True Komance * * * (Warner
Bros.) Rated & (at the Capital 6,
Esplanade, Richmond Centre,
Station Square, Eagle Ridge,
Guildford and Willowbrook
cinemas)

DID it. | killed him. You
want a hamburger? So,
who said romance is

dead?

Clarence Worley (Christian
Slater) may appear casual for a
first-time assassin, but that’s the
result of a lifetime of comic books,
kung fu movies and Elvis devotion.

And after all, it was self-defence.
He was only freeing his bride,
Alabama (Patricia Arquette) from
drug dealer Drexl Spivey (Gary
Oldman), a scarred rasta-wannabe
psycho-pimp.

But if love isn’t blind, it sure is
careless after several knocks to the
noggin.

Clarence made two mistakes
after leaving the scene of the
crime. :

The suitcase he grabs isn’t full of
Alabama clothes — it’s the mob’s
uncut white powder.

Worse, his driver's licence end-
ed up clutched in the corpse's
hand.

Can true romance conquer all,
including the heavily armed peo-
ple in pursuit?

Humor, as dark as a shroud, and
sheer maniac energy, propel the
action from Detroit to Hollywood.

Director Tony Scott knows just
how to handle Quentin Taran-
tino’s outrageous script.

The actors that fill the larger-
than-fow-life cast each get their
moment to shine including Brad
Pitt (hilarious as a stoned-out

See See : aes
ETTE and Christian Siater star in True Romance.

- Silk Purs

FILM REVIEW

doofus), Val Kilmer as Clarence’s
ghostly mentor, and Bronson Pin-
chot as a weasely actor.

As in his self-directed Reservoir
Dogs, Tarantino creates eccentric,
fully realized characters from the
urban underbelly, funny stret¢hes
of dialogue and a ton of in-your-
face violence.

Make no mistake — some
viewers are going to have prob-
lems with the level of intensity.
This is tough, gritty and absolutely
intrinsic to the story.

Besides, love hurts.

Falling Down * (Warner Bros.)
Rated R

Michael Douglas plays an angry
Joser unbalanced by a painful
divorce and recent unemploy-
ment. -

His escalating rampage on the
way “home” for his daughter's
birthday drags cop Robert Duvall
into action on what was supposed
to be his last day on the force.

Despite the fine acting of the
two leads, this heavy-handed
swipe at America’s ills and defects
lumbers on until it falls flat.

i'm No Angel & % & % (MCA/
Universal) Unrated

This was the film that forced
Hollywood to censor itself with
the Hays Code in 1934.

PCBS EPI ET WSOPE REG BTN

e hosts talk

oncommunity planning

PICTURE THIS all too coiamon
scenario: bulldozers clearing old
houses, parking lots replacing
trees, monster houses your
neighbors.

More and more Vancouver
neighborhoods seem to fit this
description. Is this what you want
to see in yours?

For Michael Kiuckner, an il
lustrator and outspoken supporter
of Vancouver's heritage architec-
ture, no is the only answer to that
question,

On Saturday, Sept. 25, 10:30
a.m, to Noon at West Vancouver's
Silk Purse Art & Cultural Centre,
(1570 Argyle Ave.) he'll be speak-
ing about community planning
and conservation.

Kluckner’s’ talk is entitled
“Saving Your. Neighborhood?”
with an emphasis on the auestion
mark,

Kluckner, who is author of two
award-winning books, Vanishing
Vancouver anil Paving Paradise,
said: ‘Everywhere is beginning to
lock like the same nowhere
without local context or a sense of
history. I'll be talking about what
makes neighborhoods and towns
successful as communities.”

Preregistration is required. Regis-
tration will be taken until space is
filled, or — if too few register —
lecture will be cancelled. Deadline
is three days before the lecture
(Wednesday by 4 p.m.). Cost is
$10 and includes tea or coffee and
GST.

The lecture, sponsored by West
Vancouver Parks & Recreation
Department Cultural Services, is
part of Speakers Unlimited. For
information and preregistration

phone the West Vancouver Recre-

ation Centre, 926-3266.

Now Mae West’s saucy banter,
rolling eyes and cynicism show up
uncut on the Family Channel. My,
what 60 years can change.

But GO years can’t alter Mae's
appeal in this funny yarn of a
man-hungry circus performer who
goes tram a side-shaw hootchie-
kootchie dancer to a centre ring
lion tamer,

Playboy Cary Grant gets tamed
as well by her snappy humor and
reclining manner.

SHOWTIME HOTLINES
Famous Players ........... 681-4255
Cineplex Odeon .......... 687-1515

Read the
BOOK REVIEW
alternate Wednesdays
in the
North Shore News