8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 3, 2001
A
ARTS
AIDS benefit roars through Ann Arbor
raising cash for victims of the virus
By Taryn O'Leary
Daily Arts Writer
This past Friday night, the citizens
of Ann Arbor emerged from a multi-
tude of back-
grounds in a
fight for aware-
ness against
A te AIDS. "A to the
Fourth Fourth," or Ann
Leopold Bros. Arbor AIDS
Nov. 30, 2001 Awareness, was
sponsored by
Leopold Bros.
Brewery, and
was the first of
what shall
become an annu-
al event. This
smoky coffee-
house atmosphere held asylum to
numerous passionate souls protesting
against sexual ignorance. With a
plethora of sounds accompanied by
an amazing cause, this function was
not only student supported, but stu-
dent run as well.
On a mission for community ser-
vice, Shira Olevsky-Abercrombie's
journey for credit in a Women's
Studies Course at the University,
evolved into one of the most success-
ful fundraisers HARC (HIV/AIDS
Resource Center) has ever seen. A
'metals' major in the School of Art,
she aimed to be a respectable woman
in her community, along with the rest
of her classmates, and thus sought
out a noteworthy cause. Her original
requirement of five hours of commu-
nity service quickly transformed into
five weeks as she bonded with
HARC's special events coordinator,
Diane Moore.
Her strong connection to the local
music industry allowed for the sig-
nificant amount of talented musical
performers. Breaking even financial-
ly just an hour into the show, the
admirable support from the audience
radiated throughout the room.
This ardent vibe remained electric
as a series of eclectic performers
took the stage. Representing every
Midwestern walk of life, sounds
ranging from the lyrical sounds of
Abercrombietherself and Seth
Bernard, to the hip-hip groove of
Notice Co. gathered the masses, as
well as their donations.
Local musical talents, Jake David-
son and Jenny Jo Boyer set the tone
for the evening with emotionally
inspiring acoustics. Half-way
through her set Boyer was accompa-
nied by a cellist, a powerfully sub-
dued addition to an extremely soulful
performance. Such a slight compan-
ionship between the two instruments
metaphorically represents the voices
of the audience - although its sup-
port may be subtle, its impact is
strong.
The home-grown feel of guitars
was rapidly abandoned and replaced
by jazzy house and bass-slapping
funk. Jiant, followed by Chubby
Styles, stormed the stage with an
entourage of never-ending groovy
beats. The eclectic stylings of Smoke-
stack was proceeded by the event
coordinator herself, Shira Abercrom-
bie, and the night closed out with the
impactful line-up of Seth Bernard,
Notice Co. and DJ Virus.
One student's efforts were able to
make a difference, without distribut-
ing obnoxious flyers in the diag.
When combining quality tunes, beer
and condoms, students are destined
to emerge from the woodworks in
support of your cause, especially
when they face the issue everyday.
"A to the Fourth" brought people
together, making awareness hip
again. 1.
Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Owen Wilson (center, ground) waiting for Bob Mapiethorpe to help him get away.
'Behind' treac 1ne o m-ds ctin
By Todd Weiser
Daily Arts Writer
Courtesy of DJ Virus
DJ Virus, tearing up whatever DJ's tear up.
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D e iaS O S R
Good films can prompt viewers to
ask meaningful, important questions.
Even good action films can make audi-
ences wonder about the nature of evil
or the strength
and courage it
takes to stand up
and defeat pow-
Behind erful opposing
Enemy forces. After
Lines viewing "Behind
Enemy Lines,"
Grade: D the only ques-
At Showcase tions that will be
and Quality 16 asked are: In
what year did this
film take place?
_ Why was Lt.
Chris Burnett
(Owen Wilson)
stupid enough to yell aloud when the
Serbian guerillas shot his co-pilot to
make known his presence? What were
Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman
thinking as they read this script and
signed on? Was there ever a script to
read?
Femimmum
UhLom&& ior
CROWNS PLAZA
^.. ARSoo
Lt. Burnett is a Navy flier stationed
aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl
Vinson near Bosnia. Burnett is pre-
pared to leave the military due to his
lack of action and his confusion over
what and whom they are fighting for.
Carrier CO Admiral Leslie Reigart
(Gene Hackman) punishes Burnett for
his lack of faith by sending him and his
copilot Jeremy "Not Quite Jerry"
Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht) on a
reconnaissance mission on Christmas
Day. Burnett proceeds to compel
Stackhouse to fly into a no-fly zone
where they take pictures of some ille-
gal military action and are thus shot
down by a couple of missiles.
It seems that Burnett and Stackhouse
stumbled upon a group of Serbian
guerrillas acting in defiance of a new
Serbian Peace treaty. These men go on
to assassinate Stackhouse, leaving Bur-
nett all on his own, running away from
the very bad men, including one wear-
ing a very fashionable Adidas jump
suit jacket. Meanwhile back at the car-
rier, Reigart is prepared to mount a res-
cue operation but Admiral Piquet
(Joaquim de Almeida), working for
NATO and superior to Reigert, will not
allow such a mission, as it will damage
the peace process. There is the setup
for all the action movie clich6s to fol-
low.
Sadly, it actually took four writers to
compile this awkward, banal story
filled with familiar lines of dialogue
and familiar images, with some lifted,
directly from the best fighter pilot
movie of them all, "Top Gun.""Behind
Enemy Lines" employs every visual
gimmick not just once but numerous
times to try and distrt viewers from
noticing plot holes and characters' lack
of sensibility. Slow motion, fast
motion, jump cuts, 360-degree camera
movements and a lot of shaky handheld
camerawork all attempt to divert your
attention from continuity and factual
errors. "Behind Enemy Lines" also
employs the use of on-screen credits to
introduce characters, settings and situa-
tions that the script cannot adequately
introduce. A subtitle for "Behind
Enemy Lines" could be "Top 10 Signs
of a Bad Screenplay."
Wilson's Burnett may be the dumb-
est military action hero in military his-
tory. He does not know the meaning of
the words silent or unseen as he contin-
ually leaves behind clues to his path,
and also travels in open areas suscepti-
ble to enemy fire. Miraculously, he
evades all bullets and shows off a feet-
first slide that would make Ichiro jeal-
ous, while shooting and killing Serbs at
the same time. Lucky for him, the
enemy is just as brainless. The war-torn
country of Bosnia has the makings for
a great, intelligent and complex film
that can enlighten Americans to a war
few know much about; "Welcome to
Sarajevo" came close, but "Behind
Enemy Lines" is way off track.
Hackman steps into a role that bears
a great resemblance to his own in
"Crimson Tide" in character, but lacks
the strong presence and intelligence
that he usually brings to the screen.
And you know a film must have bad
acting all across the board when two-
time Oscar winner Hackman cannot
emit genuine emotion.
Faring just as badly is Wilson, better
known for his great comedic perfor-
mances in "Meet the Parents" and
"Bottle Rocket." To give both these
actors credit, it is almost impossible to
spit out this conventional dialogue
without laughing, and the editor does
not help much with the film's uneven
pacing and constant transitions from
one bad, erratic shot to another. This
film is just plain ugly to look at, and
I'm not referring to the curve in Owen
Wilson's nose.
John Moore makes his directorial
debut with "Behind Enemy Lines," and
with all luck it will be his last effort.
Moore is another in the long line of
commercial and video directors whose
purpose is to shorten most people's
already short attention spans. He does
all he can to breathe excitement into
the film's action sequences. and then
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