Lincroft-Holmdel Science Fiction Club Club Notice - 2/11/87 -- Vol. 5, No. 31 MEETINGS UPCOMING: Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are on Wednesdays at noon. LZ meetings are in LZ 3A-206; MT meetings are in MT 4A-235. _D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C 02/18 LZ: RINGWORLD ENGINEERS by Larry Niven World Creation 02/18 MT: Book Swap 03/11 LZ: THE DREAMING JEWELS by Ted Sturgeon Children (and Child-raising) 04/01 LZ: THE BOOK OF THE NEW MOON tetralogy Artsy-fartsy SF by Jean Wolf 04/22 LZ: MURMURS OF EARTH by Carl Sagan SF-related Non-Fiction 05/13 LZ: TO YOUR SCATTERED BODIES GO by Reincarnation Phillip Jose Farmer HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 957-5619 HO Librarian: Tim Schroeder HO 3M-420 949-5866 LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 1C-117 576-2068 MT Librarian: Bruce Szablak MT 4C-418 957-5868 Jill-of-all-trades: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted. 1. You don't tend to think of MGM as being one of the major studios for horror films in the '40s. Universal Studios was the leader there. Nevertheless, MGM occasionally attempted to make "classy" horror films with impressive casts and high production values, often based on classic novels. The next Leeperhouse film festival will be their two best-known classic and Class A horror films. On Thursday, February 19, at 7 PM we will show: PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945) dir. by Albert Lewin DR JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1941) dir. by Victor Fleming Oscar Wilde's novel of corruption, degradation, and cynicism comes to the screen with Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, Donna Reed, and in the title role, a rectangle of canvas. Atmospheric and moody adaptation is probably the second thing that comes to mind when most people think about Oscar Wilde. One doesn't usually think of Spencer Tracy in villianous roles. His Edward Hyde is a masterpiece of oily sadistic slime as he plays cat-and-mouse with Ingrid Bergman. Apparently even in this complete version, some of the Freudian hallucinations were cut, but some of the images that are left make the film worth seeing in - 2 - themselves. (ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL will not be shown due to the length of the program.) 2. The holograph showed a blue ribbon surrounding a yellow star. It is a loop 125.8 Earths wide. The puppeteer Nessus selected a team of two humans and a Kzin. It has a radius of 95 million miles. In the ship "Lying Bastard" the crew set out. It has a surface area equivalent to 3 million Earths. The exploration trip nearly cost the crew members their lives. It is the Ringworld, the most fantastic artifact in Known Space. That was 20 years ago. Now the deposed puppeteer leader, Hindmost, has kidnapped Louis Wu and Chmee for a return trip to the Ringworld. However, from the start there is a problem. On arrival, Louis and Chmee discover what they had suspected was true. The Ringworld is unstable and spinning wildly off-center on a course that will send it into a collision with its own star. Can the Ringworld be saved. What will the luck of Teela Brown dictate? Who built the Ringworld and why? For the answers to these and other questions read RINGWORLD ENGINEERS. Then come to the Lincroft SF Club meeting where the Ringworld and other artificial environments, and how to build them, will be the topic of discussion. [-Nick Sauer] 3. Watsa matta, bunky? Ya say science fiction prices have gone through the roof and ya have to hock yer mother to get that reprint of an Eando Binder story so you read every book ya have over and over and ya don't need the book any more 'cause ya know them all by heart and they've laid under your bed so long that _F_l_i_g_h_t _t_o _t_h_e _M_u_s_h_r_o_o_m _P_l_a_n_e_t really has mushrooms growing out of it? Is that wot's puttin' a curdle in yer carnation, bunky? WELL, LOOK UP. MIDDLETOWN BRANCH'S HAVING A BOOKSWAP. You can trade books, magazines, and/or money for trade books, magazines, and/or money. Maybe you can get that Eando Binder story you been pinin' for in trade for a few of those mushrooms. Just come to MT 4A-235 on Wednesday, February 18, at high noon to 12:30PM. This is the ol' philosopher sayin' "LOOK UP, WALK IN THE SUNSHINE, AND SMILE!" Due to scheduling difficulties we have to have two science fiction meetings opposite each other. So it goes. 4. Unsolicited testimonial: - 3 - AAUW WEEKLY USED BOOK SALE Every Saturday 9A.M.- 1 P.M. Garibaldi Bldg., 104A Shrewsbury Ave., Red Bank (Corner Oakland St.) Paperbacks $.50, HardCover $1.00 Unless Marked Otherwise As it happens, the above is one of the best used bookstores in New Jersey. By far they are one of the smallest, but I was quite impressed with their selection, which was somewhat diminished (by two large bags full) after my visit. Their science fiction selection is not very big, but it included a hard-to-find Dover of the novels of John Taine. To the best of my knowlege, it is still there (I already had it). The kind of books they had reminded my of used book stores 15 years ago and their prices were better than those of the vast majority of used book emporiums I have seen in a good long while. Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 957-5619 ...mtgzz!leeper STRANGER FROM VENUS A film review by Mark R. Leeper One of those films I had been curious to see for a long time showed up at a local video store. The film is _S_t_r_a_n_g_e_r _f_r_o_m _V_e_n_u_s, a British film made in 1954 with a number of strong similarities to the previous year's _D_a_y _t_h_e _E_a_r_t_h _S_t_o_o_d _S_t_i_l_l, right down to starring Patricia Neal. Helmut Dantine plays the nameless stranger who walks into an inn and is shortly revealed to be from the planet Venus. (You may remember Dantine as a young refugee trying to win at roulette so that he can bribe his way out of _C_a_s_a_b_l_a_n_c_a.) He reads minds, he has healing powers, and he has a mission to save his planet and ours. _S_t_r_a_n_g_e_r _f_r_o_m _V_e_n_u_s is slow, it is stagey, it is visually somewhat dull with only one scene that has any special effects, and other than that the only visual novelty comes from the alien wardrobe: pants with stripes down the side. By today's standards this film offers little but the opportunity to say you have seen a rare science fiction film from the '50s. But making allowances for its age, it might be worth seeing. I'd give it a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale. For buffs only. RADIO DAYS A film review by Mark R. Leeper Capsule review: Woody Allen recaptures the days of his youth in this comedy about the lives of people he knew and people he heard on the radio. Essentially a plotless reminiscence, it may well be his best work in quite a while. These days there is no such thing as a typical Woody Allen film. It used to be that you could expect very zany comedy from Allen, then his films took a turn for the introspective, then the serious, then the experimental. _R_a_d_i_o _D_a_y_s is as close as he has come to zany comedy in quite a while, though if the truth be known it is closer to Jean- Shepherd-style humor than to what we are accustomed to from Allen. _R_a_d_i_o _D_a_y_s is a nostalgic look at common people and a pop culture during the late Thirties and early Forties. In the world portrayed by Allen there are two classes of people. There are the common people from Allen's Jewish neighborhood and there are the glamorous radio stars whose entertainment is woven into the fabric of everybody's life. On the whole _R_a_d_i_o _D_a_y_s, like life, is essentially plotless. It goes nowhere but forward in time. If anything, it is a collection of short stories tied together in a framing sequence that is Allen's life (or Allen's character's life) during this period of time. The stories seem to be gossip legends about radio stars--the sort of thing everybody has heard but no two people have heard exactly the same way. Actually Allen invests very little personality in the radio stars in the stories. When you hear a gossip story, there is very little you learn about the characters of the story themselves than that. On the other hand, the people that the Allen character meets in his daily life are very real and very well fleshed out. They are funny and they are real. Allen's sets and locales to recreate the feel of the period were chosen with a certain economy but are nonetheless flawless. We never feel we are looking at a present-day street with a few old cars thrown in to make it look older. The attention to detail on the sets is nearly flawless. The one false note is the repetitive showing of Pepsi-Cola ads and people drinking Pepsi, a move rather more crass than Allen has shown in the past. I personally enjoyed _R_a_d_i_o _D_a_y_s more than the acclaimed Hannah and Her Sisters, Allen's previous film. That film was predominantly about sex and relationships. _R_a_d_i_o _D_a_y_s is about common people and their entertainment. Maybe that says something about me. I give _R_a_d_i_o _D_a_y_s a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale. OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE A film review by Mark R. Leeper Capsule review: Yet another comedy from Touchstone Films proves that they are a consistent producer of films that really are funny. Without the gags, the threadbare plot would be all too apparent but the chemistry of Long and Midler make it all worthwhile. Several film companies make comedies but it is usually a hit-or- miss proposition. A certain proportion of their projects happen to be comedies by various directors and there is no identifiable style to their comedies. No one talks about "the Paramount comedies" or "the Fox comedies." There have, however, been over the years the occasional companies who have worked in large part or entirely on comedy and whose names have come to mean something more. Sometimes it is only a formula, but usually they will use the same identifiable actors over and over, perhaps even the same directors. But they will produce as institutions: "the Mack Sennet comedies," "the Hal Roach comedies," "the Ealing comedies." I suspect that in the future there will also be an entertainment institution "the Touchstone comedies." Touchstone comedies include _S_p_l_a_s_h, _D_o_w_n _a_n_d _O_u_t _i_n _B_e_v_e_r_l_y _H_i_l_l_s, _R_u_t_h_l_e_s_s _P_e_o_p_l_e, _T_o_u_g_h _G_u_y_s, and now _O_u_t_r_a_g_e_o_u_s _F_o_r_t_u_n_e. What is a Touchstone comedy? Usually it is a light comedy with two or three bankable stars. It will have just enough raw language, brief nudity, and/or "adult situations" to ensure an R rating. It will probably have a chase at some point. And it will have a lot of quality writing with some really funny lines that seem to come from nowhere. The latest of the Touchstone comedies is _O_u_t_r_a_g_e_o_u_s _F_o_r_t_u_n_e. Shelley Long and Bette Midler are two feuding New York actresses, a sort of distaff "Odd Couple," who find that they both had a affair with the same man (Peter Coyote) at the same time. Now he seems to be chasing across the country with something on his mind other than the two actresses but they want to find him and have him choose between them once and for all. The chase is a merry one and involves more than Long and Midler bargained for. The basic plot of _O_u_t_r_a_g_e_o_u_s _F_o_r_t_u_n_e is a little hackneyed but there is a comic chemistry between Midler and Long. It would be good to see these actresses together again. And since Touchstone tends to re- use the same actors--this is Midler's third film for Touchstone--it seems likely that we might. For plot weaknesses I cannot rate this higher than a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale, but the humor is undeniable. _N_O_T_E_S _F_R_O_M _T_H_E _N_E_T --------------------------------------- Subject: Ballard's MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE Path: mtuxo!mtune!codas!burl!clyde!rutgers!daemon Date: 5 Feb 87 21:00:17 GMT Some weeks back, Donn Seeley posted a consolidated review of six different SF collections. That review prompted me to look for those books at the local library, and I found some of them. This is in regard to a comment of his in that posting wherein he said, regarding the subject book by Ballard: "Unfortunately Triad Granada didn't see fit to print the original publication information for the stories in this book, so I don't know if they come from a cross-section of Ballard's career, as they appear to." Well, the library's copy of MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE is another edition, in hardback. It's published by Jonathan Cape Ltd., Thirty Bedford Square, London. This edition DOES contain at least the following publishing history info for the stories in this volume: "The following stories originally appeared in these publications: AMBIT, Smile' (1976), 'The Dead Time' (1977), 'Theatre of War' (1977), 'Having A Wonderful Time' (1978), 'Motel Architecture' (1978); TIME OUT, 'A Host Of Furious Fancies' (1980)." Now, this does NOT include all the stories in the book; 'News From The Sun' and 'Myths Of The Near Future' are not listed, so maybe this book was the original publication of those two. I don't recognize the names of the publications listed above; I suppose they are small British literary journals or fanzines? Of course, the "publication date" info does not necessarily mean that the stories were actually written at those times; they could have been written much earlier and not published until then. To know that, we would have to ask Ballard himself... But at least the publication history spans only a few years, from the late '70s to 1982 (the book's copyright date). Just thought I'd send this out to provide the data for the record. Will Martin --------------------------------------- Subject: Warrior Queen -- review (spolier, I suppose) Path: hplabs!decwrl!pyramid!amdahl!dlb!auspyr!sci!richd Date: 30 Jan 87 08:16:30 GMT I would venture to say that Warrior Queen is perhaps the most totally - 2 - awesome movie imaginable. While Sybil Danning never shows us her breasts she certainly makes up for it with her smoothly delivered 3 lines of dialog. She is indeed the star of the movie, so you can imagine the tension the audience develops in the first half hour before she delivers her first line, "You are the blessed of the [generic cult name, since forgotten]. All will be well". Typical scene: A number of slaves are dragged into a room, where they are to be sold. The are all pretty ugly except one particular blond girl. She is the only slave wearing make-up. So one by one they take the other slaves and hang them upside down naked for the lecherous Romans to poke and prod and buy. So we in the theatre are desperately hoping that the blond girl will be treated the same, so we can see her boobs. She does not deny us one iota. In fact, it never really seems like she ever wears clothes at all after that. This big guy named Goliath wants to rape her (I swore that the actor was Lou Ferrigno, but my friend said "I find that highly unlikely"), and (go hulk!) he does. But then he gets his head cut off. She is rescued by Versius ("the famous charioteer!"). But there is lots of blood too. In the gladitorial games, they play a version of "guts". That is the game where you through the frisbee at each other as hard as you can, and the first person to not catch it loses. Except they use metal frisbees, and Goliath wins by imbedding it in his foes' forehead. And there's a whole bunch of swordfights with pitchforks. Plus I think one guy got burned by molten lead of some sort, but I was too busy watching the microphone drop into the picture, and the roman gladiator picking his nose. In one scene, Versius cruises his chariot right past a Tennis court, and the chain link fence is visible for a good 5 minutes. This whole thing takes place in Pompeii, so at the end of the movie Mt. Vesuvius erupts and kills everybody. (Minor spoiler) Seriously, there's nothing quite like a movie that has lots of ketchup and enormous garbonzoes. I paid 2$ for it, and I laughed so hard that I actually, for a moment, covered up the sound of the guy in the theatre who was telling fat jokes during the 20 minute pauses between dialog. -- Rich --------------------------------------- Subject: Upcoming Summer Releases... Path: mtuxo!houxm!ihnp4!cbatt!ucbvax!miro.Berkeley.EDU!spr Date: 2 Feb 87 11:14:35 GMT In case you were getting curious about the wave of summer movies, here's a partial listing. Some of these might be put off, others might move up, plus there are a lot more that aren't listed... - 3 - Beverly Hills Cop II (May 20) [Paramount] Eddie Murphy returns as Axel Foley who returns to California to investigate the murder of a friend (this time someone from the original BHC). Brigitte Nielson plays one of the villians. Ishtar (May 29) [Columbia] Originally scheduled to be released this past Christmas, this film teams Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as a pair of song-and-dance men who try to forget their broken romances by taking gigs in Morocco and getting caught up in comic intrigue and romance with a revolutionary played by Isabelle Adjani. Innerspace (June 19) [Warner Bros] Joe Dante (Gremlins) directs this comic version of "Fantastic Voyage" in which a meek grocery clerk (Martin Short) must help out a miniturized jet pilot (Dennis Quaid) that has entered his bloodstream and is having trouble with the "bad guys". Roxanne (June 26) [Columbia] Steve Martin updates the Cyrano de Bergerac story by playing a fireman who loves Roxanne (Daryl Hannah), but because of his oversized nose, he asks a third party to deliver his poetry for him. Masters of the Universe (June) [Cannon] Yes, a live action version of He-Man starring Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV) as He-Man, and Frank Langella as Skeletor. The Untouchables (June) [Paramount] Brian DiPalma (sp?) directs the story based upon the real-life exploits of Treasury Department gangbuster Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) in a serious version of the early '60s T.V. show. Robert DeNiro plays Al Capone. A Tiger's Tale (June) [Atlantic Releasing] C. Thomas Hall stars in this comedy about a young man who falls in love with his ex-girlfriend's mother (Ann Margret). The Believers (June) [Orion] Martin Sheen plays a psychologist who treats New York cops suffering from job burnout an activity that somehow gets him involved in African mysticism The Witches of Eastwick (July 3) [Warner Bros] George Miller (Mad Max) directs this films version of John Updike's fantasy about three suburban witches (Susan Sarandon, Cher, & Michelle Pfieffer) and the man (Jack Nicholson), who may very well be the Devil, who enters their lives and gives their powers more malevolent direction. Rambo III (July 4) [Tri-Star] Stalone returns again as John Rambo, this time to help Afghan rebels fight the Russian army. Dragnet 1987 (July 17) [Universal] - 4 - Dan Aykroyd plays a second generation Joe Friday with Tom Hanks as Pep Streebeck, in this comedy based on the T.V> series. Harry Morgan reprises his role from the series, but now he's a captain. La Bamba (July 24) [Columbia] The story of pop-singer Richie Valens, the Mexican American migrant worker who became an overnight star. It will be released in both English and Spanish language versions. The Disorderlies (July 31) [Warner Bros] Ralph Bellamy co-stars with The Fat Boys in this musical comedy. Malone (July) [Orion] Burt Reynolds stars as a former government agent who battles a group of right-wing extremists. The Living Daylights (July) [MGM/UA] Timothy Dalton stars as as the latest incarnation of James Bond who this time is battling an international cartel of arms dealers. We're promised that Bond will be younger, trimmer, darker, and more dangerous, and that the film returns to the original style of Flemming's stories with more intrigue and less spoofery. Robocop (July) [Orion] Peter Weller plays an cybernetic cop. (That's all it had) Real Men (July) [MGM/UA] Jim Belushi plays a maniacal CIA agent who recruits meek suburbanite John Ritter for one of his stranger missions. Spaceballs (July) [MGM/UA] Mel Brooks parodies the Star Wars movies as he stars with John Candy and Rick Moranis. Skip Tracer (July) [Tri-Star] Michael Keaton teams up with Rae Dawn Chong as he plays a fast-talking wiseguy who figures out a way to improve his gambling odds but has to avoid several shady gentleman to collect his winnings. Summer School (July) [Paramount] If the title doesn't tel you, Carl Reiner directs this story which stars Mark Harmon as a summer school teacher. Batteries Not Included (July) [Universal] The residents of a run-down neighborhood, led by Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, are being forced by redevelopers to leave their homes, until mysterious forces arrive to save the day. Steven Spielberg produces. Superman IV (July) [Cannon (through Warner Bros)] Christopher Reeve returns as the Man of Steel along with Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, and Jackie Cooper as Perry - 5 - White. This time Supes must face Lex's new ally, an android who is sheathed in Kryptonite. She's Having a Baby (July) [Paramount] Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern play an expectant married couple (in their 20's) in this comedy written and directed by John Hughes. Nuts (July) [Warner Bros] Barbara Streisand stars in this adaptation of the stage succes about a woman accused of murder who tries to prove her sanity during a makeshift trial in an asylum. The Big Town (July) [Columbia] Matt Dillon plays a gambler and Diane Lane a stripper who stumble together into the crim-world of 1950's Chicago. Harold Becker directs. Predator (July) [Fox] Arnold Schwarzenegger leads a group of soldiers through the Central American jungle and suddenly are bothered by a pesky alien attacker who picks off the soldiers one-by-one until Arnold is the only one left. Hearts of Fire (July) [Fox] Bob Dylan plays an aging, reclusive rock-star who becomes involved in a romantic triangle with a young up-and-coming singer (Fiona) and a British rocker (Rupert Everett) who's at the peak of his fame. Promised are 22 original songs, included several new ones by Dylan. The Pick-Up Artist (July) [Fox] All that's known about this secretive project is that it stars Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey, Jr., and that it's directed by James Toback ("Exposed", "Love & Money", & "Fingers"). The Running Man (July) [Tri-Star] Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the title charcter of this futuristic thriller based upon the novel by Richard Bachman (really Stephen King) about a game show of the future in which hunters chase humans to their deaths. (I hope they do it right!) The Sicilian (July) [Fox] Chris Lambert stars in this film version of Mario Puzo's bestseller about Italian outlaw and Mafia-basher Salvatore Giuliano. Jaws '87 (July) [Universal] Universal hopes to pick up where Jaws 2 left off, but this one has to wait until they get Roy Scheider back into the water. That's it, if you have more to add, feel free... Sean "Yoda" Rouse ARPA: spr@miro.berkeley.edu UUCP: ucbvax!miro!spr - 6 -