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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1990)
12 Arts & Entertainment Monday, September 24,1990 _ ___ Hackman*s performance strong point of film By Jeffrey Frey Staff Reporter In the past, Gene Hackman has had a problem saying no to mediocre scripts and mediocre productions. His movies are inconsistent in their qual ity and it’s often difficult to find Hackman a convincing actor when he nioyJfcw i— looks so much like the guy your dad hangs out with. What isn’t mediocre, however, is Hackman’s performance in his latest film, “Narrow Margin.’’ “Narrow Margin’’ is billed as a suspense-thriller, but nontethelcss retains an important modesty that makes this tale about a deadly game of cat and mouse believable. Carol Hunnicut (Anne Archer) is a woman who has a rough time with a blind date. She has been set up with the senior partner of a law firm who has ties to a powerful New York mob boss named Leo Watts (Harris Yulin). Michael Tarlow -- Carol’s blind date -- is a lawyer who, in addition to handling cases for Leo Watts, has been spending his time milking Leo’s accounts to cover his own debts. Michael lakes Carol to his lavish penthouse apartment whex he is to call Leo and, while Carol takes to the bathroom, instead finds Leo at his door. It seems that Leo has decided to drop in and fit Michael’s head with the slug from a rather nasty gun. Carol, a reluctant witness to the mob slaying, fears for her safety and decides to cross the border and disap pear into the Canadian wilderness. Los Angeles deputy district attorney Robert Caulfield (Gene Hackman) wants to bring her back to testify in the murder case. Caulfield has been trying to pul Leo Watts away for some time, and his only chance to do so now is to travel into a remote section of Canada and convince Hunnicut to return with him and testify. Hunnicut was an unknown witness whose identity is revealed to the au thorities by her friend and is in turn revealed to Watts by one of Caul field’s companions at the district at torney’s office. Caulfield yacks Hunnicut by heli copter into a remote section of the Canadian wilderness, where he is unknowingly followed by two of Walls’ thugs. And once he finds Hunnicut at her brother’s cabin, he is unsuccess ful at convincing her to return with See NARROW on 14 Reformed band lacks inventive songs, sounds By Robert Richardson Staff Reporter Legs Diamond “Town Bad Girl’’ Metal Blade Records Look out Mctallica, Poison, Whitesnake and Richard Marx -- there’s a reformed band on the prowl that has your sound. Legs Diamond was a busy band in the early 1980s. The members had already produced five albums which are touted as being4 ‘consid ered classics by rock connoisseurs the world over.” However, international fame eluded the band .which broke up so that the members could find fame and fortune on their own. Now, they’re back and stronger than ever. At least, that’s what they would like people to believe. Legs Diamond returns with vocalist Rick Sanford, keyboardist Michael Prince and lead guitarist Roger Romeo. New members in clude bassist Mike Christie and drummer Dusty Watson. Legs Diamond should thank production for cutting a very clean and unblemished album. Songs like “Town Bad Girl” and “Heaven Or Hell’’ are fast enough to be considered metal. And they blend vocals, background vocals and music well enough that they could be considered ‘smart’ songs. Like all metal bands, Legs Dia mond has several songs that don’t have an original sound and slip through cracks in the music bill board. The majority of their music blends guitar with a hot drum for a restless sound that reminds one of wild dogs in a cage. But when Legs Diamond does something well, they know it and play on it. They have written teas ers for introductions to most of See LEGS on 14 I Courtesy of Tri-Star Pictures Deputy district attorney Robert Caulfieid (Gene Hackman), center, and Det. Sgt. Dominick Benti (M. Emmet Walsh) track murder witness Carol Hunnicut (Anne Archer) to her hiding place in the Canadian Rockies in an attempt to persuade her to testify in court in “Narrow Margin.” Renowned pianist, Lincoln orchestra provide night of world-class music By Julie Naughton Senior Reporter For music lovers, world-renowned pianist Van Clibum’s performance Friday with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra was a rare treat. Clibum, in his first Lincoln per formance since 1971, performed at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The first half of the program con sisted of the orchestra’s performance, under the direction of Robert Emile. The second half of the program was given over to Clibum. The orchestra’s iirst piece was a rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,’’ heavy on the strings. This also was done the last time that Cli burn played in Lincoln. After the national anthem (after which more than one audience member was heard to remark “I didn’t know this was a baseball game’ ’) the concert was under way. The orchestra opened the concert with Charles Ives' “Variations on America’,’’orchestrated by William Schuman. This was a curious choice, considering the conflict in the Middle East. The Orchestra next performed Antonin Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 8 in G Major, op. 88.” The orchestra’s opening in G minor gave way to the piece’s lilting first melody, performed by the flute in G major. Flutists John Bailey, Mary Howell and Rebecca Van dc Bogan performed beautifully in the Dvorak piece. After the intermission, the pro gram turned to the talents of Clibum, definitely the highlight of the eve ning. Applause for Clibum was thun derous, even before he began to play. Clibum played the same piece that he played at his last Lincoln appear ance, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s "Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Or chestra in B-Flat Minor, op. 23.” The Tchaikovsky piece, due to its difficulty, demands a pianist with extraordinary technique and agility; Clibum proved that he was more than equal to the challenge. He played with a healthy respect for the instru ment, tempered with grace and style. His dramatic arm movements added polish to his performance. The Tchaikovsky piece began with Clibum’s dramatic performance of the work’s famous opening. The strings in the orchestra played the haunting “Tonight We Love” theme, while Clibum crashed forth the accompa nying chords. Then it was Clibum’s turn to present an inspired, ornamented version of the theme, complete with his dramatic gestures and nourishes. This was complemented beautifully by the strings’ accompaniment. The Tchaikovsky piece definitely was a showcase for Clibum’s talents; however, it also gave the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra a chance to shine. It provided a special chance to shine for the eight Orchestra members who also performed at Clibum’s last Lin coln performance. They were Aleta Collier, violin I; Mary Finn and Dar lene Miller, violin II; Carol Work, cello; George Work, bass; Gary Echols, bassoon; Dennis Schneider, trumpet; and Vernon Forbes, trombone. The six curtain calls for Clibum and the Orchestra were deserved; Clibum proved -- as few artists can -- that he merits the praise and hype associated with his name. Eyes’ first release refreshes, hits listener hard, stirs the body By Troy Falk Staff Reader Eyes “Eyes” Curb Records In an age of post-prime rock V roll bands and their reunions for a last chance slab at the glory and money, there stands a new band. Eyes, in its debut self-titled al bum, has shown that this band intends to rock. The album starts out with the only single release, “Calling All Girls.” This track has been featured on MTV’s “Headbangcrs Ball.” The music is hard-hitting and must be turned up to concert hall volume, no matter when it is played. One refreshing, if not surprising quality of4 ‘Eyes” is the true musical ability of these guys, and Jeff Soto’s voice lone and quality. Guitarist Steven ‘ Doc” Dough erty unleashes sure-handed licks combined with controlled and inspi rational playing. Aldy Damian is like a possessed man released upon an unsuspecting drum set. He delivers a wild and monstrous drum connotation that just fits perfectly with the rest of the band. Jimmy O’Shea is the bassist. He has the power and poise to lead when needed but more importantly he is able to fill out the foursome and de liver them as a whole band. High energy combined with origi nal lyrics makes tracks like “Walkin’ Fire,’’ “Every Single Minute” and “Miss Demeanor” come alive and force the stereo to crank out the music. Your body has to move, even if you don’t dance. On the flip side of the band is a pair of stirring ballads, “Don’t Turn Around” and “Nobody Said It was Easy.” These two songs show the true talent, staying slow so that every body is able to hear any mistakes and garbage playing. The very downfall of most bands attempting to play ballads is Eyes’ strength, which in part comes from experience. Damian, the original member, can be traced back to his days with L.A. Rocks. Dougherty came next from such L.A. bands as Burning Rome and Berlin.
