1. Even at the movies this sum-
mer, it’s hammer time. (Cue the
familiar MC Hammer track.)
That’s because movie fans
know summer begins on the
first weekend in May, and this
summer’s tour guide is “Thor,”
in 3-D. He speaks loudest with
hammer in hand.
Mel Gibson also is telling
people to talk to the hand —
at least the one with the large
puppet on it in “The Beaver.”
That movie, directed by and
co-starring Jodie Foster, also
was placed in release this
weekend, but, sadly, has not
found a Lubbock home yet.
On the surface, this summer
looks like a big mixture of se-
quels, comic book adventures,
action films and family friend-
ly efforts.
No themes stand out and the
true emphasis is simply on va-
riety.
Outside of the latest from
Terence Malick (“Tree of
Life”) and Woody Allen (“Mid-
night in Paris”), and maybe a
post-college romance (“One
Day”), drama is not a genre
crying out for attention. Then
again, it rarely does when the
weather turns warm.
Instead, when I say variety, I
mean movies about criminals
strapping a bomb to a pizza
delivery guy so he will rob a
bank (“30 Seconds or Less”),
a comedy about a 75-year-old
cancer victim announcing that
he is gay (Christopher Plum-
mer in “Beginners”) and, oh
my, another body-switching
comedy.
The latter plot is no original,
but it’s also no “Freaky Fri-
day.” Aiming at an R rating,
body switchers this time are
best friends: one a club-hop-
ping, sleep-around guy and
the other with a cute wife and
kids.
Somewhat surprising is that
there really are original films
that appear promising, with
one already on movie lovers’
must-see list. I have a hunch
the others also will be hits:
n “Super 8.” Written and di-
rected by “Lost” creator J.J.
Abrams and produced by Ste-
ven Spielberg, the film opens
with the focus on three teens
making their own movie with
a Super 8-millimeter camera.
But then a train carrying car-
go from Area 51 derails, and
something, or some thing, es-
capes.
n “Larry Crowne.” Oscar
winners Tom Hanks and Ju-
lia Roberts in an unlikely
romance that Hanks directs.
An Oscar nomination for best
makeup goes to the person re-
sponsible for Hanks’ appear-
ance. The trailer has feel-good
movie written between the
lines.
n “Bridesmaids.” My hunch
is based more on Judd Apatow
as producer than actor Paul
Feig directing his first feature.
Kristen Wiig is the maid of
honor who takes these women
to Las Vegas.
SEE FILMS, page B5
LocalMAY 7, 2011
lubbockonline.com
Community
LUBBOCKAVALANCHE-JOURNAL
InLocalSunday: Readabouttoday’sDinoDayattheSouth
PlainsWildlifeRehabilitationCenter. OnTheWeb: CheckoutourfeaturedSpotted
galleryoftheweekonFacebook. InsideLocal: LISDstudentsareabouttogetamonetaryincentive
topasstheirAdvancedPlacementtests.PageB6
SATURDAY
b
Covenant nurses
honored for care
CovenantHealthSystem
recentlyrecognizedsev-
eralCovenantHealthSystem
nurseswithawards.
TheIreneWilsonandSister
MaureenVanDerZeeExcel-
lenceinNursingAwardsare
giventonurseswiththree
yearscontinuousfull-timeem-
ploymentwhodemonstrate
knowledgeandcompetencyin
performingnursingskills.
IreneWilsonAward:Tiffany
Sullivan
SisterMaureenVanDerZee
Award:James“Allister”Morris
TheTenderTouchAwards
aregiventothreebedside
caregiverswhoexcelin
customerserviceandpatient
carebydemonstratingcare
andcompassion.Thisaward
recognizesthe“heartandsoul”
ofnursingatCovenant.
Pediatrics:SusanMiller
Adult:KarenCarson
Student:BrittneKimi
UnitNursingExcellence
Awardswerealsogivento45
Covenantnurses.
BY WILLIAM KERNS
a-J entertainment editor
AJAAP BUITENDIJK  WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Fromleft,HarryPotter(playedbyDanielRadcliffe),HermioneGranger
(EmmaWatson)andRonWeasley(RupertGrint)willengageinthe
mostdangerousbattleoftheirlivesin“HarryPotterandtheDeathly
Hallows,Part2.”
NorthStar Surgical Center
was the icebreaker that opened
Northwest Lubbock to a lot of
growth, Mayor Tom Martin said
Friday at a celebration of the
medical facility’s 10th anniver-
sary.
When the facility was built,
“people wondered why they’d
build it way out here in the
country,” Martin said, noting
that the northwest had been by-
passed by developers for years
because it lacked a
road network and
other services.
Over the past de-
cade, Martin add-
ed, the freestand-
ing surgical center
has been joined by
many more offices
and development, and the city
has invested in several road
projects intended to encourage
builders to more into the north-
western part of the city.
Martin was one of the center’s
earlier patients, explaining his
doctor had scheduled him for a
procedure there.
“I’d never even heard of this
place,” Martin said. “I told my
wife on the way over that we
could have an hour’s worth
of redundant paperwork, and
then wait for another hour. We
walked up to the desk, and they
said, ‘Everything’s finished. Just
follow that nurse down the hall.’
I like to have had a heart attack
right there.”
SEE NORTHSTAR, page B5
Those closest to Louis Zam-
perini will always believe that
he was equipped to be the first
to run the four-minute mile in
the Olympics. That he didn’t
have the opportunity, some
would say, was simply bad luck.
Others might say that God
had more important work for
him.
That he survived the war to
become much more than he
might have been as a world-
class athlete leaves us to
ponder the mysteries of a life
reclaimed to do God’s work in
the world.
This quintessential bad boy,
reformed by success as a high
school and collegiate track star,
displayed talent of Olympian
stature at the 1936 Olympics
hosted by Germany, placing
seventh in a race for which he
had only four weeks to prepare.
After doing so well in a race
that was longer than the length
he was trained to run, he was
looking forward to competing
in the 1940 Olympics in Japan.
World War II intervened and
the Olympic event was can-
celed. The track star did make
it to Japan during the war, but
it was a race to survive against
what seemed impossible odds
that captures the reader of his
story. Many did not make it
through.
In riveting novelistic style,
Laura Hillenbrand tells Zam-
perini’s story in “Unbroken: A
World War II Story of Survival,
Resilience and Redemption.”
SEE PRATT, page B5
Northstar
celebrates
anniversary
WWII vet’s
life captured
in new novel
BY WALT NETT
aVALANCHE-JOURNAL
business/Surgical
facility opened door to
development in city’s
northwest decade ago
Police
BlackYellowMagentaCyanMONDAY,FEBRUARY21,2011D2
Murder suspect on
way from California
LubbockCountydeputies
onFridayweretransporting
murdersuspectReynaldo
AguirreReyfromCaliforniato
Lubbock.
Rey,48,waivedhisextradi-
tionrightsafterLubbock
policedetectivesarrestedhim
WednesdayinMadera,Calif.,
onchargeshekilledMinnie
Elkins,83,inJune1989.
Elkins’daughterfoundher
insideherCentralLubbock
homebeatentodeath.
Policeobtainedasealed
indictmentonTuesdayforRey
aftergettingpositiveDNAre-
sultsfromahairleftonElkins’
body,accordingtocourtdocu-
mentsreleasedThursday.
LubbockCountySheriff
KellyRowesaiditcouldtake
upto10daysfordeputiesto
arriveattheLubbockCounty
DetentionCenter.Maderais
about1,255milesfromLub-
bock.Reyfacesa$500,000
bailonthefirst-degreemurder
charge.
Buddy Holly, Texas
avenues closed soon
BuddyHollyandTexas
avenuesattheMarshaSharp
Freewaywillbeclosedstarting
Mondayasconstructioncrews
continueworkonthefreeway
project.
SouthboundtrafficonTexas
willbedetouredwesttoAv-
enueQviathefreewayfront-
ageroadtotheturn-around
toconnectwithAvenueLand
thensouthintodowntown
Lubbock.Motoristswanting
toconnectwithnorthbound
BuddyHollyshoulduseeither
MainorNinthstreetstocon-
nectwithAvenueLandthen
takethefreewayfrontageroad
eastofBuddyHolly.
Detourswilllastabout45
days,accordingtotheTexas
DepartmentofTransportation.
Contractorswillberebuild-
ingtheintersectionaspart
ofPhase4oftheproject,
includingasphaltandconcrete
pavingandstormsewerand
inletimprovements.
Driversshouldslowdown
andfollowdetoursigns.
SeeUs,SaveUsbiker
rally is this morning
Hundredsofmotorcyclists
areexpectedtohitmajorLub-
bockstreetsat10a.m.today
forthesecond“SeeUs,Save
Us”motorcycleawareness
ride.
Riderswillmeetat8a.m.
intherearparkinglotat
theSouthPlainsMall.The
“RememberAlexBrown
Foundation”alsowillbeat
theeventwith“Don’tTextand
Drive”contractsandBrown’s
smashed-uptruck,according
toorganizerDeannaJandrew.
Theridewillconcludewitha
prayeratnoonatHunekePark,
400182ndSt.
Organizersinviteallriders
andthepublicforaFamilyDay
between1and7p.m.atBuffalo
SpringsLake.Attendeeswill
havetopaythelakefee,which
is$6forthose12andolder.
Therewillbegamesforadults
andchildren,livebands,prizes,
giveawaysandabikeshow.
Formoreinformation,visit
www.seeussaveus.com.
entertainment/
Sequels, comic book
heroes, lots of 3-D on
screen this summer
BETH
PRATT
MY VIEW
 WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Amonkeyfacesdown,fromleft,Alan(ZachGalifianakis),Phil(BradleyCooper)andStu(EdHelms)afterthesegoodfriendsheadtoThai-
landtotakepartinanotherweddingin“TheHangoverPartII.”
Blockbusters
Martin
Below,fromtop,TomHanksandJuliaRobertsco-starin“Larry
Crowne”;HarrisonFord,left,andDanielCraigin“Cowboysand
Aliens”;JohnnyDepp,left,PenelopeCruzandIanMcShanein
the3-Dsequel“PiratesoftheCaribbean:OnStrangerTides.”
BRUCE TALAMON  UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
TIMOTHY WHITE  UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
PETE MOUNTAIN  DISNEY ENTERPRISES