European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                1 ii Short takes 1 j Allan rated r. Ripley Sigourney Weaver crash lands on a Remote planet. Babe s kids rated pg-13. A self filled Quot animation with an  Boomerang rated r. Eddie Murphy is a womanizing exec who meets his match in Robin Givens. Bram Stokar a Dracula rated r. Francis Ford Coppola a version of the Vampire talc. Buffy the Vamp Lra Slayer rated pg-13. Vampires arc on the Loose in Southern California. Donald Sutherland. Curl Stophar Columbus tha Dia ovary rated pg-13. In this laugh a minute Columbus George Corr face comes off As a cheerful hunk. Cool world rated pg-13. Gabriel Byrne is drawn into a cartoon universe by Holli would Kim Basinger s voice then her body. Death become her rated pg-13. Meryl Streep and Goldie hawn play a vain actress and a vengeful author locked in a deadly rivalry. Tha distinguished gentleman rated r. Eddie Murphy plays Jeff Johnson a con Man who runs for Congress. Fern Gully tha last rain Forest rated g. This animated film tells the Story of the animals who live in an endangered rain Forest. Final analysis rated r. Richard Gere is a psychiatrist specializing in criminal eases involving temporary insanity. Also Kim Basinger. Freddie As f.r.o.7 rated g. An animated film about a secret agent Frog voice by Ben Kingsley who must save the United kingdom. Free Jack rated r. A race Driver Emilio Estevez is in for the ride of his life. Tha great mouse detective rated g. Basil of 221 i Baker Street is called in when a Little girl mouse s father is kidnapped. The gun in Betty Lou s handbag rated pg-13. Ignored by her policeman husband and bored with her Job at the Library Betty Lou seems resigned to her Fate. But when she stumbles across a murder weapon an idea is born a Betty Lou confesses to the time. Penelope Miller Eric thai. Tha hand that rocks tha Cradle rated r. The new Nanny seems very Sweet and eager to please. Just wait. Rebecca do Mornay. Honay i blow up tha kid rated pm. Comedy with Rick Moranis. Jann Ferb rated r. A compulsive cop Andy Garcia is on the Trail of a serial killer who goes after Blind women. A Langua of their own rated pm. Topping the roster for the Rockford peaches Gena Davis As the Star Quality Catcher Tom Hanks As their mangy manager Lori Petty As Davis s envious kid sister and Madonna As a Wise cracking bad girl outfielder. Lathal weapon 3 rated r. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover mix it up one More time. Little Nemo adventures in slumber land rated g. Based on the turn of the can Tury Winsor Mccay comic strip. Out on a limb rated pm. Matthew Broderick plays a financial Whiz summoned to a logging town named Buzzsaw by his Little sister. Passenger St rated r. When terrorists take Over flight 163 at 30,000 feet the one thing they did t count on is Wesley Snipes. Prelude to a kiss rated pg-13. The soul kit a of the Century. Alee Baldwin and Meg Ryan. Raising Cain rated r. John Lithgow is a child shrink with a cute daughter and not so cute multiple personalities. Rapid fir rated r. Brandon Lee follows in the footwork of his dad martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Rock a Doodle rated g. An animated film about a boy and his favorite Story about Chanticleer a rooster. Single Whit Kamala rated r. Bridget Fonda is a new Gul in new York with a huge rent controlled apartment on the upper West Side and a shy new Rookie Jennifer Jason Leigh who turns out to hav e a few screws Loose. Sister act rated pm. Whoops Goldberg is on the Lam in a Convent. Sleepwalkers rated r humor and horror in this Stephen King tale of form shilling fiends who feed on the life Force of virgins. Sneakers rated pg-13. This entertaining caper comedy is like the Best Ever episode of Mission impossible. Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier. Stay tuned rated pg-13 in this satire a suburban Couch potato John Ritter and his fed up wife Pam Dawber Are sucked into a sinister Cable network. 3 ninja kids rated pm. While i hair father is occupied with Fri business his Young sous Cope with his absence by learning the ways of the ninja from grandpa. Unlawful entry rated r the picture perfect lives of a Young suburban couple Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe begin to dissolve after their Home is robbed. Whispers in the dark rated r a therapy thriller in which Annabella Sciorra is up to her eyeballs in Kinky clients shifty shrinks and dead bodies. Whit Sands rated r. Nothing much happens in this Small new Mexico town until a murder investigation turns up evidence that seems to implicate the Fri. Willem Dafoe. Also on the Aafke circuit ratio it All i want for Christmas ratio pg-13l folks. Man trouble. Ratio r american me Digg town i he i Awn Mower Man Man trouble to Money ism peaks fire walk Wilh me Universal Soldier this weeks a a v. $ Warner Bros Whitney Houston portrays a superstar who Falls for her Security guard Kevin Costner in the thriller the bodyguard. Chuck Vinch Staft write Ron Mon ii the bodyguard rated r a a a Kaaa must see a a a Worth your time a a passable entertainment a coming soon to a video outlet near you and you can wait you might think that a 20-year-old script originally written for the Long dead Steve Mcqueen would be Tough to Ressu rect in the �?T90s. But with smoke and mirrors not to mention a healthy dose of Star Power writer producer Lawrence Kasdan has updated his Story and turned it into an enjoyable a if occasionally silly a romantic thriller. The Star Power is amply provided by one of our reigning movie icons Kevin Costner and one of our top pop music Queens Whitney Houston making a splash in her Hig screen debut. Costner plays Frank Farmer a steely sex secret service agent who works As a bodyguard for hire. Frank fancies himself a Samurai and even has a razor Sharp three foot Long ceremonial sword hanging on his Wall. His entire approach to life is based on discipline control and conditioning. The reason he is so uptight and buttoned Down is one of the films Many silly touches a he has never forgiven himself for at tending his mothers funeral the Day president Reagan was shot. When he is approached by Bill Deva Ney Bill cob the manager of megastar Singer actress Rachel Marron Houston about shielding her from an obsessed fan who has been sending death threats he does no to want the Job. A i done to do celebrities a Frank says. His reluctance is Only reinforced when he meets Rachel a pampered overbearing arrogant woman who never hears the word a a not pass the lips of any member of her enormous and fawning entourage. But against his better judgement he accepts the assignment and you know its Only a matter of time before they Tumble into bed. This happens off screen but is symbolized in a spectacularly unsubtle Way by director Mick Jackson who offers a shot of her Black Lacy undergarments draped across his Samurai sword. Frank whose Cardinal Rule is to never get too close to his clients comes to his senses the next morning. That sends Rachel Back into harpy Mode further complicating his efforts to protect her. Kasdan provides intriguing red Herrings and plot twists along the Way to the films culmination with Rachel receiving a Best actress Oscar at the Academy awards ceremony. As an actor Costner is an Enigma. His style is often described As laconic but it could easily be labelled monotonous. Its now obvious that the Guy has even fewer gears than Gary Cooper with whom he is sometimes compared. And yet like Cooper he has that Aura the special something that is hard to define but readily recognizable As the stuff Hollywood legends Are made of. Fie has proven it time after time with such richly textured films As the untouchables and dunces with wolves and lie does it Here. As was the Case with Cooper and Mcqueen Costner does some of his Best work without Ever speaking a line and Kasdan wisely uses that to great advantage. For example Frank has an altercation with Rachel a Beefy former Security chief Tony Star who chafes at being made a subordinate. Frank calmly and effortlessly thrashes him senseless ending by whizzing a knife past the bigger Many sear to thunk into a Cabinet. A i done to want to talk about this again a Trank says the Only dialogue in the entire confrontation. Houston is not asked to do much More than be herself and she handles her role Well. The fact that she a a Novice As an actress helps her project a sense of unrehearsed freshness that might have been hard to elicit from More experienced leading ladies. On the Down Side Costner apparently used the same Barber who butchered Harrison Ford in regarding Henry. The look can Best be described As Friar tuck meets Moe Howard. The goal could have been to reinforce Franks Monk like lifestyle but its still a distraction to see Costner in a a do that makes him look like he had a close encounter with a Weed whacker. The film is also schizophrenic in that Kasdan  seem to decide if this is a love Story or a straight thriller. The result is that the stalker scenes feel like intrusions on the Romance. And the Romance itself does no to stand up Well under the harsh Glare of reality. You would not be alone if you find yourself wondering just what attracts Rachel to the obtuse tight lipped Frank in the first place. Certainly not that haircut. Purists May not be Able to resist picking apart these and other flaws in the script. But even though logic says the Story  work somehow it does. The bodyguard gets three stars. Page 12 a sunday december 13, 1992