richardson made the most of it. So see “Greystoke” at the Southgate, Eastgate or Washington Square theaters, but don’t go expecting The Greatest Movie Adventure of All Time or any such gobbledegook. Go to see a love story and a study of the noble-savage duality of human nature. It’s exciting, yes, but it’s also a good tale. A rare combination, that. Donna Grund Slepack Library hosts controversial art exhibit By Kristen Tonole Of The Print Social change is the subject of the educa tional art exhibit on display in the Clackamas Community College library. Artist Donna Grund Slepack has been in volved with the theme Art with Social Change for the past four years, her inspiration being “things happening in our society,” she said. “I think it’s possible for art to com municate verbally as well as visually, and it can be interpreted into our society,” Slepack said. Some of her works deal with nuclear war, human rights and the problems with capitalism. One particular exhibit consists of photos from a “political art” event held on May 29, 1981, called “Yellow Ribbons.” “The idea originated with the yellow ribbons worn for our Iranian hostages,” Slepack said, “but we tied yellow ribbons to symbolize the reclaiming of human rights victims in our country.” Slepack is speaking out against police brutality inflicted on political activists and civil rights leaders, she said. Another of her projects was the widely publicized Portland area “Shadow Project.” In conjunction with members of Performing Ar Wednesday, April 18, 1984 tists for Nuclear Disarmament, Slepack helped 'coordinate the “participatory art event” that took place in Portland on Hiroshima Day, Aug. 6, 1983. For the event, ghost-like human forms were painted with non-permanent paint on the streets as a way of commemorating the destruc tion of Hiroshima 38 years ago. “The images were intended to help the viewer visualize the consequences of nuclear war and identify per sonally with victims of atomic catastrophes,” Slepack said. On display in the library are pictures of the event, depicting the figures of humans and animals lying in the streets. “I like my art to be portrayed on things that people encounter everyday,” Slepack said. She prints some of her messages on such mun dane items as postcards and calendars. She has one calendar hanging in the library that does not mark traditional calendar days, but instead marks days such as Jan. 3 (People killed in nuclear reactor accident-1961) and July 6 (Madame Curie discovers radium-1936). Students who wish to listen to Slepack speak are welcome to attend a lecture on Wed., April 18 from 12-2 p.m. in the library. Her art will be on display there until the end of April. hitting THE STREET—The works of controversial artist Donna Grund Slepack include the “Shadow Project” in Portland commemorating the anniversary of the Hiroshima, Japan bombing in World War II. Photo by Russ McMillen Page 5