10A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 14, 2005 ARTS Courtesy of Magnolia Films The ninth rule of fight club is: neat-4 rope armbands for everyone! Martial arts dynamo makes strking debut By Jeffrey Bloomer Daily Arts Writer I I "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" is exuberant action escapism - a OngBak: The gloriously enter- . .h taining m ovie Thai Warrior that offers equally At the Showcase pleasurable bouts Magnolia Films of campy plot and artful ass-kicking. Though the film aligns itself with genre conventions and somewhat overstays its welcome, it knows exactly what the audi- ence wants and delivers skillfully and straightforwardly with 107 minutes of unrestrained martial arts shenanigans. The film opens in a rural, modern- day Thai village, which is in shambles after the head of a religious statue - the Ong-Bak - is stolen by thieves who want to sell it to an urban crime lord. The village elders believe it is the end of the line for their people until the obliga- tory young hero, Ting (Tony Jaa), volun- teers to venture into town and save the sacred stone. From there, the film massively shifts gears, vaulting Ting into a Bangkok underworld that looks something like an Asian version of "The Fast and the Furious." What he lacks in street smarts (the locals refer to him as "the hick"), he makes up for in outrageous, martial arts skill and a keen eye for pissing off all the wrong people. That in turn maximizes the number of cans of whoopass he must open in order to retrieve the Buddhist statue, which isavery good thing indeed. Of course, this story takes a backseat to the film's lead, Jaa, a martial arts dynamo who seems destined for international star- dom. Like Jet Li, Jackie Chan and perhaps even Bruce Lee himself, Jaa is an absurdly talented athlete who glides through every frame of the film with marvelous grace. But unlike his predecessors, Jaa possesses a talent that is rare among almost all action stars, international or otherwise: He can act. In this film, he actually seems like a man fighting for the honor of his people, and not just some action movie pawn who awkwardly stumbles from one fight scene to the next. Jaa is already an accomplished stuntman, and with the help of this film, he could emerge as a new star of martial arts cinema. Despite Jaa's personal triumph, though, much of the credit for the film's success is owed to its fight choreography and the way these elaborately constructed scenes carry the story from battle to battle. In one particularly impressive sequence, Ting runs from a gang along a city street and effortlessly dodges every obstacle imaginable - all of which is real stunt work done by actual people without any digital effects. The rest of the film fol- lows suit, turning what could have been a series of silly action contrivances into one thrilling sequence after another of pure balletic skill. Nevertheless, "Ong-Bak" is not a total triumph over the conventions of stan- dard action flicks. It covers little new ground and indulges the familiar, thinly plotted martial arts formula, but it has uncommon energy and vitality thanks in large part to Jaa, the film's heart and soul. Beyond his performance, though, the highly competent production team makes "Ong-Bak" worth seeing in its own right, bringing down the house in all of its joyously campy, graphically violent and cheerfully understated glory. "OK, listen. If I catch you humming 'Summertime' again, I'm gonna have to smack you." 'HITCH -SLAPPED SMITH, JAMES CAN'T SAVE EMBARRASSING ROMANTIC COMEDY By Amanda Andrade Daily Arts Writer After slumming hard in progressively idiotic sum- mer bombast, Will Smith has finally succumbed to the most natural forum for his ebullient charm - romantic comedy. The vehicle in question, "Hitch," would be a fine showcase for Smith's considerable on-screen charisma if only it relied on Hitch At the Showcase and Quality 16 Sony Pictures two meandering plots in lieu of one solid story. Intriguingly, the myriad geeky men Hitch strives to help are always after women absurdly out of their physical attractiveness league. That's okay, of course, because all of these men are actually enamored by their ladies' "personalities" rather than their supermodel good looks. Although maybe that's less surprising con- sidering the New York of the film is the city in which average-looking women just don't seem to exist. But what the movie misses in gender sensitivity, it at least partially recoups in a reluctance to build on racial stereotypes. It's a noble effort, especially when so many scenes between James and Smith are veritable invita- tions for the kind of sophomoric sitcom-level cheap shots that Smith has built a pretty tidy career around. It's refreshing to see the gifted comedian rise above it. Echoing that decidedly nice-spirited side of the film are the performances from both male actors. Smith has a breezy, affable, old-Hollywood charm that resonates in most of his scenes. James is the real surprise, holding his own and maintaining a sympathetic performance. The actresses in the film, however, are almost complete blanks. That's not wholly surprising for a movie that counts among its many revelations: "Whoa, women are, like, human beings and stuff." Mendes and her pre- scription cohort are beautiful, sophisticated, suppos- edly intelligent and always impeccably dressed. It's not the fault of the actresses so much as the script, which gives the leading ladies little else to do but look winsome for their oafish or unstable suitors. Bisch's screenplay also has occasional trouble relating the parallel plots, as well as finding anywhere to take the story. Eventually the climax has to rest on a con- trived misunderstanding rather than anything organic or systemic, like say, the fact that Hitch's entire liveli- hood rests on women sleeping with men they wouldn't normally touch - a loveable, harmless GHB for the well-meaning man. With little success, "Hitch" tries to play on issues of insecurity, interpersonal trust and a slew of other topics that are beyond the scope of a formulaic studio comedy. By tackling the issues in a half-hearted, manipulative sort of way, the film only ends up with a wildly incon- sistent tone. One minute it's a light-hearted comedy, the next a preachy meditation on human vulnerability. The result is a middling star vehicle, overlong and awkward. It's pretty reminiscent of a first date, actu- ally, and those feeling particularly benevolent may assume that's the point. They may also assume that Smith is going to personally refund their nine dollars - it's all the hope that "Hitch" has left once the the- ater lights go up again. something - anything - more than its marquee star to make the movie worthwhile. The setup is straightforward enough: Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Smith) is a date doctor who teaches fumbling men how to woo their dream girls. One particularly desperate client is Albert (Kevin James, TV's "King of Queens"), a CPA in love with his classy heiress client, Allegra. Eva Mendes ("2 Fast 2 Furious") plays the gos- sip columnist assigned to cover the medication-moni- kered celebrity, and turns out to be the girl Hitch can't seem to crack. Screenwriter Kevin Bisch apparently felt the obvious theme of relationship complexity warranted 'U' Museum of Art surveys twentieth century Daily Arts By Andrew Klein For the Daily 4 In 1935, Pablo Picasso said, "There is no abstract art. You must always start with something." This elusive and often undefinable something is the subject of the University of Mich- igan Museum of Art's newest exhibit "Surfing the Century," running from Feb. 5 to May 15. The eclectic exhibit is an arrange- ment of early and modern works from the last century, unexpectedly juxta- posed, creating an engaging visual comparison. Grouped together in the exhibit's main viewing room are two beautiful Tiffany candle holders and two pieces of Pewabic pottery, which came out of the Detroit School of Art circa 1900. The visually stunning sculpture, "Flight of Night" by Paul Manship, sits opposite the action photographs of Barbara Morgan and Aaron Siskind. In the same main viewing space, works bye Detroit painter Tyree Guyton are juxtaposed with abstractions from the '50s by Mike Toby, Adolph Gotlieb and Mil- ton Avery. Leaving the wonderful mix Surfing the of mediums in Century: the main room Twentieth- behind, the Century Art viewer enters At the University of the exhibit's sec- Michigan Museum of Art ond room and is immediately immersed in the geometric and illu- sionist art of the 20th century, loosely termed "minimalism." The dizzying "Mercurius in the Vessel,"by Rich- ard Anuszkiewicz, with its startling illusion of depth using bright, clash- ing colors, is almost painful to the eyes, but it is easily the most capti- vating work in the section. Moving away from the art of geom- etry, Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup I, Green Pea" leads viewers into the area representing the school of Pop Art, described by Curator Sean Ulmer as a "reaction to Abstract Expression- ism." "Napoleon Standing Next to a Chair" by Larry Rivers and "Manet's Olympia" by Mel Ramos, both draw on famous Classical works as inspira- tion while adding their own contem- porary spin. These two pictures create a wonderful window into the art world created by the New York School in the mid-20th century. "Stiff Box 12" by Lucas Samaras is an intense rendering of iron to create a dichotomy of violent edges and soft curves. Immediately following is the extremely popular "LOVE" by Rob- ert Indiana, considered by Ulmer as an "iconic image of the '60s." The series of literature-based works by a ASHLEY HRPR/Daily UMMA curator Sean Ulmer discusses a work from "Surfing the Century." Glen Ligon entitled "Untitled (I Am An Invisible Man)," as well as Indi- ana's, nicely fit in with the theme of incorporating the written word into contemporary American art. It is in the second half of this sec- tion that is the most intriguing part of the exhibit. The series of photo- graphs that include Alfred Stieglitz's "The Steerage" and Robert Frank's racially charged "American Flag in Brick Wall" provide a contrast to the surrounding natural landscape with their representations of America's urban cityscape. Stieglitz's piece is considered an icon of photography with its perfect contrast of the upper and lower classes aboard a trans- Atlantic ocean liner. It is apparent in the second half of the last room that photography is the strongest facet of the exhibit. The Ansel Adams piece, entitled, "Moonrise over Hernendez, New Mexico," is stunning in its natural- ism, and it is juxtaposed brilliantly with German abstract expressionist Emil Nolde's watercolor landscape. There is also "Manassas #28" by Sally Mann, which is a captivating rendering of the famous Civil War battleground. The last work in the exhibit, also by Mann, is entitled "Virginia," and is, according to Ulmer, "a resurrection of techniques that are 100 years old," and thus a suitable ending to the exhibit with its contemporary setting and dated techniques. Overall, this exhibit is "very much a celebration of the pluralism of the 20th century," said Ulmer. The viewer should keep in mind that this exhibit is "a reflection not just of art movements, but of man's thought." FOOD FOR THOUGHT The Vietnam Protestors GE.. . ...t...{..). ,.."...SUMMEXd.2h.h}:wY :.dR. s.:..::: ,?a?.:n:.<.. t;, }., :.? CA P OB NO :k . . . , .. ....{:. : '.. ., . . . ..o t. o _ _....v ...:.:X .;? sto.}??? .v60n%h:}:. .r.ikFr~ i: Algonquin Park,'? Canada';.X' A..2:' :: ''.vky":"+". Camp.,...: Tamakwa.. .... :?{:.~ is com.9..:? :5. .;.." ing to Ann Arbor. ..$::...?X X:1 Wednesday. ... . ... .:..r.:. Febt.....:.r..lX,::.th &.::. Thursday... .r::::.. ..,...,.....b.Y.:+.h Master of Arts in Government and Politics