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Dredd' Over Batman?
ly Ted Watts
W aly Arts Writer
There's a really good comic book-
ased movie this summer with an obses-
ive lead character in a dark armored cos-
ime and armed with some nifty gadgets.
To,not "Batman Forever," Isaid good.
"Judge Dredd," with Sylvester
tallone as the law-obsessed Judge Jo-
ph Dredd, is based on constant physi-
J movement, beginning with a flight to
ega-City One (one of the three oases of
vilization in the ruined North America
.f the future) from Aspen Correctional
acility. As the computercriminal Fergie
Rob Schneider) proceeds to his new liv-
ag assignment, the camera drops down
a the bottom of the Mega-City and into
filthy crime-infested world.
Crime, of course, brings law enforc-
rs known as the Judges, who dispense
uick and often violent punishments for
;gal infractions. Judge Dredd is the per-
:ct Judge; he is single-mindedly dedi-
ited to the law. Stallone portrays the
,ie-dimensional Dredd as an automaton
with no personal life and no mercy in his
job. Dredd has nothing to do with justice,
the law is paramount.
Dredd'sdevotion to the law is his most
serious flaw, of course, and the supporting
characters play off of this. Judge Hershey
(Diane Lane) attemptsto befriend and hu-
manize Dredd, and while her attempts fail
fairly miserably, it keeps Dredd as mono-
lithic as he should be.
The other primary Judge sympathetic
to Dredd is Chief Justice Fargo (Max
Von Sydow). A father figure and a mili-
tary commander, Fargo reinforces
Dredd's devotion to the law, which is
mirrored in Fargo's devotion to Dredd.
Dredd's enemies rely on his single-
mindedness as well. The dishonored
Judge Rico (Armand Assante) is Dredd's
shadow-self, from his looks to his creed.
While Dredd says, "I am the law," Rico
at one point says, "Iam the chaos." This
may sound heavy handed, and it is. Rico
is too at odds with Dredd. Council Judge
Griffin (Jurgen Pronchnow) is a much
more believable villain. While also look-
Go 'Judge' for yourself
mately, the only times when people arestill
R E6V EW is in the confrontation scenes, when these
hyperkinetic individuals collide head-on.
Jfudge Dretdd And this is where "Judge Dredd" has it
over"Batman Forever," The storynuns flu-
Directed by Danny Cannon idly and the action is constant in "Dredd,"
with Sylvester Stallone, opposed to the jumpy story in "Batman"
and the fact that the only time the plot
Armand Assante and moves is during the confrontations.
Diane Lane The movies'scenery are more similar.
At Ann Arbor 1&2, Briarwood and Gotham and Mega-City One are both cities
Showcase of excess. But while Gotham is gothic and
excessive by architectural whim, Mega-
ing surprisingly like Dredd, Griffin is a City One is immense because of the needs
man with an agenda, but he has mixed ofaburgeoning population withinits walls.
feelings about Rico's concerted evil. His In the small amount we seeof it, it is a dark
complexity draws attention from Rico's city with minimal technicalenhancements,
flawed singularity. All in all, there's a a la "Blade Runner." But it is a stratified
continuum created in the characters, city, and the upperlevels have a nice com-
from Dredd to Rico, from one kind of puter-generated or matte skyline and the
extremist to the other. finest in future accommodations. Gotham
And from this continuum comes con- has the burden of being an alternate uni-
stant action. Judges fly around judging, verse, whereas Mega-City One needs only
prisoners fly to prison, people run in the to be futuristic, with the tack-ons that re-
desert. These are people with things to do quires. And so, "Judge Dredd'"s setting is
and they need to do them now. Ulti- executed muchbetter.
Sly's the Italian Stallion
"Judge Dredd" moves swiftly throug
its believable world and its main characte
doesn'tgo through any vomitously angs
change. Itdoesn't really have a message o
any deep themes, but it's a blast and tons
people die. In the Batman/Judge Dre
comic thatcomes out this month, Ihope
Bat gets cacked.
Promotion guide offers help for musicians
y Heather Phares
ally Arts Editor
Along with talent and determination,
ne of the essential things an aspiring
iusician needs is information. Informa-
ion about legal services (for reading
.ver contracts, or for figuring out ifa
and's name is copyrighted by someone
Ise), information about where and how
book shows in cities and colleges, the
st tape and CD manufacturers, music
owcases and conferences and which
:ord labels will listen to the all-impor-
nt demo tape.
Fortunately, Musician Magazine has
rovided up-and-coming artists with this
iformation since 1991. The fourth edi-
on of "The Musicians Guide to Touring
nd Promoting" keeps with the ideal of
caking this crucial information avail-
ble to all instead of just insider knowl-
dge. This edition also includes a few
nprovements on an already great idea.
The layout and organization of the
sue is improved, with easier-to-read
fonts and less crowding of information
on the page. For while the magazine
bursts with choice bits of helpful facts, in
the past it was crammed with more ma-
terial than could be easily read. Now,
stretched over 191 pages, the "Touring
and Promotion Guide" is a longer but
more effective read.
The content of the magazine has
been improved. One of the most helpful
inclusions is the College Booking sec-
tion of the guide, which lists contacts at
each of 47 major colleges and universi-
ties, as well as descriptions of what kinds
of music each campus tends to book -
although the University's not listed in the
guide, unfortunately.
Another, trendier but no less useful
section of the guide is the On-Line Ser-
vices Directory, which includes Internet
sites, networks and bulletin boards that
promote bands in cyberspace. For ex-
ample, the Internet Underground Music
Archive (IUMA) electronically distrib-
utes all types of independent music to
more than 100,000 people a day and in-
cludes a full-length song, biographical
information and images of each band in
its database.
The returning features in the new ad-
dition, such as the A&R (Artists and
Repertoire) section of the guide, con-
tinue to be a blessing for musicians that
want to use their time and money effec-
tively. In this section, addresses, tele-
phone numbers and label contacts are
provided for both major record labels
(such as Warner, Geffen and Sony) and
independent labels (like Matador and
Sub Pop). Unfortunately, the guide no
longer has the "demo policy" feature that
it once had, which told whether a label
listens to unsolicited demos - it should
definitely return for the next edition.
Two othernoteworthy features of "The
Musicians Guide to Touring and Promo-
tion" are the Tape and DiscManufacturers
section and the Touring Accessories sec-
tion, which are consumer'sguides to find-
ing efficient andcheap vinyl, tape and CD
manufacturers and touring gear, respec-
tively. The Tape and Disc Manufacturers
section lists helpful companies in each
state, while touring accessories are listed
alphabetically (cables, cases etc.) for easy
access.
"The Musicians Guide to Touring
and Promoting" packs literally thou-
sands of bits of potentially powerful in-
formation into a small and relatively in-
expensive ($7.95) package. It's an indis-
pensable investment for any musician or
group that's thinking of making music
professionally, on a large or small scale.
I KU a tip iU ieU DIin a i5
Who says Canadians can't rock? The triple bill of Canadian bands Friday, July
7, at the Blind Pig proves otherwise. The Toronto bands the Inbreds and the
Rheostatics open for Eric's Trip (above), who are from Moncton (near Halifax,
home to such bands as Sloan). The group's two albums, "Love Tara" and
"Forever Again" showcase the band's raw-yet-dreamy "0-fl sound. Their live
shows take Eric's Trip's somewhat precious sound and maul it with distortion
This show is a must-see, If only to dispel the myth that Canadian music
begins and ends with Bryan Adams. Doors open at 9 p.m.; tickets are at thg
door only. Call 996-8555 for more information.
I I
iEEkE ElEEtrUiEic
Telephones * Answering Machines * Appliances
Walkmans Casio Watches * as Mu sClocks
A/VmAccessories * Fans * Much More!
320 S. State * Above Decker Drugs
213-5971 Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-2pm
I