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ARTS
The Michigan Daily Thursday, October 15, 1987
Page 7
'High' possesses a
fanciful
touch
By Marc Carrel
Three O'Clock High is about a
high school kid who gets into a
fight with the new psychopathic
bully who wants to kill him. So I
figure, "Hey, it must be a John
Hughes film." Nope. Phil Joanou
directed it; his first venture in feature
film directing.
Then I notice the executive-
producer is Aaron Spelling. He was
the man behind those television
"classics," Dynasty, Charlie's
Angels, and The Love Boat, just to
name a few. So it must be a soupy,
sappy, imitation of life.
Nope. Not soupy or sappy.
Instead, Three O'Clock High is
wonderfully directed by Joanou, with
inventive and exciting camera angles
that make a simple scene, like
waking up, funny. The film takes a
fresh approach to the often used
David and Goliath story and is, in all
aspects, an exaggeration of high
school. The Dean of Discipline is
one example. Not only does his
name, Voytek Dolinski, strike fear
but his dour stern look and his clean-
shaven skull make him well suited
to be doling out punishment.
Not only are the characters ex-
aggerated, but so is everything else.
The theme, "strong conquering
weak," takes a heavy handed tone
throughout the film, shadowing the
hours, as the day of Jerry Mitchell
goes by, until finally he must face
the school terror Buddy Revell.
The acting by Casey Siemaszko
as Mitchell is pretty good, and so is
Richard Tyson's portrayal of the
much feared Buddy Revell.
Siemaszko (pronounced sha-mosh-
co) has never starred in a feature film
before, but he has played featured
parts in several movies, such as
Gardens of Stone, and Stand By Me.
Stacey Glick and Anne Ryan also
give nice performances as Jerry's
little sister, Brei, and his zany
girlfriend Franny, who seems to be
on the same wavelength as Shirley
MacLaine.
The plot is exaggerated and really
cannot be taken seriously. But who
said films have to represent life?
Besides, the reason it is so
exaggerated and fanciful can be
explained by one name: Steven
Spielberg.
Joanou, 25, is an alumnus of
Spielberg's television series
Amazing Stories as is Siemaszko,
who starred in an episode of the
show which was directed by
Spielberg. David E. Vogel produced
46 episodes of the television series
and the writers, Richard Christian
Matheson and Thomas Szollosi,
have written scripts forStories. In
addition, several other crew members
are Spielberg disciples.
Joanou and those involved with
Three O'Clock High have learned
much from Spielberg. You can only
watch the film as someone's fancy,
expecting anything to happen at any
time. But "fancy" may not be the
word for Three O'Clock High, which
Joanou described as an "eight hour
nightmare." The young director has
done well in twisting a familiar
story in an unfamiliar way. And
that's no exaggeration.
*,'0 .
4
/"
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Jerry (Casey Siemaszko, left) retreats from menacing high
new movie 'Three O'Clock High.'
school thug, Buddy (Richard Tyson, right) in the
Records
b Rush
Hold Your Fire
Polygram
I can't believe how many people
still classify Rush as a "heavy
metal" band - but then most of
those detractors are trendy, new
music fans who never listened to the
group anyway, and instead dismiss
Rush as vestiges of '70s dinosaur-
rock. Sure, we all remember "Tom
Sawyer" as a favorite of the burnout
set back in junior high.
Unfortunately, even though swirling
new cuts like "Prime Mover" are
(believe me) as danceable as Depeche
Mode, old misconceptions like these
will lead many people to miss out
on a set of pop songs as infectious,
thoughtful, and powerful as those of
pPeter Gabriel or U2.
Over the last seven years this
virtuoso Canadian trio has made one
of the more remarkable evolutions
seen in rock. Slowly but
continuously, Rush's style has
progressed from science-fantasy
story-rockers to a fully modernized
brand of slickly synthesized, hook-
filled four-minute pop numbers. Its
airy, crystalline melodies and
i engaging, forceful rhythms now
bring Gabriel or Tears for Fears to
mind, rather than Led Zeppelin.
On the band's new LP Hold Your
Fire, "Second Nature" addresses the
apathy that paralyizes social progress
("It's hard to take the world the way
that it came/ We're both too busy to
be taking the blame.../ We fight the
fires/ While we're feeding the
flames"), while the ticking threat of
man's "killer instinct" surges
through "Force Ten" and "Lock and
Key." "Mission" celebrates the
inspiration of great artists and
visionaries ("I. wish I had their
instinct").
w Singer Geddy Lee's sublime
keyboard figures and gymnastic bass-
lines, fleshed out by guitarist Alex
Lifeson's nimble jangling and wide-
screen chords, create a rarefied,
dramatic sense of time and space for
Peart's themes of subconscious
influences. This is demonstrated in
the lovely "Tai Shan," the ethereal
"Time Stand Still," and the
subliminal "High Water."
As "Turn the Page" declares,
"Everyday we're standing in a time
capsule/ Racing down a river from
the past/... in a wind tunnel/ Facing
down a future coming fast." Hold
Your Fire, however, suggests that
this unique rock band is doing no
looking back.
-Michael Fischer
Helloween
Keeper of the Seven Keys
Part I
RCA Records
Keeper... is the first US release
for Helloween, another Euro-metal
band looking to break into the Great
American Metal Music Market.
The Scorpions (Germany),
Yngwie Malmsteen (Sweden), TNT
(Norway), and Europe (Sweden) have
all broken big on the American
shores, and Helloween is trying to
follow in their footsteps. But the
boys in the band don't want to step
on anyone's toes, and so they play it
safe by sticking to the Euro-metal
formula: classically-influenced guitar
solos; goose-stepping Teutonic
rhythms; and lots of mystic lyrics
about possible futures or the distant
past. Oh yeah, and make sure the
singer sings in English.
, TANNING SALON
' D 995-8600$
w/ad Expires 11/157
Playing it safe, however, is a
dangerous practice in metal, since it
takes the spirit out of the music and
there's nothing worse than lame
metal music (Ok, maybe REO
Speedwagon or Journey). Do
yourself a favor: skip this album and,
buy something with some vitality,
like the new Metallica EP.
-Chuck Skarsaune
Lucia Hwong
Secret Luminescence
Azuma
Azuma
Private Music
These two albums are extremely
similar, the only notable difference
being that Lucia Hwong sometimes
moans and coos over her music, as
opposed to the strictly instrumental
music of Azuma. Aside from this,
the albums are so alike they could
have been by the same musicians.
And yet, in some special way, they
each retain their individuality.
The music itself lacks nothing.
At different times it is soothing,
exciting, and daring, but alwgays
beautiful. Azuma and Hwong are
both reknowned in Japan for their
musical contributions to the world
of film through their soundtracks,
but these LPs are anything but
background music. The artists
combine both instruments of ancient
Japan, such as the oriental string
harp, and modern synthesizers and
electric guitars. Hwong occasionally
utilizes the piano, but usually
remains within the boundaries of
synth and strings.
The best cut among the two
albums "Poetry and Passion," off
Secret Luminescence..Its foundation
is constructed of everything from
bells to saxophone, and it is one of.
the few tracks Lucia actually
"sings." At some points it could be
compared to the Cocteau Twins, but
when looking at the album as a
whole, any solid comparison seems
silly.' -Robert Flaggert
THE OFFICE OF MAJOR EVENTS PRESENTS
0-rl 0 x u u l N
II
The University of Michigan
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Recital Postponed
"The Early Romantic Piano and Its Music," the
dedication recital for the School's newly acquired
19th-century fortepiano, scheduled for Thursday,
October 15 at 8:00 PM in the Recital Hall, has
been postponed. The recital will now take place
on Thursday, December 3.
FRPEE
SAT. NOV. 14, 1987 8:00 P.M.
HILL AUDITORIUM
CHARGE BY PHONE 763-TKTS
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE MICHIGAN UNION
TICKET OFFICE AND ALL OUTLETS.
.$
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WITH COUPON
FREE RETAIL PRODUCT
With Any Perm
1 Perms $34
1 FREE Retail Product Valued up to $7.95
Expires 11-15-87 - #71072 HAIR
Not valid with any other coupon or offer EXPRESS 1
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