Monday October 21, 2002 michigandaily.com mae@michigandaily.com ARTS 5A Watts shines in frightening 'Ring' By Ryan Lewis Daily Arts Writer Chilling from the moment it opens, "The Ring" is a frightening trip that exploits and expands every horror trick leaving audiences shivering well after the credits have rolled. A remake of the Japanese horror film "Ringu," Gore Verbinski's version transforms a tired, cliched, and too-often teen topic into a fascinating two hours of captivating sus- pense. It gradually builds a level of anxiousness and edge- of-your-seat trepidation that amounts to a remarkably scary film. "The Ring" pulsates with inspiration through a ride of anticipation and terror. There is a video. Nobody is sure where it came from, but if you watch it, you die seven days later. In a startlingly daunting opening scene, a young girl learns the consequences dying an unexplainable, horrible death. When THE her aunt, Seattle newspaper reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts, "Mulholland Drive"), At Shov learns of the mystery surrounding the tragedy, Qual she quickly begins investigating. As it turnsD out, her niece's boyfriend and two friends all Drea died on the same day at the exact same time. Rachel's digging leads her to a cabin where she finds the rumored video. Pro- voked by curiosity, she watches the tape full of powerful, creepy images, receiving a phone call afterward informing her that she now has one week until she will die. Like a terrifying chain letter come to life, the video gets passed on to Rachel's friend Noah (Martin Henderson, "Windtalkers") and falls into the hands of her son Aidan (David Dorfman, "Bounce"). Her quest becomes more des- perate and concentrated because she now fights for more than her own life. Disturbing events continue to occur for Rachel as she ventures ever closer to answering the mystery. Images from the video come to life having ingrained their freakish nature into her memory. Slowly and deliberately, the story unravels into a psychothriller involving the bloodcurdling story of a young girl Samara (Daveigh Chase, "Donnie Darko) who will never go away. Verbinski (director of "The Mexican") does a wonderful job using cliches to draw the audience into the trap of assuming before they have actually seen. He manipulates what we have been conditioned to expect from these type of films increase the film's tension. He skillfully allows the R wc it mw film to unfold without using shock tactics but by tormenting expectations and using deliberate camera movements. While the film does drag and has too much dialogue in the first half, it pulls together for a second half of excitement and very unique scares. Astounding visuals and a shrieking score greatly contribute to the suspense and dread. The photography by cinematogra- pher Bojan Bazelli is simplistic and calculated, but strikingly beautiful through its use of Expressionism. Some of the shots, including the video itself, are absolutely breathtaking. The film even manages to reference a shot from "Rear Window" revering the master of suspense himself. Like all films in the genre, it does use the high-pitched sounds to stir the audience. However, Hans Zimmer's score includes deep string chords and sounds straight from a baby's crib to enhance its aerie tone. If Watts has not yet proven herself to the ZING masses, she surely will with this fine perform- ance. Carrying the weight of the movie almost ase and entirely by herself, she provides a scintillating y 16 display of her abilities. Watts shines as she is works part of nearly every scene in the film, and her transition from composure to near helplessness is uncommonly genuine. She single-handedly elevates the movie from a visual spectacle deficient of persona into a truly moving film about one woman's tribulations. Other than her portrayal, the rest'of the cast, although effec- tive, is hardly notable. Dorfman does seem to have the capa- bilities of many of the best young actors, but his talent is lost in the overplayed role of the child with a sixth sense. Hender- son is decent, but forgettable. The only other characters of note are a welcomed cameo by the legendary Brian Cox and a perfectly unsettling Daveigh Chase. Chase's performance is probably the scariest by a young girl since "The Exorcist." "The Ring" has some fabulous moments and a very good overall quality. At some points it fags, and early on it relies too heavily on dialogue, but it finishes with a punch. By far the most convincing features of the film are the enumerable questions left unexplained. Life has many loose ends; where other horror movies try to explain it, this one is more effective without closure. What it lacks in originality and script, it cer- tainly makes up for through its simple and provocatively sin- ister atmosphere. Through its photography, it is a piece of art unto itself; and through its delivery, it is a film that will leave even the most stalwart people with goosebumps. Yoshimi is winning but the Pink Robots have the momentum. The Flaming Lips sing along with Beck in Detroit tonight By Jeff Dickerson Daily Arts Editor "We've never really been part of a scene," said Michael Ivins, bassist and co-founder of The Flaming Lips. "We've sort of, in a lot of ways, always charted our own course." Tonight Ivins and his bandmates, vocalist/guitarist Wayne Coyne and drummer Steven Drodz, will be performing with Beck in the Motor City's unlikliest of rock venues - the Detroit Opera House. The Flaming Lips - who have spent much of their career in the obscurity of a homogenized music industry - formed in 1983, in the unlikely confines of Oklahoma City. The eccentric musicians began their experimental musical career when frontman Coyne supposedly stole musical instruments from a local church. "When we were making our first few albums it would be like, 'Check this band out, The Birthday Party. That's some weird shit, why don't we try and do something like that,"' added Ivins. Since their humble beginnings, The Lips have released 10 studio albums, ranging in sonic tones from the drug-induced-psychedelia of 1987's Oh My Gawd!!! to the pop- perfect bliss of 1999's The Soft Bul- letin. Ivins explains, "Not to sound too pretentious, we've sort of moved it the one step beyond of 'Can you open for me' to 'Can you actually be the band,"' Ivins told of how the tour came to fruition. "It's just one of those things where you go 'I wonder into a realm where, in a way, we're just trying to make Flaming Lips music.' Their most recent album, 2002's aptly- titled Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, received mass critical praise for its kitsch, catchiness, and origi- nality. The Lips have certainly earned more notice from critics than BECK WITH THE FLAMING LIPS At The Detroit Opera House Tonight at 7:30 p.m. Sold Out Clear Channel' what would happen?' Which seems to be a lot of our career." Beck, whose fifth major studio release Sea Change came out only weeks ago, has undergone many of the same experiences in his career, struggling with his folk poetry until his slacker single "Loser" hit airwaves in last show in the area was from the 1994. His public over the years. Sans their improbable Top 40-hit "She Don't Use Jelly" (from the brilliant album Transmissions from the Satellite Heart) the group has been virtually ignored by mainstream audiophiles. The Flaming Lips are hoping to spread their music to unfamiliar ears as they tour the country with the sullen singer/songwriter Beck. But they are more than just an opening act, as they will be assuming the role of Beck's backing band as well. "He called up and asked us to take an acoustic set at the Michigan The- ater in August. "We're just fans of music," Ivins said. "When we opened up for Can- dlebox it was too weird to pass up." The Flaming Lips are willing and able to perform if simply for the sake of being strange. They have played at Lollapalooza and toured Europe with the Red Hot Chili Pep- pers. Ivins concluded, "If Pink called up and said hey let's go out on tour, that would be weird. I think it would be kinda fun." Courtesy of Dreamworks And the Oedipus Complex lives on. Ohio rocks with Dakota Floyd By Rob Brode Daily Arts Writer The land of the Buckeye rarely catches the Wolverine unless it happens to be a football Saturday in late November. And why not? What else of any importance comes from Ohio? Quite possibly music. Dakota Floyd, a two-year-old pop outfit from Cleveland is fixing itself to prove, as Drew Carey claims, "Cleveland rocks!" Dublin native Sorca McGrath leads Floyd with an irrepressible pop power strum and sweet cherubic vocals with more substance eye of the DAKC FLO At The Elb Tonight at $4'$ and melodies featuring Porter's background in Jazz/African Beat and Watterson's love of funk currently absent from most radio fare. The band's sound has been described as the bastard child of Hank Williams and Kim Deal. Their heav- ily varied musical background is enough to make one wonder how DF is able to write a OTA coherent song. "We're basically avoiding a YD train wreck," said Porter "we start with a ow Room simple country base, courtesy of Sorca, but often end up with complex songs after Bill 10 p.m. and I get done with them. Despite our differ- $5 __ ent backgrounds we have the natural ability to take a song in a good direction." The band signed to Ragz Records in 2001 releasing a three-song single and plans to release a full length by the end of the year. DF's Midwest tour will bring them through Ann Arbor to The Coffee Beanery at 1pm for a short acoustic showcase before hitting the stage at The Elbow Room in Ypsilanti this evening. than a Blimpy Burger topped with egg, onion rings and a healthy dash of Tabasco. Though it may be Sorca that gar- ners the most attention a la the No Doubt syndrome, Gerry Porter (drums), a student of Kenny Arnoff and Bill Watterson (bass) carry their weight in the rhythm section often morphing simple pop/country licks into rhythms I JOHN Jt CHRISTIAN DESIGNERS & CRAFTSMEN SINCE 1850 Michigan COLLEGE MONOGRAM RING +r. v^ ,J - EAG D TE -DEGREE *GREEK LETTERS *YOUR MONOGRAM Free Brochure 14K GOLo $450 RINGBOX.COM 1-888-646-6466 Paid advertisement FOOD FOR TrhOJGHI MANIPULATING OPINION I N. a"mo '4 M / M Chanel Lancome Donna Karan DKNY Intimates Christian Dior 1'Elizabeth Arden MAYO CLINIC NursinEmbar Mayo Clinic Nursing offers unparalleled opportunities for career mobility and growth. At Mayo Clinic, you have the opportunity to practice your profession in a world-renowned medical center with a reputation for high standards, where nursing practice is closely integrated with advanced education and research programs. 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