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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 02/15/91 -- Vol. 9, No. 33
MEETINGS UPCOMING:
Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are on Wednesdays at noon.
LZ meetings are in LZ 2R-158. MT meetings are in the cafeteria.
_D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C
02/20 LZ: MARTIANS, GO HOME! by Frederic Brown (Social Satire)
03/13 LZ: TOM SWIFT by Victor Appleton II (Juvenile SF)
04/03 LZ: Book Swap
_D_A_T_E _E_X_T_E_R_N_A_L _M_E_E_T_I_N_G_S/_C_O_N_V_E_N_T_I_O_N_S/_E_T_C.
02/16 NJSFS: New Jersey Science Fiction Society: Stanley Schmidt
(phone 201-432-5965 for details) (Saturday)
03/09 SFABC: Science Fiction Association of Bergen County: TBA
(phone 201-933-2724 for details) (Saturday)
HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 hocpa!jetzt
LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 mtuxo!jrrt
MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 957-5619 mtgzy!leeper
HO Librarian: Tim Schroeder HO 3B-301 949-4488 hotsc!tps
LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 576-3346 mtunq!lfl
MT Librarian: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
1. Rob Mitchell offers the following for the next Lincroft
discussion:
As Frederic Brown points out in the prologue of his 1955 novel,
_M_a_r_t_i_a_n_s, _G_o _H_o_m_e, Martians have been portrayed in books, films,
and radio dramas as coming in any number of forms. We've had
tentacled blobs, giant spiders, ambulatory trees, and even a manic
Big Bird. Everyone, though, has studiously avoided the cliche,
until now. Brown's title characters are indeed, Little Green Men
from Mars. There's a difference, though, and therein hangs a tale.
Late one March evening, California time, a science fiction author
named Luke Devereaux was wrestling with a long-standing case of
writer's block. Separated from his wife, in financial trouble,
THE MT VOID Page 2
Luke was plumbing the depths of frustration and targetless
resentment, and was lubricating his foul mood with booze. At 8:14,
there was a knock at the door, and Luke's life took a further
nosedive, as did the lives of everyone else on the planet.
The Martians show up. A billion of them, all at once, all over the
globe. They just kwim here (it's sort of like teleportation, but
it's none of your business, Earthling). Yes, they're short, bald,
and very green, but they have Attitudes, as a future generation
could say. They can see through anything, so no secrets are safe.
Rude beyond tolerance and yet completely honest, the Martians take
every opportunity to sneer, tattle, and belittle. Vicious
practical jokes claim human dignity as victim, and occasionally
human lives. Imagine John Cleese in a Monty Python skit involving
frustration, and magnify that by three billion. Since Martians are
insubstantial, no physical attack affects them. Yet they're not
just some mass hallucination, since their voices can be recorded
and their images can be filmed....
_M_a_r_t_i_a_n_s, _G_o _H_o_m_e is not social satire in the same sense as _T_h_e
_S_p_a_c_e _M_e_r_c_h_a_n_t_s, the scathing Pohl and Kornbluth attack on our
consumer culture that came out at the same time. Brown isn't
interested in looking at the broad social forces that shape our
lives. He's more interested in the little interactions we engage
in every day with each other -- the casual courtesies, the polite
little white lies, and the other social amenities that can make
life a little more pleasant, or at least predictable. Brown's
sardonically funny book rubs our nose in the intrinsic silliness of
many of our social rituals, but it's clear the alternative is
worse. There's another theme in the book, as well, but to prevent
spoilers I'll save that for the discussion. [-jrrt]
2. There has been an alarming proliferation in the number of
funny-name restaurants. I don't know if you have ever noticed, but
the sillier the name of the restaurant, the more over-priced the
food will be. Would you rather eat at the Pernicious Pickle or at
Joe's Pizzeria? In my experience, if you order a sandwich and a
Coke at the Pernicious Pickle you will get a small sandwich, a
pickle slice, and a six-ounce glass filled with something closer to
a snow-cone than a Coke. That will cost you about $10. That is
just about the same price you'd pay for Joe's Special Pizza. It's
got a thick but crispy crust and plenty of tomato sauce and cheese,
but they are tough to see because the sausage, pepperoni, and
mushrooms get in the way.
Oh, just so I don't get sued, "Pernicious Pickle" is not the real
name of the restaurant I am describing, but I've really eaten
there. You have too probably. Joe's Pizzeria is real and though I
haven't been back there since I moved out of Massachusetts, it
really exists. And I am allowing for inflation: I think the
special used to be something like $6.50.
THE MT VOID Page 3
So a plain name is better than a cute name for a restaurant with
one exception. An awkward name is actually better than a plain
name. For example, if you see a place called Number One Chinese
Restaurant, it isn't infallible but it is a really good sign. Why?
That is a very Chinese name for a restaurant. In Shanghai the big
department store is "Number One Department Store." Somebody who
names a restaurant "Number One Chinese Restaurant" probably knows
food better than he knows how to make money. You won't find drinks
with paper umbrellas in them or sweet and sour pork or chop suey,
but you might find something authentic and maybe the food will be
hot if you want it that way.
P.S. Honest to gosh, I wrote this article and it just happened we
were looking for a restaurant within three hours. That part is
coincidence. We passed a place with a name sort of like Joe's
Pizzeria. (I won't actually plug the place here, but their name is
available on request.) I genuinely got just about the best pizza
I've had in New Jersey the first time I ever heard of the place.
Hey, my advice works!
3. Last week I wrote about movie titles. I notice that we have out
_T_h_e _N_e_v_e_r_e_n_d_i_n_g _S_t_o_r_y _I_I. Now I ask you, does that title make
sense? Let's ignore for a moment that _T_h_e _N_e_v_e_r_e_n_d_i_n_g _S_t_o_r_y left
no room for a sequel. But if the first story was never-ending when
does _T_h_e _N_e_v_e_r_e_n_d_i_n_g _S_t_o_r_y _I_I take place? Or are they just telling
us they intend to have an infinite number of films that will never
end? But it that was the case, why didn't they call it _T_h_e
_N_e_v_e_r_e_n_d_i_n_g _S_t_o_r_y _I_I: _T_h_e _S_t_o_r_y _C_o_n_t_i_n_u_e_s? Well, unlike the story,
I think this item should come to an end.
4. Oh, you will remember that Saddam Hussein was castigating the
Americans for hitting civilian targets like a baby food factory.
(It was labeled "Baby Food Factory" in English with a hand-painted
sign--honestly! I saw it on CNN.) Anyway there is more to that
story now. Hussein is claiming that 37 civilian engineers who did
not get their gas masks on in time were killed by the baby food
leak.
Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 957-5619
...mtgzy!leeper
To tyrants, indeed, and bad rulers, the progress of
knowledge among the mass of mankind is a just object
of terror; it is fatal to them and their designs.
-- Henry Peter, Lord Brougham
L. A. STORY
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Steve Martin borrows the style of
the early Woody Allen films in a pleasant love story told
against a background of a Los Angeles of the mind. While
lampooning life in Los Angeles, Martin also demonstrates
a good deal of affection for his city. Rating: high +1
(-4 to +4).
In _S_t_a_r_d_u_s_t _M_e_m_o_r_i_e_s, the aliens tell Woody Allen, "We like your
films, especially the 'earlier, funnier' ones." It is a running gag.
Everybody in _S_t_a_r_d_u_s_t _M_e_m_o_r_i_e_s likes Allen's "earlier, funnier" films.
Actually, even outside of _S_t_a_r_d_u_s_t _M_e_m_o_r_i_e_s, people seem to prefer
Allen's earlier style, but Allen does not want to go back to it. That
makes it fair game for other filmmakers. With _L. _A. _S_t_o_r_y, Steve Martin
is filling that void, picking up the earl Allen style. We have a film
with a slight plot which is really mostly an excuse to tie together
small skits, jokes, and sight gags about life in Los Angeles. Martin,
who scripted, is every bit as loving of his Los Angeles, in spite of its
faults, as Woody Allen is of New York City (and speaking as someone
living in the New York area, with just as much reason).
Martin plays Harris Telemacher who in spite of his Ph.D. is a sort
of television clown weather man. He breaks up with his mistress who is
selfish and uninteresting and begins dating a 23-year-old nymphette, but
he really wants to win a British journalist (played by Victoria Tennant)
who is in town to write an elitist, snobby, put-down article about Los
Angeles. Unfortunately, she finds both the town and its goofy weather
man entirely charming, each in spite of its little quirks. But Harris
has problems deciding what he really wants romantically and going for
it. Then from the most unexpected source, a mystical force takes
control of Harris's life and pushes it in the right direction. While
the style is archeo-Allen, the plot is really neo-Allen and there is
more than a little similarity between the plot of _L. _A. _S_t_o_r_y and a film
like _P_l_a_y _I_t _A_g_a_i_n, _S_a_m or even the current _A_l_i_c_e.
But _L. _A. _S_t_o_r_y's attraction is not so much plot as sidebar humor.
Martin takes affectionate swipes at traffic congestion, earthquakes, the
superficiality of the people, crime, and a lot more. Here and there
Martin swipes a scene from some well-known source. Knowing some very
basic French and Spanish will be of some assistance too.
Steve Martin deserves additional credit for letting someone else,
Mick Johnson, direct _L. _A. _S_t_o_r_y. All too often when the star of a film
writes the screenplay, he feels he should direct also. Many good actors
have a very hard time directing themselves, though they do not realize
how hard a time they had until the film is released. Gene Wilder is one
actor who cannot direct himself, for example. By letting someone else
direct, Martin can concentrate on his performance. And his performance
is fine in this slight but funny comedy. I rate it a high +1 on the -4
to +4 scale.
Yet Another Batch of Mini-Reviews
by Dale L. Skran Jr.
Copyright 1991 Dale L. Skran Jr.
_C_h_i_c_a_g_o _R_e_d by R. M. Meluch
One of my areas of greatest interest in SF is post-nuclear war
fiction. Although all-out nuclear war seems to be drifting toward the
event horizon (thank heavens!) with the coming of Glasnost, a couple of
books are contributed to the sub-genera every year. Wiping out the
whole world and starting over, albeit with a few selected pieces of the
old, is a great temptation to an author.
In _C_h_i_c_a_g_o _R_e_d Meluch creates a very "American" post-war tale, at
once readable without being striking in any way. A plausible yet
suitably convoluted tale of revolution is told without interference from
bogus mutants or other fixtures of bad post-nuclear fiction. Other than
a more or less seamless intermixing of gay and straight relationships
the plot had the feel of _S_t_a_r _W_a_r_s with a "gutsy woman," a bad guy who
isn't all bad, a priest with a secret, a brave prince, etc.
Recommended, I guess.
_C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t by Dan Simmons
After _H_y_p_e_r_i_o_n was nominated for the Hugo, I read it and the other
nominees. It didn't take all that long to decide to vote _H_y_p_e_r_i_o_n #1.
At the convention, I heard a panel where it was said that Simmons wrote
three (3!) Hugo-class novels in 1989 - _H_y_p_e_r_i_o_n, _P_h_a_s_e_s _o_f _G_r_a_v_i_t_y, and
_C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t. Thus I was looking forward to _C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t quite a
bit. This was fortunate indeed, since at 884 pages, _C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t
takes a lot of impetus to get through. It is well written, and the plot
is engaging. There is only one problem - at 884 pages _C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t
is simply too long and too much to too little effect.
Mainly, _C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t traces the efforts of Saul, a Jewish
concentration camp survivor, to find Herr Oberst, a Nazi with a
difference - the power to control humans to their deaths and derive
psychic satisfaction from the process. Eventually the trail leads to
other "Vampires" and other victims. Ultimately, Saul leads a small band
in a suicide assault on "The Island," a place where the Vampires gather
annually to stage "The Most Dangerous Game" using human pawns.
_C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t has considerable narrative strength (otherwise I
would never have gotten to page 700, or even page 500!) but as a
shorter, more concise novel it would a rip-roaring blockbuster. In its
current bloated form it wearies the eyes. This is not to say that there
are long dull passages, just that not enough really happens to justify
the length of the novel. Also, did I mention that _C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t seems
written for the screen? _C_a_r_r_i_o_n _C_o_m_f_o_r_t is similar in many ways to
- 2 -
Lumley's "Necroscope" series, although at once better written and less
interesting.
Recommended to those who like this sort of thing. _N_o_t Hugo
material.
_P_h_o_e_n_i_x by Steven Brust
It's been a while since I read _P_h_o_e_n_i_x, so the details are slipping
away. That's okay since there weren't many details worth mentioning.
Vlad splits from his wife and gives up his job with the organization and
goes off to find his fortune. Uh? Ya, he kills someone in the middle
of the book and gets saved by his powerful friends. He meets a God or
two and there is some magic. Personally, I think Brust is running out
of ideas and doesn't know what to do with Vlad.
Not recommended.
THIRD ANIMATION CELEBRATION
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
The folks who put together the Internation Tournee of Animation
usually put together compilation of award-winning and other animated
films that have come to their attention. Then every once in a while
they put out an "Animation Celebration." There is no obvious criterion
for why films show up in the Tournee or the Celebration unless the
Celebration has older films not discovered in time for the Tournee in
their respective years. Like the Tournee, the Celebration seems to play
only in major cities, and then only in one theater per city. Presumably
the distributor knows the business, but it has always seemed that there
is a wider market than the film seems to play to. I have yet to see one
of these compilations that was not worth the seventy-minute-or-so drive
to new York City to see.
A major disappointment this year was that the Angelika Theater in
New York had run out of leaflets. The leaflets make the pieces much
easier to remember and to review. For each animated film they give
credits, length, and a picture from the film. This year we ran outside
and copied the list of animated films off the poster, where they were in
alphabetical order, not play order. That is the order in which I will
review them. I will rate them poor (P), fair (F), good (G), very good
(V), or excellent (E). This rating is overall for the animated film.
Good animation will not make up for bad story-telling, for example. In
all the Tournees there has been only one I call really excellent, a
British fantasy, "Skywhales." Incidentally, spoilers follow.
- "The Animated Star-Spangled Banner" (Skip Battaglia, USA): To the
sound of a grade-school class singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" we
see what appear to be children's illustrations of the song with
several puns where they did not quite understand the words. (F)
- "Bonehead" (Michael A. Korey, USA): A rather stupid joke dramatized
in 3-D computer animation. Bonehead eats records rather than
playing them. (P)
- "Darkness, Light, Darkness" (Jan Svankmajer, Czechoslovakia): Clay
body parts pull themselves together to form a complete body that
does not fit into the room that is the setting. I missed the
point. (F)
- "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (Linda Przyluska and J. Otto
Sibold, USA): The title song with illustrations in two or three
styles of animation. (The song was familiar in spite of my not
recognizing the title at first.) The song was more interesting
than was the animation which only distracted. (F)
3rd Animation Celebr. February 12, 1991 Page 2
- "Lava Jr." (Randy Bauer, USA): Presumably an allusion to "Luxo,
Jr." Similar animation but with lava lamps. Not very interesting.
(P)
- "Mr. Tao" (Bruno Bozzetto, Italy): Just okay gag from the creator
of _A_l_l_e_g_r_o _n_o_n _T_r_o_p_p_o. A wiseman climbs a hill. (F)
- "New Fangled" (George Griffin, USA): Madison Avenue brain-storming
session with animated images of what the people are describing.
Images mutate as the idea changes. (F)
- "Personality Software" (Sylvie Fefner, Canada): A light treatment
of a serious science fiction theme. Want to change your
personality? With software and a slot in your head you can change
your personality or gain new talents. But the software is good for
only six hours. Not bad. (G)
- "Plymptoons" (Bill Plympton, USA): Short and very creative little
cartoons from MTV (I think). Some very imaginative. (G)
- "Poumse" (Mikhail Aldashin, USSR): Don't ask me what the title
means. A trader brings capitalism to a small tropical island.
This one actually has a pro-capitalist message.
- "Reading Room" (John Schnall, USA): One man's noise keeps annoying
another man at a library reading room. The gag this leads up to is
not worth the wait. (F)
- "Ren Hoek and Stimpy in 'Big House Blues'" (John Kricfalusi, USA):
This is a much more traditional cartoon. Cat and chihuahua get
themselves caught by the dog catcher. At the dog pound they meet
new friends, but at least one is put to sleep. Perhaps a little
too real for some kids. (G)
- "Snowy & the Seven Dorps" (Vincent Cafarelli and Candy Kugel, USA):
Bright colors on black background much like the similarly-themed "A
Warm Reception in L.A." (by the same pair). High-spirited but
basically just bum-rapping the entertainment industry.
- "Still Life" (Georges Le Piouffle, France): A nice little fantasy
inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo's "Summer," a portrait in pieces of
fruit. A stray piece of fruit from the painting is attacked by a
villainous knife and fork. (G)
- "This Is Not Frank's Planet" (Mike Wellins and Mark Swain, USA): In
spite of one or two nice visual puns, this is a rather foolish
little story of two hippy-like aliens visiting a planet for a
purpose only one knows. (P)
- "War Story" (Peter Lord, UK): Very inarticulate World War II
veteran telling about his experience defending London. Action is
3rd Animation Celebr. February 12, 1991 Page 3
illustrated in claymation. The sound may be from an actual
interview. Nevertheless this one is frustrating to follow and has
little payoff. (P)
- "Welcome" (Alexei Karaev, USSR): The best piece of the show is the
story of a moose who lets a beetle ride in his antlers only to find
the beetle inviting others to join him. The multitudes then feel
their numbers give them the right to order the moose around by
democratic principles. The allegory is anti-something. I saw it
as anti-democratic; my wife thought it was anti-communist. But it
is entertaining and thought-provoking. (V)
- "The Wiseman" (Bill Plympton, USA): An incomprehensible wiseman
goes through physically impossible changes while giving a lecture.
Unoriginal. (P)
- "Zeno Reads a Newspaper" (Ferenc Cako, Hungary): A man goes through
physically impossible changes while reading a newspaper.
Unoriginal. (F)
Sprinkled throughout are a series of small animated pieces about
Dr. N!Godatu, a white, middle-class woman in spite of the name. These
sketches are not nearly as cute or as funny as they were intended to be.
Strictly for fans of Charles Schultz's Woodstock. Call them fair.
That makes five poor, nine fair, four good, and two very good
entries.
ONCE AROUND
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1991 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Boston Italian family has its
problems when their daughter brings home as a lover a
flashy, boorish salesman. Salesman overpowers the family
and tests the strength of relationships. Comedy-drama
has more to it than it may at first seem. Rating: +2 (-4
to +4).
The Bellas are a closely-knit Italian family living near Boston.
They have little oddities but they accept each other and as a family
they work. Then Renata (played by Holly Hunter) breaks up with her
boyfriend and decides she wants to sell condos for a living. She goes
to a sales class in St. Martin and brings back a lover. Sam (played by
Richard Dreyfus) is an over-ripe salesman with a phenomenal sales record
and some odd Lithuanian ways. Sam is welcomed into the family with a
big smile that wilts when he is not looking. He simply does not fit it.
He upstages family members with extravangances and he overpowers family
events with the subtlety of sales pep rallies. As time passes the
pressures increase until the family is seriously in danger of splitting
up. Is Sam a genuinely destructive force or is the real problem in the
family's unwillingness to accept a newcomer who is do different from
themselves?
_O_n_c_e _A_r_o_u_n_d is directed by Lasse Hallstrom, the Swede who directed
_M_y _L_i_f_e _a_s _a _D_o_g. Like Louis Malle, Hallstrom has insights into
American life that an American director might miss. By the same token,
however, he misses details such as the inappropriateness of Hunter's
accent. She is the main character and she could have really used an
accent coach. Dreyfus is, however, well-cast, if not too much
differently from his role in _T_i_n _M_e_n and even _T_h_e _A_p_p_r_e_n_t_i_c_e_s_h_i_p _o_f
_D_u_d_d_y _K_r_a_v_i_t_z. The casting of Laura San Giacomo and Gena Rowlands as
Renata's sister and mother are both fine. Especially good is Danny
Aiello as Renata's father Joe. Much of the friction that makes the
story is between the Dreyfus character and the Aiello character. Joe
Bella goes through a lot of changes in the course of the film and Aiello
is a joy to watch. Also notable is co-producer Griffin Dunne as
Renata's boyfriend.
Hallstrom has a good eye for the small dramatic incidents of life
and also the daily ironies. While the film is largely about Sam's
idiosyncrasies, it takes at least one meaning of its title, _O_n_c_e _A_r_o_u_n_d,
from a strange custom of Joe Bella: on important family occasions he
traditionally drives around a traffic rotary. But for a little heavy-
handed melodrama toward the end, this is a nice comedy-drama worth
seeing. I give it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.