ENTERTAINMENTpage 25 Technique • Friday, September 1, 2000 • 25 Crossword Puzzle! Just play it loud, ok? ENTERTAINMENT Bored in class? Itching to exercise your This week we’ve got six (count ‘em, mind-boggling vocabulary? Our new six!) CD reviews for your inspection. feature is right up your alley. Page 26 Look, listen, and love them all. Technique • Friday, Septemeber 1, 2000 ‘Art of War’ delivers nothing but paint-by-numbers action By Alan Back is sent in to change their minds becomes Public Enemy Number Has trouble drawing stick people any way he sees fit. Spying? No One. He finds himself cut off problem.Wiretapping? Fair from the rest of his team, with MPAA Rating: R game. Blackmail? He can swing authorities from both sides of Starring: Wesley Snipes, Anne that, too. the Pacific after him, as he races Archer, Maury Chaykin, to find the truth before the Marie Matiko situation explodes into an all- Director: Christian Duguay out war. Studio: Morgan Creek Films “How do you give Now, where to begin? Running Time: 117 minutes a medal to Mistake #1: cannibalizing a Rating: yy string of movies to assemble the somebody who plot. “The Fugitive,” “U.S. Mar- War is hell. The Art of War doesn’t exist for shals” and “Mission: Impossi- just feels like it. ble” are shoved through the meat If you’re pressed for time, stop something that grinder, with bits of “Lethal reading now and stay away from didn’t happen?” Weapon” (“I’m too f—in’ old any theater showing this film, for this,” says Maury Chaykin, which manages to commit just UN Secretary-General playing an irritating FBI agent) about every action-movie atroc- Douglas Thomas (Donald and “White Men Can’t Jump” ity known to man. Sutherland), The Art of War thrown in for no good reason. The story—or what passes One look at Shaw’s partner Bly for it—centers on Neil Shaw (Michael Biehn) on the basket- (Wesley Snipes), the pointman Murder, however, is out of ball court is almost enough to of a top-secret covert operations bounds—or is it? When the make Woody Harrelson seem team working for the United Chinese ambassador catches a like a good actor by comparison. Nations. Whenever a country’s bullet just before a free-trade Mistake #2: substituting eye By Jan Thijs / FILMLINE INTERNATIONAL INC. leaders start to act against the agreement with his country is to United Nations operative Neil Shaw (Wesley Snipes) struggles to clear his name international community, Shaw be signed, Shaw suddenly See Art of War, page 28 and save his life in The Art of War. If only he had fought for a better script… New international DVD version of ‘The Professional’ shown as director intended By Jayson Wehrend levels blended well with the letter- no point did I actually recall hear- Just gave the editor the digits box bars and many of the other ing the rear surrounds kick in. If colors came off as impressively vi- they did, it was very subtle and not Movie: Originally released as The brant. really much in terms of sound sepa- Professional in the United States, The only complaint I have (and ration. Altogether, the sound mix is the movie Leon has stood as the a minor one at that) was that the solid, but won’t stand out in your hallmark of hit man action films. actors’ skin tones came off as a little collection. From the very first scene, you are bit red. It wasn’t enough to be terri- Extras: The most important ex- introduced to the titular Leon, an bly distracting but I noticed it more tra on this disc by far is the inclu- excellent Italian cleaner (a.k.a. hit at the beginning of the film rather sion of the “international” version man). than later. Overall, a clean and clear of this movie. When this movie was Leon (Jean Reno) lives in soli- image is delivered. For any HDTV put up for theatrical release in Amer- tude drinking milk, watering his users, the film is presented is an- ica, 24 minutes were deemed inap- plant, and killing strangers for money amorphic. propriate for audiences. This DVD until life delivers him a partner. Audio: Originally this movie was puts these scenes back in so you can Mathilda (Natalie Portman) is left released with just the standard (at finally see the movie as the director homeless and alone after a brutal intended. Most of the scenes deal By Steve Gullick / ATLANTIC attack on her family by corrupt DEA with the growing relationship be- Elastica’s new release, Menace, is pure British punk. Though lead singer officer Stansfield (Gary Oldman) tween Leon and Mathilda. Appar- Justine Frischmann’s lyrics are often overpowered, the album is worth a listen. and in desperation, she takes up It’s not often you see ently Mathilda’s affection for Leon with Leon and tries to learn his trade went a little further than the previ- to avenge her little brother. an action film with ous release of the movie would lead Soon a bond forms between the more character one to expect. I applaud the addi- Elastica bounces back two unlikely partners and Leon learns development than a tions and believe they are a valuable that there is more to life than just addition to the film. By Jon Kaye sure to please, it is too esoterically comfortable routine. While at its character’s name and Next up is a section for the inter- “I want to review a CD that sucks.” punk to ever gain mainstream lis- core it is an action movie, what real- ability to kill people. national ad campaign. It shows var- tenership. ly drives this film is the wonderful ious movie posters from around the Artist: Elastica Elastica startles the listener with character interaction and develop- world. Another nice bonus is an Album: Menace their first cut, “Mad Dog God Dam.” ment. Leon and Mathilda come off isolated music score. By selecting Genre: Rock The song opens with an elaborate as real people that you can’t help the time) Dolby Surround audio this option, you can listen to noth- Label: Atlantic Records pattern of dogs barking, which lead but care about. mix. This new DVD proudly pro- ing but the movie’s music for the Tracks: 13 singer Justine Frischmann said “came Oldman also pulls overtime mak- claimed digitally remastered audio, whole feature. Considering how good Rating: yyyy from one of those kids’ keyboards.” ing Stansfield genuinely disturbing bringing it up to a full 5.1 mix. As a the score is, I found this a real treat. She observes that what started as an through his drug-induced frenzies. general rule of thumb, any movie After that comes a grouping of Without a full-length album since attempt to learn the sequencing ap- Mixing fascinating characters with that is remastered into 5.1 usually talent files—these detail the prima- their self-titled 1995 release, the Brit- plication, Cubase, led to the first riveting action sequences, Leon: The doesn’t come up to much more than ry actors’ and director’s previous ish punk group Elastica had become cut on the album. Professional manages to avoid be- Dolby Surround with occasional achievements and filmographies. Last associated almost exclusively with The surreal chorus of synthe- coming a waste of stereotypical char- music in the rear speakers. Sadly, is the theatrical trailers section. Here their cut “Connection.” With an sized dogs blends smoothly into an acters and worthless explosions. Leon falls into this category. you unfortunately get only one trailer edgy, spirited sound, the group forged assertive techno beat. Top that with Video: As a long-time supporter Now, that isn’t to say that the of Leon, but two other trailers of a name for itself, but an unfortu- Frischmann’s curiously motivating of all things widescreen, I really en- sound mix isn’t good. The LFE (Low the director’s other films (The Big nate lack of top 40 songs made them lyrics, and you end up with a song joyed the 2:35:1 aspect ratio in- Frequency Effects) channel was in- Blue and The Messenger: The Story a one-hit wonder. that is not only an inspired piece of cluded in this cut of the film. For a credibly active through the of Joan of Arc). However, after a five-year sab- palindromic blasphemy, but a truly somewhat older title, I was expect- soundtrack. In fact, you heard the Not a bad batch of extras, espe- batical, the band has finally released inspired piece of art. ing to see a little grain and the occa- bass more in the music than even cially when coupled with such a the full-length Menace. Like its 1995 The album continues in the style sional scratch or maybe even some the biggest explosions. good image transfer and decent sound predecessor, Menace is pure British of true British punk. The guitar is softness in the image. As far as directionality, the sound mix. It comes as no surprise that punk. Employing aggressive guitar fast and aggressive, the singing so Fortunately, this DVD had none stays almost entirely in the front this film is regarded so highly. It’s riffs and a harsh blend of samples, bold that it borders on screaming, of those problems. The image itself sound stage. The center channel gets not often you see an action film Elastica creates a powerful listening and the sequencing so original that was crystal clear—razor sharpness most of the attention with the occa- with more character development experience unlike virtually any oth- combined with a clean print made sion gunshot zipping along into one than a character’s name and ability er group, but while the album is See Elastica, page 33 for a very nice presentation.