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 ucen of bu b uegrass 'to. gmce 'U 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 I- I I I I r I ( I )2,59 ~ . : ,.; ate . r Sun M~crosvste pps announ ces the . owest 1es ever on its MA U tra TMw orkstations, I I