The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 10, 1997 - 9A- 4Peak' finish anticlimactic By Prashant Tamaskar Daily Arts Writer Although regarded by most critics and viewers as mindless fluff, "Twister" will probably be remembered as the most influential movie of 1996. Inspired by the huge financial suc- ess of the tornado film, studios have rediscovered theR dister genre, ' niery 25 years after blockbusters like, "Airport" and At E "Tee Towering Inferno" were the big events of their tirg. Following in their footsteps is "J.nte's Peak," the first of a pair of vol- o pictures planned for release in the nxt few months. Despite an encourag- ingbeginning, "Peak" melts faster than plastic in a lava pit. 'The movie is essentially split into two pas, the first of which is meant to set up~he latter. When seismic activity reg- isiMis near the small Washington state town of Dante's Peak, the United States Gelogical Survey sends Dr. Harry, ,,organ (Pierce Brosnan) to investigate tmatter. $fter examining the area and noticing Forror boc Windows to the Soul J.M. Barlog 'Books For parents who arewondering what their kids have been up to since they hit the. college scene, "Windows to the Soul" is bound to make for some sleep- less.nights. According to the book's author, J.M. Barlog, college is nothing but an evil" lace filled with hardcore *ugs, demonic sex and a pinch of rock 'n' roll (actually, D: just satanic chants). "Windows to the Soul" is a horror novel set on a: secluded Miowestern college cam- p04 Ali Goodfellow is the school's *aitiful track star, who turns up miss- iabefore the academic year begins. He- worried roommate, Trish Van W'ften, searches for answers, leading he:into a nightmarish web of horror ae deception. Windows to the Soul" is a book 3r a few irregularities, Harry concludes that the mountain overlooking the area may be ready to erupt. He meets with Mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) to dis- cuss the possibility of an evacuation. However, the city council, concerned that this may damage the town economi- cally, decides SV I E Wy against warning the public, as evidence ante's Peak begins to mount. The purpose of ** this portion of the arwood and Showcase movie is to develop the central conflict, which it does rather well. Obviously, something is going to happen, but the question is when. Director Roger Donaldson maintains interest by keep- ing the audience in anticipation of the impending disaster. Wisely, the signs pointing toward a catastrophe are bal- anced by contradictory findings, mak- ing the decision not to evacuate more plausible. We are not given the opportunity to learn more about the film's central char- acters. The only thing we know about Harry is that he is tormented by the death of his fiancee, who passed away four years earlier during a volcano eruption. This information supplies enough motivation for us to believe Harry's behavior. Yet, we still do not know enough to understand the man. Along similar lines, the surface of Rachel's character is barely scratched. As mayor, an entrepreneur and a single mother of two, she should be a strong fig- ure. Instead, she, like Harry, is overshad- owed by the hulking presence of doom. If we were more concerned about the char- acters, our fear of the imminent eruption would increase. But, by reducing people to tools, the film lacks a human element and remains slightly detached. Unfortunately, this weakness com- pletely weighs down the second half of the movie. After some distressing envi- ronmental changes, Rachel and the city council call for a town meeting at the urging of Harry and his colleagues. During the gathering, the mountain finally blows, creating a major panic. As earthquakes cause buildings to crumble and the lava begins to flow, nearly everyone flees the scene. Serving mostly as eye candy, this part of the film lacks creativity, as every- thing in sight explodes and the uneven special effects quickly become tedious. When the characters face death, they Volcanologist Harry Morgan and Mayor Rachel Wando watch as Dante's Peak begins to erupt. manage to escape by sheer luck, not by being particularly innovative. An unsat- isfactory resolution ruins the moments of greatest drama. Still, despite being burdened by shal- low characterizations, Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton are convincing in their respective roles. However, by them- selves the actors cannot do enough to keep the movie rolling, particularly as the novelty of the volcanic blast diminishes. With the release of "Dante's Peak," the first of 12 films with budgets of more than $100 million scheduled to play in theaters in 1997, the race to be, the next "Independence Day" or "Jurassic Park" has officially begun. If this uninspired effort is any indication of what is to come, this may just be the year to stop going to the movies and rediscover an old hobby. )k does genre no justice geared toward people in the 17- to 24- year-old age group - in other words, those post-Christopher Pike young adults. The problem is that the book's publisher, BAK Books, assumes that all of us who grew up on Pike thrillers sub- consciously desire the same junk we read back in junior high. For that reason, "Windows" caters to those with short attention spans by dishing out concise chapters with "cre- ative" names like "School Daze" or "Looking Everywhere," and each ends with lines intended to imply suspense. Big'whoop. With its scary cover and its promising syn- o p s i s , '"Windows" has so much poten- tial that sadly goes untouched. Contradictory facts with- in the plot and the lack of likable char- acters bring this book down. Even the characters' motives and the novel's triv- ial details cause a great deal of confu- sion. Three weeks after her disappear- ance, why does Ali's roommate seem more concerned about her than do her parents? When did fraternity parties become places where the main activi- ties are snorting cocaine and dropping acid? And what the hell is a Bleat, a term to which Barlog keeps referring? There are just too many questions that go unanswered. Furthermore, a careful reader will be able to pick up numerous errors in punctuation and grammar, as if the pub- lisher didn't care enough to edit this book. These annoyances can be quite distracting and often make this novel a difficult one to read. On the other hand, somewhere around the last third of the text, the pace picks up and the book actually becomes exciting. When Trish and her boyfriend Duffy delve deeper into her roommate's mysterious disappearance, they are sucked into a bizarre world filled with perverted sex crimes, Colombian drug lords and devil worshipping. The sus- pense builds, and "Windows" becomes hard to put down. Nevertheless, this novel could really use some improvement. The idea behind it isn't bad, but somehow Barlog doesn't do it justice. Though similar in substance (suspense intertwined with the supernatural) and structure, "Windows to the Soul" attempts to pick See BOOKS, Page I0A Challenges for the 21st Century: A review of the national conversation on race and gender equality GlRISTOPHiiER EDLEY Harvard Law & King/Chavez/Parks Visiting Profescor Former Special Council to the President, White House Affirmative Action Review Board TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Rackham Auditoruiu 7:00 PM As part of African American Hertlage Month "The Legends of Out People" Sponsored by African American Programming Task rorce, the Mack Law Student Alliance (BLSA), Black Undergadute Law Association (BULA), and The Law School FOR MORE INFO CALL: MULTI-ETHNIC STUDENT AFFAIRS 313.763.9044 Announcing the The 18th Annual MICHIGAN , a ~i)ltirb Ct iTaI4 1996-1997 0 m / 'N V < 'A~ ' " ~ N ' " 'N 0' ' '0 ~ 0 0 0 A 0 >' ~' ~0 K o :: LEADERSHIP AWARDS CEREMONY Honor the Wonders Awards will be held April 15th from 4-6 pm in the MichIgan:: : Union Ballroom. The Committee cordially invites teuiest community to submitnmiais o'tse19W ner Outstanding Student L The Student Alumni Council will award stipends to five Outstar4dn Outstanding New Outstanding StudentOranization Program of the e a Get the low down on the who's who of the salarycharts... Check out the . Salay Sp 6 eent, available a NOW t '~j~~ Slar N'- -C-' - ---- - -- " Advi isor of the Year