Yuletide offers grab bag of videos
By Qfry B0ltz
Senior Reporter
Although students will take a va
cation, new video releases will not.
The next four weeks don’t promise
anything monumentally terrific, but
there’s still enough good stuff to get
through the month.
Three very mediocre flicks will be
released Wednesday: “Baby’s Day
Out” starring Joe Mantegna will
please the kids with its mindlessness;
“Blown Away” with Jeff Bridges and
Tommy Lee Jones needs less drama
and more action; and “I Love
Trouble” with Nick Nolte and Julia
Roberts is just plain blah, and not
worth the trouble.
Three more releases will be out
Dec. 21, and the verdict is in favor of
another John Grisham flick. “The
Client” stars Susan Sarandon and
Tommy Lee Jones, and even non
Grisham fans can enjoy this film.
Also released on this date are
“Lassie” and “Wagon’s East,” star
ring Richard Lewis and the late John
Candy.
For those looking for a good kids
film, “The Lahd Before Time II” will
be released Dec. 23. This made-for
video animated dinosaur flick is the
sequel to the successful original “The
Land Before Time” from the late
1980s.
The Wednesday before classes
start, Jan. 4, is the beginning of a
great month of video releases. “Re
naissance Man” with Danny DeVito
and “Airheads” with Brendan Fraser
both come out that day, and both are
worth seeing.
Also coming out in January arc
“True Lies,” “Wolf,” and “The
Shadow.”
PICK-OF-THE-MONTH —
This was a tough decision. This
movie must be such a film that it
would speak to generations, a movie
that stands out from the rest.
The choice was obvious: “Flash
Gordon.”
From the early ’80s, this flick
epitomizes the phrase “turn off your
brain and enjoy.” It stars Sam J. Jones
as our hero, with Melody Anderson
as Dale Arden, Topol as Dr. Hans
Zarkov and Max Von Sydow as Ming
the Merciless.
A soundtrack by Queen, hokey
special effects, fun-loving action, and
dialogue that boggles the mind all
combine to make “Flash Gordon” a
fun little film to rent.
Flix
Continued from Page 14
Jodie Foster will try for another
Oscar in “Nell," which, opens Dec.
23. Foster stars as a backwoods
woman who falls for Liam Neeson.
“Street Fighter,” will also be re
leased Dec. 23; it is based on the
popular arcade game. This one stars
Jean-Claude Van Damme and the late
Raul Julia.
Movie theaters and convenience
stores are about the only places open
Christmas Day. There’s a healthy
amount of movies opening Christmas
Day, including two movies based on
literary classics: Louisa May Alcott’s
“Little Women,” starring Susan
Sarandon, Winona Ryder and Kirsten
Dunsl; and Rudyard Kipling’s “The
Jungle Book” starring Jason Scott Lee
and Cary Elwes.
Also opening is the comedy “I.Q.”
with Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins and
Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein.
Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
Natsha Richardson, Jodio Foster and Liam Nooson star In
“Noll,” which opons Doc. 23.
Courtesy of Glen E. Friedman
Henry Rollins, author of “Got In the Van: Ufa on the
Road with Black Flag” performs with Black Flag.
Buckle the belts: Rollins’
book ‘Get in the Van’ a trip
Get m the Van: Life on the
Road with Black Flag”
Henry Rollins
Grade: B+
Henry Rollins chronicles his
years with the legendary thrash
band Black Flag in his latest book.
Rollins edited his tour diaries
and gives the reader an intimate
look into the ups and downs of his
earlier years.
A lot ofthe journal entries were
written in the now-famous “Shed,”
a tool shed where Rollins lived for
a couple of years.
The book has been released in
printed and audio versions, but
listening to Rollins’ emotional
voice relive his rocky beginnings
Rollins’ “tour of duty” with the
Flag ran from 1981 until 1986 and
spanned the globe.
He comments on everything
from the skinheads who often came
and ruined their shows to the con
cert they played in Lincoln.
Rollins’ comments are often
witty and amusing.
Rollins on England: “1 hate En
gland.”
Rollins on skinheads: ‘‘These
people should go get killed. It’s a
drag to have to put up with these
people who should just be hit by
cars.”
Rollins on relations with po
lice: “It’s like being bossed around
by a child twice your body weight.”
Rollins on Lincoln: “Last night
was Lincoln, Nebraska. 1 thought
we played real well. Crowd was
—Joel Strauch
Gregory
Continued from Page 14
a college career and be set up for life,”
Cleasby said. “But for some people
that isn’t fulfilling.”
Brock is a senior English and phi
losophy major at the University of
Ncbraska-Lincoln, but he said he
wouldn’t be satisfied with the usual
middle-class, college-graduate job.
“A lot of people go through col
lege and get a job and become that
inh ” Rrock said “I don’t want to
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become some bitter person sitting
behind a desk saying, ‘You know, I
could have been a musician.’
“I have a job as a janitor, but I
make music.”
Mark Wolberg, Gregory’s bassist,
said being a musician was different
than other jobs.
“You’re working for yourself, and
you have to know that so you can mo
tivate yourself,” Wolberg said.
The band has been together two
years. Members said they’d been
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“I know that everyone in this band would be able to
flourish in a college career and be set up for life,
but for some people that isn't fulfilling. ”
m
OWEN CLEASBY
Gregory lead singer and guitarist
criticized for not accomplishing as
much as most bands.
“It took us a long time to get our
shit together. What we’ve established
over the last two years may not have
been any releases or national atten
tion, but we have established lifelong
friendships and a spiritual approach
to music,” Cleasby said.
Gregory has had loftier aspira
tions, he said.
“Our goal has been to develop an
idea about what it’s like to play mu
sic.”
Taking their time made them a
stronger band, Cleasby said.
“We have a lot of confidence in
ourselves that isn’t based on other
people’s confidence or our own pre
tensions,” he said.
The band is getting things going
now and plans to record an album in
1995, Wolberg said.
“We also have our first out-of
town show in January on the 20th at
the Capital in Omaha,” he said.
They also are considering touring
in their recently-purchased van.
Traditions
Continued from Page 14
uses his imagination to thrill a home
town audience every Christmas.
Manheim Steamroller will roll
onto Omaha’s Orphcum Theater
stage Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. Additional
performances include Dec. 27
through Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
and Dec. 31 at 9 p.m.
Tickets are $17.50 and $21.50,
and are available through
Tickctmaster.
“A Christmas Carol”
For those in need of some extra
Christmas spirit, “A Christmas
Carol” is playing in Omaha.
The classic tale of the crotchety,
miserly EbcUezer Scrooge ends with
redemption and renewal of the
Christmas spirit.
. In its 19th year, the Omaha Com
munity Playhouse production takes
on a new look this year with more
than 20 new cast members and new
costumes for the second act.
“A Christmas Carol” runs through
December 22 at the playhouse, 6915
Cass St. Performances are Tuesday
through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays
at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets, $24
for adults and $12 for students, are
available through the playhouse box
office.
“The Nutcracker”
Unwrap the magic of the Sugar
Plum Fairy, Clara and her Nutcracker
as they dance to the classic tunes of
Peter I. Tchaikovsky’s “The Nut
cracker” at the Lied Center for the
Performing Arts.
“The Nutcracker,” one of the
world’s most popular ballets, features
beautiful pageantry, whimsical danc
ing and festive costumes.
A little girl named Clara receives
a Nutcracker doll from her uncle. In
a dream, the Nutcracker becomes a
soldier and fights off an army of evil
rodents. Clara saves him from a fatal
blow and he becomes a prince who
takes Clara on a trip around the
world.
The two are greeted by the gossa
mer Sugar Plum Fairy in the land of
the sweets and are treated to a vari
ety dances.
“The Nutcracker,” produced by the
Lincoln Midwest ballet and the Lin
coln Orchestra Association, will be
on stage at the Lied Center Dec. 17
at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Dec. 18 at
2 p.m. Tickets are $24, $20 and $16,
and are half prioe for students. Tick
ets are available through the Lied
Center box office.