The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 30

30 Saturday, March 10,1990 The Salina Journal Salina movie reviews Bad Influence Rob Lowe bounces back from his real-life problems with the law for videotaping sex between a couple of young women by playing a totally immoral person capable of deceit, robbery and murder. He videotapes sex between two people and uses the tape for a shocking purpose, and later lands in bed with two nubile beauties. Exploitive? The possible furor, says Associated Press film critic Bob Thomas, may obscure the fact that this is a crackerjack suspense movie. The theme is basic Alfred Hitchcock: Normal citizen finds himself enmeshed in a deadly game. James Spader is a successful marketing analyst engaged to the rich and beautiful Kathleen Wilhoite.

His life is well-ordered until an encounter in a beach bar with Lowe, a ruthless charmer who takes over his life. He teaches him to outfox his office rivals and introduces him to a dangerous beauty, Lisa Zane. Spader finally restores his senses from his new life of fast living and tries to escape, only to become involved in murder. The film is filled with unexpected turns and shocks, Thomas says, and is directed in taut style. Mid-State Cinemas, Rated Born on the Fourth of July As a teen-ager in the 1960s, Ron Kovic was the all-American boy who believed in all the right things.

He really was born on the 4th of July. Upon graduation from high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam. He returned home in 1968 a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down, and began a long, painful spiritual rehabilitation that coincided with his political radicalization. By war's end, Kovic was a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Now Oliver Stone has made his memoir into a bitter, seething postscript to his Oscar- winning "Platoon." Tom Cruise portrays Kovic, and watching him play Kovic's evolution is both harrowing and inspiring, says New York Times film critic Vincent Canby.

While the film becomes increasingly generalized in attempting to dramatize Kovic's transformation, it is stunning when most specific, such as the nighttime mission in which a group of Vietnamese peasants is slaughtered. Equally agonizing are the horrors evoked in the paraplegic's therapy, and the post-hospital sequences when he returns to his bewildered family. The cast is exemplary, Canby says, including Raymond J. Barry and Caroline Kava as Ron's parents, Kyra Sedgwick as his high school girlfriend, Frank Whaley as a fellow vet and Cordelia Gonzalez as a Mexican prostitute. Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe of "Platoon" and an aging Abbie Hoffman have cameo roles.

Mid-State Cinemas, Rated Driving Miss Daisy This movie, says Cox News Service film critic Max McQueen and echoed by virtually all other critics, is "perfect, absolutely perfect." He says the acting by Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, direction, photography, production design, music and costumes all are perfect. It's about a Southern Jewish matron and her Briefly Premiere of Ike movie scheduled ABILENE A premiere showing of the Kansas Eisenhower Centennial Commission's movie, "In Quest of Peace," will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Eisenhower Center's Visitor Information Center in Abilene. Free popcorn and soft drinks will be served. The film was produced by First Generation Videographics of Hutcninson, which worked with the Eisenhower Center and the family to present a portrait of the life of Dwight D.

Eisenhower. Opening scenes of the movie were filmed in Abilene last fall, with David Sheern portraying a young boy growing up with many of the same values and surroundings that Eisenhower knew as a child. Highlights include recent interviews with John Eisenhower and his daughter, Susan. Copies of the video have been mailed to all Kansas schools. They also are for sale at $10.

Jazz workshop concert postponed A public performance of the Central Kansas Jazz Workshop, originally scheduled for 7 p.m. today in Sams Chapel at Kansas Wesleyan University, has been postponed. The two-day workshop will instead by held in April, with the dates to be announced later. The workshop and concert were to have been part of the 14th annual KWU Humanities Festival which began Friday and concludes today. Sunday Breakfast Buffet 7 a.m.

to 11 a.m. Sunday Brunch Buffet 7.25 Serving 11 a.m, to 2 p.m. Now Order The Omelet Of Your Choice Try Our Freshly Made Waffles Made-to-Order Right Before Your Eyes Also Serving Sunday Buffet Entrees Shrimp Potatoes Gravy Mixed Vegetables O'Brien Bar Ice Cream Bar Included of Beef Fish Chicken Ribs Ham with Pineapple Children 10 and under $4,50, Children under 5, FREE Retired Senior Citizens Receive Off Sunday Lunch Buffet This Week's Feature: Monday Night Special ALL THE CHICKEN YOU CARE TO EAT International Buffet Every Wednesday Western Buffet Friday Night: Seafood Buffet Saturday Night: Prime Rib Buffet 95 1616 W. Crawford 823-1739 Salina, Kansas black chauffeur. Hoke enters Miss Daisy's life at the behest of her concerned son, Boolie (Dan Aykroyd).

Her driving is not what it used to be, and Boolie wants her off the road. Daisy doesn't take kindly to having a chauffeur, and poor Hoke bears the brunt of his boss' anger toward her son. But gradually, Daisy and Hoke move from a chilly, superficial employer-employee relationship to a warm, reverent friendship. Never have two film actors responded so wholly to the metronome set by their co-star, says McQueen. It isn't about two people, but about all of us and how we buttress our bigotries with self-imprisoning monuments to ignorance.

Central Mall Cinema 4, Rated PG Hard to Kill A carefully groomed Steven Seagal in starched white shirts is much more dapper than the Los Angeles police detective he is supposed to be. But he has an unforced, highly dangerous street-smart manner to offset any hint of softness, and he's also very good at crunching bones. The film itself is lively for its genre, ambitious enough to do more than simply string fight scenes together, says New York Times film critic Janet Maslin. Detective Mason Storm possesses a videotape that incriminates an important local gangster. Then the gangster's men attack his home and wipe out his sexy wife and adoring son, and presumably Storm as well.

But he survives under the care of a beautiful nurse (Kelly Le Brock, his real-life wife), and ultimately gets his revenge. Sunset Plaza Cinemas, Rated The Hunt for Red October Tom Clancy's high-tech thrillers have been a phenomenon of the publishing industry, but until now have never been dramatized on the screen. That's understandable, says Associated Press film critic Bob Thomas, because the labyrinthian plots and dependence on military hardware for suspense require the most deft of treatment. The movie proves a nail- biter from beginning to end. But like the book, the film requires close attention; the casual viewer should stay home.

Red October (named for the month of the Russian Revolution in 1917) is the new Soviet submarine which can voyage undetected. Capt. Ramius (Sean Connery) heads it west on an unauthorized mission. Both the Soviet and U.S. fleets mobilize to chase it, the Soviets because they realize Ramius and his officers plan to defect, the Americans because they fear he may launch a nuclear attack.

CIA agent Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) is enlisted to track the sub down. Aiding in the pursuit is a nuclear sub commanded by Scott Glenn, with wizard sonar operator Courtney Vance. Connery is a marvel, Thomas says, and Baldwin makes the leap to stellar status. Others in the cast are James Earl Jones, Sam Neil, Richard Jordan and Peter Firth. Central Mall Cinema 4, Rated PG Joe Versus the Volcano One of the many charms of this strangely titled movie is its otherworldliness, says Associated Press film critic Bob Thomas, the result of being filmed mostly within the confines of a studio.

There are a few cityscapes, but the ocean scenes were shot on a studio tank and the South Sea island is gloriously phony. This is the first comedy hit of the '90s, and Tom Hanks is bigger than ever. He leaves his abominable job in a pharmaceutical supply company after being told he has a fatal disease. He is enlisted by industrialist Lloyd Bridges to travel to the South Sea island of Waponi Woo to act as a human sacrifice to appease the raging volcano, and in the process, Bridges will gain a rare mineral for his superconductor business. Hanks is perfect for the role, Thomas says, and along the way he meets three women, all played by the incredibly inventive Meg Ryan Harry Met Central Mall Cinema 4, Rated PG Look Who's Talking John Travolta and Kirstie Alley must share the spotlight with four fantastically photogenic toddlers who take the part of Mikey in this delightful movie, says Scripps Howard film critic Ed Blank.

The unwed Mollie (Alley) learns she's pregnant by the married Albert (George Segal), who turns out to be unfaithful to both wife and mistress. Mikey arrives with an assist from cabbie James (Travolta). While Mollie goes looking for a suitable husband and father, James, the perfect choice, baby-sits and treats Mikey as lovingly as a real father. Mollie postpones the obvious solution until the movie can have a happy ending, even though there's no question where the movie is going. Bruce Willis is the voice of Mikey, Olympia Dukakis plays Alley's mother and Abe Vigoda is Travolta's grandfather.

Blank believes this movie should restore Travolta's sagging movie career. Vogue Theater, Rated PG-13 Madhouse This is like a stay in some surreal psycho ward where nobody is acquainted with reality, says Los Angeles Daily News film critic Bob Strauss. It employs the old elephant- gun effect in its quest for laughs: Blast away in every direction in hopes of striking a funny bone. John Larroquette and Kirstie Allen are upscale Los Angeles residents who have scraped together enough money to buy their starter dream house. But an array of escapees from central casting arrives unemployed cousin Fred (John Diehl of "Miami his loudmouth wife Bernice (Jessica Lunday), their unkillable cat, Jessie's divorcing sister Claudia (Alison La Placa of "Open and her cocaine-importing teen-age son.

The stress impacts negatively on Mark and Jessie's job performances, where most of the limited supply of wit comes through. It's a dumbed- down version of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," Strauss says. Central Mall Cinema 4, Rated PG-13 Ski Patrol Beware of movies that feature sweet old men named Pops, warns New York Times film critic Caryun James. This one has a Pops Ray Walston, in about five brief scenes as the owner of a resort and sure enough, it turns out to be a perfect example of the nothing-is-too-obvious school of comedy. When the bad-guy ski instructors try to sabotage the good-guy ski patrollers in order to make poor old Pops lose his lodge, we get: mice turned loose in a crowded room, a man on a skimobile crashing into a women's restroom, and ski patrollers winning a talent contest with the world's worst imitation of Mick Jagger and Tina Turner.

There are many more scenes, but nb laughs. Anyone tempted to see this film because it comes from the producers of "Police Academy" should remember this is a clone of a worn- out series, James says. They just don't get more derivative or less comic than this. Sunset Plaza Cinemas, Rated PG Lenten Specials Whole Catfish 49 Stuffed Crabs in natural shell 4 Rainbow Trout 5" Shrimp Platter 49 Seafood Platter 5" Ocean Fish Fillets 3" OPEN 24 HOURS HOME STYLE 2301 N. 9th, Salina Next to New Petro Travel Center CAFE 1990 Predict The Academy's Decisions And Win The CONTEST Sponsored by and HTI Salina 1 1 he Journal Grand Prize 1 Year's FREE MOVIE PASS For 2 1st 6 Mos.

FREE 2nd 3 MOS. FREE Prize: MOVIE PASS for 2 Prize: MOVIE PASS for 2 50 Consolation Prizes: 1 FREE Movie Pass case of ties, winner will be selected by a random drawing. of Dickinson Theatres The Salina Journal 8c members of their family are not eligible. will be notified. decision final.

March noon To Enter: Fill out this official ballot below check 1 selection per category, BEST SONG (Best Original Song) AH" from "Chanees Are" D'The Girl Who Used to Be Me" from "Shirley Valentine" Love to See You Smile" from "Parenthood" the Girl" from "The Little Mermaid" the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid" BEST ACTOR (Best Performance By An Actor In A Leading Hole) DKenneth Branagh, "Henry DTom Cruise, "Born on the Fourth of July" ODaniel Day-Lewis, "My.Left Foot" DMorgan Freeman, "Driving Miss Daisy" DKohin Williams, "Dead Poets Society" BEST ACTRESS (Best Performance By An Actress In A Ixwling Hole) Dlsabelle Adjaiii, "Gumille Claudel" Dl'auline Collins, "Shirley Valentino" DJessiea Lange, "Music Box" DMichelle I'feifler, "The Fabulous Baker Boys" DJessiea Tandy, "Driving Miss Daisy" BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Hole) DDanny Aiello, "Do the Right Thing" DDan Aykroyd, "Driving Miss'Daisy" nMarlon Brando, "A Dry White Season" DMartm Landau, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" Washington, "Glory" BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Hole) lUBrenda Fricker, "My Left Foot" DAnjeliea Huston, "Enemies, A Love Story" DLena Olin, "Enemies, A Love Story" DJulia Roberts, "Steel Magnolias" DDiannc Wiest, "Parenthood" BEST DIRECTOR (Host Achievement In Directing) DOIiver Stone, "Born on the Fourth of July" CWoody Allen, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" DPeter Weir, "Dead Poets Society" DKcnnelh Branagh, "Henry DJim Sheridan, "My Left Foot" BEST PICTURE on the Fourth of July" Pools Society" Miss Daisy" nf Dreams" ITMv Left Foot" BEST ORIGINAL SCREEN PUY DWixxly Alk'ii, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" DTom Siliulman, "Dead Pods Society" QSpike Lee, "Do the Right Thing" IJStevcu Sodortx'tgli, "sex, lies ami videotape" DNora Kuhron, "When Harry Met Bring Your Entry In Or Mail To: The Salina Journal Academy Awards Contest P.O. Box 740 Salina, Ks. 67402-0740 NAMK ADDKKSS CITY PI1ONK. UKADUNK March 26, 12 nuoit.