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Show k Li i i i I I l I I t i i i i i i i i i i i I enter 3 SI 1 i- - A V :Vpi UyA JT I 1 I I I T Ji JMmd 1 I I I I Excellent Superb J Ik I I I I I Good By FAVVNA JONES Contributing Writer The summer cinematic season officially begins with an entertaining Wild Western adventure gic Hollywood takeover. And Summer-93- s like The Maverick will be Fugitive, right up there with the top five. I Poor Fair Maverick, he adds plenty of fun and style to this western fable. Richard Donner directs with experienced ease from a brilliant screenplay written by the talented William to get excited about. Maverick, a Warner Bros, release, works the Hollywood touch to perfection. As everyone should now recognize, Hollywood is scrambling to buy the rights to all early television shows that grew up with the Boomers. Maverick is another installment in the nostal- I Goldman (the man responsible for bringing us Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride). Donner actually began his career directing television with such classics as The The Fugitive, Twilight Zone, The Wild Wild West, and many others. On the big screen Donners given us Superman and Ladyhawke. Just shows what a little Hollywood expertise can do when they pull out all the stops. Bottom (12) line: Maverick with its plot twists n turns, high adventure, funny parts, and romantic fun should be first-se- e on everybodys summer movie list. (PG suggested for violence.) Even Cowgirls Get the Blues has a western feel, but it set way back in 1976. This film adaptation of Tom Robbins once trendy novel began surfacing on the circuit last year. Audiences and reviewers turned up their noses. The film has been and making its way into the nations theaters. Reworked or not, the movies a disaster. The 70s concerns seem old hat in the extreme; the dialogue sounds laughably dated; and theres virtually no sense of film-festiv- al FAWNA JONES Maverick, based on the T.V. series that made James Garner a star in the late 50s, follows the antics of the smooth, glib gambler Bret Maverick (Mel Gibson) and a whole cast of shady, inter- esting characters including Garner himself as lawman Zane e Best Cooper and the Actress Jody Foster as Ms. two-tim- Annabelle Bransford. Maverick is on his way to a Mississippi river boat to play in a high stakes gambling tournament. Along the way Maverick is threatened, robbed, shot at, almost hung, captured by Indians, thrown off a cliff, dragged by a state coach and a horse, conned by all his friends, and kissed a little too. Despite all this, the gambler never stops smiling or delivering great one-liner- s. Mel Gibson is perfect for this kind of charismatic role with his expressive face and melting baby blues. Jody Foster proves she can play wily and funny very well. (Although knowing that the role at first belonged to Meg Ryan undercut Fosters excellent per- formance for me.) And James Gamer does not sit back and play second fiddle to Gibsons coherence about the plot. The story focusing on an el with giant thumbs (Uma Thurman) becomes a hodgepodge of addled 70s concerns, many centering on the role of women in a society corrupted by commercialism. The cowgirls of the title live on The Rubber Rose, a ranch for pampered women run by a character called The Countess, a drag queen shrilly played by John Hurt. These cowgirls, embodying the natural virtues, pit themselves against the ranchs corporate structure; they stand for a mixvalues and ture of liberation. Whatever the story means, the new-fangl- acting clearly embarrasses. Thurmans character cant be related to any known reality, but you havent seen bad acting until youve seen Rain (sister of River) Phoenix; she plays the ultimate cowgirl. Bonanza Jellybean. A delivered narration and a few ly vivid images dont help. No point Bottom line: is a Cowgirls belaboring, (l2) botch. (Fine Line Features, Restricted for adult situations.) Host families sought Host families are needed for 12 Japanese cultural exchange students and one adult for July 20 to Aug. 13. leave message. For more information call Robert Anderson, 355-400- 6, ROMANTIC COMEDY: Brett Maverick (Mel Gibson), right, attempts to stop a runaway stagecoach's stampeding horses as Annabelle Bradsford (Jodie Foster) and Zane Cooper (James Garner) hang on inside the coach in Warner Brothers romantic comedy adventure, "Maverick." Education home fair set June 4 Parents looking for ways to influence PROVO and improve their childrens education will be able to choose from more than 75 educational workshops at this years Utah Home Education Association Convention and Curriculum Fair. More than 2,000 people are expected at the 14th annual convention, which will be June 4 at Brigham registration will be 7:30-1- 0 Young University. a.m. in the Wilkinson Center, with the opening program at 9 a.m. in the Wilkinson Center Ballroom. KSL Radio personality Bob Lee will deliver the At-do- or offered at previous conventions. Workshops will cover such topics as preparing students for college or for the job market, teaching children with disabilities, and creating a home environment for effective child-le- d learning. Constitutional lawyer Matt Hilton will conduct a workshop on new laws affecting home school, and Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka will hold Education and on Goals workshops on Outcome-Base- d 2000. In addition a teen panel will discuss homeschooling experiences and answer questions about their likes and dislikes. Parents concerned at all about being involved in their childrens education will be able to get a lot of valuable information from the convention, even if they're not planKarl Pearson ning on home schooling, UHEA President Peatross said. keynote address. Lees interest in home educahome One of primary tion began with interis growing views of rapidly like Holt. John pioneers God is no longer welcome People who have the Lee on heard Bob in public how know radio informed he is on educational issues and how The number of home engaging he is, said UHEA President Karl Pearson. Were excited to have educators in Utah grows about 30 percent annually. him keynote this years convention. Nationwide, growth is approximately 40 percent. In addition to delivering the keynote address, Lee Pearson attributes growth to increased dissatisfaction with public schooling. will present a workshop on home schooling and the One of the primary reasons home schooling is media. Workshops will run from 10:15 a.m. to 5:30 growing so rapidly is because God is no longer welp.m. 7 come in the public schools. An increase number of parFor further convention information, call reasons so the home-educati- schooling because is schools. the home-schooli- 342-402- or, in the Salt Lake City area, 535-153- 5. The convention coincides with Home Education Week, May 29 through June 4. Governor Michael Leavitt, in a declaration to be signed May 18, says home education week will provide information about a viable choice in education for parents seeking alternatives to conventional forms of schooling. Convention organizers agree, calling the convention a valuable educational resource for all parents with school-ag- e children. There will be a lot of classes with information on how to make learning fun and enjoyable at home, said convention chairwoman Shauna Peatross. Whether parents have children in public school or in home school, there will be something for everyone interested in educating children. The convention is also a good place to learn about the hows and whys of home schooling, Peatross added. The convention usually settles peoples minds about home schooling. They lose their stereotypes about the kind of people involved in home education, and they always come away from the convention quite impressed. The convention will feature several workshops schoolers and for specifically designed for new home those interested in learning more about home schooling. Veteran home schoolers will find workshops not ents and children are looking elsewhere," Pearson said. Its like Elder Boyd K. Packer told members of the LDS Church during last months general conference: Moral values are being neglected and prayer expelled from public schools on the pretext that moral teaching belongs to religion. At the same time atheism, the secular religion, is admitted to class, and our youngsters are proselyted to a conduct without morality, Pearson also attributes home education growth to the academic success of home schooling. According to the March 14, 1994 issue of Investors Business Daily, On standardized achievement tests such as the California Achievement Test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Stanford Achievement Test, home schoolers in kindergarten to the 12th grade averin each of the cateaged at or above the 80th percentile gories of reading, listening, language, math, science, social studies and combined tests. The national scoring average of students in public schools is at approximately the 50th percentile. Studies in Alabama, Alaska, California, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington State, Investors Business Daily, says, "all show home schooled kids, on average, e scoring better than the norm on the SAT college-entrancexaminations. Pearson said the only thing parents have to lose by is their childrens bad attending the UHEA convention grades. I, |