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Show 1 i 4 .fttOrmvitn csntlstu4 from J ; ? W f H4 3 i V; 1 V I.Uiicfrom Vanilla Sky Various Artists t : Eeprtse oooo 9 4 f L f all Cameron Crowe was allowed to do was male movies Li and compile so und tracks, bed sell! have it pretty good. I mean, tsks out all that volunteer work, the human: isrUn aid and the cancer research that most Hollywood biz shots let iA in the way cf their work and, welt Tra sure he'd be a tit disappointed maybe even cry a little but he'd still churn out pretty damn good movies and soundtracks. WVJL. except for "Varuila Sky.' Net the movie anyway. I won't go jr.to it, since th.s a soundtrack review; s' flee it to say that If you're on the fence cnthis cr.e, watching :jar.dro Amerubar's much better "Abre to Ojct'fOpf.n ycur Eyes" should up the rtv,tu r for y.-- red: shot rtpofif). Actus!, ere cf my birjjest cerr.phint about the film was that the music, even though it came from some cf try favorite artists, sL"v. it seer--' d to intrude, as if it Uli cut cf place In this 1 d-r- fcr-sh- a ur line-for-li- ot al peudo-umlltctu- much her to cii mu;;c supervisor Dar.y Erjrnrcn he fc'- I -t is i.Tl'.fi.-- e be ifj; ' ' quagmire. Crowe and his . er.Joyc-d- steen marten of sourJira:: to ve evekirg mood LVouh "Almost Famous csi tnjrtJ the best mcmerts cf classic rock in the fcrc-u'7C ani'Vni'-l-i Sky's" Si 1'itly to da the day. Cu day, you ssy? Then what cf th e tracts by the MorJrees.Todd Sandmen and Bob Dylan? And you'd be r'.ht, but there's a perfectly logics! explanation, See, I didn't real! write that last paragraph th: t .s i art cf your, uh, lucid dr eart. Ve&h. In fict, I'm not even writmg this r'rht now, !hh, no c r.e would ever buy tha urJeis w put Tom Cruise on the cc:l Clt yeah, I forget to mention earlier, tut Tern Cruise is actusiiy ghc-;- writing this for me this week, r,In in I'm ghost th is we k hi eve ryor-T:- nt Cru :se W ;e I Is n am v.i ihr 3 f ;r !" ! h:h. ; I much rfevitvir 3 rr.u;;c bet how dcfi scr.-s.T- U he tre r v.-- t r-- att L'-- Lhii rcdjzd McOitr.Prtej&.brftlL'-cj-rJ'e- :r t, i7;u?Fcs, J'ffE-- d :y E.IJ-1- , the Ch emicalErcih. HcwST en whad 1 j J, hs-- to &sw you s fr! : t' . ? Ki ti 7 fr p:i arJ r:c" t:.r.!':tf Oaiirht C: i I'n kr;-?i- a tr-;- -. :tb'.-vvomcf- Vir:o At' its yet undetailed, deaths will captivate the viewer, whether he or she followed the lives and music of the slain rappers or not. "LA Story" Directed by Nick Broomfield Produced by Nick Broomfield and Michelle D'Acosta Cinematographer: Joan Churchill Editors: Mark Atkins, Jaime Estrada Broomfield's directing style is definitely unique in that he tells a serious story but is able to break the tension of the viewers so easily. Some of the quirkier moments come when he is narrating and the footage shown is his view from inside a vehicle as he blatantly runs a red light in the streets of LA. Incorporated throughout the film are old home videos of Tupac and Biggie, each on their own, as well as interviews with friends of the late rappers, former body guards and Tupac's teacher from his actor training. documentary film Investigating the mysterious deaths of rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. A by LUCIANO MARZULU VARGAS i Las ;'th' f u t tiL :; c r . J.' - Kjy' ,i - ? ? .:J. a wor ? r .... ft.. itic-n.V;I $c?ry to let ycu dovmfolit j but it jut aLn't ,j hafp'nJn. cor.-.p-ii Shocked? You've cor t to expect it trom me,Ti.hf? Weil I'm flattered, but 1 assure ysu, I'm a ccrrp Vra; J.urrtn t Hrg Use the rest of Who yo-- t"si this review aside ar.d you when yo,i cut rr.e I lie-'in ccmpltm",ntrlcvjr; trrn. 1 hcd cenuiTie teais cf i - lta j,::rtEutrorr:!:r,rnu:tdtoltlyr " Thsr.k C4 have thjsCr-"';- ? CjrAy ivcrd'zcklifti'j r.e y. Ur.LV e yc u, it v:cn't st ib r e in the iatl. When I eorte t2ck to . 1 c:rn-p.:- .; it n a v.- - e k, it won't 5 h.,:1 fcrictfdrj srJ say, "Do In , I;-- ct.v i' : r? it ecr net fir a fw ur .:r. J tnup cn ycu t J to frirr '.i:co cr G Fd tr v i i'srusrreto furjle County or Ctt off ray hvji," ou7 Jrnc . I . r- - rvhere r el'-s- . th ht, it's Cour.fy tt; C. i.'y muifc ccmpua-tcn- . surp a:: t i rry e?pectcti.: r s cf a raivo-fneAr-boai t'r.g r.r.y tra els by tv Cfffprirg, Fco Figh ters and CV- 5 all of which have p rcbabh bf en played to death on the radio, r.',t 'J.:a vculd kitf ,v 1 1'$ us e 1 0 di ! pka se th ouisr.diof 1. : A r..-;-t p:-cJ- , :. cer-t:u'- y . - r.rr'i' v.iic'j. ,t the is.-- ! fi'a'.'r ere fs ti ? ft t.- ru;perj'j - I :;it:'.".t vrJi initis!- - p , The track; by n Flartt are f.t to stand as - f.ii---r- . andihsr.tcn "n here abtrjgr arythrjc!' Ycm, Creeper a:.-.;- t La v.-.t- h Ar.i hat her-- ; C;: r? Ccur,y w; u;i be ccmplete go to wJ.ct two tracki ftcyn Eria.n. '.scru boih ih'u v.hy he is consi Jc red ens cf the fcremoct p;oreers of to uni hi fact, you n.ht e. en try thot IhJ toundUack cajri vje$ the vuni of c ar night ss that I'm net 0:r g to rr.ake that rxr-- e. cfwi-jchju- st a n::fsisar,in. IrentiGred mag.com Yes, we do locals. Ifyou're a local band and you've got the guts to drop offyour CD to Room 240 in the Union Bldg. then we will review it COPYl 7, 1996: a highly publicized Tyson fight, Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight jump into a car after their involvement in an alleged gang fight between Bloods and Crips in the MGM Grand. With Tupac in the passenger seat, a gunman pulls up to the car, firing at Tupac and missing Knight. In a city known for its high numbers of police officers and video surveillance, the assailants fled the scene unfol-loweTupac was pronounced dead In a Las Vegas hospital on d. Sept. t;rat trs cH (rcji I'.;:; i Fc r.::I i, i r 1 left with y or srJ orJ Vegas, Nev., Sept. 13, 1996. Angeles, Calif., March 9, 1997: Biggie Smalls, once a friend of Shakur and a central figure in what was the East CoastWest Coast rivalry in hip hop is fatally shot and killed. These tragic deaths are yet to be solved in what is now 2002. Documentary film director Nick Eroomfieids' latest work "LA Story" asks the question, "Why?" Why, to this date, do the deaths of rap stars Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls remain unsolved? While attempting to answer this question, Broomfield puts forth theories regarding the connection of the two deaths while completely demystifying the idea that the slain rappers lost their lives as a result of the infamous East CoastWest Coast rivalry. The opening scenes of the film display still photos of the shot-uvehicles in which Tupac and Biggie suffered their fatal injuries, A confident and serious voice rises out of the silence as Broomfield begins to set the stage for his documentary. At fust, Eroom-fie'd'- s English accent might throw the viewer off, but the steady unveiling of evidence regarding the highly publicized Los p 1 Did Suge Knight have Biggie killed to draw attention away from himself? On separate occasions, Tupac's biological father spoke in front of the camera, as did Biggie's mom. Each rapper's story was told from the time of boyhood to their close friendship and ultimately to their tragic deaths. Broomfield puts forward the argument of former Los Angeles Police officer Russell Poole, that Suge Knight, the CEO and president of Death Row records, arranged the murder of Tupac because of the fact that Knight owed Tupac $10 million in royalties and because Tupac was in the process of leaving Death Row records at the time of his death. With claims that Knight held some power within the Bloods, employed a district attorney and had at least 30 officers of the Los Angeles Police Department working for him, some of whom were made famous with the Rampart scandal, the possibilities for a conspiracy theory increase in magnitude. Evidence of the fear Knight instills came through in interviews with former employees of Death Row records. These interviewees hesitated to make incriminating statements, even while Knight remained behind bars. The widely accepted explanation for the death of both Tupac and Biggie is rooted in the East CoastWest Coast rivalry in hip hop. The rivalry initiated over rappers from each coast. West and East, denying support for each other Tupac and Biggie just happened to be central figures due to their fame. When Tupac was shot and imprisoned a few years before his death, fellow inmates told him that Biggie was to blame for the shooting. As the story goes, their once friendship dissolved and Biggie's supporters killed Tupac and Tupac's supporters killed Biggie a year later in retaliation. Case closed? As far as law enforcement is involved, the case appears to be cut and dry, but after viewing Broomfield's documentary, the story becomes extremely complex. Revealed in the documentary is evidence heretofore unheard of like the fact that the inmates who told Tupac of Biggie's deadly vendetta were actually federal e agents employed to create within the hip hop community, as well as information on the aforementioned power wielded by Knight. Central to Eroomfield's work are the testimonies of former Los Angeles police officer Russell Poole he was fired from the force when he revealed to a superior that he had come across information tying officers in the LAPD to Biggie Smalls' death. Even though Poole's lawyers took measures to prevent their client from speaking with Broomfield, he did it any way. To support this idea, Broom field tracked down one of Biggie's former body guards who was with the rapper at the time of his fatal shooting. When presented with photos of LAPD officers, the RED MAGAZINE dissi-denc- L.A. STORY, I pag R6 JANUARY 17, 2002 R5 |