Illinois voters have the opportunity to vote early through March 16, because of a change in Illinois law. Evanston residents may vote early, with no excuse needed, at the Evanston City Clerk's office, 2100 Ridge weekdays from 9 a.m.. to 5 p.m.; and from 9 a.m. to noon on March 11. Early voters must present valid identification.

Volunteer for City Board or Commission

The City invites Evanstonians to serve the community by applying for a position on a board, committee or commission.

Mayor Lorraine Morton welcomes applications from Evanston residents for appointments to fill the vacancies on these commissions: Arts Council; Commission on Aging; Electrical Commission, Energy Commission; Environment Board; Housing & Community Development Act Committee; Human Relations Commission; Ladd Arboretum Committee; Minority, Women & Evanston Business Enterprise (M/W/EBE) Development Committee; Parking Committee, Preservation Commission; Public Art Committee; Sign Review and Appeals Board; Taxicab Advisory Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Application forms are available on the City's website. Interested residents can simply visit the website and select "Government." On the following page, select "Apply for a Board, Commission or Committee Position" and begin the process. Call the Mayor's Office for more information or for an application, 847- 448-8268. Mayor Morton makes the appointments when openings are available and presents applicants to the City Council.

AT THE LIBRARY

Teen Poetry Games and Open Mike
Teens in grades 6 - 8 are invited to create poetry and share their original work at this free series. Alice George of RHINO poetry magazine will lead the event 7-8:30 p.m., March 8, at the Main Library.

Ready, Set, Read!
Ready to Read Workshop, the Evanston Public Library and the Childcare Network of Evanston will present free dinner workshops on early literacy. The Every Child Ready to Read workshops enable parents and caregivers of young children to help them get ready to read using fun activities to gain the necessary pre-reading skills. The free program begins at 6:15 p.m. on March 14 at the Main Library. All parents and caregivers of children ages 4-5 are welcome. Child care and dinner are provided. To register call Bonnie Dohogne at 847-475-2661, ext. 35.

"Beware of God"
The Nextbook Book Group will be discussing "Beware of God" by Shalom Auslander on March 16 at 7 p.m. at the Main Library. Poignant and funny, Mr. Auslander's book employs God, chimps and Home Depot to question the Orthodox authority under which he was raised.

Margeret Lewis' Dramatic Reading.
On March 18 at 2 p.m., members of the Stage Left Theatre ensemble will present a staged reading from their current play, "Fellow Travelers," by Evanston playwright Margaret Lewis. This free dramatic reading by critically acclaimed Stage Left Theatre will be presented in the Community Room of the Main Library.

"What I Want My Words to do to You"
Reeltime Film, "What I Want My Words to Do to You," by Madeleine Gavin, Judith Katz, and Gary Sunshine (2003, 78 min.), will be shown at the Main Library on March 22. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free. Set in a correctional facility, this moving documentary offers an unprecedented look into the minds and hearts of women inmates who participate in a writing workshop led by playwright Eve Ensler.

"Maus: A Survivor's Tale"
The South Branch Book Group is meeting on March 16 at 7 p.m. at the South Branch Library. The Library is open only for the book group at this time. This month's book discussion is "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" by Art Spiegelman.

These programs are open to the public at the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., 847-866-0300,
North Branch, 2026 Central St., 847-866-0330, and South Branch,949 Chicago Ave., 847-866-0333.

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Communi

ty Notes

Teen Advisory Board Meets March 21

TAB, the Teen Advisory Board of the Evanston Public Library, meets once a month at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. The next meetings are March 21, April 18, and May 16 in the large community meeting room of the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave. Pizza will be served. Call Christie Chandler-Stahl at 847-866-0309 to sign up.

Republican Party. Ellen Schodt greets visitors at the Lincoln Day dinner, held last month to meet candidates in the March 21 primary election. The Republican Club of Evanston will hold its March luncheon at noon on March 23 in the French Room of The Georgian, 422 Davis Street. The program will feature the popular radio personality, Teri O'Brien. The cost is $15. Call Joyce Phelps at 847- 733-9972.

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New Outreach Specialist
Jay Terry, the City's director of health and human services, announced the appointment of Adelita Hernandez as the City's new outreach specialist.

Ms. Hernandez will develop and implement programs designed to increase community awareness of City programs and services within the community, targeting the special needs of the ethnic population. She can be reached at 847-866-2959.

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Program Helps First-time Home-buyers
People hoping to buy their first house in Evanston may qualify for the Evanston Housing Corporation's first-time home-buyer program. This year's program offers up to 97-percent financing with a unique combination of two mortgages that substantially lowers the interest rate for the purchase of a single-family home, townhouse, condo or two-flat. Private mortgage insurance is not required.

Down payment is only 3 percent and can be as little as 1.5 percent on 30-year fixed- rate mortgages. Eligible participants will be first-time home-buyers who have been residents of, or employees, in Evanston for at least one calendar year and meet income guidelines. Call 847- 866-2929 or visit www.cityofevanston.org and download a brochure.

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Musical Offerings
Join The Musical Offering's Coffeehouse Concert Series for an afternoon of music at 4 p.m. on March 12 at 743 Custer Ave.

The program will feature violinist Rebekah Cope and pianist Rick Ferguson. Performances are free to the public; donations are welcome.
The following Sunday, from 1 to 6 p.m. on March 19, the Musical Offering will feature one of its biggest fundraiser, the Musical Marathon.

Participants will perform individually and/or with small ensembles in 30-minute recital programs. People who attend the marathon may stay for a 30-minute program or all day and will have the chance to contribute in person through several different fun options that include some great donor gifts. Refreshments will be provided.
Five percent of the donations collected from the MM will go to the Evanston Environmental Association. Call 847-866-6260 or visit www.themusicaloffering.org.

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Looking for Poll Watchers
The League of Women Voters of Evanston is looking for voters registered in Illinois to be poll watchers at all Evanston precincts on Primary Election Day, March 21.

A formal poll watcher with credentials (not a poll worker) is allowed to enter the polling place before 6 a.m. during Election Day and remain after the polls close and until the votes are counted.

The purpose of poll watching is to prevent, report, or correct violations that may occur at the polling places.
Instructions and credentials will be distributed to poll watchers who have volunteered in advance at a 7:30 p.m. meeting on March 13 at the Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd. Call Jeanie Ramsey, 847-254-3725 or e-mail pollwatcher2006@yahoo.com. and leave your name and contact information.

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Third Anniversary of Iraq Invasion
The North Shore Anti-war Coalition and the American Friends Service Committee are planning a rally at noon on March 18 at Fountain Square. After the rally there will be a "Peace Train" to a 3 p.m. rally at Union Park in Chicago, Lake Street and Ashland Avenue.
Anti-war groups from throughout the Chicagoland area then plan to converge at 6 p.m. at State Street and Walton Avenue for a 7 p.m. "Festival of Rights" march down Michigan Avenue to Federal Plaza. Visit nsawc.org for directions and maps.

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Learn to Spot Severe Weather
The City of Evanston Emergency Management Agency will sponsor two free spotter training classes to teach community members how to detect the approach of severe weather.
The classes are taught by the National Weather Service, and interested parties can attend a two-hour session at either 2 p.m. or 6 p.m. on March 16 in the Parasol Room of the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave. Registration is not necessary.

Learn why we need spotters, severe weather terminology, what to report and severe weather safety. Attendees will learn about supercells, landspouts, night spotting and more. Call 847- 866-2999 or e-mail ema@cityofevanston.org.

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Fifth Ward Meeting
Alderman Delores Holmes invites community members to the next Fifth Ward meeting, set for 7 p.m. on March 16 at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.

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Ninth Ward Town Hall Meeting
Ninth Ward Alderman Anjana Hansen will hold her next town hall meeting at 7 p.m. on March 23 at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave. The agenda includes information on the downtown development and TIF districts and features guest speakers Assistant City Manager Judy Aiello and EvMark Executive Director Diane Williams.

Fleetwood Program Under-Populated
Too Many Seniors Skip Free Lunch

By Victoria Scott
Sheila Smith has a headache. For 26 years she has been in charge of providing a free lunch – either dine-in or home-delivered – at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center. Coordinating her team of employees and volunteers does not worry her. Nor does the ever-increasing paperwork.

meals
Lenore Brown and Northwestern University volunteer Chirs McCord prepare the cold dinners that are a bonus to the hot meals he delivers to senior citizens through the Community Nutrition Network. The meals are free; a donation is optional.

Ms. Smith's frustration is that so few people take advantage of the chance to eat so well for so little. "I want to see [the program] grow," she says. "You couldn't find better service."

The suggested donation – $2 per meal – is voluntary, she explains; no one is turned away for lack of funds. And participants in the communal meals have other advantages, beginning with the welcome they receive from the Fleetwood facility and staff. Fresh coffee is brewing for early birds by 9 a.m., though lunch begins about 11:30. The large, bright room in which they eat has a lift for wheelchairs and new, higher tables to accommodate them. Other rooms in the Fleetwood building are available for the asking. "All this space is open to us five hours a day," says Ms. Smith.

Older adults who are physically able to come to Fleetwood-Jourdain can socialize, a pleasure they often miss. In addition, says Ms. Smith, "Any help a senior needs, I can send them to sources."

In its heyday in the 1980s, she says, the Community Nutrition Network (CNN), for whom she manages the Fleetwood site, served 100 to 200 people each noon. For reasons that are still unclear, the count fell off in the '90s in Evanston and many of CNN's 28 other Chicagoland sites, she says.

Now on a good day, says Ms. Smith, her program serves a congregant (eat-in) meal to only 25 to 30 at Fleetwood. In addition it provides around 70 home-delivered meals each week, says Ms. Smith. These meals consist of either a hot lunch and cold supper combination delivered five days a week or a "frozen five-pack," a box of five different meals delivered once a week.

"I would love to feed 100 today," she says. "It makes me feel good."

Ms. Smith and her team have an efficient system manned by staff and volunteers. Frozen meals, along with fresh fruit and milk, arrive at Fleetwood three times a week from CNN caterer Preferred Meal Systems.

Weekdays begin between 7 and 7:30 a.m., when Neville Mais arrives at Fleetwood to stack frozen meals in the upright oven. By 9 a.m. Lenore Brown, food service aide, is assembling cold, boxed suppers, assisted by volunteer Emmalina Ingram. Twice a week Chris McCord, a first-year student at Northwestern University's Kellogg Business School, stops by for the half-dozen meals he delivers.

Volunteer Samuel Grimes, who carries meals to homebound residents of Evanston, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Niles and Morton Grove Monday through Friday, is Ms. Smith's right-hand man.

"I honestly don't know what I'd do without him," she says. Mr. Grimes, a hospital food service director before his retirement in 1990, appeared at Fleetwood in 1994 after his social-worker wife talked to Ms. Smith. Except for an absence for cancer treatments, he has been there ever since.

By way of explanation he offers, "I can't sit home and look at the idiot box. My wife volunteered me." In many cases he is the only person an elderly shut-in sees during the day. He recalls once summoning help after hearing cries from a woman who was inside her home, unable to get up after a fall. Another time he smelled gas (a pilot light was out) and called 911.

At first Mr. Grimes used his own van to deliver meals. But in 1994 Harrah's Casino donated a $40,000 insulated truck. Now Mr. Grimes switches on the truck's heating – or in summer, the freezer – en route to Fleetwood. By 9:30 he has put the meals on trays, rolled them out to the truck and set off.

While Skokie Valley Senior Services assesses the eligibility of recipients of home-delivered meals, the CNN congregant meal program at Fleetwood feeds seniors without formal introduction or reservation. Wilmette-based Meals at Home (formerly Meals on Wheels) charges $7.90 for each delivery (a hot and a cold meal); Evanston's Levy Senior Citizen Center asks $3.50 for dining there at noon. But CNN still operates at Fleetwood with funding from Cook County Suburban Area Agency on Aging and meager donations.

During this month's March for Meals campaign, Ms. Smith will be asking corporations and individuals to supplement that funding by making a donation – or delivering a meal. She is hoping as well to convince more people over 60 to join her for a nutritious, free lunch.
Call Sheila Smith at 847-864-2850 for more information.

Veggie Mama
BEETS

For some time I have resisted my boss's polite but persistent suggestion that I write about beets for this column. "You know," she says, "I like them because they are purple, and purple is my favorite color. " I sympathize with the motivations behind her request, but I have a not-so-hidden dislike for beets. I have spent quite some time in my kitchen trying to correct what I think is their major drawback: their sweet taste. Furthermore, their unwillingness to blend with other flavors, their take-it-or-leave-it attitude, irritates me deeply.

But how long can I resist the suggestions of my boss?

The first mention of red beets is in the Codex of Dioscorides. Dioscorides, a physician who traveled with the Roman armies in Greece, Italy, Asia Minor and the land of the Celts, had the opportunity to study the medicinal properties of many plants, from which he prepared pharmaceutical remedies. The beet was originally a wild plant growing along the coast of the Mediterranean; the original color was white and the shape elongated, similar to that of a carrot.

So what is the origin of the red beets mentioned in the "Codex"? According to William Woys Weaver, author of "100 Vegetables and Where They Came From," the strain of red beets must have been the result of cultivating an accurate selection of darker and darker shades of pinkish beets. Weaver suggests that further centuries of continuous selection brought the beets to the color we know today: dark, almost purplish red.

But here comes the interesting part of beet history: In 1747, after years of beets' being both ornamental and edible, a German scientist, Andreas Marggraf, announced that crystals derived from beet juice were the same as those derived from sugar cane. In 1801 the first beet sugar factory opened in Kunern, in today's Poland.

It was Napoleon, however, who in 1811, after he tasted the sugar derived from beets, ordered a massive culture of beets and gave the economic assistance to build factories that transformed beets into sugar.

His subsidy was prompted by a shortage of sugar all over Europe – one caused by the Napoleonic wars. Rumor has it he liked his hot chocolate sweet.

The region of Italy where I come from, Sicily, does not care particularly for beets. Although this recipe is not typical of Sicily , I think it is worth trying.
Pineapple & Beet Salad

1 endive (about 10 oz.)
4 slices of fresh pineapple
5 oz. of Swiss cheese
5 oz. of beets (preserved in vinegar or fresh and boiled)
9 spoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 T spoon of good quality vinegar
2 T spoons of Madeira wine
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Clean and wash the endive. Break it into pieces two to three inches long. Cut the cheese and pineapple into small cubes. In a medium bowl whisk together the olive oil and the vinegar, salt, pepper and the Madeira wine. Dress the salad. Finally add the cooled beets that you have peeled and cut into pieces. Toss and serve at once.
Serves 6

Musical Listings aRound Evanston

March 8: The Bobby Broom Trio, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.
March 9: A drum circle at Pick-A-Cup, 8-10 p.m.
The Skinny, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.
March 10: Milt Trenier and Co., jazz, at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.
Electric Medicin and Environmental Encroicement , a brass and drums, at Pick-A-Cup, 8-11 p.m.
March 11: The Geof Bradfield Quartet, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
March 12: Celtic Knot Public House annual St. Patrick's Week Hooley featuring Tim O' Shea and Jonathan Roche, performers of traditional Irish music from County Kerry, 6-10 p.m.No cover.
Grass Stains, Irish bluegrass, at Pick-A-Cup, 2-4 p.m.
March 13: Open Mike Night, 8:30 p.m. at Kafein.
Bluegrass music by the Mudflapps or REO Chuckwagon at the Celtic Knot Public House, 8 p.m. to midnight. No cover.
March 14: A Celtic Session at the Celtic Knot Public House, 7-10 p.m. No cover.
The Ron Perrillo Trio, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.
March 15: DJ Corey O' at 10 p.m. at the Celtic Knot Public House. No cover.
The Bobby Broom Trio, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.
March 16: The Skinny, jazz , at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.
A drum circle at Pick-A-Cup, 8-10 p.m.
March 17: The Kyle Asche Quartet, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
The Public House Band (session musicians unplugged), 4-7 p.m., and 8-11 p.m. Grass roots folk artist Maiden Shileleagh and Diver, modern rock and roll, 11-1 p.m. at Celtic Knot Public House. No Cover.
March 18: Steve Justman, vintage folk and classic country, at Pick-A-Cup, 8-10 p.m.
The Ultimate Concept Band, at Tommy Nevins, as part of A Steppers Affair II, 9 p.m. Advance Tickets: $10. At the door: $15.
Shilileagh Law, folk rock, 7-9 p.m., and Rose Laughlin, 9 p.m.-12 a.m. at the Celtic Knot Public House. No cover.
The Gary Tu Quartet, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 9 p.m.- 1 a.m. No cover.
March 19: Open Jam at Pick-A-Cup, 2-4
March 20: The Bobby Broom Trio, jazz, at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.
March 21: The Ron Perrillo Trio, at Pete Miller's, 8:30-12:30 p.m.

Kafien, 1621 Chicago Ave., 847-491-1621.
Pete Miller's Seafood and Prime Steak,1557 Sherman Ave., 847-328-0339.
Pick-A-Cup,1813 Dempster, 847-332-2834.
The Celtic Knot Public House, 626 Church St., 847-864-1769.
Tommy Nevins,1458 Sherman Ave. 847-475-1665.

A Book Review
"Your Lawyer: An Owner's Manual"

By Dan Helt

First of all, this reviewer wants to say that this book by Evanstonian Henry Krasnow is a good book.Mr. Krasnow, a lawyer himself, has written the book as a guide for owners of small businesses to help them choose and manage an attorney. However, the book deserves a wider audience.

Young lawyers should read it to know what is expected of them, as should anyone thinking about hiring an attorney or getting ready to enter into negotiations of any kind.

Mr. Krasnow says up front that the book is not intended to solve legal problems but to help the reader understand the nature of the problems that many small business owners face.

The book has two parts, "Dealing with Lawyers" and "Family Business Issues."

Chapter 3, "The Discovery, Care and Feeding of a Good Lawyer," describes the two kinds of clients (with opposite fears: about being fired for hiring a bad lawyer and spending money on any lawyer) and three kinds of lawyers (the surrogate parent or older sibling, the gladiator/gunfighter and the consultant).

Mr. Krasnow says a lot (not all of it flattering) about the various styles lawyers adopt. He also tells how to evaluate lawyers, how to communicate with them, and what, realistically, to expect from litigation.

In the chapter called "Litigation and Compromise," he explains in easy-to-understand language some of the terms a person will run into if he chooses litigation.

Chapter 9 deals with estate planning – "some forgotten goals." Chapter 10 gets into very practical advice, divided into pithy subheadings such as "Your lawyer should make sense, not war"; "Avoid small lawyers, not small firms"; and "Consider negotiation a test of character."

The appendix is also very useful, as it covers many legal terms and concepts.

"Your Lawyer: An Owner's Manual" is published by Evanston-based Agate Press and is available at the Barnes aand Noble on Sherman Avenue and at www.Amazon.com.

I recommend it for anyone who is or will be, or who needs or will need, a lawyer.

BOOK REVIEW
"My Friend Leonard"

A Book Review by Sue Brooke

"My Friend Leonard" is a new volume in a continuing fictionalized memoir by James Frey, who held us spellbound with his "Million Little Pieces."

Using alcohol at 11 years of age and drugs by the age of 13, James reached bottom at 23, alienating everyone. His parents and brother intervened and got him into rehabilitation.

In his earlier book, James recounted how he rejected the Alcoholics Anonymous twelve-step program, deciding that, if he were going to live, he would do it his way.

They told him no one ever succeeded without following their steps, but James continued to walk out of their lectures.
He broke their rules almost every day, but every day he also got stronger.

There were two counselors who helped him. And there was Lilly. Men and women were forbidden to talk to each other in rehab, but James found a soulmate in Lilly. He sneaked out nearly every night to see her.

While in rehab he also meets another patient, Leonard, 53-years-old, whom evreyone suspected of being a mobster.

Yet, even though Leonard can be menacing, he can be kind to James and often gives him sound advice.

When James gets out on his own, Leonard becomes a large part of his life.

Leonard takes James to Las Vegas and checks into what James describes as a mansion on top of the Grand Casino.

Leonard tells him the suite is free because it is reserved for high rollers, VIP's and "people like me."

When James asks what that last category might be, Leonard responds, "People they don't want to piss off."

Leonard guides James and protects him. Although James works for Leonard for nearly a year, Leonard keeps him from getting into anything really illegal.

He calls him "my son" when he greets him. Leonard and his dangerous-looking bodyguard/companion Snapper show up whenever James is down, often picking a lock to appear out of the blue.

Leonard is funny and well-read and he likes the same art that James does. He becomes James' closest friend.

The book solves the mystery of what motivates Leonard and why he is so good to James.

Readers will love Leonard, the menacing Mafioso who saves James' life.

Readers are no doubt aware of the controversy surrounding the veracity of Frey's "memoir," "A Million Little Pieces." True or not, Mr. Frey's books make a compelling read.

FILM REVIEW
"Nigth Watch"

A Film Review by Brian Murphy

In order to alleviate any confusion, I will give a brief plot summary of the Russian vampire action film, "Night Watch." Allow me to catch my breath.

The forces of light and dark have been engaged in an eternal war. An ancient battle on a bridge led to a truce that stopped what would have been the extinction of the evenly matched armies. Since that day, the good, shape-shifting, psychic armies of the light (Night Watch) have policed the evil vampire armies of the dark (Day Watch), who in turn kept tabs on the armies of the light. Both sides have made a pact to allow their enemies to arrest those who break the agreed-upon laws, especially the one that states that all "others," or non-humans, must choose the path of light or dark on their own. However, a premonitory book, "Legends of Byzantium," has forewarned the coming of a cursed woman, who, along with the arrival of the most powerful "Other" that has ever existed and a mysterious vortex laden with crows, threatens to shift the balance of light and dark, and signifies the ultimate battle between both sides.

Whew! Got all that?

Screenwriters Timur Bekmambetov (who also directed), Sergei Lukyanenko (who wrote the novel on which the film is based) and Laeta Kalogridis have created an ever-expanding story that may cause brain aneurisms along the same lines as the existentialist circumlocution of "The Matrix" trilogy. The comparisons between the two do not end there, for "Night Watch" is slated to become a trilogy (which is why we are bombarded with back story), and the first installment has already become something of a revolution for the fledgling Russian film industry. Comparisons can also be made to the "Blade" trilogy, the two "Underworld" flicks, and even "The Lord of the Rings."

Although Russian audiences have eaten the film up, the writers present us with bizarre situations, and the director jars us with staccato hyper editing, and "Matrix"-influenced computer-generated images. "Night Watch" still feels like a film we have seen before. In fact, Bekmambetov's "gloom" realm visuals are a virtual rip-off of director Darren Aronofsky's drug-induced states in "Requiem for a Dream."

Drunkenly stumbling through the depressed Moscow streets is Anton (solidly acted by Konstantin Khabensky), a "seer" or psychic and a soldier of the light. Anton is arguably the most flawed and inept anti hero to grace the silver screen in quite some time; a more sullen, less quick-witted version of Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) of "Serenity." Mr. Lukyanenko both succeeds and fails with his character Anton, who is introduced to us while acquiring the services of a voodoo lady in order to get his ex-wife to return by killing their unborn child.

Anton and his fellow light army misfits tear through the streets of Moscow in what appears to be a supercharged parcel delivery truck, poorly battling the forces of evil. Anton's allies are grossly underdeveloped; their sole interesting characteristic is their ability to shape-shift into owls, bears or tigers. None of the animals' human counterparts is made worthy of screen time. In contrast, the evil Day Watch characters, such as a blood-lusting vamp (Anna Dubrovskaya) and dark leader Zavulon (Victor Verzhbitsky's role is reminiscent of Rutger Hauer's turn in "Blade Runner"), are viciously entertaining.

"Night Watch," while vexing at times, certainly is not dull. For every plot point that drifts aimlessly into a chasm, several intriguing horizons, although unfulfilled, emerge. It is dumb but fun, as evidenced by the smarmy, comic-book liberties taken with its subtitles.

"The Matrix" threw its hardest punch in round one. We hope that "Night Watch," after a jab to get our attention, is saving a knockout punch for later.

1hr 54min. Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images and language.

FILM REVIEW
"16 Blocks"

A Film Review by Joe Linstroth

The title of the lame action movie "16 Blocks" refers to the harrowing distance in Manhattan the two main characters must traverse. It could just as easily refer to the number of chunks of dialogue screenwriter Richard Wenk cut and pasted in order to get to the final scene where the theme of the movie is literally written on a birthday cake.

A mustachioed Bruce Willis plays Jack Mosley, a down-trodden NYPD detective who wearily proclaims that "days change, seasons change, people don't." Such pragmatic cynicism is out of years of boozing and self-loathing, which have reduced him to a mere shell of a man.

After being up all night guarding a crime scene with a bottle of whisky and a newspaper, his lieutenant hands him another thankless task: escort a prisoner named Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) from lock-down, sixteen blocks to the courthouse, for his grand jury testimony.

Of course, this assignment turns out to be anything but easy. Eddie's obnoxious voice and constant blabbering are no good for Jack's hangover. When he stops along the way for a little hair of the dog, two mysterious men emerge from a van and try to assassinate his passenger.

Jack's former partner, Frank Nugent (David Morse), shows up soon after the shootout to relieve him of his duties. Realizing that his petty criminal is an eyewitness whose testimony will bring down a ring of bad cops led by his old friend, Jack sets down the bottle and does the right thing for the first time in his life.

Directed by veteran Richard Donner ("Lethal Weapon," "Superman"), "16 Blocks" suffers from an appalling lack of detail and bland, cliché-ridden dialogue. Little is mentioned about what Eddie saw and what the bad cops were doing that would cause so many of them to zing bullets through a crowded Chinatown. "Lines were crossed," Jack says to Frank during their showdown, and Frank, with his dirty cop morality, questions the existence of any lines at all. But what actually was done to cross all these proverbial lines, and why, is unclear.

Instead, Frank continually asks, "Where are they?" out loud to himself or over his cell phone to his henchmen; and Eddie, as they zig-zag through Manhattan, keeps reminding his escort that he has to be at the courthouse by 10 a.m.

Despite his grating character choice, Mos Def deserves credit for at least trying to act like someone other than Mos Def. Unfortunately, his chances of succeeding are hindered when his character's main desire is to move to Seattle and bake children's birthday cakes.
As for Bruce Willis, it is difficult at this stage in his career to tell if he is mailing it in or if he is only capable of playing himself. His performance is convincing, but that is because Jack Mosley is not much different from all the other weary cops he has played in his career.

Without giving away the ending, let us just say that the protagonists of "16 Blocks" get to have their cake and eat it too. Unfortunately for the viewer, it is tough to swallow without gagging.

1hr 45min. Rated PG-13 for violence and language.

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see our film reviews...

Polling Places on City's Web Site

Volunteer for City Board or Commission

AT THE LIBRARY

back to top Communi

ty Notes

Teen Advisory Board Meets March 21

Fleetwood Program Under-Populated Too Many Seniors Skip Free Lunch

Veggie Mama BEETS

Musical Listings aRound Evanston

A Book Review "Your Lawyer: An Owner's Manual"

BOOK REVIEW "My Friend Leonard"

FILM REVIEW "16 Blocks"

back to top
Communi

Fleetwood Program Under-Populated
Too Many Seniors Skip Free Lunch

Veggie Mama
BEETS

A Book Review
"Your Lawyer: An Owner's Manual"

BOOK REVIEW
"My Friend Leonard"

FILM REVIEW
"16 Blocks"