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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1996)
Arts ©Entertainment Monday, March 4, 1996 Page 9 Gerry Beltz City lacks video game locations Ever since Coin fun (next to Wendy’s) closed down, the choices of where to play videogames in this town have become lew and far between. There was once a day when arcades were everywhere. Like Blockbuster and Amigos, you couldn’t swing a warm squash around without hitting tine. Game Gal-ry stood in place of what is now A Taste of China at 14th and Q streets, Fantasy Fair occupied part of the space now used by Kinko’s and Pinball Pete’s locations were all over the city, including one where Duffy’s stands today on 14th and O streets. Tommy’s was the really good one. It had older games, but it offered two plays for one quarter on those games. That really kicked things into high gear for the video junkies (easily iden tified by the quarter marks up and down their arms). But one by one they fell. Game Gal ry. Tommy’s. Sluggo's. Fantasy Fair. And tdl the Pinball Pete’s places. 'rA'fI gone'.' Fof^cf^ Now, there’s a W.C. Frank’s ar cade out at East Park Mall, but half the place has those redemption machines (collect 500 tickets for a plastic whistle or Jolly Ranchers), and the other half is populated with 50-ccnt videogames involving cither racing, lighting or comic book characters. And the place is usually overrun with rug rats, taking time out from catching a smoke outside before run ning home to beat curfew. Granted, the Nebraska Union does provide some decent games at afford able prices... when the machines work. This is not completely the Union’s fault. Many times a day one can watch the typical UNL student try to lix a “broken” video game or pinball ma chine by punching it with a clenched list. (Surprise! Now it really IS bro ken!) Since the folding of Coin fun and the Depot (about a year or two ago, near Target), video game playing is almost limited to findingabar or bowl ing alley to play the games, but the smoke factor is usually a killer. Actually, the BEST choice (though time-consuming) is to drive up to Omaha and visit the Family Fun Cen ter at 71st and Dodge streets. The Center does have its drawbacks. Sev eral games arc 50 cents, if not more, and occasionally rug rats overrun the place. But they have a real selection of stuff to choose from! There are at least a dozen pinball machines, plus games of skill, games of chance, the latest games, the older games, all shapes, sorts and sizes of games! (No word on Tilt! at Wcstroadsyct Lincoln needs an arcade. W.C. Frank’s and Champions Fun Center don’t count because of the inordinate amount of floor space given to re demption machines. We need a place for young and old to play a plethora of video games, ranging in skill,style and age. And some comfortable bar stools, too. Beltz Is an Kngllsh education senior and a Dally Nebraskan senior reporter. Bush takes concert to sold-out Pershing By; Cliff Hicks Staff Reporter fTucsday night, Bush will make sure “Everything’s Zen” at Pershing Auditorium, and Goo Goo DolIs and No Doubt. After three successful singles — the band’s de but , “Everything’s Zen,” “Come down” and its most recent hit, “Glycerin” — Bush will bring its guitar-heavy rock lb Lincoln. Bush, formed 2 1/2 years ago, hit the United States with amazing suc cess. “Everything Zen” became an MTV “Buzz Clip” and took off for the mainstream from there. Bush began touring everywhere and ap pearing on shows like “The Late Show with David Lettcrman.” The band also has had amazing luck in running into the law, though never at its own fault. First, at an early show in a small club, the club was robbed mid-performance and police broke in to intervene. Then, during the filming of the video for their second single, “Come down,” two men who had just com mitted armed robbery fled into the studio where the video was being filmed. Police followed, and after a search, the two men were caught hiding in a wardrobe room. The Goo Goo Dolls, one of the two opening bands for Bush, rc ■ leased its’-'-lhird album, -“A- Boy Named Goo” in early 1995. Allcr Concert ^Preview See CONCERT on 10 Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc. Goo Goo Dolls, which is touring in support of its latest album, 1995’s “A Boy Named Goo,” will open for Bush at the Pershing Auditorium Tuesday night. Stars connect to make ‘Up Close’ a gem By Gerry Beltz Film Critic Finally. A romantic movie that won’t endanger your cholesterol count or blood-sugar level. Supposedly based on the rcal life events of Jes sica Savitch, “Up Close and Per sonal” watches the professional and personal lives of two network journalistsunfold. Sally Atwater (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the rookie who ends up learning a thing or two from sea soned professional Warren Justice (Robert Red ford) at her first net work news job. “If it bleeds, it leads,” Justice says. Atwater’s idealism and facade quickly change to match the frantic pace around her. On her first televi sion appearance (as a weather fore caster), Justice changes her name to Tally at the last second, and a star is born. The problem? They fall in love with one another. Atwater’s star is rising fast, and she eventually moves away, slrain ing the relationship. But Justice soon uproots himself and comes to her. Unfortunately, his hard-edged atti tude causes him problems in the job market. The soil romance and edgy drama continually fade in and out, superbly blended together by director Jon Avnct (“Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Risky Business”). He has taken the love of these two people and sur rounded it with prison riots, profes sional back-slabbing and the fast paced world of televised news. Pfeiffer and Redford have some excellent chemistry going for them in this film. Both performers have the star power to carry a movie solo, but each made way for the other in “Up Close and Personal.” True, Redford’s face may (at times) closely resemble a relief map of Idaho, but that reassuring smile and those devastating blue eyes and ... oh yeah, he can act, too. Pfeiffer also does rather well, making the transition from green rookie to anchorwoman. She holds her own against an egotistical an chorman, but reveals the personal toll it takes on her. Both characters have one similar trait. They both are unyielding. Jus tice gets it through experience, and Atwater finds it through integrity. For the relationship, however, it’s two immovable objects meeting the irresistible force of love. The Facts J Film: “Up Close and Personal” I Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Red ford Director: Jon Avnet Rating: PG-13 (language, intense situations) Grade: A Five Words: Great blend of drama, romance Still, the ending of the film is drawn out too long and is a bit over done. But the overall quality of the film, when added to the realism of the ending help it rise above these minor shortcomings. It’s a keeper. Go sec “Up Close and Personal” and bring a friend. Grammer’s wit shines in Navy comedy By Cliff Hicks Pilm Critic “Down Periscope” is a comedy about a bunch oi'misfits, a maverick captain and a World War II subma rine pitted against the rest of the Navy in a bizarre war game. U. Cmdr. Dodge (Kelsey Grammer)maybe oneot'lhe brilliant and most likable men in the Navy, but the fact that he is a bit unortho dox keeps him from getting a real submarine to command. That, and the fact that he got Movie Review really drunk one night and had “Wel come Aboard” tattooed on his geni tals (an incident that the admirals bring up during his review session). Still, the admirals won’t let him go to waste, so they put him in charge of a diesel submarine that hasn’t been used since 1955 and challenge him to take on the entire U.S. Navy as part of a war game. If this doesn’t sound tough enough, he is deep-sixed with a strange crew—to say the very least. The executive officer (Rob Schneider) has a volume problem; the dive officer (Lauren Holly) is the first woman to serve on a subma rine; the sonar operator (Harland Williams) hears absolutely every thing, and the rest of the crew is just as bad. Grammer is excellent in his part, smirking through most of the film. He has a sly, eratly look to him that convinces the audience that he would actually be crazy enough to try the stunts he does. “Down Periscope” really is an ensemble film. All members of the crew get their own moments, includ ing Buekman’s (Ken Hudson Campbell) “small explosion” dur ing silent running to Sonar’s whale calls. One of the great things about the film is the timing. Director David S. Ward (“Major League,” “The Pro gram”) knows how long to string a joke on and, thankfully, when to drop it. The only thing really holding the film down is that several oflhe jokes make you grin more than laugh, but The Facts Film: “Down Periscope” : | Stars: Kelsey Crammer, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider Director: David S. Ward Rating: PG-13 (language) Grade: B Five Words: Oddball crew vs. | U.S. Navy that’s not detrimental enough to ruin the film. “Down Periscope” is a fun film that is good for a couple of laughs, several grins and at least a couple of bucks.
