Monday, November 18, 1985
Daily Nebraskan
Page 7
A
&
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'Target' successful thriller;
Ilinton film disappointing
By Tom Mockler
Staff Reporter
Following are three "mini-reviews".
'Target," presently snowing
down, and his band abounds with tal
ent. Musically and lyrically the mate
rial Sting is producing now blows away
anything he did with the Police. If you
don't have "Dream of the Blue Turtles"
and missed Sting in concert, this movie
the Douglas 3, is a good espionagenu- can be informative and entertaining,
at
man drama thriller.
Movie Review
Besides, it's not just a concert film.
For some reason they decided to film
the birth of Sting's son, which explains
the PG-13 rating. It is both the most
revolting and moving moment in the
movie.
I have to admit the idea of filming a
band as they form (instead of as it
breaks up) is rather interesting, even if
the whole thing seems crassly calcu
lated. Marsalis and Hakim are out-
Gene Hackman, who I've never seen
give a bad performance (even though
he's been in some pretty bad films) is
convincing as a former CIA agent
turned Texas lumberyard manager.
Matt Dillion, as Hackman's son, turns
in one of the best performances of his standing.
career.
The film starts out in Texas where "That Was Then, This is Now"
Hackman enjoys a slow-paced life, is somewhat of a disappointment. It
which bores his son to tears. But after stars Emilio Estevez, who makes his
seeing the film It is easy to understand screenplay writing debut. The film,
why Hackman enjoys the slow-paced based on the S.E. flinton novel, just
life. This is explained when his wife does not quite get off the ground,
Notes on the plastic chicken
and the machine under Love
"W
hut is it?"
The sound of those
three words tripping off
the tongues of befuddled collegians
could be heard again and again out
side Love Library last week. Some
times you could hear several "Whut
is its?" at once.
People were stopping to stare at
"The Machine That Makes The
World," a piece of art by New Yorker
Alice Aycok.
goes on a European lour ana gets
kidnapped.
The drama is helped out considera
bly by a U.S. Intelligence operative,
played by Josef Soramer. Sommer, who
although Estevez gives it the "old col
lege try."
Estevez is somewhat engaging as
Mark, the guy who "never knew what
hit him." But my major complaint is the
was memorable as the head detective entire concept of the story is warped.
bad guy in "Witness," plays a similar I can only blame Estevez for not
character here. Although Sommers' rewriting the story enough.
character inspires trust, he is easily Some people marvel at S.E. Hinton
believable as the coldest villian possi- for having a novel published when she
ble. Trust is a two-sided coin.
"Bring On The Night," the
latest film starring rock star Sting, is
was 16. However, in the film it is pain
fully obvious we are looking at an
immature perspective.
The entire concept of "That Was
Then, This is Now" is shallow stuff.
Bryon, the "mature" one, who "sees the
relatively good for a concert film. While future coming" is a really boring guy,
any concert movie has its limitations and his girlfriend, played by Kim Dela-
- even "Stop Making Sense" the ney, ("Jenny" of "All My Children"
entire genre was helped out be the fame) is even duller. She helps him
installation of Dolby Stereo in movie "grow up."
theaters. When Bryon says to Mark: "Why don't
"Bring on the Night" is subtitled "A you grow up?" and Mark says "What,
Band is Born." Well, this is both true and be like you? No thanks," I said
and untrue. We do see Sting rehearsing "Yeah!"
the material for his first album with So maybe I put my money on the
drummer Omar Hakim, horn player wrong horse but I think Hinton's race
Branford Marsalis, singers Dollet Mc- track is all screwed up anyway. My ado
Donald and Jance Pendarvis, and key- lesence was never so confusing. As a
boardist and bassists Kenny Kirkland post-adolescent it is harder to under
andDarryl Jones. But as Hakim says: "I stand her version of society. Is our
don't know if I would call this a band at choice really between juvenile delinquency
this stage, since that implies everyone and being dull as dishwater?
has an equal say." Perhaps the problem is the original
It is quite obvious Sting is in charge, story took place in a '60ish setting
but you can't keep a good musician which doesn't work in the 1980s.
Ferguson excites fans
By Bill Wimmer
Staff Reporter
Maynard Ferguson, world-renowned
trumpet player and showman, played to
a sold-out crowd at Kimball Hall on
Saturday night as part of the Kimball
Performance Series.
Concert Review
Ferguson was a hit with the crowd
even before he began to play. Excited
fans chanted "Maynard, Maynard" be
fore any of the band members walked
on stage.
Ferguson, known for his hot, high,
brassy solos and showmanship, gave
the crowd everything that they wanted.
The arrangements were tight and fea
tured most of the band's members and,
of course, Ferguson's short, bravura
solos.
After "Coconut Champagne," a Latin
tune, Ferguson again featured Reece
on a ballad called "Beautiful Heart."
This song highlighted Ferguson on
flugel horn and Reece on tenor sax.
Reece and another band member played
a call-and-response duet from each end
of the auditorium.
The first set ended with a medley of
old bop standards appropriately titled
"Bebop Buffet."
The second set highlighted a medley
of Maynard Ferguson hits, starting with
"MacArthur Park" and "Chameleon"
and ending with a UNL-band-enhanced
version of "Hey Jude." Ferguson also
played his hit "Gonna Fly Now," the
theme from "Rocky."
Chris
Welsch
For a while I thought there was 1
going to be a petting zoo under the
library's connecting link. The
machine looked like it was made to
befuddle sheep as well as humans.
Others hypothesized that "it" was a
device to stack books, or dispose of
them. I heard someone say it was a
tool to organize the library. A bomb
would work better, I said at the
time.
The machine is big and compli
cated, and it is an addition to Shel
don's permanent collection. It's bet
ter looking than the Wick Center,
and it's not as prominently dis
played. It's more intriguing than the
rocks that are supposed to pass for
art between Ninth and 10th on 0
street.
Right there, you have some strong
reasons to like the machine, even if
you have to walk around it to get to
sociology 151.
Most importantly, the machine is
a pleasing metaphor for the Amer
ican understanding of the world, or
lack thereof.
We tend to view the world as a
machine, one that should work in
consistent, predictable ways. That
can be seen in U.S. foreign policy,
which tends to ignore that different
nations have different world views,
and different motivations.
It can also be seen in the Ameri
can obsession with money and social
standing. We need only learn to pull
the right levers and wealth, fame
and dinner with Jackie 0. will be
ours.
Aycok's thing mocks that mech
anical, ethnocentric view. Her mach-
rr"v vr
il k
' 1 .: . t -rV
.... ,
David CreamerDally Nebraskan
Two-year-old Jessica Heath of Lincoln ponders the mystery
and enchantment of the magic chicken roosting in the Hlnky
Dinky at 2145 S. 17th St.
ine won't do anything. In fact, the
people who stand around the mach
ine and say "Whut is it?" are as
much a part of it as the boards and
cables that compose it.
This brings me to another machine,
and another metaphor for America
At the South Street Hinky Dinky,
there roosts a magic chicken.
This magic chicken sits in a glass
box by the courtesy counter. It's red
and brown, and it's mounted on a
chrome post. Hundreds of brightly
colored plastic eggs lie under it.
You put in a quarter, and the
chicken spins around, emitting a
somewhat mechanical "cheep, cheep,
cheep." Then an egg rolls out.
In my two pilgrimages to the
chicken, I've received two alumi-nized-plastic
Michael Jackson gloves.
A friend who is more devoted to the
chicken has received a collection of
small plastic handguns and stickers
that say, "I love Michael." Jackson,
I assume.
I think this chicken is art it
certainly ranks with the rocks and
pulls in a close second to the
machine.
"You pays your dime and you takes
your chance." What could be more
American? This chicken gives in
stant gratification every time and
the congratulatory "cheeps" heighten
the drama.
This is a machine for the masses,
and what do the masses need?
Food? Shelter? Education? No. They
need handguns and tokens of Jack
son Worship.
That's what I think about it, any
way. You think what you want. Ain't
art grand?
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