Wednesday, August 24, 1983
Daily Ncbraskan
Page 43
'Star Chamber' . .
Continued from V&'c 38
Thankfully, the creators of The St ar Chamber M
unlike the creators of "Death Wish," want us to ques
tion the wisdom of forming vigilante groups. But
because of the stark portrayal of two men wrongly
accused of a specific crime, audiences will probably
leave t he theater esteeming those who take the law
into their own hands.
The film's lofty ambitions are also impaired by a
plethora of cliches, stereotypical characters and
implausible contrivances.
The cops and detectives look like they graduated
from the Hill Street Blues Police Academy. While
looking for evidence needed to arrest a murderer,
one of the detectives jokes to his partner "Join t he
police and see the world".
All the hoodlums are either wearing Hawaiian
shirts or soiled tank tops. One of these criminals is
asked to give himself up by a jocular officer who
hates the paper work that is involved in shooting
people.
And then there is Michael Douglas as the nascent
superior court judge. Of course, he is, young, good
looking and quickly disillusioned by what he sees.
Personally, I wondered how he kept his ideals intact
as a lawyer. Douglas' charming wife welcomes him
home with "Here comes the judge." Later she tells
him, "I feel like I'm losing you and I don't know what
to do about it."
The most implausible sequence occurs when the
judge travels to the seediest part of town to inform
the wrongly-accused-but-acquitted hoodlums that
a hit man is out to get them. In his mission, he
manages to survive a severe beating, a fall through a
chute and a chemical explosion.
For having such a ridiculous part, Douglas deliv
ers an excellent performance. As a man torn by the
dark ambiguities of the legal system, he makes his
headaches and ulcers palpable. The rest of the cast
is adequete but their parts are too absurd and insig
nificant to merit any attention.
The t itle for this film, by the way, comes from the
name given to an English court of law founded by
Henry VII. In a room where stars adorned the ceil
ing, the court enforced laws that could not be
enforced by other courts. Going into further detail
would give away most of the plot and give audiences
one more reason why they should not see the movie.
Bel-Airs bring
blues, soul
to Zoo Bar
The Bel-Airs, a four
piece rhythm and blues
band from Springfield,
Mo., will be featured at
theZooBar.136No.14th,
Thursday.FridayandSatur-day.
?l?tC music house, rc. 7
Welcome? Gael;
to Lincoln!
Keeping Lincoln's musicians
one step ahead.
1208 "O" St. 476-6644
The Bel-Airs, who have
played the Zoo with increas
ing frequency over the
past two years, specialize
in blues music from the
'50s, as well as 'GOs soul.
The band has recorded
an album forTexas-based
Amazing Records. How
ever, due to financial
troubles at the label, the
record has yet to be re
leased. There will be a $2 cover
for the Thursday show,
$3 for Friday's and Satur
day's. The show starts
each each night at 9 p.m.
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JEWELERS
Liz Murphy
Wright's Compos
roproGontctiuG.
She will be
aueileble to help
en ell your Greek
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JEWELERS
CORNER OF 13th a P
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