_. ARTS The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 18, 2000 - 9A *Foxx reels in catch with action and comedy of 'Bait' By Lyle Henretty For The Daily No one will ever write their doc- oral thesis on film theory and include the movie "Bait." This is precisely why it was worth the six bucks to see. It is an imaginative action-come- dy that improves Bait Grade: B At Showcase and Quality 16 <:hX. upon the genre w i t h o u t attempting to over step its bounds. It is fun enough to for- give plot con- trivances and logical holes large enough to drive an Expe- dition through. Yet, at the same time, director Antoine Fuqua flushes out torelli) just happened to have stolen $42 million in gold from the gov- ernment, though he got arrested for drunk driving. Alvin is given some cryptic information about the rob- bery, and then the gold thief dies before he has a chance to tell any- one (even his murderous partner, Bristol, played by David Hutchison) where the gold is. Just about the scariest FBI agent in film history (David Morse of "The Green Mile") decides that the only way to catch Bristol is to use Alvin as, say it with me now, bait. The government, unbeknownst to Alvin, implants a tracking device into his jaw that allows them to not only follow his every move, but also hear every word spoken by him or anyone around him. Then they put him back on the street, allowing Bristol to believe that his partner talked and that Alvin knows where the gold is. If this setup sounds familiar, you may remember Martin Lawrence's "Blue Streak." While Lawrence stretched one joke into a 90-minute sitcom, "Bait" succeeds in blending action and comedy and not allowing one to overshadow the other. A few minor slips aside, Foxx's one liners are believably drawn from the onscreen action. The jokes do not seem forced or out of place, as is the case in most of the genre (read: anything with Schwarzenegger). - The only real problem stems less from the predictability of the story, but rather the director's inclusion of truly obnoxious action movie clich- es. While the film builds suspense nicely in several scenes, the climax has both an explosion and a last minute slow-motion-shoot-the-bad- guy-before-he-shoots-the-hero save. I really should have expected it, especially from a script I've already deemed typical, but a guy can dream, can't he? Jamie Foxx has truly come a long way from his days of playing ugly women on television's "In Living Color." Here, he shows that his fine performance in "Any Given Sun- day" was no fluke. His Alvin is not a two-dimensional wiseacre, as he might have been in the hands of Lawrence or Chris Tucker. He uses humor to hide his own fears and insecurities. That sounds deep for an action movie, yet Foxx gives off both warmth and fear as his charac- ter discusses the role he would like to play in his young son's life. Morse is also highly enjoyable as the gruff FBI agent with a heart of, well, lead. His "Green Mile" char- acter was endearing and truly like- Courtesy of Castle Ro k Jamie Foxx stars as Alvin Sanders In "Bait." Hello? Is that your agent calling? You actually made a decent flick, Jamle. characters (or at *ast Foxx's character) beyond what we've come to expect in common action fare. The film begins with our inept hero Alvin Sanders (Jamie Foxx) ailed for stealing a couple of bags of shrimp (prawns, as he keeps }iesisting, that are worth more that shrimp). His cellmate (Robert Pas- able. Here, there is no doubt that he will stop at nothing, even allowing Alvin to die, in order to do his job. He is mean and over the top and often-times scarier than the villain. Every good trashy action movie should have a character like him. The rest of the cast is proficient in their stock action movie roles. Hutchison comes off as a junior John Malkovich - both looking and sounding like the illusive actor. Kimberley Elise ("Beloved"), David Paymer ("Get Shorty") and Jamie Kennedy ("Scream") also have small roles. So, the bottom line is that this is a popcorn movie through and through. Don't take a date if you want to impress her with your great taste, but if you're looking for something to sit back and enjoy,ilhfs is your movie. ;Suspects' director hits bullseye with 'Gun' By Joshua Gross Daily Arts Writer Scumbags shooting scumbags. Pure eauty. Especially when written and directed with the gritty, splinters under your fingernails, tobacco-stained teeth style of Christopher McQuarrie, noto- *us writer of "The Usual Suspects." In "The Way of the Gun," every moment has been constructed, almost scientifically, to be as bad-ass as possi- ile, making the film a religious specta- de worthy of Jim Baker, the icon of *orship being the gun and the posses- ior of that gun, the eternal scumbag. Not afraid to be unconventional, McQuarrie injectsl The Way of the Gun Grade: A- At Showcase and Quality 16 , / ai beer bottle broken his film with a slow, slow pace that feeds on sus- pense like a starving worm feeding on a rot- ten apple. The audience is ' dragged from beginning to end like as if tied to the back of a pick up truck, steadily gaining altitude. The movie begins with the visceral impact of n over your head at a from the safety of a bar's open door, concealed attackers heard but not seen. "There's always free cheese in the mousetrap," Benicio del Toro notes, babbling and shuffling his way through the film, doing what he does best. This movie is brutal, barbaric, palpa- bly and unflinchingly violent, but none of the thousands of bullets that are fired during its span are unnecessary. Most movies will glamorize the life of the criminal without implanting the nerd'y college-engulfed spectator into the skins of the characters. We watch rather that comprehend. Although you feel no sympathy for these characters, you walk alongside them, realizing how easy it is for every- thing to go wrong, understanding that a plan is always the least likely outcome. Anything can go wrong, anytime, and you won't be able to remedy it in time when it does. Criminals know this, bystanders do not, and this is the Hitch- cockian knowledge that the film com- municates. Apart from 1995's "Heat," this is one of the only films that truly make you understand what it feels like, mind, body and soul, to be in a shootout. Every open window, every concrete pil- lar, every glass door, every corner is an enemy, a big red target that a bullet can sneak its way through to find a home in your spleen. Apart from Ryan Phillippe, who cannot avoid looking like a Back- street Boy despite his- spurt of ratty facial hair, each actor handles his or her character with expertise, Juliette Lewis as a pregnant pawn of the sur- rounding criminals - Taye Diggs, James Caan, and Benicio del Toro. Each character, with their twisted and conflicting motives (aren't they always?) form a movie that, when the credits begin to role, makes you check the walls for bullet holes and the adjoining seats to make sure your friends are still alive. Courtesy of Artisan Entertainment Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro kick ass and take names in "The Way of the Gun." *earn how the world works... Study abroad in 20 international cities with Boston University bar fight, glass in your hair. Overflow- ing with profanity, it is a preparatory stunt for the audience, much like a fire- works display before an execution. It is the first of a number of scenes that uti- lize all the elements of film, camera angles, lighting, scenery, music, to #ct the paranoia and desperation of the characters. McQuarrie crafts irony laden, seat- shifting, sweat-gushing situations, a ransom exchange between two 18- wheel trucks amidst the deafening roar of machinery, a five mile an hour car chase, a bag of money plainly viewed Australia Belize China Ecuador England France Germany [reland Israel Italy I |_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __._ _ - -. Winter Commencement 2000 Sunday, Deadline for entries is 5 p.m. Friday, October 20,2000 Food for Thought December 17,2000 2:00 p.m.