MMON9 Step into it... Menttllity presents, "Spotlight Thursday" at the Michigin Lelguc, 8:30-10 p.m., League Undlergrund. michigandaily.comn /arts (The }R0.idti9tut Baitg IIRTS FRIDAV NOVEMBER 17, 2000 oure a mean one, Mr. arrey:'The Grinch' deligh By Lyle Henretty Daily Ais riter Director Ron Howard could hardly go please the millions of Grinch fans he wished to appease. The film is a joy, made with much care and thought, but The exactly the book and car- Grmich toon, it is not. Oh, it takes Grade: A- many words right straight out of the book, and when At Showcase o and QUality 16 it takes from the book oh this movie does cook. It cooks when you look how the cartoon was took and set designers and costum- crs took that same look. Whoville is so perfect and real that you feel it is real and you feel the Who's Christmas cheer. All the Who-actors down in Whoville do a more than adequate job playing a material obsessed Christ- mas mob. That's right, the Whos don't under- stand Christmas in the least, they are obsessed with lights and presents and succulent roast beast. This is where Howard (and screenwriters Pete Seaman and Jeff Price) change the ideas of Dr. Seuss, now that's hardly nice! In the story we know the Whos teach the Grinch how to love, as he watches them from his cave high above. But now the Whos are as bad as the famous green one, they don't know they meaning, he thinks Christmas is dumb. We learn about the Grinch's childhood psychological scars, and the other chil- dren who felt no guilt upon thars. Now while these new back stories might anger a Grinch purist, it worked quite nicely for this Von over reviewist. The film adds more depth to the Grinch of Mt. Crumpet, and it brings him to life with the blaze of a trumpet. Speaking of life, what life Jim Can'ey brought, for the character you thought you knew best, you did not. Carrey also uses the old Chuck Jones cartoon as a guide, with a cocked left eye- brow and a grimace so wide! But the actor, who showed us before in "The Mask," can act under makeup - a quite daunting task. He mugs and he leaps 'til you think him quite mad, but also reveals that the Grinch is really quite sad. He's sad and he's mad and he's bad, just a tad, but all the Grinch needs is the love he never had. He's a postmodern Grinch. one that wants to fit in., but you'd be a little grinchy too, if you'd be treated the way he had been. Carrey's a marvel. though this draws him back, for there are scenes where lie breaks character, sure to draw flack. Like Robin Williams before him, he ad-libs so often it has gotten quite rotten, and the director should have trimmed scenes where the charac- ter was forgotten. Alas, this is but a minor. I shouldn't complain, for the audience in the the- atcr laughed just the same. The special effects are sure to draw awe, for if you saw what I saw, I saw awe without flaw. Not a straight line to be seen, a Seuss world for cer- tain, a world that would bring a tear to the eye of Tim Burton. Such detail is taken. even the pen- cils are crooked, and the houses all look-ed like Seuss would have made them look-ed. The only real problem to have with this film. is a silly sub-plot and another villain! Now, the Grinch is the anti-hero and Carrey carries the show, but why the mayor of Whoville is evil, I don't know. Even the youngest amongLus. throUTgh this device they will see, it's too make the Grinch more likeable to you and to me. But why, and why, and why go to this trouble? I realize that this may be a small squabble. This bothers me only a little it does. A perfect Christmas movie. I'm cer- tain it was. I have one last question, to know the answer I'm dyin - why is a movie against mate- rial goods have so many tie-ins." Courtes .t Jim Carrey Stars as the one and only Grinch., Aronofsky, cast paint vivid pictures in 'Dream' ;; ;;; I i :, By Matthew Barrett Daily Film Editor Unlike many of the movies that crowd today's theaters, writer-director Darren Aronof- sky's "Requiem for a Dream" sticks in your head. The film's imagery. the stellar performances of the cast and its jamng realism all contribute to its staying power. And though at times the film seems S slim on story, its visual flair does its best to compen sate Requiem for this weakness. for a Dream "Requiem" explores the Grade: B lives of four people and their downward spirals as At State they become more hooked on various types of drugs. At the center is Iranrv (Jared Leto). a lost and troubled spirit who resorts to drug dealing with his best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) so that he can make a nice piece of money to help his girlfriend, Marion (Jennifer Connelly), open up a clothing store. Harry's descent into the throes ofdrug addictionjuxtaposes nicely with his mother's growing dependence on diet pills as she tries to slim down for an appearance on a game show. While these characters and their stories provide the heart and soul of the film, they take a backseat to itsjazzy visual look. "Requiem" is at times very beautiful to watch as the film gives us vivid pic- tures ofordinary objects. Whether in the greens of a tree or the blues ofthe ocean, certain parts of the movie seem to just take a color and let the camera soak it up for a few seconds, providing a stark con- trast to the bleakness that the film conveys in some of the other more drug-induced moments. Showing shades of Martin Scorsese, David O. Russell and Paul Thomas Anderson, Aronofsky takes visual styles of other directors and puts his own spin on them. The cutting in "Requiem" is incessant as Aronofsky hits us with image after image in tight, well-conceived montages. Eventually though, the look of the movie begins to lose some of its luster as Aronofsky and co- writer -Hubert Selby Jr.(the fi lm was adapted from his novel) lean a little too much on the visuals to carry the plot through some dry spells. The story starts out with a bang, but somewhere in the Middle seems to lose most of' its momentum. Aronofsky then yanks us back into the mix with a disturbing conclusion to the film. These last 20 minutes or so dwell on the horrors of drug addic- tion, the pain it can cause and the madness that it can lead to. Here the director crosscuts between the action ofithe four miain character's lives giving us a wicked wrap-up which is probably the reason CorIesy of Artisan Jennifer Conneley and Jared Leto star in "Requiem for a Dream." that the film earned an NC-17 rating and was sub- sequently released unrated. In many ways, it's almost as if the plot and its characters were an aftertiought to Aronofsky as he seems inuch more interested in giving us visual eye candy than a story we can latch onto. As a result, when the characters begin to lose control of their lives it's not as powerful as it could have been if we had really felt for these characters. Somewhere beneath all the drugs and flashy cutting is a love story between Hflarry and Marion. two lost souls who seen to find their outlet of escape in each other "Requiem" would have ben- efited if nore attention had been given to this rela- tionship and it would have only made the film that much more powerful in the end. "Requiem for a Dream" is worth seeing for its bold visuals. Now that Aronofsky has proven that lie can play games with the camera and give us interesting results, it would be nice to see him combine his visions with a compelling narrative. LESS THAN By Gabe Fajuri Bally Arts Editor "Why not?" T1hat's the best reason Less Than Jake's newest member and trombone player,. J.R.. could offer for the band's latest tour - opening for Bon Jovi. This is something the band has wanted to do for a long time, dead or alive (so to speak). "We've played with a lot of'punk rock bands, a lot of ska bands ... this was our opportunity to go out with a band that we all grew up listening to," he said. "This is just the icing on the cake." The punk/ska outfit f'romi Gainesville. Fla. is currently criss-crossine the country playing arena . dates with the legendary New Jersey rockers. On ofl nights ITJ is playing headlining club shows. To wit: On Saturday night the dynamic duo plays the Palace. On Sunday, Less Than Jake rocks JON Bo~ Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac. Even though the unlikely pairing mnight s. impossible on paper, J.R. says that LTJ has to be booed on stage. "Yep; every night it's. Than Jake, Bon Jovi," lie said. "It rips." 01' course, punk rock blended with a bo section isn't exactly what Bon Jovi audicec expect. "I know there are people that hate u&'J.I said. "I know we get compared to FirehIounta Dokken." Ifyou have tickets for the Saturday niight~ is o1 out show, then you're in for a treat. And ify s the Gainesville boys in their element on Su d sO much the better. Either way, this is one that's always out to rock. J.R. added, "All I know is that we met Jonc Jovi the other day, and he likes our band. ThA S that matters." Indeed. ; "r J f m & 1 7 1 . - 7 '150 4 Tt} i s t '' rJ? MW41W YYY 1 t - t a r{. r t ' A ',4' 'I S r m. W. x i - ,> : 4'> f ,: . i ;« Alas, poor Gibson, Branaugh an Hawke: They did 'Hamlet' well By Rachel Bachrach For the Daily Mel Gibson. Kenneth Branaugh and Ethan H awke: What do they all have in common besides their rood looks and acting talent? Each, at one time or another, has taken on the daunting task of playing Hamlet in a major motion picture. If some of you have not had the privilege of seeing Mel sword fight or Ethan wallow in depression, fear not because Hamlet is coming to the Mendelssohn The- Hamlet Mendelssohn Theater Tonight at 8 ater with a new, experimental view on Shakespeare's timeless classic. Unlike the conventional method of casting one person as Hamlet. director Heidi Powers decided to cast two actors as the leading char- acter. "11amlet has ani mner con- flict and there are many different sides to that. "There is the Hamlet that wants to kill Claudius and the Hamlet who doesn't want to kill Claudius." Powers said. In addition to casting two lead actors; one is female and the other male. This aspect is really important to the theme of their become the matriarchal role. "This is an attempt at compassionate side of Polonius. but she is also op imvolved in everyone else's problems.- Powers-s Horatio is also more compassionate, which goes'h( with the theme of Hamlet's two conflicting sides. Serving as a foil for the two Hamlets are Ros crantz and Guildenstern. the two friends of Hai hired by Claudius to keep oneye on him. Yet noO is played by a man and the other a woman. Likewise, a man and woman are also playing part of the two Gravediggers. An interestint! 4xa to the woman gravedigger is that she is "mughttIt' I compassionate than the other female-turned rejc Powers said. Adding to the focus of the inner depths of U'r and other characters is the set's simplicity. "Fait is basically marble stairs with platforms and d&idm because we want to place emphasis on the charaef Also, the whole cast is wearing black. They val keep the focus away from thme big, gaudiness ofEl bethan attire and glorify Shakespeare's words ait cast's ideas. One would wonder, then, what time period this supposed to take place in? Powvers said that, Sh<~i is not a specific time period because we are tryi to make it timeless." Sounds like this production unquestionably appreciative of Shakespeare's beau ful prose and everlasting themes. In this sense, the simplicity of the set ardct< tumes emphasize the actual meaning of Hamletoa the actors really explore and experiment with a approach in portraying the characters. Even if you have seen Mel, Kenneth and Eth struggle with their inner demons, this producti of Hamlet is sure to be a different and a moe depth take on Shakespeare's intentions and wellNo seeing. interpretation. "Regardless of gender, they embodied the two sides of Hamlet: The irrational, rash side and the empathetic, compassionate side." By casting two Hamlets, it gives the audience a new way to look at the literature, while placing emphasis on the inner conflict of Hamlet. Not only is Hairnlet a gender-blind character. but Polonius (Ophelia's father) and Horatio (Hamlet's best friend) are also cast as women. Polonitis is usually seen as the patriarchal figure in the story, but now has "Ar 4y F 5x y 5' t i r" .. 5 f. r[4 '.: f .: fw .Y. rt .. x . ! SI. n s,.. u .n 1h II U ;~ '~ U