12 -The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 30, 2000
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Courtesy of Paramount
Tom Cruise reprises his role of agent Ethan Hunt in 'Mission: impossible 2.'
bori-ng action, script
Family breaks tradition in'East
By Christopher Cousino
Daily Arts Writer
Based off a play of the same name, Damien
O'Donnell's breakthrough "East is East" is a film that
is, at the same time, charming, honest, funny and btu-
tal about the issues of family, tradition, culture and ris-
ing modernity.
Om Puni brings both an affec-
tion and a monstrosity to George
Khan, a massive Pakistani patri-
East is Eas arch who loves his English wife
Ella (Linda Bassett) and their 7
Grade: A- children, keeps a shop in Britain's
suburbs and strives to maintain his
A t Jngaheat 1 Pakistani heritage in spite of his
children's struggle and assimila-
tion against their father's origins.
Tariq (Jimi Mistry) would
rather hit the disco and make out Courtesy ofMiamax
with the blond next door while his Jimi Mistry plays the rebellious Tariq in "East is East."
brother Saleem (Chris Bisson) dy and serious drama, as the film contains many fun
delves in the phallic arts and scenes in spite of George's bellows and frightening
youngster Sajid (Jourdan Routledge) hides under the fights with his family. In Puri's touching performance
bed to escape from going to the Muslim services. of George, he strengthens the very honesty of the film
George, however, is unyielding, fighting his family all as he tells Tariq, "I know what is best. I only want to
the way, calling them "Bastard," planning marriage help you son."
ceremonies and threatening even his own wife ("You Ultimately, "East of East' is a story about the fami-
no get involved in my business.") ly: A unit striving for traditional ideals yet being will-
O'Donnell masters balancing the line of both come- ing to change in time.
'ink'mks philosophyfi
By Christopher Cousino
Daily Arts Writer
"This is not mission difficult, it's
'Mission: Impossible," says chief
Swanbeck (Anthony Hopkins) to agent
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) near the
beginning of John Woo's latest bravura
action flick, "Mission: Impossible 2."
While this self-reflexive line is cute
from Hopkin's straightforward cameo,
could this be screenwriter Robert
Towne reflecting
on his own draft-
ing of the script
for this shoddy
Mission: blockbuster?
impossible 2 Writing a
C. screenplay based
grade:.C- on the "Mission:
At Briarwood, Showcase I m p o s s i b le"
&Qaiy 15 series must be a
hard task. After
David Koepp's
incomprehensible
4 initial effort, the
' production team
(partly helmed by
Cruise) enlists legendary master Towne
to the mission and to no avail, he fails.
What we're left with is nothing we
haven't seen before, ridiculous action
and lame romance.
As the story goes, villain steals awful
life-threatening virus and holds world
hostage. Good guy must stop villain and
uses villain's estranged love interest to
get to him. But good guy falls in love
with her in process. Both good guy and
bad guy face off over female. Role cred-
its and obnoxious Limp (Sh)iskit track.
Following two brave, career perfor-
mances in "Eyes Wide Shut" and
"Magnolia," Cruise returns to his smiles
and hotty status as an audienee fav, spit-
ting out glib, goofy lines like "I'll save
you" and "Let's get lost." As Towne tries
to develop Hunt's character in this film,
it seems forced and unbelievable.
After a night of passion with Nyah
(Thandie Newton, the feminine bait),
Hunt spends the rest of the film in love
with her, putting both the mission and
his life on the line. C'mon, we're sup-
posed to believe agent Hunt, a guy,
with the looks of Tom Cruise (the film
even jokes about his 'smiles'), who
must encounter many women on his
many missions, is going to get
attached to a seemingly one night
stand and risk his job and life?
Also, Woo's direction is beginning
to become old hat. Enough of the
slow-mo, please no more flying
doves, cars, cars and more cars
blowing up or guys spending ten
minutes of screen time beating each
other senseless. The graceful beauty
of Woo's previous action efforts
seems lost and tired in this ridicu-
lous sequel. "Mission" aborted.
By Joanna Goddard
For the Daily
Simon Blackburn, a philosophy
professor at the University of North
Carolina, has written an introduction
to philosophy for the average reader.
The brief, beautifully presented book
will challenge the way you think and
prompt you to question your current
conceptions of the world.
Blackburn guides the reader along
in the engaging
manner of an
afternoon con-
versation over tea
Think and cakes. His
style is chatty
Simon Blackburn and informal,
Grade: A- which makes
oxford University Press abstract topics
seem easy to
s w all o w.
Although the
mood is relaxed,
the content is so
stimulating that
you may put
down your Chamomile in inspired
contemplation of Hume's and Locke's
theories.
In his introduction, Blackburn
explains the nature of philosophy and
its value to society.
"A system of thought is something
we live in, just as much as a house," he
writes. "If our intellectual house is
cramped and confined, we need to
know what better structures are possi-
Th1ink
ble."
Blackburn then discusses knowl-
edge, the mind, free will, the self, God
and reasoning. He breaks down the
theories of such renowned philoso-
phers as Decartes and Spinoza. He
defines terms clearly and explains all
sides of the arguments. Ideology that
is often extremely daunting seems
easy to understand when explained in
Blackburn's lucid style.
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect
of "Think" is the author's use of amus-
ing examples to illustrate concepts.
While debating the existence of God,
he recounts a funny scene: "There is a
story of a guru who attracted a large
audience to a stadium with the
promise of a definitive proof of the
existence of God.
When all were assembled, he dra-
matically revealed the Oxford Englis
Dictionary, and showed that it con
tamed the word 'God.' Since the won
was there, with a definition, there ha
to be something answering to it. I d
not know how the audience felt, o
whether any of them managed ti
reflect that the dictionary also men
tions Santa Claus and fairies, althougl
admittedly qualifying them as n*si
cal or imaginary. But it is interestin
to think how there can be meaningfu
words with nothing answering t<
them."
A Mafia godfather's homicide help
explain a theory about the satisfactio
of desires, and imaginary turkey
demonstrate the difference betwee
reality and conception. Blackburi
even tells of a man who won a lari
because allegedly "a rear-end colli
sion had made him a homosexual.'
The constant games and storie
throughout the book not only clarif,
concepts, but also entertain the reader
Who knew that a philosophy boi
could be such a page-turner?
"Think" is a necessary read for an
one who enjoys learning. Readers w
gain a solid understanding of the bas
principles of philosophy, sharpen re
soning skills and acquire a set r
versation topics that will irne
dates.
Highly amusing and intellectual
stimulating, Blackburn's exception
work will be justifiably dog-eared at
cherished for years to come.
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