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■ BEST BET
Want to get more involved with local culture? Hook up with the
Athens Folk Music and Dance Society. This community oriented
group organizes a variety of events and will be meeting on the
first floor of the Tate Student Center tonight at 7:30 p.m.
The Red and Black • Tuesday, January 8, 1991 • 5
A&E
Holiday smash or trash list
By NOEL MURRAY
Contributing Writer
Now that the Christmas movie
season has come to an end and
every film critic from hack to hero
has scrutinized the releases, what
possible harm could it do for one
more little guy to offer some opin
ions? At the very least, it gives a
chance to use those cute little bold
face subheads that everyone's so
fond of.
The Godfather Part III
What other critics have said about
Sofia Coppola’s awful performance
is true, as are their caveats about
the unintentionally hilarious
hokey ending. Still, Francis Ford
Coppola cannot make a movie that
doesn’t stimulate its audience
(heck, he even made “Rumblefish”
look good), and “The Godfather
Part III” is nothing if not engaging.
Storytelling on this grand of a scale
is refreshing in this day of claustro
phobic, high-concept, action pic
tures. Despite its many flaws, “The
Godfather Part III” is delightful to
watch.
One complaint about the movie
that hasn’t really been adressed,
though, is the film’s relation to the
rest of the trilogy. At the end of
“Godfather II,” Don Michael Cor-
leone is alone atop his powerful
empire. The price of his success is
the alienation of his family and
friends. It’s a potent statement by
Coppola.
Then, at the beginning of “III,”
Michael’s family is all together and
there’s little sense of the prior des
olation of his life. What happened?
Granted, two-and-a-half more
hours of pointless slayings and
heavy brooding would’ve been flog
ging a dead horse (“Part II” actu
ally stretched its point a bit), but it
sort of cheapens the saga. Maybe if
Coppola gets to re-edit the movie
for video he can straighten out
some of the mess, but it’ll be hard
to fix a lack of poignancy this late
in the game.
The Russia House
This may be an odd compliment.
Killer cop
but ‘The Russia House” is one of
the most relaxing films I’ve ever
seen. It’s a darn good story. Sean
Connery is a peacenik writer at
tempting to validate a piece of il
licit Soviet literature. It is coupled
with scenery, photographed in
mother Russia, that is breath ta
kingly beautiful and a jazz score
aided by Branford Marsalis that
accentuates the melancholy tone
nicely. In all, it’s a pleasant way to
kill two hours.
Also, it’s interesting to see a spy
film with absolutely no violence,
nor real threat of violence. The bad
guy8 are never seen. The movie
seems to imply that maybe they’re
not really there. This tends to kill a
lot of dramatic tension, but it does
leave a lot of room to explore char
acters and the relationship be
tween Connery and a Russian
secretary, played by Michelle
Pfeiffer. It’s good to see a movie
make that chancey move.
Edward Scissorhands
Will somebody please hook Tim
Burton up with a decent script, and
fast? This highly overpraised di
rector (“Batman,” “Beetlejuice”)
may have a firm grasp of visuals
but he is painfully weak in the
writing department. In “Edward
Scissorhands” it’s as if Burton said,
“I’ve got a good premise. I don’t
really need a coherent plot or inter
esting supporting characters, do
I?”
In fact there are only two good
characters in “Edward Scissor
hands” — the title character,
played marvelously by Johnny
Depp, and Dianne Weist, who is ex
cellent as the suburban mother
who takes Edward in. The rest of
the cast is pitiful. Burton fails to
explore the possibilities of his in
teresting situation — that of the
sympathetic monster in the gro
tesque suburbs. The suburb is nei
ther grotesque enough nor realistic
enough. It’s some vague middle
ground. This whole movie treads
that vague middle ground.
The plot has absolutely no dra
matic arc. The attitudes of the
characters and the tension in the
story shifts 180 degrees without,
warning or valid plot device. And 1
the “Batman” knock-off climax in
Edward’s tower is unnecessary and
rather insulting.
By the way, I really resent
people who defend the inade
quacies of this movie by ex
plaining, “It’s a fairy tale.” That’s
got nothing to do with it. Catego
rizing a movie does not legitimize
its faults. Besides, one of the best
movies of the year, “The Witches,”
could probably qualify as a fairy
tale as well, but it managed to
sparkle with wit and energy.
There are some good moments in
“Edward Scissorhands,” but
they’re buried under such mire
that it’s hardly worth the effort.
Kindergarten Cop
I get the feeling that someone wan-
v
toe* *• ,
Rl '
Kindergarten teacher
dered into an afternoon meeting at
Universal with just these three
words on his lips: Schwarzenegger.
Kindergarten. Cops. The real ques
tion about this movie is, can di
rector Ivan Reitman (‘Twins,”
“Ghostbusters”) make this incon
gruous high-concept work?
Well, ask yourself this question:
how many times can you listen to a
five-year-old say “penis” and get a
chuckle out of it? That’s about the
level of the humour here. And if
that makes you slap your knee,
maybe you should be watching
“Look Who’s Talking Too” instead.
The action plot is suspenseful
and fairly gripping, but it seems so
jarring coming off the “Gentle
Giant” scenes in the kindergarten
class that the movie becomes a
little uncomfortable to watch. Be
sides, Arnold performs some of the
worst screen kisses in movie his
tory.
Final gripe: Why can’t they
make movies like this that are suit
able for children? I’m no prude, but
with a little less violence and pro
fanity and this could’ve been a good
movie for the whole family. Plus,
Universal could’ve increased their
profit considerably (i.e. “Home
Alone”).
Misery
Rob Reiner may be the best pop
ulist filmmaker working today. He
makes highly entertaining films
that general audiences can enjoy
with just enough bite to make cine
matic snobs feel like they may be
watching something important.
“Misery” is not important, but is a
great deal of fun.
James Caan plays kidnapped
writer Paul Sheldon with won
derful subtlety. He leaves it up to
the audience to project their anxie
ties on him. Kathy Bates is a little
over-the-top as maniacal Annie
Wilkes, but her dialogue is so
funny that the excess is for-
giveable.
“Misery” has humour and cree
piness and it’s ideal for working
out any latent misogyny.
King of rock’s birth remembered
Tate exhibit pays tribute
$45 for 3 Months
Men's and Women's Equipment
• Bench Aerobics • Sauna
• 2 Weight Rooms • Steam
• 10 Life Cycles • Stair Master
Open 7 Days A Week
Mon. - Fri. 6-10 Sat. 9-7 Sun. 12-6
Beechwood Shopping Center 369-1000
SINGERS ★ DANCERS ★VARIETY ACTS
1991 AUDITIONS
Open call audition* lor performers 16
years of age or older
SINGERS must bring music in their key
and may be asked fo dance (No
a cappella auditions and no taped
accompaniment, please A piano and
accompanist will be available)
DANCERS will be given a combination by
our choreographer (Those who also sing
should bring music in their key.)
QALL-BACK AUDITIONS will be on the
Sunday following General Auditions
Please be prepared to attend, it selected
SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA
All nqiHrationi begin 30 minutes prior lo scheduled cAll.
Friday & Saturday, January 18 & 19
Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, GA
Crystal Pistol Music Hall
10:00 a.m.-Call tor Dancers. Variety Acts,
Bands, including C&W, Top 40, and Bluegrass
(No Rock Bands)
1:00 p.m.-Call for Singers
Applications will be available at audition locations
tor Technical and Wardrobe positions.
OVER GEORGIA
AN «OUAL OPPOKTVJNfTY SMPLOvW
By MIRA SHAH
Campus Correspondent
It’s that time of year again.
Today commemorates the birth of
Elvis Presley. Longtime fans wait
in anticipation. Across the na
il, his records will be played
and his movies watched. People
will gather at Graceland in
memory of a rock-n-roll legend.
This year in Athens, Elvis’
birthday will not go unrecog
nized. In fact, his memory will
ring on loudly throughout Jan
uary in the Tate Center Gallery.
Joni Mabe’s World Famous
Traveling Panoramic Encyclo
pedia of Everything Elvis will
premiere tonight at 7 p.m. and
will continue to be on display
daily until Jan. 31. The exhibit is
sponsored by the Visual Arts di
vision of the University Union.
David Mendosa, program ad
viser for the University Union,
said the exhibit was brought to
the University for many reasons.
“It can be argued whether or
not the exhibit is art,” Mendosa
said. “We want to start some crit
ical thinking and discussion and
get people talking about art.”
“When Joni went to school
here, she was a very controver
sial artist,” Mendosa said. “It’s
kind of ironic after all her trou
bles here that she is going to be
showcased, not that it is our in
tent.”
Whether you are an Elvis fan
or merely a curious spectator,
Mabe’s collection is a sight to see.
“I’ve got albums, a bedspread
and tapestries,” Mabe said.
‘There’s so much out there. It’s
easy to collect.”
Anything goes — velvet paint
ings, postcards, magazines and a
bottle of Elvis sweat characterize
the memoribilia which will be on
display. Some of the more un
usual items found among her
memorabilia include the “The
Maybe Elvis Toenail” which
Mabe said she found in the Jun-
gleroom of Graceland and a wart
removed from Elvis’ foot before
he went into the army. Mnbe ac
quired it from a Memphis doctor.
Elvis’ death marked the begin
ning of Mabe’s dedication. “When
he died there were tributes on the
Elvis memorabilia is treasured by many.
radio all day long,” she recalled.
“It hit me then what a great voice
he had. I started doing prints of
Elvis and putting glitter around
them. FYom there, people started
giving me Elvis stuff and sharing
their Elvis artwork with me.”
A small portion of the collec
tion was displayed in Athens in
1983. Since then Mabe’s exhibit
has grown tremendously.
“I've taken it to New York and
Hollywood, and toured all over
the southeast,” Mabe said. “I’d
like to take it to Tokyo, Moscow
and London.”
Anything goes —
velvet paintings,
postcards, magazines
and a bottle of Elvis
sweat characterize
the memoribilia which
will be on display.
than just a bookstore...
...we are your one-stop place to
shop for
school, office & art supplies • computers
gifts • general books
Georgia sportswear
(And, of course, the largest inventory of
textbooks in Athens!)
the University
IBookstore
Next to the Tate Student Center. 542-3171
Extended Hours for Book Rush:
Tuesday, Jan. 8 8am - 8pm
Wednesday, Jan. 9 8am - 7pm
Thursday, Jan. 10 8am - 6pm
Friday, Jan. 11 8am - 5pm
Open Saturday, Jan. 12 Noon-4pm for your convenience