The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 28, 1990 - Page 7 Got some time to- waste? Predator 2 T dir. Stephen Hopkins A by Brent Edwards The best thing about Predator 2 is its tag line: "He's in town with a few days to kill." That's amusing. Look at the poster, read the funny line, glance at the scary photo and then go see a different film. If you want to be scared, have someone say aBoo!" to you; if you want to be kept at the edge of your seat, see Quigley Down Under; if you want to see wit in the face of danger, watch Mr. Belvadere - they will have the same effect as this sequel. A In the last film, a hunter from outer space battled the bulky Schwarzenegger in a hot jungle. This time, a new alien takes on Danny Glover in the even hotter streets of Los Angeles (another jun- gle, get it?). Glover's reputation as a talented actor, which has been in- creasing with each new film (Lethal Weapon 2, To Sleep With Anger), hits a brick wall here with lines like, "You're cutting off my dick and shoving it up my ass," something he should have said to script writers James and John Thomas. The Thomases have created an *L.A. of 1997 that is being terrorized by two warring drug gangs, pre- dictably despicable enough so that the audience isn't too heartbroken when the Predator skins them and. rips out their innards. The police unit in charge of fighting the gangs, aid eventually the Predator, consists of Glover as a brave and dedicated Lieutenant; Maria Conchita Alonso as a butch cop who's tougher than most of the men; Ruben Blades as Glover's long-time partner who gets gutted by the alien and inspires Glover's vengeful wrath; and Jerry Lambert as the cocky new member on the force who must be turned into a team player. Sound like the cast of every bad TV cop show and movie ever made? If not, how about the special federal government force trying to take ju- risdiction away from Glover, the po- lice chief (Kent McCord of Adam- 12) who reprimands Glover for inter- fering with the special force, and the irritating reporter (loud mouth Mor- ton Downey, Jr.) who keeps getting in the way of the investigation. Ob- viously, the writers are trying to keep the audience from confusion by being as unoriginal as possible. Of course, most people who see this will only want originality in the violence. The opportunities to make this Predator more interesting than its predecessor were abundant, par- ticularly given the urban setting, but the result is just a couple interesting gadgets and more infrared visuals. A cat-and-mouse game between the Predator and Glover is hinted at but sees no realization other than an all- out brawl at the end. Glover does the job as an action hero, but he's no Arnie and his lines are no Arnie- isms. "That's right, asshole, shit happens," just doesn't do it. Maybe he needs an accent. Laughtracks uhr breaks up week by Jessica Bucholtz Thursday's classes aren't all that important. This is one of the theories behind Laughtracks, a student-run improv comedy show that takes place Wednesday evenings in the University Club. Laughtracks began in 1980 and has been making University students laugh ever since. This show features two or three student comedians who strut their stuff for their fellow stressed-out peers. A professional headliner follows. These pros work the Detroit and Chicago circuit. Since its inception, Laughtracks has been making a growing number of people chuckle. Since last year, the shows have been upped from an every-other-week rotation to every Wednesday and the participants usually perform to sell-out crowds. The co-producers of Laughtracks, Jennifer Balaban and Eric Kurit, are both quick to praise the show they organize. Balaban, an LSA sophomore says, "Personally I think for three dollars it's the best entertainment on campus. If you went to a real comedy club to see the headliners we bring in you would have to pay twice or three times as much. It's just a lot of fun." To celebrate these years of making students laugh, Laughtracks is having a special show tonight dubbed the "Laughtracks Welcome Back Show." The show will feature the past Laughtrack committee chairpeople who went on to become professional comedians - Harry Artin, Peter Berman, Eric Champnella and Tom Manion. The show will be hosted by the student comedian who is likely to follow in these performers' footsteps, Tom Franck. But Laughtracks is not just for comedians who are L.A.- or New York-bound. Just ask Christoph Winarski. Winarski, an engineering senior, is one of the few and proud University students who has performed at Laughtracks. As a junior he tried out for UAC's Comedy Company and didn't get in. "Earlier I had made the decision that if I didn't get into Comedy Company I would do Laughtracks," he says. So Winarski opted to garner laughs in a stand-up format. His first time performing was last March, and he says he tries to do it once a term. Winarski is also a big fan of Laughtracks. He explains: "It gives people a chance to do stand-up, which is hard to find. You don't have to have a lot of commitment to it; you just come up with material, tell some friends, and do your thing. Being able to make other people laugh is a great honor." For Winarski, Laughtracks is also a great release from the pressures of being an electrical engineering student. He says it allows him to "express the lighter side of his personality." Winarski encourages anybody with a flair for comedy to give Laughtracks a try and explains his attraction to the medium: "Basically, comedy keeps me insane." LAUGHTRACKS happens every Wednesday in the U-Club. Tonight's WELCOME BACK SHOW begins at 10 p.m. Cover is $3. The very frightening, deadly Predator, which lends its name to this film, kinda looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Or is it Johnny Sokko's Flying Robot? PREDATOR 2 is being shown at Briarwood and Showcase. Al B. Sure! Private Times... and the Whole 9! Uptown/Warner Brothers Kyle West used to be so slick. Sure!'s last record, In Effect Mode, was easily his album as much as it was his product's. The enveloping, evocative atmosphere of classics like "Off On Your Own" and "Nite and Day" has been completely disre- garded for more trite arrangements and moods, notably the new single "Missunderstanding." Al B. Sure! and Kyle West have fallen into a cer- tain complacency here, delivering material that all sounds the same and, worse, all sounds the same as Black radio's boring status quo. The difference between these two records could also sum up the difference between what "soul" is and used to be. Forget "it's the singer, not the song." Rather, "it's the producer, not the singer," as West's decision to leave all his technical love-making tools in the shed leaves Al B. Sure! clearly unable to produce any organic passion to make up for it (as if he had any). Certainly, Sure! and West's de- cision to leave behind the hip-hop intellect of the last album for more standard songmaking produces some good work. "No Matter What You Do," Sure!'s long-awaited ballad with Diana Ross, can easily rest on the mantle with R&B's most sultry pieces. Not so good a career move is the cover of The Eagles' "Hotel Cal- ifornia." A few years ago, it was Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" that was revamped with a masculine voice and excellent re-interpretation of the original song's mood. The in- ertial Al B. Sure! is unable to add anything relevant to this particular cover, however. Even the most spunky rhythm tracks on Private Times get smoothed over with painfully lethargic vocals, until it all sounds like the collected works of Freddie Jackson or Anita Baker. Another frustrated question is that of Sure!'s singing ability. His crooning on tracks "Just For the Moment" and "I Want To Know" ac- tually is too ambiguous to give his new turn for straight balladry the conviction it needs. It is ultimately quite difficult to say what Sure! and West are missing on their new al- bum. Either Al B. Sure! needs to give his singing more character, or Kyle West should work harder to disguise this lack with his own fi- nesse. -Forrest Green III WOLVES Continued from page 5 hero is pointless and unbelievable, a wasted half-hour. And the romance between Dunbar and Stands With A Fist, the only white woman in the film, is utterly predictable. Had Dunbar fallen in love with an actual Sioux, it would have been much more satisfying and fitting with his assimilation into Sioux culture. But these failures cannot detract from the film's beauty and accuracy. Like John Wayne (The Alamo) and Mar- lon Brando (One-Eyed Jacks) before him, Kevin Costner has used the Western to successfully combine the roles of actor and director. DANCES WITH WOLVES is being' shown at Briarwood and Showcase. Correction: In yesterday's newspaper, Forrest Green III's review of the X-Clan concert misidentified the Kuumba representative who addressed the audience. His name is Roger Fischer. Al B. Sure! covers the Eagles' masterwork "Hotel California" on his new album. This is an example of a bad career move. RECORDS Continued from page 5 "Detrimentally Stable" relies on a clearly detached percussion sample, possibly bebop, that makes it ab- 'sfractly fascinating to listen to. And ;"It's a Shame (My Sister)" is a direct Sstatch from The Spinners with True Iftiage crooning over the original chorus (not to the greatest effect). . , Following the trail of a number of unappealing rap acts, among them 0 Manchester's MC Tunes, Down To Earth proves conclusively that lgnglish producers are neither dirty nor insane enough to create truly exciting rap music. Both "Monie In the Middle" and "I Do As I Please" are dying for the passionate interplay of extremely contrasting levels of bass and snare, creating the brilliant excitement and conflict that only hip hop can deliver. There are some great saxophone solos within, but Cox and Steele clearly should make better use with the almighty Roland TR-808. A more kamikaze approach would have made Down To Earth an absolutely vital work in rap music. As it is, Monie and her cronies are too in tune, too logical, and too sane to make a definitive mark. -Forrest Green III I ____________________ ____________________________________ AIY W' LLA1iS AIDS Workshop , 4% Mlchiaan'a Blvwkeuasoc aret "Service that brings you to your feet" Sandals, clogs, & shoes for all-weather comfort Repair Service .663-1644 209 N.4th Ave. (By Kerrytown)' Mon-Sat 10-6 MIAMI MOON 75% OFF JEWELRY RETAIL earrings, 14K gold chains jewelry repair, ear, nose, and cartilage piercing we BUY gold! I-XOK FGK' 771f1-5.SATr: 106 E. LIBERTY, at Main Suite 203 * 769-7478 National Comedian Danny Williams will be conducting a workshop for people who know those with AIDS. It will he fn1nli i-i byn UAC SPECIAL EVENT 3 oueAn Kt Natinat3ionor Societyj Date: Friday, November 30 Time: 8:00 p.m. Place : The University Club Tickets: $ 3.00 Awards: j9B, B9,90~ AeaGold Award ,'94 BAinay Area fld 198}$ ir9 alae comG