'Twister'

Rated PG-13

When placed in the path of a
twister, "Dorothy" will eject a
t's too bad Gone with the profusion of spherical sensors
Wind has already been tak- which emit signals allowing sci-
en as a film title because entists to study the "workings"
this tumultuous tale would of a tornado from the inside.
certainly qualify as a prime can- Hopefully, given that knowledge,
didate for that appellation. a lifesaving, early-warning sys-
Twister, a breathtaking action- tem can be devised.
adventure film, will blow you
Complicating matters are
away with a breakneck pace that Paxton's new girlfriend, Jami
whips you along thanks to Gertz, a reproductive therapist
swirling special effects.
more at ease with a cellular
One scene depicting the wreck- phone in her hand calming an
age of a small town in the
expectant mother than
aftermath of an "F-4"-rat-
MOVIES
stalking a tornado. Add
ed tornado (the second
to that a second team of
most powerful) will remind you tornado chasers who are "in it for
of the devastation of the Atlanta the money, not the science."
scene in GWTW, camera pulling Somehow, this second team has
back and up to reveal a sea of hu- succeeded in gaining corporate
man debris.
sponsorship and a fleet of sleek
After seeing Twister, I would vans to track down tornadoes.
rather stare down a Tyran-
Paxton, "a dirt sniffer," with
nosaurus Rex than face the eye an intuitive feel about where a
of a tornado. The awesome pow- tornado will head, is outraged
er and beauty of nature at its that his team of chasers must
most destructive is magnificent- contend with these mercenary
ly captured by director Jan De interlopers.
Bont (Speed) and the computer
Enough about plot, character
wizards at Industrial Light and motivation and personality con-
Magic. This is one of those visu- flicts. Let's enjoy the real stars
al epics that must be seen on the — those immense, circling, dark-
big screen to be fully appreciated. ening clouds; the 140-mile-per-
I only wish they had reinstalled hour winds that pick up fuel
those massive, theater-shaking tankers and fling them across
bass speakers that toured with highways like beach balls; and
the film Earthquake; now that the towering, twirling, twin wa-
would have rocked the house.
terspout tornadoes that dance
Helen Hunt ("Mad About across a lake like a giant
You") and Bill Paxton (Apollo 13) Nureyev and Fontaine. These
play tornado chasers whose are spectacularly beautiful sights
stormy marriage is on a collision reminding us not to mess with
course with the elements. They Mother Nature but hold her in
are headed for a divorce, papers awe.
in hand, when suddenly another
storm starts brewing. Make that
a flock of storms, in rapid suc-
cession, and an opportunity for
—Dick Rockwell
them to try out "Dorothy," their
wondrous little R2-D2 canister.

1

Agent Bateau scans the crowd for a fleeing suspect believed to be the elusive electronic terrorist "The Puppet Master."

'Ghost In The Shell'

Unrated by the MPAA (nudity, violence, adult lan-
guage)

What passes for deep thought in this anima is
really just the breeze tousling the heroine's hair as
she stares vacantly into the abyss of informa-
host in the Shell could as easily
tion. It's a mystery how computers, fiber op-
MOVIES
be titled "Soul in the Machine"
tics, technology and the Internet could all be
since this Japanese animation, a
rendered so woodenly.
spin-off from the extremely popular se-
ries of comic books (or manga) by the artist
tO 1/2
Masamune Shirow, is ultimately interested in in-
terfacing more cosmic questions than its techno-
—Dick Rockwell
babble would admit. Beyond the
hardcore action sequences and Blade
Runner Technopolis setting, we're into
existential philosophy here as well.
What if your brain were implanted in
a cybernetic body capable of plugging
into a world-wide Internet? Could you
hack into the core of your existence,
discover your creator and find proof
of your soul?
This movie desperately needs some
levity. Granted, Ghost in the Shell has
a keen sense of Cyberville — a mas-
sive cityscape environment of ghast-
ly towers connected by a labyrinth of
thoroughfares all resembling network
conduit. But, in spite of its artistry,
there are no real denizens here except
to intercept stray bullets or act as ob-
stacles during an early chase sequence
when the cyber-criminal "Puppet
Master" tries to infiltrate headquar-
ters.
One of Ghost's most evocative se-
quences might be considered a tone
poem for a music video. The city's var-
ious streets, buildings — some paint-
ed, some with neon signage — and
netherworldly atmosphere are shown
in a slow montage as eerie Oriental
music is heard. Meanwhile, in the bay
which adjoins the city, the naked hero-
ine, "Major" Motoko Kusanagi, floats
aimlessly, adrift in a sea of thought.
Placid, embryonic scenes like this
alternate with others of senseless vi-
olence, didactic conversation and, of Major Motoko Kusanagi is a female cybernetic secret service agent sent to
course, artillery fire and kung fu.
counter sophisticated crime in a society dominated by the Net.

G

PHOTO BY DAVID JAMES

In the movie Twister, Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton's on-screen marriage isn't the
only stormy condition.