eae Other Press June 8, 1994 Renaissance Flop by ehise Walker Renaissance Man is about Bill Rago, played by Danny DeVito. He gets fired from his job as an ad executive. He applies for unemployment insurance, and they find him a job. Not just any job, but one teaching the Double D ("Dumb as Dogshit") kids in the army. “I've never taught before, and you've never thought before.”, he says. "Funny, you say. Ah, well, it's the way he says it... This is where the movie starts. After along turn he says it... of events, DeVito gets his students involved in Shakespeare. Through this great playwright, the Dou- ble D's learn about life, and how to solve some of life's problems. I’m not sure how. It doesn’t matter though, because the students do end up with a higher self esteem. ; Although a very predictable and or- dinary movie, I found Renaissance Man nice. Yes, that’s right. I said nice. I liked the way both students and teacher bonded. Okay, it's cheesy, but when was the last time you saw any kind of teach- ers and students bond? If you're planning to see it, wait un- til it comes to the $2 theatre. With a bad script and average acting, this movie is sure to be there soon. The Beatles. Yeah, Yeah, ...NOT! The lives and times of yet another non-Moptop By Denise Walker Well, what can I say about Back Beat? It's a twisted tale of a love trian- gle between John Lennon, played by Ian Hart, Stewart Sutcliffe, played by Stephen Dorff, and Astrid Kirchherr, played by Sheryl Lee of Twin Peaks fame. This true life tale begins in England with the “Fab Five” leaving for Ger- many, to embark on their dream of making it big in the music industry. Instead, after a short time in Hamburg, they find themselves getting tired of the club scene, and each other. It is in Hamburg that Sutcliffe meets Kirchherr. Sutcliffe becomes torn be- tween his friendship with Lennon, and his love for Kirchherr. Lennon, becomes jealous of the relationship, which sparks problems between the three of them, and the story unfolds from there. I was disappointed, however, that di- rector Jain Softley chose to focus mainly on the band, and not Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe played a major role in the future of the Beatles, with his relationship with Kirchherr. I don’t think enough empha- sis was placed on this aspect, which I think would have made this film much more interesting. Black Dog Billiard Cafe 983 Carnarvon Street New Westminster B.C. V3M 162 (604) 524-2499 New Westminster's First Billiard Cafe! A great place for coffee, pool, and a whole lot more... Open early ‘til late, 7 days a week RE SUG Sa Maverick is a Movie Lethal Weapon team wastes Foster's, and my, time By Jason Kurylo Most of you will probably like Maverick. Here’s what] didn’t like about it. First of all, Maverick tries to be like other movies and shows, but never quite gains its own identity. One 7-minute action sequence is lifted, almost frame for frame, directly from Raiders of the Lost Ark, with a horse-drawn carriage substituted for the Nazi truck. Secondly, Jodie Foster is wasted in this film. Her character is limited to smiling, real purty-like, and supplying the obligatory cleavage shot every ten minutes. Oh, I’m sorry, she also gets to say, “How dare you...,” whenever Mel Gibson or James Garner say something with a double entendre. Foster is one of the best actresses in film today; she should be given roles worthy of her talent. Hell, Tori Spelling could have carried off this role. Thirdly, Garner can’t act. Fourthly, the movie is way too long. The best laugh comes at the half-hour mark, and I've been using the How-sore-is-your- Fn” : butt Scale for years, and Maverick is about an eight outta ten in the “Ants in Your Pants” department. A few unbilled guest shots make this Lethal-Weapon-As-A-Western bearable --barely --, but to quote one of them, “I’m getting too old for this shit.” James Garner (right) and Jodie Foster earn big dollars to be just average in the huge- budget, huge-ego, hugely- popular _ Maverick. Kevin Costner stars in the upcoming summer flick, (Yawn) Wyatt Earp o Tri-College Art Exhibit, A group exhibit of student works from Capilano, Kwantlen, and Langara Colleges, at the Amelia Doug- las Gallery, June 3 - July 16. Community Arts Council of Vancouver (837 Davie Street): June 7-25: Asuman & Atanar Dogan - Watercolours, and Noreen Hansen - Passus. Theatre Sports at the Back Alley Theatre (Thurlow & Robson, Downtown Vcr): Sundays and Mondays: Rookie Night. Tuesdays: Times of Your Life. Wednesdays: Star Trick - The Search For Spork. Thurs- days: Scared Scriptless. Fridays and Satur- days, 9 pm & 11 pm: TheatreSports. Sat- urdays, 7 pm: §$7 _ show. SPECIAL TEN-DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE LEASE BEING UP!!! June 24: Date- With-An-Improvisor Auction. June 25: Back Alley Garage Sale. June 26: Back Al- ley Bash.. June 27: (at Commodore Lanes) Bowling Benefit and Pool Party. June 28: The Final Times of Your Life. June 29: Star Trick -The Final Frontier. June 30: All-Star Scared Scriptless. July 1: Pay-What-You- Canada Day matinee. July 2:The first-ever, last chance, all-out, non-stop one and only Canada Day Weekend 24 Hour Improvathon, concluding on July 3: TheatreSports... The Final Hour, followed by The Back Alley Wrap Party. Arts Club Theatre (Granville Island): Mainstage: until June 11: Marivn’s Room. June 16 - July 16: Dancing at Lughnasa. July 27 - September: The Wild Guys, star- ring Jackson Davies. Arts Club Revue: un- til July 16: World’s Greatest Guy, starring Shawn Macdonald. June 23, 8:30 pm: 100th performance celebration of World’s Greatest Guy. July 19 - September 3: 10th Anniversary of Ain’t Misbehavin’. /pco Kazue Mizushima: Combining aspects of sound, sculpture, installation, and perform- ance work, composer/performer Kazue Mizushima creates extraordinary musical and visual experiences. Information: 876- 9343. Vancouver Western Front, (303 E. 8th Avenue) July 2. Side By Side By Sondheim: A play at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre (4360 GallantAve., N. Van), July 6 - 23. Information, reserva- tions: 929-9456. Surrey Arts Centre (13750 - 88th Avenue): June 6-9: R&S School of Dance Recital. June 10-12: Rori’s Dance Academy Recital. June 10-July 24: Central Fraser Valley Graphic Guild exhibition. June 12: Nature Crafts Family Workshop. June 14: Surrey Society for Performing Arts Recital. June 16-19: McBride School of Dance Recital. June 18- July 17: Arts‘94Arts Council of Surrey Juried Art Show. June 19-September 18 (Sundays only): Art In The Park. June 21-24: Dance West Recital. June 25-26: 1321 Dance and Exercise Company Recital. June 28: Symme- try Dance Studio Celebration ‘94. Vancouver Folk Music Festival: July 15-17 at Jericho Beach Park: Austin Lounge Liz- ards, Black Umfolosi, Bob Bossin, Boukan Ginen, Wild Child Butler, Craobh Rua, D’Gary, Derivative Duo, Ani DiFranco with Andy Stochansky, Danny Dill, Tammy Fassaert, Mo Field, The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, Roy Forbes, Paul Geremia, Tami Greer, Guitar Gabriel, Wayne Henderson & Helen White, Veda Hille, Si Khan, Irshad Khan, Kin Lalat, Die Knédel, John Koerner, Les Freres Labri, Penny Lang, Eddie Lawrence, Mara!, Simon Mayor & Hilary James, The Robert Minden Ensem- ble, Pamela Morgan, Morin Khuur, Peter Ostroushko & Dean Magraw, Mark Perry, Plankerdown Band, Psychograss, Punjabi By Nature, Q’JomTze, Quartette, Rawlins Cross, The John Reischman Group, Peter Rowan & ming STUFF The Rowan Brothers, Roots Punta Rock, Rumillajta, Claudia Schmidt, Toronto Tabla Ensemble, Uzume Taiko Ensemble, Peter Paul Van Camp, Wapistan (Lawrence Mar- tin), Michael Wex, The Whiteley Brothers, Takeo Yamashiro, Radim Zenki. Informa- tion, 879-2931, Vancouver Opera (Playhouse Theatre): June 11-22:The Architect. BC Country Music Association Confer- ence: June 17-19 at Sheraton Inn Guild- ford in Surrey. Includes the BCCMA Talent Search Finals and tons of events, seminars, and displays. Information, 687-0176. The Fabulous Commodore (870 Granville Mall): June 9: Demolisten Derby. June 10- 11: Spirit of the West, The Real McKenzies. June 18: 54-40 (licensed show). July 10: David Lee Roth. June 19: 54-40 (all ages show). June 23: Desmond Dekker & The Aces. June 24: Ronny Jordan, Medeski, Martin & Wood. June 25: Delbert McClinton, Russell Jackson. July 20: The JJ. Cale Band. Tuesdays:7 0's Disco Night. Howden Ballroom (1313 Granville St.): June 17: Pure, Sex With Nixon, Pull. Lotsa stuff at the Railway Club (579 Dunsmuir Street): June 8-9: The Grabby Oaks Group. June 10-11: Peter Honeycrunch &The Zealots. June 12: Brit- ish TV Comedy. June 13: Atomic Improv. June 14:The Diggers. June 15: Linda Kid- der & Bruce Miller. June 16-18: Sweet Dick June 19: Freaks Night. June 20: Reading Railroad, featuring t.b.a. June 21: Matthew Good. June 22: Active Pass. June 23-25: Carmaig DeForest. June 26: Mon- sters From the 50's. June 27: Escape Goats.