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October 13, 1998 - Image 5

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1998-10-13

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

I~

The film "Intolerance" runs tonight at the Michigan. Check out
the movie that intertwines four stories about intolerance together
in one film. It is directed by D.W. Griffith, who also directed "Birth
of a Nation." "Intolerance" is a silent film with live organ accom-
paniment. The screening begins at 4:10 p.m.

1e ic mJk

Check out a preview of Star Trek Voyager tomorrow in
Daily Arts.

Arts:

Tuesday
October 13, 1998

5

The Knesset jazzes up brew pub

By Joe Grossman
For the Daily
On a typical Tuesday at Arbor
Brewing Co., The Knesset draws its first
set mostly from jazz standards; ranging
from show tunes to be-bop to more mod-

Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Dennis Haysbert, Takaaki ishibashl and Scott Bakula head "Back to the
Minors" in the third "Major League" movie.
Mystery baseball and
Meat Loaf hit vi-deo

em compositions by
The
Knesset
Arbor Brewing co.
Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
the table and the

y the likes of Bill
Frissel. Later on,
as the lights dim
and the "townies"
are drawn in from
the other room to
join the students
digging the music,
they mix up the
selection; playing
a few originals
and some unusual
rock/pop arrange-
ments.
This past
Tuesday night, the
candle flickered at
drummer, Jordan

There's silence, then he picked a chord
of harmonics on his '66 Fender Jazz
Bass at exactly the right moment and
dove back in. Shapiro made his guitar
scream, bending up and down like a
Hasid at prayer, mouthing the notes, his
body twisting, feeling the music.
Young then launched into a solo
backed up by chromatic riffs and sparse
strategically placed burps from the bass.
Later, the trio moved on to Cole Porter's
"Love for Sale," and Shapiro switched
from his guitar to the Rhodes electric
piano.
While the brew pub was not the ideal
modem electric jazz venue, especially
acoustically, the seating was ample and
the atmosphere was cool. Unfortunately,
the visually appealing hard wood and
glass surfaces caused the snare, cymbals
and highs from the guitar to really bite.
The band normally compensates by not
letting the volume explode, and by
keeping tight control over the tone of the
instruments.
Khronke in particular gets an excep-
tionally balanced and rich sound out of
his vintage equipment, which is not sur-
prising considering his experience. His
music career started in the '70s at
Berklee where he studied under Steve

Schwab with Gary Burton and Pat
Methen. Afterward, he moved on to
The New England Conservatory of
Music to study the classical bass. For the
past six years he's been based in Ann
Arbor, and he's played recently with Ray
Bryant at the Kerrytown Concert
House, Johnny Basset (on the road in
South Carolina), and Mr. B around
town.
Khronke enjoys playing the Brew Pub
every week because "it's more of a free
type of thing here - where you can try
stuff out" When he cuts loose with a
melodic new idea, Khronke remains
right on rhythmically, and his sound is
always sweet and crisp - with enough
low end to make your abdomen vibrate
and enough treble to give his playing
sharp definition.
Shapiro and Young are a little newer
on the scene. Shapiro is a senior in the
School of Music, studying jazz and
improvisation. Shapiro has been with
The Knesset since its conception more
than a year ago, and has played in other
local ensembles over the past three years
ranging from Enchanted Iris, to the
University Big Band, to the Saucy Blues
Project. His style with The Knesset is
versatile; his solos often morph from

variations on a be-bop head to rock
inflected repeating patterns with the dis-
tortion pedal engaged, always with a
twangy sound that isn't exactly tradi-
tional jazz.
Young, coincidentally the youngest
member of the group, is an LSA junior,
soon to join Shapiro in the Jazz and
Improvisation program. Besides the
Knesset, he plays with the Alex Anest
Trio and in the Creative Arts Orchestra.
His drumming with The Knesset is usu-
ally precise and unobtrusive, but some-
times the tempo drifts slightly. He
swings on the ride and plays fairly
straight ahead, often showing nice work
with the brushes. Sometimes he gets a
more aggressive rock sound out of his
compact kit.
"We dress casually, but our music is
sophisticated like tuxedos;" Young said
before the show last week.
Not really, but like a member of the
audience yelled after "Love for Sale,"
"These guys are some funky dudes"
The sound of the group is classic,
mellow and smooth. It is a psychedelic
jazz mesh, and if you're not there at least
once to check it out (because you had to
stay home and study) you're missing
out.

By Matthew Barrett and
Aaron Rich
Daily Arts Writers
With the Padres on the road to their
first World Series since 1984, base-
ball is the business of the times. On
deck in video stores is "Major
League: Back To The Minors" This
perennial cleanup hitter reminds
viewers of the dags of Cobb, Kaline
and Kell. NoWillie Mays Hayes, but
plenty of Cerrano.
In "Suicide Kings," Dennis Leary
lives out the
dream of all
other character
actors when he
New On kidnaps color-
Video This ful card
Week Christopher
Walken. This is
the best gang-
ster movie
since "Pulp Fiction." Just kidding!
"The Last Days Of Disco," Whit
Stillman's whiny response to the
bygone era shakes and shimmies its
way into the hearts of the art house
crowd. Keep your eyes peeled for
wild glitter and tunes that just keep on

rocking and rolling. We needed
another movie about the '70s -
about as much as we need the L-man
and a sinking ship.
After Al Pacino and Robert
DeNiro hooked up in "Heat," the
next on-screen pairing that fans
craved was Patrick Swayze and Meat
Loaf. Well friends, get ready to chew
some Loaf with "Black Dog." This
match made in heaven will do any-
thing for love and is a front runner
for the 1999 Best Picture Oscar.
Also, watch out for Meat in the sup-
porting actor category.
Flint native and dirty-hat-wearer
Michael Moore brings you the "The
Big One,' a.k.a. the U.S. search for
labor peace. In his tour of Midwestern
industrial towns, Moore brings out
the lighter side of daily life. More
power to you Moore..
"The X-Files" is a big screen con-
tinuation of the long-running science
fiction series. While the movie may
unlock the mystery of the television
program, non-viewers will have to
join Mulder in the quest for the truth.
And Scully, "You can't handle the
truth!"

Young, called out "Night in Tunisia!"
Jordan Shapiro answered, "Yeah, but
we'll have to rock it out." The groove
was laid down and it sounded fresh.
Bassist Kurt Khronke played a syncopat-
ed figure and then slips into a walking
line up to the next chord.

Murphy's laughs are less tan 'o

Bright colors and
sounds propel 4N20'

By Ed Sholinsky
Daily Arts Writer
A couple of years ago, Eddie Murphy made a stun-
ning comeback with "The Nutty Professor." Between
"The Distinguished Gentleman" and "The Nutty
Professor," Murphy wallowed in such projects as the
pretentious "Harlem Nights" and the awful sequel
"Beverly Hills Cop 3." Since his comeback, though,
Murphy has been unable to reproduce the magic of
"The Nutty Professor," in such tripe as "Metro" and
the inexplicably popular "Dr. Dolittle"
It's hard to watch Eddie Murphy - the funniest
man alive when he has the right material - squander
his talents, especially when one has seen his earlier
work in films such as "Trading Places" and "Coming
to America." But that's exactly what Murphy does in
"Holy Man" - waste his natural abilities.
The blame does not fall squarely on Murphy's
shoulders, for he's hopelessly miscast in "Holy Man."
Playing a spiritualist of an undetermined religious
background, Murphy's "G" arrives to save Ricky
Hayman's (Jeff Goldblum) soul, by helping him sell
things on TV. Though the con-
cept itself is novel, the film is
structured around the cliched
story of a man who needs to
Holy Man emerge from his self-hatred and
realize that he's a good person
with the help of an outside force.
At Showcase Along the way, the woman who
andt Sarwood detested him in the beginning of
the film falls in love with him,
he temporarily alienates her, so
he can learn the error of his way
and there can be an emotional
reconciliation at the end. This is
a movie everybody sees a couple
of times a year, but it's a safe
formula so Hollywood keeps using it.
By being different - exploiting the concept of the
Good Buy Shopping Network (GBSN) - the first
half of the film works nicely. But by the end of the
film, the feeling that we've been here before is too
overwhelming and it falls on its face. The thing that
held the first half of the film together, the question of
what would happen to G, disappears by the second
half, and thus the film and its jokes are too predictable
to be entertaining.
Hayman is a producer for GBSN who prays that his
sales will go up and his boss Mr. McBainbridge
(Robert Loggia) won't fire him. McBainbridge gives

Kelly Preston, Jeff Goldblum and Eddie Murphy meditate their way to comedy in "Holy Man."

N20 Nitrous Oxide
Fox Interactive
Sony Playstation
Somewhere deep in the future, the
*ky Way Galaxy is at war. The plan-
et Neptune is the key to this war as evil
forces have initiated new plans to
invade Earth. By accelerating sub-
atomic particles around a tube-shaped
apparatus known as "The Torus," a
super race of genetically mutated
insects design to take over the universe.
Your mission is
to fly a tunnel
er ship into
eeh Torus and to
destroy the
insects inside.
Nitrous Oxide is U
a by-product pro-
duced inside the
Toruses (or Tori,
if you will) that
provides fuel for your
ship, but also a breeding ground
for the insects.
eled by a pulse-pounding sound-
om the Crystal Method (the
same one from "The Replacement
Killers") comes the new game "N20
Nitrous Oxide" from Fox Interactive
and Gremlin Entertainment.
The premise is simple: pick one of
four tunnel runners and pilot your way
through 30 levels, destroying insects.
Sound boring? Maybe, but add in the
fact that for every insect killed, a small
et of nitrous oxide is emitted, fuel-
ing your ship and causing you to go
faster. Thankfully, there are brakes.
"N20" is also a game of color. Bright

colors emit from the undulating walls,
causing an almost hypnotic effect.
Throw in the Crystal Method sound-
track, and the addiction begins. There
are three levels of difficulty, but what
differentiates easy and normal from
difficult is the layout. The course is
similar for each, but whereas normal
levels give you a straight and linear
course, hard levels throw in many
twists, turns and curves. Now, add on
the fact that the walls move. Keep a
bottle of Advil nearby. It's pretty funky.
Thankfully, the gameplay is easy.
Only the left and right
arrow buttons are need-
ed for movement along
with the four but-
tons on your
-X IIA console con-
troller for
weapons. The
brake button,
0a though at
times helpful,
should be avoid-
ed as much as
possible since slow
sucks. Extra lives are
given for every 50,000
points garnered, which is great
because, boy, they're needed.
"Nitrous Oxide" is not the most in-
depth game to ever come out for a
gaming system. It's a game for us
attention deficit Generation Xers. It
plays with all of the senses, almost to
the point of sensory overload. Beware
of an addiction to this game. It's like
going to a "Grateful Dead" concert on
LSD, so all the hippie tie-die shirts
blend together. Psychedelic dude!
- Gabe Smith

Hayman two weeks and a new partner, Kate Newell
(Kelly Preston), to get his sales figures up. Enter G,
who they meet after their tire blows out in the middle
of a freeway. At first, of course, Hayman is leery of G,
but by the end of the movie they're best buds. After
Hayman and Newell fix their tire, they almost hit G
with the car, causing him to pass out and them to take
his to the hospital. And like a lost puppy, G is now a
part of their lives, whether they like it or not.
So, like a prayer answered, Hayman decides to put
G on the air to hawk merchandise, and G is a hit. His
first appearance on the air is hysterical - particularly
if you haven't seen the trailer, which gives most of the
sequence away. The movie loses ground when Newell
and Hayman begin to fall in love and Newell begins to
notice that G isn't as happy as he used to be, despite
the fact that millions adore him. Hayman is put in the
position to decide between G and Newell, and his job.
From here on out, the audience can pretty much recite
the movie line for line, as it goes in the exact direction
movies like this are supposed to go.
"Holy Man"'s most noticeable problem is Murphy.
He just has no spiritual quality about him, which G
needs to seem real. Murphy is too interested in being
funny to really find G's depth, like he did Sherman in

"The Nutty Professor." Instead, G comes across as
either a stand-up comedian or lost child.
Goldblum and Preston are generally solid - and
are the films real leads, despite Murphy's top billing
- but don't have much to work with. For a good part
of the film, however, Goldblum does bring an air of
authenticity to his character who's, going through a
personal and professional hell.
Director Stephen Herek and writer Tom Schulman
are responsible for two of the most overrated projects
of the decade, "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Dead Poets
Society," respectively. And here they show neither has
much going on creatively. Neither the directing or the
writing is particularly impressive - in fact, the writ-
ing is downright base at times.
In the end, "Holy Man" is mildly amusing: a good
first act with no closing. What started out as some-
thing interesting and funny stumbled and ends up
being about 20 minutes too long.
But there is still hope for Murphy. If he would stop
doing family movies ("The Nutty Professor" was a
pseudo-family movie) and go back to the daring, risky
comedy he tackled in the '80s, the world would be a
much funnier place. Forget "Holy Man,"' rent a
Murphy classic.

I q

University ofMichiganJournal of Law Reform
Y and
University ofMichigan Health Law Society
amproud to present a Symposium on Managed Care Regulation
WHAT'S TiE PROGNOSIS:
MANAGING CARE IN THE NEXT CENTURY
University ofMichigan Law School
Honigman Auditorium * Hutchins Hall, Room 100
October 16-17, 1998

I The Worldwide Drug Safety
Surveillance department at
i re Parke-Davis isently hiring

somuE OfEvocn --Fama, CtomE16
1:00-2:00 p.m. Regitation
2:00-215 p.m. Opening Remarkcs
n. Keynote Address
Frank J. Kelley
Michigan Anorney Genera
3:15.5:15 pm. Government Regula on Panel

The Honorable Frnkj.-Kelley
Attrney Genea
far the Stateor MdiPU
Gail Arlden
Preskient andCEO,
Henry Ford Heakh Sysms
Professor Theodore R. Marmor

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

Sunday, October 18
on U of M's Campus
T I.. % 'A1T 1 CAT frDG nrrM AT

I

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