10A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 19, 2004 ARTS el I That's the last time they get away with making fun of my black suit. Near. Far. Wherevver you are. You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on. Stereolab moves on after singer's death CurJItesy o01ArisandI CAPITAL PUNISHMEN GRITTY COMIC FAVORITE FLOPS ON THE SILVER SCREEN By-FreCaey Daily Arts Writer The comeback tour has always held a place of high honor in the live con- cert canon. There is something almost heroic about a band uniting after some catastrophe to play a coura- geous, if standard, show. By Zach Mabee Daily Film Editor At the end of Jonathan Hensleigh's adaptation of "The Punisher," Frank Castle utters that only the scum of society - murderers, rapists and sadists - will remember him. He's probably right. Only such twisted fiends would care to remember this shoddy retelling of the classic revenge tale that offers little more than sparse, satisfying doses of comic violence. Frank Castle (Thomas Jane, "Dreamcatcher") is a retired special ops soldier working as one of the FBI's The Punisher At Quality 16, Showcase and Madstone Artisan Castle's unit. Saint sends his squadron of goons to the Castle family reunion in Puerto Rico. They indiscriminately gun down the Castle clan, leaving all, including Frank, for dead. A local medicine man fortuitously rescues Castle and nurses the soldier back to health. Frank returns to the United States, compiles a frighteningly large weapons cache, establishes a base of operations in a derelict, urban apartment and proceeds to punish the scum who massacred his family. It's not clear, until perhaps the concluding scenes, what the intended mood of "The Punish- er" is. At times, it seems to be an attempted neo-noir, with overwhelmingly dark scenes and and melodramatic sounds. It also comes across, though, as a playful action trip, looking in jest at Castle's various confrontations with villain- ous henchmen. The serious, rough dialogue is punctuated with hackneyed, unoriginal one-lin- ers, contributing even more to this general dis- continuity. Thomas Jane is, moreover, an annoying, ulti- mately frustrating action hero. He's got the phys- ical features and grizzled look to make the part work, but his personality - and his excessively rough voice, too - cripple the role. Jane comes across as manufactured. He has the necessary parts to play the role well, that is, but he's unable to bring them together in a remotely con- vincing way. John Travolta, as should be expected, brings little to the table as Howard Saint. It's as though the villain is two different, irreconcilable peo- ple: Most of the time, he's a mischievous banker who casually launders money and protects his wife more than he should; occasionally, howev- er, he's an impulsive maniac who kills thought- lessly. It's rather hard to believe that these personalities could emerge so suddenly from the same man. The scenes of action are, indeed, the film's sole redeeming quality. Castle brandishes a slew of lethal weapons - including military-grade machine guns and explosives - and employs them in surprisingly creative ways. He takes out one crony with an innovative, projectile switch- blade and splits the skull of another with the dull edge of an office-grade paper cutter. It's a shame that Hensleigh and Jane couldn't supplement the action with a story and lead character worthy of its company. The catastrophe British prog-rock band Stereolab was the death of co- vocalist Mary Hansen in 2002. While riding her in question for Stereolab Saturday, April 10 At the Majestic their set list long and enjoyable. The style of many songs involves an abrupt shift from Laetitia Sadier's soft and poignant vocals to an inter- esting electro-fueled mess of instru- mentals. This style gave Sadier a chance to play catchy trombone scales, a pleasing break from the cacophony. It also gave the crowd an opportunity to reflect on the flashy visuals playing behind the band. It seemed outwardly ironic that the seven instrumentalists on stage creat-, ing all of the music were so cohesive. All of the solos in the middle of this mess did not seem out of place, regardless of whether they were played on a French horn or a Rhodes a premier undercover operatives; his career, though, is coming to a close. After completing his final assignment for the FBI, he plans to set- tle down with his wife and child. Castle's plans are foiled, however, when fraud- ulent financier Howard Saint seeks vengeance for his dead son - who died at the hands of bicycle, Hansen was hit by a truck, keyboard. Added up, the band pro- leaving the dynamic dual vocals of duced music to push the limits of Stereolab permanently sliced in half. electro-pop. Even if it has been done before, the The crowd, in return, seemed to be comeback of a band missing a singer very respectful of the band, cheering is rarely handled perfectly. It is a when Stereolab did play their "hits," genre-spanning aphorism that bands "Lo Boob Oscillator" and "Cybele's- cannot survive the loss of a lead Reverie." The audience danced singer and remain the same band. euphorically to the prolonged instru- Stereolab's loss was a significant blow mentation and didn't laugh when and their current world tour is a cru- Sadier tried to do "the robot." All of cial point for the young group. the commotion around Hansen's death In sensitivity to their recent loss; -and the resulting limit in Sterebls Stereolab's April 10 show at the set list made it all the more cathartic Majestic Theater in Detroit centered to hear those classic songs, even if on their latestTeease;. Margerine pitheyi shfitly bittersweSeuar i Eclipse. While it was disappointing Stereolab showed their strength by not to hear more from Stereolab's cre- playing an incredibly sober, immense- ative earlier years, it was obvious that ly enjoyable show after the death of the band put forth the effort to make such an important member. Latest Recon' mission a poorly constructed mess By Jason Roberts Daily Arts Editor VIDEOGAMErE W If the latest installment in Tom Clancy's never-ending chronicle of military-influenced videogames, "Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm," is any indication of the plans on taking the franchise, it seems that it's about time to head back to the drawing board. Unfortunately, a series with so much initial direction Ubisoft Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm PS2 Ubisoft vary from simple assaults to more difficult reconnaissance and rescue operations. The gameplay is where "Jungle Storm" truly succeeds. With mis- sions that are less realistic but more direct and boasting simplified con- trols, "Jungle Storm" is easier to get into than those games that share a similar theme, such as Sony's "Socom II: U.S. Navy Seals." Novices to the genre can be complet- ing missions almost immediately while advanced gamers can fully exploit the control system to their own advantage, setting up diverse strategies of engagement and attack. "Jungle Storm" is also a game that prides itself on using stealth over blistering action. Gainers who blaze out into open territory are more like- ly to miss easy shots and will get gunned down a lot faster than those who plot their moves carefully and slink through the underbrush. It's here where the game shows the bene- fits of being reworked and refined over time. Where "Jungle Storm" falters, however, is when it comes to its actu- al presentation. Though the gameplay has been ironed out throughout the transitions, the graphics have remained pretty much untouched. Generally, the visuals are blocky and potential and drive has failed to evolve. Recollections of the original PC version of "Ghost Recon" back in 2002 reveal a taut, stealthy adven- ture of cat-and-mouse. The game played similarly to another Clancy namesake, "Rainbow Six," and, in that respect, "Jungle Storm" is still a pleasant distraction. Gamers are put into the shoes of a team of up to six military specialists called the Ghosts. With each character assigned a different task - snipers, riflemen, support and demolition - the Ghosts are given missions that PIECES OF APRIL MGM The witty, yet dark "Pieces of April" proves that there is life after TV drama for actress Katie Holmes. The ex-"Dawson's Creek" star takes on a more mature role as an urban 21-year-old named April, on a mission to host Thanksgiving dinner for her family. While April frantically tries to find an oven to cook the turkey, her family makes their way from Pennsylvania to the lower east side of New York City. The narrative is touching and funny but also taps into deeper sto- ries surrounding a mother's (Patri- cia Clarkson, Oscar-nominated for her performance) battle with breast cancer and years of family dysfunction. "Pieces of April" is brief at 80 minutes and is presented on DVD in both widescreen and full frame format. Shot with digital video, the picture quality is well suited for SHORT TAKES the story it displays and the 5.1 digital surround sound allows for a crisp portrayal of the real life sounds of Thanksgiving. Though the DVD offers only two extra features, they provide insight into all aspects of the film. The audio commentary from soft- spoken writer-director Peter Hedges explains interesting details about casting, shooting the film in 16 days and his personal incentives for many scenes. A 15-minute fea- turette entitled "All Pieces Togeth- er" retells much of the story but also allows actors to express their views on the film and provides some on-set footage. The music and graphics of this feature are especially attractive. - Katie Marie Gates Courtesy of Ubisoft All you have to do Is duck and cover. poorly rendered with textures appearing smeared and pixilated. Strangely, load times are surprising long for levels with surprisingly sim- ple geometries. Character animations and artificial intelligence are terrible, resulting in stuttering movement and predictable enemies that have trouble navigating levels without walking into obstructions. A game that prides itself on stealth and realism should ask more from the capabilities of its engine and seek a much more engag- ing realm in which to play. It would be nice to see the "Ghost Recon" moniker retired with this title. It's had a fine run, but Ubisoft either needs to rework the game to bring it up to speed with the other games of its genre or they need to be looking to a new Tom Clancy adven- ture for inspiration. Movie: **** Picture/Sound: *** Features: ** Phish frontman flounders with Seis I believe in Mr. Grieves By Jared Newman Daily Arts Writer MUSIC REVIEW *1 Phish frontman Trey Anastasio's latest solo effort, Seis De Mayo, is a mish-mash of African rhythmic tunes, string quartet compositions and fully orchestrated pieces that combine to form a measly seven- track album. But here's the kicker: five of those tracks are reworked blessing and a curse. On the one hand, there is the string quartet arrangement of Phish's "All Things Reconsidered." The shrill and awk- wardly timed strings add new insight to the song, beginning with blissful harmony and slowly transi- tioning to brutal cacophony. But then there are songs like "The Inlaw Josie Wales," which sounds nearly identical to Phish's version with the exception of some added strings. This conjures little emotion except for a yearning to hear the original. Contrasted with orchestral works like these, the two beat-heavy (and versions of Phish songs. That's quite a lure for Trey ,I , f 1 .t xT t7___ l_