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Page 8-The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, October 23,1991
Killer has
humor
andgore
galore
The Killer
dir: John Woo
by. Rosanne Freed
L ooking out at the Hong Kong
skyline, two hitmen reminisce about
the good old days, when criminals
stuck by their friends and played by
the rules. "Nostalgia is one of our
saving graces," says Jeff (Chow
Yun-Fat), the soulful, existential
hero of The Killer. A frantic
Chinese action-adventure-buddy-me-
lodrama, The Killer brazenly
flaunts its morality while racking
up a body count higher than some
small-scale wars.
Jeff is the consummate killer
with a conscience. On the run from
the cops and a double-crossing gang-
land client, the hitman leaves his
calling card of bullet-riddled
corpses and blazing car infernos
throughout the metropolis. But he's
also burdened with remorse over
Jenny (Sally Yeh), the sweet lounge
singer accidently blinded by his
gunfire during a hit. Jeff is desper-
ately trying to stay alive long
enough to finance Jenny's cornea
who what where when
f ...
Here's yet another free movie at
the Ann Arbor 1 & 2: City of Hope,
the new urban drama from John
Sayles, is playing tonight at 7:30
p.m.. Sayles, who appeared on
A&E's Naked hollywood program
this summer as the example of an
i
FORMS
Continued from page 5
A prime example oftne aisgusting violence tnat pervaaes all cinema in Jonn Woos Tie Kiler. See it.
transplant before she loses her sight
completely. This goofy mixture of
gore and sentimentality brings to
mind a bloody Brian De Palma
version of Chaplin's City Lights.
The Killer packs as much the-
matic weight as any three other mo-
vies combined. Director John Woo
literally blasts from scene to scene
like a remote control fanatic piecing
together a hyper highlight reel.
With carefree abandon, he switches
from Western-inspired barroom
shootouts to solemn male bonding
rituals to gaudy soap opera emo-
tionalism to ultra-heroic cartoon
violence of the Kung Fu variety.
Woo's cinematic shorthand
leaves little room for subtlety, sus-
pense or emotional involvement.
Luckily, the acting is underplayed
enough to prevent the film from ca-
reening totally out of control.
Though campy at times, The Killer
's ironic undertone is very accessi-
ble, and much funnier and friendlier
than the detached, weird doodling of
David Lynch.
The Killer joins the ranks of re-
cent "hitman with a heart" efforts
like La Femme Nikita and Miller's
Crossing - films whose murderous
bad guy heroes operate with good
guy ethics. At the same time, the
traditional guardians of public
morality - the police and the
government - act ineffectually, or
become the villains themselves. It
all seems cockeyed, until you realize
that's the sort of world view in
which Oliver North would feel
right at home.
The Ann Arbor Film Co-op presents
the Ann Arbor premiere of TilE
KILLER this Friday, October 25, at
7p.m. and 9 p.m. in Angell Hall Aud
A. Admission is only $4.
Taylor's actions, heightened by his
white, surreal make-up, which re-
sembled a ghostly mask, the scene
somehow left the audience in a state
of confusion.
Taylor's second vignette opened
with the announcement, "It's not
how you feel, it's what you wear."
Taylor then proceeded to prance on
stage, transvestite-style, with a run
in his stockings, singing "I'm So
Pretty." His choice of dress recalled
The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
This spectacle humorously mocked a
woman who believes she is "com-
plete," while her outward appear-
ance suggests otherwise. Taylor's
interpretive rendition typified the
double-edged meaning behind his
work and made this routine appeal-
ing, while his unusual method of
expressing comedy, coupled with
the passionate delivery of his poetic
songs, made each vignette power-
fully energetic.
Though Pahl, a one-man band,
stuck strictly to music in his act, he,
too, presented innovation. Using a
mandolin, various kinds of percus-
sion, pipe whistles, clapping, clang-
ing, and even Rubber Ducky-like
squeaky heads of Bush, Reagan and
Gorbachev, Pahl created novel com-
binations of sound for his original
pieces of music. For his "tongue in
cheek romantic musical section,"
Pahl performed songs with catchy
titles such as "Romantic Side of
Fake Ethnic Music" and "Romantic
Side of Masturbation." These selec-
tions were made up of slightly
Box
Continued from page 5
of multi-layered, where each singer
represents a particular character, but
that character doesn't fit into the
piece in one specific way."
The six archetypes portrayed in
Hydrogen Jukebox are really just
outer shells, perhaps encasing some
stereotypical cross-section of Ame-
rica. A businessman, a referee, a
majorette, a policewoman, a me-
chanic, a waitress all of these
representations of the population
independent director, is known for
films like Matewan, Eight Men Out
and Brother From Another Planet.
So check it out! To insure a seat, stop'
by early and grab a pass; call 761-
9701 for more info.
chaotic noises, with some traces of
repetitive patterns. Although The o
Gong Show comes to mind, Pahl a,
considers his art an "athletic ev-'
ent." When asked if one can dance ti:
it, Pahl resp- nds, "You can dance to
anything."
The second half of the show was
dedicated to what Natalie Sternberg,
considers her "developmental
piece," One Banana, Two Bananas.
Sternberg premiered her video,
which showed her mother's strug-
gle with multiple sclerosis here in'
Ann Arbor, her home towrte'
Following the film, Sternberg an-
swered the audiences' questions,-
about herself and the video. "I wish;
I had done (the video) on a better
camera with better editing... the
quality is poor; I wish it could
stand up to more generations."
If the wide variety of artisti
talent evident in New Forms accu-
rately represents the types of
artistry that can be expected at the
Performance Network's Wednes-
day-a-month program, then the
series will certainly be a welcomW
venue for innovative entertainers
and an opportunity for theater-goerf
to experience unique means of
expression.
Tonight's NEW FORMS perfor-
mance features THE CASSINIJ'
ENSEMBLE, an innovative striniy"
quartet, with piano, which will pre-
sent selections from recent compd'
sitions. The show starts at 8 p.m. 0f"d
the Performance Network. Tickel (Af
are $9 general admission, $7 stu-
dents and seniors. Call 663-0681 for
more info.
work together with Ginsberg, Glass
and the rest of the people involved'
in this production to amplify the '
sound of the crack of doom that one
hears when listening to the hits oft
the Hydrogen Jukebox. __
Funky Drum Circle taps into inner beat
by Peter Meyerhoff
e may be closer to the heart of
the Midwest than the heart of the
jungle, but there's a world beat in
Ann Arbor. It's called, simply, the
Drum Circle, and it happens every
Saturday night at eight in the Guild
House. A loose, relaxed mix of be-
ginners and experts get together to
poind on a variety of hand-percus-
sioli instruments, creating pulsat-
ing,' textured rhythms - and hav-
ing a lot of fun.
"Rhythm is the universal lan-
guage," says Jamie Rusling, a local
drum teacher and musician who
runs the Circle and supplies most
of the instruments. "Everyone con-
tributes, and everyone shares in the
group's ideas."
The Circle is made up of drums
from all over the world. A typical
Circle will include Middle Eastern
and African pieces such as doum-
beks and ontumpans, in addition to a
wide array of bongos, claves, shak-
ers and cowbells.
Although some of the partici-
nants are exnerienced nercussionists
who own their own drums, most
have no drumming experience at all.
They make up the backbone of the
circle. "It's actually very easy to
lose yourself in the beat," says
Andrew Karp, an electrical engi-
neering major and Drum Circle reg-
ular.
Indeed, Drum Circle enthusiasts
tend to wax mystical when ex-
plaining what the Circle means to
them. "People come to share, to
forget and to remember," says
Jeremy Steinkoler, a senior who
teaches percussion and often leads
the Circle.
Steinkoler and Rusling began
the Drum Circle during the Gulf
War as "Drums for Peace," but the
end of the war turned out to be just
the beginning of the circle. On some
nights, as many as 30 people can
gather in the comfortable Guild
House living room to bang away
happily on their drums.
To be sure, there are some ten-
sions in the group. Sometimes par-
ticipants fail to listen to each other.
But when the Circle clicks, and
drummers listen and respond to
each other, they produce a wonder-
ful, indescribable energy that keeps
them coming back week after week.
In fact, Rusling was so im-
pressed with the quality of the
rhythms that he called in a digital
recording engineer. The resulting
tape, Drum Circle 1991, represents
the circle at its best, and is available
at Oz's Music and Earth Wisdom
Music.
'(The Circle is) a
social thing, a
communal thing.
There are things you
can say with drums
that you just can't say
any other way'
-Jeremy Steinkoler,
Senior
But in the end, it's the spontane-
ity and the humanity of the beat
that draws people in. The Circle is,
in Steinkoler's words, "a social
thing, a communal thing. There are
things you can say with drums that
you just can't say any other way."
Come join THE DRUM CIRCLE
any Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
at the Guild House Campus
Ministry, 802 Monroe (near Domi-
nick's, across from the Law
Library).
Nope, this isn't a Murphy Brown episode. This is real life - the Guild
House's Drum Circle. All together now: "All we are saying..."
RECORDS
Continued from page 7
guitar enthusiast, it's probable that
you could find at least something
that you like on Guitar Speak il.
"The 62" by Tom Verlaine is one
of the better songs on the album.
Verlaine, unlike many of the other
players represented, is not concerned
with flashy solos. Instead, he sug-
gests melodies through his choice of
chords. The effect is rather subtle
and low-key, but by not overplay-
ing, Verlaine lets the song speak for
itself. Another highlight is Adrian
Belew's "Still Life With a Dobro."
His composition and note choice are
enigmatic and, well, weird - which
only makes the song sound cooler.
My favorite song, however, is
"No Water in Hell" by Mould. A
far cry from the thoughtful compo-
sition and carefully precise playing
of the rest of the album, this song is
just plain mean. The drumbeat at the
MODEL AUDITIONS
HYDROGEN JUKEBOX will play
tonight at 8 p.m. at the Michigan
Theater. Student rush tickets are
available for $15. For Michigan
Theater members, tickets are,
$27.50; all other tickets are $29.50:'"
Tickets are available at the Mich- '
igan Theater box office.
beginning of the tune, which keeps'
reappearing as the song progresses,
rivals old Motorhead in speed and
power. The guitar is extremely louid
and noisy. It's played at a whiplash
pace, but switches into a slowef,,_
more rockin' part in the middle.
"Hell" is exciting, to say the least.
Unfortunately, the few songs.
that are really good are outnum'-
bered by the ones that just seenk
stagnant. For example, there's "Red
Shoes," in which Taylor sounds juat
like Jeff Beck without any feeling..
Steve Hackett cuts and pastes musi'-
cal ideas that were once cool, like
the James Bond theme, and puts
them all together in "A Life in
Movies." It's all been done before,
and the pieces don't work togethe..
And Lofgren's "Crystal Ball'
sounds horribly cheesy, thanks to an
artificial sounding guitar tone andI
extremely trite melodies. Tlb
whole instrumental guitar scene ha's:
apparently gotten so stagnant thdt'
they couldn't find 10 worthwhilb
players to put together on this at-
bum.
-Skot Bedl
Save
the
LP1 _
READ
THE
DAILY
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INVITES YOU TO EXPRESS YOUR ATTITUDE AT
MODEL AUDITIONS FOR THE
MARITHE & FRANC OIS GIRBAUD FASHION PRESENTATION
ALL UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEN (WAIST SIZE 30-32)
AND WOMEN (APPROX. SIZE 7/8) ARE INVITED TO TRY OUT
ON
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23RD 6:30 P.M.
UAC OFFICE 2ND FLOOR
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
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