8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 31, 2005 ARTS 0 Courtesy of 20th Century Fox "I don't care if you do know Denzel, I'm still getting top billing, sweetie." Final twist can't save lukewarm horror film By Jeffrey Bloomer Daily Arts Writer Twentieth Century Fox made news last week when it announced that for the first time in its 70-year history it would with- hold the final reel of a film - "Hide and Seek" - in an effort to curb advance knowledge of its twist ending. Had Fox really wanted to keep the ending under wraps, though, Hide and Seek At Quality 16 and Showcase 20th Century Fox they should have released only the film's first 30 minutes in the original shipment - because after that point, even the most inattentive viewer will know more or less where the movie is going. Directed by John Polson ("Swimfan"), "Hide and Seek" pivots around a recent widower David Calloway (Robert DeNiro) and his young daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning, "Man on Fire"). The two relocate to upstate New York in an attempt to pick up the pieces after the death of Allison (Amy Irving, "Traffic"), David's wife and Emily's mother. Soon after, Emily begins to behave strangely, apparently catalyzed by the appearance of Charlie, her new imaginary friend. From there, mayhem ensues and the body count rises. I won't spoil the film's twist here, but suffice to say, it's an unapologetically absurd revela- tion that invalidates everything that came before it. The concept for "Hide and Seek" seems to have begun with the ending, and worked backwards with only a bare-bones idea for the story. The screenplay by first-time scribe Ari Schlossberg is so loosely plot- ted and underwritten that the entire film feels like a setup for the climax, which isn't even really that surprising in the first place. M. Night Shyamalan has been accused of writing his films such as the "Sixth Sense" backward from their signature twist end- ings as well, but even if that is the case, he creates vivid characters and engaging visu- al setups to make them worthwhile. The first hour and a half of "Hide and Seek," on the other hand, is labored and silly, lit- tered with transparent subplots designed to lead viewers away from guessing the film's secret. However, they end up confusing the audience more than misleading it. As lackluster as the story may be, the film does find some solace with its young female lead. Ten-year-old Fanning is a marvel to behold in this movie; she estab- lishes a startlingly ominous screen pres- ence with ease - in great contrast to the more light-hearted roles in her past films. Even the best child actors are usually hit- and-miss in their performances, but Fan- ning is a talent who consistently outshines big-name actors. Her disconcerting per- formance proves to be "Hide and Seek's" lone triumph. There is a good movie somewhere inside "Hide and Seek," but as it is, the film is a faulty, wretched mess. Why didn't they make a straight-forward story, without the contrived finale? It would free the film from the narrative confines that the cur- rent climax requires and allow for more exploration of Emily's alarming behavior, which is by far the most intriguing and entertaining aspect of the film. The "Hide and Seek" we get instead is a flimsy excuse for a horror picture. "OK baby, make me millions." KNOCK OUT EAST WOOD 'S BOXING DRAMA PACKS EMOTIONAL PUNCH By Marshall W. Lee Daily Film Editor Say what you will about the squint, the limp and the rumbling drawl that swallows soft consonants like a vociferous black hole,1 wood reluctantly ambles along toward retirement, the quintes- sential American badass may finally be finding his niche behind the camera. At an age when most folks are resting on their antiquated laurels and bitching about the price of Cialis outside the Sarasota Walgreens, Clint Eastwood - but as Clint East- Million Dollar Baby At the Showcase and Quality 16 Warner Bros. who will turn 76 coach and gym owner Frankie Dunn (Eastwood), a prickly and tortured trainer whose life is plagued by the echoes of past personal and professional failures. After being dumped by his star fighter - Frankie refuses to let the kid fight for a title, fearing both for the young boxer's ego and safety - Dunn begrudg- ingly agrees to take on troubled gym-rat Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), an impoverished 30- something wannabe fighter with killer determina- tion and endless enthusiasm. But for the reticent and enigmatic Frankie, who attends Mass each morning and dutifully writes his estranged and unresponsive daughter in hopes of purging some old demon from his mind, his timid relationship with Maggie is more like a stumbling shot at redemption than just another lesson in breath- ing and footwork. As the eager upstart Maggie, Hil- ary Swank steals every scene, showing a physical prowess and dramatic range that is only more strik- ing when considering the iconic supporting com- pany. Swank, whose flawlessly muscled physique is itself something to behold, effortlessly jumps from comedy to melodrama and back again, lending to her cartoonishly trailer-trash character a meticu- lously gritty and thoroughly agreeable edge. The 30-year-old actress has garnered another Academy Award nomination for her work here - she won the Oscar in 1999 for her gender-bending performance in "Boys Don't Cry" - and certainly there wasn't a Courtesy of Warner Bros. more demanding or difficult role this year. Unfortunately, like with the rushed and dissonant resolution of "Mystic River," Eastwood once again stumbles in his delivery of "Baby's" final pathos, heavy-handedly dealing out an emotional sucker- punch that feels contrived and unsettling. The story is openly unsentimental, dragging its characters through physical and emotional hell with a kind of detached reverence for pain and turmoil. Eastwood has apparently attempted to balance the scales by casting the most unabashedly senti- mental and schmaltzy actor alive, Morgan Free- man, as Frankie's diffident conscience and the film's gentle narrator. As ex-fighter Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, Free- man duplicates the ethereal tenderness and every- man turmoil he has claimed as his own with past roles in mushy, big-hearted fare like "The Shaw- shank Redemption." Eastwood manipulates and abuses both Freeman - as an actor whose very presence carries a certain emotional weight - and his character Scrap, who is practically abandoned by the film's final emotional sweep. That aside, "Million Dollar Baby" is still one of the best films of the year and certainly deserv- ing of all the Oscar nominations it has received. It will have you cheering, but like a brutal, dirty 15- rounder, will leave you emotionally exhausted and physically spent by the end. 0 0 this year - is cementing his much deserved status as a unique cinematic force. He is a gruff and griz- zled triple threat who has, against all odds, become film's foremost balladeer of quiet catastrophe. After dazzling critics and audiences with last year's "Mystic River" - a well acted, though some- what overwrought, suburban tragedy - Eastwood returns in fine form as director, composer and star of the far superior "Million Dollar Baby." Based on the short-story cycle "Rope Burns" by F.X. Toole, "Million Dollar Baby" centers on aging boxing 6 Lo-fi hero returns to his roots By Jacob Nathan Daily Arts Writer 4 There are few constants in the music industry. David Byrne will always be weird. The Backstreet Boys will never be cool. Lou Barlow's voice will always have the same fresh sound that first gar- Lou Barlow nered him notoriety. Throughout Emoh, Emoh Barlow's no-non- Merge sense singing style gets the spotlight, sounding exactly as crisp and emotive as it did during his contentious tenure with Dinosaur Jr. Barlow, a to-fi pioneer, has returned from the vacuous depths of heavy distortion and electronic gargle with this stark album. Emoh is an intense, stripped-down effort that showcases Barlow's insightful lyrics and dynamic musicianship. Emoh is an anachronism, recalling an era in Barlow's career when he would record albums onto cassette tapes in his bathroom. The methods he originally used have come full circle on Emoh, with the majority of the album recorded live by Barlow himself. There is a frantic per- cussion track driving the song "Home," which breathes a sense of urgency into a beautiful and moving melody. This warm drumming is Barlow himself, beating cardboard boxes on his wood floors. The simple technique sounds as unique as anything Barlow has ever laid down, and sounds refreshing without Barlow's char- acter tape hiss. As Barlow plucks the soft chords on a nylon-stringed guitar, the soft accents of an electric guitar gives the song tremen- dous depth and makes "Legendary" one of the album's many treats. This unique sound - warm guitar tones gently high- lighted with electric fretwork - is a win- ning technique that Barlow brings to the forefront of several songs. "If I Could" offers an old-fashioned love song that fea- tures rhythmic strumming and repeated lyrics with the same guitar sensibilities. Barlow, who has been critical of the unimaginative styles of songwriting pop- ular today, demonstrates his gift for writ- ing cohesive yet nonlinear songs. There are other methods employed by Barlow throughout the album. "Con- fused" begins with a laptop-pop intro before gradually scaling back the elec- tronic sounds and turning into a power- ful rocker. "Imagined Life" is the rawest track on the album, but its charm is unde- niable. The rough charisma of this song paints a picture of Barlow, gently picking his romantic chords over sweetly poetic lyrics, "My blood ran hot / I turned to liq- uid / The day I held your hand in mine." Barlow has rarely explored such emo- tional depths. The song "Holding Back the Year" is Barlow at his finest. His voice is clear and crisp as he explores themes of addiction, lost love and mortality. The noisy acous- tic tone of the song gives it a kick, and the use of maracas as the sole percussion lends it a friendly and accessible tone, in spite of its dark subject matter. Barlow stumbles, however, in terms of sequence, style and subject matter. "Cat- IOU~w N New CBS crime drama paints by By Kevin Hollifield Daily Arts Writer 'Numb3rs' erpillar Girl," is annoying musically and lyrically, plodding along through inco- herent lyrics and musical undertones that come on far too strong. The acoustic lick that repeats throughout the song is sup- posed to give it an uptempo slant, but just sounds dreary and old. "Mary," Barlow's religious musing, completely breaks with the rest of the album - it sounds like a nonsensical children's song dealing with issues of the Immaculate Conception. It's painfully obvious that this song does not belong on Emoh. But the album is a welcome return for Barlow, demonstrating his consider- able talent as a songwriter and musician. Barlow has crafted a delightfully nostal- gic album, reminding everyone why he is both enigmatic and iconoclastic. The influence he has had on many bands cur- rently on the charts will crystallize after listening to Emoh. I EW With a glut of criminal investiga- tion shows flooding primetime, CBS is hoping to cash in on yet another rehash of the tired formula with "Numb3rs." A combination of "C.S.I." and calculus, "Numb3rs" features all the hallmarks of its successful cous- Numb3rs ins with black and white flashbacks Fridays at 10 p.m. and slow-motion CBS imagery. In addi- tion to collecting evidence, the detectives use math- ematical functions to track down the murderer. The show centers on FBI Spe- cial Agent Don Epps (Rob Morrow, "Northern Exposure"). In the pilot, his team investigates a string of rapes and murders. When Don's mathema- tician brother, Charlie (David Krum- holtz, "The Santa Clause"), snoops through the case files, he begins 0 4 '' t L:. , .4. -'-4 '"I a 41 "Wait, what do I know me from?" piecing together a series of equations to pinpoint the perpetrator's location. Charlie's formula, like this show's premise, is not perfect. In addition to standard plot con- ventions, "Numb3rs" also features classic crime show characters. The supporting cast includes several underdeveloped roles, including Terry Lake (Sabrina Lloyd, "Sports Night") and David Sinclair (Alimi Ballard, "Dark Angel") who exist merely to collect evidence, become imperiled and set up the main char- acter to save the day. Also present is the stereotypically gruff chief who knows less than he should. Unlike other crime investigation shows, "Numb3rs" includes healthy doses of the characters' personal lives. The Epps brothers' father, Alan (Judd Hirsch, "Taxi") provides comic relief when meddling in his boys' relationships. Furthermore, Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNi- col, "Ally McBeal"), an older col- league, helps Charlie in his pursuit of higher learning. Both of these mentor figures have just a handful of scenes in the pilot. While "Numb3rs" creates a new twist on a familiar theme, several plot holes exist in its premise: Why does the FBI give Charlie access to classified FBI files? If this method 0 '4. 44,. 4 ... --