The Daily Tar HeelThursday, June 28, 19905A
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Robocop 2
- Robocop 2
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Tom
Noonan and Gabriel Damon
Directed by Irvin Kershner
0004
The big questions in movie circles
these days center around competition
between Dick Tracy and Batman.
- "Which is a better film adaptation of
a comic book character?"
"Which movie better fulfilled the
expectations and hype surrounding it?"
"Who is hotter, Kim Basinger or
Madonna?"
These questions are moot (except for
the last one). Robocop 2 kicks both their
without hype, comic book
characters or scantily clad sluts.
And the violence is great too.
. Don't be misled, however. Robocop
2. is a serious inquiry into the depths of
the human soul, with all its hopes, fears
and desires. It examines the schism be
tween mind and soul, it probes the inner
being of man and woman, and ultimately
regards the barrier between man and
machine as trivial.
But hey, we liked it anyway.
Robocop 2 picks up where Robocop
left off: gratuitous violence, crime
ridden slums, and one big, bad me
chanical police officer by the name of
Alex Murphy a.k.a. Robocop (Peter
Ealesidm
B Thursday June 28
Stu Weaver will appear at the Sky
light Exchange. For more information
call 933-5550.
Liquid Sound and the Grapes will
appear at the Cat's Cradle. For more
information call 967-9053.
Second Self and Egypt will appear
at the Brewery. For more information
call 834-7108.
The ArtsCenter's Community The
ater production of Moliere's "The
Doctor in Spite of Himself will be
performed Thursday June 28 through
Sunday July 1. Showtime is 8 p.m.,
except Sunday when the show starts at
3 p.m. Tickets are $5.50 for Friends of
The ArtsCenter and $7 for the general
public. For more information call 929
ARTS. "Pieces," an exhibit of mixed me
dia collage is on view at Duke
University's East Campus Gallery
until July 31.
The North Carolina Artist Exhibi
tion will be on view until August 12 at
the North Carolina Museum of Art in
Raleigh. For more information call
833-1935.
Manbites Dog Theater Company
will perform the world premiere of
Report from the Holocaust, based on
the book by Larry Kramer. The show
starts at 8: 15 p.m. in the Duke Power
Room, upstairs in the Durham Arts
Council. Other performances are
Saturday June 30, and Thursdays
through Saturdays, July 5-7, and July
12-14. For more information call 628
0958. "High Fiber," a juried exhibit of
fiber art is on display in the Carolina
Union Gallery until August 3.
B Friday June 29
Dillon Fence will appear at the Cat's
Cradle.
TAR HEEL
History
Last year or the last 200 years, The
Intimate Bookshop has all the
special books and tapes about this
wonderful institution.
'Tar Heels on Tape, 1990" is a thrilling
video narrated by Woody Durham of last
season's over-achieving basketball team.
Brand new and prices at only $24.95!
THE UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH
CAROLINA
AT CHAPEL HILL
The First 200 Years
Call our
Toll Free Order Service
at 1-800-835-3289
and we'll zip either of
these right to you!
And don't forget to come
browsing in our
Downtown and Eastgate
shops in Chapel Hill
offers a look at the human soul, plus human guts
TewHealy
Weller).
Robocop is still plagued by visions
of his previous life, but this time there's
something larger to consume his ener
gies. Detroit's police force is on strike
and a christ-figure drug king named
Cain (Tom Noonan), is raking millions
in on the profits from a new designer
drug called Nuke.
While Robocop is busy fighting his
new enemy, Omni Consumer Products,
the corporate empire that created the
cyborg, is preparing a new, improved
model of their super cop. The new de
sign promises to rid itself of the old
defects which marred Robocop
touches of compassion and the fleeting
memories of the human cop he used to
be.
Omni plans to provide its new unit
with a mind as cunning and corrupt as
that of any psychopath. Maybe more so.
So the hunt for Psychotic Sam is on, and
the only thing the company needs is an
excuse to take Robocop off line.
That opportunity comes when Robo
discovers the lair of Cain and his 12
year old hitman, Hob (Gabriel Damon).
Robo falls into the villains' hands and is
of Events
Root Boy Slim will appear at the
Brewery.
Mister Potatohead will appear at
Magdalena's La Terraza. For more
information call 967-MAGS
Scrapyard will appear at the Sky
light Exchange.
Jim Magill will play original funny
songs at The Ninth Street Bakery in
Durham from 8 p.m. to 1 1 p.m. For
more information call 286-0303.
The Fairlanes will play hot rock
n'roll at The Cave. For more infor
mation call 968-9308.
Support group for separated and
divorced persons will meet from noon
to 1 p.m. in room 357 Sitterson Hall.
B Saturday June 30
Bad Checks and Teasing The Ko
rean will appear at the Cat's Cradle.
Mister Potatohead will appear at
Magdalena's La Terraza.
Stu Weaver will appear at The
Ninth Street Bakery.
Joe BeH and the Stinging Blades
will play R&B at The Cave.
Sally Windhorn & the Works will
appear at the Brewery.
Love Hate and Beau Nasty will
appear at the Switch.
B Sunday July 1
The Chapel Hill Preservation So
ciety presents the Senior Art Show, a
juried exhibit of works by local
amateur artists 55 and older. The
opening reception is from 2 p.m. to 5
p.m. The exhibit will be on display
Mondays through Fridays 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. until July 27. For more infor
mation call 942-7818.
B Wednesday July 4
22 Tango, a dance band, will play
at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro from
9:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. Admission is $5
for the public and $4 for friends.
Lessons
if
III IIIMIIMIIIIIIII II
Here's a very special buy on a
beautiful, 1 60 page full color book
covering the first 200 years of UNC
history. A real keepsake originally
published at $39.95. Through a
special arrangement, The Intimate
can offer the last remaining copies
to you for only $14.98!
Sib
0)10
For 60 Years in Chapel HUL
promptly mangled by magnets, torn
open by power tools and returned to the
police as the sum of his parts.
Robo's dismemberment is an oppor
tunity for Omni to reprogram his di
rectives and produce a more caring,
sensitive and environmentally con
cerned robot. Instead of three straight
forward and simple directives, Robocop
is forced to follow such inane directives
as: Take particular care to avoid of
fending anyone at any time for any
reason whatsoever; Don't swing your
arms on a ballroom floor, and; When
any directive contradicts another, obey
both.
Robocop feels confined by all these
restrictions and takes actions to rid
himself of any loyalty to Omni. He does
this just in time too, because Omni has
designed its new super cop, an ultimate
psycho-warrior, who decides to wipe
out Detroit instead of cleaning it up.
Thus, Robocop must step in and attempt
to eliminate the new crazed machine.
And what happens from there is
anyone's guess.
Robocop 2 delivers what it sets out to
deliver: violence galore with enough
comedy to lighten the atmosphere and
make the audience relax. The villains
are able to play off of Robocop and
make it quite humorous.
The star of the film is, of course,
Weller as Robocop. In the first movie
he had to form an identity, and in this
film he builds on the character he cre
ated. The audience sees him as the de
fender of justice, but they also watch
Robo battle with his past life and the
Kanamits debut their own version of rock 'n roll
bananafish
Kanamits
Luminous Flux Records
ooo
The cover of the debut album by the
Long Island trio the Kanamits draws
immediate attention for its comic parody
of Andy Warhol's famous design for
The Velvet Underground and Nico. But
where Lou Reed and company were
outside the mainstream, spinning diverse
and often inaccessible webs of sound,
the Kanamits directly confront straight
rock 'n roll, twisting it to their own
ends.
The Kanamits is clearly singer-songwriter-vocalist.
Benjamin East's
band. He and his cohorts recycle classic
rock riffs underneath sweet ringing
melodies. East is a rather average guitar
player, but his vocals more than make
up for it, often calling up comparisons
to Bob Mould. The burden of the in
strumental load is carried by a solid
rhythm section, bassist Michael Jackel
and drummer Nathan Tully. Tully, a
powerful and often brilliant drummer,
has been replaced by Dave O'Connor
since the album was made, as he came
down with what the band calls "Pete
Best Syndrome."
The lead-off song, "Don't Wait," is
the album's best cut, with the Kanamits
taking their sound to perfection. Thick,
beastly drumming dominates the mix,
with frequent rhythm change-ups. East
adds thick chunks of overdriven guitar
and great rock vocals. Lyrics such as
"At night I layI sweat through sleep
The walls are closingIn on me" seem
particularly appropriate in the stifling,
murky heat of summertime.
mm
WML
(Bagels are always respected
in the morning.)
Enjoy fresh-baked bagels in your home
or in ours. Whichever tickles your
fancy; we're easy.
BRUEGGER'S BAGEL BAKERY
104 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
Open 7 Days 967-5248
Robocop lies in pieces on the ground after being dismantled by drug leader Cain
present programming that Omni has
forced upon him. This leads to an excel
lent sub-plot which could lead to an
other sequel.
While Robo 2 is a good movie, the
plot has a few holes in it, and the storyline
does not provide the psychological
surprise of the first film. However, the
Brian Springer
ft? 1
'Tick-Tick Boom!" is another win
ner, capitalizing on the same basic sound
as "Don't Wait," with an even more
infectious melody. "Wound Up" makes
a tack towards hard rock, with East
resurrecting the voice of original AC
DC frontman Bon Scott.
Though it seems that the Kanamits
are aiming for the college-aged R.E.M.
bred crowd, only "Can't Ya See
(Contras)" seems to have sociopolitical
aspirations. And lyrics like "Well never
tell me 'bout the ContrasVietnam and
Timbuktu" or "Can't you seeThat
you're invisibleTo me" are rather vague
at that. "Can't Ya See" does give a
chance for East to take a stab at a
bonafide guitar solo, which he pulls off,
though not in spectacular fashion. The
song is one of the album's best, though.
Tunes like "All Gone" and "Rain
Again" owe their heart and soul to Tully.
On the latter, Tully goes berserk near
the end, completely taking over. Not to
slight East's songwriting here, because
he has no shortage of hooks, but, by
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director's use of special effects, flash
ing lights and explosive action disguise
the weak points. And, to tell the truth,
that's what most of the audience came
for anyway.
Moviegoers should be prepared to
see a lot of blood, but there is some
meaning beneath the gore. Robocop is
album's end, an unbroken pattern of
two-chord verses and three-chord cho
ruses does get a bit tiresome.
With eight songs clocking in at less
than a half hour, the Kanamits know not
to push the formulas too far. bananafish
catches a band in transition from local
What is better than a yearbook
when you want to remember
TJNC? Subscribe to the Daily
Tar Heel. Call 962-1163!
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$w9 HUCwm
CHINESE RESTAURANT
790 Airport Road, Chapel Hill -next to Save-A-Center
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We Specialize in Hunam, Szechuan & Cantonese
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OPEN 7
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no longer human, but he is the embodir
ment of humanity; he wants freedom
and desires love even if he cannot ex
press his feelings. Robo is more than a
cyborg, he is a man with a mission and
there should be at least a couple of hours
of fun-filled violence left in his circuits J
so viewers beware. : :
attraction to national draw. This band is
a power-chord based rock outfit, but not
one left to the frat party scene. The
intelligence and talent are here, but they
cannot be turned loose while struggling
to escape a local market. A good first
effort.
DAYS A WEEK
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Financing
90 days same as cash :
OPEN: MON-SAT 9-7
SUN 1-5 IN SEASON '
967-5104;
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