Don't miss this one-time-only screening of Frank Capra's classic "You Can't Take It With You." The themes of this 1938 Best Picture Oscar-winner starring James Stewart will resonate long after the house lights go up. See this comedic drama the way it was meant to be seen - on the Michigan's big screen. Today 4:10 p.m. $5 for students. Monday September 29, 1997 5A Two hot tickets Spicy family drama 'Soul Food,' fiery thriller 'Peacemaker' ignite at box office .By Prashant Tamaskar Daily Arts Writer Directed by George Tillman Jr., "Soul Food" is a funny, touching film about a family trying to stay together after the sudden illness of its matriarch. Although the movie has some shortcomings that d to weigh it down, Tillman, a relative new- mer, shows that he has what it takes to really make a name for himself. Every Sunday, the entire Joseph clan comes over to Mother Joe's house for a huge feast that includes fried catfish, cornbread, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and many other delicious treats. Even as they bicker among themselves and struggle with the difficul- ties of daily life, they put their differences aside and RE enjoy one meal a week :bether as a loving family. Seen through the eyes of r Ahmad (Brandon Hammond), a perceptive At Briar child, the family begins to come apart at the seams after Mother Joe (Irma Hall) falls into a diabetic coma. Always at each others throats, the conflict between Ahmad's mother Maxine (Vivica Fox) and her sister Teri (Vanessa Williams) explodes. eri, a successful lawyer, enjoys flaunting her ancial and career success in her sister's face, but deep down she's unhappy. She's in a second unhappy marriage with Miles (Michael Beach), an attorney whose musical aspirations are not sup- ported by his wife. Despite her wealth, she's jeal- ous of Maxine for having a happy marriage to Kenny (Jeffrey D. Sams). Meanwhile, the youngest sister Bird (Nia Long) is learning to deal with her new husband, the ex- convict Lem (Mekhi Phifer). While they are very much in love, a strain is put on their relationship when the system isn't very willing to give Lem a second chance. In the hands of director Tillman, these issues are dealt with in a thoughtful manner. He balances the movie well, reasonably developing each sub-plot and pacing the film nicely. The transitions from one problem to the next are seamless, making the movie very watchable. Moreover, he has great control over the movie's emotional content. The conflicts are powerful without being overdramatic and he uses subtle dia- logue and camerawork to create some truly poignant moments. VIEW Soul Food wood and Showcase of the movie However, his biggest mistake as writer/director, and the glaring weakness of the film, is the reliance on too many external events to rip the family apart. He uses issues such as unemploy- ment, violence, incarceration and infidelity to drive the wedge between them. As a result, parts seem coincidental and contrived, Clockwise from above left: The ladies of "Soul Food" get cookin'; George Clooney and Nicole Kidman reach out and touch each other in "The Peacemaker"; Clooney and Kidman get stuck in a hot spot; Vanessa Williams stars as eldest daughter Teri in "Soul." By Ryan Posly Daily Arts Writer When Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen formed Dreamworks SKG a few years ago, the excitement surrounding the prospect of a new, creatively liberal and financial- ly independent film studio was intense. It is only now that Dreamworks has released its first motion picture, "The Peacemaker," and one can only hope that it is not a sign of things to come. It's cliche, but it's also a fact: the Cold War is over. Our once steadfast enemies of the Soviet Union no longer pose an immediate threat; they like McDonald's and they want freedom. So where does that leave the average terrorist-action filmmaker these days? Middle Eastern or RI Irish terrorists are overused, so what's left? The answer: The I Who cares? This genre of film has become so stale in the last few years that it's a wonder At Brig anyone makes these movies at all, let alone the seemingly brilliant triumvirate behind Dreamworks. "The Peacemaker" stars George Clooney as Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe, a U.S. Army Special Operations officer who gets teamed up with Dr. Julia Kelly (Nicole Kidman) after a shipment of Russian nuclear warheads gets hijacked. The paint-by-numbers plot follows the two of them as they attempt to track down the terrorists. Their search contains the usual elements of an interna- tional thriller: chases through semi-exotic city streets, evil terrorists with funny accents and swaggering, righteous heroes. The film never misses a beat, which basically means that the audience knows exactly what will happen and when. The only interesting thing about rrarN the film is the character of the main villain, the guy who cares about Dr. Kelly so much because he only wants one nuclear bomb. His motives are entirely personal, and it is unfortunate that the film doesn't focus more on that aspect of the story. Instead it piles on cliche after cliche of Tom Clancy convention, trying as hard as it can to be suspenseful and intense. "The Peacemaker" is directed by Mimi Leder, who impressed Steven Spielberg with her direc- tion of television's "ER" enough to hire her for this big action picture. It was a risky move, but it worked just fine. Although there's nothing great about the film, there's nothing particularly wrong with it either. Clooney and Kidman handle themselves suf- V I E W ficiently well and, more impor- tant, seem to have a great deal eacemaker of fun with their roles. The real problem with "The Peacemaker" is not necessarily wood and Showcase the movie itself, but the fact that there no longer is any real suspense or fear in situational films such as this. Having seen every part of this film several times before, it cannot pose a real threat to our self- being. And although there are still problems in the world, terrorists with foreign accents no longer scare us. But that's not to say that films like this aren't any fun anymore. In fact, the only thing that makes them remotely entertaining (at least for men) is that they occasionally bring out the child in us, playing cops and robbers or war out in the woods. "The Peacemaker" is not a terrible movie, it's simply a terribly mediocre one made all the worse because it comes from such a promising young studio. Things can only go up for Dreamworks now. dulling the overall effect. Still, Tillman is able to create a rich, wonderful portrait of a large middle-class African American family. While the food itself is beautifully pho- tographed, the characters are the film's true strength. Each is developed well and has their own persona. And to his credit, Tillman creates women who are strong, independent and caring, and men who are thoughtful, intelligent and sensitive. Directing only his second film, George Tillman Jr., has managed to create an enjoyable work that appeals to the emotions without being too senti- mental. While "Soul Food" is a familiar cinematic meal, it definitely satisfies a hearty moviegoing appetite. stunning Winston show offers refreshing change By Curtis Zimmermann For the Daily Growing up a product of the MTV generation, certain stereotypes about solo piano concerts were naturally embedded into my brain. *One was that they have to be dull. Two is that they will only be enjoyed when the sounds of R1 rock music become Geo noise to me. George Winston's sold-out Mi performance at the Michigan Theater Friday night dispelled all of those myths. Winston, who is best known for his *son albums and his most recent release "Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi" performed what was known as his Summer show. It com- bined elements of rural folk, stride, and classical piano as well as Hawaiian Slack Key guitar and harmonica. The evening showcased the many talents of one of the most accomplished pianists in the world. IThe show began as Winston, amidst plause, approached his Steinway and Sons piano dressed in the proper con- cert attire of jeans and a T-shirt. After a few short words with the audience he began the show with a three song med- ley that combined Irish folk music with his rural folk sound. His second piece of the evening, "Rain," was one of his finest of the evening. Mixed with sporadic playing the high notes to imitate the sounds V precipitation were his loud banging of the low keys producing a haunting sound that filled the theater. The biggest attraction of the first set was Vince Guaraldi's standard "Linus and Lucy," which he played in a melody with "You're in Love Charlie Brown." Just mentioning Guaraldi's name seemed to spark enthusiasm. Throughout the piece the taps of feet ild be heard throughout the theater. nother song that seemed to captivate the crowd was the stride piano piece "The Elephant and the Mouse" According to Winston stride piano is, "a jazzy outgrowth of ragtime." He closed out the set with a piece on the guitar that he played in the Hawaiian slack key tradition. Slack key is a fin- ger-picking guitar style that was devel- oped in Hawaii in the 19th century. At this point in the show it provided a refreshing change from the usual piano pieces. EVIEW rge Winston chigan Theater Sept. 26 After an extended intermission, he returned to the stage and performed a song he described as reminding him of Spring. His next piece, which was which time his face just seemed to get more red, but earned the loudest applause of the evening. He closed the show with Vince Gauraldi's 1962 hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." This piece was by far the finest of the evening. From the light beginning to the powerful ending, in which Winston plucked the strings of the piano, it seemed to show off the talents of not only Winston but Guaraldi as well. Upon song's end Winston gave a quick bow than left the stage. His encore was by far the most dis- appointing piece of the evening. For it, he played another slack key piece, which at this point in the show seemed to be a little much, especially after his previous song seemed out of place. Overall, George Winston's show was fun, entertaining and musically stun- ning. The show proved why over the years he has been able to captivate so many with his works. Winston's show wasn't just a perfor- mance of piano player, but it was a look at what he has to offer as a musician. Instead of just performing selection after selection in an attempt to show his superiority he provided the audience with a glimpse of himself as well as his music. George Winston performed a diverse benefit concert to a sold- out audience at the Michigan Theater on Friday night. VISHEN MOHANDAS LAKHIANI/Daily much more somber, was titled "Living Without You." One of the highlights of the second set was his performance of an Irish folk song on the harmonica. It lasted close to five minutes, during " d fsale then MICHIGAN RERDS real music. scheduled for (tuesday) Y 4.)y n' - LS ui ah 0114ec (he.. release dates subject to change without notice, sorry. sanorMam iaam bp l s.ag a , eoul ne{o mscies 1 o.7 : J An e I J a ck s o n E v e r ele a r A ; e N kmR e aes UW.W a b u r n f v a The UTM School of Music 1997 HALLOWEEN CONCERTS Sunday, October 26 at Hill Auditorium 4:00 PM & 7:30 PM *1Number your preferences (from 1 to 6) so if your first choice is unavailable, we can fill your order with your next choice. If you do NOT indicate any other choices, your check will be returned to you if your choices are not available. All ticket requests will be filled in order of receipt. Limit 10 tickets per order. 2 Make your check payable to the University of Michigan for your full payment. One check or money order per order, please. Sorry, no credit card orders. 3 Include a self-addressed STAMPED envelope so we can mail your tickets to you. If both concerts are sold out, we will use the envelope to return your check to you. 4 Mail yourorder form, payment,and self-addressed stamped envelope to: Halloween Tickets, League Ticket Office, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1265. Mail orders only! 5 Please allow TWO WEEKS to process your order. 6 In-person sales for any remaining tickets will begin Monday. October 20 at 10 AM at the League Ticket Office. Orders will not be accepted by phone. 7 All tickets are reserved seating. No one will be admitted without a ticket, including all children, regardless of age! O ....._.- ..... - --...- - ..- .... . ...-...... . - ....... 1997 Halloween Concerts Mail Order Form Mail Orders will be accepted September 29 through October 10! Name Phone A LIMIT 10 TICKETS PER ORDER FORM! PERFORMANCE LOCATION number in order of preference # TICKETS $ TOTAL SUNDAY[_OC Main Floor @ $7.00 I .1