1996_03 The Daily Collegian March 1996

              THE DAILY
- COLLEGIAN
L    Monday, March* 1996
Opinion
Telephone: (209) 27S-5732
Would you pay a higher
student fee for an on-campus
indoor sports arena?
"My tuition as it is right
now is high enough so the
arena wouldn't be that
important to me."
Terry May
Junior, liberal studies
"As opposed to a shopping
center [the Pavilion], yes."
Jennifer Franks
Senior, community health service
"I would. We pay the health
center fee and never use it."
Manjit Dhaliwal
Senior, accounting
"They're alread
the fees enough."
^  •        ; Brent Yamashita
Graduate student, physical therapy
"If we get free tickets to the
game."
Rasheed Saafir
Freshman, political science
' Copycat9 lives up to its name
By Jim Ward
Senior Staff Writer
"Copycat" is yet another movie
where a seemingly clairvoyant se¬
rial killer matches wits with police
officers. While "Copycat" is far
better than the dreadful "Virtuos¬
ity," it pales in comparison to
"Seven," the best in the recent spate
of movies about serial killers.
"Copycat" is all style, but in the
end, very little substance. Which is
all the more disappointing because
Jon Amiel, director of the classic
BBC miniseries "The Singing De¬
tective," and the wonderful "Queen
of Hearts." is the film's director.
Amiel's previous work in Britain
has a lyrical, sometimes cutting-
edge quality that is sadly missing
from his Hollywood projects.
The movie, set in San Francisco,
stars Sigourney Weaver as psy¬
chologist Helen Hudson who spe¬
cializes in serial killers. In the
movie's opening scene Hudson,
who is being stalked by nutzo
Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick,
Jr.), delivers a lecture on serial fnur-
derers at a college. After the speech
she heeds the call of nature and uses
the ladies room, where Cullum is
waiting to ambush her.
The scene is the movie's first
major logical misstep. How does
Cullum know that Hudson will use
that particular restroom at that par¬
ticular time? Is Cullum psychic?
Does he have some special insight
into Hudson's bathroom habits?
Like much of the rest of the movie
the scene threatens the incredulity
\ZUtc &v*W
of the audience.
Even though Cullum is arrested
and sent to prison Hudson is deeply
traumatized by the event. She re¬
treats into her posh San Francisco
apartment and refuses to leave it.
Her only contact to the outside
world is through her elaborate com¬
puter system, which she uses to chat
with people anonymously on the
Internet.
But the outside world won't
leave Hudson alone. A serial killer,
seemingly recreating the crimes of
other murderers, is stalking the citi¬
zens of San Francisco. Detectives
MJ.'Monahan (Holly Hunter) and
her partner, Ruben Goetz (Dermot
Mulroney), seek out Hudson for
help in tracking down the killer.
At first Hudson refuses to help,
but then decides to help the detec¬
tives when some clues lead to me
jailed Cullum. Cullum—in a direct
rip-off of "Silence of the Lambs"—
is some how directing the actions
of the killer from his jail cell.
The movie does have several
suspenseful scenes and both Hunter
and Weaver give good, intelligent
performances. Weaver's Hudson is
not all that likable, but she plays
her superbly. Hunter, expert at play¬
ing the spunky oyer-achiever, turns
in her usual solid jcb. Connick is a
pleasant surprise as Cullum, the
master mind criminal with a slow
southern drawl.
But in the end, the actors can't
save what is essentially a rip-off of
better movies. If you want to see a
good movie about serial killers rent
"Psycho" or "Silence of the
Lambs." Or better yet wait for
"Seven" to hit the video stores.
Unfortunately, "Copycat" lives up
to its name. My grade -C-
Game shows get crazy in Japan
By Ingemar Dahlberg
Columnist
What do rocket-propelled,
bungee-jumping human beings; a
tub of scalding water and a*slewof
celebrities shot from a cannon to see
if they skip like stones across a pond
have in common?
These are all examples of Japa¬
nese "Gae-mu Shyoo-zu" (Game
Shows).
The Japanese, never satisfied
with the status quo, have taken the
game show to a much higher and
more hilarious level. These aren't
shows just about winning prizes and
answering questions, these are
shows that ask normal everyday
people, "Just how far are you will¬
ing to go to win that brand new sofa
or subcompact car?!?"
Every Thursday evening I tune
into a program that asks potential
sponsors just how important their
Commentary
time is. Members of various small
stores and businesses send their
employees, clad only in bathing
suits to endure the "bathtub of fire."
Three employees take turns sit¬
ting as long as they can in what is
extremely scalding water. When
they can no longer endure (usually
a matter of seconds) they leap out
screaming and sit, hug and some¬
times kiss a large, nearby block of
ice.
The total amount of seconds they
manage to total up is then returned
to them in the manner of free air
time. The pained faces, most cer¬
tainly burned, use the few seconds
to plug their ramen shop or travel
agency to rounds of thunderous ap¬
plause and shouts of "Gambatte,
gambara!" (Be strong, endure!)
On another recent game show,
celebrities were placed on human
rocket launchers overlooking a
small canyon. Bungee cords were
attached to them and they were told
that the contestant that answered the
least amount of questions would be
launched over the canyon to bungee
endlessly dp and down.
What they didn't tell them was
that none of them would be allowed
to win, and more importantly, that
their bungee outfits were rigged to
rip-off their bodies when they were
launched". What occurred was either
extremely obscene or incredibly
funny.
Three or four middle-aged, na¬
ked men launched sans clothing to
bounce up and down on the ends of
bungee cords with crowds of fans
cheering them on. A bit embarra&-
ing, for some of them, but none
seemed the least bit angry.
Bob Barker... are you reading
this?
Daily Collegian
 " California State University, Fresno	
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^
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