Arts & Entertainment
IFall flick ‘The Package’
should fulfill film fetish
I By Mark Hain and
Becky Tideman
Staff Reviewers
Becky Tideman: I generally
dread the dismal selection of
movies begrudgingly offered by
theater marquis in the fall months.
Barring the few slash ‘cm-gash
‘cm hatchet thrillers in late Octo
ber, the movie moguls horde all
the quality releases until the
I
I
I
i
i
season. Beware, this
tendency can create con
type withdrawal symp
for the die-hard movie buff.
, before you scamper out
the nearest movie rental store to
your flick fetish, I rccom
_“The Package.”
Mark Hain: Although it has
trobably made me paranoid for
Ife, ‘‘The Package” was a really
Teat espionage thriller.
The title refers to the military
irm for a prisoner under escort,
lergeant Johnny Gallagher (Gene
Jackman) finds himself in the
ruddle of an international con
piracy when his particular
'package” (Tommy Lee Jones)
nanages to escape.
‘‘The Package” is set on th~
rvc of a disarmament treaty bc
ween the United Stales and Rus
lia. Unfortunately for global
)cacc, an underground group of
Russian and American military
jfccalots, led by John Heard as the
^Itccly-eyed psycho Colonel With
ache, arc plotting the assassina
tions of the U.S. President and the
Soviet General Secretary. This
small bastion of macho-militant
muscle sees nuclear weapons and
the fear the group inspires as the
only true “peace keepers.” They
will kill before they see an armi
stice treaty signed: a pretty nifty
set-up for some heavy-duty earth
saving action, right?
BT: Earth-saving action, yeah.
.. but my thumb kinda wenta little
sideways on this one. I appreciate
any new movie in town, consider
ing “When Harry Met Sally” is in
its 80 millionth week, but there
were a few aspects of this flick that
didn’t exactly trip my trigger. I’m
not sure if Hackman feels bad
about his Lex Lutherdays or what.
MH: I don’t know. I thought he
was very convincing without
being overly nice or squeaky
clean. There’s always a bit of grit
In hie rhararl/'rc A/'tii'ilk; I tuac
never much of a Gene Hackman
fan until after I saw this mo ie, but
I was impressed with his perform
ance. The same goes for Joanna
Cassidy, who played a strong,
independent and intelligent
woman who wasn’t victimized,
brutalized or trivialized - a nice
change.
BT: Good point, Cassidy
played Lt. Colonel Eileen Gal
lager, Johnny’s ex-wife (she out
ranks him). Throughout the film I
had this nagging feeling that a
forced, token lovefest was bound
to take place between them, but
fortunately “The Package’’ al
lowed them to remain just friends.
MH: It was nice to have a ma
ture, non-sexual relationship be
tween a male and female charac
Courtesy of Orion Pictures
Eiieen (Joanna Cassidy) and Johnny (Gene Hackman) in a scene from “The Package.”
ter. 1 also louna it interesting tnat
none of the main characters in this
movie seemed to be under 40. It’s
not often you see an action-drama
without young studs or hot babes.
I thought this movie was quite
intelligently done. I didn’t feel
like I was demeaned by a barrage
of feeble old cliches.
Nearly as fun as seeing Grier
ana ner minet-snapea nairao, was
recognizing some of the location
shots of downtown Chicago from
the impressive skyline down to the
depressing rat-hole slums.
BT: Yeah, I loved hearing all
the bit-part extras clearly enunci
ate the old intrusive “r,” that
always gives me a warm down
home feeling inside. I appreciate,
however, that not one cop, villain
or general bad guy collided with a
fruit cart in a chase scene. Colorful
inougn rnose collisions may oc,
they become very trite to the fre
quent movie-goer.
MH: Of course there was a car
chase or two, and I think more
people died in this film than in the
past ten I’ve seen put together, but
for the most part, the excitement
level was kept at a steady pace. 1
think we both felt like it ended a bit
Inn nhrunllv Thp.v rnnlri have
milked a liule more tension and
“Oh god, hurry, HURRY!” type
comments out of it. Still, there
were enough murderous spies,
concealed identities and close
calls to keep my attention from
wandering to the fact that I should
be doing my homework.
BT: Close calls, yeah, but not a
whole lot of originality. 1 was
hoping for a liule more ingenuity
on the part of the upwardly mobile
military brass. Maybe i m a liiue
perverse, but I get a charge out of
creative deceit.
MH: My only real problem
with the film was the Neo-Nazi
sub-plot. It was confusing and
unnecessary. Also, the depiction
of “evil” was a bit forced, espe
cially the scene where Tommy
Lee Jones nearly blasts away an
adorable infant. Overall though, I
found the mixture of a clever plot,
fine performances, attractive and
effective cinematography, plus a
good deal of plain old intelligence
resulted in an interesting and en
tertaining film.
BT: 1 agree the performances
were solid, and again, this time of
the year I’m looking for quantity
of movies not necessarily quality,
so I’ll go along with you and rec
ommend “The Package.”
Drchestra performs with soloist
Rtacey McKenzie
Rcponcr
fcrforming musically is like
Ling foul shots, according to the
uctor of the university orchestra.
When you perform it’s a one
thing,” said Dr. Robert Emile,
Sssor of music at the University
ebraska-Lincoln. “Either it goes
it doesn’t.”
owever, the UNL orchestra
’t be shooting free throws this
tend. Rather, they will be per
ling 3 p.m. Sunday at Kimball
tal Hall. Pianist Phil McCarthy,
nior music major, will be the
ired soloist
. native of Norfolk, McCarthy
a senior soloist competition last
ig and was awarded the opportu
to perform in one fall UNL or
stra performance.
‘It’s nice to know that all the work
do pays off,” he said.
^Jot having played much with an
orchestra before, McCarthy said he
feels a certain strength and power
from the group.
Made up of college students who
want to maintain their skills, said Dr.
Emile, the orchestra is a mix of music
majors and non-music majors. The
group practices twice a week and has
six performances a\ear.
The class is different from a nor
mal orchestra situation, said Leah
Jdnyuyfz
Sorensen, a sophomore art major and
cellist, because students don ’ t have to
audition. They just have to have rea
sonable ability.
“You also don’t get paid,’’ she
said.
In class, Sorensen said, the or
chestra rehearses as if it were a regu
lar performance.
Playing in the orchestra is chal
lenging, said JoAnne Ingram, a junior
music major and violinist.
“There’s a greater dependency on
everyone’s part to learn the music,”
she said. “I’ve had an opportunity to
play parts that are more exposing.’’
Susan Spilker, a trumpet player
majoring in biology and music, said
she likes playing in the group because
her instrument is “one on a part,”
meaning she plays a separate part
from the rest of the trumpet section.
“Because you’re responsible for
your own part,’’ she said, “there’s
nowhere to hide.’’
The program’s solo feature will be
a concerto by Khachaturian followed
by “Lenorc #3’’ by Beethoven and
“Siegfried Idyll’’ by Wagner.
“The piece I play is really colorful
and lively,’’ said McCarthy. “It’s not
stuffy at all and is for a wide audi
ence.’’
The concert is free and open to the
public.
■a i
proup to play Dacn-intencsa way
Deanne Nelson
or Editor ___
Jach’s music, the way it’s sup
ed to be played, comes to the
iball Recital Hall tonight in the
n of the internationally acclaimed
:h Ensemble.
The ensemble, under the direction
oshua Rifkin, will play in Lincoln
the first time although Rifkin has
n a guest professor at the Univer
r of Nebraska-Lincoln’s School of
isic before, said Bill Stibor, pub
;ty coordinator for the World on
fe series at Kimball Recital Hall.
tibor said the ensemble will play
collection of Johann Sebastian
ch’s music in an “unusual” way.
tat makes this Baroque perform
:e unusual, Stibor said, is that the
isic will be played in its histori
ly accurate form of “only one
trument per part.”
Rifkin has studied extensively the
background of the man and his works,
and in this research has discovered
that Bach intended his music to be
played in this way rather than with a
full orchestra, Stibor said.
The Bach Ensemble, founded in
1978, is comprised of Christopher
Krueger, flute; Stephen Hammer,
oboe d’amore; Benjamin Hudson,
violin; Linda Quan, violin; David
Miller, viola; Myron Lutzke, violon
cello; Michael Widens, violone; and
Rifkin on harpsichord.
The 8 p.m. performance in Kim
ball Recital Had will include Bach’s
Concerto in A major for Harpsichord,
2 Violins, Viola, Violone, and Con
tinuo; Overture in B minor for Flute,
2 Violins, Viola, and Continuo; Con
certo in C minor for Oboe, Violonc
concertato, Violin, Viola, and Con
tinuo; and Concerto in F major for
Harpsichord, 2 Recorders, 2 Violins,
Viola, Violoncello and Violone.
The Ensemble has received many
international honors, including Great
Britain’s Gramophone Award in
1983 and invitations to perform in
Great Britain, France and Israel.
Articles on Rifkin and the En
semble have appeared in American,
European and Japanese publications,
and the BBC’s World Service de
voted a broadcast to Rifkin as one of
the eight leading figures in the world
of early music.
Tickets for Rifkin’s and the Bach
Ensemble’s musical interpretation of
Bach’s works are $13 and $9, with
UNL students and youths 18 and
under admitted for half-price.
_ent^rfmmnent
Sheldon to show ‘ Yeelen ’
Four showings of “Yeelen”, a
new film from the African country
of Mali, will play this weekend at
the Sheldon Film Theater. The
University Program Council will
sponsor this heralded story of a
tribal boy’s coming of age set
amidst the backdrop of African
mysticism and ritual.
Malian filmmaker Souleymane
Cisse shot “Yeelen” (brightness)
entirely on location in his home
land. “Yeelen” features the Bam
barian language from the villages
of Dilly, Moutoungoula, Falani,
Dra, Drani, Sangha and Hombon
with English subtitles. Film times
are Sunday at 3, 5, 7, and 9 p.m.
Ragtime pianist performs
update on Joplin classics
By Gretchen Boehr
Senior Reporter ' ,
Joshua Rifkin, one of the coun
try’s renowned ragtime pianists, per
formed before a capacity audience of
140 Thursday night at the Wick
Alumni Center.
Rifkin gave a smooth and lively
interpretation of piano selections by
Scott Joplin, a founding composer of
ragtime.
con/'prt
Rifkin led the ragtime and Scott
Joplin revival of the 1970s. Consid
ered a leading authority on Bach,
Rifkin also ft a musicologist focusing
his studies on ragtime music and
Joplin.
Riflcin’s style, however, is not a
copy of the old brash saloon-type
ragtime, but an updated version with
a touch of sensitivity.
The evening featured old favorites
like the ‘ ‘ Maple Leaf Rag’ ’ and “The
Entertainer’’ plus other rags evoking
the spirit of New Orleans prior to the
Jazz era of the early 1900s.
Rifkin’s careful attention to cres
cendos and timing was polished and
lent a classic sound to Joplin’s music.
His style made me tntertainer
especially enjoyable and different
from other popular versions of the
song.
“Weeping Willow,” a ragtime
two-step and “Bethene,” a concert
waltz, featured a slower style and
sentimental feeling.
Rifkin gave a superb performance
of Gladioulus Rag, which was dra
matic because of many driving cres
cendos.
In 1899 Joplin composed “Origi
nal Rags” and “Maple Leaf Rag,”
which became popular across the
United States.
The term “ragged time” de
scribes the syncopation characteristic
of this style which became a forerun
ner of Jazz music. The ragtime style
of American music flourished from
1890 until World War II.
The alumni center was a perfect
place for this performance, with its
high ceiling and relaxed atmosphere.
The setting added a touch of comfort
able informality as members of the
audience sat at round tables and re
freshments were served during the
performance.
Rifkin also will perform with the
Bach Ensemble Sunday at Kimball
Recital Hall.