There has never been a movie as simultaneously moving and funny as Bowling for Columbine. Political activist Michael Moore leads the way, on and off camera, in this documentary, which confronts violence in America and gun control.

Moore gained notoriety for his low budget 1989 documentary Roger & Me, investigating the damage General Motors CEO Roger Smith caused to Moore’s hometown of Flint, Michigan, through his company’s mass downsizing. This time around, Moore takes on an issue that hits closer to home for all of us.

The reason why Bowling for Columbine is so effective is that it perfectly mixes shocking information about gun violence with Moore’s sarcastic sense of humor. Moore is a workingman’s idealist who finds something he wants changed and does everything possible to change it. But in the process, he’s not afraid to make fun of himself, the American public and various political figures.

In Bowling for Columbine, Moore goes beyond a standard gun control debate and examines not why Americans have guns, but why they use them for violence. He finds that Canada has a comparably large artillery, yet its citizens are not afraid to leave their doors unlocked or to walk home in the dark.

Moore’s sense of humor shines when he finds out about the unlocked door trend in Canada. He walks up and down the street, swinging open doors and greeting the people inside. “Thanks for not shooting me,” he quips as he leaves one startled man’s home.

A specifically touching moment is when Moore pairs with two young men injured in the notorious shooting at Columbine High School. He finds that the bullets used in the shooting, some of which are still lodged in their bodies, were bought from K-Mart for 17 cents each. He then takes a trip with the victims to K-Mart’s headquarters, where they try to talk to a supervisor.

After being turned away by person after person, the trio gets discouraged. They end up coming back the next day, but this time they bring the media with them. Moore, followed by an entourage of local press members, confronts various K-Mart staff members while the Columbine victims do interviews with the press. They finally get the answer they’ve been looking for. K-Mart will discontinue the sale of bullets in all of their stores.

Moore is visibly shaken by this. Tears well up in his eyes as he announces victory and hugs his new friends. The persistence of the Columbine victims motivates Moore to attempt his greatest feat yet – an interview with NRA president Charlton Heston.

For years, Heston’s office had denied Moore an interview. Finally, while exiting town, Moore buys a star map and finds his house. He rings the bell, and through an intercom, he asks Heston for an interview, identifying himself as a filmmaker and lifelong NRA member (which he is) who is making a documentary about gun control. Heston unknowingly invites him back the next day, obviously expecting a harmless Q&A by an admirer.

Moore comes back the next morning and is greeted by a cheerful Heston. Moore shows him his membership card and starts a line of questioning that puts Heston more and more on edge. He ends up so shaken that he walks out in the middle of it, leaving Moore still shouting questions behind him.

In the end, it’s not really important whether Moore’s opinions on gun control match those of the viewer. Instead, it’s how he sets up the film, using horrifying footage from Columbine security cameras, a hilarious cartoon sketch of the history of America and a brilliant interview with a surprisingly intelligent Marilyn Manson.

Bowling for Columbine will linger in the minds of viewers for decades as a powerful yet entertaining documentary on gun control. NRA members and Republicans may hate Moore, but he would be the first to invite them to illustrate their points as well as he did in this documentary.

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

Life & Art took shots at Office Depot Center this weekend so you could see Gwen Stefani’s sexy poses and drummer Adrian Young’s freaky exhibitionism.

Beck
Sea Change
***1/2

The latest release by California collage-rocker Beck Hansen is available with four different covers. Each cover is the same photo of Beck, along with a few small computer generated alterations. Upon first listen, the songs on Sea Change seem to operate on the same principal. From an artist whose back catalogue of only four major releases-a perfect example of fast-paced sonic evolution-this new offering seems to be a bit monotonous at first. On one side of any of his previous works, Beck takes the listener through more styles and tempos than most artists tackle throughout their career. On Sea Change he chooses to stick to one sound and basically one tempo. Beck abandons the tongue-in-cheek mish-mash of words and phrases that permeated his lyrics even on the honest and exciting Mutations. He has put 12 songs down on tape that finally show perhaps what Beck is really like when he’s chillin’ by the pool, or out with his old lady. They are bare-boned works that open up a great deal of space for the players on the record.
If the sessions had included less talented musicians, the new songs would probably fail to impress. Luckily, the usual crew of contributors, who have appeared on Beck’s tours as well as on Mutations, and Midnite Vultures are back in the studio. With the brilliant production of Nigel Godrich, who also plays on most of the tracks, comes the key element that keeps this album interesting after multiple listens: Godrich fills all the empty space in the song structure and restrained playing with just the right amount of post-production effects. From the earnest “Lost Cause,” to the groove-heavy “Paper Tiger,” Sea Change is a beautiful and honest folk record.

Longwave
Day Sleeper [EP]
**1/2

With their fifth release after being together for three years, New York City’s latest offering to the “return of rock,” Longwave, do little to shake things up. They’ve released a set of four songs you might as well have heard by some other group years ago. The opening title track is an instrumental that sounds like any other generic indie-rock band. When vocalist Steve Schiltz opens up his mouth on “Everywhere You Turn,” one might be startled to check the CD cover and notice they’re not listening to Eve 6. The group has toured with the Strokes and have a very accessible sound so they’re likely to become the next batch of faces plastered on every magazine in Europe. Hear Longwave pay homage to good ole 4/4 rock ‘n’ roll! Listen to them space out their sound with trippy analog effects! Hold their aesthetically pleasing bio photo close to your heart! (laughs) Longwave aren’t bad, but they’re certainly not great.

Sigur Ros
( )
****

Like the soft sweater you’ve worn since you were a kid, Sigur Ros’ latest offering, ( ), has the capacity to bring you to a comfortable, clear-headed place, where little of your thought is directed towards the daily schedule. You will be too overwhelmed to worry, and for this reason alone this album is well worth your spending money. ( ) is overwhelming in a far different way from Sigur Ros’ previous record agaetis byrjun (A Good Beginning). There is little in the way of the bombastic wall of sound that was their last CD. Instead, the band have grown up in the past two years of touring, playing these new songs live since agaetis was released. With such a long time to be constantly honing the eight songs that appear on ( ), it’s no surprise that each piece of music is concise, cohesive and restrained in a way that is surprising for rock music.
The disc opens with a series of keyboards and piano provided by Kjarri Sveinsson and frontman Junsi Birgisson singing much lower than we’re used to hearing. Soon several samples of vocal lines with the analog quality of a Casio SK1 are interwoven with the melody. When track two arrives, drummer Orri Pall Dyrason and bassist Goggi Holm are added to the mix, and the slow climax of the first section of the record begins. With the untitled fourth track (featured at the end of the film Vanilla Sky), the band hits their creative peak. It leaves one with little desire to find words to describe it, but it is, simply put, the finest thing they’ve recorded thus far.
After a 30 second gap of silence, Sigur Ros use the next four songs to show how well they can play live, with a much more rock oriented set. By the record’s end, it is fairly obvious that this young group from Iceland has been drastically evolving over the course of eight years and three long players. Rather than genre jumping or overloading their sound with laboratorial experimentation, Sigur Ros musically improve in leaps and bounds. They have gained a powerful strength for dynamics and now resemble a small orchestra-a quartet of players that constantly rehearses to get every element in the composition right. Then, when the time comes, they can deconstruct the plan with feeling. ( ) is a loose cannon, controlled by an expert in war.

Sonic Youth
Murray Street
***

After hints of a more laid-back and less aggressive-sounding Sonic Youth were filtered through many tracks on 2000’s NYC Ghosts and Flowers, the band have made their most universally acceptable album in years. That’s not to say that Murray Street, Sonic Youth’s 14th album, is all that great. Named after the street where the group’s studio is located in New York City, it’s full of brilliant moments, but is also very lacking at times. The first batch of songs, all sung by guitarist Thurston, show off a tight woven group of musicians with a great ability to stretch out their songs without becoming monotonous. Parts of “The Empty Page” and “Disconnection Notice” remind one of that other great New York City underground guitar band, Television. The group concludes “Karen Revisited” with some of the avant-garde noise that was present on 1999’s tribute to modern composers like John Cage, Goodbye 20th Century. When Kim Gordon takes the vocals on the last two tracks, the record dwindles, with little being contributed that we haven’t already heard done better before. This is a terrible way to end an album, and combined with new bassist/producer Jim O’ Rourke’s humble approach to mixing his own instrument on the record, you might wonder if Sonic Youth is going en route where countless other musicians with renewed priorities have gone.

Michael John Hancock can be reached at Wkndprjct@aol.com

Giving yourself over to absolute pleasure is pretty easy to do with the latest version of Richard O. Brien’s “Rocky Horror Show,” playing now at the Jewish Hillel Center at UM. QuantUM Productions has culled a diverse cast of young actors to bring this subversive ode to the uninhibited id to life with exuberance and virility.

Taking a cue from Broadway productions like the Roundabout Theater Company’s “Cabaret,” the show’s androgynous “phantoms” prance around the small auditorium before the show and during intermission, escorting audience members to their seats, performing lap dances on guests of any gender, and raucously shouting “virgins” when they discover someone who has never seen “Rocky” live on stage. The dim red lights and dark music further enhance the mood before the show.

The play’s premise revolves around the recently engaged Brad and Janet who stumble upon a castle on a rainy night when one of their car’s tires blows out. The master of the castle, Frank-N-Furter, and his aggressively erotic minion inhabit the place. The troupe “entertain” Brad and Janet, and show off Frank-N-Furter’s creation, muscle man Rocky Horror, in a series of hilarious musical numbers. And, oh yeah, Frank-N-Furter hails from Transsexual, Transylvania.

Theatregoers are warned that the performance of the play is much more explicit and sexually candid than the film is. Simulated sex scenes between Frank-N-Furter and Janet and Brad are unnecessarily vulgar. Then again, some fans of “Rocky” may enjoy that sort of lewdness.

The casting directors of the show should be lauded for their open-mindedness. As opposed to the whitewashed film, the play has actors from various ethnic backgrounds – cast solely for the ability to portray their characters.

The delicious Lindsay Childs (Magenta) begins the show with flair, aided by a great voice, a flashlight, and electrified hair in “Science Fiction/Double Feature.” Marcos Sanchez’s mannerisms and facial expressions as the hunched-over servant Riff Raff are remarkable; one would venture to say he plays the part better than creator O’Brien does in the film. Korken Iskenderian plays Frank-N-Furter’s quivering voice and bitchy attitude to perfection. Ryan Capiro (Brad) is a charismatic newcomer to the UM stage. The witty narrator (Sean Klitzner) does well with impromptu jokes based on the audience’s participation and reaction.

Nichole Starr (Janet) is a sight to behold in her white underwear, not only for her looks but her commitment to the character. Unlike other cast members, a glance toward Starr while another character commands the spotlight finds her firmly embedded in Janet’s persona with every look and gesture she makes, even when she is pushed into the background.

The production thrives with non-existent scenery and extravagant props. The ostentatious S&M-light costumes say enough about these characters and the kind of place they would live in. The sound wavers in some sections, as do some of the faltering voices of cast members throughout the show. The live band at the back of the stage is a nice addition to the play.

Like the film, since it follows the same strange plot, the play feels tired in the last 20 minutes, perhaps with the exception of the inspiring “Don’t Dream It, Be It.” Some of the lines are spoken too rapidly if you’re trying to pay attention to the exact storyline, but all confusion is swept aside with great numbers like “Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me” and “Time Warp.” After all, “Rocky” is a cult favorite because of it’s wacky story, B-movie inspirations, and overall rebellious nature. Screw the plot, do the time warp.

The “Rocky Horror Show”‘s final performances will be tomorrow at 7 and 11 p.m. Tickets are $10 for UM students, $12 for non-UM students/Senior Citizens, and $18 for the general public.

Horacio Sierra can be reached at madnapo@aol.com.

Quite often, the word “science” brings to mind beakers, Bunsen burners and those hideous plastic safety goggles. Try to forget the forceps and focus on the science of the everyday world, as the art exhibit Science Friction seems to beg at the Dorsch Gallery. A joint effort, Science Friction features the collaboration of artists Dave Colosi, Christian Duran, Vickie Pierre and Christopher Skura. It’s a strange and dissimilar display, seemingly disjointed, but ultimately the odd themes combine to offer a synthesizing impression.

Pierre’s works are fanciful creations of vivid colors, offset with contrasting detail. Many of her paintings are small, measuring a square foot or less. The vibrant colors immediately stand out amidst scattered phrases in tiny rounded cursive, a motif of multicolored droplets, and even a hint of romantic influence. “The Dream I Never Knew” is a stunning palette of a fiery red-orange background laced with rivulets of bright blue.

Skura’s work weaves geometric themes within the small, precise drawings of boxes and angular shapes. Ubiquitous graph-paper-like backgrounds add a touch of mathematical atmosphere to the meticulous detail. “Virus” is Skura’s most striking work, a vibrant meddle of neat box-like shapes, highlighted in lime green with accents of red and gold. “Art Machine” takes a different direction with black pencil shading, featuring an elaborate contraption presumably for harnessing creative power and transforming into something more tangible. Touching on an anatomical theme, “12-01 (Jarvik)” showcases an elaborate drawing of a heart, with a kidney flung in for random flavor.

A more whimsical approach can be found in Colosi’s hallucinogenic pencil monster drawings, featuring grinning monsters and bizarre dream scenes. Highlights include an untitled work that shows an eerie depiction of a jack-in-the-box. Colosi stays within the simple medium of pencil on paper, spotlighting his impressive attention to shading and outlining.

Duran’s work waxes neurological, showcasing homemade brain diagrams created with carefully printed ink stains. “Cold Brains #2” presents a set of Rorschach blotches, some decorated with tiny photos of arms or legs, presumably illustrations of how the brain processes different actions and emotions. “I (c) U” is a simple, yet inscrutable three-paneled set of more ink splotches.

The culmination of the exhibit is “The Return of le Cadavre Exquis,” a collaborative mixed media effort. Each artist contributed to the work, unaware of what the others had done or planned to do. The end result takes the form of a woman shedding rainbow-colored tears.

With scientific, mathematical, and technological overtones, Science Friction offers a keenly diverse collection of different artists and unique styles, with a gloss of otherworldly appeal.

Science Friction runs through Nov. 23rd at the Dorsch Gallery, 151 NW 24th St., Miami. For more information, call 305-576-1278.

Jessica Misener can be reached at jessm02@yahoo.com

You’re not gonna find a bowl of the tainted red stuff here. There’s nothing about drinking, punch, and partying. If you want that go find yourself at a tedious frat party and drown in a bowl of jungle juice. But if you want some kickass “punch” in your wardrobe, check out up-and-coming fashion label Spiked Punch, currently known only to a small group of loyalists. Punch is an esoteric garment for fashion mavens who can care less about magazine cutouts and runway styles, and focus more on idiosyncrasy and creativity. You’ll find yourself digging through the screened graphic designs that include the mad-looking signature “juggie bear,” who’s never illustrated without his alcohol and a prominence of eccentric militant designs, edging on a punk-rock attitude.

The ingenious mind behind this growing label is Daniel St. George, a 24 year-old painter and former Robert Lee Morris jewelry art director. No large, corporate design team is behind Spiked Punch-St. George is the singular designer. He just likes to consider himself a “painter,” and deems himself to be somewhere in between an artist and a fashion designer. Put it this way: his work is too artsy to be graphic, and too graphic for fine arts.

Though he was a military child growing up during the Gulf War, there is no political significance in his designs: he claims that he is just trying to work out some personal things with his past that encompass the militaristic images. While working at Robert Lee Morris, St. George developed a greater interest in fashion and began working with printmaking, which finally led him to develop the idea of creating his own clothing line.

“[Spiked Punch] is an expression of who I am,” says St. George. ” Instead of creating art on canvas and other media, I decide to do it on clothing.”

It’s about taking normality and ordinariness and changing them slightly by reinventing them. His designs are limited to T-shirts and he is currently working on “cut-and-sew hoodies.” Some regard his work as “ugly cute,” meaning that the icons or designs are ugly in nature, like the bear images, but create a cute fa

At the age of 35, Lawrence Meistrich has made a name for himself in an industry that might seem almost impossible to bust into. Even at such a young age, Meistrich has managed to become involved in more than 100 films, music videos and commercials, though most might remember the man for his Academy Award winning film, Sling Blade, as well as You Can Count On Me, which was nominated for an Oscar. Industry folk, however, see Meistrich in a different light-this is the same filmmaker who challenged the industry with his control over the award-winning studio and production company, Shooting Gallery.

Recently, he announced the start of his new film distribution company, Film Movement, which, it seems may contribute to revolutionizing the way the public views independent films. The indie world needs a top strong-hand to excavate the best projects among the hundreds submitted every year and this producer may be one of them.

Life & Art caught up the Larry Meistrich to discuss his new company and how he might change the way independent films are distributed.

L&A: How are you today?

LM: Good. Good weekend this weekend, huh? What was it… 40 to 27? You guys are gonna win the championship this year.

L&A: I hope so! So, your new company might revolutionize the film industry as a whole…

LM: Well, we hope so. Basically what we’re doing is marrying film distribution works in windows (meaning each medium that you traditionally see). Theatrical is usually the first window, then pay-cable, then video rental, then basic cable, you know, and it goes on down the line. And then usually the last window is sell-through: where you buy the movie at Wallmart. That’s how it traditionally works, right? Part of the problem with that existing infrastructure is that good independent films don’t play theatrically in most parts of the country. And what’s happened is the motion picture industry has become an opening weekend business. You know, you read all about how much they’re gonna do opening weekend. Harry Potter for example, the second one, is coming out on 10,000 screens against Lord of the Rings, which is coming out on like 8,000 screens. That’s half the screens in the United States, roughly. So every small film or quality art film in that 30-day period is gonna be pushed out. And the independent film has to compete on a marketing side with a film that’s gonna spend, like Harry Potter, between $50-80 million promoting the movie.

L&A: So indies don’t really get a chance.

LM: Indies have no chance. So what we said is we’re gonna do two things: we’re gonna make independent film and art films and films that play Cannes and Sundance available to everybody everywhere in the United States and Canada. And we’re gonna take the theatrical window and we’re gonna marry it with the sell-through window by creating a subscription-based service. You know, kinda like Oprah’s Book of the Month Club. So in the big cities, like Miami, L.A., New York, we’ll open the movies in the movie theatres. But it’s economically never viable for these type of films to go into the suburbs or the rural areas or, you know, Northern Florida, Arkansas, Alabama-places where there’s not an enormous population to draw from. So we’re gonna create this subscription service. For example, our first film opens on Dec. 13th in theatres in five cities. But we also ship the DVD to all the subscribers on Dec. 10th.

L&A: And what’s the name of the movie?

LM: It’s called El Bola. So really what that means is that everybody everywhere is getting a first-run film at the same time. If you happen to be a subscriber who lives in a market where we’re playing theatrically, we will buy your movie ticket so you don’t pay twice.

L&A: What do artists feel about this process that you have chosen to implement? As filmmakers, some might feel that their films should only be seen initially on the silver screen.

LM: Sure, and I agree. There’s two answers to that question. Most filmmakers, 99.9 percent of them, aren’t playing past a city like Miami. Whatever, pick Mainland, Florida. Most independent films don’t roll into Mainland, Florida; therefore, if you’re a consumer in Mainland, your choices are limited to what you can see. My argument to filmmakers, and it’s been successful so far, is I’m gonna put you in a theatrical context where you have a chance for success. I’m gonna tell you up front, I’m gonna play in Miami, but I’m not playing in Mainland. But don’t you want the people in Mainland who have an interest in this to be able to participate in your film?

L&A: Of course, definitely.

LM: That’s where the marriage occurs.

L&A: So you know what type of audience wants to see your film.

LM: Exactly, they subscribe. So, as a filmmaker, I’ve just broadened your audience out to every city and town in the United States. With a very successful film that I released, we played 100 markets. You know, unless you’re making Harry Potter, you don’t have that option. You can want it all you want, but in reality what happens to most films is they play one weekend, and they didn’t put up big enough numbers, so they’re gone and then they go into the distribution cycle with not very much media attention. Our process elongates that because we’re not an opening-weekend business. We’re a monthly subscriber business, so people can participate in your title any time along the chain.

L&A: So what does the mainstream industry think about you focusing on independent films?

LM: I’m sure some people will love it and some will be pissed off, people who’s business we generally affect. I don’t think because someone lives in Mainland, Florida that they’re dumb or aren’t sophisticated, or they have no interest in anything besides Spiderman or I-Spy.

L&A: Well, it sounds like your plan might help indie films.

LM: We put filmmakers on a straight gross, so it’s an incredible financial deal. If your film is successful, it’s tremendously more profitable in our scenario, and all the filmmakers are marketing for each other. You can always market to new people who subscribe. You can say, “Well, if you liked this title, you should check out El Bola.” Blah, blah, blah. So there’s ways to keep the shelf lives of the projects very long.

Meistrich will lecture this Monday, Nov. 4th at the Cosford Cinema at 5 p.m. sharp.

For more info, check out www.filmmovement.com

Josh Caraballo can be reached at email4josh@aol.com.

Tonight
Tangle your spirits into One, part of a series of underground parties, at an undisclosed location at 84 NW 42 Street. The organizers promise MCs (Kronos, Manuvers, Aditro) and live performances by Soulflower, Lifestrung, Libr-a-liance and Evolver, as well as free massages, drinks and “special snacks.” Cover is $5 per person or $4 per head with groups of two or more. It starts at 9 p.m. Hit up 305-751-0355 for more info.

Electroclash 2002 U.S. Tour collides into the Polish American Club, 1250 NW 22nd Ave., Miami. Check out the trashy, sassy and sexually brazen shows by Peaches, Chicks on Speed and Tracy and the Plastics. Doors open at 10 p.m. and tickets are $17 in advance, $20 the day of the show. Call 305-634-3907.

Ladytron member Reuben Wu spins for Revolver at Soho Lounge, 175 NE 36th, Miami. 11 p.m. $9. Hit up www.clubrevolver.com.

Zero video premiere at Control Skatepark, 2134 NW Miami Ct., Miami. There are two showings, 5 and 9 p.m., then get wild at the afterparty. Call 305-576-9012.

Saturday, November 1
Phish fans might want to flock to Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, 1806 NE Sixth St., Pompano Beach, and watch a performance by the group’s frontman, Trey Anastasio. It’s $35 and doors open at 7 p.m. Call 954-946-2402.

Guzzle down a gallon of your favorite margarita, then go see Jimmy Buffet strum his guitar on stage at Nikki Beach Club, 1 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach, as part of a benefit for Overtown Youth Center. It’s at 8 p.m., though a buffet and cocktails will be served at 6 p.m. Call 305-476-0095, ext. 101.

Sunday, November 3
Singer/songwriter Mark Eitzel plays a solo acoustic show with opening acts, Maria Marocka and Poulain at the Polish American Club, 1250 NW 22nd Ave., Miami. Buy tickets in advance at Books & Books in Coral Gables or at Blue Note Records in North Miami Beach. Doors open 7:30 p.m. Call 305-634-3907.

Monday, November 4
Wilco croons their soulful tunes at Carefree Theatre, 2000 S. Dixie Hwy., West Palm Beach, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.

Tuesday, November 5
Eight Legged Freaks at the Cosford Cinema-time tba.