The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 01, 1994, Page 13, Image 13
New videos worthy, not worthy of renting By Garry Beltz Staff Reporter There’s high visibility in the new video releases forecast this week — high amounts of quality comedy and drama, scattered bits of bad cinema. All new releases came out Wednes day. “8 Seconds”(PGM3)—This mov ie is based on the true-life story of Lane Frost, a man who reached internation al fame through his uncanny talent of bullriding. Frost (Luke Perry) has no fear of injury or death in this potentially dan gerous sport, but meets greater con flicts outsideof the arena in the form of his married life, his father and the sudden pressure of his fame. The film is full of quality perform ers (Cynthia Geary, Stephen Baldwin, James Rebhom) and everyone — in cluding Perry—does a wonderful job. It’s worth renting, but have a hankie handy. “Greedy” (PG-13) — “Greedy’’ may be based on a play by Charles Dickens, but don’t be fooled! This movie will only fulfill small expecta tions. Featuring such performers as Kirk Douglas, Michael J. Fox, and Phil Hartman, “Greedy” is a portrait of materialistic lust as the relatives of a rich uncle (Douglas) all rush to suck up to him in hopes of being named in his will. With an all-star cast with a no-star plot, “Greedy” is cabbage for the mind. “Serial Mom” (R)—The twisted mind of John Waters comes home to video! This time around, Waters at tacks middle America, home of white bread and idealistic thinking. However, all is not happy in WASP land. Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turn er) has taken on to making obscene phone calls and wasting various peo ple around her, from a teacher who is about to flunk one of her kids to a disgruntled video customer who refus es to rewind rented videotapes. The film is full of deliciously horrid black comedy from beginning to end, and is well worth finding. PICK-OF-THE-WEEK—There’s plenty of comedy in the new releases, so why not some older stuff? The team of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon (from “Grumpy Old Men”, still a new release itself) did the delightful 1968 Neil Simon comedy “The Odd Cou ple,” a film which eventually spawned the successful television series star ring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. The performances and chemistry between Matthau and Lemmon are incredible, so if you liked “Grumpy Old Men” — or enjoy comedy in general—go find ‘The Odd Couple.” r PeopleWatch Tenor tickles transitauthority NEW YORK (AP) — Music, Luciano Pavarotti said, should have no boundaries. The tenor declared a Manhattan subway station manager and two other people winners of an essay contest on opera. As an experiment, Transit Au thority employee Matthew Holland is playing operatic music over the public address system at his subway stop near the Metropolitan Opera. “Why not?” Pavarotti said in Wednesday’s Daily News. “In Las Vegas, they play it in the bath rooms. Music should be every where.” The contest was sponsored by London records. Pavarotti met Hol land and the other winners Monday at a Manhattan restaurant. The winners received a 20-CD set called “Opera Made Easy” and featuring—who else?—Pavarotti. Diamond Rio Continued from Page 12 a pic ture in your mind,” he said. “When you’re writing about things that are not personal experiences, you have to be like an actor by putting yourself in that character.” Roe said the process gave him a “16th Avenue chill.” “You really feel like you’ve turned a corner and you actually feel like you’ve drawn those good images with words that cause people to see visions, pictures, in their minds of their own experiences.” Once the song becomes personal to the audience, Roe said, “it’s a hit.” And a hit in country music today means more than it did 20 or 30 years ago with the revolution in country music itself. Three main things have changed the face of country music, Diamond Rio’s singer said. “One—pop radio wasn’t pop radio anymore. It really went into some different genre and more focused ar eas such as dance and rap,” he said. People — even teens — didn’t have any place to go. “Two—country music was branch ing out. It wasn’t so negative, it was actually becoming a little more posi tive. And (No. 3), we had some great artists coming up at the same time.” Diamond Rio has also gone a new route by adding flair to its live perfor mances. “We want to have fun and we want to show a bit of the different influences of the people in our band,” Roe said. Diamond Rio performs a variety of music from bluegrass to Joe Walsh to the Eagles. They were one of the con tributing bands on “Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles.” “A lot of country acts show influ ence from rock and roll,” Roc said. “We put in a lot more of the show factor than traditional country shows. There’s more than people standing up there singing their album. Wc want it lobe musically and visually pleasing.” Country music has gone in a new direction, but Roe said it would never lose its roots. “We’ll always have a song or two on an album that’s traditional,” he said. “One of our songs, ‘Gone Out of My Mind,’ is a straight-ahead country ballad about love gone bad.” The fans of traditional country music arc still alive. Roe said, but the beauty of it is that musicians are able todo more than just traditional country ballads. And the number of Diamond Rio fans keeps growing — especially in Nebraska. So, is there a better place to perform than the Nebraska State Fair? “We have a big following in Ne braska. It’s our second- or third-largest contingent of our fan base,” he said. “We always love to come to Nebras ka.” Diamond Rio will be performing with country group Sawyer Brown at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, $17 and $14. Noyes Continued from Page 12 some of the works from the new Sep tember exhibit, can be screened on to T-shirts, he said. The September exhibit, entitled “Blue on Blue,” contains the works of all featured artists of the Noyes gal lery. The artists arc: Jo Brown, Larcy Brown, Sally Buss, Dorothy Dane, Robert Egan, Sharon Elbracht Ohmberger, Dee Gaylord, B.A, Gaylord, Jeani Gustafson, Mark Havla, Nina Kusov, Nancy McClelland, Lois Meysenburg. Marlene Meier, Sidney Nagley, Faridun Negmat-Zoda, own er Julia Noyes, Connie Segal 1, Ken Wagner and Rodney Humpal. The “Blue on Blue” exhibit does not contain a rigid theme, Humpal said, but it encourages the artists to explore different directions. “The artists arc free to wander around the theme,” Humpal said. The exhibit contains art work in various shades of blue. Other works in the exhibit aim to establish a blue feeling with the viewer, Humpal said. Humpal, who joined the Noyes Gallery in April, said his works mainly consisted of watercolors with bold pri mary colors. His works have been featured in The Coflee House and galleries in Omaha. Before joining the Noyes Gallery, Humpal described himself as a part time artist. With a family and a full time job, Humpal said he did not think He had the time to fully commit to his art. Since April, Humpal has painted nearly four paintings every month. “Julia Noyes has been a really great motivator,” Humpal said. “She has encouraged me to paint more diverse styles.” ‘‘The diversity in this gallery will stun most people,” Humpal said. RUGBY Practice Begins Ihesday and Thursday at 5:30 pan. Harper Schramm Smith. No Experience Necessary New players encouraged. ***n#B: For the temj J'fc and pains ass< S°KCold’ hea‘Jache, ti o' fes, backache, for c^r>hr,t,s, for the pain ^ and for reductior SUMMER'S OVER. 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