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'Lion' re-released, still 'King' of jungle
By JOSHUA RICH
In the beginning, there was "The
Little Mermaid." It made millions and
won some Academy Awards. And
Bad Religion: Is that anything like Madonna's "Like a Prayer" video?
California punk lives on in Bad
Religion's hard-rocking show
By MARK CARLSON
America has gone punk rock crazy. With pop-punk bands showing up all
over the charts, unbelievably repetitious MTV airplay, and California club
bands selling out huge arenas (I think the Green Day video game comes out
next week), it would seem that a movement once thought to be dying out is
making a huge comeback. Bad Reli-
gion, the group given a lot of credit
IWfor creating the whole West-coast-
punk-rock sound some 14 years ago
1 Bad Religion ywas in town at the State Theater on
The State Theater Saturday night, and they certainly
November 26, 1994 proved that they are still the best
thrashers around.
The show's first opening band,
Sam I Am, got things started well, but the fun didn't really begin until the
second band, the Supersuckers, took the stage. The Supersuckers marched
onto the stage with western-style shirts and cowboy hats, looking more like
they were opening for Garth Brooks than for Bad Religion. The singer
announced "I'll put on my 'rock guy' shades and we will rock!" and then
launched into an aggressive set of gloriously offensive rock 'n' roll.
The Supersuckers just love to piss people off and they were in top form
*turday night, roaring through numbers like "My Bitch," the metallic
"Coattail Rider," and their very own 30-second punk rock anthem, "I'd Say
Fuck." The band put in an excellent set, blending high-speed punk rock with
piercing, howling guitar solos, and just rocking in general.
When Bad Religion took the stage, the audience was definitely ready, and
the floor turned into one giant mosh pit when the band opened with the title
track from their last album, "Recipe For Hate." The first 10 minutes of the set
was a blur, as the band wasted no time between songs. For most of the concert
the only thing separating the songs were drum clicks (in great punk rock
tradition), and sometimes not even that. Song after song, they packed their
f rformance with scorching energy, with guitarists Greg Hetson and Mr. Brett
eening about the stage, drummer Bobby Schayer smashing his set to a pulp,
and singer Greg Graffin preaching his "rock gospel" in furious fashion.
The band stuck mostly to playing songs from their last two albums, but
there were plenty of older tunes, such as "Atomic Bomb" and "Change Your
Ideas" to keep the die-hard fans happy. Old or new, the Bad Religion sound
is always the same, based on an incredibly powerful guitar sound and the
constantly speedy drumming of Schayer. Even their trademark "oohs 'n' ahs"
background vocals were right on the mark throughout the show, provided
mostly by Mr. Brett and bassist Jay Bentley.
They played their two biggest hits, "American Jesus" and "Stranger Than
action," back to back, sending the already pumped-up crowd into a frenzy.
Other highlights of the show included the slower, darker "Infected," the
pounding "Watch It Die," and their latest single (yes, the one with the really
cool video) "21 st Century (Digital Boy)."
Bad Religion are the fathers (or at least uncles) of west coast punk, and on
Saturday night they proved that they can still rock harder than the famous
youngsters that they helped make millionaires (Green Day got their first big
break opening for Bad Religion, and the Offspring are signed to the Bad
Religion-owned Epitaph label). The best part is, you don't have to go to an
arena to see them.
The Lion King
Directed by Roger Allers
A 0and Rob Minkoff, with
the voices of
James Earl Jones
and Jeremy Irons
Disney CEO Michael Eisner saw it
was good. Then came "Beauty and
the Beast," which became the most
acclaimed animated feature in his-
tory, receiving a Best Picture nomi-
nation. And Eisner saw it, too, was
good. Next was "Aladdin," which
grossed more money than any other
cartoon movie. And again, Eisner saw
it was good.
Hence, in the summer of 1994, the
Walt Disney Company, led by CEO-
extraordinaire Eisner, released its
fourth animated masterpiece in five
years - "The Lion King." But unlike
its ancestors, this flick is primarily
based upon an original story and ex-
quisite animation, despite its over-
whelming fairy-tale qualities.
And now, after already grossing
nearly $300 million at the box office,
Disney has made an unprecedented
move. It has re-released "The Lion
King" for the winter holiday season,
most certainly in hopes of making
more money.
But don't let all this financial busi-
ness overshadow the true excellence
of this film. Presented here is a story
of the African veldt where all animals
(who talk, of course) are ruled by
lions and the great lion King Mufasa.
Mufasa's mighty reign is, however,
tainted by the evil presence of his
weaker and envious brother, Scar,
and the lurking Hyenas. Thus, when
the lion prince, Simba, is born, his
mission is to combat the depravity
that exists within his vast realm, and
eventually assume the illustrious role
of Lion King.
This simple plot is marked by a
series of wondrous adventures which
Simba experiences along his journey
to the throne. Hence, it is these scenes
which truly make "The Lion
King" entertaining. Unlike
in most other cartoons,
the characters
in this movie
are dy-
namic,
emotional beings who attract the sym-
pathy and, in some cases, the hatred
of the audience.
Just as provocative is the breath-
taking art and animation of this fea-
ture, which consumes its viewer in a
fantastic, majestic world. The bril-
liant colors and meticulously-created
animals and scenery allow us to view
this magical land- where animals
talk and behave like humans - as
real. This is a true testament to the
skill and creative talent of the team of
artists who created this motion pic-
ture.
Unfortunately, the musical score
of this film does not approach the
excellence of its predeces-
sors, re-
maining
gener-
ally banal and uninspired. Familiar-
ized by Elton John's pop versions of
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"
and "Circle of Life," the soundtrack is
a mishmash of ordinary and boring
pieces which are not nearly as memo-
rable as those in "Beauty and the
Beast" or "Aladdin."
Nevertheless, the voices of the
animals - provided by an ensemble
of famous Hollywood actors --com-
pensate for the film's musical weak-
nesses. Jeremy Irons as the conniving
Scar and Whoopi Goldberg as a cack-
ling hyena highlight the team of ani-
mators and voice actors who have
created one of the most entertaining
and attractive animated features ever.
And if Disney execs should un-
necessarily fear that "The Lion King"'
won't make another $300 million this
season, then they should re-
member the famous advice of
some of this movie's
;a characters-"Hakuna
Matata!" No worries.
THE LION KING is
DAHL
Continued from page 8
thought of Bridget Gregory (the lead
character in 'Last Seduction') as be-
ing a femme fatale . I just thought of
her as being a sort of aggressive,
politically incorrect woman," he said.
As played by Linda Fiorentino,
Bridget is tough, ballsy and definitely
in control of her life and lovers, de-
spite the precarious circumstances that
both occasionally manage to throw
her into.
Bridget dupes her husband Clay
(Bill Pullman) out of all of the money
that they had just garnered on a drug
sale, hi-tails it out of town, lands in
upstate New York, settles down in an
attempt to throw the vengeful Clay
off her trail and seduces a clueless
local man (Peter Berg), all in the first
15 minutes of the film. And just wait
'til she gets started.
"Some women take offense to the
character," observed Dahl, "yet some
really enjoy it because they can see
this sort of fantasy or over-the-top
quality to her. It's fun to see the woman
in the aggressive role and the man
passive. She's asking him for this sort
of meaningless sex and he wants love
and compassion."
While Dahl acknowledged that he
would not like to spend time with
Bridget, he is relatively unconcerned
about the potential backlash of such a
character. "It's not the kind of film
that everybody's gonna like. It's just
more aggressive by nature. We knew
that we would alienate some people.
Ultimately, we didn't care," he said.
Dahl's admirable commitment to
his vision has set him on a long road.
He worked for years on other people's
films, as an assistant, a storyboard
artist and finally a screenwriter be-
fore he was able to get the straight-to-
video "Kill Me Again" financed. Simi-
lar troubles plagued him in attempt-
ing to get "Red Rock West" and "The
Last Seduction" to the screen. Both
premiered on HBO and were eventu-
ally bought by distributors.
"People have looked at these films
and said these are sort of weird and
there isn't an audience for these mov-
ies. I've been rescued by the public
who have responded favorably," Dahl
explained. "While these films don't
fit the criteria of Hollywood film,
they seem to be entertaining people
anyway."
Of low-budget cinema, Dahl said:
"The good news is you can do what-
ever you want, the bad news is you
can't afford it. It's sort of like baking
a cake without butter."
Up next is "Unforgettable," a
screenplay rewritten by Dahl and his
brother Rick. Here, a man is acquitted
of killing his wife, yet must defend
his name against a bevy of doubting
Thomas'. It puts Dahl back in the
game of murder, once again.
"Here I've got like a guy with a
dead wife again," said Dahl, laugh-
ing. "But it's a good dilemma, I guess.
It's hard to imagine doing a sort of
warm, tender family drama. Not
enough would be happening."
THE LAST SEDUCTION is playing
at the Michigan Theater tonight at
7 and 9:15 p.m.
a I
A VARIETY OF POSITIONS AVAILABLE WINTER TERM
CERTIFIED LIFEGUARDS
ENTRANCE MONITORS
EQUIPMENT ROOM ATTENDANTS, AND MOREUI! 1
DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS
DAYTIME, EVENING, AND WEEKEND HOURS AVAILABLE
(Daily - Between 6:45am-10:30pm)
at CCRB, IMSB, and NCRB.
Hours start Thursday, Jan. 5, 1995 and end Thursday, April 27,1995
(Pay Range $4.60-$5.05/hr)
AS SOON AS YOU CRISP FOR WINTER TERM SEE LORELEI AT
CENTRAL CAMPUS REC BUILDING/BUSINESS OFFICE OR CALL
763-3084. E-MAIL ADDRESS 1dm@umich.edu.
APPLICATION DEADLINE DECEMBER 1,1994, 4:00PM-
University of Michigan
School of Music
' camcorders 215 S. Ashley (Parking Available
*VCRs at 200 S. Ashley)
'Sound Systems & Disco Equipment 1/2 block N. of Liberty
"Audio- 100's of items Downtown
*TVs pick-up and delivery available
"Large selection of used equipment 769-0342
Ann Arbor Radio and T.V. Hi F Studio
Faithfully serving the student community for over 40 years
WE VALUE OUR EMPLOYEES
I - O %I
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Leasing Now For 1995!
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m mmoU
Tuesday, November 29
Opera Workshop I
Timothy Cheek, music director; Joshua Major, director
Love scenes from Romeo and Juliet, The Coronation of Poppea,
and Der Rosenkavalier, and Act III of La Boheme
McIntosh Theatre, School of Music, 7p.m., free
Guest Recital: Drew Tetrick, Electronic Violin
Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Auditorium, 1320 Beal Ave., 6 p.m.
Wednesday, November 30
NOTE: Illness has forced the cancelation of the all-Schumann
song recital originally scheduled for November 30.
Opera Workshop II
Timothy Cheek, music director; Joshua Major, director
Opera ensemble scenes from Rape of Lucretia, La Cenerentola,
Don Giovanni, and Susannah; and Shakespeare monologues
McIntosh Theatre, School of Music, 5p.m., free
Thursday, December 1
Jazz Composers Orchestra
Andrew Bishop directs big-band jazz, from classic Duke Ellington
and Fletcher Henderson to new compositions by U-M musicians
Rackham Auditorium, 8 p.m., free
Opera Workshop III
La Boheme, Act III, and Shakespeare monologues
McIntosh Theatre, School of Music, 5p.m., free
Thursday-Sunday, December 1-4
The Three Sisters, by Anton Chekhov
Theatre and Drama Production; John Russell Brown, director
Trueblood Theatre
&
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GMAT, GRE,
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e taking one of these tests take
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