Movies
'2010' quite unlike classic predecessor
By SHAWN BEHLEN
Staff Reviewer
It's not "2001: A Space Odys
sey," but it is a good film. In
fact, "2001" and "2010" are so
different stylistically, that they
probably shouldn't even be
compared.
"2010" is being billed as "the
year we make contact." With
that in mind, the makers of this
film have continued the story
line of "2001" and added embel
lishments of their own. The im
portant difference is that "2010"
is so much more accessible.
People will not walk out of this
one complaining of length, bo
redom and confusion. "2010" is
fast and full of action. It is not
even necessary to have seen
"2001" to enjoy this sequel.
On the other hand, to achieve
this accessibility, the makers of
"2010" have had to give up the
unique style, message and vi
sion that have characterized
"2001" as a classic. In other
words, they have made a film
for the masses. It is good, but
simple.
"2010" picks up nine years af
ter the discovery of an enig
matic black monolith orbiting
Jupiter, which was the cause of
the crisis in "2001." The space
ship Discovery is still in orbit as
well, and astronaut Dave Bow
man is presumed dead.
Both Russia and the United
States have tried unsuccessfully
to discover the meaning of the
monolith and find out what
happened to Bowman. They are
now racing to be the first with
another ship ready to send back
to Jupiter in order to discover
firsthand what is happening in
the sky above.
It turns out the Russians have
a ship built first. But the Ameri
cans have the knowledge of
what happened aboard the Dis
covery, which is considered
American soil. Eventually, the
two countries get together and
a crew with members from both
countries is sent to Jupiter
aboard the Russian ship.
As the ship sets out on its
mission, tensions increase be
tween the two countries back
on Earth and the findings of the
ship and its crew have a mon
umental effect on all mankind.
As for plot, that's about all I can
say with a clear conscience.
The big-name star of "2010" is
Roy Scheider and he gives a
nice performance. His Dr. Hey-
wood Floyd is compassionate
and intelligent. Compared to
the Floyd of "2001," ne is, to
put it simply, so much more hu
man.
Another notable performance
is riven by John Lithgow as
Walter Cumow. He was chief
designer of the Discovery and is
selected to reactivate the ship
even though he has never been
in space. Lithgow's terror at the
prospect of open space is palpa
ble and his humorous conversa
tions with the Russian crew are
endearing. In many scenes, he
steals the show.
The real show-stopper,
though, is Richard Edlund,
who was responsible for the
special effects. Edlund, who
also handled the special effects
for "Star Wars" and "Ghostbus-
ters," made over 200 special ef
fect shots for "2010." They are
all spectacular.
Produced, directed, photo
graphed and written for the
screen by Peter Hyams, "2010"
should be one of the biggest
hits of the Christman movie
going season.
The Leonev and The Discovery
Special effects are a big part of "2010" as evidenced by this shot. The
Russian spacecraft Leonev (left) is stationed a safe distance from the der
elict American spacecraft Discovery (right), which is rumbling danger
ously in a decaying orbit between Jupiter and lo.
Christmas season filled with movie goodies
By SHAWN BEHLEN
Staff Reviewer
It's time for the last round of
movie releases for 1984. This
week starts the Christmas sea
son, which is known for large
budget films of a serious nature
and small personal films that
are racing in under the Oscar
deadline.
From last Wednesday until
Dec. 21, 13 major new films
have been or will be released by
the Hollywood distributors.
They are:
Already Released
Falhng In Love — Robert De
Niro and Meryl Streep are to
gether for the first time since
"The Deerhunter." The two are
married to other people but af
ter meeting on a train commut
ing to New York every day,
start a romance of sorts. Ad
vance word on this one is
highly conflicting with the neg
ative comments seeming to
win.
Supergirl — Superman's
cousin gets a chance to battle
the evil forces in this one. New
comer Helen Slater (who is get
ting good reviews) has the title
role and Faye Dunaway and
Brenda Vaccaro play the head
villains. Peter O'Toole and Mia
Farrow also star.
Dec. 7
Beverly Hills Cop — Eddie
Murphy (in a role written for
(too funny) Sylvester Stallone)
stars as a Detroit cop who fol
lows the trail of a friend's killer
to Beverly Hills. This is sup
posed to be a comedy-thriller
with tons of action and Murphy
is supposed to be as great as
ever. Paramount executives are
already discussing a sequel.
City Heat — Here's another
cop film, but with two big stars
instead of one. Clint Eastwood
and Burt Reynolds are finally in
a film together. A smooth-talk
ing private eye (Reynolds) and
a hard-nosed cop (Eastwood)
lock horns while trying to bring
rival gangsters to justice. Looks
as if there is a heavy emphasis
on comedy as well as action.
Runaway— Michael Crichton,
author of "The Terminal Man,"
wrote and directed this science
fiction thriller set in the near fu
ture. A mad electronics genius
(Gene Simmons of the rock
group KISS) reprograms robots
to turn on their masters. Tom
Selleck is called on to stop the
terror.
2010 — Roy Scheider, John
Lithgow and Bob Balaban are
three American astronauts sent
aboard a Russian spaceship to
Jupiter. Their mission is to dis
cover what happened to The
Discovery, find out if astronaut
Dave Bowman is dead and de
cide who or what is controlling
the monolith discovered in
"2001." Peter Hyams ("Out-
land") directs.
Dec. 14
The Cotton Club — Richard
Gere stars in this Roaring
Twenties melodrama as Dixie
Dywer, a movie star who be
comes involved with gangsters
while enjoying the entertain
ment at Diane Lane's Cotton
Club, Harlem's hottest. This
one was surrounded by contro
versy as Director Francis Ford
Coppola, Producer Robert
Evans and the studio all fought
over the final cut. But advance
word says it is a great film and
will mark Coppola's comeback.
The coming attractions trailer is
fantastic.
Dune — Under the auspices of
Director David Lynch ("The El
ephant Man" and "Eraser-
head"), Frank Herbert's science
fiction classic will finally hit the
screen. Newcomer Kyle Mac-
Lachlin stars as Paul Atreides, a
legendary hero who leads a re
bellion against the forces of
darkness on the desert planet
Dune. Sting, lead singer for The
Police, stars as one of the vil
lains and heads an international
cast.
Starman — All life forms in the
universe have been receiving an
invitation to Earth since 1977
thanks to Voyager II. In this
film, directed by John Car
penter ("Halloween"), some
thing out there accepts the invi
tation, comes to Earth and takes
over a dead body (Jeff Bridges).
While here, he falls in love with
Karen Allen, but he can't stay
for long.
Dec. 21
The Flamingo Kid — Matt Dil
lon stars in this nostalgic com
edy directed by Garry Marshall
("Young Doctors In Love") and
for once, he's not a street punk.
Instead, he's a teen-ager from
Brooklyn who gets a job at a
posh Long Island beach club,
where he hopes to earn enough
money to finance his college ed
ucation. He learns, however,
about life, love and upward mo
bility. The film is set in 1963.
Johnny Dangerously — Mi
chael Keaton stars in the title
role of this spoof of 1930s
gangster films. Dangerously is a
tough but sensitive, well-
dressed mob leader who must
face down his chief rival,
played by Joe Piscopo. Marilu
Henner stars as the woman
both men love and the film was
directed by Amy Heckerling
("Fast Times At Ridgemont
High").'
Micki and Maude — Dudley
Moore plays a TV reporter who
desperately wants to be a fa
ther. That is why he becomes so
happy when his mistress,
Maude (Amy Irving), becomes
pregnant and he marries her.
But he is already married to
Micki (Ann Reinking), a suc
cessful lawyer. Surprise: Micki
is pregnant, too. Tnis comedy
was directed by Blake Edwards.
Protocol — Goldie Hawn stars
as a spirited Washington, D.C.,
cocktail waitress who acciden
tally saves the life of a foreign
dignitary. So the State Depart
ment offers her the job of enter
taining visiting diplomats. This
one has caught some contro
versy over its depiction of for
eigners and sounds like the
usual Hawn fare.