...
Wednesday
November 12,2003
michigandaily.com
artseditor@michigandaily.com
ARTS
5
5
THE HOTTEST PICKS IN ENTERTAINMENT
FROM A DAILY ARTS WRITER
S
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (Platinum
Series Special Edition) - If you are a huge LOTR fan, you
have one week left to wait. If not, this four-disc set is still one of the
greatest DVDs to come out in a long time, with 43 minutes of never-
before-seen footage and hours upon hours of extras behind the magic
that is one of the greatest films of last year.
"Elf"/"The Cat in the Hat" - Two wildly popular former "Sat-
urday Night Live" stars hit the big screen just in time for the holidays.
Will Ferrell's "Elf" is a heartwarming tale that suits his strengths per-
fectly while Mike Myers stars as the crazy lovable prankster in "The Cat
m the Hat." If last years "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is any indi-
cation, both actors and audiences alike will have a fun holiday season.
"24" - After last year's lackluster effort, "24" returns to first-season
form. The show's solid cast, innovative premise and constant plot twists
make for the most exciting hour in television. Thus far it's lived up to its
hype, and there are still 21 more episodes to look forward to this season.
PULLING
INTO THE
'STATION'
MICHELLE
WILLIAMS FINDS
LIFE AFTER
'DAWSoN'S CREEK'
By Hussain Rahim
Daily Arts Writer
Fairly fresh off a six-year run on
the WB teen melodrama "Daw-
son's Creek," in which her charac-
ter Jennifer didn't quite make it,
Michelle Williams has ventured
forth into the world of independent
film. With a slew of films sched-
uled for release between 2003 and
2004 she is poised to shed her
teeny-bopper roles, and with her
current film, "The Station Agent,"
in theaters now she spent time to
talk with The Michigan Daily
about her burgeoning career and
anything else that came to mind.
Fairly flighty and excited,
Williams said while she was
unhappy with the way her charac-
:<
Courtesy of Miramax
Santa! Oh my god! I know him! I know him!
2,%
The Strokes - Room on Fire - For any-
body out there who thought the Strokes were a
one-hit wonder with "Last Night," give their latest
album a try. With the incredible guitar riffs on
"12:51" and "Automatic Stop," among oth-
ers, coupled with an old-school sound, the
Strokes have found a well-deserved spot in
the popular music scene. .9
ter finished out in the series
finale, she was glad that she got
some closure from the show so
that she could move on. It still
appears that there is some linger-
ing bitterness in regard to some
aspect of the show.
Currently, Williams has no plans
to work on another series. "Never
say never but I don't see myself
working in television again,"she
said. "A lot of the wounds are still
fresh, and it's just hard to say.
Working for that long and being
that isolated was very hard."
She compared the time spent on
"Dawson's Creek" to that of a six-
year high school, and when asked
how her relationship with the cast,
she then proceeded to give a long
and detailed list of the contact she
has had with each member since
the show's finale. With the cast of
"Dawson's Creek" venturing into
quirky and daring independent
projects such as James Van Der
Beek's in "The Rules of Attrac-
tion," Katie Holmes in "Pieces of
April" and her own choices in
indie film. "I'm sure a lot of that
is our reaction to being in what is
seen as a kiddie type of show so
we take more opposite and differ-
ent roles to try and break that
mold. With me personally, I take
what attracts me as a person, and
films that I would want to see,"
Williams said.
As a person who hates watching
herself on screen because of the
ease with which she dissects her
own work, Williams holds no work
as her favorite. With many films in
post-production and awaiting the
releases of "Prozac Nation" and
"The United States of Leland" this
is her first period of actual down
time. She did speak positively
about "The Station Agent" and
says her experience on the film
was enjoyable and she admires star
Peter Dinklage, director Thomas
McCarthy and the work everyone
put in the film.
"Please believe that I don't go
home and dream about Oscars. I
don't have any goals or things that
I must do right away."
- Michelle Williams can be
seen in "The Station Agent,"
currently showing at the
Michigan Theater.
I
"Arrested Development" - The
antics of the Bluth family are a perfect way
to conclude FOX's Sunday night of comedy.
With Jeffrey Tambor portraying the crazy,
locked-up father and a filming style reminis-
cent of "Malcolm in the Middle," "Arrested
Development" is sure to be TV's next big hit.
Plus, with a character named George Michael,
how can this show go wrong?
I
* Ween wraps up tour in
top fashion in Detroit
By Todd Weiser
Daily Arts Editor
With song titles like "Touch My Toot-
er," "The H.I.V Song" and "Booze Me
Up and Get Me High," Ween will forev-
er find it difficult to
be taken seriously. " "
Gene and Dean Ween
Ween know this to Monday, Nov.10
be true, taking their AttheState Theatre
music to silly
extremes (not brainless, just silly) and
still surviving 20 years without bowing
to anyone but their demon god Boognish
and whatever their drug of choice is at
the time. Yet, while Ween's musical abil-
ity have been overlooked in the studio,
including their latest record, Quebec, the
live show stands as an affront to anyone
who doubts their talent.
On the last date of their American
tour, the New Jersey boys somehow
overcame the numb feeling of a half-
empty State Theatre and a too-quiet,
poorly-mixed sound. While the guys
have lamented the label of jam band,
spotlight solos for Dean Ween on guitar
and keyboard-drum interplays made it
seem worthy. Phish's occasional cover of
Ween's "Roses are Free" makes the tag
stick, and Ween's acknowledgment of
Trey and Co. before playing "Roses,"
the adequately-played low-point of the
show, makes it even harder. A three-hour
show might be the nail in the coffin.
Yet, after an hour of sufficient per-
forming, something kicked in. Without
the quality production of the albums,
songs lost some of their detailed unique-
Gene Ween - wearing his love for Slayer on his sleeve.
ness, but as soon as the funk of "Voodoo
Lady" almost became tiresome Gene
busted into his tender Prince imperson-
ation on the Purple One's "Kiss" before
sliding right back into the "boogie-
oogies" of "Voodoo." Country-western
tracks like "Piss up a Rope" also played
more naturally in the Ween "extended
version" atmosphere. A keyboard-heavy
cover of Led Zeppelin's "All of My
Love" proved the most fun of the
evening, cementing Ween's display of
talent and letting Gene and Dean show
off their vocal and guitar chops under
the guise of a solo-prone band that never
worried about the jam tag.
Last chance for internship!
Deadline extended to November 13th!!
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"'All I Have Is My Story':
Narrated Lives in the Field