D Carol Adams presents "The Sexual Politics of Meat." Adams'
lecture and slide show, based on her 1990 book, analyzes the
feminist aspects of vegetarianism. Rackham Aud., 7:30 p.m.
8 Tuesday
March 23, 1999
r lclymoailg
Tomorrow in Daily Arts:
Daily Arts previews the School of Music performance of
Mozart's last opera, "The Magic Flute."
-',
*;. ..
Eastwood saves
Crime' from death
Premise of 'Forces' can't weather storms
By Laura Flyer
Daily Arts Writer
Reporter is assigned human-inter-
est story about a criminal. Sinks
teeth into files and finds out guy is
imniocent. Reporter fights against all
odds, triumphs, justice prevails.
Once again it would sdem like
another film bites the dust with the
same self-righteous plot and all-too-
familiar character types, but some-
thing about "True Crime" elevates it
to a higher degree.
After reaching critical heights in
1992 with the Oscar-winning
Unforgiven" and then fading from
view, Clint Eastwood shows his
flare for directing in "True Crime"
that has been absent from his recent
films.
Eastwood also stars as newspaper
reporter Steve Everett, who has
True
Crime
At Ann Arbor 1&2
and Showcase
some issues in
his life that
negate his
credibility
with his co-
workers. After
sleeping with
The New York
Times' owner's
wife, married-
man Everett
moves to
California and
wastes no time
jumping into
Washington) who is hours away
from being put to death.
While he insists he has a "nose"
for such things, editor in chief, Alan
(James Woods), goes crazy over
Everett's seemingly implausible
hunches and threatens to fire him if
he doesn't stick to the right story
and stop playing Santa Claus.
Everett has to struggle with time
constraints and his editor and edi-
tor-in-chief breathing down his neck
in order to solve the problem of
finding the truth.
"True Crime" loses big time with
respect to the fact that it's trying to
portray the justice system realisti-
cally, real-life problems, etc., all of
the clues fall into Evertt's lap too
easily. Everett's idealism; in other
words, never catches up with reali-
ty. Because Everett knows no other
way, he will continue to expect
things to work out the way he wants
them to.
Eastwood's gruff voice and hal-
lowed eyes take a little getting
used to, perhaps because his fea-
tures make him seem a little too
profound for a reporter who con-
sistently cheats on his wife. Still,
his subtle humor and quirky man-
nerisms balance out the question-
ability of his character by the end
of the film.
Given plenty of wisecracks and
witty dialogue, James Woods deliv-
ers with panache. Washington as the
accused criminal who refuses to
back down from his contentions
innocence, also carries his character
well.
Touching sequences of bonding
time with Everett and his daughter
(Kate) are memorable. Anxious
about solving the mystery of the
murder case, Everett decides to turn
a leisurely day at the zoo with Kate
at "Fast Zoo," where he plunks her
in a cart and whisks her through the
park in less than 30 minutes.
Everett gets Kate injured, and,
just like the film and the moralistic
theme it purports, Santa Claus does-
n't exist; you can't set everything
right all the time.
Forces of
Nature
At Showcase
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4'
y f i -
By Kristin Long
Daily Arts Writer
The mere title of the latest Ben
Affleck-Sandra Bullock comedy "Forces
of Nature" suggests that the film's
premise rests on chance and coincidence,
and how one might overcome the obsta-
cles imposed thereby and live a happy
life
While "Forces"
does rely heavily
on chance, it abus-
es its premise and
weakly tries to
combine elements
of artistic expres-
sion and pure
human emotion.
The result, howev-
er, is a contrived
series of coinci-
dences that just
leaves us annoyed
with the plot.
The problems
begin from the outset. At his bachelor
party in New York, Ben Holmes
(Affleck) reveals that he is a rather
uptight fellow who lives within the box,
so to speak, and the thought of doing any-
thing wild or even mildly adventurous
makes him nauseous. For Ben's last night
of freedom, his best man, played by Steve
Zahn ("Out of Sight"), hires a stripper to
give him a taste of the "good" life one last
time. But the good times cease when
Ben's grandfather has a heart attack. This
forces Ben to postpone his departure for
Savannah (the site of his wedding) with
his fiancee (Maura Tierney), and opens
the door wide open for Ben to meet com-
plications galore.
How convenient.
After an accident at the airport, Ben
meets the wild and obnoxious Sarah
(Sandra Bullock), who for some odd rea-
son, Ben takes on as a travel companion
- despite the fact that his first impres-
sion of her is one of fear and oddness.
Perhaps it seems logical that this
straight-laced engaged man accompany
this eccentric crazy woman down the
coast, but then it also must be logical that
he experience a hurricane, a hail storm, a
train mishap and get on a bus bound for
Miami, all over the course of two days.
What a great use of convenience - er,
coincidence.
Plausibility is a major death trap for
the film's entire premise. While Ben's
trying to fight clearly superficial feelings
toward Sarah, his fiancee Bridgit is fight-
ing off the affection of old flame Steve
(David Strickland). Whether or not she
still has feelings for him is unclear
throughout the entire film, but it does
nonetheless make for, well, conve i
contrast to Ben's fling.
The acting in the film is equally pr
lematic. Affleck's actions seem forced
and excessive, leading us to believe That
little screentime makes us like our "Good
Will Hunting" and "Shakespeafd in
Love" friend better. Bullock reprises her
obnoxious, free-spirited "Speed" 'ole.
Blythe Danner makes a poor appreairince
as Bridgit's drunken mother.
"Forces of Nature" succeeds only in its
unexpected and almost real conclusi
As the story progresses, we begin to eas-
ily predict what will happen, thus the
unanticipated ending redeems the film
ever so slightly.
From the goofy cinematic rain dops
used throughout the film to the lame
adventures, even the most imaginative
mind won't appreciate the fantastic ele-
ments of the plot. The combination of
real emotions and fabricated occurrences
makes for an unpleasant fit.
Everything in this movie is a matter#
convenience - awkward convenience
- that begs for some force of nature to
make it all just go away.
Courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures
Ben Affleck is talked into "stripping" by Sandra Bullock In "Forces of Nature."
Napalm Death covers ground to St Andrew's
bed with the editor of the Oakland
Tribune's wife. And he refuses to
,abide by the office's no-smoking
But while infidelity and a child-
like, rebellious nature characterize
:verett, he refuses to deceive or lie.
"14e confesses to his crimes, and
admits he's made some mistakes.
So when his editor, Bob, assigns
him a human-interest story straight
from the jail cell of a criminal, he
realizes he'd better play his cards
right and not screw up, or face the
consequences. Yet he stumbles
upon some shady information that
calls into question the culpability
of the accused murderer (Isaiah
By Adlin Rosli
Daily Arts Writer
British group Napalm Death swore the last time it
played Detroit that it would never come back again.
On its last trek across the
states, its performance at
Harpo's was disrupted by fas-
cist white power audience
Napalm members who insisted on
Death' intimidating the crowd and
St. Andrew's Hall causing fights.
Tonight at 8 p.m. Despite the Harpo's experi-
ence, however, fans of the
group and heavy music in gen-
eral can rejoice. Napalm Death
will be back in Detroit on
March 23 in a different venue,
St. Andrew's Hall. Despite a
venue and its location only
being a small factor in what
type of crowd will show up for a performance, the
fact that St. Andrew's Hall is nestled only paces
away from Greektown and a police station definite-
ly helps the overall atmosphere and safety of the
show.
The group has a long history of vocal anti-racism
views. One of the group's popular tee shirts reads,
"Nazi Punks, Fuck Off" and singer Greenway is an
active member of the Anti Racist Action (ARA)
group.
"I'm very forward about my convictions, and I
just think its stupid for these white power fascists to
come to shows for the sake of bullying people
around. It's not fair if kids come out to see a band
and they get prevented from doing so because of
these bullies you know?" Greenway said. Other
members of the ARA in the Detroit area are also
expected to attend the show, just in case.
The group has had a long illustrious career, begin-
ning in the early '80s as the prototype Grind-core
band. Because of numerous line-up changes, none
of the group's original members remain today.
Previous members include diverse genre respecta-
bles such as Bill Steer of death metal legend Carcass
and Mick Harris of dance/dub act Scorn. Greer vay
and company recently released their new albu
called "Words From The Exit Wound," which h
brought some unexpected attention to the group-
Greenway remains modest about the attenti,
however. "The thing about Napalm Death is tha: %
don't get respect from anyone," he said. "Not tle
punk scene, not the death metal scene ... we're like
the shit stuck on the sole of your boots. We love
doing what we do and that's why we do it, soiiwe
really appreciate the attention we have been getting
lately."
At the same time, Greenway also mentioned4hat
the group has no plans of mellowing its "crud
head-first" style of musical brutality in the rrgw
future despite such recent commercial flirtipig -
"We've establish Napalm Death as what it is and I'm,
still into the same things I liked from the begin-,
ning," he said. "Bands like Motorhead and death
metal bands, although the scene isn't as big as it
used to be, there still is a scene. I still love that gut;
feeling you get from the music, that heaviness."
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Chucky slashes into video store,
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By Matthew Barrett
Daily Arts Writer
He's back and he's married. Yes,
Chucky, star of the critically acclaimed
"Child's Play" series returns in "Bride
of Chucky," new on video shelves
today. Chucky laughs it up with
Jennifer Tilly as they try to devise a
plan to save her career. Will the wily
doll settle down after taking his holy
vows? Will Jennifer Tilly ever work in
this town again? Will they ever stop
making horror sequels? Only the
Chuck-man knows for sure.
He's back, he's big and he's nominat-
ed for an Oscar. Joe the mighty,
Charlize Theron and Bill "Attack
Back" Paxton all get together and brave
the elements for the animal adventure
"Mighty Joe Young." No word on
whether Joe and Amy from "Congo"
have replaced Ben and Gwyneth as the
Courtesy of New Line Cinema and Universal
Joan Allen portrays a perfect mother in "Pleasantville." Chucky's back in "Child's Play."
hot new item in Hollywood. If so, King
Kong is jealous.
And finally, the special effects
throwback "Pleasantville." Here
Tobey Maguire and Reese
Witherspoon play modern teens who
get sucked into their television set.
Once inside their magic box, the two
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