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iRTS
Young performers
dance to help poor
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 8,2002
'Tombstone' DVD
offers great extras
and presentation
By Janet Yang
Daily Arts Writer
Want to do something good for
the world and also get more back
than you gave? Then go to the
Power Center this
weekend and enjoy the
Children of Uganda's
"Tour of Light." Not CHILD
only do the proceeds UGA
from the tour go
towards children who At Powt
have lost parents due to Tonight a
AIDS or war in Ugan- tomorrow
da, but you also get to
see an exciting, first- University M
rate performance of
African music and dance.
The performers in this show are
not professionals; rather, the Chil-
a
Al
stage. It reveals the joy in their
hearts," he said.
Each member of Children of
Uganda hails from the Daughters of
Charity Orphanage in the capital
city of Kampala. Through tours
such as this , the per-
formers are given the
chance to raise money
tEN OF for those who are in
NIDA similar situations back
in Uganda.
r Center The audience can
7 p.m. and expect to see a variety
at 8 p.m. of different acts on
stage. The award-win-
isical Society ning performance
showcases many of the
cultural aspects from the African
continent. It consists mainly of
songs and historical dances from
Eastern Africa, Uganda, Rwanda
and also the Congo. Many of these
songs, dances and ancient rituals
have evolved over the past hundreds
of years to the traditional style it is
performed in now.
The Children of Uganda's purpose
is not only to raise money, but also
to inform the audience about the
plight in Uganda and the surround-
ing areas. Uganda is a country rav-
aged by AIDS, war and poverty,
where tuition at school costs as
much as the average year's income.
The proceeds from the "Tour of
Light" go toward the Ugandan Chil-
dren's Charity Foundation, which
supports two orphanages and over
dren of Uganda are talented youths
between the ages of six and 17.
But even though the performers
are young, the show isn't anything
less than impressive. The dancing is
dynamic, the music infectious and
the skits reflect the joy and hope
that is seen within the performers
themselves. Given the situations of
the children, one might find it sur-
prising to see them so happy to be
on stage; however, Luke Filose, the
publicist for the Children of Ugan-
da, said the audience should expect
the opposite. "They really love what
they do... it shows on the smiles on
their faces and in how they work
and how they move together on
Uganda? You got it!
650 orphans. The program pays for
the children's education, food, medi-
cine, and shelter, in addition to a
separate facility for children of HIV
positive widows. The program also
emphasizes cultural education to a
generation that may have never had
a chance to learn the traditions of
their heritage otherwise.
Frank Katoola, the program's cho-
reographer and director, has taught
dance, music and drama for years in
Kampala, Uganda. He has worked
for numerous charity organizations,
including World Vision Uganda,
Habitat International, the American
Peace Corps, as well as the Uganda
Children's Charity Foundation.
Katoola has also founded the Tender
Talents Theatre Company, which
focuses on issues such as child
abuse and the welfare of children in
Uganda.
Although the Children of Uganda
originally started performing at
weddings, local ceremonies and
births, they moved to the U.S. when
the first lady of Uganda, Janet
Museveni, invited the ensemble to
Washington, D.C. in 1993. Since
their first appearance back then, the
Children of Uganda have toured bi-
annually across the U.S. They were
in Washington, D.C. before coming
to Ann Arbor and are also touring
around San Francisco, Boston, Dal-
las and other cities for the remain-
der of the tour.
Guilty Hearts' suffers from unlikeable
main character, whiny second half
By Jeff Dickerson
Daily Arts Editor
In the golden age of Hollywood,
films such as "Red River" and "High
Noon" were commonplace in theaters
across the country. Actors like John
Wayne,
A 1 a n '
Ladd and
G a r y TOMBSTONE
Cooper DVD
were the
stars of Movie:****
the indus- Features: ***I
try, all
playing Picture/Sound:***'
cowboys
on the big screen. Today the western is
all but a dead genre, as studios are
investing most of their financing into
teen comedies, supernatural thrillers
and computer animated films. With the
recent box office flop of "American
Outlaws," the western genre has fallen
on hard times.
Perhaps the last great western is
George P. Cosmatos' 1993 film "Tomb-
stone," starring Kurt Russell and Val
Kilmer. "Tombstone" is an action-
heavy retelling of Wyatt Earp and the
legendary gunfight at the OK Corral.
Russell plays the protagonist Earp with
a sharp wit. The rest of the Earp family
is played by Sam Elliot as Virgil and
Bill Paxton as younger brother Morgan.
The cast is strong throughout, but Val
Kilmer makes special notice with his
masterful rendition of Doc Holliday.
Other notables include Michael Biehn
("The Terminator"), Povrs Booth
("The Emerald Forest") and Charlton
Heston ("Planet of the Apes").
Originally released in a minimalist
edition in 1998, the two-disc Vista
Series DVD version of "Tombstone" is
a quality upgrade in all aspects. Wyatt
Earp and his brothers have never
looked better as the disc includes a new
THX certified anamorphic widescreen
transfer presented in a 2.35:1 aspect
ratio. The sound options include a new
5.1 digital soundtrack as well as a com-
mentary track from director Cosmatos.
The commentary with Cosmatos is less
than thrilling, but die-hard fans will
appreciate the comprehensiveness of
the information. The rest of the bonus
material can be found on the vast sec-
ond disc.
A 26-minute documentary,"The
Making of Tombstone," includes inter-
views with cast members including
Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, and Powers
Booth The feature provides an in-depth
look into the filmmaking process. For a
behind the scenes documentary, the
short is rather generic in format. Also
included on the second disc is the
"Tombstone Timeline," a historical
chronically of the events of the Earps,
presented with voice-over narration. Of
all the vintage materials included, the
most interesting is the "Tombstone Epi-
taph," a picture of the actual Tombstone
newspaper with articles featuring eye
witness testimony of the gunfight at the
OK Corral.
Other extra material includes the
original storyboards for the gunfight at
the OK Corral sequence. the theatrical
trailer. teaser and seven TV spots
included. A hidden feature offers an
image gallery of poster art and sketch-
es. The presentation of the film and its
extra material is among the most
impressive available on DVD. Menus
look like "wanted posters" and bullets
whiz by when selecting the text. In an
absurd move, the dvd producers also
included a collectible map of the town
of Tombstone. The packaging is identi-
cal to other Vista Series dvds "The
Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable," as
well as popular discs "Citizen Kane"
and "Boogie Nights."
For "Tombstone" fans and western
aficionados alike, the two disc "Tomb-
stone" Vista Series is an impressive
release. The new material warrants the
purchase of this new edition, making
the original disc obsolete.
By Jason Blauet
For the Daily
CBS's new TV movie has a lot to offer for those
who enjoy long drawn out storylines
based on actual events. This movie a
takes place in Wenham, which is some
sort of small town in northern America
- my guess is Wisconsin or Michigan
because we are told it is relatively close GU ILT
to Chicago. Jen'ny Moran (Marcia Sur
Harden) has just experienced the loss Wednesda
of her father. His tragic death from can-
cer leaves her feeling very mortal. She
begins to think that she has wasted her
life and doesn't love her husband or family. This
pushes her into starting an affair with Dr. Steven
Carrow (Treat Williams), one of her fellow parish-
ioners.
Steven convinces her that she should divorce her
husband and marry him, even though he is not will-
ing to leave his own wife. Jenny leaves her husband,
Matt, who is stunned by this shocking event. She
says he doesn't listen to her or care about him or
respect her religion. These are all lies. To further
Y HEARTS
nday and
ay at 10 p.m.
CBS
destroy him, when she files for
divorce, she claims he abused her
(another lie), which causes him to
lose some of his friends and a lot of
business.
Steven, being a pillar of the
church, knows he cannot divorce his
wife because it will make him look
bad. So instead, he shoots his wife
and then tries to frame Matt. After the
police point out that there are numer-
ous pieces of evidence against Steven, and the fact
that Matt didn't even know the woman he supposed-
ly killed, Steven admits to the whole thing. This is
where the story is supposed to get interesting.
Steven then uses his connection with the church, the
medical community and the justice system to try to
discredit Jenny, since her testimony about the affair
will put him away for life. Instead of trying to con-
vict the man that wronged her and brutally murdered
his own wife, Jenny spends the rest of the rovie
sniveling and whining about how everyone hates
her. It is left to her friends and family to try to con-
vince her that testifying is the right thing to do.
Jenny is completely unlikeable, which is sad since
she is the main character and we are presumably
supposed to feel bad for her since this story is based
on a true story. Right from the start of the movie
when she first begins to talk about how bad her life
is one thinks, "Hmmm married, three kids, a big
house, a steady job ... seems like you did pretty
well." Dislike for Jenny is pushed even farther dur-
ing part two of the movie when all she does is walk
around talking about how horrible a person she is
and how everybody hated her for what she did.
Not once in this story does Jenny ever stop to
think about the feelings of others. Her whole world
revolves around her and how everything should be
perfect for her. The only likable character in this
movie is her husband, Matt (Gary Basaraba). He has
a sort of Homer Simpson quality to his affection. He
loves her but is not very good at expressing it. We
see it at the beginning of the movie when he buys
her a dozen roses, puts them in a vase on the table,
and then forgets to tell her about them because he is
watching football. Also, after one of their arguments
he buys her some of her favorite chocolates, but for-
gets that she is on a diet, which Jenny uses to
ridicule him. He is a perfect man, though. Even after
Jenny has destroyed his life and torn apart their fam-
ily, he fights to get her back and stands by her all
through the trial.
This movie is a 50/50 type movie. The first part is
very good and actually pretty entertaining, but be
prepared for a whine-fest in the second half.
0
Courtesy of Buena Vista
Jim Morrison in a funny hat.
Mairquez brings hiey
Flamenco to Detroit
Courtesy of CBS/ AP PHOTO
Left: Harden and Williams, Right: Harden and her Oscar. Bet you wish you were her.
Enjoy a night of electronic improvisation
r on Saturday February 9th featuring:
By JoshuarPalay
Daily Arts Writer
'0' s0 good DVD
Flamenco dance is a sight to
behold. Ask almost anyone who is
DEP 114 a 1
By Lyle Henretty
Daily Arts Editor
The Rattling Wall Collective In Dutch
w/ Chris Peck
Show starts at 8 p.m.
Admission is $5,$3 for students, with proceeds benefiting
the Ann Arbor Hunger Coalition
Sunday evening Jazz Mass at 5 p.m.
Alternative worship featurinalive music bySteohen Rush and Quartet
ence. For fans of the play, this
should be viewed as a positive.
The only add-on comes in the
form of Martin Sheen as Hugo's
father and basketball coach Duke
"The Duke" Goulding. Sheen does a
Tim Blake Nelson, known to audi-
ences as dim Delmar from the Coen
brother's Odyssey epic "O Brother,
Where Art Thou," has crafted what
could have easily been
"Save the Last Dance r
2." Instead, "O," out
on DVD next week, is a 0 D
dark update to Shake- Movie: **A
speare's "Othello" set Features:
in the over-privileged
world of prep-school Picture/Soun
basketball.
As atrocious as this sounds on
paper, the film really captures the
mood and major themes of Othello,
updating all of the important charac-
ters.
Mekhi Phifer plays Odin James,
the black superstar on a fairly white
familiar with it and
they explode in rush-
ing torrent of superla-
tives describing the
charm and sheer
power of seeing live
Flamenco dancing. It
is a sensual dance
based on the move-
ments of toreadors.
ANTO
MARCQ
Fox The
Sunday at 2
$20, $37.
fine job in
)VD
***
nd: ****
a fairly uncomplicated
role, yet the presence of
his character adds much
unwanted melodrama to
the otherwise taught
production.
The DVD is stocked
up with the usual good-
ies. Nelson is the
antithesis of Delmar as
FRENCH, PORTUGUESE, SPANISH AND ROMANIAN
SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PEACE CORPS!
LEARN HOs PRIOR STUDY OF ROMANCE LANGUA ES
CAN BE USEFUL IN THE PEACE COPR$.
impact is rather refreshing and
enticing, especially when com-
pared to the all too common mod-
ernist audience-trouncing veiled by
esoteric, intellectual rhetoric that is
expressed by many
contemporary artists.
This is a dance that
)NIO stabs at your guts.
2UEZ Dancing since
childhood, Sr.
eather Mdrquez's began his
& 7 p.m. professional career
50, $45 with the Ballet
Nacional de Espana
company; later joining the Ballet
Espanol de Madrid and the Ballet
Region de Murcia. After forming
his own dance company, the Com-
pania Espanola de Antonio
Marquez, Sr. Mdrquez has been
swiftly gaining international
renown. Truly a master of his craft,
he is well positioned to provide'a
thrilling performance.
Tickets ($20, $37.50 & $45) for
Antonio Mdrquez at the Fox The-
ater are now on sale and may be
purchased at the Fox Theater and
Fused with a violent and passion-
ate energy, it thrusts forward with
tremendous force and a stirring
percussive precision. And yet, for
the majority of U of M students,,
probably the only opening into the
ever-blossoming world of flamenco
is through the beginning scenes of
"Mission Impossible:2" or perhaps
"Strictly Ballroom." This weekend
provides an excellent opportunity
to remedy this inexperience.
Antonio Marquez, one of the
foremost Flamenco dancers of our
he pontificates on jealously and vio-
lence. Several deleted scenes are
included which add more characteri-
zation to characters (especially
Elden Henson's Roger, who stands in
for Shakespeare's Roderigo) but
would have ultimately hurt the film's
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