Monday, January 12, 1987
Daily Nebraskan
Page 13
Best films of the season;
child, cowboys, crimes and Kong
fr
Don't Put Your Decision to
Buy Health Insurance on Ice,
By Stew Magnuson
Senior Reporter
More certain than snow on Christmas
is a deluge of new movies at the local
theaters. Here's just a partial list and
some quick comments on the best
films released over the holidays.
The Golden Child:
I've never really liked Eddy Murphy's
comedy acts, but I usually enjoy his
movies. In "The Golden Child," Murphy :
plays a private detective specializing
in lost children. The lost child in "The
Golden Child" happens to be, you
guessed it, "The Golden Child," a
mystical, bald kid from Tibet kidnapped
by the forces of evil.
A beautiful, well-developed woman
from Tibet gets Murphy to search for
the lost boy. Murphy's biggest laughs
stem from his skeptical attitude toward
all the mystical mumbo-jumbo. He also
gets laughs simply by laughing.
Murphy winds up in Tibet, running
into nasty forces from the Darkside and
doing all that "path to enlightenment"
stuff Tibetans seem to enjoy so much.
Eventually Murphy goes back to Los
Angeles and does battle with the forces
of evil to save the Golden Child. There
are some silly kung-fu scenes and lots
of demonic special effects a la "Ghost
busters," but "The Golden Child" is
good, solid entertainment. Its offbeat
story makes the film interesting. I
didn't feel like I was just watching
some worn-out plot like "Beverly Hills
Cop."
Three Amigos:
: Let's face it, Chevy Chase and Steve
Martin have both had their share of
box-office bombs, and Martin Short has
Committee
fights for
Block 35
DOWNTOWN from Page 12
The committee went public a
week ago. Randy Moody, a spokesman
for the committee, read from a
prepared statement at a press
conference last Monday. The pre
pared speech said, in a nutshell,
that the businesses are here, they
are thriving, they don't want to
move, and the proper steps to
reverse the decision are going to be
taken.
State Sen. Dave Landis was also
at the press conference "because I
shop up and down this street, and it
seems to me that if you have thriving
businesses, you shouldn't be closing
them down on a matter of specu
lation." So there waits the wrecking ball,
pointed at one of the few culturally
saturated blocks still thriving in
Lincoln. The thought of the des
truction of this block seems absurd.
Other parking lots have been offered
up as potential parking. The con
demnation seems to go against the
trend of wanting to upgrade the
cultural diversity of Lincoln. As it
stands, Lincoln's cultural scene is
already graveyardish.
Block 35 has everything to offer to
a Downtown Redevelopment Project
gourmet cuisine, music, shopping,
apartment dwellings ... and the
cleanest alley in downtown Lincoln.
CARE.
never had a box-office anything. Put
them all together, though, and "Three
Amigos" is still a good comedy and a
perfect send-up of "The Magnificent
Seven." Martin, Short and Chase play
three out-of-work silent-film stars who
are hired by a poor village to chase
away some wicked, nasty bandits.
But the three prima donnas think
they're just going to put on a show.
Actually they're all simpering wimps
who start bawling their heads off when
they find out the head bandit is going
to blow their heads off.
'Three Amigos" is just as good as
"Blazing Saddles," if not better. The
humor is a little more intelligent than
the Mel Brooks classic spoof of
Westerns, which had to rely on farts
and racial jokes for big laughs. Martin
and Short are both excellent, but
Chase is quite forgettable. Like "Blazing
Saddles," the ending is so ridiculous
that you just have to laugh.
King Kong Lives:
Let's get one thing straight before I
start this review. "King Kong Lives" is
an awful movie. The script is awful and
ludicrous. The acting and characters
are as wooden as Howdy Doody and the
special effects are simply some guy in
an ape suit crushing Tonka Toys. But 1
still highly recommend this "film."
You've heard the expression, "It's so
bad that it's good." Well, "King Kong
Lives" is just that.
Try this premise: After King Kong
took a dive off the Twin Towers in the
last movie, someone actually managed
to do CPR on the big ape. He's been
hooked up on a life-support system for
10 years, waiting for scientists to invent
a giant ape artificial heart! And once
they do fabricate a nine-foot Jarvik
transplant, they forget to get giant-ape
blood. Fortunately, they discover a
giant female Kong on a Polynesian
island, and they do a giant-ape blood
transfusion. See, before your very eyes,
artificial heart surgery performed on a
giant ape! See a giant crane pull Kong's
old bum ticker out of his chest. Ooh,
grodie! If this sounds at all fun, "King
Kong Lives" is the film for you.
Crimes of the Heart:
Three great actresses and one great
script make "Crimes of the Heart" the
best Christmas film. Beth Henley, who
also penned one of 1986's best movies,
"Nobody's Fool," is a great writer. In
"Crimes of the Heart," she has created
the McGrath sisters, played by Sissy
Spacek, Diane Keaton and Jessica
Lange. Keaton plays Linda, the spinster,
too insecure to go out with men because
she's missing an ovary, Sissy Spacek is
Babe, the youngest sister, who just shot
her state-congressman husband in the
gut. And Lange is Meg, the singer trying
to find fame in California, who returns
home to help her distraught sister.
Originally a play, this film has a
stage feeling. Henley, as she did in
"Nobody's Fool," creates a strong sense
of place in the small Mississippi town,
along with three fascinating characters.
Spacek nearly steals the show simply
with her extraordinary acting and also
because her character is the most
interesting. Playwright Henley definite
ly has something against cats, though.
In "Nobody's Fool," one of the minor
characters baked some poor feline; in
"Crimes of the Heart," a cat is hanged
Don't worry, fellow cat lovers, it's not
shown on screen, only talked about.
Are you willing to gamble that you won't have any
medical bills during the school year?
Why not buy Student Health Insurance and decrease
your odds from financial disaster or illness or accident.
After February 28, 1987 all enrollments are FINAL!
Visit the Student Health Insurance Office at the Health
Center by Saturday, February 28. A Student Insurance
Representative is available to answer your questions
Monday through Friday. For more information call
472-7437.
6
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P.O Box 808027
Dallas, Texas 75380
1-800-527-0519
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WE'RE FIGHTING FOR
NOUR LIFE
American Heart
Association
Nebraska Affiliate
MO
E TO STUDENTS
TIC
All students are eligible to apply for a refund of their Fund MA" portion of student fees
during a period beginning January 12, 1987 and ending February 13, 1987. Students
claiming a refund will lose benefits provided by Fund "A" users during the spring
semester 1986-87.
Application forms are available at the Student Activities Financial Service Office, 222
Nebraska Union; ASUN Office, 115 Nebraska Union; or the East CAP Office, Nebraska
East Union and should be returned by the applicant in person to 222 Nebraska Union or
300 Nebraska East Union. Students must bring their student I.D. cards at the time of
application. Students who are unable to personally return their application to the
Student Activities Financial Services Offices should contact Kim Underdahl, Room 222
Nebraska Union (phone 472-2181) before February 6, 1987 to make arrangements.
Students who have completed a refund application and returned it on or before
February 13, 1987 will be mailed a check for the amount of the refund claimed. Refund
checks will be mailed between the dates of February 16 through 27, 1987.
Fund "A refund amounts are as follows:
A.S.T3.N j-Mf. $2.8
Daily Nebraskan 96
State Student Association .50
University Program Council. $2.90
Total Refund : ...$0.83
Students claiming a refund will lose certain benefits provided by the above listed Fund
"A" users. For details on which benefits may be lost, please refer to the cover sheet on the
refund application.
The solution to your
New Year's Resolution.
You promised yourself, "This year I'm going to stay in
shape." But you don't want to pay high prices for facilities.
The Lincoln YMCA has the answer.
You can swim, run, play basketball, stretch, play
racquetball, enjoy exercise classes and much more.
Sign up for a student membership before January 1 5th
and get $35.00 OFF your new membership by paying no
initiation fee.
$14.00 A MONTH
without Nautilus
$18.00 A MONTH
with Nautilus
NOTE: Student Membership excludes the hours of
1 1 a.m.-l p.m. and 5 p.m.-7 p.m. weekdays.
2 BLOCKS FROM CAMPUS
w
.the UolM
Shaping the student body.
04 j-M
Downtown
Northeast
2601 No. 70th
434-7431
11th &"P" Street
475-S322
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