Lincroft-Holmdel Science Fiction Club Club Notice - 6/26/87 -- Vol. 5, No. 50 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 07/08 MT: FOOTFALL by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle 07/15 LZ: TITAN by John Varley (Megalomania) (in 1B-205) 08/05 LZ: The BERSERKER books by Fred Saberhagen (A/I) 08/26 LZ: ? 09/16 LZ: THE UPLIFT WAR by David Brin (Future Histories) HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 mtuxo!jetzt LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 mtuxo!jrrt MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 957-5619 mtgzz!leeper HO Librarian: Tim Schroeder HO 3M-420 949-5866 homxb!tps LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 576-6142 lzfme!lfl MT Librarian: Bruce Szablak MT 4C-418 957-5868 mtgzz!bds Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted. %%% % % %%%%%% %%%%%%% %%%%%% %%%%%%% % % % %%%%%%% % %% %% % % % % % % % % % %% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %%%%%% % % %%%%%% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %%%%%%% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %% % %%% % % % %%%%%%% % % % % % % % % 1. There is a nasty rumor going around that a number of our members are, in fact, dead. AT&T has discovered that the dead are not covered by affimative action and in fact has been discriminating against the dead on a salary basis for years. It is their contention that you just do not get a good day's work out of a corpse and that, on the whole, the living give you a much better day of work. (Actually a Mr. B. Samedi was the lone dissenting opinion in this regard.) Now, I have nothing against dead members and rarely will you catch me speaking ill of them, but I want to get some data to give these people to prove that at least 70% of our members, by my estimate, are in fact living. To prove that you are living, please tear off the top sheet of this notice, fold it in half with my address on the outside, staple it once, and drop it in the interoffice mail. You will find that the top page has been %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % % return to: % Mark Leeper % % MT 3E-433 % % % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Lincroft-Holmdel Science Fiction Club Club Notice - 6/26/87 -- Vol. 5, No. 50 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 07/08 MT: FOOTFALL by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle 07/15 LZ: TITAN by John Varley (Megalomania) (in 1B-205) 08/05 LZ: The BERSERKER books by Fred Saberhagen (A/I) 08/26 LZ: ? 09/16 LZ: THE UPLIFT WAR by David Brin (Future Histories) HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 mtuxo!jetzt LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 mtuxo!jrrt MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 957-5619 mtgzz!leeper HO Librarian: Tim Schroeder HO 3M-420 949-5866 homxb!tps LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 576-6142 lzfme!lfl MT Librarian: Bruce Szablak MT 4C-418 957-5868 mtgzz!bds Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted. %%% % % %%%%%% %%%%%%% %%%%%% %%%%%%% % % % %%%%%%% % %% %% % % % % % % % % % %% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %%%%%% % % %%%%%% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %%%%%%% % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %% % %%% % % % %%%%%%% % % % % % % % % 1. There is a nasty rumor going around that a number of our members are, in fact, dead. AT&T has discovered that the dead are not covered by affimative action and in fact has been discriminating against the dead on a salary basis for years. It is their contention that you just do not get a good day's work out of a corpse and that, on the whole, the living give you a much better day of work. (Actually a Mr. B. Samedi was the lone dissenting opinion in this regard.) Now, I have nothing against dead members and rarely will you catch me speaking ill of them, but I want to get some data to give these people to prove that at least 70% of our members, by my estimate, are in fact living. To prove that you are living, please tear off the top sheet of this notice, fold it in half with my address on the outside, staple it once, and drop it in the interoffice mail. You will find that the top page has been - 2 - duplicated, so you will not miss one syllable of my sterling prose. At the end of July all dead people will be dropped from our mailing list. You will be considered dead until you prove that you are still alive. There will be a percent sign (%) after your name on the address below if we suspect you are dead. That symbol will be removed once we get proof, through the mail, that you are alive. If you have a '#' after your name, it means we have no Social Security number or payroll account number for you. Since AT&T assumes that all living people have Social Security numbers or payroll account numbers, please send us this number or they will count you as dead. Also, if you are living but in a different office than we think, please let us know. 2. We have just finished purchasing Hugo nominees and discussion books, shipping books around, etc. The Lincroft branch has had the following additions over the recent past: Brin, David SUNDIVER Card, Orson Scott ENDER'S GAME Carey, Diane DREADNOUGHT! Davies, Owen [ed.] OMNI BOOK OF SPACE DeWeese, Gene CHAIN OF ATTACK Duane, Diane MY ENEMY, MY ALLY Finney, Charles G. CIRCUS OF DR. LAO (transferred from HO) Heinlein, Robert A. TUNNEL IN THE SKY Levin, Ira THIS PERFECT DAY Marshak, Sondra et al STAR TREK - THE NEW VOYAGES 2 Marshak, Sondra et al PROMETHEUS DESIGN McIntyre, Vonda ENTERPRISE, THE FIRST ADVENTURE McIntyre, Vonda SEARCH FOR SPOCK McIntyre, Vonda WRATH OF KHAN Moorcock, Michael ELRIC OF MELNIBONE' Morrow, James CONTINENT OF LIES Murdock, M. S. WEB OF THE ROMULANS Silverberg, Robert SHADRACH IN THE FURNACE Varley, John DEMON (transferred from MT) Varley, John TITAN (transferred from MT) Varley, John WIZARD (transferred from MT) Vinge, Vernor PEACE WAR (transferred from HO) Zelazny, Roger THIS IMMORTAL The Middletown branch has added Vinge's MAROONED IN REALTIME. Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 957-5619 ...mtgzz!leeper FULL METAL JACKET A film review by Mark R. Leeper Copyright 1987 Mark R. Leeper Capsule review: _F_u_l_l _M_e_t_a_l _J_a_c_k_e_t has echoes of some of Kubrick's best work. It is episodic, noisy, sad, and funny, and sometimes gives a distorted view but it is also a powerful film, without much competition. It is one of the two or three best films about the Vietnam War. Well, the Vietnam War film seems to be with us at last. While the war went on and for a good while afterward it seemed a taboo subject. People, and in particular film backers, did not want to make films about so downbeat a subject. With the passing of time some of the wounds have healed and we have some gung-ho Vietnam films. The _R_a_m_b_os and _M_i_s_s_i_n_g _i_n _A_c_t_i_o_ns made it entertaining (if unrealistic) as the John Wayne films a generation earlier did for World War II. Now serious Vietnam films are being made. We had _D_e_e_r _H_u_n_t_e_r, _A_p_o_c_a_l_y_p_s_e _N_o_w, _T_h_e _K_i_l_l_i_n_g _F_i_e_l_d_s, and _P_l_a_t_o_o_n. Kubrick's latest film is _F_u_l_l _M_e_t_a_l _J_a_c_k_e_t. The film is the history of a Marine known only as Lt. Joker (played by Matthew Modine). The story is the memories of Joker from the war and, like memories, it is episodic. The first 3/4-hour of the film is the story of Joker's boot camp experience on Paris Island. 90% of the words you hear during this story are yelled by Joker's drill instructor. From there we follow John's early Vietnam career in some shorter episodes, then the film ends in another long story. Joker becomes a correspondent for the only newspaper the brass respects, the military's own _S_t_a_r_s _a_n_d _S_t_r_i_p_e_s. By their own admission, all they publish is good-news war news and stories about soldiers giving half their income to down-trodden Vietnamese. The war, and in particular the Tet Offensive, is seen from his ironic viewpoint. While the film is not as exaggerated as _D_r. _S_t_r_a_n_g_e_l_o_v_e, it always has a tragic and usually a comic undertone. The film starts bitter and funny like _D_r. _S_t_r_a_n_g_e_l_o_v_e and slowly transforms to sad and bitter like _P_a_t_h_s _o_f _G_l_o_r_y. Those are Kubrick's two best films and _F_u_l_l _M_e_t_a_l _J_a_c_k_e_t could well come to be accepted by many as his third best. _F_u_l_l _M_e_t_a_l _J_a_c_k_e_t is not the Vietnam War the grunts saw. That was _P_l_a_t_o_o_n. It isn't the war the Cambodians saw. That was _T_h_e _K_i_l_l_i_n_g _F_i_e_l_d_s. The Vietnam War the middle-aged right wing saw was _T_h_e _G_r_e_e_n _B_e_r_e_t_s. If I ever figure out from whose viewpoint the was was seen in _T_h_e _D_e_e_r _H_u_n_t_e_r or _A_p_o_c_a_l_y_p_s_e _N_o_w, I'll let you know. _F_u_l_l _M_e_t_a_l _J_a_c_k_e_t is the Vietnam War that the college kids who didn't go (and a few who did) saw. As such it has some truths, some distortions, and more than a little nostalgia value. Rate it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale. CEDDO A film review by Mark R. Leeper Copyright 1987 Mark R. Leeper Capsule review: Micro-epic from Senegal. The film is weak on style, acting, and pacing, but has a really good story. Never released in Senegal, nominally over a disagreement about the spelling of the title, but more likely for anti-Islamic sentiments. Imagine, if you will, a story written for Akira Kurosawa. You know, one with armies clashing and sieges of great castles. Now imagine the story was done instead by a third-grade grammar-school class of about thirty people--the same heavy themes but where Kurosawa would show an army the play has to use two people. Instead of a castle there would be a tent. You would get a sort of "micro-epic." Okay, now you have some idea what a "micro-epic" might be. Ousmane Sembene's 1977 Senegalese film _C_e_d_d_o is a very big film on a very small scale. The film, based on a true story, takes place in one village but it is still the stuff of epics. In one small village in Senegal, three cultures are fighting for dominance: one worshiping the traditional village fetishes, one the new Islamic faith, and the third represented by two white Europeans. Admittedly, the latter are not so interested in converting souls as they are in trading guns for slaves. As the power shifts back and forth, more than one group decides it has to spend a few people on guns. The real catalyst of the events of the film occurs when three anti-Islamic villagers kidnap the daughter of the Islamic king. This starts a small-scale civil war that has a local band of Moslems (allies of the Islamic king against the anti-Islamic villagers) attempting to oust the king and seize control for themselves. Senegal's film industry is still a fledgling and this film in all but its plotting falls well below what we have come to expect as Western standards. The pacing and acting are poor; the camera-work is only fair. The plot, on the other hand, is excellent. _C_e_d_d_o is a film of political dialogue and philosophy and, at times, even action. Much of the excitement of the action scenes is sapped away by mishandling. Sembene is predominantly a novelist and when he made this film he did not have the filmmaking talent his story deserved. It cannot be that hard to pick up the talents Sembene is missing. Hundreds of directors in this country know how to get a reasonable acting job and how to make a film of minimal polish. They just do not have a good enough story. Sembene has a good story, one that is every bit as good as the story of _Z. If Sembene could pick up a little polish in his style, he could be making first-class films. As it is, I would still give _C_e_d_d_o a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. Film Forum 2 Summer Festival of Fantasy & Science Fiction The following is the schedule for the "Summer Festival of Fantasy & Science Fiction" at the Film Forum 2, 57 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013 (212-431-1590). All shows are $5 (though the Film Forum sells memeberships that entitle you to discounts). This schedule is provided as a service--they're not paying us to do this! July 31-August 2 (Fri-Sun) IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL August 3 (Mon) ROCKETSHIP X-M THE FLYING SAUCER SPACE PATROL August 4/5 (Tues/Wed) THEY CAME FROM WITHIN VIDEODROME August 6/7 (Thu/Fri) INVADERS FROM MARS INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS August 8/9 (Sat/Sun) A CLOCKWORK ORANGE THX-1138 August 10 (Mon) THE FLY KRONOS August 11 (Tues) WOMAN IN THE MOON (FRAU IM MOND) THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE August 12 (Wed) THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN THE SPACE CHILDREN August 13/14 (Thu/Fri) BRAZIL SLEEPER August 15/16 (Sat/Sun) ALPHAVILLE BLADE RUNNER August 17 (Mon) SINS OF THE FLESHAPOIDS ASCENSION OF THE DEMONOIDS THE GIANT CLAW August 18 (Tues) THE MAN FROM PLANET X THE COSMIC MAN August 19/20 (Wed/Thu) THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT (THE CREEPING - 2 - UNKNOWN) QUATERMASS II (ENEMY FROM SPACE) QUATERMASS & THE PIT (FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH) August 21/22 (Fri/Sat) THE ROAD WARRIOR THE TERMINATOR August 23/24 (Sun/Mon) STALKER August 25/26 (Tues/Wed) THE CRAZIES DAY OF THE DEAD August 27 (Thu) THE MYSTERIANS THE H-MAN August 28/29/30 (Fri/Sat/Sun) Lunar-toons, a feature-film-length collection of SF cartoons August 31 (Mon) THEM! IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA Sept 1/2 (Tues/Wed) COUNTDOWN DESTINATION MOON Sept 3/4 (Thu/Fri) WARRIORS OF THE WIND INFRA-MAN Sept 5/6 (Sat/Sun) THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH THX 2238 4EB (the original short that was expanded to become THX 1138) Sept 7 (Mon) PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON (in 3-D) ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE (Chapter 12-- "Tomb of the Traitors") Sept 8/9 (Tues/Wed) IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE LIFEFORCE Sept 10 (Thu) THE TIME MACHINE (1960) CONQUEST OF SPACE Sept 11/12 (Fri/Sat) WAR OF THE WORLDS WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE Sept 13/14 (Sun/Mon) 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY "Hardware Wars" Sept 15 (Tues) THESE ARE THE DAMNED FIVE - 3 - Sept 16 (Wed) DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS THE STRANGER FROM VENUS Sept 17 (Thu) LE DERNIER COMBAT LE SCI-FI VU PAR (a collection of SF shorts, including Marker's "La Jettee," Melies's "A Trip to the Moon," and Gance's "La Folie du Docteur Tube") Sept 18/19/20 (Fri/Sat/Sun) ALIEN ALIENS Sept 21 (Mon) A BOY AND HIS DOG DEATH RACE 2000 Sept 22 (Tues) I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK Sept 23 (Wed) VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED Sept 24 (Thu) FORBIDDEN PLANET EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS "Flying Saucer Daffy" (Three Stooges) They also have "Animation Week": July 5/6 (Sun/Mon) ALLEGRO NON TROPPO THE BEST OF BRUNO BOZETTO July 7/8 (Tues/Wed) ANIMATION CELEBRATION (selected from the first L.A. International Animation Celebration) July 9 (Thu) THE FESTIVAL OF CLAYMATION July 10/11 (Fri/Sat) THE 19TH INTERNATIONAL TOURNEE OF ANIMATION And finally, on July 22 they are showing METROPOLIS, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, and UN CHIEN ANDALOU. Whew! THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT ALMOST BLANK