FEDERAL HILL
D: Michael Corrente: with Nicholas Turturro, Anthony DeSando, Libby Langdon,
Michael Raynor, Jason Andrews, Robert Turano
Vidmark Entertainment
Set in the Federal Hill District of Providence, R.I., this charming
little black-and-white, penny-ante gangster movie is a modern day Mean
Streets without the edge. A group of Italian-American college-age townies
sell drugs and commit petty crimes just outside the shadow of the Mob. The
father of Frank (Michael Raynor), one of the true-blue pals, is the Don of
Federal Hill and is grooming his son to follow in his footsteps. Frank is
hesitant to do his father’s bidding, so of course he ends up having to rub out
one of the crew for robbing the houses of several “made” men. Nicholas Turturro
plays Ralphie the thief, who hits houses to supplement his income as a mason.
Prideful and not altogether there, Ralphie’s character seems modeled after
DeNiro’s Johnny boy, but the bullet meant for him in the end accidentally hits
his best friend Nicky, the sweet and sentimental “Johnny wanna buy a kilo” coke
dealer who is falling in love with a Brown student (Langdon) despite Ralphie’s
warnings (“She’s somewhere from the Middle West and shits vanilla ice cream”)
and obvious abandonment issues. A quintessential buddy movie, Federal Hill
is reminiscent of Breaking Away in its us-against-them mentality,
but the inevitability of the characters’ social and economic reality adds a
more somber tone to this group’s prodding banter. The film is not without its
flaws. The mob presence is almost too minimal – it’s hard to believe these guys
have been doing what they’ve been doing for so long without crossing paths with
big Frank sooner, and except for the love interest, Wendy, we never see anyone
trying to score coke from the supposed drug dealer Nicky. It’s also a bit
strange that these boys have grown up together the closest of friends in the
Italian section of town, they play poker every week, and the only one headed
for a real Mafia career is Frank, Jr. Frank, Sr. doesn’t even know his son’s
friends very well. Federal Hill does succeed in providing the flavor of
an Italian-American community, and subtly explores the bonds that keep ethnic
groups together. Corrente’s decision to shoot in black & white emphasizes
simplicity over melodrama, and the acting is all pretty quality. Turturro’s
portrayal of the disturbed Ralphie shows us the actor’s more than capable of
growing into roles beyond the goody-goody rookie Hispanic cop, James, on
NYPD Blue. – Jennifer Scoville BIOFORGE
Origin Systems
Waking up with no memory amidst a nuclear reactor meltdown on a moon of
an uncharted planet to find that you have been cybernetically altered into the
perfect assassin is not something most of us would expect to experience, but it
is pretty much standard fare for video game junkies. Bioforge, a recent
release from the Austin-based Origin Systems, is a sci-fi interactive adventure
game with digital sound and fluid animation, using a technique Origin refers to
as System for Animating Lifelike Synthetic Actors, or SALSA. Even working with
the bare requirements for this game, the graphics, from the reflections of your
face off the monitors to the blood-splattering combat (rated 17+, which is
usually a good sign), are superb, the sound effects are top-notch, and the
music, well, at least it’s optional. The goal is to regain your identity (there
are multiple outcomes), make your way through a high-security installation and
incompatible world while combatting mechanical guards, alien lifeforms,
cybernetic mutants, and followers of the Mondite movement (a group who believe
the benefits of evolution must be accelerated through genetic and cybernetic
alteration), and, of course, save the universe. Manipulating your mechanical
counterpart through 3D space can sometimes be a bit clumsy (operating a myriad
of key combinations and the mouse to generate the 24 combat maneuvers, operate
consoles, and just plain get around), but simply witnessing your new
muscle-bound body perform with the aid of these CD-quality graphics makes it
well worth mastering. Do not fall prey to the hint book, which is advertised at
least three times in the literature that comes with the game. The initial
portion may be a bit frustrating, but once you get going it will move along at
a good pace. If you get too frustrated, you can always go back and kick
CyberRaptor’s butt again or beat your psychotically deranged cellmate with the
bloody stump of his own arm – it sure made me feel better.
– Carl Bacher
PROJECT A-KO
D: Katsuhiko Nishijima; with the voices of Miki Itoh, Emi Shinohara, Michie
Tomisawa
Image Entertainment
I’ll be damned if this ridiculous example of “Anime,” or Japanese
Animation, ever fails to put a big goofy grin on my face: Its union of
unapologetically cute animation and ludicrous action scenes, combined with an
infectiously naughty sense of fun, make it, for my money, an endlessly
entertaining package. Add to all this some knowing satire and playful ribbing
of Japanese Animation clich�s (both the trash classic Fist of the
North Star and the excellent Harmegeddon are mercilessly parodied,
with the latter sequence featuring a terrifying guest appearance by the one and
only Colonel Sanders…) and it becomes clear Project A-KO is not only
spectacularly amusing, but backed up by genuine wit to boot. The outrageous
storyline begins with the Earth being practically destroyed by a giant meteor,
and just gets crazier from there. Best pals A-KO and her obnoxious, but
irresistibly cute, sidekick C-KO attend their first trouble-filled day at
Graviton High, where they repeatedly lock horns with a rival classmate, B-KO,
who has become totally obsessed with C-KO, and has designs on stealing her away
from her arch-nemesis any way she can. And since A-KO just happens to be
blessed with superhuman powers that allow her to perform amazing feats of
strength, speed, and agility (explained away in a single, albeit hilarious,
shot. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.), B-KO sets about building a variety of
giant, heavily armed robots, all designed to wipe our heroine off the face of
the planet. Throw in a massive alien spaceship headed towards Earth, whose
inhabitants also have more than a passing interest in C-KO, and the stage is
set for an unbelievable climax that is as much in the tradition of The Road
Runner as it is of Japanese sci-fi. Image’s laserdisc looks pretty swell,
and is slightly letterboxed at an accurate 1.66:1 ratio. Whenever possible, the
frequently hilarious subtitles (i.e.: “A-KO! The depth of my vexation is
beyond your comprehension!”) have been thoughtfully placed within the black
masking of the letterbox border, further improving their legibility. A
gloriously silly treat for both sci-fi and animation buffs, although some brief
nudity may render it unacceptable for children.
– Joey O’Bryan
This article appears in September 8 • 1995 and September 8 • 1995 (Cover).