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. ANN ARBOR ''5LFOLK FESTIVAL Doc Watson & U13 4wi arISmUatxl Melissa Festiclk Ama~a e G11lup HiL AULTOIRIUM Chreb Poe 3TT-, rAm d 5UhbhUt Womm s~r Austin Lounge Lbzards LUCW Kuplunaky Eric Ribb Miu~ R ov an=ba 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 l f"I"U ' Mw a 1 ! 11e