10A - The Michigan Daily- Thursday April 12, 2001 £ a 0 ' W uwondeftr D' I jfl luck but out of ran ge By Andy TaylorFaboe Daily Arts Writer "Wonder Boys," one of the most underrated films of 2000, makes its entrance into the DVD universe with little fanfare. The disc contains the same clever and engrossing film that appeared in theaters, but it offers little else. Grade: B Professor Grady Tripp (a enjoyably scruffy and con- Wonder stantly disheveled Michael Boys Douglas) is trying to balance DVD his failing marriage, his lover (Frances McDormand), a dis- Paramount turbed but brilliant student (Tobey Maguire), a stolen car and the disposal of a dead dog's body. Throw in an unfinished and long awaited novel and an almost comical marijuana habit, and it's no surprise that Tripp's life is an increasingly more stressful mess. There is also an excellent supporting cast, includ- ing hilarious performances by Robert Downey, Jr. as Tripp's unpredictable and desperate editor, and Rip Torn as a successful and arrogant writer. The atmosphere of the film, with its cold, rainy setting and backdrops of sleepy residential streets and university buildings, is a unique and evocative set of images. The amazing soundtrack completes the almost tangible quality of the movie, including classic songs by John Lennon, Van Morrison, Clarence Carter, Buffalo Springfield and a pletho- ra of Bob Dylan songs, including this year's Oscar winner "Things Have Changed." The DVD is decent, but not outstanding. The film is presented in widescreen (pan and scan is the tool of Satan), and the picture and sound quali- ty is excellent. There are some interesting inter- views with director Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confidential") that give some insight into the mak- ing of the film and the scouting of the locations. Exploring the city of Pittsburgh on an interac- tive map, Hanson adds interesting anecdotes and history to the once booming industrial zone. From the numerous steel bridges to Carnegie Mellon University, Hanson shares a geniuine attraction and knowledge of the city so closely tied with the lives and the characters of "Wonder Boys." Bob Dylan's music video for "Things Have Changed" is also on the disc, which is a treat since Dylan is not a regular on MTV However, the things that would have made this DVD spec- tacular are absent; there aren't any deleted scenes or screen tests, nor does Hanson dish up a com- mentary track, features that have made other releases worth the extra money for the DVD. Nevertheless, the enhanced picture quality and the fact that it is just a damn good movie makes "Wonder Boys" a success. fx f' o:. 3* F~U*Mi x.?Z 3 i .3 {ourtesy o Coumbia Pictures lAngels': Snotdep but perky Daily Arts WMiter At best, "Charlie's Angels" is a fun 100 minutes, with our three angels, played by Cameron Diaz (yum), Drew Barrymore (dumb) and Lucy Liu (Uni- T Pure fun from Arous: Telepathic killer alien bra0 bran infiltrates So-leWy Grade: - Charlie's Angels DVD Columbia Pictures scene to the next plot. versity alum), whipping bad guys left and right in an attempt to save the world. At worst, "Charlie's Angels" is a scat- tered mishmash of stories that bounce from one with no discernible By Andy TayloFabe Daily Arts Writer Remember back when movies were simple? Those were the days of believable characters, family values, patriotism, and giant, disembodied brains. Yep, they don't make 'em like In truth, the film lies somewhere in between these two extremes. If you look any deeper than face value, you'll see nothing. But if you take "Charlie's Angels" for what it is and ease up on your snobbery, the flick proves to be an enjoyable romp with three high-flying angels, proficient in martial arts and so much more. Bonus points are also in order for the inclusion of Bill Murray, stellar as usual. The DVD version of Charlie's Angels .comes packed with plenty of extras. The commentary track, featuring director McG, is a nice inclusion but the makers missed the boat by not having the three angels rap about the film on a track of their own. The disc also contains several short documentaries on different aspects of the film. The highlight is "Getting G'd Up" an ode to McG in which Bar- rymore states "I don't think I could love a human being as much as I love McG" Guess that leaves Tom Green in a bit of apickle. Also featured are three deleted scenes, with the best being a killer game of Marco Polo between Bill Murray and Tim Curry. The disc is topped off with the music video for the Destiny's Child song "Independent Woman Part IL" With a sequel already in the works, it appears that we haven't seen the last of Charlie or his angels. Grade: B- The Brain From Planet Armus DVD Image Entertainment they used to: "The Brain from Planet Arous," a gem from the 1950's atomic age of science fic- tion, is pure fun to watch. A strange pat- tern of radiation is being emitted from Mystery Mountain (subtle, eh?) in the Cali- fornia desert. When two scientists go to investigate, they find Gor, a huge alien brain with eyes who can com- municate telepathically and kill any- one or destroy anything using his mind. He quickly invades Steve's (John Agar) body and uses it to infil- trate human society. To make matters worse, Gor uses Steve's body to make aggressive advances on Steve's girlfriend. (Don't try to figure out why a giant brain is attracted to a human female. This is one of the more logical parts of the film.) Veteran sci-fi actor Agar ("Revenge of the Creature," "The Mole People," "Journey to the Sev- enth Planet") is wonderfully cheesy and over the top as the possessed sci- entist, and the other characters are of the same caliber, considering the type of film that this is. The movie is something that would have been the object of great ridicule on "Mystery Science The- ater 3000," but it's actually a y entertaining film. Considering e thousands of bad films about giant ants, lobsters, aliens and space robots that sprung up during this era, "The Brain from Planet Arous" is actually quite good. The film has some pretty good cinematography (once again, this is all relative), and it has a classic drum and horn suspense soundtrack that makes you grip your armtests and cover your eyes at all the :rot places. The DVD doesn't have a ldt in terms of extra material, butt is impressive enough that they ;were able to resurrect the movie itself. There is, however, an original", re- view that is perfectly representative of the drive-in, Ed Wood type, cold war era of science fiction films, complete with squiggly white s ties telling the of the "greatest pO r in the universe." a. Opera talent Relyea offers variety in styles, languages By Charity Atchison Daily Arts Writer John Relyea is a man on the up and up. At 28, his voice is moving him to the foreground of the opera world. Relyea has performed with major symphony companies across the country, such as the New York Phil- harmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in addition to the Swedish Radio Sym- phony Orchestra. Relyea enjoys the opportunity to act that comes with performing opera. The role of Figaro has been one of the most enjoyable for him to perform. His debut concert with the New York Philharmonic has also been a highlight for him. "Perform- ing offers every artist something dif- ferent," said Relyea. "Performing is an opportunity to open up on a spiri- tual level, to become intimate and share with the audience.'' A recital sitting is one of the easi- est ways for an artist to show off their best talents. Relyea tries to John Relyea Mendelssohn Theatre Saturday at 8 p.m. choose pieces he enjoys to sing, as well as keep a range of languages and styles. After having performed with the Swedish Radio Orchestra in February, this performance is Relyea's recital debut. He will be performing a variety of pieces f r o m Tchaikovsky, Jacques Ibert, Strauss, Schu- bert and Schu- Canadian bass-baritone Gary Relyea, and currently under Jerome Hines. The opportunity to train with his father was enjoyable. Sharing perfor- mance has provided an opportunity for a good relationship between the two, and gives Relyea someone in the business who he can go to for advice. Relyea tries to stay away from superstitions before performances, which are very easy for performers to fall into. He does however try to eat a good meal and take in some exercise on the day of a performance. For Relyea, the most rewarding side of performing is knowing what type of impact he has made on his audience. He hopes to "affect peoples lives and hope to enrich them" through the performance. ALL WOMEN KEEP SCORE... ONLY THE GREAT ONES PUT IT IN WRITING. mann, as well as others. He has trained under his father, Bass-baritone John Relyea wants you to look deeply into his eyes. I 4 ( 3 1 'V j "° t 7,", 7" 11,111111:11pp"