2B - Thursday, November 16, 2006 {the b-sidel The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com * FASHION Now Ann Arbor fashionistas won't have to break the bank to dress like Hollywood's favor- ite starlets - at least if you're looking at their favorite Roland Mouret dresses. The London- based Mouret has designed a special five-dress collection for Gap (includingshifts, tunics and shirtdresses) that tops out at $108. The dresses will hit select Gap stores around the country starting Dec. 1. Known for his sexy frocks, the French designer's contract with Gap adds him to the slew of top fashion designers who have gone from arm-and-a-leg couture to clothing closer to the range of the average consumer. Isaac Mizrahi and Mossimo Giannulli have found success with Target in recent years, for exam- ple, and the corporation's successful "Interna- tional Flights of Fashion" venture - featuring an affordable but still exclusive line from a new maker every few months - has included the likes of Luella Bartley and, most recently, Behnaz Sarafpour. Great fashion for less? Always a good deal. BOOKS The ever-popular Sacha Baron Cohen - or more specifically, his outlandish alter ego, Borat - may be getting a book deal. Apparently several publishing companies are big fans of the comic's Kazakh journalist caricature, recently brought onto the big screen in Fox's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Publishers are competing to sign Cohen to a multi-million-dollar offer, assuming audiences (and Cohen) will still be interested in Boratsploitation months from now. No word on what exactly the book will be about, but according to the New York Post's Page Six, it may be "a volume that reportedly will contain photos of naked women from Borat's village." GOSSIP "Fundamental differences" have never stopped a Hollywood couple before, but appar- ently that was behind the final split of Jude Courtesy of Paramount Jude Law and Sienna Miller co-starred in "Alfe." Now they hate each other. Coincidence? Law and Sienna Miller earlier this week. The couple, who previously had been estranged after Law publicly admitted to sleeping with their nanny after his children told their mother they had seen the two in bed together (which he later attributed to a sex addiction) last year and only reunited in the early months of this year, made the decision to split for good at a "crisis meeting" earlier this week, a friend said. We had forgotten they were still together. Oh well. CELEBRITY Congratulations, Hollywood: One more ego is about to be inflated beyond the capac- ity of an average hotel suite. George Clooney was recently named the Sexiest Man Alive for 2006 by People magazine, bringing his total titles to two. The only other celebrity who can boast that, um, honor, is Brad Pitt, whose recent sex factor has certainly declined with the new presence of three babies hanging off SONY/NINTENDO * From page 1B after, and no actual drur would ever disrespect R suggesting he was less t As for the source of a Ringo hating? My best g would be either massive rance and jealousy or ev irrational childhood fea role as Mr. Conductor o ing Time Station." Even career is worthy of prai coups ofBlues, his Nash terpiece, is among the b Beatles solo LPs, and he couple of the other ones his muscled ar and not being George? MUSIC ms. Nothing like not having kids married to make you sexy. Right, Yoko Ono refuses to fade away, gracefully or otherwise. And she's still wearing that hat. The former wife of the late Beatle John Lennon has a new album slated for release titled Yes, I'm a Witch. Seriously. Chock full of big-name guest vocalists like The Flaming Lips, Cat Power, Peaches (!) and The Polyphonic Spree, the forthcoming album is comprised of new and different renditions of some of Ono's big- gest, er ... songs. While the album will surely be strange and interesting if nothing else, a Yoko Ono/Peaches duo on "Fuck the Pain Away" would really have been the icing on the cake. - Compiled by Caitlin Cowan, Kimberly Chou, Bernie Nguyen and Jeffrey Bloomer. Harrison's All Things Must Pass and John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band. So let us finally lay to rest the ridiculous notion that Ringo is mmer a bad drummer. Not only is that ingo by myth easily discredited by any han great. number of rational arguments, but ll the conversely the opposite is true: uess Ringo is one of the best drum- igno- mers ever. Paul put it pretty well ven some in a postcard he sent to Ringo, r of his since published in Ringo's book n "Shin- "Postcards from the Boys," when his solo he wrote, "You are the greatest se. Beau- drummer in the world. Really." Ville mas- Really. est of the plays on a - Cargo can be reached George at lhcargo@umich.edu. Rocky (1976) Directed by John G. Avildsen Starring Sylvestor Stallone By PAUL TASSI Daily Arts Writer The American dream has been addressed from many different angles with films ranging from "Pretty Woman" to "Scarface." While one rags-to-riches story ends with playfully shallow romance, the other climaxes in a coke-fueled, assault-rifle rampage. Between the two lies an uplifting, inspirational story in which no one ends up dead, floatingin a fountain. Sylvester Stal- lone's "Rocky" is the ultimate moti- vational tale of an everyman who became something more. Inspired by a true-life fight where nobody Chuck Wepner knocked down champ Mohammed Ali, the film aims to show that there is no such thing as an ordinary man. Rocky Balboa (Stallone, "Judge Dredd") is a down-and-out thug from South Philly who moonlights as a boxer. His IQ lands just north of the Hulk and a bit south of Forrest Gump, but what he lacks in vocabu- lary he more than makes up for in heart. Though he's a decent fighter, Rocky laments that he never had a peak, no defining moment. But this moment comes when heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers, "Predator") chooses him for a publicity stunt, giving a title shot to an unknown. Rocky gives up his lifestyle of smoking,drinkingandbreakinglegs for the mob as he begins to train for the match. "Rocky" pioneered the use of the montage, which involves splicing together various clips of training overlaid by the sound of inspirational music. What should be months of hard work is com- pressed down into about a minute and a half, and we see Rocky turned from a lazy workhorse to the Italian stallion that was in him all along. When the fight comes it becomes clear that Creed is treating the event purely as a spectacle. Rocky eloquently remarks that "he looks like a big flag" as Creed dances merrily around the ring clad in red, white and blue. After Apollo toys with Rocky, the turning point of the fight comes when the cocky champ is suddenly knocked on his ass for the first time in history by the over- whelming underdog. The fight does not end in a cli- mactic knockout punch, but instead the bell rings after an exhausting 15-round battle with Creed declared the winner by split decision. At this point in the film there are often cries of "What? He didn't even win? Lame," but those who need Rocky fs ,: . < tlF , ase 5seord 5. etatot to win for a satisfying ending are missing the point. The triumph was in the journey, not the outcome. By making Rocky lose it's easier to see that his prize is the change in himself, which makes a belt or title almost meaningless. But giving the unrelenting fans what they wanted, Rocky did come back to lay the smack down on Apollo to claim the belt in "Rocky II." His title reign came to a halt in "Rocky III" as it became very clear that Mr. T had no pity for the Ital- ian Stallion. Finally, in the fourth film Rocky fights what can best be described as a blond Russian cyborg and his victory effectively ends the Cold War. This was the last proud moment for the franchise as the abysmally conceived "Rocky V" left fans disenchanted, wishing the series had quit while it was ahead. Responding to the masses and wanting to bring back glory to the "Rocky" name, Sylvester Stal- lone is writing, directing and star- ring in the sixth film in the series "Rocky Balboa," to be released this December. Publicity images show Stallone in the ring looking pretty damn cut for a 60-year-old who for all practical purposes should have man boobs by now. He needs to keep up this trademark physique as an apparent onset of nostalgia is also causing him to release another Rambo movie due out in 2008. Stallone's post-midlife crisis aside, he truly delivered a master- fully crafted franchise best exempli- fied by the original "Rocky." Many films have the capacity to enter- tain, but few are able to inspire us to try and change something about ourselves. Whether it's training for an athletic event or studying for a colossal exam, many people have tried to find their own "Eye of the Tiger" to muster the strength inside to succeed. Looking for a Sufjan kind of love RI - RN fc *18 51 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION PROGRAM Ranked #10, Best Graduate Schools of Education, U.S. News and World Report One year program option in * Elementary Teaching " Secondary Teaching - Advanced Teaching - " Higher Education Administration and Policy" Early Admission Deadline Fall 2007 January 5, 2007 Monthly Information Sessions and Thursday Morning Drop-Ins Available Call or Email with questions: (847) 467-1458 msedprog@miil.sesp.northwestern.edu Visit our website at www.sesp.northwestern.edu/msed By CAITLIN COWAN Daily Arts Editor We need another love story. Even though the American Film Institute lists the 1970 film "Love Story" as the ninth most romantic movie of all time, it's infamous for its tear-jerking capacity. The tale of two young lovers has devolved from a truly affecting film into the kind of flick girls settle down to watch with a box of Kleenex and a pint of cookie dough ice cream when they're in the mood for a good cry. While some of the dialogue in "Love Story" seems canned and sappy in retrospect, with all of the full frontal and fucking in movies today, audiences could use a taste of true love, however unrealistic it may be: I give you the finale of "Jen and Oliver," a similar version of the original's final scenes, starring Jena Malone and Hunter Parrish. The first strains of Suflan Ste- vens's acoustic guitar and "Casimir Pulaski Day" slowly and purpose- fully crescendo. After a few bars, he sings,full offeeling, "Golden rod and the 4H stone/ The things I brought you when I found out you had cancer of the bone." Oliver ascends the stairs of the white-tiled hospital for what will be the last time. The camera pans up and away fromhis feet, dragging heavily up each step, to profile his thin frame as he approaches Jenni- fer's room, his face pale and stoic. A gentle banjo strum has surfaced behind Stevens' beautiful voice. "Oh the glory that the lord has made / And the complications you could do without / When I kissed you on the mouth," he sings. Technicolor scenes of better times flash in rapid succession: Jennifer eating snow, the couple swaddled in wrinkled bed sheets, Oliver kissing her forehead as they cross an empty field; the pair sail- ing together, careening downhill on bicycles, reading paperbacks. The banjo gurgles and swells in preparation for another confession. "On the floor at the great divide / With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied / I am crying in the bathroom." Oliver wipes at his eyes as he enters her room. The sickly girl regards him care- fully, a painful smile creasing her lips. Oliver sits on Jennifer's bed, and slowly, gently, pulls her slight body into his arms. The scene is witnessed only from the doorway, with all dialogue out of hearing. No one knows what would pass between such people - lovers too young to face the end. A solitary trumpet emergesfrom the guitar and banjo lines like a her- ald augmenting the soft, strange chorus. We are only allowed into the room at the very end: The camera zooms slowly in as the life in the room is pushed out. She closes her eyes and slips away. Oliver lies motionless beside her. Seconds pass. Minutes. The sweet voice again ... "In the morning when you finally go / And the nurse runs in with her head hung low/And the cardinal hits the win- dow." Gradually the room begins to fill with stony doctors and nurses and Oliverrises,watchingthemdescend upon her body as if in a dream. "Oh the glory when he took our place / But he took my shoulders and he shook myface ... " He bursts out of the hospital room and into the arms of his father, who is waiting sullenly in the corri- dor. Tears spill from his eyes as he clutches him desperately. "And he takes and he takes and he takes."