Seeing double
l heck out Neshe Sarkozy's review of
Saturday's Czech Philharmonic concert
at Hill Auditorium and Jee Chang's
review of Friday's Moscow Virtuosi at
Rackham. Both are availiable online.
michigandaily.com /arts
ARTS
MONDAY
APRIL 3, 2000
A
Pacey's performance saves unintriguing secret 'Skulls'
By Erin Podolsky
Daily Arts Writer
Always quick to capitalize on news and
human interest stories, Hollywood rushed
"McNamara's Choice: The Michigamua
Story" into production last month and this
week releases it in theaters. Focusing on one
man's induction - and subsequent attempt
The Skulls
Grade: C+
At Briarwood, Quality 16
& Showcase
to expose and escape
from - a secret society
on a college campus, the
film stars many past and
present University stu-
dents.
Just kidding.
"The Skulls," Joshua
Jackson's first bona fide
star turn since coming
to fame first as a
Mighty Duck and now
as the heart and soul of
TV teen soaper
"Dawson's Creek," on
the surface shares quite
"The Skulls" counts murder and blackmail
among its other desultory semi-delights.)
Jackson's Luke McNamara, underprivi-
leged-boy-makes-good extraordinaire, is
sort of the Michael Corleone of the Skulls, a
secret society at Yale. Just when he thought
he was out, they pull him back in. Poor kid.
Luke's roommate Will Beckford (Hill
Harper), the only black kid on campus and
therefore required to criticize everything
around him as being against him, dumps his
friend in rage after he's selected to the
Skulls. "If it's secret and elite, it can't be
good," Will spits. Luke isn't so sure; after
all, the day after his initiation he discovers
that his bank account mysteriously gained
$20,000 overnight; when he gets a chickmo-
bile shortly thereafter, who's he going to
complain to? Of course good ol' Will is a
prophet, so when he turns up dead Luke
looks to blame his new blood brother in the
Skulls, rich preppie daddy's boy Caleb
Mandrake (Paul Walker).
Oddly enough, the Skulls seem to be a
rather accepting and tolerant bunch. To a
point, anyway - no men of color or women
of any hue count themselves among the
group's ranks, but they have no problem
making Luke, who is virtually penniless and
an orphan (not to mention the worst thing to
be at a college, as "Breaking Away" taught
us so well: A townie), a Skull. The townie
aspect of Luke is a bit over the top, given
that it's only there in order for him to have
some less-than-savory townie friends who
will ultimately help him in his endeavor to
expose the cold, cruel hearts of the Skulls. In
fact, a lot of things about "The Skulls" are
over the top, as the film adds layer upon
layer of silly plot developments strictly for
the purpose of making the society as devious
as possible.
Luke recruits the ne'er-do-wells and his
best friend Chloe (Leslie Bibb) to help him
topple the Skulls' regime, which of course is
run by ambitious and evil politicians, as well
as members high within the Yale administra-
tive infrastructure. Several cover-ups later,
guess who wins?
While "The Skulls" isn't anything special,
Joshua Jackson delivers an extremely watch-
able, slightly Pacey-esque performance with
an edge. He's pretty much the only reason to
see the movie, unless you haven't had your
fill of the action in the Union tower. Long on
mystery and short on intrigue, the movie
should at least keep your secret club needs
satisfied for another couple of hours.
a bit with the recent campus goings-on in
regard to a certain not-so-secret society.
That's where the similarities end, though.
(Or I hope that's where they end, given that
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Will Joshua "Pacey" Jackson escape the clutches of the always manalcal Skulls? We hope not.
'Mule' races through D-town
I
By Andrew Ladd
Daily Arts Writer
With my first Saturday night of
usic in the Motor City finished, I
Gov't
Mul e
St. Andrew's
April 1, 2000
now sit with the
task of summa-
rizing the night's
events but can
only find the
words to
describe the
lengthy car ride
back to Ann
Arbor (a ride
that included an
extended tour of
d o w n t o w n
Detroit and what
I am told to be a
"slice of Europe
I
tive metaphor can be extended to the
performances of Gov't Mule and
North Mississippi All Stars at St.
Andrew's Music Hall. After all, nei-
ther band is a stranger to life on the
road.
The All Stars opened the night in
stellar fashion. Their brand of jam-
happy Delta Blues effectively
warmed up a crowd that was gra-
cious enough to welcome two-thirds
(and eventually all) of Gov't Mule
onstage for the All Stars' last two
songs. The collaborative juices were
flowing and the Mule/All Stars
combo treated Motown to a fine
example of great driving. Building
tension in each song, the All Stars
reached critical speed yet did not
lose control, bringing their car suc-
cessfully around the corners of each
jam eventually settling their pride-
and-joy safely in the driveway.
Effective combination of the All
Stars' guitar/bass/drums line-up with
Warren Haynes' smoking fretwork
and Matt Abst's drumming built each
song to climax, each subsequent jam
was brought down with the same
care with which it was built.
In contrast to the All Stars' master
driving, Mule came out after a
lengthy break like drag racers, tear-
ing through "Lay Your Burden
Down" in a matter of minutes. Just
like a drag race, the quick start left
the crowd feeling unfulfilled and
Mule played as if they were under a
caution flag.
Although Mule certainly is a
power trio that can play with the best
of them, sometimes power isn't
enough; which was realized as these
See MULE, Page 8
WWWMICHI-
GANDAIL Y.COM
Graduating Students
Consider a lucrative career in
commercial real estate sales.
We're a local company, looking to
hire a self-starting, business-
oriented graduate with a good
sense of humor. I have 33 years in
real estate, yet keep an open mind
and respect for the abilities and
opinions of younger agents. Sound
interesting? Call Gary or visit our
web site (which is being rebuilt after
an electrical problem fried it).
Gary Lillie & Associates
Realtors
(734)663-6694
www.garylillie.com
GARGOYLE HMOR MGAE'sf
final issue of the year will be on sale
April 3rd - April 7th in Angell Hall
for only one dollar!
A TN'T SO!
Don't worry, we'll
be back next year!
in America"). Perhaps, the automo-
Be our guest!
Taking a break from the
books this spring and summer? Be our
guest at Oakland University and get ahead
of the game next fall.
Take a couple of courses (you can choose
from more than 1,000 spring or summer
classes) that will directly transfer to-your
home university, and be one step closer to
graduation.
Oakland University welcomes students
from other universities by offering
transferable classes to guest students during
spring and summer term.
Think Ahead
Call: (800) OAK - UNIV
Fax: (248) 370 - 4462
Web: www.oakland.edu
Email: ouinfo@oakland.edu
2000 Spring session: May 1 -June 23
2000 Summer session: June 26 - Aug. 21
Yes! I am interested in finding out more about
Oakland University's spring and summer classes.
Please send information on:
U College of Arts and Sciences
D School of Business
Administration
Q School of Education and
Name
College Address
I
m