The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 13, 1984, Page Page 5, Image 6
TflE GAMECOCK Entertainment June 13, 1984 ? Page 6
'Firestarter' fails \
By AtHion L. Stein
"Firestarter," yet another Stephen King story thrust
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chimney blaze than the raging wildfire one is led to expect.
Highlighted by a few glowing embers and several smoldering
performances, the film, as a whole, is barely lukewarm.
Drew Barrymore stars as eight-year-old Charlie McGee,
a sweet little girl with pyrokinesis, the power to ignite fires
with her mind. A government agency known as "The
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father (David Keith) and her own fear of the consequences
stands in the agency's way.
This is Drew Barrymore's movie and she performs with
such naturalness, innocence and intelligence that one can't
help but feel a twinge of pity for the child ? a victim of the
government, cursed with a deadly power she doesn't want
and can barely control. That same innocence makes her use
of adult language all the more shocking and funny.
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of his performances in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and
"The Lords of Discipline," his talent was left untapped. It
is refreshing, however, to hear his unforced Southern accent
in a sea of homogenized voices and contrived drawls.
The performances of Martin Sheen and George C. Scott
are difficult to appreciate. Sheen, as th>. head of "The
Shop," is a one-dimensional man who looks like a Kennedy
and sounds like cardboard. Scott is a unfortunate
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ly fails to be believable as the menacing Native American
with a demon's soul, but the humorous lilt in his voice brings
back memories of his performance in the black comedy
"Dr. Strangelove."
Art Carney and Louise Fletcher also play shallow
characters, but do the best they can with the material given
them to work with.
What is delightful is that Charlie's power lies as much in
her charm and reputation as in her ability. The government
agents dance shyly around this little girl, fearful of
provoking her wrath.
But despite the reputation and power resting on Charlie's
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adorable.
King builds the horror in this story through tension
rather than gore and graphic violence. Charlie leaves a few
burring bodies in herwake, but the tension of the chase carries
the film forward. Tangerine Dream's soundtrack is excellent,
and adds a lot to the film.
King also tackles a political speculation: In
"Firestarter," the government was responsible for
Chailie's pyrokinesis and her father's telepathy via a drug
experiment in the 60s in which her parents participated.
Now it is also responsible for them being hunted down like
animals and, in effect, being either tortured or killed. After
seeing this film or reading the novel, one wonders if the
government actually does carry on secret experiments and
what the consequences might eventually be.
The R rating is probably a box office ploy to draw people
into the theater. The film could easily have been rated PG.
Thompson Twins alb
By Robort O'Connor
Modern music seems to be collectively forming its own
special brand of cliched motives and rhythms. Success for a
band can be attributed to a catchy beat and unique synthesizer
sound.
The Thompson Twins, who caught the attention of Ameria
last year with the pleasing "Lies" and the energetic "Love On
Your Side," have stepped outside the limited boundaries of
modern pop music. "Into The Gap" is not only a collection of
danceable tunes. It contains a certain brand of intelligence
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group's peers.
Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leewayare mistakenly
identified for their outward appearance and strange name
rather than for their creative music. "Into the Gap'
establishes the trio as more than just another British gimmick
"Hold Me Now," the group's phenomenal top ten single
'The Natural' displa
By Marita Porto
Baseball is as captivating for America as apple pie, an<
those looking for an all American film with a plot will not b
disappointed in "The Natural."
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me movie, starring Kooen Kcuiuru, vjucuu v.iust, nm
Basinger and Robert DuVal is captivating many summe
moviegoers with it's warmth and personality, not to mentio
an interesting story line.
It does not take .viewers long to learn to love Roy Hobbe th
down-home country boy, played by Redford.
Despite some difficult to believe special effects, "Th
Natural" overcomes it's confusing moments and proves t
viewers that Redford can act as well as look great on camen
Glenn Close, who play s> Redford's long lost girlfriend,
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The story begins with the death of Roy's father. After
storm, the boy carves a bat from the wood of a fallen oak trc<
engraving it with the words "Wonder Boy" and a lightenir
bolt. His father's death urges the boy to continue with h
to ignite imaginati
If looks could kill...
Drew Barrymore stars as a pyrokinetic young girl who becomes
increasingly valuable to the government.
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lum delights listeners
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compliments a shattered love affair in only the most majestic
manner. Who could resist Bailey's passionate yearnings?
" stay with me/let loving start" The tune attained its huge success
because of its humanistic emotion.
The second single, "Doctor Doctor," shifts the feeling
* toward a sinister sensation. The triad blends harmony and
sheer honesty ("doctor doctor/can't you see I'm burning").
"No Peace for the Wicked" is pure, michievious enjoyment
(We're dancing till we drop/we're all too scared to stop").
The second side of "Into The Gap" fluctuates between perfec
tion and a comfortable repetitiveness. Most notable are the
haunting "Sister of Mercy" and "Storm On The Sea." The
latter hyt pnotizes the imaginative listener while the former is a
, depressing tale concerning a lonely woman, ("you can hear
her cry alone at night").
The Thompson Twins deserve credit for showering
originality on a crowded unimaginative music world.
ys Redford's talents
dream ot oecoming a oaseoan greai.
i Then, we skip to Redford as a semi-adult promising his girl
e friend the endless all-American dream of marriage.
However, Redford gets delayed along his way to the
n Baseball Hall of Fame by a ;ornivingwoman and despite many
r other problems, eventually maVes it to the majors, a bit older
n and more cynical, but nonetheless lovable.
His entrance into the big time is tainted by some mysterious
e circumstances but with the help of his magical bat, and the
hallowed lightening bolt, Redford makes his coach's dream
e come true to win back the part of the team which he lost to the
o team owner.
i. Despite it's similarity to the age-old King Arthur and the
is sword plot, "The Natural's" ending leaves the viewer
t. pleasantly surprised and certainly satsified.
a A quaint but definitely not trite movie, "The Natural" pro5,
ves that there are still some movies made for audiencesofevery
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is can make Americans proud of their country roots.
on of audience
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Guadalcanal Diary plays
to enthusiastic audience
By Keltoy Linnigin
Georgia has become a mecca for progressive bands in the
Southeast. From this unlikely source have emerged some of
the better regional acts in recent years. A few have
metamorphosed into that elusive but ever-desirable buttarflu
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Swimming Pool Q's , The Roys, Love Tractor, Pylon,
R.E.M., The B-52s . . . and now, Guadalcanal Diary.
Taking their name from a book written by a World War
II veteran, Guadalcanal's "Watusi Rodeo" is an EP offering
four songs whose titles and concepts are as equally
interesting.
"Dead Eyes" is a whirlwind scng echoing the driving,
forceful tones synonymous with the L.A based band "X"
(for whom GCD once opened) minus Exene's disconcer
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"Michael Rockefeller" passionately punctuates the inner
turmoil of the man lost in New Guinea, while "John
Wayne," the best known of the songs, is a dark-humoured
but clever ballad told through the eyes of a downtrodden
gunslinger:
I used to be the top-notch gun in this town.
That was before the Duke started handing around.
/ wish I'd killed John Wayne. "
Guadalcanal Diary made a Columbia appearance to an
enthusiastic audience Saturday night at the Beat Club on
Assembly Street. With Mtirrav Attawa's vocal nroweiw af
the helm, flanked by Jeff Walls on guitar, Rhett Crowe on
bass, and rounded out by John Poe's energetic drumming,
the end result is a nice, tight delivery, precison tuned.
Disappointingly, theonly song not performed from
"Watusi Rodeo" was Guadalcanal Diary's hypnotic
remake of Miriam Makeba's "Liwa Wechi." This is sheer
atmosphere, calling up Siddharthian motifs of ziggurats,
prophets, evening meditations of another place and time.
As Rhett Crowe confided, "This one is the most difficult
to perform live. It's an incredible strain on Murray's voice.
11 oo oaa too, a lot ot people ask tor it. No reason to fret
though. From such obstacles are great videos made.