Ullie tiown j~atI Have some 'Compassion' "Love, Valour, Compassion" plays today on the Michigan's big screen. Come see this renowned art house hit starring Jason Alexander and a talented ensemble as a group of friends who spend the summer together talking, laughing and loving. Showing at The Michigan Theater at 7 p.m. $5 for students. Wednesday Sept. 3, 1997 19A- .ilW is 'G.I. Jane': A Real American Hero? By Joshua Rich Dailffrts Writer In Ridley Scott's "G.I. Jane," Demi Moore once again defies logic by pos- ing ;s a blockbuster-caliber movie star whljpas little screen presence and no unctrstanding of how to convincingly s line. deed, "G.I. Jane" is perhaps the molt ridiculous vehicle for such a cine- matic zero; the rock-video boot camp ronmp demands of its female lead a cer- tain dominant presence beyond her rippling mus- R E cles. and flat tummy. (Since it is a Demi Moore fl j, we are privy . t many juicy A shots of her sexy, albeit artificial bod.) As Navy SEAL-aspirant Jordan O'Neil, the affectless Moore does little but "miake military training look sexy, which it inherently isn't. To be sure, "G., Jane" comes off more like a sado- masochistic Madonna video set in Vietnam than a bona fide pensive drania. *he plot of the film is negligible. After some nonsense occurs with a lady senAtor (Anne Bancroft, who comes off as the world's biggest bitch since women of power can never be accepted as the nice folks they are), Jordan is summarily chosen as the first woman to go through combat training because, we are told, she looks like the least lesbian of the candi- dates. She is also expected to fail. The rest of the film, then, is a mon- strous montage of boot camp abuses at the hands of sinister Master Chief Urgayle (Viggo Mortensen), including scenes of soldiers swimming fully- clothed in freezing water and eating food out of garbage cans. I guess this, the most grueling training on Earth, is what makes a real man. Unfortunately, the film dwells too much on the idea that Jordan must be VIEW G.I. Jane ** tState and Showcase made order From into to the a man in succeed. start, the guinea pig woman resents her special treatment as a mem- ber of the fairer sex. She demands equal treatment, moving izens, deserve to protect the country like anyone else. I don't see any reason why Jordan couldn't go into combat with her femininity and dignity still intact (all of which is completely lost when she informs the bad guy that he can "suck my dick," and then seriously kicks his ass when he tries to sodomize her). In this terribly misbegotten film, Ridley Scott has taken a highly politi- cally charged topic and rendered it com- pletely impotent. What should be an exceptionally provocative movie like his earlier triumph "Thelma & Louise" is nothing more than a mere snarling action flick (something that one might expect from his brother Tony, of testos- terone-overdrive films like "Top Gun" and "Crimson Tide"). Still, this director is up to his same old tricks. His movie lacks any inkling of the subtlety on which fine cinema is made. "G.I. Jane" is plagued by gratuitous ele- ments including soldiers marching with condoms on their big rifles. Like "Alien" and "Blade Runner" and "Black Rain" before it, "G.I. Jane" is very dark and sweaty, so that Jordan's situation appears more bleak than anything imaginable. And it certainly does - the boot camp scenes are definitely exciting, and Moore looks awfully tough with scars covering her stony, shaved head. Scott no doubt put a lot of effort into buffing-up his cream puff movie just as his otherwise vacant leading lady did to her figure. It's too bad he didn't make an equal effort to give "G.I. Jane" a viable purpose. into the men's barracks, and, in a truly flat scene played up as the movie's cen- terpiece of golden feminine liberation, she shaves her long hair to some intend- ed motivational music. While perfectly aware that soul assassination is a staple of military training, I didn't realize that defeminization is also a prerequisite. By too closely intertwining the idea of the military and msculinity, "G.I. Jane" neglects what should have been it's important message. Viewers are by now so jaded that we expect soldiers to be super-macho, when in fact most warriors aren't. Women shouldn't be in combat because they can be hyper-masculine like the next guy. Rather, they should be in combat because they, as American cit- Clockwise from left: Viggo Mortensen raises hell as designated bad guy Master Chief Urgayle; As an ambitious- lady Senator, Anne Bancroft proves she's no longer Mrs. Robinson; DemI Moore stars as Lt. Jordan O'Neil In Ridley Scott's dark and sweaty "G.I. Jane." U I,., &ttin' better man: Oasis ushers in new era with confident, experimental 'Be Here Now' Oasis Be Here Now Epic Iriedrich Nietzsche once posited that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. While this philosophy is often espoused- and misappropriated- by drunken keg warriors who puke all over themselves and then try to go back for more Beast, in this case of Oasis this rings true. Since the Manchester, England, quin- tet's-sophomore album, 1995's "(What's *'Story) Morning Glory?," Oasis has faced numerous obstacles in its megalo- maniacal quest to become the "biggest band in the world." Bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan has overcome a case of nervous exhaustion so severe he couldn't move; lead singer Liam Gallagher can't walk outside of his house without a million tabloid cameras flashing in his face; and Liam and his older brother/Oasis mastermind Noel into another battle of fraternal cuffs in September 1996, causing the band to cancel its remaining U.S. tour dates and nearly break up altogether. Despite these myriad setbacks, Oasis' third album, "Be Here Now," finds the band brimming with confi- dence, vigor and, of course, tuneful- ness. The album opener and first single, "D'You Know What I Mean?," features Alan White's patient yet powerful drumming, as well as Noel and Paul "Bonehead" Arthur's swirling, psychedelic_ guitar handiwork. Oh yeah, it also bursts with serious cocksure attitude, emanating from Liam's voice the sec- ond he opens his mouth, which - coupled with the fact that it's damn catchy - has been known to polarize listeners Stateside into choos- ing a love-'em-or-hate-'em stance. "My Big Mouth" follows, rocking harder than anything on "Morning Glory?" or Oasis' debut album, 1994's "Definitely Maybe." First unveiled at last summer's massive U.K. concerts at Loch Lomond and Knebworth (and locally at The Palace last August), "My Big Mouth" surprisingly finds Noel poking fun at himself: "Into my big mouth / You could fly a plane." Noel then assumes lead vocal duty in the slowly unfolding and increasingly enjoyable "Magic Pie," adding some tenderness that Liam occasionally lacks. Like most songs on the album, "Magic Pie" is lengthy - it clocks in at more than seven minutes - but also quite gripping. "Stand By Me" achieves quite a high level of grace for a song that begins "Made a meal and threw it up on Sunday I've / Gotta lot of things to learn." Liam sings wonder- fully and harmonizes with Noel's back- ing vocals quite well. Furthermore, the string arrangements afforded by Oasis' previous successes add much warmth to the lovely song. "I Hope, I Think, I Know" has already been dismissed by See RECORDS, Page 24A Your Food Store 2020 Green Road 2375 Ellsworth Road I 2240 S. Main Street Ann Arbor, Ml 48103 Ann Arbor, Ml 48105 Ypsilanti, Ml 48197 Phone: (313) 998-2666 Phone: (313) 994-7200 Phone: (313) 434-4141 c , r...