The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 1984 Page: 9 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
T4RESHER FINE/IRTS
Despite excessive violence, Terminator an enjoyable B-movie
Terminator
Once in a long while, when you
least expect it, a movie panned by
about every movie critic and his
dog before it opens becomes a
surprising hit. Terminator is one
such movie. I'll have to admit that I
went to see Terminator with some
reservations of my own. After all,
watching Arnold "Conan"
Schwarznaegger playing a twenty-
first-century Cyborg (read: robot
with human skin) is a prospect that
makes me somewhat wary.
However, my trepidations were
never fully justified.
True, Terminator will never be
Gone With the Wind ox An Officer
and a Gentleman, but it is good
entertainment. That's saying a lot
for one of today's movies. I doubt
that Terminator will ever
transcend B-movie status, but it is
not a bad B-movie, either.
Since this is a favorable review,
I'm going to try to reveal as little as
possible about the movie. The
backdrop to Terminator is that
there will be a nuclear war in the
near future. However, it will have
been started by neither Us nor
Them. Instead, Our and Their
defense computers gain
intelligence (from being hooked
into all the defense systems) and
decide that humans should be
wiped from the face of the Earth.
The upshot of it is that the pesky
humans are about as easy to
exterminate as roaches. They
Greater Tuna returns, still very funny
Greater Tuna
The Tower Theatre
Through December 16
Ladies and gentlemen, the third
smallest town in Texas has
returned to the Tower Theatre and
recreated in living, drawling
splendor before your very eyes by
these two talented men.
The exceptionally fine
characterizations of Sears and
Williams fully deserve the rave
Jaston Williams (I) and Joe Sears
it's still the funniest civic center in
the state. Joe Sears and Jaston
Williams have returned to the
Tower Theater to reprise the 20
roles needed to bring Tuna to life.
If you've got friends, relatives or
family in Texas, you will find them
(r) in the return of Greater Tuna.
reviews they have received all
across America. Such memorable
characters as Bertha Bumiller, the
perennial worried mother, and her
neurotic children: Stanley,
(Reform school dropout),
Charlene (Frustated cheerleader),
dMGa'S R€CORDS
HOUSTON'S ONLY RECORD, RENTAL STORE!
RENT QUALITY NEW
ALBUMS $1.99
Sound quality guaranteed:
If our albums do not meet
your sound standards, we
will not charge youl
ONE FREE RENTAL WITH RICE I.D.
4023 S. Braeswood at Stella Link 432 0222
and Little Jody (Puppy addict,you
figure that one out...) linger in the
mind, fondly reciting such lines as
"I'm gonna kill me a poodle!" The
skill and talent of Sears and
Williams make the sex of any
character a moot point, as they
play either sex with consummate
skill. Sears' incarnation of Pearl
Bumiller (A dog-poisoning old
lady) and Williams' gawky,
polyester Vera Carp, are
particularly appealing.
Having lived in some of Texas'
less populous areas, I can vouch
for the authenticity of the people,
although the fact of the matter is
small towns are nowhere near this
funny. The staging is simple, Patsy
Cline sings another tune on the
radio, and two new people appear
on the stage. The costume changes
can be amazing. At times, you
begin to wonder if Sears and
Williams don't have twin brothers
waiting in the wings for the next
pair of characters (or if perhaps
these guys aren't talented, just
highly schizophrenic). With the
exception of the cost, some $16 to
S20 per seat. Greater Tuna is one of
the best, and funniest, shows in
town; as an entertaining evening,
its value is unsurpassed. Hell, if
you can't dance, and it's too wet to
plow, see Greater Tuna, you'll be
glad you did... y'hear?
— Bev D. Blackwood
begin to fight back against the
cybernetic killing machines and
the "Terminators," which are sent
to infiltrate and destroy the human
camps. One such Terminator is
sent back in time to kill a woman,
Sandra L. Conner (Linda
Hamilton), who apparently will be
of great importance to the future
resistance movement. (If you want
to know why, go see the movie.)
The humans, in turn, manage to
send back a soldier, Kyle Reese
(Michael Biehn), to protect her.
By the way, none of what has
been written so far gives away
important details of the plot. It
may look revealing, but it has
almost nothing to do with the main
story, which consists of Resse
keeping Conner from becoming
"Terminated," a process that
involves being riddled by a full clip
of ammunition from whichever
automatic weapon Schwarz-
naegger happens to have handy at
the time (he carries several).
The movie opens with the arrival
of the two antagonists in Los
Angeles. While the Terminator
carves a swath of destruction
through L.A. in his search for
Conner, our hero Reese is trying
not to be picked up by the law. All
of this is punctuated by great
quantities of death and
destruction. This motion picture is
rated R for a very good reason. If
you have problems with excess
violence, don't go.
Both Biehn and Schwarz-
naegger give good performances in
their respective roles, in the sense
that they take their parts seriously
and play them straight.
Schwarznaegger keeps the actions
of the Terminator from becoming
another Conan. Instead, the
Terminator acts and sounds like it
has only one purpose in the world
and nothing short of a tank can
even come close to stopping it.
Biehn plays Reese with the same
intensity except that he keeps
Reese human, instead of becoming
another maniacal fanatic. Biehn's
character reminded me of some of
Heinlein's heroes: pragmatic
Pizza Ian
people who had a job that had to
be accomplished at all costs. Miss
Hamilton's Sandra Conner was
suitably distraught at the start of
the film, but soon the audience sees
that she will fight back if pushed
hard enough, a refreshing concept
in popular films that I heartily
applaud.
The plot could very easily have
turned into mindless mush if the
suspense had not been kept as
high as it was throughout most of
the movie, and if the expository
segments had not been so well
placed. These segements, by the
way, are done as a series of
flashbacks (-forwards?).
The special effects are especially
well done for a film of its budget.
The HK's (Hunter-Killers) in the
future segments are first-class, and
the Terminator's own effects are
good. However, first prize has to
go to the technical-support people
who kept the Terminator supplied
with enough automatic weaponry
to take over a banana republic.
Lastly, 1 would just like to
mention that Terminator is not
without light moments. How both
time-travellers get clothes (they
arrive naked) illuminates how their
characters differ, and the
filmmakers exploit this and
provide some comic relief. Reese is
chased by police through a
department store where he outfits
himself and ditches the police at
the same time: the Terminator
merely walks up to some punks
(who happen to be around at one
in the morning) and asks for their
clothes. The punks respond with
switchblades, a mistake that they
immediately regret.
— Paul Lee
Errata..
In the November 30 Thresher,
the caption on Page 9 for the
review of the Rice Players was
incorrect. It should have read: Lee
Chilton (left), Joe Ponessa(center)
and Steve Bend (right).
— ian./ue
Free Pizza
■
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
■
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
HzzainnlJ
For pizza out it's Pizza Innlg
FREE PIZZA.
Buy any pizza and get the next smaller
same style pizza with equal number of
toppings, FREE. Present this coupon
with guest check. Not valid with any
other offer.
Expiration: 3/31/85 RT — (FR)
'■
I
I
I
I
■
I
I
I
2p no For pizza out it's Pizza Inn."®
$3.00 or $2.00 off.
Get $3.00 off a large or $2.00 off a
medium size pizza, any style and as
many toppings as you want. Present
this coupon with guest check. Not
valid with any other offer.
Expiration: 3/31/85 RT — (FR)
Pizza inn
COMPLETE DETAILS AT THIS PARTICIPATING RESTAURANT
2314 HOLCOMBE
660-9557
4038 Braeswood
666-1463
7919 Greenbriar at OST
795-0382
The Rice Thresher, December 7, 1984, page 9
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Havlak, Paul. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 1984, newspaper, December 7, 1984; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245577/m1/9/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.