8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 25, 1999
Lumet
stones
'Gloria'
By Laura Flyer
Daily Arts Writer
What's happened to Sharon Stone?
Or rather, what did they do to Sharon
Stone? Or perhaps most important,
did the once undeniably talented
Sidney Lumet really make this film?
"Gloria," a remake. of its 1980 pre-
decessor by John Cassavettes, seems
to rest all its cards on its star, Stone,
hoping her looks and charms will
detract from the otherwise uninterest-
ing parts of the film. Actually, it's
doubtful that anyone could've done
justice to "Gloria."
Just released from jail after three
years, Gloria (Stone) returns to New
York City in hopes of getting her end
of the deal made with former
boyfriend Kevin (Jeremy Northam),
that is, money. She discovers that not
only is he stubborn, but she also real-
izes that she's been jaded by his petty
pleadings and entreaties to lure her
back to him. The
truth is, he's
always been a
scumbag and
GiaOC always will be.
But before
* 1 leaving him for-
At Briarwood ever, she decides
and Showcase to help him with
some "excess
baggage" that's
been weighing
him down - a
boy whose par-
ents were mur-
dered by Kevin
and his mafia-like cohorts. What
Gloria doesn't realize is that 6-year-
old Nicky ("kid" as she calls him one
too many times) has possession of a
valuable computer disk that would
basically indict Kevin and his friends
for their corrupt practices, one of
which is a serial murder of the parents
of the child. As for the rest of Kevin
& Co.'s illegal activities, we never
understand much more about them in
the movie.
So now Gloria has the burden of
dealing with this homeless, orphan
kid whom she can't let go of because
,beyond her hardened exterior there is
a soft, caring person inside of her that
is really concerned with Nicky's
future. She soon learns that her
Michael Connelly to
bring city of angels to A
Angels Flight
Michael Connelly
Little, Brown, and Company
When Michael Connelly was a young boy, he reli-
giously read the Hardy Boys series, sparking his life-
long interest in mysteries. And though Connelly is
famous for his best-selling mystery novels, "Angels
Flight" is especially enthralling not only because of its
plot twists, but also because of the riotous situation in
Los Angeles that is the setting of the book.
Michael Connelly has had eight novels published in
the past eight years. He has won an Edgar Award, the
Nero Wolfe Prize and the Anthony Award. He started
writing his novels after moving from Florida to Los
Angeles to be a crime reporter. He still lives there, and
all of his novels are set in Los Angeles.
Connelly uses Los Angeles as a character in his nov-
els. In his latest thriller, Harry Bosch, the main detec-
tive on the case and the novel's protagonist, "finds
good things in Los Angeles even on this dark trail,"
Connelly said. The author sites one of his inspirations
for this novel as the re-opening of Angels Flight, an
inclined railway in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
In the story Howard Elias, a lawyer who is famous for
his lawsuits against the Los Angeles Police Department
about racism and brutality, is found murdered at the foot of
Angels Flight. The incident sparks much controversy and
riots closely resembling the national-
ly publicized L.A Riots of 1992.
"The 1992 riots were a source
of inspiration," Connelly
Michael explained. He covered the riots
Connelly when he worked as a reporter for
Borders the Los Angeles Times.
"They indelibly marked me and
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. the book is somewhat of a tribute
to that," he said. The riots are also
why Los Angeles plays an even
more integral role in this novel
than for his others.
Connelly's other inspiration, not
specifically for this book, but for
his writing in general, is the famous
mystery writer Raymond Chandler. He continually uses
Chandler's books as blueprints for his own mysteries.
Connelly cites Chandler's "The Long Goodbye" as the
model for his first book, "The Black Echo."
This book introduced Harry Bosch as the perfect
LAPD detective and six out of Connelly's eight books
have had Bosch as the protagonist. In this particular
novel, Harry is notable for his morals, even in the
sometimes morally questionable world of Los Angeles
crime. The problems he has with his wife make a good
side story and give the character depth.
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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
Although Sharon Stone doesn't seem the motherly type, she seems to take a lik-
ing to this boy in "Gloria."
"bond" with Nicky (after sleeping in
a few hotels and eating in various din-
ers for a couple of days) is too great
to sacrifice. Since she has to start her
life over anyways, why not add a kid
the equation?
The problem with this movie is that
though Stone is somewhat appealing
to watch on the screen, her character
is way too overemphasized and her
actions so overly deliberate that it
feels as though Lumet is putting her
up on a pedestal with no one to look
at her. We tire of the same New York
accent she almost does a good job of
emulating, and we tire of her tough-
girl demeanor. Also, Nicky's charac-
ter gets tedious as a kid who wants to
be tough, but needs parental guid-
ance, and therefore turns out to be
stubborn, but not in the "cute" way
that we would want him to be.
An appearance by George C. Scott
as Kevin's ringleader is actually fairly
well-done, but loses all respect in a
chat with Gloria when he (an elderly
man) mentions the fact that they used
to be a couple. How can we have
respect for Gloria when we know she
slept with someone four times her
age? It's OK that she went down the
wrong path with Kevin and ends up in
jail, but we can't forgive her for going
down on an old guy.
Most entertaining is the cameo by
Cathy Moriarty, who plays an idol of
Gloria's throughout her entire life.
Somehow, she made a lot of sense as
someone Gloria would admire.
But most of the movie deals with
Lumet's attempt at capturing as much
of New York City's street life on cam-
era and providing a wardrobe for
Sharon Stone of every conceivable
sexy outfit. Nice try, but a beautiful
woman and the Big Apple isn't going
to make up for everything else that is
lackluster in "Gloria."
Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company
Michael Connelly will read tonight at Borders.
Connelly writes in a simple style that is easy for the
masses to follow. More complicated prose would not
be appropriate for such a murder mystery story and
would serve to take focus away from the plot. But he
does include symbolism, the Angels Flight railroad for
example, which serves to sophisticate the story.
The story's strengths, like his other books and like
all good mysteries, lie in the surprise plot twists that
take the reader into S&M parlors, child pornography
Websites, and into the corruption dwelling in the
police department. And again, Harry Bosch's character
is a strength that has worked for five previous books
and continues to work in this one.
The book Connelly is working on lately, however, is
not a "Harry Bosch novel," as this one introduces itself
to be on the front cover. His next book, about a female
burglar, differentiates itself from his other books right
away in two important ways: There is a female protag-
onist, and she's a criminal as opposed to being on the
right side of the law. But the story still takes place
mainly in Los Angeles.
Though his future plans are still in the works,
Connelly is in the midst of his tour for "Angels Flight."
He offered helpful hints for aspiring writers, like the
piece of advice that he received from former teacher
Harry Crews: "If you're writing, write every day," he
offered. Eight books and three awards later, that is
clearly how Connelly became what he is today.
Connelly will read from "Angels Flight" at Borders
from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Gina Hamadev
Museum digs up 75-year history
a a
Five Great Reasons
to Get a Degree
in Pharmacy From
the University of
~ichigan
I Outstanding employment
opportunities (a virtually
recession-proof career choice)
2 An average base annual salary
of $64,823 for pharmacists with
a PharmD degree
3You'd be part of a small, yet
diverse student body (only 220
PharmD students total)
4 An exceptional
alumni network (3,000
worldwide, with a high
concentration in leader-
ship positions)
5 Consistently ranked
among the top three
colleges of pharmacy
in both US News &
World Report and the
Gourman Report.
To learn about career oppor-
tunities in pharmacy from those
in practice, and for information
about the Pharmacy Program at
U-M, join us 7-9 pm in
Room 1544, C.C. Little
By Leah Zaiger
Daily Arts Writer
This year marks the University's plat-
inum anniversary in archaeology, and the
Kelsey Museum
has 75 years of
fieldwork and
about 100,000
Kelsey Museum objects to show
Fieldwork for it -more than
1924-1999 enough reason to
Kelsey M useum see the new cele-
Thruseum bration exhibit.
Beginning in
1924, the museum
has helped sup-
port and sponsor
more than 20
archaeological
research projects.
From excavation to surface reconnais-
sance in the Mediterranean and Near
East, this exhibit displays statues, glass
work, tomb stones, scriptures, pottery
and more.
In the '20s and '30s, many of the pro-
jects' discoveries seemed to go unno-
ticed due to the fact that they were often
divided between the host country and the
institution sponsoring the work. But the
museum does still hold many of the
pieces from the first two decades of
research. With maps and photographs of
many of the sites and momentary dis-
coveries, the exhibit offers a retrospec-
tive of the past 75 years of fieldwork
supported by the Kelsey Museum.
The Kelsey work has always focused
on the margins of the Mediterranean and
Near East. Kelsey's first project dealt
with two sites, Karanis, a Graeco-Roman
town in Egypt, and Antioch of Pisidia, a
Roman colony in Asia Minor. Karanis
was ultimately a huge success with
45,000 findings shipped to Ann Arbor for
display. With the exception of the Cairo
Museum, the Kelsey offers the best rep-
resentation of daily life in Graeco-
Roman Egypt during that time period.
The Karanis pieces displayed include
a glass series. The seven glass vessels
shown were discovered in 1927 by a
University archaeologist. There were
three additional flasks found as well,
which were discovered to be concealed
inside a pottery jar. It is said that the
glass works were treasured pieces passed
down through generations despite their
ability to be reproduced.
Other major sites include Egypt,
North Africa, Israel, Iraq and Carthage,
the famous city-state and rival of Rome.
Beginning in 1925, archaeologists from
the University started their excavations,
discovering burial urns with the remains
of sacrificed infants. But because of a
pause during World War II, fieldwork
did not resume until the mid-'50s when
the museum once again sponsored a
series of projects in Libya and Syria.
As you enter the museum, the exhibit
H 1
area is divided into rooms each contain-
ing different sites and time periods. In
the Greece, Etruria and Rome.section,
between 1,000 BC and 500 AD, the
play includes carved marble statues o
emperor, an empress and many other
people of the time. Researchers deduced
this based on hairstyles, marble types,
and clothes worn by the subjects. Also
on display is "The Aleman Mosaic,"
made up of marble and glass tessarae,
which was created in the second century
AD by the Greek poet Aleman. It is one
of only two of its kind. This room also
holds marble tombstones inscribed for
the gods of the underworld as well
free blown glass, a landmark develo#
ment of 50 BC. There is a display by a
history of art class, Archaeology 221,
which contains black-figure pottery.
Another highlight is the coffin of
Djheutymose found in Egypt between
685 and 525 BC. This painted wooden
container is decorated with intricate-
design both inside and out. But the dis-
play explains that the shoulder area of
the coffin is slightly shaved av*
because upon Djheutymose's burial ,t;
was discovered that his body was too
large for the case.
The Kelsey Museum displays thee
artifacts and their background informa'
tion in comprehensive and aesthetically;
appealing ways. With mirrors placei
beneath large pieces on stands and
detailed descriptions explaining the
archaeological and historical back'
grounds, the exhibit is user friendly an
educational.
Submissions for the ::
1999 Literary
Magazine are due at,'
noon on Friday, Feb.:,
19. See Weekend,
etc. Magazine on
Thursday for more
information.
=Ow
STUDENTS WITH
CROHN'S DISEASE
OR ULCERATIVE
COLITIS
Please join
Dr. Ellen Zimmermann
Asst Professor of
Gastroenterology, U of M
for an informal discussion
Lift your voice and shore our ideas
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