Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 26

Page Ten Section br Arizona Batln Sfar Tucson, Thursday, October 29, 1987 MOVIES Prince of Darkness' never should have seen the light of day i 1 VF dents say to each other, "Common sense breaks down on the subatomic level." They say that because it sounds so scientific. When they translate an ancient text part Latin, part Hebrew, part Babylonian, part pig Latin they discover the truth, which is as exciting as last week's National Enquirer. It seems Christ was an extrater-restial who came to Earth with the lava lamp to convince people that evil is a material essence. But those nutty Romans didn't believe it, and they crucified Jesus before he had a chance to publish a paper. So his disciples had the sense to stash the lava lamp for 2,000 years, waiting for technology to develop cellular phones, digital electronics and the means of proving the devil theorum.

After the pig Latin translators determine that tonight is the night when evil will come to take over the world, the students worn out from talking about how scared they are turn off their computers and take a nap. They have these absolutely irrelevant dreams that look like cruddy videotaped images beamed back through time from 1999 to warn the grads that the evil is emerging. Finally, the students have enough REVIEW "Prince of Darkness," rated directed by John Carpenter. It is playing at Oracle View, El Con and Tucson 5. surrounding me.

Oooo, do you feel it?" Donny asks. "Yeah, I do," the scientist replies, and decides to get a bunch of graduate students together to study it. Maybe he can publish a paper While they are unloading equipment, the students see Alice Cooper playing a transient standing there getting pale and letting his eyes roll back in his head. He's either been drinking too much Sterno or the devil done got his soul. Once together, the students zip to the crypt and see the lava lamp.

"Oooo, I feel evil surrounding me," they all mutter. "Do ya feel it?" All nodding, they all go upstairs to drink beer, eat pizza, talk about how scared they are and look at computer screens for a moment or two. Meanwhile, more eye-rolling transients appear outside the church and start stabbing anyone who leaves. The transients use garden implements and bicycle frames. Yes, bicycle frames.

About every five minutes the stu- THANKS A MILLION "Prince of Darkness," directed by John Carpenter how scared everybody is. I started rooting for the lava lamp, hoping in that it would liven things up. At last, when the female graduate student who has become the son of reaches into a mirror and tries to drag Pops into this dimension, a good grad pushes the evil radiologist (through the mirror. They both fall into the realm of darkness and it's over. Score one for science and grad students everywhere.

Sort of. I can barely wait for the sequel, "Prince of Darkness II: Cramming for Final Exams." New engine will have and the owner on the Cowles Syndicate Inc. Dear Mr. Ross: I'm laid off most of the time from my construction job. The job market in my area isn't that good, so I find myself doing anything to keep me and my three kids afloat.

I do odd jobs in the neighborhood with my ear. My work consists of grocery shopping for family. My husband and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Our oldest son will graduate from college with a major in physics. Our second son will turn 21 and receive his officer's commission from the U.S.

Army. Last but not least, our youngest son, who just turned 18, will graduate from high school. All these special events were not planned. The last six years, it has been all work and no play for my family. Our aim was to get the kids through school, and we have succeeded with this goal but I have nothing to reward them with.

Could you help me with five round-trip tickets to the Orient? Even though our sons have all been working steadily since the age of 10, we have not been able to save for a family vacation. Our boys are planning to continue their education. I feel it is essential for us to have a relaxing vacation first. Mrs. A.T., Portland, Ore.

Dear Mrs. T. It's not that you're undeserving; your family has probably worked very hard. But when you consider the vast number of hungry families in this country, I feel like sending a shovel and telling you to dig a hole toward China. I'll refrain because that would be tasteless and just say "No." Ross, the Minneapolis millionaire philanthropist who writes this column, enjoys sharing both his ideas and his money with his readers.

You may write to Ross, in care of The Arizona Daily Star, Box 35000, Minneapolis, Minn. 55435. Because of the heavy volume of mail, only a limited number of requests will be answered in future columns, although many others may be acknowledged privately. By Robert S. Cauthorn The Arizona Daily Star Oh, lordy, what's the the gig with this John Carpenter fellow, anyway.

First he makes "Halloween," a creepy flick that sets the tone for contemporary horror films. Then the gooner "The Fog." Then the kicky "Big Trouble in Little China." Now "Prince of Darkness," a real stinkerooney. Let's get right down to the skinny on this ninny. It opens with a priest, played by Donald Pleasence, discovering a defunct, supersecret, Catholic order called the Brotherhood of Sleep that's been operating in what looks like the Pacific Northwest. See, members of the Brotherhood of Sleep are the guardians of an ancient relic that goes all the way back to Christ's time.

It's a large container with glass walls that contains a glowing green fluid pure, unadulterated eau de Satan. It looks sorta like a lava lamp. Anyhoo, Donny the priest gets one look at this and knows just what he must do. He hops in a limousine and goes to get a chum of his who is a world-famous physicist. Taking him into the crypt, Donny stands with the scientist before the Lava Lamp of Evil.

"Oooo, I feel evil NOW OPEN SCflEENCD THEATRES CXr aim to Four AixtlMrlunB Da Bum Sat On FRE SH HOT PRINCESS BRIDE (PG DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 1 2:30 2:45 5:00. 7:15 JEAN DE FLORETTE IPG) PRESENTED IN SUBTITLES MON-THU 12:00.2:15.4:45. 7:20.9:50 DANCERS (PG) DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 12:15 2:30 4:45 7:00 9:15 BABY BOOM (PG) DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 12:00 2:30 5:00 7:30. 10:00 THREE O'CLOCK HIGH (PG-131 DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 1 2: 1 5 2:30 4 45 7:00 9: 1 5 BEST SELLER (R) JAMES WOODS MON-THU 1:00.3:15.5:30.7:45. 10:00 DIRTY DANCING (PG-131 DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 1:30.3:30.5:30.7:35.9:40 STAKEOUT (R) DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 4:55.7:25.9:45 FATAL ATTRACTION R) DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 2:00 4:30 7:00 9:25 STEVEN SPIELBERG'S "INNERSPACE" (PG) PRESENTED IN 70MM 6-TRACK DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 1:45.4:15.7:15.9:35 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (G) MON-THU I 40.

3 20 JMII SItVEN SPIELBtRG "INNER SPACE" (PG) PRESENTED IN 70MM 6-TRACK DOLBY STEREO MON-THU 5:00 7 30. 10:00 DIRTY DANCING PG-I3)D0LBY STEREO MON-THU 4:45.700.9 00 SLAM DANCE R) EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT MONDAY-THUS0Y 5 00 9 00 Mw Co-Hit IPGI MON-THU 7 00 Only "Absolutely GLORIOUS entertainment." Garv Franklin. ABC-TV msmm EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT GEMENt I THURSDAY I 12:15 2:30 I 4:46 7:00 Iff "The brightest, sassiest and wittiest comedy of the year." I.vnns. SNEAK I'KEVIKWS INN "A sophisticated, screwball AT THE MOVIES 0 0 II IPG-CT; UV EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT THURSDAY 12 00. 2:30.

6:00 7:30 10:00 -v mm EC 1 shut-ins, moving people CTCV R.OSS and taking kids back and forth to school. Well, "Old Blue," my 74 Ford wagon's engine finally let go. The motor just won't go another foot, and with over 120,000 miles on it, it's no wonder. I scrounge parts to keep her going, but another engine is just too much for me to handle. That car and I have been through too much for me to send her to the boneyard.

Mr. Ross, another engine will run between $250 and $400. If you could help me out, I'd be eternally thankful, and I know "Old Blue" would appreciate her new lease on life. Mr. P.M., Moline, 111.

Dear Mr. I admire your attitude of "doing whatever it takes." If getting a new engine does it for you you're back in business. You can look forward to saving "Old Blue" from the junkyard and get her running on all eight pins with my check. Dear Mr. Ross: This is a very special year for my Jameson Parker stars in the shut-eye and get back to the business of saving the world from the Lava Lamp of Evil.

As one explains, "Someone has finally shown up to tell us. I think it's time we stood up for what we are." Say what? 'Old Blue' road again ft cDe(Anza 1401 aMONMT741.l0 OPEN 6:30 P.M. "CORN IN EAST LA." (R) (PG-13) "KILlli Ni TIME" (R) "CREEPSHOW "BEVERtY HILLS COP 2" (R) SURRENDER" (PG-1 3) "LIKE FATHER LIKE SON" (PG-13) "BLIND DATE" (Pl 13) OPEN 6.0 P.M. ADMISSION $3.00 U.JJ16 I rtK -AKI "HAMBURGER HILL" (R) "PREDATOR" (R) "BIG SHOTS" (PG-13) "PICK-UP ARTIST" (PG-13) They btliivtd kt cotW chvtqt ivhiiq Right Hand MAN a ao4cf thud In tim STARTS TOMORROW! A It's too late. While the students have been chatting, the lava lamp has been squirting toxic devil juice into other students' mouths, and they've been taken over by the devil.

One, a radiologist, even turns into the son of Satan. The good grad students begin to fight the bad grad students, while the transients hang around outside with bugs on their faces, ready to mop up whoever is left over. Mostly, though, even when the deal is coming down, there's lots of standing around and talking about Recording Continued from Page 7B ing. Synthesized drums keep unerring time, can be programmed to perfection, and they are never late to practice. Unfortunately, engineers have yet to develop drums that accurately replicate, to these ears, the intimacy of the sound of human muscle bludgeoning wood, metal or stretched animal skin.

In fact, most of the music made by Phillips and Bender is synchronized and programmed by computer, leaving little room for error. Or spontaneity. With that qualifier, it is true the music, which toys with different ethnic musical motifs, is thoughtful and pleasing. At the risk of invoking a much-disdained term, new-age enthusiasts may find themselves inclined toward this one. Although "Ghost Dance" employs some African tribal rhythms, its attempt at establishing a stirring po-lyrhythmic base comes off as tame.

That fate is not shared by the livelier, jazzlike arrangement on "Hotel Afrique." The upbeat "Zydeco" pairs Wayne Olsen's blues-boogie guitar with Phillips' rather unconvincing synthesized accordian. Nevertheless, this one catches fire aplenty thanks to the interaction between the two musicians. More reason to recommend "Windows Without besides the momentarily diverting "Commuter Vision," Phillips and Bender do their best to avoid spacey synthesizer cliches. Available for $6 from Bender Productions, P.O. Box 42892, Tucson, 85733.

The five-member Ten City's first tape release, "In," explores the environs of heavy metal hard rock, if you insist Ten City grew from the ashes of Electric Freedom, a similar fX Brain Damage Orchestra A PGi. Ed! -r- MONDAY-THURSDAY MONDAY 7:30 10:00 1:45 hard rock band in Tucson during the 1970s. Ear-singeing guitar solos wail competently, and singer Kevin Arnold alternately calls to mind Ronnie James Dio or ACDC's Brian Johnson. What distinguishes this outfit from the rest of the rivet-head pack is the spiritual, probably Christian, message of its lyrics. The singer does battle with temptation, evil, sin and Satan's fall.

The seven songs' themes cover a lot of ground: angels, salvation, redemption, Judgment Day, the promised land. The religious messages become clear, even among the din of the band's typical metal sound, which borrows from ACDC on "Panic Attack," Deep Purple on "End of the Line" and countless contemporary headbangers on "Rock, Rock, Rock." The problem here is that Ten City hasn't developed a sound of its own, which might hinder its stated ambitions to make platinum-selling records. Then again, originality doesn't really typify most of today's top-sellers. With its second independent tape release, the three-man Sea, a longtime fixture in Tucson's underground, proves it has little to do with current musical trends. All the better.

The nine psychedelic blues songs that make up "Sea," which was recorded live at Jeff's Pub, grind unmercifully, a steady sound to fill heads numbed by dizzying contemporary pop-trash. The best song here is bass and gui- tar player Shane Eden's quite lovely "Merry-Go-Round." Coming in sec-ond is the authentic cover version of the blues standard "Red House," made famous by Jimi Hendrix. Both "Gollum's Tale" and "Troll -Fantasy No. 3" rework some of Led Zeppelin's more ominous ideas. Lead guitarist Dennis Holappa also performs admirably, playing won- derful distortion-dipped solos with the ferocity, though maybe not the genius, of a modern Hendrix or Jimmy Page.

HUGE DOSE OF COMEDY IN ONE BIG GULP! CO-HIT: COBRA (R) WEEKDAYS 6:30 FRI-SAT-SUN 6:00 THURSDAY 9:35 itc Tumi i inr II iniULUNVJ, EXCITING, VERY FUNNY AND ABSOLUTE MAGIC DON'T MISS IT!" THE pRINCESQ IN DOLBY STEREO SHOWTIMES DAILY 12:30 7:15 .9:30 SHOWTIMES DAILY -MONDAY-THURSDAY 881-1696 2:16 6:16 7:309:46 EL CON STARTS TOMORROW AT mm 1 IPtRt VH VT I'HTi UK IN DO' BY STEREO MONDAY-THURSDAY MONDAY-THURSDAY 11:46. M5 130. Tt'NViW Tl CO-HIT: COBRA (R) iyaSD WEEKDAYS 1:30 FRI-SAT-SUN 1:00 THESE FINE THEATRES I IN COLBY STEREO LZJ? -742 UWPBULPIZ3 El- CON 6 SJLliJLLM.