w w. -mov- imf .. .................................... .............. ............ ................... ... ... . ... ....................................................................................... .................................................................... Last call The Final Option Starring Judy Davis and Lewis Collins Directed by Ian Sharp By Dan Desmond V IEWING The Final Option reminded me of watching the Kentucky Derby, where you are subjec- ted to an hour of preparation for a race that lasts two minutes. In The Final Op- tion expect to sit through a couple of hours of futile fluttering before being treated to fifteen minutes of true ex- citement. Just for starters, one of the problems with this film is that there are too many characters. There simply is not enough time to develop these characters and make their presence seem as if it really matters. This is just one element that makes this film appear as one that is not well-conceived. The Final Option is not a very integrated or lucid film. The story involves a fanatical (but misguided) anti-nuclear "terroress," and an equally fanatical soldier from a special force called the S.A.S. (Special Air Services). The girl is Frankie Leith (Judy Davis) and the S.A.S. man, Peter Skellen (Lewis Collins), who joins her cause equipped with ulterior motives. Leith is behind the seige of the British Embassy where many influential Americans, including the Secretary of State, are dining. They make im- possible demands which indicate that they are really after massive press coverage, and are also probably out to\ knock off a couple of VIP's if they feel like it. The rescue of these hostages is the only worthwhile episode in the film. It is exciting and efficiently carried out, and includes lots of violence and fierceness that is not for the weak of heart. This film is not for the weak of stomach either, as there are many examples of unnecessary violence. There are graphic views of people get- ting their mouths kicked in, an insult-to- Foreign sounds Translator No Time Like Now Columbia, By Larry Dean S O THERE'S been a big break- through these days - due, in part, to MTV's acceptance of all the "new music" groups out there, waiting to sell, sell, sell. Fine. But that says nothing at all about the quality of the music, which is, for the most part and as ever, pretty low. So much for the latest in ear-candy. However, there are a few groups pounding out some reasonable, en- joyable and intelligent music. Most of 'em are British, but that, too, is a perusual point. With X and Talkfng Heads in the top 20, there's some action worth noting, but one of the best of the new American bands is still being overlooked, and with the release of their second LP, No Time Like Now, Translator have styled a record of such dire importance that it must be made note of. Heartbeats and Triggers, Tran- slator's debut, ,was a stunning aural assault aimed both at the heart and the mind. It neither abandoned emotion for cerebrality, nor focused on politics in so bright a light that everything else was obscured. Heartbeats and Triggers was one of those rare instances where the two meshed together so well that the album and its messages stuck for long enough that the wait between it and its follow-up seemed indeterminate and unbearable. No Time Like Now takes up where Heartbeats left off, then going many steps further. If anything held Tran- slator's debut back from perfection, it was its aggression: while songs like "My Heart, Your Heart" and "Everywhere" were pensive and more- slower-paced than the rest of the songs, they didn't quite balance out the album in the way that the songs on No Time Like Now do. Because Translator are concerned with politics on every level (they have said in interviews that they see bigger social issues as nuclear disarmament as macrocosms for per- sonal relationships), this balance is im- portant, both to the people and to the music. There are no songs like "Sleeping Snakes" on No Time Like Now - with its chorus of Stop this missile building acting as spine and refrain, the message could only be heard too clearly. The politics on No Time Like Now are brought down almost entirely to a personal level, so much so that they can even manage to pull off a schmalt- zy song like "L.A., L.A.," about their chosen base-of-operations. That, and others like it, make up the bulk of this LP, in fact, with most being about people and their relations to each other. "Un-Alone," the opener, talks about a person's need to exist with their own beliefs and self, and to interact with the people around them. It isn't always easy, but the power and intensity of Steven Barton's vocal delivery - and the music - say that it's not only possible to do it, but that it's being done. No Time Like Now is about that - doing things instead of talking about them. No matter what the issue at hand, the first step toward accom- plishing something is acting on it. In Translator's case, their doing is in the songwriting. With two superior songwriters and vocalists at the helm, they get a diver- sity of emotions and methods which meet somewhere in the middle as the Translator sound: dissonance, sharp guitar chords, arpeggios, haunting- back-up vocals, David Scheff's tight. drum playing...it comes at you like an express train, and even when it slows down, you know it can still knock you over. Robert Darlington's "I Hear You Follow" is easily one of the prettiest songs on No Time Like Now, warmed with tasteful tenor sax blown by Romeo Void's Benjamin Bossi. It lilts along but, has a way of really getting under your skin, like the love it talks about does. And speaking of 'the big L,' "I Love You," the closer of side one, is another tune that must be mentioned on the merit of its beauty. It easily rises above the triteness of its title with a message that is simple and boldly enunciated by the band's musicianship. Translator is a quintessential American band. "L.A., L.A." has a "d Translator: Important interpretations faintly country-ish feel to it; "Break Down Barriers" waxes funky; and "No Time Like Now" and "About the Truth" are two rockers based on an American tradition that permeates the music. I don't mean like Styx or Van Halen or any of those lost causes - they're in a world unto themselves - but in the way they talk to their listeners, both verbally and aurally. When Barton bemoans "The End of Their Love" over a slow, dirge-like backing and Steve Berlin's (of the Blasters) soprano sax, the picture you get is more like Andrew Wyeth than Vincent Van Gogh. One would expect the latter considering Translator's jarring, jerky music, but then something simple - like the harmonica in "About the Truth" - jumps in to counterpoint and you're brought back home again. I cannot recommend No Time Like Now enough to anyone. When I first heard it, I ti pointing cor tbeats and Ti time to sink much bigger else I have h( Translator because the anything oth because they such emotior can feel it i name insinua influences, decisions ab selves, chani struments an out in a way people can un The barrie are big...the willfully ask a pinnacle th and that shot The Final Option: An unfortunate alternative scenes he could be reminded that Sean Connery is playing James Bond this fall, not him. He is admittedly good in the action scenes, but his overall per- formance is incoherent. Richard Widmark is very good as the Secretary of State. However, Judy Davis as the female radical does not compare. When the two debate about Join the Daily Arts Staff 0 Conlin Corner of South University and Washtena% 769-9680 Travel c. W Complete Travel Services Airlines " Cruise Lines Hotels " Car Rentals Tours " Eurail Passes Amtrak 30-5:00 ervice Charges 95C a day will buy you a hot dog.. 59C will rent you a Color TV. Eat the hot dog. It's gone. But the TV will give you months of pleasure. Rent for three months or more and get full in-dorm service with free parts and labor No security deposit. Just a minimal f" r 1,'' $1 instalton fee. 13"TV at 59c/day 19"TV at 76c/day VCR at 82C /day Appetizing rates on cameras, too. Call Rentacolor TODAY and get the facts on the best TV deal in town. 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