apScltmz I~aft Go eat a house! Nothing to do tonight? Then go decorate a holiday gingerbread house at Bryant Community Center. Go build the the tastiest house you can make with frosting, candy and other goodies. There is a $22 fee per house, and you must pre-register, Bryant Community Center is located at 3 W. Eden Court. For more information, call 994-2722. Monday December 9, 1996 'Daylight' stays in the dark By Bryan Lark Daily Arts Writer We've seen three true "Die Hard" films. We've sat through even more "Die Hard" impostors. We've paid for die-hard-on-a-battleship. We've wit- nessed numerous examples of die-hard- on-an-airplane. We've been forced to watch die-hard-in-an-amusement park. Is there any steam left in the "Die Hard" machine? What could possibly be next? To answer that question is the ever- original Sylvester Stallone - whose die- hard-in-an underwa- ter-tunnel film, SO "Daylight," breaks into theaters everywhere this week. Not horrible and not especially good, "Daylight" tentatively blends the action and thrills of that groundbreaking Bruce Willis trilogy with the tension and tragedy of disaster films like "The Poseidon Adventure." "Daylight" achieves great, though not innovative, success when emulating the full-throttle adventure and explo- sions made standard by "Die Hard," but it falls short when it is purporting to create the tumultuous humanity and sweeping melodrama seen in nearly every disaster film to date. Though it is a carbon copy of nearly every action film since the mid-'80s, "Daylight" still nanages to be some- what creative while wallowing in a genre all but devoid of creativity. Take its plot, for example. It's Friday evening in New York City. Several citi- zens and tourists are wrapping up their arduous weeks of work and play. They R At hop into their cars, taxis, and / or lim- ousines and head for New Jersey. The bridge is congested with commuters. The obvious second choice is the Holland Tunnel. Although that choice is obvious, it is not exactly the correct option, in terms of destiny. The vehicles inch toward the tunnel: the bus transporting juvenile prisoners; the family sedan carrying a trio of dys- functional Maryland residents; the luxu- ry car holding an elderly couple and their dog; the jalopy taking EV I E W the fed-up play- Daylight wright back home to ** Indiana; the Briarwood and Showcase hummer racing the famous head of a sportswear company to the airport; the trucks hauling explosive material; the stolen car careening toward doom with three young criminals inside. As all these vehicles enter the tunnel, the criminals spin out of control and collide spectacularly with the explosive material, setting off an amazing series of explosions that seal off both ends of the north tunnel and immediately kills most of the people inside. Conveniently, former EMS chief Kit Latura (Stallone), now a cab driver, is directly outside the New York end of the tunnel and springs into action, tending to wounds and directing traffic. Even more conveniently, Kit has inside knowledge of the tunnel's struc- ture and functions, due to a test situa- tion in the tunnel two years earlier. Before you can say superhero, Kit decides that the only way to save the trapped survivors, who, coincidentally, are the people we have just been intro- duced to, is to perilously enter the tun- nel through a sequence of enormous, precariously spinning ventilation fans. Once inside, Kit attempts to organize the bickering, skeptical, panicked sur- vivors and get them to, who'd have guessed, daylight. The all-night ordeal in the tunnel is composed of many trials including downed power lines, fires, rising water, hypothermia, crumbling cement, cascading milk trucks and flocks of rats. Needless to say, there's a happy end- ing to the film, but not without losing some people and fears along the way. So the plot is not all that creative; it is a Stallone film, after all. Better than past Stallone vehicles, namely "Judge Dredd" and "Assassins, "Daylight" is brightened by the support- ing cast of survivors and the supporting menagerie of great sets and stunts. Even though the characters are, for the most part, one-dimensional, stereotypical caricatures, they are definitely believable in the reluctancy to work as a team. "NYPD Blue" veteran Amy Brenneman, as the burned-out writer Madeleine, becomes the unofficial leader of the group, ultimately relinquishing control to Sly's heroic cab driver and reducing her role to that of spunky side- kick. Though limited, Brenneman's char- acter is the most plausible of the film, and also gets some of the best lines, calling the rats "shit with legs." Also rising above their weak material are renowned character actors Claire Bloom, who is the only actor in Hollywood to have starred with both Sly Stallone looks astounded as he is trapped In another horrible action-adventure flick. Charlie Chaplin and Sylvester Stallone, as the fragile elderly socialite; Viggo Mortensen as the arrogant, vain sports entrepreneur; Stan Shaw of "Fried Green Tomatoes" fame as an ill-fated transit cop; and "What's Love Got To Do With It" co-star Vanessa Bell Calloway as Grace, the above ground protector of the survivors. Sets and stunts-are probably the great- est asset the film has to offer. Seemingly pre-designed for a ride at Universal Studios, the sets range from a surreal wind tunnel that Kit must overcome, to a waist-high pool adorned by a rolling truck, to a creepy, long-lost chapel that serves as a refuge from rising water - all are wonderfully tactile and vivid. The stunts quite possibly exceed the mastery of the set design. Starting with the awe-inspiring explosion and con- cluding with the awe-inspiring geyser- like escape sequence, the film is a thrill- ride of treacherous predicaments that come to life with some movie magic. Using "movie magic" to describe "Daylight"is not to insinuate that the film is an unforgettable classic of the screen that possesses that special something. Rather, the opposite is true. "Daylight" is a forgettable, throw away piece of action fluff that defuses its own explosiveness with some soggy melodrama. Who wants to see a melodramatic action flick, anyway? Especially one in which choice lines like "It feels like you're getting tired, but you're actually getting dead," and "Where's Cooper? Where's John? Cooper-John?" are uttered about hypothermia and the use of a dog (Cooper) to take the place of a dead son (John). And don't forget the worst melodrama of all - seeing Sylvester Stallone get all misty recalling his past mistakes to an already teary Amy Brenneman. "Did you ever have a way out?" a curious Brenneman asks. "No," replies a weary Stallone, tears in his eyes, his voice breaking. This scene begs, "Respect me as an actor! Give me an Oscar nomina- tion, damnit!" But pathetically, it just receives some chuckles, blank stares and seat shifts to avoid cramping. I 'Messiah' chsarms, Hill audience By Jack Schillaci Daily Arts Writer The grandeur and glory of Handel's "Messiah" exploded into Hill Auditorium this past weekend as the University Musical Society Choral Union continued its 118-year tradition - once again astonishing the audience with the sheer intensity with which they per- U formed it. The four soloists were huge assets to the musical quality of the work. Soprano soloist Janet Williams sang with the beautiful oper- atic sound that has landed her roles with the New York Metropolitan Opera. Her voice was the only one that managed to completely fill the auditorium - its strength and beauty was showcased best in the soprano solo of "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth." Baritone Kevin McMillian also deserves an especially hardy congratu- lations for his performance. His deep bass exuded a strength that carried him well above the background of the orchestra - falling just short of com- pletely filling Hill. Handel requires a lot of vocal theatrics involving speedy musical runs. McMillian handled these with great skill, as shown in "For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth." 'Holmes' cast makes scant plot enj oyable __ By Evelyn Miska Daily Arts Writer Fritz and Watson performed "0 Death, Where is Thy Sting?" at Saturday's show. e 'E II' E The other two soloists also deserve significant praise. Mezzo-soprano Malin Fritz and tenor William Watson did excellent work, especially with their duet in "0 Death, Where is Thy Sting?" Their voices blended miracu- lously - creating a sound both beauti- ful and strong. When singing V I E W alone, their voices had great tone but V[S Messiah lack the intensity and dynamic lill Auditorium diversity of the Dec. 8 1996 other two soloists. The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra provided an excellent performance in and of itself. Its dynamic control was both accommodating to the soloists and powerful enough to match the output of the chorus - maintaining the intensity necessary for Handel's work throughout the duration of the evening. The string section's offering was alone a marvel, pulling off extremely complex parts while showing the energy and passion running -through them with the body movements they made. First trumpet David Kuehn also deserves a special recognition for his personal performance. While the trum- pet part is somewhat sparse in the ora- torio, Kuehn came out strong when he played, especially in the "Hallelujah Chorus" and "The Trumpet Shall Sound." The chorus was definitely the best part of the performance. Their strength and versatility while singing in unison was showcased in all 17 choruses, bouncing from a quiet whisper to a literal roar as they filled the auditorium with music. Despite a few technical errors among the tenors and baritones, the individual sections also performed exceptionally alone - another augmentation to their diversity. One of the most unique things done in this production was the audience joining the chorus in singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" - it drew the audience in, making us feel closer to the performance. It did have a few minor drawbacks - someone stand- ing near me sounded like he had just swallowed all of the frogs from the bio-labs of Pioneer High School. But all in all, it was a huge boost to the overall entertainment value of the show. The performance was indeed a mile- stone in UMS' season. The talent on the stage of Hill Auditorium success- fully executed a complex musical piece without any major problems or glaring deficiencies. The five-minute standing ovation the artists received on Saturday night was probably one of the most well-deserved in Hill Auditorium's his- tory. It is said that people who do something wrong eventually get what is coming to them. In University Productions' enact- ment of "Sherlock Holmes," This idea was put to the test. Through careful reasoning, Holmes captured his man, solved a crime, and returned important property to its rightful owner. The theme of the play is blackmail. Holmes has been hired to find some letters which could destroy the entire empire, should they be found by the wrong party. These letters have been placed in the safekeeping of Miss Alice Faulkner, who in turn has been taken prisoner by the evil Larrabees. Professor Moriarty, and then Dr. Watson, become wrapped up in the plot, and the show ends in a rather surprising manner. Of course the only detective who could solve such a crime would be Holmes. David Ivers created a Holmes that satis- fied the imagination. Serious, cunning and always a step ahead, Ivers showed the audience a side of Holmes rarely Sherlock Holmes is a peeping Tom. seen. Holmes was quick as always, picking up every clue no matter how small, but he was also sensitive and sincere when the show as well as providing ther declaring his love for Miss Alice Faulkner. Faulkner, played landish and showy evil character. L by Alison Edythe Fisher, was not quite the usual damsel in great deal with the direct evil of N. distress. Indeed, she is frightened as she is relentlessly pur- variation to the show. sued by the evil Larrabees, but at the same time she holds As well as having many talented performance with an out- Lindner's role contrasted Moriarty, and added som d actors and actresses, the onto her convictions. The letters should not be handed over to her pursuers, and Miss Faulkner would rather die than have R this happen. Madge Larrabee, one half of an evil She twosome, was chillingly sinister. Greta Enszer, who played the role, created a convincingly evil enemy for Holmes. Trying her best to outwit the great detec- tive, Enszer tried every trick in the book. Whether it was pre- tending to be someone else so as not to show her guilt, or whether it was in order to assist Moriarty capture Holmes, Enszer was a great adversary. James Larrabee, played by Matthew B. Witten, was the other half of this crime team. Witten never quite seemed to achieve the height of evil that Madge did, though. While he was extremely concerned about Holmes, he always seemed nervous and cautious, as opposed to corrupt and relentless. Jeffrey M. Bender was none other than Holmes' arch- enemy, Prof. Moriarty. Bender created a great deal of con- sternation when sweeping on stage as Moriarty. Perfectly evil, Bender made the audience believe that he did indeed run every corrupt operation in town, and that you would be quite sorry if you did him the least disservice. The slightly crooked character of Sid Prince was played by Jason Lindner. Lindner's role brought a bit of comic relief to I sets and costumes, as designed b Russell Metheny and Jessica Hahn, we : E V I E W outstanding. An incredibly rich atmos-: phere was created, drapes, fur rugs, and- rlock Holmes elegant furniture and clothing all helped Power Center make the world of Sherlock Holmes seem more real. Dec. 6,2996 Although the set design,-costumin and players were all remarkable, thi almost wasn't enough to make up for the areas in which the plot lacked. The two-and-a-half-hour play never seemed to get entirely off the ground. In addition, for a detective story there was not all that much suspense. On top of this, there were areas in which the plot was difficult to follow, due to dialogue spoken too quickly, and with accents which were too heavy. Even though the visual aspect of the show was stunning, the cast did well with what they were given - a rather scant plot. This caused the production to come off as flat and not as exciting and suspenseful as one might expect Sherlock Holmes to be. A balance needed to be achieved between th magnificent visual side of the show and the :story line. Sherlock has been around for a long time and has never grown tiresome or shown his age. It seems this admired detective has fallen a little short of his expected outcome, and perhaps it is the first time that Sherlock Holmes has not come out on top of things. Nobody prepares you like KAPLAN Kaplan has the most complete arsenal of test prep tools available. From videos to virtual reality practice tests, to software and on line services, nobody offers you more ways to practice. Kaplan's dynamic teachers will show you the proven skills and test-taking methods that help you get a higher score. REYCLE DMLY.. ,._ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ II 1 JOIN AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY at the ECUMENICAL CENTER'9S Happy* Holidays * *from the* * 4 Daily I1 II I I