4

Wednesday
January 28, 2004
arts.michigandaily.com
artseditor@michigandaily.com

fttdi~j~an
WRTS

8

4



THE HOTTEST PICKS IN ENTERTAINMENT
FROM A DAILY ARTS WRITER

4

S

The History Channel - If a show has black and white footage of
planes, it must be worth watching. Oh yeah, and the barbarians were
vicious folks.

This Saturday at the Michigan Theater, Simon
Shaheen will wrap his audience in the warmth of his
international musical ensemble, Qantara. The
evening's performance will fea- _
ture three local artists in the
world premier of Shaheen's new Simon
work "Arboresque," a tribute to Shaheen
the diverse musical community Saturday at 8 p.m.
of Ann Arbor. $16-$30
For the past six years, Sha- ($10 Rush Tickets)
heen has redefined his musi- At the Michigan
cal career with his unique Theater
ensemble. Arabic for "arch,"
Qantara bridges the diverse musical worlds of
Latin America, West Africa, India, Western classi-
cal music and traditional Arabic music. Qantara is
composed of world-renowned musicians of the
saxophone, flute, upright base and classical and
jazz guitar as well as three percussionists, who
create what Shaheen describes as "a fusion
between Arabic modes and rhythms and Latin
American and African musical ideas."
Qantara's Arabic instruments include the nay, a
bamboo flute and a short, earthy-sounding clarinet,
the mizmar. Audiences will also hear the qanun - a
flat, harp-like instrument played on the lap - and a
mijwiz - a double-pipe, single-reed instrument that
seems to hypnotize audiences with its rolling tones.

C.uresy, 1fUMS

Simon Shaheen masterfully plays the oud.

Qantara's combination of rich musical heritage cre-
ates new appreciation for the distinct sounds of each
instrument as well as their collective harmony.
At the center of Qantara lies the deep sound of the
oud, a string-plucked instrument from late fourth-
century Arabia. A half pear-shape with a wooden
top, five double strings and a single bow, this tradi-
tional Arabic instrument is the predecessor to the
European lute and guitar.
A fundamental instrument in the Arab world, the
oud has been a central part of Simon Shahen's life.
Born in Tarshiha, Galilee, Shaheen's musical talents
were influenced by his father, a professor of music
and master oud player. At age five, Shaheen began
playing as well, and a year later took up the violin at
the Conservatory for Western Classical Music in
Jerusalem. During graduate work at the Manhattan
School of Music and Columbia University, Shaheen
broadened his musical background and became
interested in building diverse communities through
music education.
In December, Shaheen conducted lectures,

workshops and master classes at the Dearborn
Arabic Music Retreat. There, he became reac-
quainted with three local musicians who will join
Qantara this Saturday. Nadim Dlaikan, Abdel
Karim Bader and Johny Sarweh will share their
individual talents during Shaheen's new composi-
tion "Arboresque." The piece has four distinct sec-
tions, each with an improvisation break that will
showcase the unique musical styles of each musi-
cian. "Improvisation allows each artist to express
one's musical personality while reflecting the
overall language of the piece," Shaheen notes.
Shaheen's desire to bridge communities and create
a common musical language is evident during all of
his performances. He actively involves the audience,
providing hints about how to understand each piece,
what inspired its creation and what sounds to listen
for. The audience will be drawn to the music and the
stage because to Shaheen, "Synergy between the
stage and the audience is a beautiful thing!"
The performance will be followed by a communi-
ty reception at Cafe Oz at 210 S. Fifth Ave.

www.weeb.jolt.co.uk - "The Everyday Happenings of
Weebl" is the story of a grammatically challenged weeble (as
featured on "I Love the '70s") and his friend Bob, in their never-
ending quest for pie.
"Miracle" - Arriving in theaters on Feb. 6, Kurt Russell is coach
Herb Brooks, fearlessly leading the U.S. hockey team against the
world at the 1980 Olympics. I believe.
"The Critic" on DVD - Even
though Jay Sherman is not very
generous with four-star reviews,
this show definitely does not stink.
Now, with the DVD release fans
can enjoy it ad nauseum.
Super Bowl XXXVIII -
Six hours of pregame cov-
erage and commercials for
movies that will not hit
theaters until July make
this the greatest sports
extravaganza of the year.
Courtesy of Columbia

4


Couple
shocks in
new MTV
reality show
By Jaya Soni
Daily Arts Writer

Kutcher's weak time travel lacks 'Effect'

By Hussain Rahim
Daily Arts Writer

What happens when bad-boy rock
star Dave Navarro falls in love with
former "Baywatch" lifeguard Car-
men Electra? They make a reality
TV show on MTV that adds to the
lineup of superstar sagas such as
"Newlyweds." But unlike Jessica

Simpson, Carmen
mon sense-and
therefore her
show is just not
as funny.
What Navarro
and Electra do
have over other
teenie-bopper
icons is their
gothic sense of
immortality and

Electra has com-
Til Death Do
Us Part:
Carmen and
Dave
Wednesdays at
10:30 p.m.
MTV

Courtesy of MTV
He's a step up from Dennis Rodman.
believes male strippers are disgust-
ing) and the wedding invite list will
be filled with Hollywood stars.
Viewers may be surprised to see
that Navarro has toned down his
habits and Electra seems down-to-
earth. During the show, Navarro
prides himself on kicking all of his
addictions (except cigarette smok-
ing). Future shows hint at the possi-
bility of the risque behavior that
many expect of the couple.
"Til Death Do Us Part" is more
shocking than humorous. The reality
series will answer all those ques-
tions pop culture fans have about
the true lives of the mysterious rock
stars and wild cover girls. And
though it seems as if the couple
would have little in common, the
show suggests that they are a match
made in heaven. Though Electra is
not as morbid as her fiance, the two
personalities seem complimentary
and make a realistic duo ... at least
by MTV's standards.

MOVIE REVIEW **I
With a seemingly hackneyed time-
travel/memory movie, and with Ash-
ton Kutcher's dubious spotlight as
both Demi Moore's boy toy and
unemployed actor
for having been
dismissed by The Butter-
Cameron Crowe fly Effect
for sub-par act- At Quality 16 and
ing, "The Butter- Showcase
fly Effect" has all New Line
the signs of
"Gigli" Reloaded. Admittedly, it
would be easy to throw this to the
critical bonfire when the genre has
offered such classics as "Donnie
Darko," "12 Monkeys" and "Run
Lola Run."
There is an undeniable human
attraction for perfection and self-
reflection and there is no dearth of
films that examine this obsession.
From the elementary approach of
"It's A Wonderful Life" to the more
nuanced "Sliding Doors," there are
many approaches to exploring the
individual's impact on the sur-
rounding world.

ories of these tragedies. Upon
exploring old wounds, he painfully
discovers other people aren't so
willing to join him on the trip down
memory lane.
He then discovers that he can alter
future events which cause unknown
results. As he careens through his
past, he can never get it quite per-
fect and destroys things anew with
each attempt. His failures leave him
as an armless cripple, a shower-fear-
ing prisoner and most frighteningly,
a Hilfiger-sporting frat boy.
With the horrific childhood Evan
experienced, it is plausible that
someone would use this failure as a
catalyst for improvement. But there
are obvious faults that any time-
travel movie can fall into. The
events are a little too simple to
alter. His actions while changing
the past are suspect and technically,
after he changes the past, all his
journals should change and trap
him in his new reality.
Also, the character actions are
random with no discernible motiva-
tion and some of the dialogue is
clunky. Kutcher surprises but his
acting is still spotty. The ideas of
the film push through and makes for
a real uneven experience.

4

Courtesy otNew Line

Thanks mommy ... I mean Demi, now I can read.

This permutation deals with
Evan, (Kutcher) who somehow
makes it through a childhood that
even the worst Charles Dickens
nightmare would be hard pressed to
replicate. Being forced into child
pornography, getting strangled by
his father and accidentally partici-

pating in the murder of a mother
and child, he escaped a lot but left
behind Kayleigh, (Amy Smart,
"Road Trip") the girl he promised
to come back for. Seemingly
blessed with memory lapses at all
the points of trauma, he discovers
old journals that trigger vivid mem-

erotica. "Til Death Do Us Part" is the
perfect theme for the couple that
plans on spending eternity together.
Determined to share their sense of
commitment, the first episode fol-
lows the couple to a morgue for a
nude photo shoot for their wedding
invitation. The series continues
throughout their entire pre-wedding
process. They have a joint bache-
lorette/bachelor party with only
female strippers (because Electra

'Rings' leads pack of Academy's latest nominations

4

By Adam Rottenberg
Daily Arts Writer

DAtLY Airs. WE GOT 12 NOMINATIONS

Yesterday, the Academy unveiled
its nominations for Oscars, and not
surprisingly, "The Return of the
King," the final chapter in "The
Lord of the Rings" trilogy, garnered
11, more than any other film this
year. Even more unexpected was the
lack of acting nominations for three
of the films up for Best Picture.
"King" is vying for Best Picture
along with projected competition in
"Mystic River" and "Lost in Trans-
lation." "Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World" wasn't a
complete surprise, though its 10
nominations are far more than antic-
ipated. "Seabiscuit," on the other
hand, managed to gain a nod in this
competitive category over critical
favorites such as "Cold Mountain"
and "American Splendor."

Peter Jackson ("LOTR") is also
the frontrunner in a cutthroat Best
Director category. Sofia Coppola
receives her first nomination with
"Lost in Translation," showing that
the talent in her family didn't skip a
generation. Peter Weir ("Master and
Commander") and Clint Eastwood
("Mystic River") return to the fray,
but a surprising entrant is Brazilian
filmmaker Fernando Mierelles for
"City of God."
Bill Murray ("Lost in Transla-
tion") and Sean Penn ("Mystic
River") are the favorites in the Best
Actor field, joined by Ben Kingsley
("House of Sand and Fog"), fan
favorite Johnny Depp ("Pirates of the
Caribbean: Curse of the Black
Pearl") and Jude Law, showing that
"Cold Mountain" wasn't completely
snubbed. Two high-profile stars in
big pictures missing from the race
are Tom Cruise ("The Last Samu-

rai") and Russell Crowe ("Master
and Commander").
Best Actress is a relatively nar-
row race, with Charlize Theron's
acclaimed performance as a serial
killer in "Monster" standing as a
clear favorite. Diane Keaton's
comedic turn in "Something's Gotta
Give" gives the actress nominations
in the category for four consecutive
decades. Naomi Watts ("21
Grams") gets her second Oscar nod,
while two surprises came out of
Samantha Morton for "In America"
and Keisha Castle-Hughes ("Whale
Rider"), who at,)3 is the youngest
nominee ever up for the award.
Noticeably absent are Nicole Kid-
man ("Cold Mountain") and Scarlet
Johansson ("Lost in Translation").
The big winners appear to be not
only the expected leaders "The
Return of the King" and "Lost in
Translation," but also "Seabiscuit"

and "Master and Com-
mander" for receiving
many more nominations
than expected in the
major categories. "Cold
Mountain" missed out on
Best Picture, Actress and
Director, leaving the folks
at Miramax a little
disheveled.
Some smaller films that
managed to get major act-
ing nominations include "21
Grams," "House of Sand and
Fog" and "In America."
Unfortunately all were over-
looked for Best Picture in
place of "Seabiscuit,"
and the incredible
"American Splendor"
barely got noticed.
The Oscars will be
televised on ABC on
Feb. 29.

- --- -------------- ....----

I,. "X '" .. "a,';:. '-= i LJLJL £i imJ A A.~ J %...J 1

a