Don't be a menace...
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michigandaily. com/arts
StdgarJUI
MONDAY
NOVEMBER 5, 2001
5A
'West Wing' takes top
honors at 2001 Emmys
By Jeff Dickerson
Daily TV/New Media Editor
The third time proved to be the charm
last night as the 53rd annual Emmy awa
took place at the Shubert Theater in Los
The ceremony beg
performance of"A
Beautiful, featurin
Emmys of students from a
CBS country, adorning s
Cb S from their respe
November 4, 2001 leges. The show
with a patriotic m
by news legend
Cronkite expressin
of television in our
After the seriou
the opening min
Emmys got back to their standard for
Ellen Degeneres lightened the mood
announcing the presentation as the "53rd
55th annual Emmy awards," in referen
prior cancellations of the telecast due to
of September 11 th. The humor continu
Travolta,
By Wilhelmina Mauritz
Daily Arts Writer
"Domestic Disturbance" is a kid's
for CBS
rds finally
s Angeles.
gan with a
merica the
ng a choir
round the
weatshirts
ctive col-
moved on
nonologue
d Walter
g the role
society.
us tone of
utes, the
mat. Host
quickly,
, 54th and
nce to the
the events
ued as the
stand-up comic declared, "What would bug the Tal-
iban more than a gay woman in a suit surrounded
by Jews?" Degeneres handled both the humorous
and serious portions of the program with great care,
receiving a standing ovation at the conclusion of the
ceremony.
As expected, the Dramatic categories turned into
a race between the acclaimed HBO series "The
Sopranos" and the NBC White House drama "The
West Wing." Supporting awards were handed out to
"West Wing" stars Bradley Whitford and Allison
Janney while the lead actor and actress awards were
given to "Sopranos" alums James Gandolfini and
Edie Falco. The Outstanding Drama statue was
awarded to "The West Wing,"making the show the
big winner of the evening.
In the Outstanding Comedy category, HBO won
big with its female laden "Sex and the City." The
surprise win defeated such other noteworthy shows
as "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Malcolm in the
Middle" and past winner "Frasier."
Rather than ending the night with the final award
presentation, producers opted for a musical perfor-
mace by multi-platinum artist Barbara Streisand to
conclude the evening of celebration and memorial.
Oh crap, here comes Shrek!
Pixar scares up
much needed comic
relief 1in 'Monsters'
nightmare about
Domestic
Disturbance
Grade: B+
At Showcase
and State
a parent's remar-
riage made real.
It is on par with
movies like
"Hand that
Rocks the Cra-
dle" and "Flow-
ers in the Attic,"
in that the entire
suspense of the
movie relies on
the absence of
trust in a rela-
tionship where
one would nor-
mally expect it
(such as a
Vaughn ba
neously with the news that his moth-
er is getting remarried to Rick
(Vince Vaughn).
Danny doesn't like Rick, and
things don't really change after the
wedding, especially when Rick lets
his dark side slip a bit on Danny. Oh
yeah, Danny also witnesses Rick kill
a guy and burn his body. Unfortu-
nately, the night Danny comes
across Rick's late-night activities, he
also discovers his mother is preg-
nant.
The twist comes when Danny
does the right thing and heads to his
dad and the police to testify to what
he saw. Everyone thinks he is lying
simply to get attention again. It's
just like the kid who cried wolf, and
when the wolf finally came, no one
believed him.
From then on, the suspense in the
movie continually builds. The big
turning point for Danny is when
Frank realizes his son has never lied
to him, even though'he lies to every-
one else, and then he begins a mas-
sive investigation to find out who
Rick really is.
John Travolta is great in "Domes-
tic Disturbance." He has always
been so perfect in the good guy role,
yet recently he has been expanding
his horizons playing a few really bad
guys as well ("Broken Arrow," "Face
Off" and "Swordfish"). He does
both roles well but somehow seems
to fit so much better as the hero.
Vince Vaughn, on the other hand,
is quickly becoming typecast as the
"crazy" guy. After re-creating the
role of Norman Bates in 1998's Psy-
cho, he has perfected his crazed,
out-of-control look. He has this
calm about him, and yet watching
him one feels as though he is simply
waiting in the eye of the storm and
the worst is yet to come.
The one flaw in "Domestic Dis-
turbance" was minor. It involved the
pairing of John Travolta and Teri
Polo ("Meet the Parents") as his ex-
wife. Polo is fine, but she is 15
years younger than Travolta, and it
seems odd that they already have a
12-year-old son together. Granted,
this is a small complaint but annoy-
ing nonetheless.
Overall this filn was a taut
thriller that managed to keep the
suspense up all the way to the end.
Would it be nit-picking to find the
ending somewhat predictable? If so,
it is only a slight speed bump in an
otherwise disturbance-free, thrilling
ride.
Whether it's the original plot, the
impressive animation or a combi-
nation of both, "Monsters, Inc." is
Monsters
Grade: A
At Showcase
and State
ter:
'Sulley' Sullivan
is the top dog in
and his sidekick
a fun and
enjoyable film
for everyone.
With all the
trash out there,
it sure is nice
to be temporar-
ily transported
to Monster
City, where the
monsters (far
from scary-
quite the oppo-
site, in fact)
make the rules.
James P.
(John Goodman)
the business. He
Mike Wazowski
tfle in 'Disturbance'
By Jenny Jeltes
Daily Arts Writer
nanny, a mother or in this case, a
stepfather). Films like these can be
hard to watch because they do go
right to the emotional core, but that
is also what makes them so good and
scary.
"Domestic Disturbance" is really a
story about a father and son. Frank
(John Travolta) is a divorced boat
maker who lives for his work and his
son. Danny is your average 12-year-
old, who has a tendency to be prob-
lematic whenever there is trouble
with his parents. A significant atten-
tion-getting mischief occurs simulta-
Courtesy o Paramount
Dad, I hate you because you made "Battlefield Earth."
Kung Fu multiverse in 'One' marred
'by chronic pacing problem, cliches
(Billy Crystal), the one-eyed little
green man, are employees at Mon-
sters, Inc., the city's source of
power and electricity, where the
monsters' job is to make itself as
scary as possible.
Through portals to bedrooms all
over the world, monsters at the
plant routinely collect screams
from children via each child's clos-
et door; these screams are crucial
because they are the city's sole
source of energy. Without screams,
Monster City would be dark and
barren, and this is why daily quotas
must be made and monsters must
be fit to 'scare.'
Sulley holds the record for col-
lecting the most screams, for the
horned and hairy bulk of blue can
be extremely fierce. He is admired
and even envied by some fellow
employees- especially Randall
Boggs (Steve Buscemi), the slick,
purple reptile-like competitor, who
happens to have chameleon-like
abilities, allowing him to 'disap-
pear' whenever he desires.
This advantage is not enough,
however, and his jealousy leads
him to devise a plan to not only
beat Sulley's record, but to take
over the entire plant from owner
Henry J. Waternoose (James
Coburn), the tentacled, multi-eyed
man of pride.
The interactions between .Sulley
and Mike provide the majority of
laughs, and their dialogue is sharp
and timely. The friendly duo, typi-
cal of several Disney movies,
seems to balance each other out.
Where Sulley is. a bit more cautious
and contemplative, Mike is eccen-
tric and impatient.
Mike is also preoccupied withl
women, and he attempts to woo
Celia, the desk clerk with the rat-
tlesnake hair. With lines like "From
the first moment I laid "eye" on
you," many lines throughout the
film are just plain cute. In addition,
the facial expressions of all of the
monsters are excellent, and the
detailed animation accentuates the
smallest of things, from Sutley's
fur texture to Mike's one huge eye-
ball.
Sulley and Mike find Randall
cheating when they catch him col-
lecting screams during the lunch
break. Suspicious of the one door
still left open at a workstation, Sul-
ley enters the bedroom once Ran-
dall is gone. After a bit of a frenzy
tripping over some toys, Sulley gets
out and realizesthere is no one in;
there. Then he turns around to see a
little girl standing in front of him.
This'is a severe threat to not only
the plant, but also the stability of
the entire city, for real children
could take over and destroy Monster
City as the monsters know it. Now
the job is to get this 'thing' back to
her room, except Sulley soon real-
izes she is harmless and he becomes
quite fond of the girl they name
'Boo' (Mary Gibbs).
The plot is not only entertaining
for children, but its creativity pro-
vides one with something new and
refreshing. I cannot think of a sin-
gle film with anything close to the
same storyline. Because of this,
one has no idea what can happen
next in monster world, and this
curiosity keeps one amused
throughout the film. Pixar anima-
tion ("Toy Story") is sure doing
something right.
Unlike "Toy Story," however,
"Monsters, Inc." does not provide
as many laughs. The script incor-
porates several funny moments, but
in comparison, "Toy Story" is a tad
bit funnier. This is a minor con-
cern, however, and in no way does
it hinder 4he enjoyment and amuse-
ment of watching Sulley and Mike
come to the rescue.
By Andy TaylorFabe
Daily Film Editor
"There can be only one." Usually, if you heard that
phrase, the immediate image that would be recalled is
Christopher Lambert in a kilt and Sean Connery as a
The One
Grade: C-
At Showcase
and State
Spaniard. And in a sense, "The
One" is a sort of inter-dimen-
sional Highlander-esque film
with kung fu replacing sword-
play. But although the basic
premise is surprisingly absorb-
ing, the film relies too much on
the action and doesn't develop
any of the characters or explore
the endless possibilities of the
plot.
The films opens with a narra-
tor telling us that there are actu-
ally many parallel universes,
and that there is now a force
that "seeks to destroy the bal-
Roedecker (Delroy Lindo, "Get Shorty") are agents
of the Multiverse Bureau of Investigation, and they
are pursuing Yulaw to make sure he doesn't become
"the one," (which has an uncertain consequence, with
possibilities ranging from Yulaw's implosion to
achievement of deity status).
The basic elements of the plot actually surpass
most of the films of this type. As Yulaw wreaks
havoc and kills in Gabe's world, Gabe is blamed for
all of the murders. The suspense of these sequences,
in which we are the only other ones who know Gabe
is innocent, are vaguely reminiscent of mistaken
identity espionage movies of the '50s.
Jet Li handles the dual role well, giving us his nor-
mal, innocent and borderline goofy expressions as
Gabe but convincingly hardening his face and his
voice for his scenes as Yulaw.
Most of his fight scenes include some slow motion
action, but an interesting twist that is used in these
sequences is that while Gabe or Yulaw remain at nor-
mal speed, everything and everyone around them
slow down to show their increased agility. Computer
graphics are used to have Gabe fight his evil twin as
well as perform gravity-defying acts while escaping
or fighting. These fight scenes are exciting but some-
times comical, as Yulaw crushes a policeman with
two motorcycles that he lifts as easily as his own
arms.
One of the major flaws of the film is that it surren-
ders to many cliches of this genre. Everything from
his interactions with his wife to a by the numbers
"Oh, whew, it's only a cat" scene reek of recycling,
e.g. the final battle takes place on a catwalk in one of
those classic factories full of steam that appears to
produce nothing but walls of fire and showers of
sparks. No wonder the economy sucks.
Another major flaw of the film is that it doesn't
spend time on any of the things that you would want
it to spend time on. All the characters end up being
very two dimensional, and even though there is
ample opportunity to explore other parts of the story
and expand on the whole idea of the "multiverse," the
film moves along at an often irritating speed. The
pacing problems and the lack of depth could be .
attributed to James Wong's inexperience outside of
television work. His previous work on shows like
"The X-Files" and "Millennium" might explain his
apparent trouble breaking out of the 50-minute TV
show format (although, to his credit, he was one, of
the writers for "21 Jump Street" Kick-ass)
The special effects of the film just aren't enough to
make up for the lack of development of the story or
the characters. For all its visual grandeur, the film
pales in comparison to other Jet Li projects like this
summer's "Kiss of the Dragon,' which relied on good
old fashioned street fighting. Someone like Jet Li can
survive and succeed based on his actual skill and
camera blurring speed alone. Stick to the basics.
ance so he can become the one." The force that he
refers to is Yulaw (Jet Li), who has discovered that
every time he kills a version of himself, he grows in
strength, speed and intelligence. So far he has killed
123 of his counterparts, and the one remaining adver-
sary is Gabe Law, a cop in a world very similar to our
own. Funsch (Jason Stratham, "Snatch") and
M-Fuo. P~REsENT$
'How HIGH'
TO#. H.wrr AT 8
P.M. ATMHE
NATURAL SCIENC
AU TORIvoIM.
'I -
,Q
U of M Men's
Glee Club
Directed by Jerry Blackstone
Presents its 142nd annual
fall concert