10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 11, 1994 'Double Dragon' double sux ||Z By MATT CARLSON Let's be frank. This is a college newspaper, and most of you, dear read- ers, are college students. So, I pose this one obvious question to the universe at large - what on earth is going to Directed by Jim Yukich with Scott Wolf and Alyssa Milano stimulate college students to see a kids' film like "Double Dragon?" Whether the movie is good or bad doesn't matter. If "Double Dragon" were the best flick made for five to 15- year-olds since "Teenage Kickboxing Extraterrestrial Samurai Amphibian Nacho-Eating Warriors from Uranus II," college students would still not stand in line at the box office. But, there is one very good reason why you and all your friends should hop in the car and drag yourselves to the theater to see "Double Dragon." That reason, ladies and gentlemen, I propose to be none other than the beautiful and enchanting Alyssa Milano. I first noticed my fixation with Alyssa in seventh grade. The year was a bittersweet time, as puberty welled up in my soul, filling me with hungers for "things" I had never desired before. "Who's the Boss" was in the prime of its ratings climb, and in that innocent little situation comedy I found the place where I could direct my desires - the slender frame of Samantha, or "Sam," as I liked to call her. This is not sick. I was a child set forth in a man's world, full of hot, raging hormones and no instruction manual. There were no directions like the ones that came with a GI Joe action playset ("Insert Tab A into Slot B"). This is not stupid. Every young tike had a certain object of desire where he (or she, as the casemay be) would place all of his or her marbles and go for broke, roll the dice, shoot for fortune - Tootie from "Facts of Life" (and it never really was explained why her name was Tootie now, was it?), Chrissy from "Three's Company" (if you were aiming real high) or even studly rascal Mike Seaver in "Growing Pains." Ev- eryone had a sitcom love affair, and mine just happened to be with Alyssa. This is not love. But, oh, it sure felt that way. So, when "Double Dragon" was announced to be opening in theaters across the nation and that dear Alyssa had a role, I jumped at the chance to rekindle that long-lost flame of youth- ful lust. But, "Double Dragon" is only a mediocre film with fast-paced action sequences that actually slow the movie down, two camera mugging heroes who dare to steal the limelight away from Alyssa and a somewhat dark perfor- mance by Robert Patrick ("T2") as evil villain Koga Shuko. The plot (based loosely on the video game "Double Dragon") goes some- what like this: there's an amulet called the Double Dragon. The amulet is split into two pieces -one that contains the ultimate power of the spirit, one that contains theultimatepowerofthebody. Bad man want amulet to control decay- ing city. Lee brothers team up to stop badman. And, in the end... no,Iwon't ruin the gripping conclusion for you. But my dear Alyssa steals the show with her stunning portrayal of Marian In truth, our young protagonist is protecting Alyssa Milano (in back, with the mohawk) from our voracious reviewer. Delario, leader of the Power Corps, a ragtag group of vigilante kids who stop crime bypusing force. The PowerCorps is a futuristic Sesame Street, and, as the kids' tough and gritty leader, Alyssa is captivatingly brilliant. "Double Dragon" is a decent film for the kids, with some OK special effects and just the right amount of violence that the youth are going for these days. But, as is hopelessly the case with most juvenile movies, the acting is shit and the story is even worse. But Alyssa's in it, so "Double Dragon" gets a D+- the plus, andmy heart, are for Alyssa. DOUBLE DRAGON is playing at Showcase O mwmmmmw RECORDS Continued from page 9 tracked vocals and a clean production that allows each instrument to find its own space. Bad: In doing so they also failed to differentiate one song from another. Good: Geoff Tate's vocal prowess. Bad: Using this vocal prow- ess on lyrics such as "There's hunger in Africa / and anger on assembly lines." I think "We Are the World" even had a more subtle political agenda than this. Good: A very moving track "Bridge," that explores an estranged father and son relationship and might be the best song Queensryche has ever written. Bad: The confused and repeti- tive angst of every other track that hammers home the theme of feeling alone with all the subtlety ofMacCauley Culkin. Good: A move away from the bla- tant commercialism of "Empire." Bad: They're still obsessed with being the 90s equivalent of Pink Floyd. Good: A cool photo inside of a guy with a nail in his head. Bad: Cheesy fold out cover artreminds me ofpretentious Yes record sleeves from the 70s. Good: It's a wel- come return to the sound that charac- terized earlier efforts like "Rage For 1 Man THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL SCHOOL Student Biomedical Research Program invites you to attend the 40th ANNUAL STUDENT RESEARCH FORUM (medical and undergraduate students will be presenting their summer research experiences in poster format) Tuesday, November 15, 1994 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Towsley Center On the Medical Center Campus For more information: Office of Student Biomedical Research Programs at 763-1296 ax~ fim*= aaijg ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Of THE WEEK CRAIG COVLLI STER, Order" and "Operation: Mindcrime." Bad: There is little experimentation, except for some nice piano and a for- gettable attempt by bassist Eddie Jack- son to get funky on "Disconnected." Good: I'm not bored with the CD. Baa: I haven't discovered a reason to listen to it again. And when all is said and done, indifference might be the worst thing of all. - Kirk Miller Gastr Del Sol Crookt, Crackt, or Fly Drag City Gastr Del Sol might have elements of artists like Captain Beefheart, Pave- ment and even Labradford mixed into their sound here and there, but when you're listening to them, it's so much more pleasant to just think of them as the eclectic sound wizards that they are. Often using no more than a single acoustic guitar or a distinctly analog synthesizer, Gastr Del Sol swerve be- tween pure sonic mayhem and tense but beautiful calmness. The album starts off with the curi- ous "Wedding In The Park," a short, haunting acoustic guitarballad and free form poem, before bouncing into the psychotic strummings and bouncings of "Work From Smoke." This flows evenly into "Parenthetically," an unmelodic but compelling synthesizer See RECORDS, Page 12 MOVE OVER MARLENE, HERE'S UTE Make This Parent's Weekend A Charley's Weekend After a long day of tailgating, football, and touring the diag, treat your folks to the Michigan tradition everybody loves- Good Time Charley's. We'll start you off with our famous Count Twists, or Monster Fries. Then choose from our menu of delectable entrees, including specialty sandwiches, great Mexican food and juicy burgers. Sexy songstress and Marlene Dietrich reincarnate Ute Lemper has come to the forefront of classical yet cabaretstyle singing, and is now making her Ann Arbor debut tonight at Hill Auditorium. Bom in Muenster, Germany, Lemper started her career based on a great love for American music such as contemporary jazz and pop. She began performing in bars at the age of 15, but quickly graduated to performing in stage shows such as "Cats" and "Peter Pan." To continue her quest to broaden her audience, she then produced an album, "Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill" and followed it up with "Illusions," both of which won her intemational acclaim. Her further accomplishments include a pop album, appearances in films and dancing in a ballet created expressly for her. Tonight Lemper will be performing for you at Hill. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will feature songs by Weill, Dietrich and Edith Piaf. Tickets are available through the University Musical Society box office. Student rush tickets are just $7. Call 764-2538 for more information. - Liz Shaw We have SEX...oops, we mean six machines to serve YOU! Use our high-speed, automated self-serves. Caoime Charke s Whether it's lunch or dinner, good friends, good food and now good times with your family, are always on our menu. Dollar Bill C O P Y I N G 611 Church Street (313) 665-9200 x;.:!-:..mmmm:~ ;. ;,,:y: t: :,:v'2{:!!f}t ::GrSh'i %?:. {n<; ?!... :..:'-::{i$::: ::ii~':'J:::}. } !~r"':.':i~ {:: %i U }-.v.::.::..:.v!.. . . .v'i:< 3.. . . . . . . . . . ...... r..r. " I '14 ? isf I " t}I ::ti ?: }f r rI !} J r!+ Y":C :i i.p S:fT {r" . -.r J F }I1Y <' i r IF J $ I Save onipictures I IS THIS YOU?" A woman between the ages of 18 and 35 1 Eating habits that include fasting, frequent dieting or under-eating Responses to eating in ways that interfere with your daily life-like excessive exercise or vomiting? Worried about body weight and shape? 0