Tuesday
Novemnber 12, 2002
michigandaily.com/arts
mae@michigandaily.com

ATS

5



Water racer Jet X20'
lacks any originality

Hayek gives a career redefining
performance as the artist 'Frida'

By Matt Grandstaff
Daily Arts Writer

It's a good thing that Sony's "Jet
X20" isn't attending the Universi-
ty. Deliberately copying EA's
snowboarding title "SSX" in every
way possible, the game would be
kicked out for pla-
giarism one day and
flipping burgers the
next. Fortunately for
gamers craving
downhill snow- JET1
boarding - err For.
wave racing; rules
in the area of video So
game cloning do not
appear to be that strict.
The first indication that "Jet
X20" is an "SSX" rip off is the
game's title. Both titles sound like
gibberish and appear to be brought
to you by the letter X (for those
wondering, SSX means snowboard
super cross, while Jet X20 is a
hydrogen fuel used by a league of
racers). While these similarities
could be considered a coincidence
(yeah right), there are too many
obvious comparisons that can be
made between the two games.The
chromed cover of "Jet X20," load-
ing screens, menu screens, in-
game displays (most notably the
course progress bar and boost
gauge) and race results look
EXACTLY the same as those

X"
PS
any

found in "SSX." Sony doesn't
even try to be the kid in class that
copies the work but finds a way to
make it look different - they sim-
ply copied and pasted.
Also helping "Jet X20" become
"SSX Water" is the game's oh-so-
original control scheme. Using the
x button for accelera-
tion, the square button
for both speed boost
and tweak maneuvers,
and the four shoulder
20 buttons for various
52 tricks, gamers familiar
with "SSX" should
feel at home. At the
same time, the game's
developers should be in jail for
such blatant Xeroxing of another
game's controls.
While the already mentioned
aspects of "Jet X20" follow the
style of "SSX" page for page, the
game's levels are not exactly the
same. After all, people can't wave
race on snowy slopes. But again,
like the "SSX" games, the game's
downhill-based levels are long,
full of various shortcuts and can
be played either as a race or a
trick event. While this is not a bad
thing, the only gamers who will
play "Jet X20" over an "SSX"
game are those who prefer the wet
stuff to the frozen stuff. For such
gamers looking for wet dreams on
watercraft, it should be noted that

Sony has done an excellent job
creating realistic water, wave
movements and controls that make
gamers feel like they are control-
ling a wave runner.
The final touch of copycatting
found in "Jet X20" is the game's
characters. While not completely
identical to those found in "SSX,"
gamers can expect to see racers of
every size and personality spout-
ing all sorts of funky trash talk.
In the end, gainers who love
EA's snowboarding series might
be thinking that if the game com-
pletely rips off "SSX," it must be a
blast to play. Unfortunately, this is
not the case. "Jet X20," while fun
for maybe a few days, lacks the
magic that made "SSX" and "SSX
Tricky" so good. The jumps are
not as exhilarating, there are fewer
opportunities to pull off tricks and
the pace of the game is a little on
the slow side. "Jet X20," you've
been expelled.

By John Laughlin
Daily Arts Writer
Julie Taymor's latest film, "Frida,"
chronicles the life of famous painter
and wife to Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo.
"Frida" is the story of not only an artist,
but also that of a powerful woman in
soul, but not body. Crippled at an early
age, Frida would never be able to heal
the wounds that would plague her the
rest of her life - wounds that become
the very substance of her work. Salma
Hayek, through her
breathtaking perform-
ance as Frida, allows the
audience to gain an **
insight into this famous
figure both as woman FR
and legendary painter.
The set design and MAthe
costuming in "Frida" is Sho
magical. The film opens
in present tense with an Mir
old and dying Frida
being taken off her bed to be loaded
onto the back of a truck. Her house,
like her wardrobe, is fantastical in color
and design. Like that of an empress,
Frida lays upon her bed staring into the
mirror embedded in the canopy she
used for self-portraiture. She is making
a trip to someplace, but then the story
flashes back to 1922.
As a young child growing up in
Mexico City, Frida was proactive, sexu-
al and insatiably curious about art -
more specifically, about the art of
Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). The two
meet for the first time when Frida
"interferes" with him while he is paint-
ing a nude. Later that day, Frida's life
would be changed in what would be the
first of "the two great accidents in (her)
life." Crushed in a taxi accident, Frida
would spend the next several years
bedridden and in a body cast with only
a small chance to ever walk again.
Seeking a way to escape her minute
world and perhaps vent emotion, Frida
begins to paint.
After years of therapy and hardship,
Frida regains the ability to walk. Older
and well versed in her art, she seeks
out the one man who she believes can,

IE
Mi
:o
ram

give her the validation she so desper-
ately requires: Diego Rivera. The rela-
tionship blossoms from that of
teacher/student, to friendship, to
lovers. Rivera wishes to marry Frida,
but informs her that he is unable to be
faithful. Frida responds that as long as
he is "loyal" she will marry him. The
two work and travel together and one
gains a perspective of Diego's commu-
nist politics and loyalty to Trotsky, but
also his art and inability to remain a
consistently good husband.
This is not to say that
the story is about Diego
River and not Frida
** Kahlo. While Rivera
plays a central role in the
DA film, likewise he played a
pivotal role in Frida's life.
ichigan, He guides her through
e and the world of art and the
case
two attempt to have a
nax child, but Diego would
do a lot of damage as
well - he was both influentially help-
ful and harmful.
The cinematography is absolutely
first rate. Utilizing stop-motion anima-
tion, painting to film dissolves, the
ingenious inclusion of Frida's paintings
into shots in the film is amazing. Tay-
mor has successfully fused the world of
Frida's art into her life and the very
fabric of the film. While the story is
told chronologically it can also be seen
as being told as various works are cre-
ated. One is able
to gain a sense of
the psyche need-
ed to create such
pieces and is able
to understand
them within the
context of the
film.
All of the per-
formances work
to create this past
world that is con-
nected by such
players as
Rivera, Kahlo,
John Rockefeller
and Trotsky. I know it was you F

Mexico City, New York and Paris are
all settings that one gets to see the
various players react in and towards
while allowing many layers to be cre-
ated. Hayek's performance and physi-
cal presence are perhaps the most
notable as she plays the very young
Frida, to the very old. Complete with
the famous unibrow, Frida's counte-
nance contained, Hayek is able to
convey the outer and inner beauty of
a unique woman.
"Frida" moves swiftly. The pacing is
quick and at times seems to lack the
necessary slowing down for contempla-
tion or development; however, it works
well in retaining interest and keeping
up with the action. While certain
chronologies do seem to be glossed
over, Taymor's craft as director is still
able to convey the idea that certain
amounts of time have elapsed between
scenes through the visuals. For exam-
ple, while one may not know exactly
how long Frida was exactly bed-ridden
for as a child, or how much time passed
after she cut her hair, one is able to dis-
cern a rough estimate for themselves
through the visual clues given.
Frida Kahlo was a highly afflicted
individual who turned her pain into art.
Hers was a life that was marked by joy
and suffering with the latter being dom-
inant. Through wonderful direction,
costuming, set design and performanc-
es, "Frida" takes a look at the life of
this woman and doesn't blink.

Eminem s feature film debut, '8
Mile,' breaks box office records

By Jeff Dickerson
Daily Arts Editor
Earning a whopping $51.2 million in only its first three
days, Eminem's film debut, "8 Mile," dominated the week-
end box office, besting last week's champ, Disney's "The
Santa Clause 2."
The opening weekend of "8 Mile" is the second highest
ever for an R rated movie, behind last year's "Hannibal,"
which made $58 million. While the Lector thriller was antici-
pated as a blockbuster release, "8 Mile" lacked the character-
istics of a guaranteed smash hit and the results were much
higher than the $25 million box office analysts expected.
"8 Mile," directed by Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confiden-
tial"), has already made money for its distributor Univerasl,
as the production cost of the film was a scant $41 million.
The film is poised to easily pass the $100 million mark by
the month's end, and should finish somewhere between
$150-175 million.
Earlier this year, the Detroit rapper released his third
album, The Eminem Show, which has sold over 7 million

copies to date. By comparison, an estimated 8 million peo-
ple went to see the artist in his first acting role in "8 Mile."
The transition from music to film is a difficult change for
many artists, but Eminem seems poised to take over the film
industry after conquering the music business. Last year,
Mariah Carey flirted with an acting career in "Glitter," but
the film tanked and continued a series of emotional problems
for the "actress." Teen pop diva Britney Spears fared a little
better with her film debut, "Crossroads," but the ticket sales
($37 million in total) couldn't match the album sales.
Eminem can thank much of the success of the film to
Hanson, who has quickly become one of the most
acclaimed directors in Hollywood today. "8 Mile" has
received overwhelming praise from critics here and abroad,
but the public audience seems to be the group most
impressed with Em's debut.
Slim Shady's spot at the top won't last long, as friday
marks the release of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets," the second installment based on the mecha-popu-
lar book series. The first "Harry Potter" film made $90
million in its opening frame.

Frida. You broke my heart.


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