Yeah, yeah, yeah, we dented your wke.

Life & Art is currently looking for nerds at UM who would like to participate in a feature documenting their lifestyle. By ‘nerd’ we mean someone who meets some or all (our fingers are crossed) of the following criteria: plays an abnormal amount of video games, loves to create elaborate computer viruses that destroy dorm Dells, wears glasses, simply aces all classes (and labs), studies 24-7, reads binary code like Rolling Stone, plays Magic, does not talk to females, etc.
We are not exploiting nerd culture. We are quite impressed with your abilities and want to give you the props and exposure you deserve. If you release computer viruses, we’ll replace your face with Steve Jobs’. If you match all of our criteria, Life & Art will gladly hand you a large bag of cash (and CD-Rs) for your time.
All nerds send resume to hurricaneaccent@hotmail.com.

If you have suggestions for interviews, e-mail us.

There’s nothing like a big dumb action film to make going to the movies fun again. The Recruit oozes with the slick characters and cool chases that made Enemy of the State so entertaining, and the result is the top box office spot in its opening weekend. The Recruit stars Colin Farrell (Minority Report) and Al Pacino in a mentor/student relationship that’s been filmed a billion times.

In the middle of The Recruit, I asked myself why I was enjoying it so much. The acting is good for the kind of movie it is, and the camerawork and sets are cool. However, I knew the ending months before the movie came out, since the trailers all too clearly identified the villain.

The Recruit can best be described as a spy thriller for 15-year-old boys of all ages. Farrell is perfect in his role as James Clayton (Will Smith in Enemy of the State was Robert Clayton Dean), and Al Pacino is believable as CIA recruiter Walter Burke.

The movie starts with Burke recruiting Clayton, a 20-something computer nerd from MIT. Clayton comes to a CIA training facility, called “the farm.” At the farm, Clayton meets Layla (Bridget Moynahan), a fellow recruit who rejects him at first, only to finally give in to his irresistible charm.

For the majority of the film, Clayton is shown in his training and in his relationships with Layla and Burke. There’s a side plot between Clayton and Burke involving Clayton’s disappeared father, who may or may not have once worked with Burke.

Despite the clichEd plot, The Recruit does manage to have some surprises. Even the ending is somehow both predictable and surprising at the same time.

Director Roger Donaldson (Thirteen Days) has a flashy style that’s perfect for a movie like The Recruit. Farrell settles nicely into the role of a normal guy with save-the-world problems. He’s well on his way to becoming the next Tom Cruise – an actor who can easily shift from action hero to a dramatic or romantic role.

The Recruit will have its audience feeling satisfied when leaving the theater. The plot, despite its many twists and turns, is not hard to follow. The scenery and dialogue are smooth enough to make every moment fun, with just enough action to keep the audience on its toes without being overwhelming.

This is an excellent popcorn movie, the kind that guys can watch over and over again on TBS and still be entertained by. Of course, the predictability and the plot, which seems to combine every spy movie from the last 10 years, will probably insult the intelligence of select moviegoers.

Obviously, this picture won’t find inclusion on “Best Of” lists or win many awards, but perhaps the best thing that can be said is that a full theater seemed involved in it all the way through. From the little humorous moments that drew nice laughs to the heart-pounding chase scenes, The Recruit kept people interested, something that few movies have been able to do recently.

Shawn Wines can be reached at shawnwines@aol.com.

[To preserve the undeniable brilliance of Mr. Twiggar’s critiques and opinions, L&A does not edit his contributions. Enjoy.]

I have no idea who Death’s agent is. But, after watching this painfully mediocore sequel to the hit original 2000 movie, because it’s about time he get a new one – fast. Because another film in which he plays an “invisible malignent force” that is constantly enveloping humanity in a lethal embrace taunting us with until our appointed time, would ruin his image.
The plot, if one can call it that, revolves around a giril named Kimberley Corman (A.J Cook) who saves several people from dying in a truly impressive freeway accident. She then finds out that death doesn’t give up that easily, and kills the survivors in increasingly spectacular ways. But in the lag time between deaths we are subjected to either Kim, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter, the only major actor to return for the sequel) giving the same philosphical lecture about how “saving those people caused a ripple in deaths plan” over and over again until the audience can practically say it with them by the end of the movie. It gets to the point in the middle of the film where it feels less like a movie then an adapation of the term paper screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick’s (who wrote the original Final Destination) wrote for his Intro to Philosohy class. We supposedly spend the entire semester writing these papers why should we spend our hard earned money watching them?
The saving grace of this film, besides its sick and occasionally ironic (one of the victims was reading Stephen King’s Bag of Bones) sense of humor, is how the deaths become more and more extravagant as the film progresses as if Reddick and director David R. Ellis were trying to constantly oneup themselves. While many of the CGI effects came off as cheesy such as when this one guy gets cut in half or the somewhat exaggerated explosions, they are none the less, impressive to watch. In fact, almost all the deaths occur with the same not so subtle irony that the film makers are always saying will ultimately save their lives. Such as a character successfully fleeing his burning apartment only to die on the fire escape, or people dying violently with the help of devices that are supposed to save lives. Each coupled with cheers yelled that got progressively louder as the body count increased, which was neither as gory or as scary as one might have presupposed. Apparently one doesn’t loose a lot of blood when one is say cut in half. In fact the audience was one of the most entertaining parts of the film, particularly in the irony that some of their conversations were more entertaining then what the characters on screen were saying (especially after the umpteenth repeat of the “ripple in deaths plan” speech).
Whether or not it is worth a whole 7 dollars to atttend is up you. If you’re expecting Chicago or The Hours you’ll be sorely disappointed, but if your going in there looking for a half decent escape from studying for Thursdays’s mid-term then why not. Just as long you don’t decide to you send your old term papers to Hollywood at the end of the semester.

Jonathan Twiggar can be reached at J.Twiggar@umiami.edu.

If Monet had studied Japanese calligraphy, his paintings might be similar to those of Franklin Einspruch, whose works are currently at the Dorsch Gallery in the Design District. Unobtrusive and unmarked in the odd combo of art galleries and desecrate warehouses in the area, the space is tricky to find. Once inside though, prepare to be transported to a singular place that recalls only New York’s Fischbach Gallery. Einspruch’s paintings meld impressionism’s use of color to define shape and ideas representative of Japanese calligraphy.

Entitled Presence, this solo exhibit consists of 25 paintings, ranging in size from 11″x14″ to 78″x 42″, and one sculpture. “I paint very quickly,” says Einspruch. “What I do has to do with an idea about gesture that I have, and also a particular kind of Asian art where the emphasis is not on the quantity of labor but the quality of mind that was brought to it.”

Displaying rash, aggressive figures and nudes, all the paintings contain such volume of paint that they put into question the division of craft between painting and sculpture. His “January Self Portrait,” an acrylic on canvas, portrays a figure, though the body is represented not by lines but by areas of color. Large masses of paint have been shoved across the canvas with a palette knife and with fingers, creating broad strokes of precise color to indicate the subject and its shadows. It is left to the viewer to ascribe a common understanding of lines and form.

Even though there is no drawing here, we all know what is indicated. For instance, the background has been painted gray with wide strokes that overlap the foreground. In a painting without lines, it is here, where the colors meet, that the shape of the subject is defined. The savage, untamed composition sets these paintings in motion and gives them an inexorable feel of pure impulsivity.

“The painting is held up by areas of color coming together without that division of line between them,” says Einspruch.

Furthermore, “Double Portrait of M.S.” represents a seated subject and is more figurative than the first: the lines define the shape of a chair, yet the figure and the mirror in front of which the subject is seated are defined by the lines created by the abutting of color. Where the shape of the body is not painted figuratively, the artist has an obvious knowledge of anatomy so that the seeming splotches convey precisely the figure’s shape.

Einspruch teaches at the Art Institute/International Fine Arts College, in Miami, and received his MFA from the University of Miami. Check out his studio at Art Center South Florida on Lincoln Road, Miami Beach.

Presence is shown through March 8th at the Dorsch Gallery, 151 NW 24th Street, Miami. Call 305-576-1278 for more info.

James Cohen can be reached at j.cohen6@umiami.edu

Rumors have it that Luc Besson, French director of such cult hits as The Big Blue and The Professional, is set to direct Rambo 4. We wanna see bigger guns, chicks with big tits plus ammunition belts wrapped across their chests and a lead that can articulate and, hence, intimidate, when he speaks. Sorry Sly, you’re getting too old anyway.

Publishing tycoon Random House has picked Florida-based writer Mark Winegardner to pen the next Godfather novel, a sequel to Mario Puzo’s 1969 book that sold over 20 million copies and spawned a trilogy of successful films about the Corleone family. Winegardner has written The Veracruz Blues and Crooked River Burning and plans of finishing the book by the end of next year.

The Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger organized a reunion concert near L.A. with singer Ian Astbury, formerly of The Cult, and The Police’s drummer Stewart Copeland. The show struck controversy when the ’60s rock group’s drummer, John Densmore (who didn’t play because of “principles” and ear problems) filed a lawsuit against the band, and acerbically made the sarcastic remark that they could be named The Hinges or The Windows instead of The Doors. Morrison would be proud.

George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars series, is building a $300 million special effects facility for his film company, which will be based in San Francisco. He hopes to rival the filmmaking bastion of Hollywood next door.

The Electric Circus Tour is on: Common is headlining and it will also feature Gang Starr, who are dropping their new album, The Ownerz, in March, as well as Talib Kweli and Grammy-nominated duo Floetry (who, we think, are completely overrated). The tour kicks off February 26, in Washington D.C., but no shows are scheduled for Florida just yet.

Bend It Like Beckham, that rare British film starring attractive actors without serious dental problems, was released in England last year to much acclaim. During a lengthy theatrical run it became the country’s highest grossing film financed and distributed by a British company.

The movie’s central character, Jess (Parminder Nagra), is a 17-year-old Indian girl who joins a female soccer team in England unbeknownst to her parents. Bend It Like Beckham’s strongest scenes occur when Jess deals with her family, her British friend Jules, and her 20-something Irish soccer coach, whom she starts to “fancy” after joining the team.

Bend It is basically foolproof filmmaking because it exemplifies a kind-hearted universal appeal. Certain comedic elements highlighting ethnicity have drawn comparisons to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Bend It goes a little deeper with its characters and the focus on soccer gives it playful flare.

On March 12, the film finds a limited release in the United States and insider buzz is already swarming with indie-hit potential. Perhaps the only obstacles hindering such success are Fox Searchlight’s current backburner marketing campaign and the film’s thick British accents, which are tough to decipher at first, but add to the film’s charm (I’ll never understand why “stupid cow” didn’t catch on as an insult among American teenage girls).

Gurinder Chadha, the film’s director and co-writer, sat down with L&A in a modest-sized suite at The Palms Hotel in South Beach to discuss the movie. Chadha, who comes from an Indian family that moved to London soon after she was born, sipped hot tea and answered questions about her newest film in a soft, Mrs. Doubtfire-style British accent.

Q: First of all, how do you pronounce your name?
GC: Gurr-in-durr Chah-dah.

Q: When did you become interested in filmmaking?
GC: Not until my 20s. I was interested in being involved in the media, but I thought I was going to be moving to television, because I was interested in having some say in how stories and images of people like me were shown on television and in the media, generally. But it was when I saw this film, My Beautiful Laundrette, that I thought, wow, wouldn’t it be great to tell stories like this in such a big way, on the big screen.

Q: Have all of your movies so far been made in England?
GC: No, my first was made in England, Bhaji on the Beach. My second was made in the states, in Los Angeles. That was called, What’s Cooking?, and it followed four families on Thanksgiving. It was an attempt to look at what we mean by the traditional American family. It was a very traditional American movie, but it was just filled with people that we don’t traditionally see on the American screen. There was a Vietnamese family, an African American family, a Latino family and a Jewish family, all interwoven.

Q: Where did you get the funding for your first documentary (I’m British, But…)?
GC: My first documentary was financed by the British Film Institute under a scheme they had called “New Directors.” The aim of the scheme was to find filmmakers who hadn’t necessarily had a training in film, but felt they could make a film and had something to say. I was very lucky. So I’ve actually never been to film school. I kind of learned on the job.

Q: What movies are you influenced by?
GC: I don’t know if I was particularly influenced by a particular movie, but there are directors whose work I really admire. I really admire Ken Loach (Bread and Roses). I’ve been following Ken Loach for many, many years, since I was a little girl, and I love the integrity with which he makes films. I admire Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) for the way he deals with serious subject matters in one go in his films. They’re very dense, and they’re very Irish, but also very universal. I admire Martin Scorsese for the very sleekness and passion with which he crafts his films. They’re just a pleasure to watch. I like Alan Parker for some of the choices he’s made in films. Birdy is one of my favorite films.

Q: What was the process like making Bend It Like Beckham?
GC: Bend It Like Beckham, being my third feature, was much easier than my first two. The subject matter I knew in and out, and it was set in my own hometown. I felt very comfortable making that film, and it was a complete pleasure from start to finish. The writing of it was really fun, the casting, the actual shooting, the editing and then putting all the music. I love watching the film with audiences, because I love to see them go on their emotional journey, to twist and turn, and to be on the edge of their seats.

Q: Your next movie is going to be Pride and Prejudice, but with a Bollywood (the Indian filmmaking capital) setting…
GC: Yes. Well, it’s going to be set in India, England and America. The lead female will be from India and the lead male will be an American. It covers a much more current international gamut. It’ll be a musical, with beautiful landscapes, colors, songs and melodrama. And also, it’ll be a love story.

Q: You’ve been at Sundance [Film Festival] for your last couple of movies, right?
GC: Not Bhaji on the Beach. Just What’s Cooking? [and Bend It Like Beckham]. What’s Cooking? opened Sundance in 2000.

Q: Did people like Bend It Like Beckham there? Was it well received?
GC: Yeah, it got a huge standing ovation. In fact, I just heard Roger Ebert on TV say it was the best film he saw at Sundance, so that’s kind of good.

Shawn Wines can be reached at shawnwines@aol.com.