ssack's Chicago Cinema
Going back to his roots, John Cusack
returns to the suburbs of Chicago in his
latest film, "High Fidelity" (Opens Fri.).
M-Flicks screening at Lorch, 9 p.m.
ARTS
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2000
5
michigandaily.com /arts
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By John Uhi
Daily Arts Writer
Ever seen a rerun of one of those old "Star
Search" episodes in which the likes of a Leanne
Rimes or Alanis Morissette are shown performing
at an obnoxiously young age? Such curiosities,
especially when they reveal the premature embar-
rassment of a current pop sensation (1 saw one in
which one of today's starlets had quite a tough time
hitting some of her high-register notes), have been
the fodder of VH-l's attempts to attract a more
youthful audience on programs like "Behind the
Music" or "Whatever Happened to ... ?"
Optimistically, I'd like to think that the "Star
Search" preoccupation with seeking out talented
youths has more to do with
vaunting the promise of the
performers and the pristine
quality of a pre-adolescent
Alison voice (rather than possibly
Krauss providing the easy prey of a
Michigan Theater blunder left for later exploita-
Tonight at 7:30 tion by cable magnets).
Thus I come to Alison
Krauss, who learned to play
fiddle when she was five, has
been making records since
she was fifteen and is
presently the youngest mem-
ber of the Grand Ole Opry.
Although perhaps not herald-
ed on "Star Search," she is an example of a highly
touted youth who, as predicted, has become instru-
mental to the current evolution of popular music.
Her transparent soprano voice, retaining all the
tonal clarity of an eleven-year-old's, is both an
example of the appeal of innocence and representa-
tive ofjust what makes her music so good: It's pre-
sentation is absolutely flawless.
The songs on Krauss' latest recording, "Forget
About It,"subtly exemplify all of her stylistic influ-
ences: Country; bluegrass; radio-friendly pop from
the past couple decades. But despite the fact that
this sort of synthesis is becoming more and more
pertinent with the megasales of Garth Brooks and
the Dixie Chicks winning two Grammys this year,
Kung-fu 'Romeo'
rides Jet of action
By David Victor
Daily Arts Writer
As an avid fan of the typical martial
arts flick (those with Jackie Chan, Bruce
Lee et al), I was looking forward to
"Romeo Must Die," starring martial arts
superstar Jet Li. I guess it's not surprising
that Hollywood, in its efforts to
"American-ize" the martial arts movie,
did a disservice to the genre with
"Romeo" This film has Kung Fu
promise, but it is dragged down by having
too much plot and overbearing special
effects.
The title ofthe film gives away its gen-
"I
Courtesy of Rounder Recmds
Angelic-voiced, fiddle virtuoso Alison Krauss leads her backing band, Union Station, into the Michigan Theater.
Romeo
Must Die
Grade: C+
At Briarwood. Quality 16
& Showcase
eral premise:
Romeo and Juliet
set in an urban
gangwar. Li plays
Han, the son of a
crime boss who
escapes from jail
to avenge his
brother's death.
His father now
runs an Asian
crime gang in
opposition with a
black gang, led by
Isaac (Delroy
Lindo). In his
they are generally not examples of a revolutionary
manipulation of pop song structure.
Yet, considering the nature of the company she
surrounds herself with on the record, blowing
minds was not her intent. The performance of her
band Union Station tonight has been promoted as
"featuring Jerry Douglas" Douglas, who appears
on "Forget About It," plays dobro and is perhaps the
finest musician to finger a slide instrument since
Duane Allman. He last appeared in Ann Arbor this
past fall with banjoist Bela Fleck and a cast of
instrumental bluegrass superstars, stealing the
show with an exhibition of unparalleled virtuosity.
His playing on "Forget About It," however, is
much more reserved. His presence is limited to
background trim, textural filler plugging the
gaps between Krauss' vocal phrases, and solos
that are a simple, elegant restatement of the
piece's melody. -
The same is true on "Forget About It" for
respected mandolin player Sam Bush, who con-
tributes undertones to several tunes. Krauss her-
self can play a mean fiddle, but keeps her solos
to enticing glimpses as well. Even stars like
Dolly Parton and Lyle Lovett appear for a song,
though only as background singers. The fact
that high-profile performers would take the
time to sing harmony (on most of the tunes.
Krauss sings the harmonies herself, and very
well) says as much for the prestige Krauss has
achieved in Nashville as it does about her
emphasis on compiling a well-rounded record-
ing.
This emphasis is somewhat unique to
Nashville, where all of the musicians mentioned
do a little bit of hired gun jumping from studio
to studio. For instance, Krauss has done session
work for both Douglas and Parton.
The nature of the Nashville music industry,
third in size only to New York and Los Angeles,
encourages this musical mingling. First, many
of country music's stars don't write their own
music. Krauss didn't write a single song on
"Forget About It." Not that this is much differ-
ent from the rest of the popular music world, but
Nashville in particular creates a special niche
for its songwriters (no one runs away to the
Music City with aspirations of singing a hit
song, they all hope to write one).
This leaves the task of interpretation up to
folks like Krauss and Union Station, which
makes "Forget About It" quite an achievement.
Each of the songs on the album has a distinctive
melody, tone and subject, but they are all held
together by a flavor that belongs only to Krauss
and her band members.
Thus, tonight Ann Arbor will have a chance
to see Krauss and Union Station try to change
characters are transparent. Anyway,
enough of this plot stuff, what about the
fighting?
Li is clearly made for fighting
onscreen. He has the boyish, energetic
charm of Jackie Chan, but also pulls offa
mean, "I will eat your soul!" demeanor
reminiscent of Chow-Yun Fat. His fight-
ing scenes in this movie vary on the
action meter, but a couple things stand
out, both positive and negative.
Whenever Li fights someone else of
the Kung Fu persuasion, it is a sight to
behold. The sparring is top-notch, full of
martial arts goodness. In one unique
scene, Li and Aaliyah team up to take on
a baddie together. Li uses her as a human
weapon, flinging her around to attack
their opponent.
The only goofy contrivance that per-
meates these scenes is the unnecessary
use of computer effects to "enhance" the
action. More than once, we are propelled
through the fighter's body, seeing his
bones break as if through an X-ray. These
are just confusing to watch.
Also, gratuitous aerial maneuvering
tricks ruin some fight scenes. They sim-
ply belong in their own genre, and seem
out of place in "Romeo." Anyone who
has seen the outrageously absurd "Iron
Monkey" knows what I'm talking about.
The other fight scenes, where Li faces
off against big "American-style" bruisers,
are sometimes just plain confusing. Li
just tramples them and rarely takes a hit
from them. Too many quick cuts disorient
the viewer, and instead of seeing Li in
action, you only see a blur and its after-
math -a letdown of graceful martial arts
in action.
The music, in part by Aaliyah and
DMX, fits the gritty urban landscape
of the film. The opening credits, while
admittedly not a big part of the film,
are impressively composed to hip-hop.
Unfortunately, booty-shaking music
does not a film make. Unless you
crave tedious plot with your Kung Fu,
check out the aforementioned "Iron
Monkey," or Jackie Chan's "Drunken
Master 2" instead. You'll be doing
yourself and your yen for fists of fury
a favor.
search, he falls for the "Juliet" of the pic-
ture, Trish (played by Hip-Hop singer
Aaliyah), who happens to be Isaac's
daughter. They work together to unravel
the conspiracy tearing the two gangs
apart.
However, this is no Shakespeare. The
writing is atrocious. But hey, the writing
in most Kung Fu films isn't that great.
The dialogue in this film tries to hold up
a much more involving plot that most
Kung Fu films glance over while serving
up lots of fighting action. Too much talk,
talk, talk slows down this promising
action film.
Don't get me wrong, a good story can
make or break a movie, but they really
aren't important when you go to the
movie to see Li kick everyone's ass. Just
as in any other movie of this kind, the plot
is thin and predictable. The "surprise vil-
lain" isn't much of a surprise, and the
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