Ulb irihgtunttg John Renbourn and Isaac Guillory Wanna hear some groovin' guitar music? If so, come check out these two masters, playing at The Ark tonight. The show is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. You can pick them up at Schoolkids. Tuesday February 13, 1996 5 jravolta's By Ryan Posly For the Daily Imagine the cheesiness of a Bruce Lee flick, the high-tech military ambi- ance of a Tom Clancy thriller and the nonstop action of a good Schwarzenegger movie. Put them to- gether, throw in today's hottest star and you'll get one entertaining movie, right? Well, yes - but if you're looking for *thing beyond basic, mind-numbing xcitement, you're out of luck. Try Black Sheep," two doors down. What you actually get when you com- bine the triple-threat above is "Broken Arrow," a relentless but flawed bomb- chase picture, which marks the sopho- more American effort of veteran Hong Arrow' fails to woo REVIEW Broken Arrow Directed by John Woo with John Travolta and Christian Slater At Brairwood and Showcase Kong director John Woo. Considered by many to be the greatest action auteur alive, Woo is best known for his cre- ative, intricate and often lyrical action sequences. In that respect, "Broken Arrow" does not disappoint. "Broken Arrow" also marks another important step in the "comeback" of John Travolta. He plays another bad guy here, but unlike the charismatic Vincent Vega ("Pulp Fiction") or the semi-reformed Chili Palmer ("Get Shorty"), Vic Deakins is truly an evil character. This might dismay fans of Travolta, who don't want to have to root against him, especially when they must root instead for the ineffectual Christian Slater.. The term "broken arrow" is military parlance for a lost nuclear device. Travolta and Slater play military pilots who take the new Stealth B-3 bomber around the bend for a test drive. On this particular flight, however, two nuclear bombs -"big ones" - are part of the cargo. Before we know what's going on, Travolta's Deakins, who plays men- tor to Slater's Riley Hale, is releasing the bombs over Utah after a skirmish in the cockpit. Both Deakins and Hale eject, and the barren landscape of south- ern Utah becomes the setting for the rest of the film. Hale then teams up with a feisty park ranger named Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis), to track down Deakins and his band of nuclear terror- ists, who are attempting to make ran- som demands to the government for the safe return of their bombs. Before long, the formula kicks in. Several confron- tations and numerous massive explo- sions later, we're left with a standard bare-fisted face-off between Deakins and Hale, and it's not hard to guess who wins. The action here suffers from insipid dialogue and a routine plot. It is not surprising that "Broken Arrow" was scripted by Graham Yost, who wrote "Speed." The similarities abound. But while "Speed" succeeded because of its believability and realistic characters, "Broken Arrow" falters because of the exact opposite. These characters are cartoons, and their situation is com- pletely fantastic. Slater re-teams with his "Pump Up the Volume" partner-in-teen-angst- crime Mathis, and unfortunately both suffer the worst from the script's banal- ity. Mathis' park ranger seems to have undergone more training than the Navy SEALS; she never even breaks a sweat as she consistently takes on these ex- military baddies. To make matters worse, her character is the human equivalent of a vacuum. Slater is way out of his element here, which is even more unfortunate. He apparently wanted the sort of career John Travolta teaches young Christian how to blow smoke rings. boost given to Keanu Reeves after "Speed," but it just doesn't work. Slater is usually at his best when he plays the cocky, sarcastic anti-hero or the sweet- as-sugar lover boy, but Woo tries to turn him into a kung fu hero. He prances around beating people up and consol- ing his emotionally whimsical love in- terest without a trace of believability. Thankfully, he does have his moments. The saving grace of this suffering ensemble is Travolta, who plays the sort of bad guy that you love to watch, yet you can't wait until he's dead. Al- though most of his lines are just as boring as the rest, Travolta delivers them with such zest that you can't help but grin. He seemed to relax and have a good time with this character, and that delight rubs off on the audience. What makes this movie worth watch- ing, however, is the only thing that should realistically be expected of it. As an action film, there are no pre- tenses about character or plot. Granted, it's nice to have an intelligent action movie every once in a while, but our appetites should still be sated from recent films like "Crimson Tide." John Woo, working with a consider- ably larger budget than even his most famous pictures, certainly delivers the goods with "Broken Arrow." For spec- tacular action, one need look no further than Woo's spectacular interpretation of an underground nuclear bomb blast and his stars' reaction to it. While the floor of the desert is buckling beneath him, Travolta sums up this film while paying homage to Uma Thurman with his improvised reaction: "I say goddamn, what a rush!" Christian Slater is still out to get those pesky Heathers. i Working i America oi 1y Jeffrey Dinsmore Daily Arts Writer The Blind Pig looks completely dif- ferent in the daytime. With the neon lights shining and the stools lined up ' eat rows, the club exudes an arti- fi ial glow that makes it look like a movie set after shooting has wrapped for the day. It was in this atmosphere that I inter- viewed Jack Logan. By now, Logan's story should be familiar. For anyone who hasn't read my fanatical ramblings in the Daily about the man who I consider to be one of the greatest talents in music today, Wever, let me bring you up to date. REVIEW I Jack Logan The Blind Pig Feb. 8,1996 Jack Logan is a 37-year-old singer/ songwriter from Athens, Ga., who was "i'scovered" by Peter Jesperson, the i who signed the legendary Replace- muents. Jesperson put together a 42- song double-CD from more than 600 tunes that Logan and friends recorded on four-track, the culmination of about 11 years of late-night drunken jams. Billboard Magazine did a piece on the album, Rolling Stone gave an ex- tremely positive review, and People Magazine wrote about Logan in a hu- interest story. Thanks td my ther's unwavering dedication to the lattermag, I read the article and promptly bought Logan's debut, "Bulk." It has not left my stereo since. Logan's honesty and good-guy charm were enough to offset the rather impos- ing environment that the well-lit bar created. For a man who has had one hell of a career boost in the past few years, Logan's remarkable humility was a re- fr shing surprise. When asked who he pan Logan i a record FY $ 1 o S Author Pollack to speak would consider to be his contemporar- ies, Loganjoked that he "wouldn't want to insult anyone." Truthfully, pinpoint- ing any one artist who's doing what Logan does is impossible. His influ- ences range from twangy country to bitter blues to happy punk to good ol' pop. In short, Logan is America on record. "We've gotten a lot of mileage out of the 'working guy makes a record' thing," Logan said, puffing on a Marlboro. "And it's true, I can see the hook that provides for a writer. But it's not like we sat around and plotted it out - 'Yeah, let's say I'm a pool mechanic.'"' Logan is a pool mechanic. Even though his first album and the new release, "Mood Elevator," have both garnered four-star reviews from Roll- ing Stone, Logan and the band are still working their day jobs. But don't think it's out of any grand sense of commitment, "As sad as it is, it breaks down to a financial thing. I need my job to pay the rent right now." With "Neon Tombstone," the first single and video from "Mood Elevator" start- ing to see some airplay, everything may soon change. For Logan, songwriting is a collec- tive process mostly between himself and guitarist/keyboardist Kelly Keneipp: "Usually the music comes first. (The Liquor Cabinets, Logan's back-up band) come up with a track, and the music will suggest some lyrics and a melody line. I don't know any- thing about musical theory or anything like that, so I don't have a lot of stuff cluttering up my decisions. If it sounds good, I like it." When asked about the comparison to Bruce Springsteen, the most oft-men- tioned rocker in Logan stories, Jack said, "Well, I'm flattered. He's written some great songs." If the truth be known, so has Logan. Tunes like "Estranged" and "Chinese Jack Logan recently performed at the Blind Pig. O" 11 Lorraine" from "Mood Elevator" bounce with the intensity that Springsteen once embodied. It'sniceto know that there's still hope for rock 'n' roll. Incidentally, at Logan's concert at the Blind Pig later that evening, the opening band, 13 Engines from East Lansing, played the best country rock I've heard come from Michigan. They're definitely a band to remem- ber. Near the end of their set, the lead singer said, "I think I see Jack walk- ing in right now." And the whole bar turned around to see the unassuming star of the evening stroll in, hands in his pockets, still wearing the beat-up jeans and smiley-face shirt he wore at the interview. While The Liquor Cabinets got their equipment ready, Jack Logan walked around the bar, talking to fans and sip- ping on a Labatt's. There were good vibes in the air, a feeling that we were about to be treated to something spe- cial. Logan said earlier that he's had people tell him they "drove for 300 miles to see the show," and watching him on stage, it's easy to see why. The set consisted of a pretty good mix from "Bulk" and "Mood Eleva- tor," plus a few new songs thrown in for fun. Although Logan's name brings people in, much credit should go to The Liquor Cabinets, a tight, versatile four-piece that gave the songs an intensity that doesn't quite come through on CD. Logan's lyrics are great, sure, but with The Liquor Cabinets playing their hearts out, the songs took on a different meaning. Getting introspective and digging on lyrics is alright at home, but in the bar, it's time to get drunk. Lucky for Jack, it was his birthday, so every time his beer ran out, some nice fan would buy him another. By the end of the night, everyone was in good spirits, thanks to the free-flow- ing good spirits. Logan joked that he was "gonna play every song we ever wrote," and one got the feeling that, if not for time constraints, he probably would have. The band chose to eschew the nor- mal encore, instead playing straight through until the end of the show. The last few songs showcased a side of Logan that you won't find on record -Jack stopped singing, and the band embarked on a Sonic Youth-style jam that sounded great to my beer-happy ears. This provided a segue into the final song of the night, "Vegetable Belt," from "Bulk." The show ended on a great note, and everyone went home happy and contented, with a renewed faith in the dying monster called rock 'n' roll. By Sarah Beldo For the1Daily Language can be a seductive tool, and words have long been used to woo and impress objects of desire - just ask Cyrano de Bergerac or any em- ployee of the cliche-driven Hallmark corporation. So what could be a better way to set the mood for a romantic evening than a pre-Valentine fiction reading by Eileen Pollack, director of the University's Undergraduate Cre- ative Writing Program? Pollack reassures the unsappy cyn- ics and uncoupled individuals among us, however, that we need not be fright- ened away by the holiday theme. "Nei- ther of the selections I'm reading has EILEEN POLLACK Where: Rackham Amphitheatre When: Today at 4 p.m. Admission is free. anything to do with romantic love," she stresses emphatically. "But they are appropriate for Valentine's Day." Pollack has had a distinguished ca- reer as both a teacher and a writer of fiction. She received her master's of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1983 and went on to teach and lecture there, as well as at Harvard University, Tufts Univer- sity and Emerson College before arriv- ing at her current post in Ann Arbor a year and a half ago. She has received fiction fellow- ships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Coun- cil for the Arts, the Arts Foundation of Michigan and the Michener Foun- dation. In addition, she has been hon- ored with two Pushcart Prizes, the Cohen Award from "Ploughshares" magazine, and an award for best fic- tion of the year from "The Literary Review." In reviews for her 1991 work, "The Rabbi in the Attic and Other Stories," critics praised Pollack for her humor and insight, and for employing strong, moral characters who transcend their surround- ings in surprising ways. Her other published book-length fic- tion is "Whisper Whisper Jesse, Whis- per Whisper Josh," a book for children about AIDS. Pollack's individual short stories have appeared in such maga- zines and literary journals as "So- journer," the "New England Review," "Ploughshares" and "Playgirl." Her book reviews and essays have been featured in "The Washington Post" and "The Boston Sunday Globe," among others. For this afternoon's event, which is a part of the Hopwood/Borders Books Reading Series, Pollack plans to read a short story and a brief selection from her newest novel, not yet published, tenta- tively titled "The Valentine's Gene." The novel, finished just weeks ago, is about a geneticist, so "biology majors may have an interest in attending the reading," says Pollack. Although she has never given a read- ing in Ann Arbor before, Pollack antici- pates it will be a good experience. "Au- thors aren't supposed to say this, but I do love giving readings," she laughs. So come to Rackham Amphitheatre today at 4 p.m., bring a significant other or a biology major, and enjoy the seduction of the spoken word. ****... Classic r****...Excellent ***...Good **...Fair o ...APoor W Zero.. A Bomb , AWHT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR INFLUENZA TREATMENT STUDY The University Health Service seeks volunteers to participate in a medical study evaluating an experimental antiviral for the treatment of symptoms of influenza infection. To be considered for this study, candidates must: " be 18 years of age or older and in good health; " currently have influenza-like symptoms; symptoms include fever plus head and muscle aches, cough and sore throat; - be willing to receive treatment and participate in evaluations; " present at University Health Service within the first 48 hours of illness. Involvement in the study will require an initial THIS "Have you seen7 great ads the Da been runningfor Executives? Lets an annlication h SUMMER??9. those ily has Account A s pick up odau." /o I