2A Thursday, April 12,2001 Daily Nexus film I review A CUT ABOVE THE REST BLOW WILL MAKE YOU RUB YOUR NOSE yay.andy sywak If “Blow” were a drug it would give you a pretty satis­ arates Johnny Depp’s character from Mark Wahlberg’s or ing, he falls in with a flamboyant local dealer Derek fying high. It would start off great. You’d be laughing a A1 Pacino’s. Depp’s George Jung experiences the same Foreal (Paul Reubens aka Pee-Wee Herman) and soon lot as you become convinced that you could do anything. hedonistic bliss of money, women and very pure blow as becomes the bud distributor for Manhattan Beach. Then you’d suddenly hit a dark space where your mind is Dirk Diggler and Tony Montana, only to ride the same Expanding his operations to the East Coast, Jung gets going in circles, everything seems too familiar and yet roller coaster of depravity and illusion. caught and is sent to jail, where he meets a Colombian you feel powerless to escape it. After it wears off you’d One thing is clear: Demme enjoyed himself making who hooks him up with the cocaine trade and Pablo think it was pretty fun and glamorous and yet resolve not this film. His “don’t you wish you were there?” glamor- Escobar. Connected to El Jefe himself, Jung steals the to do it again. ization of the ’60s is most prevalent in the early part of beautiful wife of an adversary (Penelope Cruz) and Such is the journey of “Blow,” the latest film that tries the film. Possessed by “California Dreamin’,” baby-faced becomes rich beyond his wildest dreams before the to dissect the drug crisis in epic scope as an examination underbelly of the trade catches up with him. of-America itself. Director Ted Demme (“Beautiful From start to finish Depp is the cool ’70s guy person­ Girls”) turns his camera to the oft-told tale of the rise ified. He’s stylish, soft-spoken and faultlessly confident and fall of the American Dream, portrayed through the but still retains a dopey-eyed innocence throughout the trials of one drug dealer who gets in too deep. W ith whole film that makes him so much more sympathetic many convincing moments of grandeur, euphoria and than the others. Though Jung is a criminal, Demme tragedy, Demme creates an engrossing and fun environ­ never wants him to appear that way to us, and the audi­ ment that makes you want to transport yourself back to ence ends up rooting for him throughout the film. One the days when disco was king. Aided by a solid script, could deduce from “Blow” that Demme is glamorizing impressive performances and great costume and set the lifestyle of drug dealing — that if it weren’t for those designs, Demme crafts a very watchable and entertaining w pesky cops, Jung could still be with his family and living film for the young hepcat. George Jung leaves his father (a great Ray Liotta) and it up and this wouldn’t do anything to harm us. And yet it is impossible to watch “Blow” without their small New England town for Manhattan Beach. Overall, “Blow” is a very fim film to watch until the sensing countless moments of déjà vu about “Boogie The place is the idyllic California that we all imagine rather sad ending (of course, Hollywood has to say that Nights” and “Scarface.” Far less violent and more senti­ existed somewhere in the past: a slice of heaven with drugs are bad at some point). It may not be recorded as mental then these two celebrated underworld chronicles cheap beachside apartments, beautiful women, and of the apex of original filmmaking, but “Blow” still carries of a rags-to-riches story, in the end not a whole lot sep­ course, lots of kind bud. Resolved not to work for a liv­ an entertaining and engrossing weight all its own. M THURSDaUThe APRIL 12TH CHSILCS FCeLGCOD moonsHine - f-m - Baiamone THURSoa»Tony A p r il 26th m-WN'M-M-ttlMS'eilliHi-jf «nt-ttewemtw-PsuHian-» m twnec • mp - a mmm . /IIP HOP r HOUSE • TECHHI0 • OISCO’ OO'S iw a -M f-a located § mo eso «ate sweet @ oftteaa 416 State st. m%m 18 (Mi Id 21 to P9M Daily Nexus Thursday, April 12,2001 3A art I review EXPOSEOYET REPOSED BARTON MYERS: THREE STEEL HOUSES NEVER LOOKED SO COZY beaming_katherine spiers The hip, latter-day Zen style of exposed beams and the choice of sparse shrubs and angular grasses that thereof) between home and garden and how the archi­ pipes found in trendy boutiques and Asian restaurants reflect the clean-edged designs within the house. tect has streamlined and pared down his designs over actually has its roots in mass-produced houses ordered Although the Montecito residence is his most current dme, leading to the sleek designs in his own home today. for workers by giant corporations. The transition from project in the exhibit, the older houses are equally inter­ The show highlights the different stages of the design common to high art came by way of an architect work­ esting in how they show the evolution of his design style. process. There are architectural blueprints, rough crayon ing to transform peoples’ conceptions of artistic worth. sketches, 3-D representations and photographs of the Barton Myers turned the industrial factory elements MYERS’ OWN SELFOESIGNl completed projects. As Myers became more free-spirited of exposed beams, electrical wiring, concrete walls and MONTECITO RESIDENCE BRIN( in the execution of his design ideas, his depictions of huge pipes and transformed them into a playful architec­ these ideas also became more interesting. tural style for private homes. The three homes that are Myers’ ideas became well known in the late ’60s when the subject of this new exhibit at the University Art he designed 77 mass-produced, prefabricated houses in Museum showcases Myers’ original approach to creating Canada for the workers of a large steel company. This a unique living space. explains the reliance on steel as a material both inside Myers’ own self-designed Montecito residence brings and out; but Myers apparendy felt an affinity for the together his industrial architectural style and the natural material as he uses it in abundance in all his designs. The surroundings of his home. Although Myers uses decid­ much-aligned, prefabricated “style” of modern suburbia edly unnatural materials for the house — such as con­ here finds a creative, beautiful counterpart. crete, fiberglass, and steel — he maintains a seamless The “Lawrrence Wolf Residence,” built between 1972-74, connection with the natural world around the house. has many of the same elements as the Montecito house "Barton Myers: Three Steel Houses' runs through June 17 at This is accomplished through the huge windows on with its huge windows, exposed pipes, beams and rafters the University Art Museum. I f you don’t make it to the show, either side of the main residence that allow a 360-degree and plentiful use of steel. His previous home in Toronto feel free to explore the Daily Nexur office, where plenty o f view of the gardens, and through the landscaping design is also showcased in the exhibit. It gives an example of Myers'fine ideas are displayed, including exposed pipes and itself. Myers’ personal touch in the garden is apparent in Myers’ growing comfort with the distinction (or lack electrical wiring, in all their Zen-like glory. V T T > A A / A , r r A A in the HUB! fs coming! Free Sneak Preview! me 2nd 2001! :ravaganza 300-5:00 U Tuesday, April 17 8:00 pm I r t i Wednesday, A p r i l 1 8 BP É h r J eremy N ortham Uma Thurman MA.S.P.B. is accepting I applications for next THE GOLDEN BOWL H year's Board Members If you, or someone J you know is inter- ; ested, come into the \ASPB office to fill out j BeneFIt For tFie T ransition House ~ , . .. ^ I SATimdAy, A p r il 2 8 ji application. 'UCEN rm. 15194 CAR bHOW 1 0 : 0 0 a . m . ^ 5 : 0 0 p . M . D u e by M a y 4 F r ee SPECTATOR AdlWiSSiON ll/^CD I 1 LivE performance by BIue Room UCbD LOT I 6 Food, DRiNks, PrIzes $5 STudENT/fAculTy C ar entry Lee. $7 G eneraI public entry Fee. Hotline: 893-2833 4A Thursday, April 12,2001 Daily Nexus THURSDAY NIGHT FEVER CHARLES FEELGOOD WANTS YOU TO COME FEEL IT p.b.e. Jen n e raub Charles Feelgood, as legend has it, put the rave scene and just trying to stay ahead and trying to figure out battle from there if your first record isn’t good. in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. on the map all the what’s happening. Do you have any fanny stories o f something that's hap­ way back in 1990 — a time when many readers had bare­ Are there elements o f production and mmic writing that pened to you at a club or a rave, like a fanny instance? ly graduated from elementary school. Feelgood put on you prefer to deejaying? I’ve had people come up to me who were under the the club Fever, and through his weekly house sets, his Actually, to be honest with you, if I had to chose influence or something and, you know, mess with my popularity quickly rose. Now, Feelgood has released two between the two, if someone said, “You’ve got to do one record while it was playing — I’ve had a couple people do frill-length deejay-mix albums, a handful of house sin­ or the other,” I’m sure I’d deejay.