Every month, Cosmik Debris brings you many CD and record reviews, but the writers manage to find a little time for other pursuits, like reading, going to movies and watching videos. That's where Everything Else In Review comes in. .


MOVIE: Black Hawk Down
Starring Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard,
Ewan MacGregor, Josh Hartnett, William Fichtner Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Ken Nolan and Steve Zaillian
Music by Hans Zimmer
Cinematography by Slawomir Idziak

Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

It's a strange juxtaposition that this movie should arrive so soon in the wake of 911. It's this kind of carnage that many were fearful of when we started military operations in Afghanistan last fall. Perhaps that's why we allow ourselves to be fascinated by this "humanitarian mission" into Hell.

Black Hawk Down tells the true story of US Rangers and Delta Force Commandos sent on a raid into Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to capture the warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid in 1993. Our reasons for going there were good. There were over 300,000 deaths in a terrible famine before we tried to bring order, but as they say, the Devil is in the details.

The action mostly focuses on the 24 hours it took to put the raid in motion and ends with the retreat the next day. Some soldiers seem to sense what's coming though it's supposed to be just a half hour excursion to capture some important Aidid lieutenants. Even the audience knows the story too well to be surprised, but few can be prepared for how visceral it gets when Aidid's men succeed in bringing down two American helicopters and the soldiers get trapped in a devastating firefight that lasts through the night. Their battlefield is all house-to-house, or hovel-to-hovel really, perhaps the most dangerous kind of fighting. In that it's like Enemy At The Gates, which vividly portrayed the Russian fight for Stalingrad to US audiences for the first time, but then reduced it to a showy duel of snipers. Unlike Stalingrad, Mogadishu is full of innocent people, making the action much more gripping. A story from Vietnam hasn't had this treatment yet. Maybe Platoon comes close, but Black Hawk's from the latest group of war movies like Saving Private Ryan, so it doesn't pull punches with the blood and gore. It's also shot in the high contrast style of cinematography that Ryan used to such great effect, but the story has the desperate element of A Bridge Too Far. Call it A Raid Too Far.

By the way, this happened on Clinton's watch and you will get the sense that the soldiers' lives are being wasted for political gain, but before you blame Bill, remember that it was Dubya's Dad that sent them there the year before. And even Saint Ronald Reagan had 200 Marines killed in Lebanon. There's always plenty of ways to point a finger when something goes this bad. Yes, the Rangers were under political pressure to get something done about Aidid but frankly, their obvious tactical mistake was timing the raid for the middle of the afternoon and telegraphing their arrival.

Sorry, I almost forgot this is a movie review, not a speech. At least there's no attempt to weave in a sappy love story like Pearl Harbor. BHD is hardly a star vehicle though it does have some very good talent. Everyone is very believable as soldiers, the producers went to great lengths to give them Ranger training before the shoot. Eric Bana is compelling as Hoot, one of the Ranger squad leaders who wants to save Somalis from Aidid's thugs. Tom Sizemore is predictably gritty as the veteran McKnight who tries to guide a convoy of Hummers to the rescue of the stranded comrades. Ewan McGregor is almost comic relief as Grimes, the company clerk who pulls duty when another Ranger hurts his hand before the mission.

Director Ridley Scott is one of my favorites and he makes enough sense out of the chaos to bring the story of the raid to understanding. Understanding? There is no morality here. Black Hawk's major flaw is that it shows the combat from the American side only. The Somalis never really get their closeup, so to speak, though one tough captain keeps reappearing and a captured pilot gets a quick reality check lecture from his captor. You could easily come out of the movie wanting revenge on "the Skinnies," as the soldiers call the Somali irregulars. But remember there's only 18 American deaths versus the HUNDREDS of lives they took. That's right, at the end of the movie some text states that 1000 Somalis died. The Americans had roughly a 50 to 1 kill ratio, but still the rag tag Skinnies kept coming. The film doesn't answer what kept them in such a dreadful killing zone.

The movie tries hard to be honest in its realism, and stunningly succeeds at almost every turn, but sometimes there's still a little Hollywood peeking around the edges. If you really want to know more about this story, the History Channel has been running an excellent documentary with real footage of these events. There's also interviews with combatants from both sides and Mark Bowden, the author of the book. Perhaps the most disturbing fact is that the documentary places the Somali casualties between 1000 and 10,000! The men on the ground weren't the only ones shooting of course, during the night the "Little Birds" were busy keeping Aidid's men back with Gatling gun runs. These are the guns that shoot so many bullets per second it's almost like a hose that squirts lead instead of water. Exactly how many of the dead weren't fighters isn't really known but it's certain the civilian population of Mogadishu was devastated.

Black Hawk Down is a brutal, enlighteningly stark portrayal of battle, but perhaps it doesn't go quite far enough. In any event let's hope our leaders take its lessons to heart in our current War on Terror.


(C) 2001 - Rusty Pipes



DVD: Joe Jackson Live In Tokyo
A&M Records - 112 minutes (color)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

Joe Jackson reinvents himself every few years as a method of keeping fresh and sane, and it's always been that way. By the time this concert was recorded in 1986, Jackson had already done the punk-with-texture thing on Look Sharp and I'm The Man, gone tropical on the reggae-influenced Beat Crazy, done Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway proud on Jumpin' Jive, slipped into a world of piano-driven grace and beauty on Night and Day, ducked into the Latin quarter for Body and Soul and was standing alone in his own genre - a melting pot of all of the above - with Big World.

This Tokyo audience got their money's worth and more as Jackson and his outstanding trio of supporting musicians (Tom Teely on guitar, Rick Ford on bass and Gary Burke on drums) treat them to an overview of almost all of his career. Opening with the powerful "One More Time," Jackson lets the audience know right away that he's not an artist with issues about his previous work, though he's more than happy to give them new life, as he does with "Steppin' Out." Played at an ultra-slow pace with only an occassional echoing snare shot for percussion, the song loses the feeling of flight and it's replaced with a sense of longing, aching and desperation. "Sunday Papers" becomes "Monday Papers," but just for fun and without really changing the headlines. I was enthralled with the entire show, but for my money the best moments came during the medley from Jumpin' Jive. Jackson and his little trio handle music meant for a semi-big band without hesitation and have a good time doing so. Me too! "Jack You're Dead," "What's The Use Of Getting Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again)" and "Jumpin' Jive" get your blood pumping just in time for a smokin' rendition of Jackson's classic slam at the adman, "I'm The Man." "Man In The Street" closes a great show and sends you off into your CD shelves to dig out your Jackson collection, your love affair with the music of this amazing artist rekindled.

Complaints? Not really. I would have enjoyed a special feature or two. Perhaps an update on Joe's career since this 1986 show. Maybe a tour diary. Anything to make me feel that little buzz I feel with most of my DVDs. "Ooo, hey, a featurette on how a wah wah pedal works!!! Bitchin'!" Not that I'd expect that topic on a Jumpin' Joe Jackson DVD, but anything would have been nice. That aside, kudos on the sound, the picture, and simply for bringing this fantastic concert out in DVD format.

Song List:

One More Time
Wild West
Right & Wrong
You Can't Get What You Want
(Till You Know What You Want)
(It's A) Big World
Hometown
On Your Radio
Shanghai Sky
Fifty Dollar Love Affair
Cancer/Be My Number Two/Breaking Us In Two
Steppin' Out
Survival
Soul Kiss
It's Different For Girls
The Jet Set
Monday Papers
Tonight And Forever
Jumpin' Jive Medley: Jack You're Dead/What's The Use Of Getting Sober (When You Gotta Get Drunk Again)/Jumpin' Jive
I'm The Man
Man In The Street


(C) 2002 - DJ Johnson