8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 7, 2005 ARTS "You're weird." Director'sc original ci By Alexandra Jones Daily Arts Editor "Donnie Darko" has finally returned. The twisted drama about a disturbedj teenage boy who learns that the world will end from a human-sized, metal-faced "See, I told you there was life after pro wrestling." ALMOST'COOL' STAR-STUDDED CAST KEEPS SLOW-MOVING SEQ DUEL AFLOAT rabbit named Frank, (James Duval who may be recognized as John the Mod from another cult film, "SLC Punk"), was mismarketed as an emotionally tumultuous teen Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut 20th Century Fox By Lindsey Bieber Daily Arts Writer F Some people may say that sequels are never as good as their predecessors, and "Be Cool," the decade-later follow-up to "Get Shorty," does little to prove otherwise. Former loan Be Cool shark Chili Palmer (John Tra- At the Showcase volta) is tired of movie-pro- and Quality 16 ducing and wants to try his MGM hand at the music business. He woos the widowed record label owner, Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), who helps him break an aspiring singer, Linda Moon (R&B singer Christina Milian), into stardom. While the movie is supposed to continue the "Get Shorty Plot," it ends up copying it, only substituting movies for music. Perhaps the writer thought that because of the 10-year gap between films, the same plot would still be new and exciting, but instead it proves dull and predict- able. Even Travolta could not breathe life to the same jokes and slick one-liners he spoke in "Get Shorty." The scene where Travolta and Thurman attempt to re-create their dance sequence from "Pulp Fiction" does nothing for the film except make viewers wish they were watching Quentin Tarantino's classic film instead. In spite of the repetitive plot, the overwhelming number of appealing actors and musicians saves the film. Travolta does not have many scenes for a lead role, but he is hardly missed when other characters add their unique humor. The best supporting characters are Vince Vaughn's Raji and The Rock's Elliot. Raji is a white talent manager who tries to be black, and Elliot is his flamboyantly gay bodyguard who tries to break into acting. The pair brighten an otherwise lack- luster story and are hilarious to watch. Another notable addition is a black millionaire rapper, Sin (Cedric the Entertainer), who is followed by an entourage (that includes Andre 3000) in three bass-pounding, suped-up black Hummers. The comedy is the only aspect of the film that keeps it afloat. The actual storyline of producing the pop star, Linda Moon, is weak and slow. Despite a plot hinging on the music business, there is more singing and performing in the film than expected. Linda (Milian) performs on several occasions (including one at the "MTV Video Music Awards"), and even an Aeros- mith concert is incorporated. For these reasons alone the film has potential to end up on VHI's "Movies That Rock" in a couple years. If only Milian's real music career was as successful as Linda Moon's. While "Be Cool" is surely not award-winning material, it serves the purpose of entertaining an audience and make for a fun weekend movie. The film fits the sequel role: It is laidback, has an engaging yet expected plot, and it mixes in amusing and upbeat characters to produce a mediocre film. U' alum satisfies with impressive debut novel By Deepa Pendse For the Daily University alum Dean Bakopoulos's first novel, "Please Don't Come Back From the Moon," is an amalgamation of "90210's" sultry plot lines and "Death of a Salesman's" theme of economic hope- lessness. This might seem like a disastrous combination, Please but Bakopoulos pulls it off grandly. The story follows Michael Smolij from his young Don't Come adult years to full-fledged adulthood. Michael is of Back From Ukrainian descent and resides in a fictional decaying the Moon Detroit suburb named Maple Rock. When he turns 17, By Dean his father leaves him, just as, one-by-one, most of the Bakopoulos fathers of Maple Rock also leave their families behind. Harcourt The fathers' destinations are unknown, but one leaves a note saying, "I'm going to the moon." This sentence haunts Michael and the rest of the young boys of Maple Rock. They grow up wondering where their fathers went, and keep an eye out for any signs of their return. The children long for their fathers' return or any contact, but their wishes remain unfulfilled. Their mothers, how- ever, take on the roles their spouses played. They get drunk at the localebar, engage in brawls, and some are even escorted home by the police. As the years go by, Michael and the rest of the boys mature and start families of their own. Their mothers remarry, move on and move out. Life closes in around the gap the absent fathers once filled. Bakopoulos does an exquisite job of capturing the yearning felt by the young boys. He manages to combine, sex, drugs and alcohol - staples of American entertainment - with thought-provoking questions about strug- gling for financial freedom, single parenthood and essentially, surviving heartbreaking loss. "Please Don't Come Back From the Moon's" main character Michael Smolij is a tragic hero in the legacy of Willy Loman. Bakopoulos tempers his visceral writing with biting comic wit, "I didn't want to hear that my mother's naked body was proof of a divine being." Also, as a University alum, Bakopoulos includes many references of the University in his first novel, reflecting the ins and outs of the campus. The only shortcoming of "Please Don't Come Back From the Moon" is the political tangent that Bakopoulos takes with the character Nick, Michael's cousin. Nick is an employee at Liberty Bell Subs in the newly opened Maple Rock Mall. He tries to stage a mall employee sit-in strike inspired by the 1937 Flint auto workers strike. With this plot twist, Bakopoulos adds an unnecessary political angle to a book that's already saturated with complex characters and complex emotions. Nonetheless, "Please Don't Come Back From the Moon" shows much promise. The issues the author addresses are important ones in this era of simultaneous tax cuts and budget deficits. Bakopoulos has created an intelligent and witty book that resonates in the reader's mind and leaves an indelible mark. Inane thriller 'The Jacket' wastes its talented cast flick to U.S. audiences who were still in emotional turmoil in October 2001, but gained a rabid cult following when it was released in Britain. Last year, Richard Kelly's director's cut was released in the- aters, and now the definitive version of the production has found form in DVD. This sprawling film, set weeks before the 1988 presidential election, tells the story of Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose mental medication causes him to see Frank and obey the giant bunny's instructions. Because Donnie heeds Frank's instructions to go outside, he's not asleep in bed when a jet engine from an airplane falls through the roof of his room. Frank talks to Donnie about time travel and tells him that the world will end in 28 days, six hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. Donnie's visions also cause him to wreck havoc at his high school and around the community. Gyllenhaal's real- life sister Maggie ("Mona Lisa Smile") plays Donnie's sister Elizabeth. Drew Barrymore and Noah Wyle ("ER") play teacher's at Donnie's school, and Patrick Swayze appears as a motivational speak- er-cum-televangelist whose ideas are taught there. Because of the film's longtime cult status, the director's cut DVD release is packaged with die-hard fans in mind. The extra scenes in the new cut produce a more linear plot and explain the time travel in greater detail. Disc one includes a widescreen version of the movie with optional commentary by writer/direc- tor Kelly and his friend Kevin Smith ("Clerks"). The second disc contains a production diary, the theatrical trailer and a storyboard-to-screen featurette. But the two featurettes that create the most compelling - or disturbing - impression of the film's power to attract a cult following are two mini-documenta- ries made by fans. The first, called "They Made Me Do It, Too: The Cult of Don- nie Darko," consists of analysis of the movie's meaning, personal stories about experiences with the film and unabashed fanatical gushing by British moviego- ers, critics and artists who rallied around Muttrumps ult classic the film after its unsuccessful, poorly marketed reception in the United States. "They Made Me Do It, Too" is "hosted' by someone in a Frank suit; he appeal in almost every scene, apparently listeri ing to or interviewing fans (although he never speaks) or sitting in the back of the theater where some of the testimonials are given. While it's great to see a fantasti(, genre-defying film like this championed so strongly by viewers, some of the Brit ish fans cast aspersions on American audiences for not "getting" such a con. plex work of genius. It's unfortunate th4 success in the film industry is measured by performance in the United States, but these fans - some of whom are identi- fied only by their "Donnie Darko Fan" number - blame the initial obscurity of "Donnie Darko" on American audi- ences and misguided marketing. One posits that "Americans don't understand these in-depth sorts of films" the way U.K. audiences do; another states that the film's current status as an interna- tional cult success and the release of this very director's cut is due to British sup- port. "Donnie Darko" was released in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and was marketed, in the words of one fan, "like a bad episode of 'Dawson's Creek," but the laudable enthusiasm of British fans is tainted, at least for American viewers, with a distasteful arrogance. This featurette is meant for pretty seri ous fans, but casual viewers or those curi; ous about the movie after seeing it for the first time wouldn't be shut out. However; "#1 Fan: A Darkomentary" is a differ, ent story. It's the result of a documentaji contest sponsored by DonnieDarko.coi" to find the film's No. 1 fan and fea someone who calls himself Darryl Do aldson, whose obsession with the film 1x4 ders onthedisturbed. Darrylshows,us.b collection of screenshots ("I used to havb pictures of my family in these (frames), but I thought these were cooler"), Jake Gyllenhaal pictures, and an aluminum foil model of the jet engine that falls on Donnie's house. This homemade contest winner could be enjoyed by die-hard fans - although it's hard to believe that anyone could relate to this guy - or be viewed as a specimen of disturbing fanaticism. Dar- ryl's creepy testimonial about his love for the movie is so over-the-top that it almost seems like a joke. The generous features on "Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut" DVD serve as a fitting treatment for an unjustly over- looked film. Its cult status combined with the availability of a lavish DVD release should bring the film to a greater audience beyond longtime fans. * 440 * A, 0 Film: **** Sound/Picture: **** Features: ***- By Kristin MacDonald For the Daily Anyone seeking an edge-of-your- seat thrill ride this weekend would do well to avoid "The Jacket," a pseudo-thriller directed with nei- ther the wit nor gravitas that could have pulled up the film from the The Jacket doldrums of its barebones plot. At the Showcase The premise and Quality 16 probably looked Warner Independent better on paper than in execution. Good-hearted Gulf War vet Jack Starks (Adrien Brody), a man with an absurd capacity for bad- luck head wounds, returns home to play the unwilling witness to a fatal altercation with a highway patrolman. Believed guilty for the officer's death and branded insane from his head trauma-filled past, Brody's veteran is forced into a court-ordered stint at a mental institution of the classic hor- ror movie variety - where the doc- tors are as emotionally unstable as their excessively quirky patients. An exaggerated medley of pill-popping ensues as a prelude to the treatment that will make up most of Jack's stay - being strapped into a strait jacket and shoved into a morgue drawer for hours on end. But the fun doesn't stop there. Enter Keira Knightley as Jackie, a love interest with a twist - she exists fifteen years in the future. Starks' relationship to Jackie is intricately Friday, .Mfarcl 11th, 8-11 6PM Nortl Campus, Pierpont Commons You, too, will need a drink after you see this movie. FOOD 4E BEADS U U tied to the strait jacket of the movie's title, a device whose power of time- travel is neither explained nor, really, explored. Lacking the suspense of a bonafide thriller and flailing around the strained emotional depths "The Jacket" becomes an awkward movie middle-ground that is the rough equivalent of boring. The film strug- gles to establish an appropriate or even permanent tone, veering from occasional bursts of frenetic, music- cles spectacularly when a cocktail of bizarre psycho-ward drugs requires it. Knightley, on the other hand, strug- gles with her version of the sulky, alternative and conveniently single girl, even though she is required to do little more than pout and provide glaringly gratuitous flashes of nudity. Main acting kudos go to both Kris Kristofferson (playing a more subtle version of his usual sinister perfec- tion) and Jennifer Jason Leigh as the institution's physicians, for injecting lV FOOD FOR THOUGHT Vietnam/Iraq Comparisons U m 0 0 0,0 M