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ARTS

THURSDAY
NOVEMBER 2, 2000

A


Smith, cast drop
ball in 'Legend.
of Bagger Vance'

Fall in
'Love'
with new
DVD

By Leslie Boxer
Daily Arts Writer
I hate watching golf on TV All of
that quiet clapping and whispering
by the announcers makes me long for
WWF wrestling tournaments. Robert
Redford's new movie, "The Legend
of Baggar Vance" is essentially two

hours of golf wit
The Legend
of Bagger
Vance
Grade: C-
Opens Friday
Depression. The
frame story from
Hardy Graves (J.

h a hackneyed plot
to loosely sup-
port Redford's
own dreams of
grandeur.
"The Legend
of Baggar
Vance" is based
on the novel of
the same name
by Steven
Pressfield. It
mixes elements
of myth and fan-
tasy with the
world of golf at
the time of the
film is told as a
the perspective of
Michael Moncrief

1900s - he is an exquisite golfer, a
handsome young man and seems to
be lucky in every aspect of his life.
When Junuh is sent away to war, he
seems to lose his soul and doubts his
place in society which is built upon
his successes. Upon his return to
Savannah, Junuh becomes a recluse
- he wants nothing to do with his
old life, he feels he does not deserve
the benevolence that Savannah has
lavished upon him.
In order to save her family golf
resort, Adele Invergordon (Charlize
Theron), Junuh's ex-girlfriend, mas-
terminds a golf tournament in which
she pits the two most talented golfers
of the day, Bobby Jones (Joel
Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce
McGill), against one another. The
town of Savannah wants a local play-
er to enter into the fray so as to tie
the tournament to its surroundings.
The only logical choice is Junuh.
Junuh's initial refusal to play in the
tournament is based on his belief that
he has "lost his authentic swing."
Enter Baggar Vance (Will Smith) the
spiritual guide who helps Junuh
return to the game of golf and his life
in Savannah. All of that, and Will
Smith does not even carry a gun in
this movie.
It is at this early stage in the film
that the entire plot has been neatly

New Line Cinema's "Love and
Basketball" just brought its gameto
the next level. Recently released qn
DVD, this unique romantic sp'rt
film is at the top of its game. ,
Aside from being one of the bet
films thus far in such a shoddy year of
cinema, Gina Prince-Bythewoo4s
"Love and Basketball" is a chargning
love story about two basketball play-
ers (Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps)
and their quest to become professiou-
al basketball players while falling-Th

By Christopher Cousino
D)aily rts Writer

:A

Courtesy of Oreamworks
As the title character, Will Smith lives out Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" fantasy in "The Legend of Bagger Vance,"

Grade: B+
Love and
Basketball
New Line Cinema

and out of h1%1.
What is so wol-
derful about thii
film is its foetu
"Love and
Basketball" i4 a
film about peopie
and not abouttfi
"big" game or tle

arranged for the audience. From this
point on, the film becomes pre-
dictable and contrived and simply a
means for Robert Redford to show
that he, like "National Geographic,"
likes to present the audience with
sweeping landscapes. In "A River
Runs Through It" there was lapping
water and beautiful surroundings, in
"The Horse Whisperer" there were
purple mountain's majesty, and now
in his third installment of the scenic
movie, "The Legend of Bagger

Vance," there are ample shots of a
well-manicured Southern golf course
and the weather. Although some-
times cinematography can be entic-
ing and aid a movie's development
("The Thin Red Line" or "Snow
Falling on Cedars") it cannot replace
the benefit of a decent plot. In
"Bagger Vance" it was simply comi-
cal: During one of the sequences in
the film the entire audience laughed
at Redford's "artsy directing,"
What seems to be the major down-

fall of this film is that it is not fun to
watch. The storyline is poorly manu-
factured: Will Smith as a mysterious
caddy that helps Matt Damon find
his soul (in the form of a perfect golf
swing) and restores him to his life as
a proper gentleman - please.
Unfortunately it seems to be a poor
attempt to legitimize two hours of
pure golf. Regardless, don't see this
movie - Tiger Woods has a much
prettier swing than Matt Damon and
it doesn't cost S8.00 to watch.

- no, not related to Sidney
Moncreif) a young boy who earnest-
ly believes that golf is the greatest .
game on earth. The film's hero,
Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), is
the pride of Savannah in the early

Plus 8 Classics: From their
minds to yours at St. Andrew s

i

last second shot. Pince-Bythewoodfigs
smart enough to not resort to the spot
movie cliches; instead, she treats.her
audience with an interesting charaf;ur
" study of femininity, relationships,
parental roles and the price of success,
The real success story seems to im
in New Line's effort and good hustt -
on the DVD court. Churning: out
discs within months after their tlNi-
ater releases while chocking them
full of extras seems to be a stariAdIh
for New Line's DVDs (for state-,
check out the amazing double-dic
"Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia,").
With "Love and Basketball,' vie«I-
ers get a playful back-and-forth pomt-
mentary from both Prince-BythewOpd
and Lathan, as well as deleted scegns
(yes, commentary on them too), ani-
mated storyboards, a trailer, a music
video, a documentary and some rare
audition tapes featuring eary
moments between Epps and Lathan:'
While such a film may not-have
required such an extensive DV6,
"Love and Basketball" may be one 'f
the only films about women's basket-
ball as opposed to men's. And one
* thing's for certain: Lathan and Prince-
Bythewood messed around' aiid
scored a whole lot more than a triplc-
double in "Love and Basketball."r*

By Elizabeth Hill
For the Daily
More than a rave, last Saturday's
party at St. Andrews was a seminal
event in the history of Detroit Techno.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of
Plus 8 Records, founded by John
Acquaviva and Richie Hawtin.
Dubbed "From Our Minds to Yours,"

Wthe party was a bigI

/
Plus 8
Classics
St. Andrew's
Oct. 28, 2000

thank-you to their
loyal fans. And it
was held no
where else but St.
Andrews Hall:
Where it all
began.
The hall's stone
building wore a
black velvet cloak
lit up by red spot-
lights looking to
the sky. Inside,
the chandeliers
glowed red as
well.
Beats began to
pump before

The third floor was a rest, a reprieve
from the chaos below. The pumping
chaos was so inviting, though. The main
dance floor's line-up could not be
matched:- John Acquaviva, then Kooky
Scientist followed by the man himself,
Richie Hawtin, sometimes known as
Plastikman. The rest of the world tour
features only John and Richie.
Detroit, thank your stars for Kooky.
Fred Gianelli is the Kooky Scientist.
One of the members of Psychic TV, he
runs Telepathic Recordings out of
Boston. Enough background, though.
The thing is the music.
And Kooky done gots it. Ills so-
danceble beats were all his as Mr.
Scientist busted out the live PA, leaving
the vinyl mixing to someone else.
No one in the place could keep their
body from movin'.
Before Kooky, John spun house and
after was the legendary banging techno
of the most famous DJ in the world.
But wait. Downstairs in the Shelter, it
was a mix of chill, funk, dance and
booze. Those of age could grab them-
selves a Ghetto Blaster beer, but those
who under 21 got some dope blastin'
anyhow.
The vibe was scary down there.
Walls covered with netting so ropey and
thick, they nearly carried away the
ecstasy-laced young'uns. One alcove
was so eerie, the black parachutes
seemed ready to swallow you whole
and the only light came from cracks in
the wall. Cuddlers and the intoxicated
alike sought refuge there, but familiar

hooks got heads bobbin'. "
You know you love aAbook. And
hooks there were beneath the floor.
Almost unrecognizable was disco's
"Show Me Love." and definitely in the
mix late-night was the funk classic
"Flash Light."
You want to know what really got
people up, though? When Clark
Warner, co-founder of M_nus Records,
spun Lou Reed's "Walk On the Wild
Side." Normally, Clark Warner is, as
LSA junior Tom Ainslie put it, "mini-
mal as fuck, yo." Not so when he
flipped on Reed's 1972 classic. As the
familiar intro filtered into the electron-
ic attic, eyes peered around and smiles
lit up the room. One by one, the seated
became the dancing.
Not to omit Stewart Walker, Born
Under A Rhyming Planet' or the great
Kenny Larkin (who goes way back to
when Richie 1J was Richie Rich), the
man of the hour must get his due. No
other DJ carries with him the silent
awe that Richie lawt n does. The
familiar bald head. The thick black
glases. The black clothes. The bang-
ing, booming, pumping techno beats.
That's Richie.
lawtin opened up with Speedy J's
"Evolution," a Plus 8 classic. On the
now-cliche decks, efx and 909, Richie
kept the beats going, thecrowds danc-
ing and eventually asked the people
their favorite question, "Can You Feel
the Bass?" (a Phortune record).
We could feel the bass, Richie. No
need to worry.

Courtesy of Pius 8 Records
The many faces of Richie "Plastikman" Hawtin, who headlined last Weekend's party.


University Activities Center
www.umich.edu/-uac


If you want to be
a millionaire,
shouldn't you
practice first?

reaching the door.
If you were lucky, you befriended
those who were almost there and
bypassed the two-hour line.
"No Glow Sticks Allowed" So like I
said, this was more than a rave,
Upstairs, Theorum, a.k.a. Dale
Lawrence, was working a live PA set in
the minimal room. The parachute-
draped ceiling billowed and burned the
brightest white. This was the chill room,

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