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Tuesday, February 25, 1992
Lifestyles
The Battalion
Pages
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n 846-2225
Movie Review
'Radio Flyer' blends harsh reality, childish imagination
by Timm Doolen
The Battalion
"Radio Flyer"
Starring: Elijah Wood and
Jospeh Mazzello
Directed by Richard Donner
Rated PG-13
Playing at Poast OaR Three
What would you do if you
were 6 or 7 years’^ old and your
stepfather beat you? Or possibly
worse, what if you had to stand
by and watch your younger
brother be abused while you re
mained unharmed?
That's the main issue in "Ra
dio Flyer/' a children's movie
which blends a bit of fantasy
into the harsh reality of parental
abuse.
What could the two children
in the movie, Mike and Bobby
(Elijah Wood and Jospeh Mazel-
lo) do? After all, they know their
mother (Lorraine Bracco) is hav
ing the happiest time of her life
with her new husband, and the
children would rather suffer
through occasional beatings than
destroy their mother's happi
ness.
The problem seems to take
care of itself when the stepfather
is found out and has to go to jail.
But all too quickly afterward, he
is released from jail and re-ac
cepted by the mother.
Although mom promises
things will change, the boys
know it's just a matter of time
before their stepfather gets
drunk and starts the attacks
again.
Bobby, who is the recipient
of the beatings, has only one
choice - he must escape. And the
two boys can only think of one
way to do it, he must fly away.
So in their backyard, the two
boys build a flying machine
Brothers Mike and Bobby (Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello) enjoy time with their trusted companion Shane. Their
generally ideal childhood is occasionally interrupted by spouts of abuse from their stepfather.
around the oase of a Radio Flyer
red wagon, and take their con
traption to the top of a hill to see
if it will work.
The story is told in flashback
by the older Mike (Tom Hanks),
who is relating the story to his
two sons. He warns the boys and
the audience, "History is
in the mind of the teller."
Armed with that
g hrase, director Richard
•onner asks the audience
to suspend its disbelief
for about two hours and
thinking animals can talk, never
survive puberty and can only be
acted upon by pre-teens.
The end result is a mixed
movie that appeals to both the
adult and child elements in ail of
us. It often does not work be
“Radio Flyer” is the kind of movie
that reviewers would normally say,
“Take your kids to see it.”
just live the fantasy. He asks us
to remember what it was like to
be a child and believe that,
among other things, people real
ly could fly. The older Mike says
these childhood beliefs, such as
cause we ore too old to suspend
that disbelief, while children in
the audience can probably iden
tify with the characters better
first-hand.
"Radio Flyer" is the kind of
movie that reviewers would nor
mally say, "Take your kids to see
it." But as few college-age stu
dents have children, it's proba
bly better to recommend it for a
younger (much younger) broth
er or sister.
The message is fairly simple,
the story takes too
long to' get going
(they could have
trimmed about 15 to
20 minutes out easi
ly), and there are of
ten times when you.
find yourself saying, "Yeah,
right." But if you're one of those
people who not only can sus
pend your disbelief in such
movies, but can even enjoy it,
"Radio Flyer" is for you.
Music Review
Lush's sophomore effort
clears away guitar haze
By Kevin Robinson
The Battalion
Lush
"Spooky"
4AD/ Reprise
The new Lush release
"Spooky" was something I had
been looking forward to for a long
time. The band's first American
release, "Gala," was a compilation
of several maxi-singles that the
group had released in their native
U.K. "Gala" showed promise, but
the style of the album varied
tremendously. The album pro
gressed from a Jesus and Mary
Chain feedback approach on the
earliest material , to an ethereal
style, keeping with the
gothic/new age style of the
band's label 4AD.
While the album was interest
ing, I decided to wait until Lush
produced a full album's worth of
material before making any kind
of judgment. "Spooky" was well
worth the wait. The potential that
the band showed on their previ
ous work has paid off in an album
that remains true to the group's
established style, but isn't afraid
to refine an already good thing.
The band will be the first to
say they wear their influences on
their collective sleeves. Admitted
ly, these influences don't reach
back much further than mid
eighties British alternative pop.
However, even on the early sin
gles it's evident that Lush is doing
something different with styles
that others are only imitating.
With "Spooky," Lush has ex
ceeded the promise they showed
on the previous EPs. There are
still people who consider Lush
just a Cocteau Twins ripoff, but
"Spooky" should open their eyes.
It's true that both are remarkably
similar in their composition and
the music of both bands uses fe
male vocals over a wash of highly
produced guitar sound. But while
the Cocteaus remain pleasant.
Lush adds a dark side that still
manages to preserve a pop sound.
It's this pop sound that sets
Lush apart from most of the other
bands on 4AD. The emphasis on
pop is especially evident on the
new album. The band retains the
same attitude that marked their
previous work, but the songs are
much more accessible than before.
Part of this is due to Steve Rip-
pon and Chris Acland, whose bass
and percussion sections add a
tightness that was simply missing
before. On songs such as "Laura,"
the sound of a fourpiece band
manages to slice through some of
the guitar noise, and the opening
moments of the track provide a
surprisingly clear bassline that
keeps the band from getting lost
in their own sonic soup.
Unlike the previous EPs, Lush
now uses this snappier bass and
forceful drum section to give each
song structure. One of the biggest
faults of the group's early material
was the tendency to produce
tracks that were more collages of
hazy distortion than actual songs.
This still happens occasionally on
the new album, on songs like
"Tiny Smiles" and "For Love."
With the edition of their new
found cohesiveness, however, the
tracks on "Spooky" show a song
writing talent that's progressed
quite a bit from earlier work.
Time will tell whether Lush
can improve their music. Judging
by the improvements made on
"Spooky," if the band continues to
experiment and refine their songs,
the albums can only get better. I'll
be eagerly awaiting the next re
lease to find out.
Music Review
Tall Stories' single not representative of album
By Chris Eklof
The Battalion
Tall Stories
"Tall Stories"
Epic
"Wild On The Run," the first release
off of Tall Stories' self-titled debut album,
jumped onto the rock charts and dis
played a lot of promise for the album. Un
fortunately, "Tall Stories" falls short of
those lofty expectations with an overall
disappointing album.
"Wild On The Run" is full of spirit, en
ergy and powerful vocals. Lead singer
Steve Augeri rips through the song, blurt
ing out the words and kicking the song
into gear. The guitar of Jack Morer fills in
the gaps and provides an admirable solo.
I could not wait to hear the rest of the
album after hearing that song on the radio
several times. But, it was downhill from
the moment I had the entire album in my
hand.
The rest of the album is full of songs
that lack the energy and drive of "Wild
On The Run." They are all sleepy, boring
songs that are overproduced and do not
create any sparks.
These are not bad songs, but they are
instantly forgettable songs. The music is
nothing spectacular, it is all pretty stan
dard fare. The choruses of "Chain of
Love" and "Stay With Me" are the only
pieces of the album that are memorable
enough to stick in my head.
The band members are all adequate
musicians, but once again their perfor
mances are not earth-shattering. Augeri's
vocals are the only standout part of the al
bum. His strong voice shines through on
every song, whether it be a ballad or a
faster rock song.
The Tall Stories lineup is completed
with Kevin Totoian on bass and Tom De-
Faria on drums to fill the basic four-piece
singer, guitar, bass and drums band. Tom
Mandel adds to the band when he steps in
and plays keyboards on three songs.
The constant theme throughout the al
bum is love and trying to get back to old
loves. "Chain of Love," "Crawling Back,"
"Stay With Me," "Somewhere She Waits"
and "Close Your Eyes" are just some of
the examples of the sugary-sweet songs
and lyrics that the band has written. Nine
straight songs like that are a little too
much to have shoved down your throat at
once.
"Tall Stories" was a real letdown. It
just goes to show that one song does not
make an album, nor is it characteristic of
the rest of the album. That is the case
here. "Wild On The Run" is a good song,
but the album "Tall Stories" is pretty
lame. Forget the album and just buy the
single.
XYZ
"Hungry"
Capitol
"Face Down In The Gutter" may be
the first song on "Hungry," but it is not
where the new album by XYZ should end
up. "Hungry" is good enough to be al
lowed to sit on the sidewalk and it might
even be good enough to walk tall down
the middle of the street.
XYZ has put together an album that,
although not ground-breaking by any
means, still fills a certain niche in the met
al world. "Hungry" is standard heavy
metal that leans towards the lighter side of
the genre.
See XYZ/Page 6
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ENGINEER’S WEEK ’92
"Mardi Qras" theme
March 2-7
Schedule of events and sign-up
booth in Zachry lobby Feb. 20 thru
March 3
1
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764-8292
2402 C Texas Avenue
(Kroger Center)
College Station
Great food at reasonable prlces-We guarantee it!!!
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$ 2.99
Lunch Specials
Dinner Specials
$ 3.45
Lunch Buffet $ 3.99
Dinner Buffet $ 4.75
Full menu also available. Take out orders welcome.
Beer & wine served.
Sun. - Fri. 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Everyday 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm