Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 51

PanoramaEntertainment Asbury Park May 22, 1 985 B7 ambo's' violence pummels audience TIM' KM. 4f Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna, First Blood Part II," Stallone's sequel winner who can't handle real life any- more. "At least I know where I stand in here Rambo savs nere Kamoo says. A But Rambo too dedicated to his country and the POWs to bow out of this match. "Sir, do we get to win this time?" Rambo asks.

"It's up to you," Traut- 'V-yp--' X.V left) offers Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) a chance for freedom in "Rambo: to the hit film "First Blood." The movies opens today at area theaters. man says. Jones," and the inconsistencies don't Crenna loolcs pained probably be- matter- Rambo shoots UP Russians cause of the lines. (wh look and sound like Germans) -r w. a and mows down Vietnamese (who look Trautman has hit a nerve and and dress like World War Japanese) Rambo comes out fighting.

in his oneman-band questfor the pris- Director George P. Cosmatos takes oners. He gets bashed around, too. a jdea and jt senseless. Rambo survives so much abuse he For awhile, "Rambo" moves at a fu- makes Rocky Balboa look like a light- rious, entertaining pace like "Indiana weight.

But "Rambo" takes a dive film surprise winner ijb at Cannes Perhaps the most controversial selection was that of the young French director Andre Pechine, who won the directing award for his contemporary romance "Rendez-vous." The film was poorly received during both its press screening and its official festival screening, and Pechine's award was seen Monday night as the jury's attempt to give something to somebody from France. "Mishima's" contingent had been hoping for one of the major awards, and the "Colonel Redl" people had hoped to see Klaus Maria Brandauer take home the best-actor award. But there were no major losers in Monday night's ceremonies, with all of the most enthusiastically received films coming away with something. At the official winners' news conference after the ceremony (a gathering that Yugoslav director Kusturica inexplicably did not attend), most of the questions were directed at Cher and alluded to her ongoing feud with "Mask" director Bogdanovich. Wasn't there someone else she'd like to thank besides her mother? Well, yes, of course, Cher responded.

"I 1 would like very much to thank the woman who wrote the script (Anna Hamilton Phelan), because she had me in mind for the role from the very beginning. And I'd like to thank Robert Altman, who is the only person in Hollywood, the only director in Hollywood, who would give me a job as an actress." Altman had cast Cher in her first major dramatic role in "Come Back to the 5 Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean." When one questioner asked Cher, nastily, if perhaps she was under the impression that her mother had directed the picture, the actress flushed and said, "I think you must know that my mother did not direct the movie unless you're She paused and seemed to try to control her anger. "I don't think I have to dignify your question with an answer." All those on the dais, including winners, presenters and various luminaries, were asked if they thought it was excessive for a festival with only 20 competing entries to give so many prizes. They all stared at the carpet, cleared their throats and looked around for someone else to answer. Finally, from the back, Tony Curtis grabbed the microphone.

"Everyone who works in films deserves a prize," he said. VCRs Andy WICKSTROM Easy way not alwavs the best Hooking a VCR to cable-television service is a matter of so many solutions and exceptions to solutions that the viewer should observe but one rule stick with what works for you. Here's a useful but imperfect variation from a reader. See if you can detect the flaws. read with some amusement your article recommending a $169.

95 solution (the CableMaster programmer) to what amounts to a nonexistent problem. Recording multiple channels from a cable with a VCR 's tuner is a matter of simply reversing the normal signal flow. I connect the cable directly to the VCR, then to the converter. I then use the VCR's tuner to select the cable channels I want to record. The VCR does not have to be "cable ready" either.

I believe that all VCR's have the capability to assign any VHF, UHF or CA TV channel to a given channel position on the VCR's tuner, although you may be limited to II or so channels at any one time. At any rate, I know of no timer that has more than 10 events. The output of the VCR is then fed to the cable converter, and the TV's tuner left on Channel 2. Channel 3 on my cable box is vacant, so I assign the output of my VCR to Channel 3, and select it on the box when I want to see the output of the VCR. I can then select channels with the wireless remote that came with the VCR.

If I want to watch a channel that I have not assigned to the VCR 's tuner, I put the "TVVTR" switch on TV and I select the cable channels the normal manner. I have used this method on my $800 hi-fi VCR and on my parents'. $300 nfodel, so I'm fairly sure this mthss1 ic iinixareoth anniV4h( It9c certainly easier and cheaper that dealing with $1 70 infrared accessories. This may come as a surprise but I'm all in favor of easy and cheap. Further, I did not consider my item on the CableMaster a "recommendation" to spend $170 but rather an informational service for the video consumer.

I have written previously about the wiring setup you describe (and used it myself to connect a friend's VCR to cable TV) but many readers may have missed it. In any case, it will always be a fresh topic for new cable subscribers. This configuration works like a charm, but it presupposes two important elements: lack of interest in taping a scrambled premium channel and the ability of a VCR to tune in cable channels. Part of the job of the cable company's box is to decode any pay channels transmitted in scrambled form. Therefore a pay signal fed first to the VCR means the recorder will pick up mush instead of movies, although such a channel would be viewable "live" on the TV screen thanks to the decoder.

This is a sacrifice I believe few VCR owners would embrace. As for tuning in cable channels, the problem appears "nonexistent" partly because your costly hi-fi VCR almost certainly is cable-capable to a very sophisticated degree. However, you do raise a little-appreciated point regarding the cheaper unit: Depending on a happy coincidence of the right tuner and the right cable system, a VCR that is presumably not cable- ready can still tune in some cable Why? Several factors come into play. The most rudimentary cable companies use the same standard VHF frequencies available over the air, which any tuner can receive. They merely use more of them, and they may reassign the channel designations to suit their own needs.

When a cable company wants to -expand its offerings further, it uses the "empty spaces" between normal channels, and it is conceivable that a VCR with electronic presets (varactor luning, characterized by thumbwheels or another type of adjustment) could access them. For example, a commonly used empty space is the "midband" between channels 6 and 7. The nine channels located there are designated A to I or sometimes 14 to 22. Things get trickier with the newer, larger cable systems, which may use the superband and hyperband between and UHF for greatly expanded programming. But if I were a subscriber on a small system and wanted to restore programmability to my budget VCR, I'd start exploring the midband to see what might turn up without benefit of the company's "converter.

when the plot thickens. The rescue mission, headed by Mur-dock (Charles Napier), is a sham to satisfy the American public. It's cooked up by congressmen who don't want prisoners rescued because Vietnam would demand a heavyweight ransom and the POWs would stir things up back home. They'd get the public panting for vengeance, Murdock says, and that would lead to Vietnam War Round H. That's all Rambo has to hear.

Stallone puts on his ring face and springs into action, tracking down the prisoners and KO'ing Murdock. The plot twist is just an excuse for Rambo to shoot everything that moves in the name of bummed-out Vietnam vets. It's also a way of saying all bureaucrats are crooked, and ruining our country because they don't give a damn about people. "Rambo" should have stuck with mindless action; at least that was entertaining. When Stallone's screenplay (with James Cameron) turns high and mighty it calls attention to his laughable performance.

In his big speech at the end, Stallone grasps for emotion but there's no punch and a lot of schmaltz. Stallone's Rambo is more like a comic strip character than a man looking for vindication. A convincing Rocky, Stallone should concentrate on womping on the Apollo Creeds and Clubber Langes of the world instead of defenseless audiences. Rated R. tonight THEATER Dam Site Dinner Theatre "Who Goes Bare," 6:30 p.m.

dinner, 8:30 p.m. show; 1213 Sycamore Tinton Falls. George Street Playhouse "True West," 8 p.m.; 9 Livingston New Brunswick. The Homestead "The Age of Elegance," a musical review of broadway shows; 7 p.m. dinner, 9 p.m.

show; $30; Allaire Road, Spring Lake Heights. AUDITIONS For the Spring Lake Summer Player production of "Annie," at 7:30 p.m. for adult roles, at Spring Lake Community House Theatre, Third and Madison avenues, Spring Lake. Candidates should prepare a song (not from the show) and wear comfortable clothes. An accompanist will be provided.

ATLANTIC CITY Atlantis Casino Hotel Cabaret: Charlie Prose Show, 2, 4, and 6 p.m.; 2500 Boardwalk. Bally's Park Place Casino Hotel Park Cabaret: "An Evening at La Cage" revue featuring impersonations of famous entertainers, 7:30 and 10:15 p.m.; $14 and $17; Upstairs in the Park: Tony Stumpo; Park Place and Boardwalk. Caesar Hotel Casino Circus Maximus Theatre: Legends in Concert; $10; Arkansas Avenue and Boardwalk. Claridge Hotel And Casino Palace Theatre: "Bells Are featuring Joe Namath, 8 p.m.; $20 dinner and show, $14.50 show only; Bombay Lounge; Sooy Swing Band; Indiana Avenue and Boardwalk. Golden Nugget Hotel Casino Steve's: Billy Fellows, Kay Stevens; Boston and Pacific Avenues.

Harrah's Marina Atrium Lounge: Joanne Samson, Phillips Brothers, Pizazz, Tripps, Frank Marchant; Bay Cabaret: Florida, Rocco Sisters, Susie Goldstein, Tony Tillman, Valerie Marini; Brigantine Boulevard. Resorts International Casino Carousal Cabaret: "Wild," 7 and 9 p.m.; $10; Rendezvous Lounge: Europa, BLT, -Apple Band, Sam Butera the Wildest; Le Palais: Harold Sandler, Louis Maymon; North Carolina Avenue and Boardwalk. Troplcana Hotel Casino PHD Club: various comedians, 9 p.m.; Wild Swan Lounge: Charlie Brown and Yvonne; Iowa Avenue and Boardwalk. 774-0878 Movie Review By ELEANOR O'SULLIVAN Press Movie Writer Sylvester Stallone gets a going-over in "Ram-bo: First Blood Part II" but it's nothing compared to the beating the audience takes. Mountains, mud, mutilation and mortars can't keep "Rambo" down, but a heavyhanded plot, unrelenting violence and a screeching soundtrack deliver pummeling blows to viewers.

Stallone, who shows warmth and humor in his "Rocky" flicks, looks sedated as Vietnam vet John Rambo. His mouth appears wired and there's an empty look in his eyes, except in a scene with Julia Nickson as Vietnamese guerilla Co. The best Rambo can muster are a few grunts and sniffs to show he's mad. Maybe this is Stallone's way of acting driven but it's enough to make you surrender. In this sequel to "First Blood," Rambo's busting boulders in prison as the movie opens.

His former Green Beret commanding officer, Trautman, (Richard Crenna) asks Rambo to help rescue prisoners of war in Vietnam. Although the mercenary pay is good and it means freedom, Rambo's not sure. He's burned out and turned off because of the way Vietnam vets have been treated. He's a Medal of Honor Yugoslav By RICK LYMAN Knight-Ridder Newspapers CANNES, France This rain-drenched Riviera resort's 38th International Film Festival finally called it quits Monday night The gala closing-night ceremony in the Grand Auditorium Lumiere, broadcast live all over Europe, included a screening of John Boorman's "The Emerald Forest" and enough awards to satisfy just about everybody. On a barren stage artfully littered with the paraphernalia of moviemaking, a parade of European stars, including Virna Lisi, Valerie Kaprisky and Sophie Marceau, was called from the wings to dispense the honors.

The surprise winner of the festival's highest honor, the Palme d'Or, was Yugoslav director Emire Kusturica's "Otac Na Sluzbenom Putu," which has been translated as both "Father Is on a Business Trip" and "When Father Was Away on Business." Kusturica's lyrical, melancholy fable tells, through the eyes of a 6-year-old boy, his nation's decade of social upheaval in the '50s, when those suspected of espousing the Stalinist line were sent away to work camps. The boy's father is sent to such a camp, and the title of the film is drawn from the stories the boy is told about his father's absence. Kusturica, a 29-year-old Serb with a background in television, is not widely known in America, but he is considered among the leading lights in Yugoslavia's so-called "young new wave." His film "Do You Remember Dolly BellT' won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1981. None of the films that were considered the likeliest contenders for the Palme (Paul Schroder's "Mishima," Istvan Szabo's "Colonel Redl" and Hector Babenco's "Kiss of the Spider were sent away empty-handed. "Mishima," an American entry, won a special jury prize for the artistic contributions of composer Philip Glass, art director Eiko Ishioka and cinematographer John Bailey.

"Colonel Redl," from Hungary, won an unspecified jury prize, and "Spider Woman," from Brazil, took the best-actor award for William Hurt's portrayal of a homosexual inmate of a South American jail who amuses himself by dreaming up movie plots. The best-actress honor was shared Italian festival June 8 Press Staff Report HOLMDEL TOWNSHIP Fiesta Italiana, the ISth annual Italian festival, will be held June 8 at the Garden State Arts Center. Original plans were to hold a two-day festival. But insufficient advance sales forced cancellation of the June 9 festival. People who have tickets for the June 9 festival will receive refunds.

Plans for June 8 include exhibits, food and a bocce tournament. Mass will be celebrated at 5 p.m. on the Arts Center's plaza. Highlights of the evening show will be performances by Enzo Stuarti, his son, Larry Stuart, and comedian Kaye Ballard. Tickets for the June 8 performance are available for $9 and $7.50.

They are available from Italian Festival, Box 300, Holmdel Township, 07733. lilIIWIIllll.Hl Argentinian actress Norma Aleandro (left) and American star Cher were jointly awarded the prize for best actress at the 38th Cannes Film Festival, which ended Monday night. Cher was honored for "Mask" and Miss Aleandro for "L'Historia Official." by two actresses who were considered favorites for the prize: Cher, for playing the mother of a deformed teenager in Peter Bogdanovich's "Mask," and Norma Aleandro, for playing a politically naive schoolteacher in Luis Puen-zo's "La Historia Oficial (The Official Version)," an Argentine entry. The festival jury, headed by "Am-adeus" director Milos Forman, also gave a special Grand Prix Award to Alan Parker's "Birdy." The Grand Prix is second only to the Palme d'Or, making "Birdy," in effect, the runner-up for the festival's top honor. The biggest round of applause of the evening came with the introduction of James Stewart, who was celebrating his 77th birthday Monday.

Stewart had been scheduled to award the Palme d'Or but was summoned to the stage Associated Press early and given a lifetime-achievement award. It was also Cher's birthday, her 39th, and she alluded to it in her brief acceptance remarks, saying she wanted to thank her mother "for having the good sense to have me on May 20 so tonight I could get the best birthday present of my life." In many past years, the winner of the Palme d'Or has been a compromise choice between factions on the jury. The most recent example was two years ago when the Japanese film "Ballad of Narayama" came from nowhere to win the prize. So Forman made a point of stressing during the ceremony Monday night that the Yugoslav film had been chosen unanimously by the jury, the only one of the evening's selections to be unanimous. 1ST RUN MOVIES SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT RELIGIOUS SHOWS ADULT MOVIES YOUR OWN SYSTEM OVER 130 CHANNELS ALL OVER THE WORLD is Also Available you can watch every cable channel "PirK TIKC PLIERS" PRESENT a Comedy, by George Furth, directed by Don Ball SATELLITE TV IT'S LEGAL! REAGAN SIGNS LAW The Telecommunications Act that the President signed into law makes it clear that it is not illegal for owners of such antennas to view satellite programs Intended for cable distribution or broadcast services as long as the signal is not used for "private financial S0PPO91K CT As Little As S33 z.

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37, TOMS RIVER, N.J. 011753 3LDMISSI09VT CITIZEN UAndy Wickstrom is a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. His column appears Wednesdays. V'.