ART S The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 29, 2003 - 8A OutKast keepin' it separated, real By Hussain Rahim Daily Arts Writer Music REVIEW * Double albums in hip-hop. You make one when you want to die (Life After Death, All Eyez on Me) or when you want to die musically (Wu-Tang Forever, Blueprint 2, and Bones Thugs, yes they did one.) So now one of hip-hop's most adventurous and critically, as well as commercially, received groups ventures forth with their very own double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. OutKast Speaker- boxxxlThe Love Below La Face However, that doesn't necessarily make it better. As anyone who knows Out- Kast expected, Andr6's album, The Love Below, takes the biggest risk and pays off the most in the end. It probably can't even be called rap, as he turns his MC card to be an acid funk- soul singer. Starting off the album with half serious/half farci- cal Frank Sinatra crooning, you can tell Dr6 is in a space lounge about to take you farther than anywhere Atliens took you. With themes throughout the album dealing with confu- sion about all forms of love, including intergenerational issues ("Pink and Blue"), fidelity and eternal love, you can sense his confusion and Hme/ By Scott Seilla Daily Arts Editor What is it about Tokyo? The omnipresent glow of neon? The giddy, ultramodern pop culture? The distinctly familiar foreignness? Maybe the mix of Zen-minimalism and hi-tech innovation? Whatever it is, Sofia Coppola seems to have perfectly captured the intoxicatingly disorient- ing allure of Japan in her new dream- scape of a film, "Lost in Translation." Lost in The second-time director/writer easily Translation lives up to her famous pedigree and At Quality 16, the warm reception of her first pic- Showcase and the ture, the heartbreaking suburban goth- Michigan Theater ic, "The Virgin Suicides." Focus Features "Lost" follows the parallel dazes of two wayward Americans left floating in Tokyo for a week with little to do and too much on their minds. Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a slump-plagued movie star in town to shoot endorsements for a swinging whiskey eager to exploit his waning appeal. His career and marriage crumbling before him, Bob's middle-aged anxiety nears a fever pitch. Recent Yale-graduate Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) knows how he feels. Trailing behind her rock photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi) to Japan, she's stuck in a liminal funk with no career plans or close friends to anchor her. She whittles at time by wandering the city streets, sulking in her room and hiding from her martial and misgivings in the hotel bar. It's in the bar that the jetlagged pair meets and forms an inexpressible bond, a quick, deep connection between strug- gling souls far from home. It's a friendship nearly teetering on romance, but Coppola depends on that fragile, distinc- tive balance. She allows the characters to unfold at a deli- cate but relaxed pace, giving Murray and Johansson plenty of time to build nuance-rich performances. Plot is an after- thought to evoking emotion and textures in Bob and Char- lotte's relationship as they drift though Toyko's nightlife. Murray is in top-form, straddling the line between com- edy and tragedy with the twist of his face at his own sad jokes, a break in his voice while singing Roxy Music's "More Than This" at a karaoke bar or bittersweet smile when Charlotte walks into his elevator. Tokyo is an under- sized playground for his comedy persona as he dryly rifts to comfort himself as much as to express his frustration at losing his direction. Murray's only reference points are his own screen persona and maybe a funnier, confidence- shaken Bogart. At a mere 18 years old, Johansson invests in her roll a powerful world-weariness beyond her age, but shifts effort- lessly back into a touching child-like vulnerability. Char- lotte's habit of lounging in her underwear while listening to cheap self-help tapes suggests a forlorn teenager in her bed- room, yet her maturity leaps through in scenes with Bob, ending any misgivings about their age differences. Johansson possibly benefits from playing a fictionalized version of her director. With Coppola's own husband, Spike Jonze's mannerisms and fashion sense, Ribisi is an obvious stand-in for the "Adaptation" director. Coppola's willing- ness to explore or at least re-imagine her own experiences deepens the intensely personal feel of this beautifully ren- dered journey, molding a wistful yet surprisingly comfort- ing classic. The fusion of the group becomes more evident now that they are separat- ed. These two completely disparate discs show how they balance each other out. The OutKast sound is pushed outwards by Dre's penchant for experimentation and kept more in root by the Big Boi's dirty south sound. The album happens as pretty much dictated b y history, p erso n alities and album titles. Big , Boi presents Speaker- boxxx, which is the rap album you can play on the radio, evidenced by bangers such as "Flip Flop Rock." In true Out- Kast form, Big Boi focuses on brass instrumentation, elec- tro beats while throwing some reflec- tive, conscious and street lyrics in the mix as well. His album is definitely more mainstream and easily palatable. Courtesy of La Face We stimulate and activate your left and right brain. earnest disillusionment towards relationships and women, some of it stemming from a recent relationship with Erykah Badu. The Love Below is as eclectic as they come. The ecleticism displayed here is more in vein with 6 early Wyclef, when it was actual heterogeneity and not contrived attempts. Anyone who uses Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins" in the modern version of "Who's on First, What's on Second," as well as an incredible techno cover of Coltrane's "Favorite Things" is a friend of mine. With this album, the creativity, thought and energy that were put in are felt throughout. More than ever, Out- Kast give a view into the personal, and it works. So far, this is easily the best major label hip-hop album of the year. Not only have they redefined their sound, they have redefined the double album. It is an extreme pleasure when the hip-hop mainstream can move the genre forward. Would it be better if artists attempted to be more progressive and experimen- tal? Or would they sound like mere Out- Kast epigones? Is that such a bad thing? More than ever the questions to ask is what can these two do from here, and will they come back together and do it? Ben, Drew try to kill old lady, make, funny flick Forgone reality plagues Lane's new 'Tuscan Sun' I I py 9JrIe Pitoun For thedailf 11,-1 ,11 r a rtr tvtt r'rI 'j s, r?. 7 Once again, audiences are asked to laugh at Ben Stiller being tortured on screen,and again, audiences are will- ing to oblige. "Duplex" tells the story of bohemian young couple Nancy Hen- dricks (Drew Barrymore) and Alex Rose (Ben Duplex Stiller) who buy At Madstone and a duplex in Quality 16 Brooklyn to Miramax begin their fami- ly in. But to get the low price offered, they have to take on a tenant, the sweet Irish lady upstairs Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel) who at the beginning of the movie seems to be knocking on the door of death. See- ing only potential and hoping for a quick passing for Mrs. Connelly, Nancy and Alex move in. The beginning of the film has an odd feel, seemingly reimagining "The Burbs" or "The Money Pit." But then it really falls into its comedic groove when the crafty old Mrs. Connelly starts making life hell for our cute couple. As Alex strives to finish his novel by his publisher's deadline, Mrs. Con- nelly keeps interrupting by helplessly asking, as as an old lady can, if he could help her with her chores. A series of household accidents forces the frequent return of a mean NYPD officer. The madness drives the ini- tially very rational Nancy and Alex to fantasize about killing the old lady. Their conspiratorial efforts to get rid of her keep going bad and the two begin destroying more and more of their apartment. Barrymore and Stiller form an You can milk just about anything with nipples. By Mary Hllemeior waily Arts Writer exceptional duo. Watching them ride hand in hand down the path of insanity is truly funny. Barrymore is a perfect complement to Stiller in a rehashing of his "Meet the Parents" role. She's able to go right along with him for every hellish twist. Essel plays the perfect torturer; appearing harmless, but is actually quite funny and ingenuous in tearing her landlords apart. Her charac- ter is by far the best in the film. Director Danny DeVito and writer Larry Doyle have put together a new spin on a concept that initially appears very familiar to audiences. After a series of misfires for both, it's refreshing to see Barrymore and DeVito doing good work again. MOVIE REVIEW AAI Imagine you are in Italy, sipping wine on the beach gazing into the eyes of a gorgeous Italian lover. Throw in a line like "I wish I could swim in your eyes" and a furry kit- ten, and you've got not only every woman's unrealistic fantasy, but also the premise of Academy Award nom- inee Diane Lane's new film "Under the Tuscan Sun." A screen adaptation of the novel by Frances Mayes, the similarities between book and film essen- Underth tially end with n the the title and set- Tuscan Sun ting. While the AtQuality16and novel follows the Showcase "adventures" of a Touchstone middle-aged lit- erature professor with a passion for villa restoration and Etruscan histo- ry, the film floats along on the heels of a beautiful young writer looking for love. Frances (Lane, "Unfaithful") loses her husband and home in the opening minutes of the film, making for a strangely dark beginning that doesn't quite mesh with the ridicu- lousness that follows. A friend offers a free ticket for a gay tour of Tuscany, setting up the visual of Diane Lane in a jaunty "Gay and Away" cap following her flamboyant tour guide; a blatantly stereotypical representation of the gay communi- ty. The stereotypes don't end there, as Frances encounters several of America's favorite Italian charac- ters, including the endearing mum- bling old man and the passionate yet 'Secret Lives' validates fear of crazy dentists By Vanessa Miller Daily Arts Writer "The Secret Lives of Dentists" dark- ly provides a looking glass into the minds and family life of two married The Secret dentists. From its first moments, the Lives of stereotypes and Dentists preconceived AtMadstone notions about den- Manhattan Pictures tists come alive with eccentricity. The movie recalls those fabulous shared moments where we sit in the dentist's chair with mouths pried open and a drill hum- ming in our ears. Director Alan Rudolph's ("Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle") story unravels through the daydreams and hallucinations of David Hurst (Camp- bell Scott, "Roger Dodger"), a quiet- mannered man who goes off the deep end when he wittiness his wife (Hope Davis, "About Schmidt") kissing another man. As David fears his wife will leave him, his subconscious takes on a different character Slater (Denis Leary), a sarcastic divorcee who is the complete opposite of the milder dentist. David's new facade on life affects his failing marriage and three chil- dren through extreme tension that creates a virus between the entire family, mostly as a result of the annoying one-liners Leary plants into his mind. The most enjoyable moments of the movie are the delu- sional and odd pornographic mind of David, whose neurosis about his wife even involve her hygienist and her esteemed chair. The idiosyncratic and bizarre dia- logue in "The Secret Lives of Den- tists" foretells what one would imagine a dentist's life to be, com- pleting the prophecy "Seinfeld" cre- ated for dentists and making those words anti-dentite spill out of audi- ence's mouths. courtesy of Touchstone Is that like people eating people? unfaithful lover. When Frances abandons her tour to purchase a nearby villa on impulse, her "new life" begins and all pretenses of reality are forgotten. What remains is not as fun as it could have been, the film is plagued by attempts at profound statements about the nature of life and love that appear out of place and cheesy. Considering the location and, let's face it, sheer beauty of several male costars, one can almost understand how Lane was able to overlook the often embarrassing script and inco- herent plot. For the viewer's purpos- es, however, it would be cheaper and more worthwhile to simply purchase a Tuscany travel brochure. '' " rF''rE rCrCFO'A WOh E" 1rLD CW IJUR' rOF'Jr C' t r O"V/IOW'rC McKenny Union Ballroom -- Saturday, October 4th, 7-9:30 PM Tickets: $10 for advance purchases --- $15 at the door Discussion will cover the Indian Freedom movement, the US Civil Rights Movement, and the current World political situation in which the US id at the center of events. This presentation will address many questions including the following: How can we establish a movement to bring about a peaceful revolution in US politics both now and in the coming election? Why the ideas of Tagore (India), I i