ARTS The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 5, 2006 - 9A rime pays In violent 'New York' By Chris Gaerig Daily Arts Writer Courtesy of Warner Bros., "So, about that Esquire cover..." Aniston can't break nr For the past 10 years or so, reality television has been making its push to completely dominate the airwaves. There's an incom-________ prehensible draw for viewers True Crime: to watch the "true" lives ofTNewCrk celebrities and random, attrac- New York tive 20-somethings. Plus, no City one wants to miss the oppor- Gamecube tunity to watch the latest on- Activision air freakout and lose out on hours of cafeteria gossip. It was inevitable, then, that "reality" would make its way to video games as well. Enter a slew of purportedly realistic action games. "The Sims" gives players the ability to live almost any life they choose. Racing simula- tors like "Grand Turismo" allow for customiza- tion and true-to-life handling. Then there's "Grand Theft Auto," arguably the most infamous "real-life" simulation. One of the game's main draws is the amount of freedom - players can kill, rob or steal anyone or anything they choose. Given the massive market for "Grand Theft Auto," other games were sure to arise. One of these, the "True Crime" series, is quickly approaching the "GTA" throne. The first install- ment, "True Crime: Streets of L.A.," was praised for the accuracy of the city's layout. Unfortunate- ly, the fighting system and mechanics of the game were too restrictive and convoluted. Its follow-up, "True Crime: New York City," remedies many of these amateur problems and shows amazing growth and promise for the franchise. Courtesy of Activision See kids, even if someone doesn't have a pink Range Rover, you can still jack them. "True Crime: New York City" continues the exact mapping of the city, but the New York Police Department wanted to make sure no one mistakes this game for real life (the packaging carries a disclaimer issued by the NYPD). For a game try- ing to simulate reality, the disclaimer is slightly disorienting, but the police certainly don't want the city to be viewed as it's depicted. Players are put into the life of thug-turned-cop Marcus Reed - a man with a sizeable chip on his shoulder and little, if any, tact and discre- tion. After a series of racial slurs and insinua- tions, Reed is given street clothes and told to go undercover. From there, players either complete their assignments or travel through the city solv- ing random street crimes. As the game progresses - granted, Marcus is behaving and not killing random civilians - players move through the ranks of the NYPD, gaining access to a variety of city-issued weapons and vehicles. Of course, if you decide to beat the hell out of people after you arrest them or ran- domly get destructive, you shouldn't expect to get far with your badge. Unfortunately, the further players make it in the game, the more repetitive it becomes. While trying to become a basic officer, players seem to solve the same street crimes. The game's view of New York leaves players with the impression that there's always a rock band destroying a hotel room somewhere or an international arms dealer taking a drive past Central Park. Those cinematic moments - V.I.P. characters and missions that advance the plot - get lost amongst the mundane tasks. The standard assortment of tasks - protection, sabotage, controlled sprees of violence, and get- ting from point A to B - is usually just shuffled and repeated with new enemy character models and paths through the city. It gets boring and takes away from the memorable missions and the moments of joyous destruction. Besides these situations and the occasional, completely absurd side job - hijacking a news- paper truck and driving it into a river or doing a stripper's dirty work - players are allowed abso- lute freedom. Frisking people, planting evidence, checking trunks and entering nearly every ran- dom store on the street are all possible. Players can't have sex with the hookers, but that's not to say "True Crime: New York City" isn't realistic. It takes the grimiest aspects of its infamous competitor and removes them while maintaining a realistic world. Besides the arsonist lighting up everything in sight in Times Square, "True Crime" is about as real as it gets. from'Frier By Imran Syed Daily Arts Writer Remember the "Seinfeld" slump? How, ever since the show's finale, its stars - except Mr. Seinfeld, of course - have Rumor found success in no HaI other roles? Appar- Ha t ently, the slump car- At the Showcase ries over to other and Quality 16 once-beloved NBC Warner Bros. sitcoms. The most notable recent victims have been our old "Friends" (just ask poor, unemployed Matthew Perry). The one star who we might expect to break out of the holding pattern is the tabloid institution known as Jennifer Aniston. Succeed she eventu- ally may, but not in 2005. After divorcing Achilles himself and then starring in the lukewarm "Derailed," Aniston finishes out the year with "Rumor Has It." Despite occasional sweetness, the film is messy and tedious on the whole. Launching from the events of 1967's "The Graduate," "Rumor Has It" cen- ters around Sarah Huttinger (Aniston), a career-deadlocked reporter from New York City who returns home with her boyfriend, Jeff (perennial rom-com star Mark Ruffalo, "Just Like Heaven"), to her California family for her younger sister's wedding. There, through a series of poorly paced (though often entertain- ids' slump ing) sequences, she discovers her family's darkest secret: Her mother was in love; with a man other than her father, a man who also had an affair with her grand- mother and may also be her real father. Confusing? You bet, so watch "The Graduate" before you go. The mysterious man is Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), with whom Sarah herself: eventually sleeps with. "Wait" you'll say, "isn't there a chance that this man is her father?" Yes, and though that possibility is seemingly ruled out by Beau claiming to be sterile, an air of doubt remains, the relationship icky at best. Then, of course, there's Sarah boyfriend, or fianc6 really. Yep, it's a complicated situation, and we can sympathize with Sarah when she hangs her head in despair and exclaims, "I'm going to need so much therapy!" But all disconcerting topics are handled with a light, humorous air, and "Rumor Has It" is not an objectionable film. Shirley MacLaine, who plays Sarah's grandmother (but don't you dare call her that), steals scenes with her nonchalantly obscene and blunt demeanor. Costner and Ruffalo, though both held back by the nat- ural limitations of a lackluster script, grasp; their roles well and play an integral part in portraying the truly outrageous nature of: the situation Sarah finds herself in. Aniston too is commendable, but herf lovable antics are counterproductive; the fluffy comedy and her flighty character:: too easily conjure the Rachel Green per- sona she so desperately needs to escape. ARTS. Knoxville can't compete in 'The Ringer' By Blake Goble Daily Arts Writer FItREVWi For a film thz malicious humor disabled, "The Ringer" is not terrible. It's not the controversial and topical com- edy that so many thought it would at seems to enjoy directed at the The Ringer At the Showcase and Quality 16 Fox Searchlight be (in fact, it recently garnered an endorsement from the Special Olym- pics). It's not even as frightful as one year of delay from a major studio might make a movie seem. But real- ly, Barry Blausten's ("Beyond the Mat") comedy of assumed identity, shifty behavior and on-screen depic- tion of the Special Olympics is just kind of dull. Johnny Knoxville (TV's "Jack- ass") is Steve Barker, who has been recently promoted at work thanks to the firing of a humble janitor, Stavi. Wrought with guilt but also hungry for a pay raise, he decides to hire Stavi and let him do landscaping for him. That is, until Steve loses his fingers in a mower, thus propelling his quest for quick cash to pay the hospital bills. With a plan instigated by his slea- zy, disreputable uncle Gary, played with eerie conviction by Brian Cox ("Troy"), Steve and Gary decide to try and rig the Special Olympics. They plan to have Steve compete and hopefully beat veteran champ Jimmy. Money can be made. Friends will be made. All the expected per- sonal epiphanies and changes of heart will crop up with ease. Laughs will be minimal.: As a film, "The Ringer" can be taken or left by viewers. It's a throw- away comedy promoted around holi- day time by a major studio in order to make a few bucks. There's nothing to really go home and wet yourself over. It's a forgettable film about a topic that's anything but slight. So while there might be a few seconds worth debating over, it doesn't take itself seriously. And neither should we. Produced by the Farelly brothers, of "Dumb and Dumber" and "Some- thing About Mary" fame, this film talks along the same line as those comedies. But it definitely does not come through with their cringe- inducing laughs. One would think with questionable subject matter like rigging the Special Olympics, there would be more uproar. But really, this film is perfectly tame. In a few sweet moments, it's quite respectful and fascinated with the games. Still, let's not miscon- strue anything. "The Ringer" is nothing like "Shallow Hal" and is committed to humanizing cheap jokes about easy targets. Knoxville still tries out different retarded per- sonas in front of a mirror in a gross scene played for cheap laughs. What is questionable here are two points. Is it slightly hypocritical that while Knoxville is easily shunned by the audience for doing unkind rendi- tions of the mentally challenged, of the six disabled characters he affili- ates with, four are actually actors performing the same ruse by imper- sonating the mentally challenged? It may not be something to fight over, but it does leave one wonder- ing about the film's integrity. Of course, this is assuming you think it has any. "The Ringer" was delayed for a year for fear of public outcry. Yet while viewing the film, it seemed that the greatest laughs came at the expense of brief moments with actu- al mentally challenged characters, and the audience's own discomfort for what's on screen. These moments are the only time the film teeters on the edge of offense. From ignorant young teenagers to their aghast parents, the childlish way people respond, as evidenced by this reviewer's screening, can be downright embarrassing. The film might just be a huge litmus test for an audience member's level of emo- tional cruelty. In the end, the most uncomfort- able part of watching this supposedly controversial film is the audience's own awkward reaction. REC SPORTS INTRAMURALS The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports Intramural Sports Program www.recsports.umich.edu 734 -763 -3562 REC SPORTS INTRAMURALS I ::: ' ; . ,, t ,;._ ,, ._ , w. ;. w 3£ r . i Entries taken: Mon, 1 /90 NLY 11:00 AM - 4:30 PM IM Building Eitry Fee: $90.44 p er team Managr's Meeting: MANDATO RY Wed, 1/11 6:00 PM or 9:00 PM IM Building Play begins: Thurs, 1 /12 IM Building & Coliseum Basketball{ ry SPremSeason Entries taken: Thu, 1 /5 ONLY 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $35.00 p er team Managr's Meeting: MANDATORY Thurs, 1 /5 6:00 PM IM Building Tournament Dates: Sat, 1/7 - Sun,1l/8 IM Building Basketall Touney ,A "1 Entries taken: Thu, 1/6 - Wed, 1/11 11:00 AM - 4:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $50 .00 p er team Managr's Meeting: MANDATORY Wed, 1 /11 8:04 PM IM Building Team Practice: Sun, 1 /15 Co liseum Play begins: Sun, 1 /22 Co liseum ya r E . rU Wt / S 2 ft K " Ertries taken: Mon, /9OD NLY 11:00 AM - 4:30 PM IM Building Entry Fee: $90.00 p er team Manager's Meeting: MANDATORY Wed, 1/i1 7:15 PM IM Building Play begins: Thurs,01 /12 IM Building A" w IsE s U I I I 1 I