>, 1997
Tuesday • September 30, 1997
Entertainment
HLet
q o
to t h
e movies
brmer Schulman Six Theater renovates, remodels and reopens
By Travis Irby
Staff writer
twas said Caesar found Rome a
city of brick, and left it a city of
gold. If Caesar were around to-
ly, he might be impressed with die
anges in the theater formerly
lovvn as the Schulman Six Theater.
When the Schulman SixTheater
Jilosed at the beginning of May
aiany students were dismayed at
leloss of Bryan-College Station’s
Inly discount cinema.
1 Rudy Bendixen, a senior com
puter science major, said he was dis-
ippointed when the theater closed.
“It was a great deal — the selec-
ion of movies was always decent
aid it was the only one of its kind
Mthere,” he said.
However, the newly decorated
ind renamed College Park Six and
iiesurrounding stores came from
iihat was, until recently, a single
X v theater and some trees.
The College Park Six has been
totally remodeled as part of an ef-
iirtto develop the area, which is lo
oted near the Blinn Junior College
•anipus. The new development is
ailed College Park Center and
tomplements the movie theater
dth eateries and shops.
Hassan Moin, College Park Six
general manager and a senior busi-
is major, said the development
ras a partnership between Morris
itilman and Dennis Bother.
“The two owned the land, which
:s nothing but trees,” Moin said,
ey decided to build on it to help
italize the area.”
Along with the new Blinn
pus, the area once thought of
being somewhat isolated has
become one of the busier ar-
in Bryan-College Station
a. Moin said there has been a
ificant increase in business
since the theater reopened.
“During weekends, it is always
busy, but the crowds have been
huge — even on weekdays we’re
getting a big turnout,” Moin said.
Moin said the response has
been beneficial to the additions
around and in the theater. When
the theater reopened, all the Col
lege Park merchants came togeth
er to throw a grand opening party.
Moin said the theater was com
pletely gutted. New carpet, seats and
sound systems were added, along
with an expansion of the concession
stand, arcade and box office.
“The changes have made this
one of the better discount movie
theaters in the state,” Moin said.
“The quality of the shows com
pares with full price cinemas.”
Bradley Hurt, an employee of
College Park Six, previously worked
at Hollywood 16.
“There are some big differences
between discount movie theaters
and first run movie theaters, but
the overall quality here compares
favorably to any one I’ve been in,”
Hurt said.
More than a few students seem
to agree with him.
“On the weekends we’ve sold
out all the major shows,” Hurt said,
“And people will comment on how
they really like the new theaters.”
Jeremy Peterson, a senior com
puter engineering major, said Col
lege Park Six is already one of his fa
vorite theaters in town.
“I’ve been to the mall theater three
times and this one twice,” Peterson
said. “The discount wins hands down
in terms of sound and comfort.”
Peterson said the movies for the
low price is a great deal and a ma
jor attraction.
“For $2, you see a good movie
in comfort, you can’t beat it,” Pe
terson said.
Bendixen said the cheap movies
are not the only attraction anymore.
“With the restaurants around,
you get something to eat before or
after the movie, which is kind of nice,
since it used to be there was nothing
around here,” Bendixen said.
College Park Six is a welcome
sight to many, being it is the only
discount theater around.
“If you like to watch a lot of
movies, this is the way to go,” Hurt
said. “Because it’s still $2 cheaper
here than the matinee prices at a
first-run movie theater.”
Bendixen said there are other
reasons for having lower priced
movies in this area.
“College students just don’t
have money, so inexpensive enter
tainment is a necessity,” Bendixen
said.
Theater employees expect huge
crowds in the coming months be
cause of the coming of the summer
blockbusters. Moin said people will
think they are seeing them in a
first-run theater.
“One of our houses was recent
ly given a top rating by a theater
ranking company,” Moin said.
“They graded us in movie quality
and comfort.”
Moin also said the theater
might start showing movies on
the weekdays.
Until then, local movie goers
will have to wait for weeknights
and weekends to see movies at a
low cost.
RONY ANGKRIWAN/The Battalion
Wishing for more
Wes Craven’s follow up to Scream
is a gruesome disappointment
Wishmaster
Starring Tammy Lauren and
Andrew Divoff
Directed by Robert Kurtzman
Rated R
Playing at Hollywood 16
★ 1/2 (out of five)
By Michael Schaub
Staff writer
I n the first scene of Wishmaster,
the new horror flick from exec
utive producer Wes Craven, a
man’s skeleton pops out of his
body and starts attacking every
body in the room, all the while
hissing and making other menac
ing noises.
The skeleton, and the other
poor souls who get violently dis
patched, are bathed in red light
and there is scary music in the
background. The whole scene has
the effect of a Grateful Dead video
gone horribly awry.
It is trite and obvious and more
than a little disgusting, and it is the
high point of the movie. The best
scenes of Wishmaster are the ones
that require as little acting as pos
sible, which means there is not
much entertaining in this movie
except the credits.
Wishmaster resuscitates a
vaguely familiar plot. Like many
straight-to-video horror standbys,
it starts with a mystical jewel
found in an ancient statue. This
should teach all anthropology stu
dents a message: change majors
immediately, unless you relish the
concept of psychotic genies doing
unsavory things to you.
Anyway, the jewel somehow
manages to release a race of evil
creatures, called Djinn (pro
nounced like “gin,” of which you
may need plenty after seeing this
movie), onto the indistinct urban
area in which the film is set.
The Djinn have the power to
grant wishes to anyone who asks.
But unfortunately for their vic
tims, they grant them in horribly
ironic and unpleasant ways.
This movie would almost cer
tainly go straight to video if it did
n’t have Wes Craven’s lucrative
name on it. Craven, who directed
last year’s surprisingly clever
smash hit Scream, has an unde
served reputation as an original
horror filmmaker.
Director Robert Kurtzman, for
merly a special effects artist,
shows little understanding of how
to direct a film, or even how to op
erate a camera. He cuts between
scenes abruptly, often in the mid
dle of converstations, and seems
to have little in his directorial
repertoire besides liberal use of
red lights and Psycho-style music.
Peter Atkins’ screenplay con
tributes little. When a medical stu
dent manages to get his eyes sewn
shut by a Djinn (Andrew Divoff),
he screams, “Ahhh! My eyes! I can’t
see! Ahhh!” This is one of the more
intelligent moments of dialogue in
the film.
Give the casting director some
credit, though, for some unusual
casting choices. Wishmaster con
tains cameos by Kane Hodder (Ja
son Voorhees in Friday the 13th)
and Robert Englund (Freddy in A
Nightmare on Elm Street), both of
whom gleefully overact their un
derwritten roles.
Please see Wishmaster on Page 4.
CS and MIS students
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