10A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 22, 2004 ARTS I 0 I'll let the sign speak for itself. Sage Francis rips Clear Channel at the Pig By Hussain Rahim Daily Arts Writer CONCERT REVIEW Only Sage Francis, the always out- spoken underground hero, would set out on a nationwide tour under the "Fuck Clear Channel" banner. As the In the mind of Charlie Kaufman, anything usual is never to be expected. The scribe's latest mental jour- ney provides no exception to the rule. At once full of happiness and laughter with an almost unbearable weight of sadness, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" Eternal balances a tightrope of emo- tions to the perfect effect. Sunshine of Michel Gondry's sophomore the Spotless directorial vision shows us what Mind it means to forget and, more At Quality 16, importantly, the joy of creating Showcase and memories in the first place. Madstone Taken from the twisted mind Focus Features of Kaufman, who wrote such quirky scripts as "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation," "Eternal Sunshine" is the latest film to employ temporal exploration, and it does so in proba- bly the most unique and intricate of fashions thus far. Jumping back and forth between reality and imagina- tion, dream and memory, Gondry seamlessly depicts a man having his memory slowly wiped away. That man is Joel Barish (Jim Carrey). Recently separated from a turbulent rela- tionship, Joel discovers that his ex, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has had her memory of him completely erased. Heartbroken and confused, Joel decides to have the procedure done on himself. As soon as the technicians (Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood) begin to zap the entire map of Joel's memory, the plot splits into two worlds: that of the technicians inside Joel's apart- ment and the one inside Joel's brain. Each world starts to blend when Joel realizes he wants to remember and begins fighting the process. From there, it's a race to the beginning of his memory. Watching the relationship between Joel and Clementine evolve in reverse chronology is simply amazing, but it becomes something special when Joel's memory of Clementine helps him fight the erasure. Complemented by quickly fading shifts between each filed memory, the evolution of Joel's emotions from understanding to desperation is palpable, and it seeps into the film's thematic fabric. The audience understands the importance of the journey as the scenes blend together and the lights fade away. Jim Carrey's understated performance once again proves just how good he can be, and Kirsten Dunst is per- fectly delectable as an unsuspecting office assistant to the procedure's overseer, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). And while all of the supporting roles are as colorful in their strangeness, the truly out- standing performance comes from Winslet. Her impulsive, manic-depressive character provides the heart of the film, and she makes it impossible for Joel not to battle to remember. Everything clicks, and Kaufman nails the third act perfectly. Handheld camera and jump-cut edit- ing accompanied by an almost tangible score complement the intricacies necessary for the inverted timeline. If there is any basis for com- plaint, it's that the viewer might have to sit through the film a second time to discover the details missed in the first viewing. It's an emotional roller coaster, but the ride is worth taking. More accessible than any of the other Kauf- man screenplays and supremely complemented by the cast and director, the fusion of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is nothing short of captivating. winner of multiple ments and poetry slams, Francis has developed a cult following and fur- thered his case against the monop- olistic media con- freestyle tourna- Sage Francis Monday, Mar. 15 At the Blind Pig glomerate last year with the critically acclaimed Hope. While on the final leg of his tour, and with a new album due out on Epitaph this year, 2004 looks to be bright for Francis. He describes his endeavor as being easier than he expected. Clear Channel has won its fair share of enemies. "Almost every single club, promoter and soundman has thanked me for doing the tour." Politics aside, the show was a mix of spoken word, recent material from Hope, some older material and some brand new material. Admittedly, his band didn't show up because it broke up near the end of the tour, and he did- n't even remember he had a show that night. But like a true soldier, he put together a set that was entertaining and energetic, if a bit scattershot in focus and execution. With his stream of endless touring, it would seem fair to call Francis some- thing of a road rat. And while he agrees with the designation, he sees it more as a necessary evil. "I am a reluc- tant vagabond. I do what's essential. It's no secret that the live performances boost the awareness of my music and who I am. But what I love most about performing is probably just saying 'hi' to everyone and slapping high fives." Tired of secondhand smoke and road life, Francis recently canceled his European tour to go in-studio to finish his latest release on Epitaph. After completely switching style between the introspective Personal Journals and the old school boom of Hope, there is some wonder as to where Francis will direct his style for this album. "I'm leaning in a more surreal direction. I'm almost compelled to fight it, and let my political side shine, but the artist in me is at war. I can't work with Joe Beats to the degree of Non-Prophets stuff but he will probably be included. The album is expected in the fall and it's going to be called 27." Whatever the focus, Sage will continue to hold the ear of the underground. 61 I 'Winning Eleven 7' wins the World Cup of soccer games By Bob Hunt Daily Arts Writer VIDEOGAME REVIEW* While Electronics Arts' "FIFA Soccer" series has consistently been one of the world's best- selling videogames over the past decade, it has never really been able to capture the intricacies of the sport like other top-flight EA games. Konami's "Winning Eleven" series, on the other hand, has done extremely well in both Japan and Europe because of its authentic gameplay. "Win- ning Eleven 7 International," the series' second North American release, is undoubtedly the most realistic soccer game ever made. "Winning Eleven 7" is a detailed exploration of the genre of sports games, truly capturing the nuances pffthe sport. Unlike other socper games where players just string a few passes together and fire at the goal, "WE 7" is Winning like real soccer in that it Eleven 7 requires one to have great PS2 precision in order to create Konami scoring chances. This sort of gameplay does make the game extremely dif- ficult for novices, even ones who have previ- ously played "FIFA." But with each blocked goal or bicycle kick, the gamer feels as if he is watching a top-flight soccer match. "WE 7" boasts more than 100 international and club teams, but just a select few are licensed. Almost all pf the world's top players are in the game, though, and there are a number of international tournaments, something "FIFA" has all-together abandoned. The club teams are based on real European teams, which can be edited using the game's extensive editing tools. Many of the world's top stadiums are included as well. While not containing any actual leagues, "WE 7" does have a detailed franchise mode called the Master League, where gamers can build a team in one of four regional divisions and try to qualify for the Champions League. The Master League has a lot of exciting fea- tures, including an extensive player -search fea- turethat p "FFA" s ut .Ugrtunatei4 when te match begins, the game plays with tl6 same players no matter what team you choose. That, combined with clunky menus and a repet- itive soundtrack, is just inexcusable. "WE 7" makes up for its faults, though, with graphics comparable to "FIFA's" and the feel of a real game from the time the players walk onto the field. If a 1-0 or 2-1 battle on the "pitch" is not for you, then "Winning Eleven 7" isn't either. But for fans of the world's game, "Win- ning Eleven 7" is the best around. i Corts o omi Bending it like Beckham. U U Middle East Film Series "ESKIYA--TIE BANDIT" Thursday, March 25 @ 7:30 pm, Rackham Amphitheater; 915 E.Washington St. open to the Public - Free Admission An award-winning and visually stunning feature film from Turkey directed by Yuvuz Turgul (1997/121 minutes/Turkish with English subtitles). After serving a 35-year prison sentence, Baran, a Kurdish bandit, is released and returns to his village only to find it submerged under the waters of a new dam. He heads to Istanbul where he is told that his lover resides. The encounter between the bandit's "old-fashioned" criminal ways, and those of the violent urban underworld of contemporary Istanbul, intertwined with the film's romantic and quasi-magical threads, make for a riveting film. Officially selected to represent Turkey at the American Academy Awards in 1997. Additional information at http://www.umich.edu/-iinet/cmenas/ Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies and the Department of Near Eastern Studies. Michigan Head*Pain & Neurological Institute is conducting an in-clinic research study evaluating an investigational medication for migraine. > Participants must be 18 to 60 years old and suffer no more than 15. headaches per month. A total of three clinic visits are required. 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