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'Thelma & Louise' shine in DVD

By Katie Marie Gates
Daily TV/New Media Editor

Sometimes life is just too much to
handle. The stress, the confinement, the
work, the agony; it is enough to practi-
cally send someone over the edge. Usu-
ally it doesn't, but in that rare instance,
human beings have a tendency to snap,
to go insane and once it happens, there
is no turning back.
"Thelma & Louise" accurately
depicts this abandonment of sense
as two women drive across three
states running from the law and the
stress of life.
Strong-willed Louise (Susan
Sarandon) leaves on a weekend fish-

courtesy of Sony

Why you gotz ta' waste my flava dawg?

ing trip to antagonize
her non-committal
boyfriend and forget her
low-paying waitressing
job. She drags along the
ditzy Thelma (Geena
Davis), a fun-loving
Southerner in need of
escape from her con-
trolling husband Darryl
(Christopher McDon-
ald, "The Perfect

convinces them to give him a ride.
In Pitt's breakthrough performance
he proves why he has since come so
far in Hollywood. Sarandon and
Davis also offer well-developed
characters, adding depth to this far-
fetched feature.
This story is empowering as Thel-
ma and Louise take charge of their
lives without regret. However, a string
of stupid mistakes dooms the experi-
ence. Overall, the plot is full of laughs
but contains an underlying sadness.
Hans Zimmer's musical score is
energetic, making for an unforget-
table soundtrack to highlight this
landmark film and give life to the
romanticism of a road trip between
best friends that
changes them forever.
The Special Edition
MA & DVD is packed with
DVD extra features for fans.
It provides audio com-
mentary by either
Director Ridley Scott
**y ("Gladiator") or Susan
JM Sarandon, Geena Davis
and Oscar-winning
screenwriter Callie
Khouri. The former provides more
insight than the latter and is worth the
watch. Listening to Davis and Saran-
don's intermittent comments and
snickers overpowered by long seg-
ments of silence is easily skipped.
The alternate ending with com-
mentary by the director is very inter-
esting and not too much of a time
commitment while the extensive

THEL
LOUISE
Picture/Sound
Movie: ***j
Features: **
MG

DJ L HOSTS BLOK PARTY

By Joseph Litman
Daily Arts Writer.

The mixtape game is a competitive one. Throughout the
country, DJs make compilation CDs seeking to break the
latest music, promote the hottest artists and stoke the flames
of conflict. DJ Envy, well known in New York, drops his
first major-label tape today, The Desert Storm Mixtape: DJI
Envy, Blok Party, Vol. 1. One of the album's hottest tracks is
"Focus," from rapper and longtime Envy associate Joe Bud-
den. Envy and Budden spoke with The Michigan Daily
about Storm and the current state of hip-hop.
The Michigan Daily: Envy, how do you distinguish
your tapes from those of your competitors?
DJ Envy: I just do me. Whatever songs I feel, I play.
You're not going to hear any wack songs or too many
favors. If I don't like it, I don't care if it's your man, your
cousin's man, I'm not going to play it. If I like, I play it.
Check my album. Every song on my album, I love, I like.
Every artist, I love, I like. It wasn't "let me get these artists
as favors." Everybody on my album, I love, and I would die
for my album. This is my life.
TMD: Do you think hip-hop is moving in the right
direction?
DJE: What people fail to understand is that hip-hop is
somebody's self-expression. There's gonna be artists who
make pop music and artists who. make hardcore music.
People should stop worrying about what other people are

doing and just focus on their own projects.
TMD: Joe, how did you and Envy hook up and col-
laborate?
Joe Budden: Envy is my man. Before his deal, before
his album, he had his own mixtape, I was on it, and we just
go back a little. I made a track, he heard it and wanted it for
this album, so I gave it to him.
TMD: When did you get into rhymin'?
JB: I was high one day and just started freestylin'. It was
a hobby, something I did to pass time, with basketball, and
over the years, like anything, if you keep at it, you get bet-
ter at it. God just put me in the right place at the right time
and here I am.
TMD: Your hobbies were hip-hop and basketball. Why
do you think the two are so intertwined?
JB: They're both urban. In a lot of urban areas you have
rap, you have hip-hop, and you have streetball, basketball.
Rap is the streets; basketball is the streets. It's like they're
cousins. For a lot of minorities, basketball and rap music
are two of the only ways out of the hood.
TMD: So then how can rappers avoid being labeled
sell-outs?
JB: I hate to say it, but for white people, or the crossover
audience, to accept you, the urban audience has to first
accept you. But once the urban audience no longer accepts
you, then (laughing) it seems like the crossover audience
doesn't want you either. So, you gotta walk a fine line.
A fll transcript of this interview can he found at
www. michigandaily.coin.

Storm"). Unfortunately, the trip goes
sour when a man attempts to rape
Thelma outside a bar, triggering
Louise to shoot him to death in a fit
of rage. The drama that ensues is a
thrill ride of adventure as Thelma and
Louise head for Mexico with the
police and FBI on their trail.
Along the way the pair befriend a
young Brad Pitt, a con-artist who

deleted scenes are a little more
exhausting. There are about 20 sup-
plied; many are small fragments
intermixed with existing scenes, a
distinction that can be made with a
"deleted footage marker."
One shouldn't forget to flip the
DVD over because the other side
contains special features continuing
with a new behind-the-scenes docu-
mentary, and vintage theatrical fea-
turette. It is also equipped with
storyboard layouts, a photo gallery
and a rather unnecessary music video
featuring "Part of Me, Part of You"
by Glenn Frey. No aspect of this
memorable film or its making is left
to question after perusing this
impressive collection.

Nintendo brings back classic side
scroller with challenging Fusion'
By Daniel Yowell
Daily Arts Writer

. Indiana Jones wannabe 'Veritas' disappoints

By Christian Smith
Daily Arts Writer

Indiana Jones was successful as a
film series because it was able to
mix a perfect balance of edge-of-
your-seat adventure, self-effacing
humor and nostalgic fun, and Harri-
son Ford embodied those characteris-
tics flawlessly in the casual coolness
of his swaggering performance.
ABC's new adventure drama

recent death of his renowned archae-
ologist mother. Not much help is his
workaholic father, Solomon (Alex
Carter), who Nikko comes to find out
is not the university professor he
seems to be. He is, in fact, the head
of the Veritas Foundation, a group
seeking the truth behind the myster-
ies of history and civilization.
Somehow along the way, Nikko
inadvertently gets mixed up in his
father's dangerous world. Other Veri-

The adventures of intergalactic
bounty hunter Samus Aran continue
in "Metroid Fusion," picking up
where "Super Metroid" for the Super
Nintendo left off in 1994. "Fusion" is
the direct heir to the classic 2-D
gameplay that is synonymous with
the "Metroid" name.
What sets "Fusion" apart from
previous entries in the "Metroid"
series is its immersive storyline that
includes more insight into Samus'
personality and motivation than any
game before. The plot even features
some unexpected twists, which are a
pleasant surprise, coming from a
series that has never been very
story-driven.
The style of play in "Metroid
Fusion" is the same exploration-
based adventure that fans of the
series have come to expect, but, for
the first time, the action takes place
entirely in a space station rather than

Courtesy of Nintendo

A tribe called terrible.

"Veritas: The Quest" is
clearly influenced by
that franchise but lacks
all of the aforemen-
tioned qualities,
including the neces-
sary Indy-type hero.
Instead, "Veritas" tries
to fashion itself into an
arch aeo logically-
themed adventure show by
apart Indy's character and

VERITAS:
THE QUEST
Mondays at 8 p.m.
ABC

tas members include
Vincent Siminou,
(Arnold Vosloo, "The
Mummy"), Solomon's
mysterious right-hand
man, Calvin Banks
(Eric Balfour), another
brilliant but eccentric
archaeologist and Juliet

dumb for its own good, however,
leaving some story holes untouched
and others filled in with illogical
plot gimmicks, places it just under
the intelligence level of "Walker,
Texas Ranger." The action scenes
don't fare any better, with techno-
beats pilfered right out of "Alias"
complementing unnecessary fight-
ing and chase sequences.
If last week was any indication,
ABC's Super Monday lineup -
consisting of "Veritas: The Quest,"
"The Practice" and fellow newcom-
er "Miracles" - should be disman-
tled before February sweeps is over.

on an alien planet.
Despite this differ-
ence, the derelict Bio-
logic space station
contains a variety of
simulated environments
from a deep sea area to
a volcanic landscape.
There is also a wide
array of abilities to

METROID
Game Boy
Ninte

What? No way, Samus is a chick?
to "Metroid Fusion."
Boss battles in "Fusion" are both
challenging and abundant, featuring
monsters such as a massive security
robot, a new incarnation of old neme-
sis Ridley and even an
overgrown plant boss
highly reminiscent of
* Mother Brain. The huge
and intimidating bosses
FUSION and narrative cutscenes
Advance look great, showcasing
some of the best graph-
ndo ics displayed on Game
Boy Advance to date.
"Fusion" even includes some spe-
cial features that can be accessed
using the Game Boy Advance to
GameCube link cable and "Metroid
Prime" for the GameCube. By finish-
ing the games and then connecting
both systems, players can unlock the

ability to play "Metroid Prime" wear-
ing Samus' new fusion suit. Players
can also unlock the original 1986
"Metroid" and play it on GameCube.
"Metroid Fusion" revamps the
side-scrolling "Metroid" series, prov-
ing once again the 2-D platformer is
still alive and well.
Although the game is relatively
short, every minute is worthwhile
and challenging without being over-
ly frustrating.
"Fusion" adds depth to. the contin-
uing story of Samus, making the
anticipation for the next "Metroid"
game even greater than it was after
"Super Metroid." Not only is
"Fusion" a phenomenal addition to
the highly regarded "Metroid" fran-
chise, it is easily one of the best
games currently available for Game
Boy Advance.

y breaking
I divvying

up his personality among four or
five different people.
First, there is Nikko Zond (Ryan
Merriman), an intelligent but rebel-
lious teenager trying to cope with the

Droil (Cobie Smul-
ders), a former student of Solomon's
who has been assigned the task of
keeping Nikko out of trouble.
The show is watchable, albeit in a
blindingly logic-defiant way. Its
attempt to pack comprehensive his-
tory lessons into a show that's too

earn in these areas, both new and
old, from ice missiles to the screw
attack. Each new ability Samus
gains allows access to previously-
blocked areas containing hidden
power ups. Needless to say, detailed
exploration and backtracking are key


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Find out from School of Information students how
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SI students will display projects from their courses,
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