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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 1991)
Arts & Entertainment Movie’s character metamorphosis fascinates By Julie Naughton Senior Editor Henry Turner is a wealthy, suc cessful New York lawyer who seem ingly has it all: a beautiful wife, an ^adorable daughter, the perfect Upper East Side home complete with maid. There ’ s on ly one problem: the man has no heart. Therefore, he has the morals of a hungry barracuda, and lives only to prosecute cases and make himself look good to others. It takes being shot in the head for Henry to realize what is really impor tant to him. And while the audience is “Regarding Henry,” Henry is recov ering from his gunshot wound — and helping to heal the emotional wounds he has inflicted upon his wife, Sarah (Annette Bening) and his daughter, Rachel (Mikki Allen) over the past 12 or so years. This film has the elements of a tcarjcrkcr, but it never stoops to manipulative sentimentality. Instead, it is honest, lender, sad and funny. Henry starts out as the villain and becomes the hero in this film. And the transformation is fascinating to watch. In the tradition of Robert DcNiro’s role in “Awakenings” and Dustin Hoffman’s role in “Rain Man,” Ford “Regarding Henry” Starring Harrison Ford, Annette Bening P Rated PG-13 A takes a turn playing a character with a disability. However, Ford proves that a “disability” can sometimes be a blessing in disguise—for in this film, Ford’s Henry is a much better person after his accident. Ford turns in an Oscar-calibcr performance as the hard-bitten law yer turned overgrown child. His por trayal of Henry Turner is expertly crafted and wonderfully delivered. Bcning’s Sarah is wound so tight one almost expects her to implode. Bening is a consummate actress, changing her personality completely for each role that she plays. Her per See HENRY on 9 Courtesy of Paramount Pictures v Harrison Ford stars as Henry Turner and Mikki Allen is his daughter, Rachel, in “Regarding Henry." ,, ..... Cartoons carry heavy messages, animation geared toward adults Robot-human interaction theme of sci-fi collection By Bryan Peterson Staff Reporter | —■-i Robot Visions Isaac Asimov ' Roc Books Isaac Asimov holds a curious title, one which readers would not expect of someone known for his works of science fiction: the writer with the largest number of titles ever printed. The range of his writing spans a number of areas including humor, astronomy and robotics, but it is for his science fiction that Asimov is best known. robot-human interaction and of the robots themselves as they become an > increasingly pervasive presence in human society. . * Unlike many s-f writers, Asimov persistently writes of robots as con tributing to humanity and the quality of life, not as dangerous machines about to take over the wprld or sap the quality of individual human lives. One of his recurring themes con cerns what Asimov secs as an irra tional fear of the presence of comput ers and robots in our. lives. He docs much to confront such fears and to actually humanize his robots, a process carried to an ex treme in “The Bicentennial Man,” among other stories and essays which explore the increasingly fine line between humans and machines. By Steve Pearson Staff Reporter Animation isn’t just for kids anymore. “The Animated Films of Joanna Priestly” deliver a barrage of images and messages that would make a five-year-old’s head spin. Eight short animated films are included in the collection of Pries tley’s work. Seven were available for advance screening. “Lotus Feet" (1980) marks Pries tley’ first excursion into the world of animation. A collaboration of seven animators, “Lotus Feet” studies the motions of a dancing female, using rotoscoping, paint on-film, and watcrcolor on paper. "The Animated Films of Joanna Priestley” Not Rated _ the coyote, the film uses a fasci nating technique—back-lit sand animation. the focus of this film is its mes sage. “All My Relations” (1990) looks at relationships including marriage, parenting and owning a pet. “After The Fall” (1991) will also be shown but was unavailable • for preview. Fans of animation will find much to admire in Priestley’s work. Others may be intrigued with Priestley’s images and messages. Make no mistake, Priestley is not the next Wall Disney. Priestley’s mission is to provoKC tnougnt inrougn an artistic form. Her col lee lion of films bears a stronger resemblance to the works in an art gallery than it docs to most commercial anima tion. “The Animated Films of Joanna Priestley” is playing at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater in Shel don Memorial Art Gallery. Screen ings arc at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, 3 & 7:30 on Friday and at 3,5,7 & 9 p.m. on Sunday. Priestley will be present at the 7:30 p.m. screen ings on Thursday and Friday to discuss her films with the audi ences. 4 All other screenings will in clude an animated selection from the Mary Riepma Ross Film Thea ter Archives. In that field he has written for more than fifty years. In that lime, he has gathered several awards and the Grandmaster title, as well as. being cited as the inventor of terms and rules relating to robotics in the Ox ford English Dictionary. Anyone with such a body of work to draw upon is entitled to release an occasional collection of previously published works, but Asimov scenes to do so regularly. Even so, he has worked to keep the overlap between collections minimal in his newest^ Robot Visions, which includes three stories never before collected. The first four hundred pages of Robot Visions contain 18 stories spanning Asimov’s career and trace the development both of his vision of In “Voiccs”(1985)an animated Priestley shares her private thoughts and fears, intermingled with cam eos by historical cartoon figures. This piece is both funny and thought provoking. “Candyjam” (1988) is the work of ten animators, and it is easily the most enjoyable film in the collection. Each animator created a segment of the film, using candy to create pictures. “Candyjam” is terrifically funny and a visual de light. “Shc-Bop” (1988) is about female empowerment. It includes some outstanding animation, but • t The use of both film and anima tion techniques was interesting, but the film ran long at only six min utes. “The Rubber Stamp Film” (1983) consists of images created from rubber stamps that combine and recombine at breakneck speed. The soundtrack is a collage of voices and musical fragments. The power of media, including visual art, tele vision and film, seems to be cen tral to the film’s meaning. “The Dancing Bulrushes” (1985) is beautifully simplistic. Based on a traditional Chippewa talc about Beyond being good science fic tion, these stories present interesting problems of identity. They arc the same questions philosophers often explore, if in a very different lan guage. Many of the ideas explored in Asimov’s stories arc also examined in his essays, 16 of which fill the Iasi hundred pages of Robot Visions. Taken together, this collection of stories and essays reflects a lifetime of thought and writing about the role of robots in human society of the future as well as a passionate devo tion to the improvement of human life through the'science of robotics.