Note: movie ratings are out of a possible ***** as follows:

* is lousy
** is ok
*** is good
**** is very good
***** is outstanding

October 15, 2000
by He Jung Kim

Remember the Titans - ***1/2

Over the last few months, I have seldom seen a movie without having to first sit through a trailer for one of Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest big-budget hypes. Though I did enjoy Gone in 60 Seconds, Coyote Ugly was so painfully inane that I almost skipped over his latest dramatic comedy, Remember the Titans. Besides, I thought that I’d seen enough glamorized football with The Replacements, and I didn’t want to witness the talents of Denzel Washington diminished in a caricature. However, Remember the Titans, (distributed under Walt Disney Pictures), is not your average Bruckheimer production. There’s no trash disguised under glitz and extravagance here. Conversely, there is a pertinent story line with a worthwhile message, delivered through a plausible sequence of events and through strong character development. But fear not fans of Bruckheimer movies; there’s plenty of bone-crunching, blood-spreading tackles to also make this a very energetic football movie.

The film is set in Alexandria, Virginia in the early 1970s around the campus of T.C. Williams High School, the first school to integrate its student body as well as its staff. Despite the social unrest caused by the various racially divided protests within the community, the school board decides to hire a black coach to start up the newly integrated football team known as the Titans. The new ‘colored’ coach is Herman Boone, (Denzel Washington) an outspoken, out-of-towner determined to create the perfect team against all odds. Though Coach Boone is initially hired to assist the resident (white) coach, Coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton), the school board immediately promotes Boone to chief coach. This promotion, however, is a mere pretense at acceptance since Boone will be fired the minute he loses a game. Regardless, Coach Boone is a militant survivor and he puts his players (black or white) through vigorous training in his football boot camp. Racial prejudice adds further strain to the training but the players soon realize that mistrust is their greatest weakness. The only way to be the perfect team is through trust and understanding of one another’s differences. Yet can a football team really act as a vehicle for social acceptance and equality among a racially divided community?

Based on a true story, Remember the Titans does its best to portray its characters with honesty and realism. We see Coach Boone not only as a black man hungry for recognition for his skills but also as an angry, often self-obsessed ego, fighting to determine his place in society. Moreover, Coach Yoast first appears as a bigot, humiliated by Boone’s authority over him. Yet, later when Yoast begins to relate to Boone’s determination, we witness his own personal growth not only as a coach but also as a man of morals. Similar transformations take place among the key players. At first the young Titans, refusing to see beyond the color of their skins, are divided by hate. However, as they are forced to treat one another as equal individuals, they slowly recognize and appreciate the differences that render their team so unique. The friendship that develops between Julius (Wood Harris) and Bertier (Ryan Hurst) is perhaps the most touching and poignant aspect of this film. Instantly at war with one another, these two boys eventually gain the courage and maturity to form a brotherhood that nurtures their growth as men. Some may argue that the same point could have been made with less sugarcoating. I beg to differ. We live in a world that claims multi-culturalism yet all too frequently battles with prejudice and ignorance working against progressive thought and understanding. Remember the Titans is a Disney Picture and as such chooses to focus on possibilities through positive outlook and hope. It is a refreshing approach that many filmgoers will appreciate. I give it a ***1/2 rating.

Pay it Forward - ***1/2

Haley Joel Osment completely captivated me with his outstanding performance in The Sixth Sense. This little boy has everything a Hollywood actor craves: he is charming, charismatic, incredibly talented and has so much character for a boy of his age. Paired with Oscar-winning names like Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment and his latest dramatic feature, Pay It Forward is a guaranteed box-office success and a heart-wrenching tear-jerker.

A classroom full of seventh graders gasp at the sight of their new social studies teacher, Mr. Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey) whose face is severely disfigured with burn marks. Their initial shock wears off rather quickly, however, when they are given their first assignment. Each student is to embark on a personal mission to change the world. When Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) a quiet, loner presents his project called "paying it forward," it is met with some skepticism by his classmates; however, it instantly receives special recognition from Mr. Simonet. Paying it forward consists of Trevor helping three people accomplish something they cannot achieve on their own. In so doing, Trevor hopes that these three people will pass on the favor by each helping three other people, and so on. Trevor is from a broken home and lives with his mother Arlene (Helen Hunt) who struggles to balance two low-wage jobs while doing her best to beat her alcohol addiction. Trevor is a bright boy, but hope is his only means of overcoming his difficult childhood. Mr. Simonet recognizes Trevor’s predicament and tries his best to encourage him, that is until he learns that Trevor has made him one of his three troubled souls to save.

At first this story line may appear rather idealistic and geared towards a predictable, feel-good ending, but it isn’t. As the story progresses, many viewers will begin to appreciate the depth of this plot made even more engaging by the talented acting put forward by all three leads. Helen Hunt is superb as the alcoholic mother whose diminishing looks and lack of common sense threaten to quicken her demise. I’m not used to seeing Hunt, who appears naturally intelligent in all her roles, look so disheveled and washed up. Here Hunt not only looks the part but she is also very convincing in her delivery. Kevin Spacey also does a turn around in his role as Mr. Simonet. He may still be sharp-tongued in this role, but for the most part, he is vulnerable and sympathetic enough to erase all memories of his controversial role in last year’s American Beauty. Spacey and Osment share chemistry as well as a level of maturity in their interaction. Many of their shared scenes leave the audience shedding tears. Paying It Forward is one of those rare movies that make it impossible not to get caught up in the moment of its storytelling. It is very involving with an inspiring message delivered tenderly to all who dream of a better world. Recommended for audiences of all ages and gets a ***1/2 rating.

Get Carter - **
(reviewed by Doug Schneider)

Sylvester Stallone has made so many comebacks that he makes his Rocky character look like a quitter. But you’ve got to give him credit, he’s not afraid to try anything, no matter how embarrassing or degrading. Remember his 1991 attempt at comedy called Oscar? And then there was Judge Dredd ("I am da lah!")! In Get Carter, he plays it a bit safer. The Stallone team simply turns back the hands of time and works on a formula that seemingly worked for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1980s. Remember Arnold’s Raw Deal? He was thug in a suit. It was cool and kind of funny. Here, Stallone tries to pull the same stunt, but his shiny suit makes him look like he’s still stuck in the ‘80s, any humor is unintentional, and he is certainly not cool.

Stallone plays Jack Carter, a Las Vegas thug who punches first and thinks later. When his brother Ritchie is found dead, Jack returns home to Seattle convinced that there was some sort of wrongdoing. The main problem Jack faces with his wanna-be detective work is that he is now trying to think and figure out what happened. All that thinking is the final undoing of this threadbare plot. Actually, Stallone doesn’t play Jack badly at all; in fact, he’s kind of good and there’s something likeable (albeit laughable) about him. However, there appears to be only four main characters on Jack’s suspect list and unfortunately it isn’t enough for Jack to pay one visit to each of them. He’s so slow to catch on to what’s happening that he ends up going in circles among the four for so long that the movie feels like its three hours long. Jack learns early on that they all know each other and that they all communicate behind his back, but then he seems amazed to figure out that there is the possibility that they all may be in cahoots together! A thinking-person’s movie this is not. Then again, what Stallone movie is?

One the one hand, Get Carter can be commended (slightly) for at least trying to give the audience something a little different. However, it feels more like "gee-whiz" film-school stuff and some nifty cinematography and editing is all that is worth noting in what is essentially a ridiculous and redundant attempt at a thriller. Get Carter only gets **.

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