* Lucky 'Limey'
8 "The Limey" opens a weekly run at the Michigan Theater.
Stephen Soderbergh's follow-up to his charming "Out of Sight" is
actually a pseudo follow-up to Ken Loach's 1967 film "Poor Cow."
continuing the life of the main character, Wilson, played then and
now by Terence Stanp.
fte 10*m
Monday in Daily Arts:
. Check out reviews of this weekend's releases, the sexy
"Body Shots" and "Three To Tango."
Friday
October 22, 1999
5
"Dead'
breathes
life into
-fall ifims
By Ed Sholinsky
Daily Film Editor
There are two things to keep in mind
when viewing Martin Scorsese's new
film "Bringing Out the Dead." First,
*Scorsese primarily defines situations and
characters visually, unlike less talented
filmmakers who do it through dialogue.
Second, "Bringing Out the Dead" is a
comedy - a pitch black comedy. So
laugh.
Not that "Bringing Out the Dead"
seems ripe for humor. It tells the
story of paramedic Frank Pierce
(Nicolas Cage) who laments not hav-
ing saved a life in six months after he
failed to save a young girl named
*Rose. And Frank not only feels like
he's in a slump, but Rose haunts him
and he resembles all the dead bodies
that he's encountered.
Frank has started to accepted his lot
Y a 2
A" -A
4y-4
i i
Cortesy of Paramourn Pictures
Nicolas Cage lends a hand, trying to get another Oscar nomination for Best Actor who looks like a corpse.
DJ Shadow spins
his magic at 'Fun'
By Andy Klein
Daily Ats Writer
When DJ Shadow (a k.a. Josh Davis)
broke onto the scene in 1991, he had
already been mixing in his own sort of
way for seven years. As a 12-year old,
Davis started to write and mix music
when he received a defective stereo sys-
tem with a turntable, cassette deck, CD
player and radio. The select knob could
be held between the record player and
the tape player so that both could be
heard simultaneously. He used this
defect, combined with his creativity and
love of music to his advantage, creating
new beats and using the turntable to
scratch over them. It appears as if Josh
Davis was destined to become DJ
Shadow.
In 1991, as a freshman at the
University of California at Davis, where
he worked for the campus radio station,
Shadow started the Soleside Crew. With
Bringing Out
the Dead
At Showcase
and Quality 16
in life, though, as
he's on the road
to alcoholism and
a slow death. His
partner Larry
(John Goodman)
watches Frank
burn out as a
waits for that he
makes captain,
gets a desk job
and can retire to
the boonies. The
two have a rela-
tionship of mutu-
al apathy towards
meet the former junkie that resides
within her - Frank and Mary kin-
dred souls of a sort.
This weird relationship takes off as
Larry gets sick (very conveniently over
the weekend) and leaves Frank to ride
with Marcus (Ving Rhames) and later
Tom Walls (Tom Sizemore). And the
movie really goes into overdrive from
here.
"Bringing Out the Dead" is a
departure from the work that
Scorsese has done in the '90s --
gangster epics "Goodfellas" and
"Casino," the costume drama "Age of
Innocence" and the religious epic
"Kundun" - and a return to his grit-
tv urban dramas of the '70s -"Mean
Streets" and "Taxi Driver." In his
return to yesteryear, Scorsese doesn't
miss a step.
"Bringing Out the Dead" has the
same frantic energy of "Mean
Streets" and the maddening effect of
"Taxi Driver" (written by Paul
Schrader, who also wrote "Bringing
Out the Dead"). Scorcese explores
the effects the streets have on people
whose lives resolve around them, and
drives at the core of their humanity.
Even in the "Inferno"-esque streets
that torment Frank, Scorsese man-
ages to find a piece of Heaven. He
communicates this with the each
beautifully composed shot and the
film's brilliant color schemes.
Though Scorsese deserves much of
the credit for the film's look, the con-
tribution of director of photography
Robert Richardson (who shot
"Casino" and all of Oliver Stone's
film, except the upcoming "Any
Given Sunday") can't be understated.
All of the aesthetic beauty comes
together largely thanks to the won-
derful performances from the large
cast. Cage leads the pack in his best
role since he won an Oscar for
"Leaving Las Vegas." Scorsese finds
a way of toning down the normally
off the wall actor whose outbursts are
few and well placed, and make for a
much more complex performance
than he's given in his post-Oscar crap
"8MM," "City of Angles" and "Con
Air." The Cage of "Bringing Out the
Dead" is the Cage of "Wild at Heart,"
"Raising Arizona" and "Leaving Las
Vegas," the Cage we know and love-
Cage is wonderfully supported by
Rhames and Sizemore -- both of
whom deserve Oscar nominations --
who play a Jesus freak and a violent
lunatic, respectively. Rhames and
Sizemore play off of Cage very effec-
tively as each of their brands of
insanity make for a potent mix.
Arquette once again proves that
she's the most talented member of her
family and holds her own as the lone
female principle character. She and
husband Cage have a lot of on screen
chemistry, even though it can't match
the perfection of his scenes with
Rhames and Sizemore.
The driving energy of the perfor-
mances matches the energy of the
film, making "Bringing Out the
Dead" one of the most satisfying,
deceptively beautiful movies of the
year.
DJ
Shadow
St. Andrew's Hall
Tonight at 10
six similarly
minded friends,
the group of
experimental DJs
released their first
effort in 1992.
Meanwhile, DJ
Shadow was
working on his
own with his
newly acquired
sampler to create
experimental hip-
hop without
lyrics, a style that
he would come to
releases again became available solely in
the U.K. Then, a singles collection,"Pre-
emptive Strike" was released interna-
tionally.
In 1998, DJ Shadow teamed up with
Lavelle to create "Psyence Fiction"
under the name UNKLE. UNKLE
marked a radical departure from DJ
Shadow's traditional lyricless hip-hop
style. With Lavelle as director of the pro-
ject, finding the desired collaborators
from Radiohead's Thom Yorke to
Metallica's Jason Newstead to Kool G
Rap, DJ Shadow composed the music
creating a masterpiece of diversity that
amazes both in its compositional com-
plexity and its use of collaboration.
While once obsessed with the notion
of making completely sample-based
music, DJ Shadow has backed off from
that stance slightly. So, if his primary
instrument is a sampler, what can he pos-
sibly bring to a live performance? Why
go to a concert and watch someone spin
records when you can play the record
from the comfort of your own home?
Some say that the live experience
brings an intensity to the music that is
not seen on the record. A certain energy
breeds in a live atmosphere when hun-
dreds of people are mixed with loud
music and fancy lights. Others complain
that there is no difference between a live
show and the recorded work because the
sounds are already programmed into the
sampler, and therefore cannot be inter-
preted and expanded upon by the artist.
Whatever the answer, this debate is
most likely an unending one. But one
thing is certain, electronic shows are
meant for dancing. And Friday night will
be no exception when615J Shadow brings
his intellectual beats to downtown
Detroit's St. Andrew's Hall for the city's
traditional Friday night dance party.
Three Floors of Fun, as it has been
dubbed, features three DJ's spinning
three different styles of music.
Featuring the man who takes his
music so seriously that he rarely cracks a
smile while performing and keeps his
eyes focused on his instruments may
hardly be able to notice how many fans
he has. DJ Shadow would probably play
for himself if he had to. He has a talent
for composing that most DJs are envious
of, and when you have that, music is all
you need,
W each other, as they count the seconds
for each shift to end.
Things start spinning out of control
for Frank on the first of three days
chronicled in the film. He responds
to a cardiac arrest and meets Mary
Burke (Cage's real-life wife, Patricia
Arquette), the daughter of the man
dying. While Frank initially sees a
cheerleader on the outside, he gets to
Shots'
director
tries to
*define sex
By. Christopher Tkaczyk
Daily Arts Writer
How casual is our sex? According
to the new film "Body Shots,"
directed by Michael Cristofer, it is
no longer an act of love, but a vio-
lent sport.
The definition of sex in America
t the end of the millennium is
determined through the twenty-
something generation, or so "Body
Shots" would insist. Within the film,
the mating habits of our youngest
adults would seem base and rid of
emotion. Inter-gender communica-
tion is portrayed as purely sexual
and mostly pathetic. But what are
the mating habits of the 20-some-
thing?
"I would describe them as desper-
4&," Cristofer said during a recent
interview.
"This film defines a generation
that has a great freedom with sex.
They live in a world where's there's
define. Unfortunately, this is not what
the music industry was looking for. They
wanted catchy one hit wonder acts with
a recognizable sing-along style. He con-
tinued to produce demos for traditional
hip-hop labels, but became frustrated
with being turned down for his innova-
tive blend of music that he refuses to
label saying, "Hopefully the stuff I'm
doing is a little bit harder to pin down."
Enter James Lavelle. Lavelle, owner
of the British independent label Mo'
Wax, heard one of DJ Shadow's earlier
works and fell in love with his unique
style. Until the groundbreaking
"Entroducing" which marked his world-
wide debut, DJ Shadow's releases were
only available in the U.K. Nevertheless,
after "Entroducing" hit the street, his
Solar Tribe blends
Eastern beats, rock
I
By David Reamer
For the Daily
Straight off of the streets of Lhasa,
Solar Tribe is set to invade the Blind
Pig tonight. Actually, Solar Tribe is
an independent band from Chicago,
but you wouldn't guess that at first
listen. The six-member group uses a
wide variety of instruments, includ-
ing the sitar, dijeridoo and Chinese
harp, to create a unique sound that
has led to a cult following at colleges
across the nation.
The self-proclaimed "tribal hypno
pop" artists have left the security of
sold-out shows in the greater
Chicago area
and are currently
/ touring the
Midwest in sup-
SOlar port of their new
it's packaged, offers viewers a look
at a night in the life of eight twenty-
somethings who have a little sex.
Most of them know each other, and
those that don't are introduced by
friends. They all go to the bar, drink,
dance, be merry, go home in pairs
and ... you know the rest. it would
seem that everyone is happy.
Until someone throws a yellow
flag and cries "rape." Then the film's
main conflict arises and the charac-
ters are torn between truth and
untruth. The rest of the film sur-
rounds a nasty rape charge and the
legal procedure in determining jus-
tice.
What's unique in "Body Shots" is
the use of interviews - brief scenes
in which the characters address the
camera and pontificate sex. Think of
them as "Real World" confessionals.
"We're able to get inside the char-
acters through the interviews,"
Cristofer said.
Giving each character's take on
sex and relationships allows for a
broad interpretation of the act. Sex
can be many things to many people
songs. Several of their songs include
Sanskrit chants, and references to
Eastern religions abound. These
influences can be attributed to the
diverse cultural background of the
band; several of its members are
practicing Buddhists, and Tibetan
theology permeates its work.
Influenced by the early works of
Led Zeppelin and Dead Can Dance,
as well as the music of Indian sitarist
of Ravi Shankar, Solar Tribe has
developed a singular, surrealistic
sound that ranges from generic pop
to full-out transcendental rock.
Citics have hailed the band as hav-
ing a sound somewhere between
Pink Floyd and Midnight Oil.
Solar Tribe frontman and producer
Ramsey Gouda, who spent seven
years studying at the University of
Michigan, believes that he and his
bandmates are often mistakenly
compared to the Grateful Dead
because of their use of psychedelic
color. Not that he's complaining;
comparisons to such legends are
taken as flattery.
In a city where diversity is often
taken for granted, and the term "psy-
chedelic" usually refers to narcotics,
truly transcendental performances
are few and far between. Solar Tribe
is one of a small number of acts to
successfully transcend musical
styles, religious beliefs and cultures
in a manner that is pleasing to the
ear. Solar Tribe has unlimited musi-
cal potential, and Ann Arbor is just
one of the steps in the band's path to
fame.
Tribe
Blind Pig
Tonight at 8
release,
"Conscious
Pilot." In the
course of this
tour, Solar Tribe
is playing a sin-
gle date opening
up for local
favorites The
Still, before
heading east to
5111
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Body
Shots
Directed by
Michael Cristofer
Opens Today
a different kind
of availability.
People of (this)
generation need
to get close to
people."
The differ-
ence between
need and want
are often associ-
ated with
demand.
Is there a
shortage of sex
promote their record.
In addition to the wide range of
instruments employed by the band,
Solar Tribe also incorporates diverse
lyrical content in their works, giving
their music a worldly feel. The use of
four vocalists helps to form a round-
ed, complex sound, and allows for
great variation between and within
i