Monday March 6, 2006 arts. michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com Ric WttSIgan Baij LRFS 0 8A . . . . ................ i 6 And the winner is ... THE OsCAR WINNERS, AND HOW THE DAILY FARED Courtesy of Warner Bros. " 'Crash' won best picture!? It's time to kill, bitches." WILLIS EXUDES CLASSIC CHARM IN LATEST VEHICLE By Imran Syed Daily Arts Writer As John McClane in 1988's venerable "Diehard," Bruce Willis embodied one of the most enduring action characters in modern American cinema. But he's 33 no longer, and just can't sell lines like "Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker" anymore. Actors in his position face a tough choice (see Harrison 16 Blocks At the Showcase and Quality 16 Warner Bros. Ford, who pretends that he's still the whippersnap- per who fought Nazis in 1981). Willis, however, harboring no such delusions, embraces his bald- ing, gray head, creaking joints and ballooning belly and uses them to create a memorable new brand of action hero in his latest, "16 Blocks." OK, time for a small reality check. Though "16 Blocks" is an action thriller, Willis's Jack Moseley is hardly an action hero. He's the hung-over, sick- to-his-stomach cop who just wants to go home and sleep after a long night shift. But wouldn't you know it, some suit-and-tie hands him paperwork just as he's leaving the building and orders him to trans- port a prisoner 16 blocks up the street to a court hearing. 118 minutes, 16 blocks: one hell of a day. The prisoner is Eddie Bunker, played brilliantly by the supremely talented hip-hopper-turned-actor Mos Def ("The Italian Job"). We're told he's a nobody. It's just a routine job - but, of course, there's much more to it than that. Eddie is a key witness in a police corruption case and, as if New York City's infamous gridlock wasn't enough, half of the city's police force is out to stop Jack and Eddie at any cost. Turning America's most symbolic city into a vil- lain is a brash yet successful move and gives the film a sense of complicity that similar fare often lacks. Sixteen blocks is about a 10-minute drive in most inhabited places, but in New York, it can be a nightmare taking up the better part of a day. At its core, the use of the city's congestion and bustle in this way is nothing earth shattering - just a mild variation of the archetypical "dark-forest" theme in a hero's journey - but applied in this film, it works to just the right effect, complicating our hero's bur- den and adding intrigue. We all love New York, sure, but here, it's a very real villain. The leader of the corrupt cops out to stop Jack and Eddie is David Morse's nauseatingly slick Frank Nugent. Morse, basically the Ben Wallace of onscreen law enforcement, has a commanding presence that's always a force you want on your side (as Tom Hanks, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx found out in "The Green Mile," "The Negotiator" and "Bait," respectively). Unfortunately for Jack and Eddie, he's rotten to the core in this role with a dozen heavily armed men at his disposal. Though he's very much over the hill, Wills's Moseley is a little like the 40-year-old Michael Jor- dan returning to play for the Wizards: He shows occasional flashes of former brilliance. One such occasion makes for the most memorable scene in the film, one of the more prototypically cool recent moments in the movies. But Willis's expected super-cop antics are kept to a minimum, and this saves the film from going too overboard with Jean- Claude Van Damme-style pyrotechnics. Instead, what sells the film - and indeed makes it funny and almost, almost believable - is the nonchalant genius that is Mos Def. He's annoying, he talks too much and most of what he says seems meaningless, but he plays his character so seam- lessly that we're almost left stunned. Still, there's one inescapable, if entirely volun- tary, conclusion: "16 Blocks" is tense, tight, funny and wholly entertaining - but only if you let it be. Hold fast to the knowledge that it's only a movie and is meant by no means to be a how-to guide on transferring prisoners or the New York Police Department. There are loopholes in the plot, and some may even be glaring to those out to scruti- nize. My best advice: don't. It's a movie, and it's better than most. The Daily guessed cor- rectly in seven of the eight major categories we predicted: BEST PICTURE Winner: "Crash" We said: "Brokeback Mountain" BEST DIRECTOR Winner: Ang Lee We said: Ang Lee BEST ACTOR Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman We said: Philip Seymour 'Hoffman BEST ACTRESS Winner: Reese Wither- spoon We said: Reese Wither- spoon BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Winner: George Clooney We said: George Clooney BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Winner: Rachel Weisz We said: Rachel Weisz BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Winner: "Crash" We said: "Crash" BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Winner: "Brokeback Mountain" We said: "Brokeback AP PHOTOS Mountain" 0 0 0 I I 'Ultra'-thin thriller bottoms out By Christina Choi Daily Arts Writer "Ultraviolet" is the foul, misshapen lovechild of a union between Japa- nese animation and reality that, hopefully, was a one-night stand. An excruciating 90-minute-long endeavor, the film Ultraviolet At the Showcase and Quality 16 Screen Gems Get ready for life after Michigan with Real Life 101. This annual series of free, entertaining seminars is designed just for U-M students and will help you get ready for some of the big issues you face as you get ready to graduate. These fun and informative seminars will get you thinking and get you ready! March 14, 6-7:30 p.m.: Money Management 101 "Good Credit, Bad Debt" Robert Pavlik, Vice President, MBNA Marketing Systems This session was so popular last year that we're bringing it back. Designed specifically for students and recent graduates, "Good Credit, Bad Debt" provides answers to all of your money management questions and helps you avoid the financial traps that new grads often face. March 21, 6-7:30 p.m.: Relocation 101 "The ABCs of No Hassle Moving" Jeff Abraham, Lindsay Stevens and Geri Rudolph of Stevens Van Lines What do you mean I needed to reserve the elevator in order to move furniture into my new apartment? Moving can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be in this session tailored to those moving to a new city after graduation. Let the professionals at Stevens Van Lines show you how to make moving a snap. March 28, 6-7:30 p.m.: Personal Branding 101 "How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market" William Ward, Adjunct Professor, Ross School of Business As the work place becomes more and more competitive, how are you going to get yourself noticed and rise above the clutter? Come to this personal branding session to find out. Even with a University of Michigan degree, you still need to be all that you can be in order to achieve the career (and life) success you're looking for. sacrifices continuity for a comic-book style coupled with what barely passes for dialogue. The film unfolds in a futuristic world where the sole apparent accom- plishment is the abolition of the hor- ror caused by, say, fat people wearing horizontally striped shirts. The set has an artsy feel, with bright and solid clothing and walls eerily reminiscent a Skittles rainbow. Milla Jovovich ("Resident Evil"), who plays the aptly named Violet, is a fearless vampire who risks every- thing to save a boy named Six (Cam- eron Bright, "Running Scared"). Six is the ultimate weapon in the never-ending feud between humans and vampires, yet his rapidly fading health may prevent either side from using him in time. The film's thin plotline is riddled with unanswered questions: For instance, what's the source of Violet's abnormal strength and agility? How does she consistently manage to kill countless men and have them all col- lapse in a perfect circle around her perfect superhero poses? More impor- tantly, is her flawless face really a hid- den advertisement for Botox? Violet gives away no secrets, but this is probably because she rarely has anything worthwhile to say. Jovov- ich's attempts to keep Six in line are constantly thwarted by her lackluster delivery. Even Six finds her hard to believe, and it must be tough for the guards not to burst out laughing when Violet smoothly declares, "you are all going to die." But in true Hollywood style, being able to slice through men like butter compensates for her lack of basic verbal ability. Despite these drawbacks, the film manages to incorporate some sci- fi creativity. Disposable paper cell phones and bracelets that double as credit cards are just cool enough to provide a welcome diversion. Still, the film pushes it a bit too far with the extravagant measures the evil Daxus (Nick Chinlund, "The Legend of Zorro") takes to ensure his protection from the contagious vampire virus. Among his precautions include a gun sealed in aluminum foil and an air fil- ter that strongly resembles a pair of silver nose plugs. Six is also unrealistic, but in a dras- tically different way. Besides being discovered in a case that looks like a giant white lima bean, his dialogue is the most sophisticated of the film - odd considering his favorite memory involves being pushed on the merry- go-round by a laughing Violet. That pseudo-maternal moment is the most bizarre scene of "Ultravio- let," but not because it occurs right in the middle of an intense scene of bat- tle and tragedy. It's then that the film, much like the audience, appears to forget its role as a tribute to senseless action and instead finds itself a com- edy worthy pf outright laughter. 6 6 I~ ~t.&~ :..4.. ~ W v*Xk> ~LN ~',~9, ~ w~w4fr~ '~w~t-"WOW=- Find out more by attending an information session. A~O~ I I 0