The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 2, 1998 -9 BUGZ IN LOVE Clark's 'Confession' spills Antz'iznt just a kidz *cartoon, it'z alromanze Mr. White's Confession Robert Clark Picador Exhilarating, frightening and extremely intriguing, Robert Clark's new novel "Mr. White's Confession" is a tale no one should miss. The story opens as Wesley Horner, a hardened police detec- tive, is simply waiting to die, his exis- tence empty and unrewarding. As in all detective thrillers, a murder abounds. A young dancer, about the same age as Homer's runaway daughter, is mur- dered and Homer vows to find the killer in an attempt to make up for his soured relationship with his child. Herbert White, a seemingly slow-witted recluse with a sporadic memory, is immediately By Ed Sholinsky Daily Arts Writer Everyone knows Woody Allen likes younger women, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that in his latest movie he's seeking Sharon Stone. Well, sort of. "Antz," which stars Allen as the voice of Z and Stone as the voice of Princess Bala, is essentially the story of boy ant meets princess ant. Boy ant falls in love with Antz At Showcase, Briarwood and Ann Arbor 1& 2 Life" on the princess and, they fight and live happily ever after. It's a classic i n s e c t romance. In addition to being a romantic c o m e d y, "Antz" is the second com- puter animat- ed feature (with a third "A Bug's way for palace and slum it in a workers' bar. The pair meets and dances, leading to Z's infatuation with the princess. At the same time this is hap- pening, General Mandible (voice of Gene Hackman) and Colonel Cutter (voice of Christopher Walken) are planning the over- throw of the Queen (voice of Ann Bancroft). In order to achieve this, the General is sending all the Queen's troops into an unwinnable war with the termites. Z, who wants to get close to the princess, convinces his best friend and soldier Weaver (Sylvester Stallone) to let him take his place on a trip to the palace, not knowing the general is about to send them to war. At this point, it's easy to realize that "Antz" is not a kids' movie. The war scene, where Z is the only soldier to survive, is scary and intense. The fact that anima- tion is traditionally a genre for children makes this scene even more haunting. Seeing the bat- tered and decimated corpses of ants and termites is not only one of the classic anti-war statements, but is also breathtaking. While Z returns to the colony as a hero, if not a little stunned by what he's experienced, all he real- ly wants is Princess Bala. He achieves this by accidentally kid- napping the princess and ending up outside of the colony. Here the movie becomes fairly traditional, with Z leaving for good, searching for Insectopia. Princess Bala ends up following him, and the pair eventually fall in love. What they don't know is that General Mandible is still going ahead with his plan to con- quer the colony, and that Princess Bala is essential to that plan. Z is the typical Allen character - a neurotic, city dweller who's a total romantic at heart. Allen's defeated voice is perfect, espe- cially when he tells the aggressive princess that she lost her starring role in his most erotic fantasies, or when he informs her, "Let me be pessimistic for both of us." Sure, "Antz" doesn't break any new story ground, but it isn't trying to. Instead, "Antz" is just a simple, sweet romantic comedy that delivers in both areas. To say that the movie is funny is a complete understatement - "Antz" is a riot. It's sexual sense of humor and satire of group dynamics will surely appeal more to parents than children - those in the audience just didn't get it. "Antz" does, however, mark a turning point in the field of anima- tion. This is the final proof that Disney no longer has a monop- oly on animated films. This can only mean good things for the genre: The quali- ty of the films will ofl have to go up to keep esy of Dreamworks audiences interested. Robert Clark Shaman Drum Tonight at 8 targeted as the prime suspect. There is not enough evidence to bring White to trial, however, and the case is put on the back bumer. Wesley returns to the usual rou- tine of hustling vagrants and stumbles across Maggie, a 16 year-old runaway. He finds himself Courtesy of Gary Benson Robert Clark's new novel, "Mr. White's Confession," will intrigue mystery fans. until he finds an inconsistency in a fel- low officer's conduct. The plot takes a dizzying series of turns and gathers momentum as it comes to a satisfying, if somewhat predictable close. The real strengths of the book lie not in the plot, itself, but in the development of the principle characters: Wesley, Maggie, Herbert White and Welshinger, Wesley's fellow officer. Clark develops his characters by telling the story from two different perspectives - those of Wesley and White. Wesley's story is told in the form of a second person narrative and sounds face- tiously reminiscent of cliched detective stories. The cops speak flippantly and act tough, and they seem to move in an infer- no populated by the dregs of society. Welshinger is also included in Wesley's narrative. He begins the book as a hardened, thoroughly unfeeling cop, and elicits no sympathy from the reader. Clark said that he wroe \\lshi"ger' character as -the embodient of c i By the end of the book .though. he gets tired of being evil and begins to become worn down by his role. T-here is no jo in his 'job' anymore, and he become atro- phied. His life is a sapping out and he becomes like the walking dead a vir- tual lack of becing.," Wecdey. Aggie and1 Weclsinge1"r add huma .n emotion and moral questions to the mrther banal plot of an otherwise cliche detective story. Then there is Nhite's story which is told from a first-person perspecim e: The reader comes to understand and empathize with White readng his journal entries. Whte intended the jour- nal to be a record of his d:ily activities to make up for the gaps in his memory. H is writing style is fussy, almost stereotyp- cally feminine in its use of language. Clark describes W hit-e as "a 1 9th Century man living on the cusp of the Postwar Age." At first, the entnes convince the read- er that White is a simple man with almost child-like emotions. The dignity with which White accepts his situation and takes the blame for the crime, how- ever, creates a greater respect ftr \\ hite in the mind of the reader. (lark said that he intended White to be the antithesis of Welshinger. "He's a better person than al of us. He has a sense of wonder and inno- cence, however disturbing, and reminds us of the trials of human condition." What seems to be a t. pical detecre story on the surface is really a moral commentary on the nature of good and evil. The characters' interactions raise questions of normalcy, desire, innocence and deviance. Robert Clark successfully contends that "evil doesn't really exist: it is simply the absence of good." -k1n0n 1Cookson drawn to her despite insistent inner protestations of morality, and her youth and vivacity begin to revive and heal his numbed heart. Suddenly, another dancer is murdered, and this time the clues that point to Herbert White are concrete. Wesley thinks that he has solved the case fhanksgiving), following "Toy Story." While the film and story simply aren't as good as "Toy Story"'s, "Antz"'s computer ani- mation is light years ahead. At times it is hard to tell if thle scene is animated or live action. makes this Oim pre s- 4. s i v e ; m ov ie * movie r e v e n >« more so. Watching Princess Bala travel while stuck to the bottom of someone's shoe is an exercise in just how far computer anima- tion has come. This animated romp tracks Z, a worker ant in therapy, who hopes to break out from his structured existence. He does this with the help of Princess Bala. One night, she decides to escape from the a I It was a treacherous journey. At any minute, they could get wet. But it was all worth it, in order to get a fresh perspective. Court Woody Allen provides the voice of 'Z. ' >, . ,.