8
Thursday, November 7, 2002
Schrader Flick Brings Crane’s Sinful Past Into ‘Focus’
By Aaron Freeman
Staff Writer
The bloody corpse still steaming,
Scottsdale Police Lt. Ron Dean said of
Bob Crane, “The murder victim has no
secrets.”
Speaking in parables or specifically,
Bob Crane certainly had secrets at the
time of his blud
geoning death in
1978 - secrets that
death ushered into
the public’s eye
and secrets
, yirndv/e>
{ey/ew/
"Auto Focus”
★ ★★☆☆
detailed in Paul Schrader’s new film
“Auto Focus.”
Director of “American Gigolo" and
“Hardcore,” the male sexual psyche is
securely latched to Schrader as much as
his affliction for depression and deteri
oration, as seen in writing credits “Taxi
Driver” and “Raging Bull.”
A fixture in the ’7os drug-fueled film
renaissance, Schrader has little difficulty
conjuring the essence, mood and spirit
of mid-’6os Los Angeles encircled in a
veil of easy drugs, orgy culture and cool
sunglasses. And while capturing the
scene and the man himself, with Greg
Shallow 'Spy' Recycles Old Genre Themes Jokes
— —
ji Hp
jgBF :
PHOTO COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES
Owen Wilson (left) and Eddie Murphy team up to find an invisible jet in
”1 Spy,” a predictable addition to the vacuous spy/comedy genre.
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Brantley Anders Emily Miller
Rainey Barnett Lindsay Miller
Jennifer Bauk Jeanne Morris
Bridget Bolan Molly Norton
Pamela Brown Mary Allison Nowell
Abbay Brownlow Lydia Parrott
Gwynne Cashatt Jenny Phillips
Kelen Coleman Anna Pottle
Catherine Craven Erica Pressly
Meredith Custer Allison Reed
Erin Falls Sara Rinehart
Emily Fuleihan Anne Scharf
Rebecca Goland Jessica Smith
Jordan Hardee Emily Stancil
Mallory Jones Lisa Walters
Marianne Lyles Laura Webb
Jean Prentice Manning Caroline Worf
Claire Marshall Katie Yates
Abby Michaud
Kinnear mirroring Crane in an Oscar
worthy role, the story itself is beautifully
simple -and quite disturbing.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Diggler, it seems,
encapsulates the story of “Hogan’s
Heroes” star Bob Crane, whose swing
ing sexual exploits and obsession with
videotaping his conquests constantly
lurked behind his life as family man and
wholesome TV star.
“Auto Focus” chronicles his obsession
and fall, as well as his relationship with
compatriot and video expert John
“Carpy” Carpenter (Willem Dafoe).
Carpenter relies on Crane to bag girls in
exchange for the primitive equipment
Carpy provides to fuel Crane’s fetish.
The obsessions of both men slither
gorgeously across the screen in Kinnear
and Dafoe. Kinnear captures the charm
and innocence of Crane - the blushing
con man.
Handsome, desperate, deprived,
unrepenting, Kinnear smirks his way
into a muddy hole of failure with obses
sion waiting at the edges.
And Dafoe as the holy sleazeball him
self- Carpenter - illustrates his ferment
ed acting prowess, delivering his most fit
ting roles in years. Deep wrinkles and a
DIVERSIONS
toothy smile shape the shadow behind
the creature in slimy, impeccable fashion.
But while the performances drive the
mind into glorious somersaults and the
constant hand-held, grainy photography
warps expectations and dazzles the eye,
the film is ultimately unsatisfying.
Crane does not learn, repent or even
really enjoy himself. Sex is the fix for a
junkie of a different sort. Only in death
does Crane cease his exploits. The death
scene itself, hammered across the screen
in a bloody spray, brutally shocks an
audience accustomed to dream-like sex
and gentle voices.
“Auto Focus” is an above-average
bio-pic with absolutely incredible acting,
photography and music but with lasting
impressions that lie somewhere near
impressed agony and not too far from
pissed-off awe.
Admittedly, it’s hard to be really
happy or completely content after any
film by Paul Schrader - such is the
nature of his films. “Auto Focus,” in par
ticular adds all the right elements to a
story that is unchangeably bleak.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
By Duncan Pittman
Staff Writer
I spy, with my little eye, something
predictable.
It’s amazing that even in the 21st cen
tury, the action/comedy/buddy movie
continues to sell movie tickets and buck
ets of popcorn.
What a concept.
Let’s take two guys, completely oppo
site in every way - especially in race
and even though
they are total
screw-ups, let’s
throw them
together in an
exotic location
,— ~^rfmowe>
fcey/ew/
■i Spy"
and place them in unrealistic situations.
While we’re at it, let’s make them invin
cible against bullets and fire and able to
undermine scores of trained interna
tional agents and have them be respon
sible for solving the most perilous threat
to our national security.
“I Spy,” the newest film of this genre,
stars Owen Wilson as super agent Alex
Scott and Eddie Murphy as boxing
champion Kelly Robinson. They’re an
unlikely pair who must retrieve a miss
ing Air Force secret weapon, an invisi
ble stealth bomber called the Switch
Blade, from the hands of Arnold
Gundars (Malcolm McDowell), an ille
gal arms dealer in Budapest.
With the help of some funky spy
equipment and a briefcase full of atti
tude, the motley duo team up to solve
the nation’s most dangerous threat.
“I Spy” was inspired by the original
1960s television show where Bill Cosby
starred as a black-tennis-player-tumed
sidekick to a white super spy. Although
the show was groundbreaking for its era,
“I Spy” the movie bares little if any
resemblance to its original television
version. In fact, the film barely breaks
any new ground at all and succeeds only
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PHOTO COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
The decadent life of "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane is let out in the
light as Willem Dafoe and Greg Kinnear star in the lusty "Auto Focus."
as an entertaining film starring two pop
ular comedians who fight the forces of
international evil with hilarious, over
the-top results.
They take a cliched genre and almost
make it work via each star’s distinctive
comedic performance and their visible
chemistry.
However, the pitch for this film could
literally be: “Lethal Weapon” and every
other annoying male buddy film ever
made meets “The Bourne Identity.” The
film spends far more time entertaining
the viewer with explosion scenes and
less time filling in several holes in the
plot.
What the film lacks in innovative plot
twists, however, it makes up in quality
performances. Both Wilson and
Murphy deliver exactly what the audi
ence wants and expects. Murphy
explodes onto the screen with his classic
over-the-top, cocky attitude, while
Wilson plays his white-bread, whole
some Boy Scout routine.
Their collective comedic talent works
as a refreshing blend of new comedy,
and maybe that’s because it was obvious
that the two stars spent a lot of screen
time ad-libbing.
There also are some genuinely fiinny
moments and cameos, such as
Lumbergh (Gary Cole) from “Office
Space” as a Steven Seagal look-alike
super spy and an amusing bonding
scene between Wilson and Murphy in a
Hungarian sewer.
However, unless you are a die-hard
Wilson or Murphy fan, I would recom
mend saving your money and renting
one of the scores of classic action/com
edy/buddy films of yesteryear available
at your local video store.
You don’t need to see “I Spy.”
Chances are, you’ve already seen it.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
'Bowling' Blames America
For GmvWielding Society
By Erin Sullivan
Staff Writer
Michael Moore’s newest documen
tary, “Bowling for Columbine,” is
enough to make you want to move to
Canada.
After the 1999 shootings at
Columbine High
School, Moore
and his crew set
out to uncover the
reasons why more
than 11,000
Americans die
, — —yl7nov/e>
review/
"Bowling for
Columbine"
★★★★☆
from gun violence every year. From
school shootings to media sensational
ism to gun fanatics, Moore asks a fun
damental question.
What the hell is wrong with
America?
No newcomer to controversy,
Moore has established himself as the
unrelenting pain in conservative
America’s neck. As the author of the
best-selling “Stupid White Men” and
the creator of the 1990 documentary
“Roger & Me,” Moore’s irreverent take
on American history has raised more
than a few eyebrows.
He’s aggressive, he’s opinionated
and, more than anything, he’s asking all
the right questions.
From the opening scene - in which
Moore opens a bank account to receive
a free promotional gun -a mirror is
turned on American society and its love
affair with the Second Amendment.
In his home state of Michigan, Moore
manages to find a large cast of gun-tout
ing crazies who provide both frightening
and hilarious accounts of America’s
need to arm.
The film’s narrative takes many
detours from the topic of gun control,
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By Erin Sullivan
■ “Dr. Strangelove or: How I
Learned to Stop Worrying and
Love the Bomb” A hilarious satire
about the Cold War, this film ques
tions the authority of politicians who
can destroy at the push of a button.
Although it was released in 1964,
you just might find some modern
day relevance.
■ “The Woman Who Walked
Into Doors,” Roddy Doyle
Anytime a man writes this convinc
ingly from a female point of view, he
deserves some recognition.
Doyle proves he’s worth all of his
Booker Prize in this harrowing
account of an Irish housewife who is
constantly and horribly terrorized
for years by her abusive, discontent
ed husband.
Erin Sullivan can be reached at
emsully@email.unc.edu.
weaving together a vast spectrum of
issues through interviews, newsreels and
Moore’s own acts of social protest.
Unquestionably biased by Moore’s
point of view, “Bowling for Columbine”
is no objective inquiry into the state of
gun control today. Instead, we get
something better - the passionate, per
sonal journey of a teenage marksman
who has become completely disgusted
with the way guns are treated in
America.
One of the most fascinating issues
Moore attempts to tackle is a distinctly
American sense of paranoia. Beyond the
guns, he argues that we Americans
come from a peculiar history of fear.
Even as murder rates drop, media cov
erage of violent crime rises, creating a
false sense of danger in our society -
one that causes us to gate our neighbor
hoods, alarm our homes and arm our
families.
Adnfitte|dly,, ( Moore can get
fetched at times. JTe directly links the
KKK and the NRA and also suggests
that previous media frenzy over
Africanized bees is a latent manifesta
tion of white America’s racism.
It’s a pill that’s a little hard to swal
low -but compelling nonetheless.
For all its ups and down, there’s a rea
son “Bowling for Columbine” was the
first documentary to be accepted into
the Cannes Film Festival in 46 years.
This is a brave, passionate film -one
that deserves more local attention than
it’s likely to get.
By turning the camera on our society,
Moore often makes us ashamed to be
Americans -but he does it with the
hope that there’s still time for change.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.