41 Tuesday December 10, 2002 michigandaily.com/arts mae@michigandaily.com iRTS 8 41 8 Godfrey Reggio's avant-garde trilogy ends with 'Naqoyqatsi' By Curtis Hiller For the Daily "Naqoyqatsi" is the final "Qatsi" trilogy installment from director God- frey Reggio. The title is a Hopi word signifying "war as a way of life." The film is preceded by "Koyaanisqatsi" (1983) and "Powaqqatsi" (1988). Yet, there is some question as to whether "Naqoyqatsi" can hang with these other masterworks. The first film had a beautiful and distinctive look created with incredible slow and fast motion shots of the world at large by Ron Fricke, the film's cine- matographer. Despite a new cinematographic team, film number two strayed not far from this NAQOY At the M Thea Mirar even videogames. Also dotting the film's visual landscape are computer- generated scenes that seem unprofes- sional and weak at the outset but in later scenes graduate to hackneyed and com- monplace. Digital effects and overlays too, are no stranger in the film. For the first time in the trilogy, exposing cellu- loid just isn't enough for Reggio. A microscope shot of wriggling sperm must slowly become a digitally affected shot of hundreds of wriggling, naked babies (perhaps where the film's PG-13 rating comes from). As if this weren't straight forward enough, corporate logos QATSI including Enron's, and ichigan celebrity footage, includ- ter ing former successful 49ers quarterback Steve nax Young and the not-so- successful-anymore star of "Watching Ellie," Julia Louis-Drey- fus, are included in the film's over-use of stock footage. But where the computer effects and archival images are somewhat of a fail- ure, Reggio has not entirely forgotten the formula that gave beauty to his visions in the past. An amazing subtlety can be found in the slow motion, black and white portraiture of buildings and people near the beginning of the film. Though somewhat abstract, there is a gracefulness in the laughing, smiling format, but honed its focus on post-colonial existence. "Naqoyqatsi" is standing somewhere off to the side: the startlingly dissimilar black sheep in the set. "Naqoyqatsi" is uncharted territory, as far as the trilogy is concerned. It fully embraces computers and television in a way previously belied by the simple and beautiful everyday imagery of the other two films. Comprised of 450 images, according to Reggio, it feels as though most of them must be stock footage from television, the previous films and faces that is akin to the numerous pan- ning close-ups of giddy children posing for the camera in "Powaqqtsi." Phillip Glass' unwavering attention to minimalist detail is again present in his work too - owing much to the fact that a great deal of the music is merely rewritten and arranged from the previ- ous films. The music does include excellent new material as well. A beau- tiful cello solo, played by Yo-Yo Ma, and a soprano solo reminiscent of the track "Vessels" from the first film are among the offerings. As with the other films, the soundtrack is inseparable from the images. There is a certain music video quality to them that dic- tates the necessity of one for the other. Reggio states in the DVD extras for "Powaqqatsi," "I don't feel that it's contradictory or hypocritical to use the very medium that you're questioning." This statement very much informs and shapes "Naqoyqatsi." Throughout the trilogy, Reggio has shown a world where the circumstance of being human has become one with a transi- tion from the natural world into a world of technology. Translating the titles of the films in sequence yields a passage from "life osut of balance" to "life in transition" and finally to "war as a way of life." Progressing beyond the simple graphical comparison of street maps and circuit boards in the first film, "Nagoyqatsi" steps heavy-handed into the very realm it condemns: the tech- nological world. And yet the military imagery in this film is no more an indictment of mechanical warfare than those images of similar ilk in "Koy- aanisqatsi;" the war that is being con- demned is not between countries but between man and nature. But it is this same heavy-handed approach, saturat- ed in digitally constructed images and stock footage, which breaks down the effectiveness of Reggio's earlier for- mula of simplicity in presentation. Per- haps the subject dictates the approach, but in the end,'watching "Koyaanisqat- si" twice is probably more enjoyable than being slapped with "Naqoyqat- si's" bluntness. THE 10 BEST VIDEO GAMES OF 2002 a I By Jeff Dickerson Daily Arts Writer 21i T Courtesy of Mir8max One of the many riddles in "Naqoyqatsi." LLlII PItH THl futLflhJIiI Video games have come a long way since the golden age of "Pong" and "Space Invaders." What began as sim- ple entertainment for children and young adults has turned into a vast media empire, worth an estimated $9 billion. The video game industry is indeed a serious busi- ness these days, surpassing the profits of even Holly- wood. The year 2002 in video games got off to a sluggish start, but ended with a flurry of excellent titles on all three gaming consoles. After careful deliberation, here are the best offerings from the past year in gaming. 10. NBA2K3 - Sega - PS2, Xbox, GC The competition between Sega and EA in the sports market has greatly benefitted the basketball video' game genre, and "NBA2K3" is the best one yet. 9. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance - Konami - Game Boy Advance . If only all portable games were this good. "Harmony" is another worthy entry in the prestigious lineage of "Castlevania" titles. While last year's "Circle of the Moon" was dark and muddled, "Harmony" brightens up things with sharper graphics and splashes of color. 8. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Rockstar Games - PS2 Perhaps the most anticipated video game since "Super Mario Bros. 3" debuted on the original Nintendo system, "Vice City" followed up the mecha-popular "Grand Theft Auto 3" in retro style, transporting its hero to the neon- filled streets of Miami. Sadly, the game feels more like a rehash of "GTA3" than a true sequel, candy coating the same gameplay in a faux new '80s package. 7. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 - Activision - PS2, Xbox, GC You would think after the perfection of "Tony Hawk 3" Activision would have hit the glass ceiling of extreme sports simulation, but the fourth installment of the best- selling skateboarding series manages to stay fresh while maintaining the fundamentals of its predessors. 6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Nin- tendo - Game Boy Advance Yeah, it's cheap to put a port of a Super Nintendo game in the top 10 of 2002, but when that port is "A Link to the Past," arguably the best in the "Zelda" series, such declarations are warranted. The inclusion of the multi- player game "Four Swords" is an added bonus for those who have already mastered the original SNES game. 5. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance - Konami - Xbox "Substance" is little more than a redux of last year's "Metal Gear Solid 2" smattered with various supple- ments to substantiate another purchase of an espionage adventure. Thankfully, the hundreds of VR missions and the aptly titled "Snake Tales," exclusive side quests fea- turing Solid Snake, offer enough new material for hard- core fans of the series. I 1. Here is Justin Bailey from "Metroid." 2. One of the characters in the bizarre "Animal Crossing." 3. Mario makes the leap to GameCube in "Sunshine." 4. "A Link to the Past," good, but not as good as "Zelda 2." Courtesy of Nintendo 0 Sell your Books at 4. Mario Sunshine - Nintendo - GameCube While "Sunshine" is hardly as innovative as the Italian plumber's last outing, "Super Mario 64," the game raises the virtual bar for platform gaming, courtesy of Miyamo- to's brilliant level design. 3. NCCA Football 2003 - EA - PS2, Xbox, GC EA's acclaimed college football series gets better with each passing year, and "NCAA Football 2003" manages to even surpass the quality of EA's other pigskin simula- tion, "Madden 2003." 2. Animal Crossing - Nintendo - GameCube At first glance, "Animal Crossing" looks like a hybridization of "Pokemon" and "The Sims," but once you get past its childish appearance you'll find one of the strangest and addictive games in recent memory. "'Cross- ing" makes brilliant use of the GameCube's internal clock to create a unique video game experience at any time of the day. 1. Metroid Prime - Nintendo - GameCube Simply put, "Metroid Prime" is one of the finest video games ever made. After an eight-year hiatus, Samus Aran returned in her first new adventure since "Super Metroid," and in grand fashion at that. "Prime masterful- ly made the difficult transition from the side-scrolling action of yesteryear to the lavish 3D exploration of mod- ern gaming. DONT TRY THIS AT HOMEI i :...:.... .. ,:.::: .:r .... ::<.:,. :.: .. .. >:::<: :::xx ;<: ;: . . . . . :.,:: :; :. ' x <,, :. <::: .:v . i.: is ::'i .:.:.... va:::. v.,: k .} sn\: :..:. ::}:: {V : Dprgsonator, Chris Solano th renditions e Elvis songs. 0q PRIZE WHEElfor the chance to win SCOREKEEPERS s T$100OCALL E FRI DAY.0 I'l _