The Highacres Collegian Body Of Evidence By Todd Ritter Yes, I am somewhat of a Madonna fan. I admire her courage and her brashness. I liked her album "Erotica", and admit that her book, Sex, was a perfect example of manipulating the publicity machine. But enough already! She really didn’t have to unleash her new movie, "Body Of Evidence" onto an unsuspecting public. "Body Of Evidence" opens at the scene of a murder. A dead man lies in bed, a homemade adult film playing on the television. Scattered about the room are various sexual paraphernalia. This opening scene warns the viewer right away, saying, "Hey. This ain’t a normal movie." Madonna plays a woman accused of killing her lover. The hitch is, she was the murder weapon. It seems that he died of a heart attack after an unusually athletic bout of intercourse. Yes, folks, she (for lack of a better word) fornicated him to death. So she hired a crack lawyer, Willem Dafoe, to defend her, claiming innocence by saying, "They took a beautiful thing with two people in love and turned it into something dirty." The whole movie is pointless. It seems that Madonna and director Uli Edle got together and said, "Let’s make a really bad movie about kinky sex and men with heart trouble." It tries to be another "Basic Instinct", chock full of bondage references and pushing the boundaries of good taste. Instead, it is quite dull. There are too many courtroom scenes and way to much unintentionally funny dialogue. I do think that Madonna can act. I liked her in "Dick Tracy" and "A League Of Their Own", but here she looks horrible and says every word like a pick-up line. (She does, however, utter her best line with gusto: "I f@#*!d him and I f@#*!d you! That’s what I do, Frank. I f@#k!") Joe Mantegna, playing the prosecuting attorney, and Willem Dafoe are all right, but Anne Archer, playing the victim’s secretary, is unbearable during most of her scenes. see Body on page 7 The Acadamy Awards It’s February again and time for Hollywood to give itself the ultimate valentine’s gift, the Academy Award nominations. The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are when the power of Hollywood, a virtual army of actors, writers and directors, choose the best of the best. Unfortunately, 1992 didn’t yield a bumper crop of good films and instead of choosing the best of the best, Academy members must choose the best of the mediocre. This year there was no "Silence of the Lambs", "JFK" or "Beauty and the Beast", obvious Best Picture choices from 1991. Instead, viewers got bombarded by disappointing sequels (Alien 3) and bad thrillers (Basic Instinct). The most likely Best Picture nominees are "Howard’s End", the beautiful melodrama set in Victorian England, "Unforgiven", Clint Eastwood’s revisionist western, the slick satire, "The Player" and the acclaimed new thriller*, "The Crying Game". Other possible nominees are "Aladdin" and "Scent of a Woman". The year did proyide a wealth of great performances by leading actors, making it difficult for the Academy to choose only five. The major contenders are A 1 Pacino for "Scent of a Woman", Jack Nicholson for "Hoffa", Robert Downey Jr, for "Chaplin", Jack Nicholson for "Glengarry Glen Ross" and Tim Robbins for "The Player." 1992 didn’t prove to be the year of the woman, as leading roles for females dwindled. Emma Thompson for "Howard’s End" and Michelle Pfeiffer for "Batman Returns" will most surely be nominated, with Thompson, who has Third Time is the Charm; A Review of Star Trek Deep Space Nine By: Ben Turrano & Kelly Anne Watch Several weeks ago the, long anticipated, third chapter in the Star Trek television saga aired on Fox Television affiliate stations all over the country. The response of the populous has been overwhelming. Initial impressions, interviews, previews, articles about set construction, make up, actors... etc. have appeared in almost every publication in the public press. It is being hailed as the ultimate complement to an American institution and the brain child of Gene Roddenberry. Star Trek Deep Space Nine, produced by Michael Piller and Rick Berman of The Next Generation, takes place in the twenty-fourth century; more specifically about 2370, on an aging space station at the farthest reaches of the galaxy. The format of this science-fiction phenomena is reminiscent of the old west, with lawmen of the highest caliper, mischievous children, ruthless outlaws, competing merchants, and the occasional stranger passing through "town." D. 5.9, as it is known to it’s inhabitants, boasts a lively Promenade, (the hub of social activity on the station) with it’s pleasure suites, casinos, saloons complete with swinging doors, stores of infinite diversity and many treasures, and eateries offering culinary delights from all over the galaxy. Not to mention, the merchants represent almost every humanoid species imaginable. Page 6 By: Todd Ritter won every other critic’s award, the likely winner. Other possibilities are Susan Sarandon for " Lorenzo’s Oil", Mary McDonnell for the little seen drama "Passion Fish" and Judy Davis for "Husbands and Wives", though the Academy might put her in the supporting category instead. Two sure things in the supporting races are Miranda Richardson for "Damage" and Gene Hackman for "Unforgiven". More supporting nominees will probably be Alfre Woodard for "Passion Fish", Joan Plowright for "Enchanted April", Geraldine Chaplin, who played her own grandmother in "Chaplin" and Chris O’Donnell for "Scent of a Woman". Jack Nicholson,, in addition' to "Hoffa" is a prime contender for supporting actor for "A Few Good Men". If he is, he’ll be only the fifth person to be nominated in both leading and supporting categories the same year. If 1 picked the Oscars I’d choose "Howard’s End" as Best Picture. It tells the story of two Victorian families, the Wilcoxes and the Schlegels, whose lives become intertwined. Along with Best Picture, "Howard’s End" gets two more awards in my book. I think Emma Thompson deserves best Actress as Margaret Schlegel, the liberal- minded woman who is the centerpiece of the film and Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Mrs. Ruth Wilcox gets my vote as Supporting Actress. Best Actor would go to A 1 Pacino and Best Supporting Actor to Robin Williams for his zany turn in "Aladdin". The nominations will be announced in mid-February, and the awards themselves will be handed out on March 29. Throw in a stationary wormhole, (a natural phenomena in .space whereby objects can travel to various locations at the speed of light without artificial warp-drive), and we’ve got the potential for unlimited supply of celestial drama. In keeping with the ever changing social awareness of today’s society, this latest installment of the television series that has traditionally mirrored society’s problems; also reflects the growing diversity of our world. Avery Brooks portrays Commander Benjamin Sisko, a widowed black commander raising a son in this unpredictable setting. At his side is Major Kira Neyres the hard nosed liaison from the planet that D. 5.9 orbits played by Nana Visitor. She represents the ultimate achievement in the feminist movement toward equal rights. The commanding nature of her presence in a room is enough to make even the most confident of people uneasy. Cirroc Lofton plays Jake Sisko, the son of the commander who must cope with his adolescence, his mother’s death and his own fears about a new home on this less than comfortable space station. The shape-shifting security chief played by seasoned actor Rene Aubeijonois, is a straight line, take no excrement from anyone kind of person. His authority in matters of security is final and no one dares question the law when Odo speaks. Dr. Julian February 1993 see DS9 cm page 8
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